I spy with my little eye... Pinterest.

It took me a while to get interested in Pinterest but I was hooked up within a second. My Friend A. was telling me how much she loved it but I was reluctant to go on yet an other social media. I am all for communication but social media for the sake of social media, I don't really get it. So A. managed to change my opinion on Pinterest and get me interested the day she invited me for a dinner party and cooked this amazing and brilliant food "Oh I just found recipes on Pinterest". How? Where? That was all I needed to grab my ipad and check her profile. Five minutes later, I was creating mine. It's a great plateform for mood boards and inspiration.

Click on the Pinterest button on the right of the page for a trip to HOB's world.

I spy with my little eye... a Lady with a Gun.

There is one thing I absolutely love to do, especially if I'm angry and need to release tension, it's shooting (remember this post?). I love to hold guns. They just happen to match my heels perfectly. 

Last week-end, after baking cupcakes, deeting on the beach with the Ladies, I headed to the Jebel Ali Shooting Club with the Chaps for a well deserved Shooting session. Because it's well known: after the beach, comes the shooting. I tried a few things and so far: I am not great at Shotguns, they are too heavy for me, although I was shooting with a man's Shotgun, which might explain my clumsiness (note to self: remember I'm a Lady), I can manage with a 9mm, but what I am good at, without hesitation is the 22cl, probably more appropriate for a Lady. 

Proof:

I spy with my little eye... the best steak in town.

Yes, I dare say it, JW's Steakhouse at the Marriott in Deira does the best steaks in Dubai. For most people it seems like getting out of town, but I am telling you, it's worth it. The interior is all wood and leather, feels like being in the USA, somewhere like Texas, the steaks and fries are absolutely delicious, the wine is perfect, and you want to try  one of the specialities of the house: a steak with a fried slice of foie gras on top of it, also called "Tournedos Rossini" in french. Yes it is a heart attack in a plate, but it is exceptionally tasty and tender... a little piece of heaven ( coming from a lady who usually doesn't fancy foie gras, it means a lot). I always end up eating much more than I should, that's how good it is!

 

For the directions, click here.

I spy with my little eye... the Art Night!

Always very happy to announce a new Art Night! The next one will happen on Wednesday 27th February and will be seconded by the Affordable Night at the XVA Gallery. There is not much to say to describe the ambiance and the buzz, come join the arty crowd at DIFC!

I spy with my little eye... a Rainbow Dress.

Everybody should have a Rainbow Dress in their closet! Mine is by Manoush and I was wearing mine at the opening of Lan Stanley's first solo exhibition at the Galerie Nationale last Thursday.

I spy with my little eye... a new meeting of the DLBC.

The DLBC (Dubai Ladies Book Club) is back! Tonight we will be discussing "The Paris Wife" by Sarah Mc Lain. The book is a write-up of Hemingway's first wife Hadley Richarson experience leaving with the charismatic yet unstable author. The story takes place in the 1920's and takes the reader to Chicago, Paris, but also Toronto, Milan, Cologne, Pamplona... through the adventures and difficulties of the couple. I enjoyed the story as it echoed with one of my experiences but the writing was to contemplative and descriptive for my taste. This last point could easily be explained by the fact that the main character has a very, very passive role.
My favourite quote? "Still, I don't trust a man I haven't seen tight." in Hemingway's mouth.
I am looking forward to hear what the ladies thought of it.

I spy with my little eye... a stylish time at COS.

Friday was the opening of the first COS at Dubai Mall. They had the brilliant idea of hiring 3 stylists to help us with the collection, collection that, by the way, is absolutely gorgeous. I usually like COS for the simplicity and clacissism of their lines, but often find myself struggling to find the right pieces, so having Farah (from Dresscode by Farah) and Lisa (from In between the Contrasts) to help me out made everything easier. I had a great time exploring a certain collar with Farah. Thank you to COS for hosting us, thank you to Farah and Lisa for their patience and creativity.

To discover the COS collection, click here.

I spy with my little eye... the opening of the first COS shop in Dubai.

COS is landing in Dubai, at the Dubai Mall to be more precise! My French taste does appreciate the simplicity of their style and the clacissicism in the structure of their line. I like how each piece has this architectural vibe, they usually bear very well because of the quality and choice of the fabrics and simple, straightforward shapes. They are perfect for work and immediatly give kind of a New Yorkian twist to any outfit. Looking forward to discovering the shop!

