I haven’t been on a search for buried treasure since my middle school days, when I was obsessed with The Goonies…unless you count last week’s quest for loose change under my couch. Well, following  Monday’s story in The New York Times, “The Pirates Are Puppets, but the Treasure (They Say) Is Real,” I decided I need another adventure filled with pirates, clues, buried treasure, and Baby Ruths. (Everyone knows you can’t go on a treasure hunt without a Baby Ruth!) According to the article, two anonymous artists created a series of pirate-themed videos that share clues as to where they…

Last week, I ventured out to Sin City for my first Coverings 2011 promotional trip. Next year, the tile + stone show will make its first appearance there, and I’m tasked with working with the A+D associations in the area. I know….. such a rough life! Anyhow, enough about my fabulosity. Here are a few fun out takes from the trip. Things started a little rocky. After my plane got a flat tire (I kid you not) and my baggage was temporarily misplaced, I missed my lunchtime meeting. Thankfully, I stumbled across one of my favorite restaurants– which I first…

I’m a New Yorker through and through, but i spent a few years (mostly pining for my hometown) in our fair neighbor to the south, Philadelphia. Though Philly’s lovely, I wasn’t in love with it- except for the gorgeous murals that cover so many of its buildings. The profusion of murals is no coincidence. Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program was founded in 1984 to help wipe out what was, at that time, a graffiti crisis. The concept is simple- if you engage inner city youth in beautifying neighboring buildings, they are less likely to deface them. And it works, too. By…

Before college, the most “international” experiences I had in South Dakota were probably my summers working as a tour guide at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society (Laura still has fans, truly, from all over the world.)  Now that I live in NYC, every day is like being front-row at the Olympics, and I was reminded of this blessing last week when I took a walk with men from 99 different countries…sort of. Returning home from Brooklyn’s IKEA (for its Swedish meatballs, I should add,) I found myself strolling next to Maya Barkai’s “99 Men,” a 500-foot-long art installation highlighting…

It’s not too often that Twitter and poetry are used together as synergistic forces. In his clever (and successful) effort to expand his Twitter reach today, however, screenwriter Jeff Campagna announced his offer to create short poems to Tweeters who have included his handle, @AWUTI, in their “Follow Friday” tweets. Original poems for a #FF? Sweet! (If I were a cartoon character, this is when the twinkle would appear in my eyes.) As I was logged in for our client, Coverings, I took the bait by asking Jeff: He accepted my request, and within minutes: Hilarious! And not only is…

Here are three things that have me convinced our country is in trouble. 1. You can no longer use the word “peacock.” Childrens’ books and kindergarten teachers and even Wikipedia are redirecting us to a more politically (and, it turns out, technically) correct term, the gender-neutral peafowl. Type peacock into Wiki and see what happens, friends. 2. Friendly’s new 2,300-calorie macaroni and cheese quesadilla kids meal. That is just unnecessary. 3. The decline of the handwritten letter. Particularly thank you notes. Maybe it’s because I’m the child of a calligrapher. Or maybe it’s because I love the thrill of opening…

This week V+P was lucky enough to attend the opening night of House Beautiful’s Kitchen of the Year project in Rockefeller Center. This year, the designer was Jeff Lewis, Bravo’s lovable and eccentric Flipping Out star. (For those of you who may not be obsessed with reality shows… Flipping Out follows Jeff’s trials and tribulations while “flipping” houses in the Los Angeles area.) Since our client Benjamin Moore provided Aura for the interior and exterior of the kitchen structure as well as Arborcoat stain for the 1,000 square-foot deck, V+P got to hob-knob with Jeff and his entourage, a few…

As it’s my birthday, July 13 has always been my favorite day of the year (save for the days that I make it to Pinkberry in time for their Happy Hour specials).  And this year was especially great– as Lisa writes below, we held our annual V+P out-and-about on the 13th! The day was a blast. With the 13th being such an important date for me, I’ve decided that this meaningful number deserved its moment in the spotlight. After all, the number that introduces “the teens” is important in so many ways! So here goes…a look at how #13 impacts…

Recently, V+P secured one of more than 25,000 “Keys to the City,” part of a citywide public art project by local artist Paul Ramirez Jonas. Our key came with a little book detailing dozens of spots normally reserved for authorized personnel only. The keys promise to unlock secret boxes, rooms and gates at each spot, offering a little-known slice of New York. We carefully plotted our course, chose a single day (July 13,) and set out to conquer 5 spots in 3 boroughs in 8 hours. Esther, Nicole, Margaux, Josh and I got a steamy start yesterday morning, meeting in…

V+P recently returned from our annual trek to visit our Canadian neighbors in Toronto, and brought back tales of natural disasters, military invasions and G-20 protesters. Yes, all three happened in the three short days we were there to meet with the Canadian journalists that we work with year-round. Arriving just before the start of the G-20 Summit was quite the thrill. Everyone we spoke with was buzzing with news and rumors about what the highly politicized conference would bring to the city. Security was at an all-time high, with police in full riot gear guarding the fenced-off areas in…