An Abundant Life - Hudson River Views

A week ago an Artist friend of mine who I hadn't seen in a while asked if I was available to meet her for a gallery show in Jersey City. She invited another Artist friend along who I asked for a suggestion for a place to have dinner, and she suggested several places. Her husband had recommended one of them to me before, and I hadn't had a chance to try it yet. When I went online to look at the menu and I saw how good everything sounded and that it had outdoor seating with beautiful Hudson River views, that was the place where I wanted to go. 

The day that we had planned was a lovely one, with temperatures in the low 80's and a breeze that kept things comfortable. Hudson & Co. was a wonderful choice, and after the gallery we walked there easily, finding a table with beautiful views. We were lucky that we had planned an early dinner because just after we arrived it began to get very busy. The food was inventive and excellent, very fresh and creative ingredients and combinations. The cocktail list looked wonderful, but I decided on wine and the list was full of great choices for every palate. The service was as excellent as the food and our time there flew by in conversation, with enjoyable flavors and tastes and a beautiful view.

Jersey City is a wonderful place, and during this past year I've felt even more blessed to live within walking distance of so many beautiful and interesting places. Just having the gorgeous waterfront walkways is something that makes every day better, and with great places to visit for great meals life feel much sweeter. Now that the days are getting warmer, having a place like Hudson & Co. to visit is a gift, with the very special menu items and the very special views that make it a place where everything feels better.

Hudson & Co.

3 2nd Street

Jersey City, New Jersey

https://www.hudsonandconj.com

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - A Treasure Of Wearable Art

I met the Belgian Couture Designer Jean Paul Knott through the Artist, Designer, Photographer and Producer Eugene Galles one afternoon in New York City. Jean Paul had just arrived in New York to show his first collection for Fashion Week and he needed a model. Eugene called me and asked me what size I wore, and as I have never really paid attention to sizing and just wear what is comfortable, including often wearing men's tailored clothing, I started to explain the long version of how I dress. He cut me off politely and asked if I had time to come up to meet a friend of his, and that is how I first saw and wore the beautiful couture designs of Jean Paul Knott.

The friendship that resulted from that first meeting changed my life, taking me to Paris for Fashion Week for future collections and introducing me to Artists, Designers, Photographers, Stylists, the highest level Buyers for boutiques and major department stores, and top Editors for every major fashion magazine. For several years, twice a year I'd meet Jean Paul when he came to New York with his new collections, and the way I began to understand clothing and fashion and design has affected the way I shop and dress ever since.

Recently I saw a post on Instagram that Jean Paul has a new store in Brussels. He has been in different locations over the years and has also collaborated in spaces, but there was something about this new store that caught my eye in a way that brought me back to his earlier collections when we first met. Jean Paul is an Artist, and my favorite designs of his are those that are one-off statement pieces, some that I have in my own collection now. His ready to wear is always lovely and striking, with classic lines that take a detour into his creative vision within their simplicity. But it's the true couture, those pieces that I have always felt could be hung on a wall when they are not being worn, that for me are his most exciting works of art.

Beautiful clothing is something to be treasured. The way it feels to be dressed when the material and the cut and the stitching are of the highest quality is an experience like no other. Walking into a room wearing one of Jean Paul Knott's designs makes a statement that wherever you are is the place to be. The touch of the fabric, the way it moves and drapes, draws attention to the wearer in all of the right ways. The clothing is seemingly very simple, but it is the years of experience and knowledge that Jean Paul Knott has that takes the designs to a much higher level. Before starting his own collection he had worked as an Assistant to Yves Saint Laurent, and his dedication and craftsmanship show in every fold and drape and cut and stitch. Clothing like this is wearable art, and it lifts the wearer up to experience it.