For more information on COS, click here.

I spy with my little eye... Lan Stanley's show at the Galerie Nationale.

Yesterday I headed to the well known Alkersal Avenue for Lan Stanley's first solo exhibition in Dubai. Being the sweetheart that she is, she was a great host, and I enjoyed discovering the evolution of her work through the years. My rainbow and I had a great time, so a big thank you to the artist and the galerie for hosting us!

I spy with my little eye... lunch at the Garden Center.

When stuck in Al Quoz, have a break at the Garden Center. This is one of the little hidden gems of the area, and at that time of the year, it's just perfect for an outside fresh lunch! Thai Pumpkin soup and Zucchini loaf with lemon icing, simple and healthy. The place doesn't offer a huge range of choice but there are usually 2 salads, 2 soups, 4 or 5 sandwiches and plenty of cookies and muffins. I love the veranda and how light the place is. Perfect for a light lunch with the Ladies!

For more information, click here.

I spy with my little eye... a solo Exhibition by Lan Stanley.

Join us tonight at the Galerie Nationale at the Alkersal Avenue in Al Quoz for Lan Stanley's first solo exhibition in Dubai. Born in Vietnam, Lan lived in the USA, in the UK, Hong Kong and now Dubai. This well travelled artist stayed very sensitive to her roots, "Spring Sunlight" will be showing paintings of traditionnal Vietnamese celebration scenes with dancing, and singing.

For more information, click here.

I spy with my little eye... a Drawing Art Show.

"Catching the Moon" is Jamm's launching art show in Dubai, and it's happening tonight in Al Quoz 1, near the Alkersal Avenue, street 8, Warehouse 11, Building 19. Jamm is a regional Art consultancy that focuses on promoting Arab and Iranian artists in the Western World and vice versa, kind of a cultural diplomatic organisation. This first show exposes the work of Farideh Lashai who's an Iranian painter.She did a lot of video work so the concept behind this exhibition is to explore the way her drawings and sketches travel through the different media, following the story of a rabbit playing with his reflection in the water: from paper to video. "Farideh’s work is celebrating the fool. The fool is the rabbit, the artist that hunts the shadow, the dream, but a dream that affects and transforms reality and creates a reality of its own."

I personally love the invite, reminds me of the "Ernest and Celestine" children book collection, my favourite.

For more information, click here.

I spy with my little eye... a fun art show.

Love love love the current art show at the XVA Gallery: Paper, by artists Anish Kapoor, Walid Siti, Imran Channa, Mohsem Ahmadvand and Debjani Bhardwaj. Reminds me of being little and practicing origami!

For more info on the exhibition, click here.

I spy with my little eye... an evening with Roger Vivier and Ines de la Fressange.

Last week I had the chance to spend an evening in Paris. Or at least it felt like Paris in this garden at the One and Only on the Palm, and believe me, I earned this little moment in heaven. I started at the One and Only onshore. I thought I would take the boat. I checked with the hotel team, I checked with the Jetty team, I waiting half an hour to be told that the boat was full and I should wait for the next one. I (used my eyelashes) kindly explained that by the time the next boat arrived, my press event would be over, so the captain took me onboard "at his own risk", that were his words. No iceberg in sight, we were lucky enough to make it to the palm side of the One and Only (20min of suspens as you can imagine). Once there I was explained that I had to take a buggie to get to the main hotel (and then a scooter and a skate board, just kidding). You can easily imagine my relief when I finally pushed the huge door of the garden to find shoes everywhere, and a very accessible Ines. The Roger Vivier collection was all satin and bright colours with a baroque touch, very Carrie Bradshaw in Paris, I love it. And what a pleasure to host a real "titi parisien" in Dubai! I am talking about Ines here. You may not all be familiar with the concept of the "titi parisien" so let me explain, it's a french expression for people who were born and raised in Paris, the best example would be Gavroche, they have that big mouth and quick responses to everything, they yalk the truth, don't care about what people think and usually have that french "je ne sais quoi" style. This is exactly the idea I had from Ines and I wasn't wrong, she is stunning and will talk to you about her addiction for cigarette without a hint of reserve "oh well who cares!". I loved her instantly. So I want to thank the press team, here in Dubai and in Paris for bringing more style and chic shoes to Dubai!

Happy to finish the post with the lovely Lisa's smile! Check out her blog here.

