Breakfast at... Stylishious

There was a television comedy when I was a little girl that starred Eva Gabor and Eddie Albert and the plot was that the Eva Gabor character says a regretful goodbye to her fashionable Manhattan lifestyle when her husband decided to leave his job as a lawyer and their city life along with it and go and live off the land. (don't worry though- much of the plot is driven by the fact that she has brought Manhattan's fashion with her, to delightful effect) Green Acres was the farm, and the tv show. January was a little like that- plenty of urban glamour, and then... the rich peaty smell of hay. As a girl who grew up in Manhattan, and never turns down and opportunity to visit a farm, this suited me just fine.

Breakfast at... Stylishious.

The new new showroom/playhouse- just below Dexxameni Square

In the middle of the month I went down to Athens to the Stylishious winter bazaar. Alexandra has this dreamy intimate studio filled with her own beautiful designs, some pieces from other Greek designers, and lots of accessories, mirrors, shoes, and smiles. Everyone is in a great mood here. Why would they not be? It's like a slumber party in the world's best closet, with really fun guests, everyone trying on beautiful clothes and modeling them for each other.

A classic 1950's bridal shower sandwich cake suited the mood:

And everyone played Cinderella, trying on Alexandra Katsaiti's fabulous designs:

I don't see the point of looking fabulous on a special occasion every now and then, only to turn back into a pumpkin again, so I got a fabulous kaftan for everyday lounging at home wear, and a very long, very full, very blue coat that makes me feel like yes(!) like a Queen- but one who is all bundled up cozy for the homecoming game, and is not wearing her tiara.

This coat turned out to be the bridge between the Stylishious/Eva Gabor part of the month and the Eddie Albert part of the month. I debuted it at the large Farmer's Market on Saturday. This is not my home market and they do not know me there. It helps that the coat is an eye-catching and not at all unpatriotic blue- guesses as to which party I support abounded (we just had elections here- you may have heard), one with an invitation for coffee. My practical friend, Kiki, dragged me along shouting (it's market- everyone is always shouting) that since I can't vote (that's true I can't), they are wasting their time. The lady with the perfect navel oranges asked me to come closer so she could feel the sleeve. "Is is wool?" she asked. At the cheese vendor, after I bought my goat's milk feta (incidentally goat's milk cheese is usually firmer than sheep's milk feta. I buy it for the flavor, but love the firmer crumbling bite.), he wouldn't let us leave until we tried 4 more things- the Cretan Gruyere, a hard sheep's milk cheese for grating, and a partially dried not very salty fresh cheese- kind of like a Ricotta Salata, like velvet in the mouth. This is a great cheese for when you want a reason to keep drinking more wine- it cleanses and dries the tongue just enough to make each sip quenchingly new. The happy conclusion? Nice things elevate every occasion- for you and everyone around you.

Well, my next occasion was the "Zootechnica" livestock and poultry fair at the Helexpo fairgrounds. My friend Jimmy Adamopoulos of the school of Agriculture invited me. Milk, manure, hay everywhere, fortified salt licks, incubators- this is pre-cooking- as fundamental a part of your meal as your hearth. One last connection to make between the Eva Gabor part of my month and the Eddie Albert part- I love knowing where my food comes from- not vaguely but viscerally- dirty vegetables from the guy who grew them, fresh caught sweet smelling fish. But I never had this same relationship with what I wear- It's so nice! To know who created it, and know it was made locally and responsibly- well it makes it much tastier. Try it!

So next I will share some views of the Livestock and Poultry fair. Yes of course I wore Alexandra's blue coat- you can take Eva Gabor out of Manhattan, but you can't take Manhattan out of Eva Gabor...

... as these show dogs from the fair would be the first to tell you.