Lindsay Castle

I stood in my bedroom on the 2nd floor tower over looking the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean jousting with the rigid red rocks of South Africa’s shores. For sometime there was no noise in the solar powered accommodations I found myself in on location for a shoot. It was just me there, watching the waves out the window. I like to find myself alone in far of places. I like to be reminded in a world with 7 billion people you can hide… and up there for a moment in time I hide in a place called Lindsay Castle.

Practical information: Lindsay Castle is a historic home built in the 20th century as a petite castle with six bedrooms you can rent for your own vacation on a private strip of beach within the Noetzie Nature Reserve. It’s remote and quiet, the beaches are pristine and the fireplaces make for cozy nights. They have an outdoor BBQ and dining area as well. To be noted however, it is a very steep climb up and down from the parking area so not suitable for people traveling with heavy luggage or physical restraints. 

Casa Palopo

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Carved into the side of a mountain, high atop Guatemala’s Lake Atitlan, sits the tranquil yet stylish Casa Palopo. The boutique luxury resort consists of only 7 rooms with the crown jewel being the villa on the highest perch, a perfect home to share with girlfriends or a small traveling group. The picturesque pool, the outdoor fireplaces, and the one-of-a-kind decor, with many items imported from Africa, make this a total fantasy of living. From veranda to veranda it’s impossible to feel stress here when all your eyes gaze upon is a view of nature’s spectacular show.

I wish I could have spent a thousand nights here, tucked away into the side of the hill, spending my days painting the ever changing colors of the sky and feeling the beauty of life discovered in Guatemala.

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Kelly wears a dress by Jonathan Cohen, belt purchased from a local Guatemalan market

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Beach Resort Fashion

 

As I sit here in New York City, it’s 24 degrees outside, we just “survived” snowmeggedon and more freezing rain is in the forecast for this next week. Oy, I’m ready for a break from winter, to play in the sun and sand and look out on a horizon of endless teals and blues until it ignites into a fiery sunset. I like to fantasize about what I’d wear to the beach or sparkling dinners seaside. Until that getaway day comes I’ll just pretend I’m here at Casa Claridge Beach Club, in these sweet, simple, resort outfits for the classic girl at heart.

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Above~ Jill Stuart crop top and skirt | Maiyet Purse | Maiyet Bracelet

Below~ Audra Bustier | Christian Siriano Trousers

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Above~ Solid & Striped black swimsuit | Maiyet sweater | Tiffany T bracelet 

Below~ Jill Stuart dress | Maiyet Shoes

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Above~ Jill Stuart crop top and skirt | Maiyet Purse | Maiyet Bracelet

Below~ Zimmermann Swimsuit

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Above & Below~ Tanya Taylor Meredith Dress

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Above~ Maiyet dress | Maiyet Purse | Maiyet Ring

Below~ Audra Bustier | Christian Siriano Trousers

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Shot in Miami at Casa Claridge Beach Club | Styled by Kelly Framel | Modeled by Gabby from Ford Models | Hair & Makeup by Melissa Connor using Sephora Cosmetics | Manicurist Cecilia from Pau-Eric Sinclair

Scotch in the Snow

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Valentine’s Day always falls in the middle of New York Fashion Week which means for the past 4 years we have been working non-stop and unable to have a proper romantic date.. that is until this year. Kevin surprised me last weekend by clearing my work schedule and whisking me away to Glenmere Mansion, originally built in 1911 as a home for Robert Goelet, for an “early” Valentine’s Day celebration.

We have recently been learning about the world of Scotch. I love the simplicity of a single pour drink if it’s at our studio in New York, or on a weekend getaway, so I don’t have to think about mixers and recipes. I’ll never forget the first time I tried Scotch- it was on our honeymoon on Safari in South Africa. We arose before the sun and had a quick breakfast before hoping in the jeeps- on the breakfast bar, oatmeal with a topping of scotch. What?! I mean.. this blows the “before noon” rule right out of the water. Come to find out, it was a delicious tradition and on those very cold sleepy mornings, just the right thing to warm you up ever so.

Fast forward a few years and we have been slowly learning and enjoying the lessons in scotch. We recently did an amazing flight taste tasting with our friends from The Glenlivet at Highlands, a Scottish experience gastro pub in the West Village. When Kevin was planning this romantic getaway he took inspiration from that evening and bought us a bottle of  The Glenlivet 15 which he knows I’d like because of its sweeter notes of almonds and spice. I love it’s distilled in French oak which makes it creamy and rich which I prefer, as a woman, to the other smokier varieties. The best part about gifting and receiving a beautiful scotch if you’re a man or woman is that you get to share it together, what each person individually smells and tastes and untimely make memories wrapped in the beautiful glow of golden honey.

