Josh Kilmer-Purcell's Blog, page 57
February 4, 2014
Rooms With a View!
Want to visit NYC next year? If you can make it there…
We’ve got a luxury hotel experience for you to win!!
For the past year, we’ve been working with the luxurious Andaz hotel to develop the Beekman 1802 “Fresh Air” Collection. Now when guests stay at these award-winning properties, they can leave feeling more beautiful than when they arrived with Beekman 1802 products “made fresh in upstate NY” in every room.
The soap and skin care line boasts only natural ingredients, which means no use of parabens, banned phthalates, petroleum, paraffin, diethanolamine or mineral oil. All products are cruelty-free and made with purified water. Product packaging is made of 100% recycled material.
To celebrate the launch of the Beekman 1802 Fresh Air Collection, Andaz is giving away a weekend stay at each of their NYC properties!
The prize includes:
Two nights in a luxury suite
Dinner in one of the hotel’s extraordinary restaurants
Breakfast in bed
Here’s what you have to do to enter:
In the comments section below, tell us about a “hidden gem” (a restaurant, a hiking trail, a tourist attraction, etc) you’ve discovered in NYC or in travels in other parts of New York State. (If you haven’t been to NYS, simply tell us about a hidden gem you’ve heard about or would like to visit..)
Two winners will be chosen by random drawing among all the entries on February 14, 2014.
So start spreading the news!
About Andaz 5th Avenue
Andaz 5th Avenue offers attentive, uncomplicated service in a relaxed, sophisticated environment designed to accommodate guests’ personal preferences and style. Perfectly positioned to experience the dynamic energy of the locale, Andaz faces the iconic New York Public Library and is steps away from Bryant Park in the heart of Midtown. This Tony-Chi designed property features 184 well-appointed guest rooms starting at 322 square feet. The property boasts 47 spacious suites, many with private balconies or landscaped terraces. Andaz offers a range of on-site amenities, including 6,400 square feet of event space in Apartment 2E, complimentary Wi-Fi and mini bars with non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, and a 24-hour gym. Guests can enjoy seasonal, farm-to-table cuisine at the shop and unwind in a convivial atmosphere at the bar downstairs. For additional information about Andaz 5th Avenue please visit www.andaz5thavenue.com.
About Andaz Wall Street
Experience the rebirth of Lower Manhattan at the only hotel situated on iconic Wall Street. Andaz is devoted to providing attentive, uncomplicated service and indulgent amenities. The David Rockwell designed property features 253 guestrooms starting at a generous 345 square feet, making them some of the largest hotel rooms in New York City. Andaz offers a variety of on-site amenities, including over 10,000 square feet of event space, complimentary wifi and mini bars with non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, a 24-hour gym, and The SPA. Patrons can enjoy seasonal, farm-to-table cuisine at Wall & Water and sample classic pre-prohibition era cocktails at Bar Seven Five. For additional information about Andaz Wall Street please visit www.andazwallstreet.com.
About Andaz
Each Andaz is a boutique-inspired hotel where guests experience a vibrant yet uncomplicated atmosphere geared towards today’s individual business and leisure travelers. Andaz hotels feature a unique and innovative service model that breaks down traditional hotel barriers with signature elements, including Andaz lounges, which are open, communal settings replacing the traditional lobby, Andaz Studios, which are creative and inspiring spaces for small meetings and gatherings, and Andaz Hosts, who assist guests with everything from check-in to recommending and making restaurant reservations. Room rates include minibar snacks and non-alcoholic drinks, local telephone calls and Wi-Fi.
February 2, 2014
Into the Wild
Gartending for the Gridiron
“What’s a Super Bowl?” That’s a good question Klaus. The Klaus who I reference is none other than Klaus the Soused Gnome and the question is very much on the lips of most people on the planet of football-land or is it America? Klaus isn’t quite sure, but in the absence of practical reasoning and the fact that Klaus’s brain is ensconced in terra-cotta, a sort of a stand-off is occurring. So the question is, what is a Super Bowl is not too far from the mark.
Klaus has been up in New England for the past few weeks. Where it gets dark early and people do more than day drink. They also night drink! Klaus went up to Portland, Maine and also Tamworth, New Hampshire. He made some new friends along the way and shared his recipes for staying warm in the face of brutally downward temperatures. Sports are important up in New England, especially since it gets dark early and cold without much to do. Of course that’s where the sports come in. You need something to do while hoisting warming drinks.
