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RSVIP: Oscar Countdown, Women in Film Pre-Oscar Cocktails at Soho House

Filed under: Events

Day Four: Skipped my first event. Oscar week in Hollywood is an endurance contest. For every party RSVIP attends, there are five more equally deserving ones. And of all the very special invites RSVIP receives, some go well beyond an ordinary envelope and printed card, especially during Tinseltown's busiest week.

RSVIP received the most extraordinary invitation from Trident Vitality as a part of Vanity Fair magazine's Campaign Hollywood. It was sent by express mail to my office in a mirrored box that will end up on a shelf at my house.

Thanks to the impressive physical invite, RSVIP had meant to stop by the West Hollywood event, ending at 6:00 p.m., but got caught up with work. The party launched the new Trident Vitality flavors. And the box also held a supply of Trident Vitality gum, which does have delicious flavor. But, sadly, a turn in the weather and traffic made the timing impractical.

On Friday afternoon, with only two days before the Academy Awards, the sunny weather we had been enjoying took a turn for the worse. With chilly temperatures and driving rain, Soho House, with its underground garage and sparkling penthouse views on Sunset Boulevard, called.

The Fourth Annual Women in Film pre-Oscar cocktail party began at 5:00 p.m. on February 25. As RSVIP arrived, we spotted Amy Sacco, a tall, blond diva of New York night life, leaving the underground parking structure at 9200 Sunset Boulevard. She was likely beginning her day.

When yet another special Amy, Amy Adams from "The Fighter," above, climbed out of her black town car, she was fighting with her clingy black dress.

The fabric had gathered static and had ridden up in the car. And she repeatedly pulled it down and flattened out wrinkles before facing the phalanx of photographers.

Tags: amy adams, dale dickey, Hailee Steinfeld, halle berry, kate walsh, melissa leo, rsvip, soho house

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The Art Collection At The Soho Beach House

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Soho Beach House, the third North American property from the Soho House brand, opened in Miami this fall with over 150 original works of art hanging in the lobby and the halls. With Art Basel Miami Beach happening every December, Miami has become a hot spot for contemporary art. The artists gave original work to the club in exchange for membership and credit, the same approach used to curate the work in Soho House Berlin, Dean Street Townhouse in London and Soho House West Hollywood. The result is a collection of artworks given by artists who invest in the creative nature of the club itself.

A number of the artists in Soho Beach House are based in or originally from Miami, including Hernan Bas, Jose Parla, Aaron Young and Jim Drain. The collection also includes respected American artists such as Elizabeth Peyton, Glenn Ligon, Jack Pierson, John Baldessari and Shepherd Fairey as well as British artists including Douglas Gordon, Noble and Webster, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Liam Gillick, and Jonathan Monk. New generation American artists include Rashid Johnson, Slater Bradley, Ryan McGinley, KAWS, Aurel Schmidt and Rosson Crow).Francesca Gavin, the curator of the Soho House Group, works with Jonathan Yeo who art directs the Soho House collection.

The Soho Beach House is both a hotel to the public and members-only club. It is the ninth Soho House and the third in North America. The Soho Beach House is located on the site of the historic art deco Sovereign Hotel, which has been redesigned and expanded to include a 16-story oceanfront tower. The property now includes the club bar, 49 bedrooms, a penthouse, two pools, a full service beach, garden with Tiki bar, a roof deck,Cowshed Spa and Cecconi's restaurant.

Gallery: Soho Beach House Art Collection

Tags: art, miami, miami beach, soho beach house, soho house

Valentine's Day Packages and More

by Ariston Anderson (RSS feed) —

If Valentine's Day baffles you as much as 90% of the rest of the country, sometimes it's best to just pony up and let the professionals handle the day. That way, if your date goes sour, you always have someone else to blame. Here are a few ideas we're confident will guarantee you a night to remember.

2 Nights 2 Legends at the Carlye

The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel, in Manhattan's Upper East Side has always been a symbol of decadence and refinement. This year, they're offering 2 Nights, 2 Legends to share with your loved one. The package includes a romantic suite for the 14th and 15th, nightly legendary cabaret entertainment (Sunday features Broadway best Christine Ebersole) a candle-lit dinner for two with Carlyle Syrah wine both nights, and to top it off, a couples massage at in-house spa, Sense. If you're flying in to New York for the occasion, this package is sure to give you the best uptown has to offer.

Package begins at $1395. To book, head to The Carlyle.

Tags: new york city, new york city valentine, NewYorkCity, NewYorkCityValentine, soho house, SohoHouse, spice market, SpiceMarket, the carlyle, TheCarlyle, valentines day ideas, valentines day reservations, ValentinesDayIdeas, ValentinesDayReservations

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Roaring in 2010 at New York's Soho House

by Carrie N. Culpepper (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Events

Just two miles from the packed-in-like-sardines masses in Times Square, a different sort of New Year's Eve party was taking place at the exclusive Soho House New York. With a 1920's theme, brass band, DJ and cabaret performers, members and their guests filled the sixth floor dining room, bar and drawing room donning era-appropriate flapper dresses, bowler hats and tuxedos.