So here we are, at the historic Glenmere Mansion, a place to cradle us away from the noise of the city and to spend the hours snuggled by the fire with the winter air breaking outside as we sip on scotch to keep us warm. This amazing experience was made possible by our friends at The Glenlivet~

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“Last year I decided to educate myself about Scotch, something I knew very little about. When I went to the wine shop on our street I asked for some recommendations for where to start, and they suggested The Glenlivet 12 as a starter. Jamie and I both really enjoyed it, and knowing her palate I knew the 15 year would be a great next move.”

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Things I’ve learned about The Glenlivet:

The Glenlivet was the original Scotch, supporting an idea we believe in strongly, to be an original.

Why “The” Glenlivet?: The Glenlivet is known for its smooth and elegant whiskies. It was renowned and other distillers copied and took advantage of this fact including copying their name! George Smith’s (the founder) sons and heir went into a lengthy battle to secure the rights to be known as THE GLENLIVET to differentiate it from the copy cats.

All their spirits are created using a natural spring water from the same spring they founded the company with in 1824

This region of Scotch making is known for producing very smooth, easy and soft spirits.

On the rocks or straight up? It’s a personal preference but how they described it to me was that by drinking it room temperature you have a fuller, robust flavor. They likened it to a walk in the forest- the smell of the forest after a freshly fallen snow is more muted as opposed to its natural state, or after a warm rain (adding water).

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Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel

It’s hard to follow up the historic fantasy of La Casona or the romance of the Hiram Bingham train with anything other than the citadel itself, but between here and there we found one such place.

Tucked away in a a jungle of amazing flora and fauna in the heart of the Andean cloud forest was the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, a mountainside refuge for the body and soul. It’s exactly how you want to stay in a forest: with hummingbirds outside your door, orchids in bloom everywhere, fireplaces always aglow, and the view of a roaring river below captivating you. Trains arriving in and around the mountain through the Vilcanota Valley take you back to a time when travel was truly an adventure. The afternoon rain showers make relaxing in the tub or having a pisco sour on the porch seem like the perfect thing to do.

First built in the 1970s for backpackers, the owner had a vision for an ecological boutique luxury resort complete its own gardens, a tea farm where all production is made by hand, bear rehabilitation center and an impressive orchid garden. Our suite was built from local stone, adobe, stucco and eucalyptus beams and had not one but three showers, two located outside. A deep soaking tub (OBSESSED) and an outdoor private hot tub.

I loved the attention to detail and exclusivity felt here, so much so that when it was time to check out I totally forgot I had to do that, I was just right at home.

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Snapshots from Savannah

A trip down to savannah, georgia and a stay at SCAD's Magnolia Hall.

Looking back on a few days off where I looked forward to what is in store for 2015. We are already planning shoots in Palm Springs, Paris, and Argentina so this year, though just born a week ago, is already full of dreamy promises. Doing what you love most for a living means you’re willing to commit more time to it than a typical job so it’s not often I take a day off or have a moment to reflect on all we’ve done and the amazing people we’ve met.

After spending Christmas in Texas with my family, I found myself in Savannah, a place I call home – my adopted home. Like New York and Paris, I am at my best self here, but unlike the two metropolitan cities, in Savannah I come to relax. To walk her beautiful parks at dusk, to feel the damp southern air kiss my skin under an umbrella of enchanting moss hanging from live oak trees. We eat, we drink, we spend afternoons whittling away the hours on big southern porches while we outline our dreams for another year but always leaving much open to new directions we could never anticipate.

*PS- An update on my Savannah recommendations – I love walking Whitaker street from Gaston to Broughton and popping into little hidden boutiques and amazing home decor shops. One Fish Two Fish led me to score two amazing new bedside lamps.

Of course the food scene in the south is one of the biggest draws. Now added to my “MUST EAT” list is The Florence for dinner and for lunch Green Truck Pub has the best burgers IN THE WORLD. I called it.

The only thing that could make Savannah even more dreamy is having the utmost pleasure of staying at SCAD’s Magnolia Hall. The southern mansion of my dreams that sits atop Forsyth Park (see the view from the front porch on a foggy night above). In 2014 I had the great honor of working with SCAD, covering their Savannah campus that makes the word “impressive” a tremendous understatement. Remember when we went to Lacoste after that?… it only gets better. Thank you SCAD for the southern hospitality and adopting me into your family, it’s an inspiring group of people.