Klaus is going to be watching the Puppy Bowl instead of the Super Bowl because he identifies with puppies more than he understands American football. In Klaus’s native Germany, garden gnomes are very familiar with puppies. They are less familiar with footballs. It’s just a fact of life. Right Klaus? Well, the assignment was to write about the Super Bowl and not the Puppy Bowl, regardless of what Klaus is going to do. Since Klaus will be sitting out the Super Bowl outside should he garner a magic Super Bowl ticket, he would have to be drinking a hot beverage to keep his butt warm. That hot beverage is named the Touchdown Toddy. It is also known, as a bench warmer because that’s what Klaus will be doing during the Super Bowl. He’s going to be warming the bench because if Klaus goes out onto the field, well let’s just say it would be all bad things for Klaus. He is made of Terra Cotta after all.
The Touchdown Toddy, like all warming drinks is guaranteed to warm the bench if you have too many other them. Standing upright may become a thing of the past. Crawling will be another way of moving around and slithering might become your movement of choice. It is going to snow on Super Bowl Sunday, so another slithering person wouldn’t be too out of place. Just keep the slithering away from Klaus. He’s very particular about his feet. Let’s just say he has a thing about feet.
The Touchdown Toddy is not a footbath, nor is it a finger bowl. It is a very potent drink made with local rum, (Busted Barrel from Jersey Artisan Distillery in Fairfield, NJ) and another New Jersey product, apple cider that is heated. I also used another venerable New Jersey product. That’s Laird’s Apple Brandy. The 100 Proof, Bottled in Bond version will do just fine. There is also a deep sweetness provided by a combination of baking spices woven into simple syrup from Royal Rose (Cardamom and Clove) and finally there is a pinch of cayenne pepper to give a bit of sting with all that sweet. Klaus is sure that if you drink two or more of them, all the fight will be out of you. As in most of Klaus’s concoctions there are bitters. For this Klaus chose the classic, Angostura. Because you should be able to buy some in your supermarket and you can stop bellyaching that the ingredients are too exotic for you.
The teams.
Klaus isn’t quite sure who is playing in the Super Bowl. He said to fix him another drink and he’ll look at the sports pages in the newspaper. Oh wait; Klaus is German, not American. The sports pages are in English. He cannot read them. Tough luck Klaus.
Another drink for you, Klaus?
Klaus?
The Touchdown Toddy aka The Bench Warmer…
Ingredients:
2 oz. Busted Barrel Dark Rum
½ oz. Laird’s Apple Brandy (Bottled in Bond/100 Proof)
4 oz. Hot apple cider
½ oz. Royal Rose Simple Syrup of Cardamom and Clove
Mere pinch of cayenne pepper… smaller than that!
2-3 shakes Angostura Bitters
Softly whipped cream (none of that in a can stuff)
Preparation:
Heat the apple cider to just below boiling
Add the Royal Rose Simple Syrup to dissolve
Add the Busted Barrel Dark Rum and the Laird’s Apple Brandy, stir
Pour into a heatproof mug
Add the softly whipped cream
Add the Angostura Bitters
Add a tiny, tiny pinch of cayenne pepper over the top and drizzle with a bit of the Royal Rose Simple Syrup for color
Klaus thinks you should have three or more… right Klaus?
January 30, 2014
5 Beautiful Things
Taping Face
I was about 14 when I first discovered that Scotch tape could be used as a form of plastic “surgery”: an upturned nose, impossibly peaked eyebrows, squished-up lips and a couple of wonky eyelids could be had for the price of a few strips of tape. The laughter that ensued was just as cheap, mind you, but my family couldn’t help it. I aimed to look ridiculous and succeeded marvelously.
We’ve likely all tried this at least once in our lives. (If you haven’t, now is your chance!) Photographer Wes Naman has elevated the experience to new heights of artistry with a series of 33 portraits. I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I figured since many of us are experiencing a case of the winter blues, why not muster up a few silly giggles. Below are five “beautiful” Scotch tape portraits. Click here to see Wes Naman’s complete series, as well as his other work.
To see more of Wes’ work, click here
January 29, 2014
Them and Us
We have been so fortunate to see all parts of the world and no matter what city or pasture we find ourselves in, what never fails to strike us is how similar we all really are.
There may be some language and cultural variations, but we have the same basic human needs, human wants, and human desires. If more people had the opportunity to see other parts of the world (or even took the time to see other parts of their own neighborhoods), we can’t help but think there would be a lot more peace and understanding.
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. ~ Marcel Proust
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What was the most profound thing you realize on your last trip? Tell us in the comments section below.
