On The Mark

 MOTH's making a last ditch effort finishing off the reno of our large upstairs Home Office. It's looking good, but with no heating, window or floor coverings, it's bitterly cold up there.....not a very conducive atmosphere for drying paint. A weekend away in the heat of a New York summer looks good & The Mark, on the corner of Madison Avenue & 77th St. is the place.

Designer Jacques Grange has done a pretty nifty job I reckon. Light & airy, I'll take the Mark Premier Suite thanks.

Fabulous soft furnishings in the sitting room & a custom kitchen specially designed by Piero Lissoni for Boffi with kitchen appliances from Gaggenau, Miele and Sub-Zero will do just fine.



Soft, squishy sofas just perfect for flopping into after a hard days shopping down town.

MOTH prefers a straight backed chair these days for his crook back - this one looks just right.

Breakfast in the suite please, saves having to get out of the trackie dacks for another hour.

The best mini-bar I've seen in yonks.

Couldn't ask for a nicer bedroom.

You can tell a lot about a hotel by the bedside tables they keep, this one passes with tops marks, pardon the pun!

Lots of room on this vanity bar, I do detest juggling all my stuff on a hotel bathroom cabinet meant for pygmies.

Not Port Power colours here on the bathroom floor, but I'll forgive them this one lapse.

Commodious shower - I DO love that word!

The Mark has collabored with stroller manufacturer Maclaren, to offer guests a fleet of custom-designed strollers ideal for a walk through Central Park or shopping along Madison Avenue. How thoughtful!

With Central Park a bone's throw away, The Mark would welcome puppy Lulu, who after a warm greeting from the pet-loving door staff, would have her own comfortable dog bed by Molly Mutt, signature water bowls and a custom placemat. It's a dog's life!

If ever there was time to try out my new bionic knee, it would be here. A spin on one of The Mark's Republic Bikes would definitely put it through its paces - the bikes incorporate elements of the hotel's Jacques Grange design including a striped chain case and monogrammed bells, naturally.

As MOTH's too cheap to eat out in restaurants twice a day, the Concierge can organize a picnic in Central Park, created by celebrated chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The gourmet picnic basket includes all the picnic essentials – blanket, cutlery and condiments. As a finishing touch, The Mark’s chef concierge, Isabelle Hogan, has curated an illustrated bike map to help guests navigate Central Park. As MOTH gets lost just going to the supermarket at home, this will be essential.

This place looks so good, we may never make it home to finish off the painting. It's the weekend dear Hedgies, so go enjoy!

All images: The Mark

Time To Start My Chrissie Engine

OK it's time to rev up my Christmas spirit! I'm on my second day of vacation, so dashed into the City with a long, long list, amazingly completed it all in under 3 hours, hurtled back up the Freeway, stopped off at The Stirling pub for a glass of bubbles & a mince pie to celebrate the successful completion of my mission & have plonked everything down on the sofa for Later to deal with. No-one else is home & the peace & quiet is magical, with just puppy Lulu & this year's Playlist of Millie's Worst & Most Cringeworthy Chrissie music loudly blaring softly playing in the background.

Thanks to everyone who left comments & voted in the previous post. It seems dear Hedgies we fell about 999,955 votes short of the 1,000,000 I was hoping to use as a bargaining tool in my network submission, but anywho........ What was most gratifying however is that Option #2 (Yes - as long as the blog disappears) to the question Should The Laurel Hedge become a reality TV show in 2012? received ZERO votes - yay!

I'll be back tomorrow for my last post of the year, in the meantime, I need to brace myself as MOTH the Christmas Grinch is due to make his annual appearance any moment now. My spies have forewarned me that he's heading up the Freeway now in the truck. It's easily recognizable as it's the only one without tinsel wrapped around it's bull bar!!