The private club is an offshoot of the original Soho House in London. In New York the club's name is a bit of a misnomer since it's set in the trendy nightlife hub of the Meatpacking District. Famous for its 15 minutes in a "Sex and the City" episode where Samantha gets kicked out of the rooftop pool because she's not a member, the club today is a mix of 30-something financiers and creatives. (One financier shared that he had to play up his hobby of dealing art in order to gain membership, since the club prefers to foster members in the creative industries.)

On New Year's Eve, two dinner seatings filled the crystal-chandelier topped dining room where guests nibbled on appetizers such as chestnut soup with truffles; lobster salad; and foie gras with spiced pear chutney. The perfectly cooked beef tenderloin and red-wine-glazed root vegetables was the standout entree with the other choices, braised fluke and cannelloni, distant seconds. During the leisurely dinner magicians entertained dinners and the band played jazz and ragtime.

After dinner guests retired to the drawing room where tables were reserved for bottle service (magnums of Champagne being the favored bottle). The party took a livelier spin when a DJ, dressed in wiseguy attire, began spinning pop tunes. The party reached a crescendo just as midnight struck. After the new year, more friends-of-members filled the rooms putting a squeeze on capacity. Some enjoyed the small smoking room (a rarity in Manhattan) where a burlesque performer entertained from a cage.

In a city hard hit by the economy in 2009, the Soho House channeled the zeitgeist of Manhattan with it's '20s theme. The party your cares away, 2010 has got to be better was the reining toast of the night.

Gallery: New Year's Eve 2009 at Soho House New York

Tags: new years eve, new york, NewYearsEve, NewYork, soho house, SohoHouse

Celebrate New Year's Eve in New York

by Carrie N. Culpepper (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Events, Holiday Guides

Granted Times Square is the epicenter of New Years Eve activity, but the freezing temperatures, packed-in crowds and lack of bathroom facilities keep most of us as far away as possible. But don't rule New York out completely - it's one of the the most festive places to ring in the New Year. You just need to know where to go.

Here's a list of five of the best of New York's New Year's Eve 2010 parties - held inside (and one on a boat). Cheers!

Tags: cipriani wall street, new years eve, New Years Eve party, new york, new york city, soho house, tavern on the green, temptress yacht

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A Taste of Wimbledon at Soho House

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

New York's chic and sophisticated Soho House is offering something special on their roof (right) through July 5th -- a taste of Wimbledon.

The "Wimbledon Pitcher" is sure to be a favorite among guests sunning themselves -- what a great way to pretend you care about tennis while boozing by the pool! The pitchers are also available on the 6th floor where matches will be playing, but only a hard-core fan would turn down the roof of Soho House to watch people hit things with racquets in England -- no offense, tennis-lovers.

If you're not in New York, fear not; you too can make this traditional British concoction. Here's how, courtesy of Soho House:

Wimbledon Pitcher

Drop into the pitcher:

5 leaves of Mint
4 slices Cucumber
2 Strawberries
3 wedges of Lemon
3 wedges of Orange Ice
8 oz of Pimm's

Top it off with Sprite or make it sing with gin (Hendrick's is recommended), stir, and serve. You can even watch tennis while you're drinking it, for good measure.

Tags: cocktails, recipes, soho house, wimbledon, wimbledon pitcher, WimbledonPitcher

"Dizzy Diamond Heiress" Dances at Snob Mag Soir�e

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

This whole magazines for snobs thing has been much on our minds lately, and yet in all the excitement we seem to have overlooked a major contender in the category: Social Life, a self-described "luxury lifestyle and fashion" periodical based in New York. Social Life came to our attention as we were browsing the week's party photos taken by our friend Patrick McMullan.

It seems the magazine threw itself a party the other night at members only club Soho House to celebrate its latest issue. The event was attended by Anabel Vartanian, dubbed the "Dizzy Diamond Heiress" by the New York Observer; attention-loving Internet celebrity Emily Brill; and someone with the implausible moniker "Princess Charlotte de Broglie" - basically exactly the crowd one would expect at a soirée for something called Social Life.

Intrigued, we looked up the magazine's website, where we came across the following emetic mission statement: "Our readers turn to Social Life to see photos of themselves, their friends, and their families - we feature pictures of exclusive charity events, elegant dinner parties, the exuberance of Polo [sic] and the hottest nights at high-end clubs."

In other words: "We write about People Like Us." Or, more accurately perhaps, "What people who are more like us than they think think People Like Us are like."

Tags: Anabel Vartanian, AnabelVartanian, Emily Brill, EmilyBrill, Magazines, Patrick McMullan, PatrickMcmullan, Snobs, Social Life magazine, SocialLifeMagazine, Soho House, SohoHouse