With Jean Paul Knott

In New York City

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Daily Specials

When I was in Niantic with some friends a few weeks ago, one of the many nice surprises to find there was a restaurant that had a menu that was so full of special selections every day that it made every day feel special. When I first sat down to have a meal at the Black Sheep at the recommendation of the Inn where I was staying, I was impressed by the sound of things I was reading and became a fan as soon as the first flavors started arriving at the table. The cocktails were inventive and lovely and delicious, the variety of foods well thought out, creative and blended perfectly with each other. The first night I was there, after having a martini, I decided to have a Guinness because I saw one arriving at another table and though it has been a favorite for many years I hadn't had one in a while. When I returned on another night I looked over the beer selection and saw that they had some impressive choices, and I went on an adventure of tasting some of the most flavorful and freshest brews from their carefully curated list.

Great clam chowder is one of the things I always use to decide on whether I would recommend or return to a restaurant and this one makes a fine one. The Bacon Lobster Avocado and Tomato sandwich was a deliciously welcome surprise and the Lobster Truffle Mac and Cheese was something so enjoyable that my friends and I ordered both time we were there. With large chunks of lobster and a very flavorful mac and cheese it was comfort food and an epicurean delight. Our first night we sat indoors because it was later in the evening when we arrived and the nights were still chilly, and on the second night we arrived earlier and sat outdoors. Both times we felt well taken care of and so comfortable, that I really felt like I could make this a regular place if I lived closer by. It was such a great find and a place I'll definitely want to return to whenever I'm passing by that way again.  

The Black Sheep

247 Main Street

Niantic, Connecticut

http://theblacksheepniantic.com/

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Art Collections

I met Katie Duffy McGeehan a few years ago when I was giving a talk at the Hoboken Collaborative Art  Gallery HoBart on social media marketing and using social media for business in the Art world. We kept in touch and then a little while later I ran into her in Hoboken at an opening that Ricardo Roig had in his gallery on 1st Street. He had some of her sculptures in the windows and when he and I were talking and I stopped by I recognized them immediately because of the very specific feeling and vision she has that created these small masterpieces. I have a feeling whenever I see Artists' work, whether or not it is unique to them or something that they are trying to emulate or copy another Artist. Not that it's a bad thing to admire and emulate, but I always enjoy most of all the artwork that I see that is a unique and very personal expression. I loved these small sculptural pieces of Katie's and I loved seeing them in Ricardo's window, and then a little while later I saw that she had some paintings in a vintage shop a few doors away and I went to her opening there.

Katie is such a lovely person that it's fun just to be around her. When you add her artwork into the mix it becomes a very special kind of party. After seeing some of her smaller watercolor pieces at the vintage shop Vintage on First, I stopped by a street fair on First Street one day and saw a larger one on an easel outside. I feel in love with it immediately and it was such a very special piece that I carried it home that day to add to my own personal collection. I work with so many Artists and I love so much work that I see, but this piece was one of those rare ones that I knew I had to have. Since that time I've seen several that she had created in this same series, but this one spoke to me so clearly that day and continues to delight me every day after.

It's so exciting to watch the work of an Artist over time, and seeing the work of Kate Duffy McGeehan since I first met her until now has been a wonderful adventure. I look forward to seeing what she will create next and am inspired by the changing vision that she shares.

Kate Duffy McGeehan

On First Street

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Ancient Treasures

When I was in Niantic, Connecticut a few weeks ago for a business trip, I stayed an extra day to explore with one of the friends who drove me up there. Her husband needed to work while we were on the trip, and when I asked the hotel where we were staying if he could continue to use an area with WiFi after we checked out they had been kind enough to oblige us, and while he continued on his work day his wife and I went exploring in town. We had planned to eat ice cream all day because there were several homemade ice cream places, but most of them were closed either for the season or just for the day, so we stopped into one that was open and went shopping in the antique stores and boutiques for the rest of the afternoon. It was a beautiful day, with really perfect weather for a stroll around, and when we walked into C.E.L. Fine Collectibles we knew we'd found something extra special.