Image: From the lovely Rosemary at Content In A Cottage

A Sweet MOTH

With work being totally responsible for me now actually having lost the will to live (MOTH reckons trying to deal with this particular group of clients is akin to herding cats!) & a major family issue that needed me to hang the Dr. Millie Family Therapist shingle out urgently, it's been a tough, tough, tough, tough week. I'll share the family thing with you when I can get my head around it & I've lowered the level in the vodka bottle a bit more. MOTH's been his normal 'Deal it with it & move on Mills' self, but this morning he rendered me speechless.

'Hey Mills, I noticed Balhannah By Design have got a VIP shoppers night on tonight. They had a new container of stuff from France arrrive last week & one from Belgium on Monday. Mon's had to hire out the Balhannah Village Hall temporarily to fit everything in. If youse like, I can come home from work early & we can go up there together. They've got free grog, free gift wrapping & 10% off everything. Would that cheer youse up?'

Would it ever babe, fire up the Millie-mobile & let's go! Oh & if you or the girls are reading this Mon, for goodness sake if MOTH offers to man the gift wrapping table & gives you a story about his prowess in that Department - DON'T LET HIM!!!

Images: Balhannah By Design

A Change Is Coming

Over the years many of you have blogged about the take-up of online shopping - how it's affected your shopping rituals, online vs. bricks & mortar, etc. Last year I did about 50-60% of my Chrissie shopping online, this year I've already knocked over about 70% of The List & I'm yet to enter a High Street store. Returning to the full-time work grind this year has probably influenced this to a degree, no more glorious no-work Fridays & Mondays to leisurely wander around the stores. It's been a natural progression, quite unintentional on my part, but I have set myself some online ground rules.

Use reputable Aussie stores that have a retail outlet with a great online presence (note to David Jones - you guys REALLY need to get your act together with a much more comprehensive online catalogue than your current woeful offering!), check the gift wrapping option each & every time, not pay more than $10 delivery per order & use a direct debit facility or move on if it's not offered.

Are things changing at your place this Silly Season? Are you hitting the Buy Now button more than last year? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

ADDENDUM: Thanks to Jac for reminding me that MOTH needs to do his 2011 Christmas Gift Wrapping post. For those new to The Hedge, here's what you can expect. Last year's post didn't eventuate 'cos The Ten Network didn't cough up to televise the 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Australia. Crumbs I hope they've seen the light of day this year & done the deal with the US network or he'll be impossible to live with!

Hand Me The Vitamin D

This lovely image from Cote Sud is a must have here at The Hedge today, to remind me that somewhere in the world today the weather is warm & the sun is shining! I spent the week in Sydney at an Oncology conference & the city turned on it's wettest July week in 60 years for me. It was truly miserable, I've never seen Sydney so grey, damp & unwelcoming. It was an interesting conference & the scientific presentations outstanding.

The highlight for me was the final presentation given by Dr. Paul Stalley an Orthopaedic Surgeon from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. He discussed his paediatric osteosarcoma patients & the journey they & their families undertake with this wicked disease. His very moving & salient advice to the health professionals involved in the care of these patients & their parents had most of us in the auditorium reaching for the tissues. A delayed flight back to Adelaide meant that I didn't stumble in the door until nearly 11p.m. last night, so I'm weary & battle-scarred this morning. A freezing, misty, wet Sunday in the Hills isn't doing much to lighten my mood either. I figured my Vit. D levels must be at an all-time low, so have attacked the capsules this morning in an attempt to elevate the levels to a respectable norm.

It was a treat to open the Sunday papers in front of the fire this morning & see the lovely Miss Kimberlee from Brown Button giving her take on the huge growth of online shopping here in Australia. I know I've embraced it vigorously & our dear friend Vicki Archer recently made some very interesting observations over at French Essence about her experiences. Even that old IT dinosaur MOTH is doing it, much to the family's amazement. So I reckon with that shining endorsement, online retail therapy has finally come of age. How about you? Any thoughts & more to the point, any great recommendations??

Image: Cote Sud