January 27, 2014
See Jane Run
“To live will be an awfully big adventure.”― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
As many of you know, we recently traveled to the Samburu region of Northern Kenya. We did so to meet up with our friend (and Josh’s former boss and mentor) Jane Newman. Jane is one of the most inspiring persons we’ve ever met. Some of you have also met her during the tours of our farm during Sharon Springs Festivals. She’s the unassuming, pretty English woman who leads tours of the flower garden, sharing her knowledge. Little did you know, however, how amazing she truly is. Here is her story…
The pale, gangly English girl focused her gaze on the short runway ahead of her.
A tree just over the site line crossed its limbs in a bloated posture. “I dare you,” it seemed to say.
She took off. Foot over foot, elbows pulling back like spiny plucked wings.
And then she leapt.
While Jane Newman’s first childhood attempt at flying resulted in a few scratches and bruising, (as jumping from a porch while pretending to be Peter Pan often does) it never really kept her from trying again.
Early in her career, she decided to up and leave the Mother Country and move to Chicagoland. From there it was on to NYC and Madison Avenue. It took a woman with Jane’s restless spirit and sheer British fearlessness to move to New York in 1982. This turned out to be a pivotal moment in the history of US advertising. Not only was Jane a woman in an industry just-slightly-evolved-post-Mad-Men, but she was a Planner when account planning was unheard of in the US (she played an integral role in the famous Apple ‘1984’ commercial.) Now it’s impossible to imagine a world without the consumer insights and strategic muscle of planning, so integral has the discipline become in agencies of all stripes. (Jane will be inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame this year.)
But self-admittedly, this devotion to career took its toll on Jane and her family. Is there a limit to how much you can plan for life and still have time for living life as it happens?
13 years ago at the age of 50, Jane heard that a friend had plans to drive across Africa. Those sorts of adventures don’t come around that often, so Jane harnessed her wanderlust and hitched a ride.
Days into the trip, the arid dessert air pressing down on their back, they barreled down the road.
When driving across Africa, the darkness can envelope you. So many swaths of land are so large and largely undeveloped that the stars actually touch the horizon. There’s a since of isolation that feels oddly similar to diving into a deep pool of water.
And then it happened. Surrounded by everything and nothing, the truck stopped running. The friends had seen no one on the road for hours. No one knew their location, and this was years before cell phones and GPS.
As her friend walked off into the night searching for help, Jane, alone, confronted the fact that she might die there.
When out of bush walked a group of children. Followed shortly by a group of women.
They were mothers from the Samburu tribe—nomadic goat herders who constantly roam northern Kenya. They took care of her and her friend for several days until one of the warriors from the tribe could walk into the nearest village and find help to fix the vehicle.
Jane promised the group that she would one day return to help them, in any way that they wished.
She finished the trip with her friend, flew back to the US and decided, at the age of 50 and the top of her “game” to retire.
Completely by herself, she set off on a backpacking trip around the world. She wrote a letter, and posted it to the closest village to the tribe. She told them she was keeping her promise to return and that she would be there in a few months time—on Feb 15.
She had no way of knowing if they would ever receive the letter. Nor if they could read it. And as the date grew closer and her journey back to that spot nearer, she began to have doubts.
“What if they don’t remember me?”
“What if they don’t want me to come?”
But one foot in the front of the other, back erect, she took another leap.
This time, she hitchhiked her way into remote northern Africa, riding along with the lonely transport trucks that drive through the night. She arrived at the designated spot on February 17, and there was the entire tribe to greet her. They had been waiting patiently for 2 days.
The Samburu are an incredibly hospitable group of people, and when Jane asked how she could repay them for their kindness. They were at a complete loss. “Repaying” for kindness was nothing they have ever heard of.
Thinking her way around the issue, Jane asked the mothers what they wanted for their children. Unequivocally, the mothers said that they realized that many things were changing around them, and that their children needed an education in order for their culture to survive the encroaching world. Formal education had eluded them because of the transient nature of their lives.
Then everything Jane had ever worked for came into play. Every strategy meeting, every planning session paid off.
She devised a way to build a school that traveled WITH the families. A teacher would be assigned to each group and could construct an entire classroom around an acacia tree when they got to the next grazing area. This became The Thorn Tree Project (click here).
For the past 12 years, we have supported one of these schools and we traveled to Samburu this year to see the first of our students graduate from high school (and head off to college!)
He, too, is ready to soar.
And Jane, like both a proud parent and a planner—works on solving all the issues that prevent kids from doing their best in school.