A trip down to savannah, georgia and a stay at SCAD's Magnolia Hall. A trip down to savannah, georgia and a stay at SCAD's Magnolia Hall. A trip down to savannah, georgia and a stay at SCAD's Magnolia Hall.

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Oscar de la Renta Boutique

Staying in the paradise imagined by fashion design legend can only mean there are going to be some glamorous fashion moments which we found at the resort’s Oscar de la Renta boutique and opened a whole new world of destination luxury shopping. Here it’s resort wear 365 days a year from darling garden dresses to a floating sea of chiffon caftans, perfect beaded mules that are effortless and comfortable for a resort but still put together and chic. They carried every color earring you need to make a true entrance for dinner, which we would call our “Elizabeth Taylor moments”. It’s funny, I’m typically very minimal with my jewelry but here  in this explosion of Caribbean color it felt right to wear a big bold colored jewels, obviously, Oscar knows how to dress a woman for resort life. At dinner Kelly was wearing a beautiful pair of coral ODLR earrings so glamorous when sparkling off the evening night light and when she took them off I had a horrible reaction at how sad she looked just “normal”. From that moment on we were dripped in Oscar’s crystals and jewels. Usually when I think of the brand I think strictly about fashion, about the iconic women he dressed, our version of American Royalty, that I forget about the home wares! Candles and picture frames,  beautiful ocean fish dishes he created from his inspiration of Punta Cana and all the beautiful objects that make a home feel truly special that ladylike way only Oscar de la Renta can do.

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Punta Cana

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We had a few excursions up our sleeve on our visit to Punta Cana first being a dip in one of the 12 fresh water lagoons at the Ecological Reserve. It was the most crystal clear water I have ever seen, the perfect way to swim with little turtles and lazy fish.

Something I was very interested in learning about was Punta Cana’s Ecological Foundation and their Zero Waste movement. Here, they work on the island’s sustainability making programs to help protect and preserve the natural environment and resources and properly prepare the development of the Dominican Republic so things like the impact of tourism are managed and allowed to aid to keeping the environment and culture beautiful if not better. Here at the Ecological Reserve they keep iguanas, riding horses, work animals, farm animals, gardens, an earth worm farm (which eats the organic waste from restaurants and makes compost for the garden) and bee hives. When they wanted to start a bee colony they spoke to Mr. de la Renta about it and the first hive came from the porch of Oscar’s private home. When he visited the reserve this past year he saw how the program was going which not only pollinates the local fruits and vegetables but also creates honey which makes jobs for locals to harvest, package and sell and at the spa we visited they even use it for their facials which I loved! Anyway, it went on and on with amazing projects I found completely fascinating and something I hope can be an international example of how to start dealing with the human impact on our environment.

We bounced over the to Playa Blanca Beach Club where we did stand up paddle boarding and dined on local fare at the beach side restaurant there and tried to remember just which day of the week it was exactly…

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Tortuga Bay

Tortuga_Bay_02The last time I had the joy of going on an all girls trip was right before I got married a couple of years ago. We found ourselves hypnotized in the rose scented air of Morocco and the rugs I brought from the souk lay at the studio as a constant reminder of that meaningful trip with friends. Now I have a new treasure to put away in the box of unforgettable memories, a journey to paradise.

Tortuga Bay, the luxury boutique hotel on the eastern edge of the Dominican Republic in an area called Puntacana, is known for many things- powdery white sand beaches that feel like you are walking on flour, beautiful warm aquamarine Caribbean water, ceviche that is out of this world fresh, but most notably, having the 13 luxurious beachfront villas in the private enclave designed by the elegant fashion designer Oscar de la Renta. I loved being there, in Mr. de la Renta’s home country, and discovering his essence in everything, in the white lattice work chairs, chic wicker canopy beds, embroidered pillows, all the ODLR bathroom amenities, charming hotel staff. You were living in the lifestyle of Oscar de la Renta which can only mean one thing: total beauty.

You walk off the plane on the runway, that warm sticky air licks you immediately and in what could only be ten minutes you are standing on your private balcony looking out at that perfect ocean forgetting where you even came from before. Our canary yellow villa, with your personal golf cart parked out front for “getting around”, was a beautiful compliment to green of the palms, blue of the sky and turquoise of the ocean. With an small and intimate number of villas comprising the property you can easily find yourself alone on the three mile stretch of white sand beaches which is what my soul needs sometimes living in a city where we all literally are on top of each other.