And to have a look at the gorgeous Roger Vivier's collection, click here.

I spy with my little eye... a stylish Cocktail.

It's a busy night in Dubai, I, personally, will be meeting with the elegant Ines de la Fressange, brand ambassador and Bruno Frissoni, creative director of the talented Roger Vivier, at a cocktail hosted by the One and Only tonight. I am very much looking forward to this evening of Parisian style. Chic shoes is definitively the program for this evening!

Have a look at Ine little diaries here.

I spy with my little eye... a new Art Show.

If you are feeling arty tonight, head towards the Cuadro Gallery in DIFC to discover their new show: "Here Today - A record of urban impermanence" featuring artists, Vikram Divecha, Sinisa Vlajkovic, and Sami Al Turki. "In response to landscape being altered and architecture demolished to pave way for glossy newness there is an rapidly fading sense of what "is" Drawing on an almost exisistentialist faculty, arists attempt to shed light on the world as they know it". An urban show that promises to give us some interesting thinking on our fast paced lives in Dubai, or Gotham City as I like to call it.

For more information, click here.

I spy with my little eye... a jazzy Night.

If you feel like shaking things up, head to the Ivy at Emirates Towers tonight for a jazzy ladies night. My Ex Wardrobe will be there to welcome you with cocktails, nibbles, good moods, and new partnerships. You will, of course, find my personal fave eyewear in town: Specsaddicts, the sweet team from the Cure etc...

For more info, click here.

I spy with my little eye... a Parisian woman's right to wear Trousers.

The French government had to remind the Paris population that yes, women are now allowed to wear trousers, or more precisely: to "dress like men". I can understand your surprise, I am sure many of you didn't know that up until recently, Parisian ladies were forbidden to wear trousers by law. In 1800, a law text was voted, stating that any woman who wanted to dress like a man should apply for a police certificate to get an authorisation. The purpose of this law was to control women who started to take "liberty" too seriously and demand the right to perform men's jobs and wear men's clothes. In 1930, this text was used to take back Violette Morris Olympic medal because she insisted on wearing pants. This law was never really suppressed but isn't applied nowadays obviously because it goes against the principle of equality. I just love the fact that the French government felt they had to remind France about women' right to wear trousers. Liberte, egalite, fraternite! And vive Marlene!

I spy with my little eye... an inaugural Parisian Art Show.

If you are in Paris on Thursday 7th February, do not miss the opening of the Perception Park gallery 20 rue Domat, 75005 Paris. The eclectic artist Celia Nkala is opening her Park of ideas, creations, projects, objects, talks, experiences, constructions... She will be showing pieces by Ludicive Sibelle, Keen Souhlal, Coraline de Chiara, Estelle Vernay, Sandra Aubry, Sebastien Bourg and Taizo Yamamoto. You can expect conceptual conversations, inspired minds, creativity, absurdity, surprises and art, lots of art. I wish I could attend so I count on my Parisian friends and readers to represent HOB.

For more information, click here.
To visit Perception Park's website, click here.

I spy with my little eye... a Library opening.

Tonight, pass by Safa Park on your way back from work for some outdoor culture! The Archive is opening their space in the Park and I love their concept already: " The Archive will be the first specialised library of its kind in the region, dedicated to Middle Eastern and North African Art Literature, in an attempt to promote the heavy artistic literary of the region and its magnificent transformation into the 21st century.". The idea is to provide a free space for people to share ideas, conferences, talks, book clubs, or just enjoy a good book. The place offers a coffee as well as one of the most peaceful parks of Dubai. Come discover this unique space tonight at Safa park, Gate 5.

For more information, click here.

I spy with my little eye... the Superbowl.

Yesterday I had an american evening, Superbowl baby! It was one of those nights, when chameleon Dubai just turns into Paris, London or Vienna... Well yesterday Dubai was New York. Bier, ribs, Beyonce and donuts. It was loud and fun and I still have no idea how american football works. All I got is that the very big players (hello testosterone) have to run like the wind with the ball to the other side of the playground, which is made trickier by the fact that the other team is allowed to jump on them and drag them into the mud. That's my comprehension of american football and it took 2 New Yorkian friends explanations to get me to that level of apprehension. That being said, I enjoyed a good burger and was happy to stuff my face with ribs... well Parisian or not, when you are attending an american evening, you've got to do it well.