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The stunning gift Francesca brought me back from Istanbul: Turkish apple tea and tea glasses (the traditional way tea is served in Turkey), with little gold spoons used to stir in sugar. Love!

Tea is apparently the “national soft drink” of Turkey, and apple tea (which you can easily buy online) is brewed samovar-style (a small pot of intensely brewed tea sitting over a larger vessel of boiling water) and can be served either hot or cold. You just pour a little of the strong tea into one of those gorgeous cups (buy some of your own here), and then add water until the desired intensity is reached. Turkish tea is usually served with cubed sugar rather than loose sweetener.

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Seeing Lauren makes me happy. 

Highlands, by the way, is quite awesome: it’s a Scottish gastropub in the West Village, and is impossibly chic without being uptight in the least (love the vintage leather furniture, utilitarian refrigerator-bulb pendant lights, and various rustic touches). I didn’t try the food (I stuck to their gorgeous martinis served in jewel-like little glasses), but it sure looked great; the menu includes things like “cullen skink” (a traditional Scottish soup) and chicken liver pot (neither of which I have had; both of which I want).

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With Francesca at Highlands last night for Liz’s birthday.

Francesca and I lived together for a year in LA, and both ended up back on the East Coast at the same time, which is fortunate, because I go into withdrawal when we don’t see each other often enough. She’s a brilliant singer (trained in opera) and just finished recording her first album! I have always desperately wished I could sing (I most definitely can’t), and am jealous.


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