So what did we do with ourselves sans men?… We started the day paddle boarding at playa blanco. We took our golf carts to the Six Senses Spa for facials and massages. We laid in lounge chairs sipping coconut cocktails and marveled at the most stunning panoramic view of the setting sun’s sky, a wash of colors only comparable to a Monet painting.  There was five course dinner on the beach,  a tapas parade for lunch, a dinner at the dock accompanied by three Dominican musicians serenading us. Most of the food we ate was sourced locally, caught that day or grown in the resort’s garden which is all about their focus on sustainability. In the evenings after dinner we would all go for a midnight swim watching thunderstorms light up the sky in the distant horizon. Mostly though, we talked and laughed and stared in awe at a place too beautiful to explain, it can only be experienced.

I’m writing this on our flight back to New York where I will pivot into full autumn mode, layering, apple cider and watching the days get shorter and shorter. But, if I find myself cold one night I’ll think back on that golden sun sliding up on the horizon, flooding my suite in honey colored light and warming my soul with natural beauty.

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Part III: Berlin

In the 1950s, my grandfather Beck was stationed in Berlin. Growing up as a child, I was always so fascinated by the old black & white photos of him from this era in this place unlike anything I knew on the country roads of Texas. I’ve always wanted to go and walk in his footsteps, to think of him as a young man, his family so far away, the devastation of war in front of him. We walked from East to West, we studied the differences from old photographs. We wandered the streets of Scheunenviertel and Kurfürstendamm. We had pretzels and beer, schnitzel and sauerkraut and look back in time of a city that changed so much.

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Part II: Paris

A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy.

Paris is so much to me…a constant source of inspiration, of light study, and beauty. When we stepped off the train from London at Gare de Nord, the smell hit me, that same familiar Parisian smell of coffee and cigarettes, and dusty old books in a garden of roses. The hotel, so quaint, with the Eiffel Tower framed between the walls of the street. We sat in cafes and drank wine, watching the people go about their day, their loves, their minds lost in their own thought. I wonder what they are thinking and have I thought that same thing before? We climbed the stairs of Sacre Coeur, danced with the states at the Louvre, and watched the sunset on Pont Neuf. On a poetic day we found ourselves on a train to Normandy, on a walk through the beaches of Omaha in silence, imagining the horror of war, looking up at the fate of too many. I always love Paris – it’s never goodbye but only I’ll see you soon…. and soon I did.

A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy. A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy.

A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy.

A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy. A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy. A black and white film journey through Paris and the beaches of Normandy. Continue reading “Part II: Paris”

Part I: London

A black and white film journey through London and the English countryside.

We descended upon London, totally embracing being tourists – drinking London’s pride ale, eating fish & chips, visiting Westminster Abbey and the London Tower. We walked through Hyde Park in the rain and looked in awe at the crown jewels. We looked out over the vista of an English countryside, quiet and lush in the early morning mist at Windsor Castle, before turning back the hands of time to the wonders of Stonehenge. We laughed over a cup of tea at Oxford and watched the students walk by with our future in their hands. The beautiful streets, so proud, the people so elegant, I’ll always remember London as lovely as the classical music playing at Dean Street over the sound of soft falling rain.

A black and white film journey through London and the English countryside. A black and white film journey through London and the English countryside. A black and white film journey through London and the English countryside.A black and white film journey through London and the English countryside.

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Jungle Walk

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Of all the activities Juma Lodge provides, my favorite was the jungle walk, a serious hike through the Amazon Rainforest. The breathtaking flora and fauna, the steamy nature of the air around you, the wild views of dense tropical rainforest reaching stories high above your head to the fallen leaves under your feet. It was – in one word – BEAUTIFUL. Leaving the lodge by boat, we ventured to a new part of this dense forest. I loved when our boat would enter into the tree canopies; it was like entering a magical world full of natural secrets. We started by clearing the path through the jungle with a machete, then learned how to climb Acai Trees like the natives by making rope out of leaves, how to communicate far distances with a stick and a tree, that Babasu Gongoin (beetle larvae) tastes just like coconuts (and according to our guide, Bill Gates loved them on his walking tour!), and how to separate palm leaves in order to fold them into forest crowns. Not your typical Monday activities in Manhattan!

After a refreshing swim at the end of our hike (remember it’s like 100000% humidity) we had lunch cooked over an open flame and took a dip to cool off. That evening we went fishing for piranhas which later became part of our family style meal. The journey to get here, the monkeys, and being forced to disconnect from the rest of the world will put this place, deep in the heart of the Amazon, forever deep in mine.

and FYI- Manaus is only a 5 hour flight from Miami, what adventure you take from there is up to you!

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