Niantic is a wonderful place to visit, and C.E.L. Fine Collectibles is one of the reasons why. The owner is so knowledgeable and friendly, and his store is filled with rare pieces that have so much history and beauty that it feels like being in a very special kind of museum. One of the first things I saw when we walked in was a Paleolithic Arrowhead from the time period 2.5-11,600 BC that was marked as having its origin in the Saharan Desert. Described as an Ancient Artifact Custom Jewelry, it had been made into a lovely necklace with amber colored crystaline beads and thin copper wire carefully wrapped around the arrowhead just enough to secure it artfully without hiding its shape and the fine craftmanship that had gone into creating the arrowhead all those thousands of years ago. It's in many ways difficult to even think that this piece has lasted all these years and that I can wear it as a necklace, and such a wonderful experience to find it in that lovely shop.

After having such a beautiful time in this lovely town I'm sure I'll be back again, and C.E.L. Fine Collectibles will be one place I'll look forward to visiting again.

An Ancient Artifact

From C.E.L. Fine Collectibles

Niantic, Connecticut

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Light In The Darkness

I've written about the beautiful Artist Sandra DeSando in the pages before, and when I heard she was having a solo show and began to read about it, I knew I needed to write more about her and this new project and the extraordinary work she does. Originally she had planned to have some earlier pieces be a part of this show, but then as she began to work on the concept of the installation she decided to create work that was completely new. Titled "Puzzlement", this new show contains work that is a reflection of her experiences during this past year, the emotional shock and fear and trauma of what was happening in the world around her seen through the lens of an Artist who was trying to make sense of it all as life unfolded and the world as we knew it was suddenly collapsing all around us.

The pieces in this new show are powerful as her work always is. Multi-paneled paintings that work together beautifully while standing apart and at a distance to tell their stories, much as we have all felt and maintained a distance from so many of the people in our lives who we at one time would have found ourselves in close proximity to. These piece are her exploration of her own experiences, and they also reflect the elements of the natural world and philosophical musings and questions that are part of the Artists consciousness.

Sandra DeSando's work is always extraordinarily beautiful, with motion and lines and colors that emerge from her own understanding of the space on the canvas and how it speaks to and through her. This solo show is a part of the outreach of her own unique creative expression and the contemplation of larger world themes as well as more personal ones. It's inspiring to see this work and to read about the emotions and questions and inner musings that arose during the dark and confusing days of this past year and the way that the Artist's vision has brought this work into the light.

Sandra DeSando

At Dvora Gallery

A Pop Up Exhibition

From The Drawing Rooms

Victory Hall

The Oakman Residences

60 First Street

Jersey City, New Jersey

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Time Away

I had the opportunity to go to Niantic, Connecticut, this past week and to stay at The Inn At Harbor Hill, a Bed and Breakfast Inn located on the harbor. It was a trip that was partly for business, and I had asked two friends to join me so that when I was not busy with the business we could have some fun together. When I found the Inn At Harbor Hill online, it looked lovely, and when I called to make the reservation and had some questions, the woman who spoke with me was so kind and cordial and friendly and helpful and professional that I told my friends on the drive down how wonderful she was and that she could be teaching classes on customer service. When we arrived we met another member of the staff who was wonderful too, and when he showed up our rooms we were so happy to see that they were comfortable and well designed, roomy and pleasant, with all the amenities anyone would need. 

In addition to the lovely surroundings, the staff were all so pleasant and helpful. I kept finding myself thanking them and telling them how much I appreciated their excellent customer service, and truly excellent customer service it was. A place can be charming and lovely, it can have everything you need, but it's the customer service that makes all the difference, creating a memorable stay and a place where you want to return to.

The Inn At Harbor Hill is a gem. Each morning there is a lovely homemade breakfast with delicious coffee or tea, and my friends and I were able to find a table by the window overlooking the harbor. The town of Niantic has a main street with excellent restaurants and antique shops and boutiques within walking distance from the Inn, and there is also a nursery with indoor and outdoor plants and a farmers market along with specialty foods. It was such a pleasant stay at the Inn At Harbor Hill that I'm already thinking about how soon I can plan a trip back for a visit.

The Inn At Harbor Hill

60 Grand Street

Niantic, Connecticut

https://innharborhill.com

The Captain Polly

Blessings,

Jannie Susan