So if you ever find yourself on your 50th birthday backpacking through the lesser-explored areas of Africa, in the middle of the night, and you come across a woman sitting at a wooden table scribbling notes by the light of a paraffin lamp…
Grab binoculars.
See Jane run.
Run, Jane, run.
You’re flying.
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You can buy a bracelet and support The Thorn Tree Project by clicking here.
PLEASE NOTE: the Thorn Tree Project is run by volunteers and they are often working in Africa. If you make requests for bracelets or to make donations, it may take some time before they are able to return your inquiry.
January 26, 2014
The January Chatter
We’ve lobbied really hard for Garrison Keillor to give up life in Lake Wobegone and move to Sharon Springs, but thus far he has not answered our letters or returned our calls.
Sharon Springs has beautiful people and above-average children, too, so on to Plan B.
What is a small town village without a small town paper to keep track of what everyone is doing?
Nancy Pfau, the town historian, is now editor of our own little paper.
Each month you can check back here for a new issue and follow the lives of the real village people. If you pay a real visit, you may even want to submit a story idea of your own!
You may not live in small town, but at least you can pretend.
See below for the January 2014 Issue
January 25, 2014
Pre-order the new cookbook!
No matter what it looks like outside right now, Spring and Summer are just around the corner—and so is the release of The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook!
This is the third installment of our “Heirloom” series and includes all the things you’ve loved about the Heirloom Cookbook and Heirloom Desserts.
recipes that are simple to make with ingredients you can find
gorgeous photography of the farm and food by our friend, photographer Paulette Tavormina
a notes column on every recipe page so that you can make your own adaptations
organized by season
pages left in each seasonal section to include YOUR family’s own heirlooms
a book designed to be passed down to the next generation
See why Giada de Laurenttis called it one of her “most anticipated cookbooks of Spring“!
If pre-ordering the book is going to be just the cure for your winter blues, here’s how you can do it:
On Amazon, click here
On Barnes & Noble, click here
On IndieBound, click here
Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable releases on May 14!
January 22, 2014
5 Beautiful Things
Bonsai
The first time I saw a bonsai I remember being deeply captivated by its beautiful shape and diminutive size. It was an evergreen tree at the Japanese embassy in Ottawa and I was only a child, on a field trip with my grade-four class. I can still recall the ebony-glazed pot the tree was planted in and the gnarled, almost windswept expression of the tree itself, manipulated into shape by skilful, patient hands.
The term bonsai means simply “plant in a tray” – a Japanese derivation of the Chinese term “penjing,” which means the same thing. The English definition of bonsai, however, has come to encompass any tree or plant that has been intentionally miniaturized and planted in a shallow, decorative pot.
While the practice of cultivating miniature trees originated in China, it was the Japanese who turned it into an art. With over a thousand years of tradition guiding its very strict principles and practices, the Japanese have perfected it.
A bonsai often begins with a cutting or seedling of any perennial wood-stemmed tree or shrub that produces true branches and can be cultivated to remain small through pot confinement, regular pruning and root reduction. The shape of the plant is often created by grafting or carefully binding the trunk or branches. Pruning and defoliating the tree in areas where leaves and branches are not desired keeps the plant in its determined pose. Once it has reached its desired size and shape, the tree is planted in a decorative, shallow tray (almost always designed specifically for bonsai planting) which further restricts the root growth. Throughout the year, regular pruning and shaping keeps the bonsai true to form.
Bonsai are meant to inspire wonder and contemplation for the viewer. For the grower it is about mastering patience, skill and discipline. Below are five beautiful examples of bonsai, including junipers and even a blackberry bush! Many of these specimens are decades old. The treehouse sculpture is by Japanese artist Takanori Aiba. It has been incorporated into a cascading bonsai and the result is truly extraordinary.
Brent and Martha Stewart chose the bonsai as the symbol when they created the Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai
Anthology
At Beekman 1802, we are always looking for inspiring people with inspiring ideas. (And you know how much we love visionary entrepreneurs!)
We were so excited when Anthology, a magazine project launched by 2 friends in 2010, asked if we would be a part of their “Transformations” issue.
The issue now on newsstands includes 24 images of the inside of Beekman Farm and the Beekman 1802 Mercantile on Main Street in Sharon Springs, NY, shot by photographer Alec Hemmer
Anthology has shared a few of those images (check out a preview of the issue here)
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You can browse through back issues of Anthology by clicking here
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Three lucky people will win a one-year subscription to Anthology (including the issue featuring Beekman 1802). All you have to do is tell us about one of YOUR life transformations in the comments section below. Winners will be chosen by random drawing on Feb 1
