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Instant kitchen

cia.jpgCan an instant gratification junkie happily coexist in the kitchen with a partner who embraces the Slow Food movement?

Absolutely. If the CIA has anything to do with it.

At next month’s auction benefit for the Vintners Hall of Fame Dinner in Napa, the high bidder will walk away with an Instant Gourmet Kitchen, comprised of 80 essential items of cookware, bakeware, cutlery and tools. Makeover and Make a Difference will assist the winning bidder, at no charge, in donating their old unwanted kitchen items to a deserving charity, creating a second wonderful donation as part of their winning bid.

Those who like it slow will adore the rondeau, suitable for sultry braises, while the digital instant read thermometer will quickly satisfy those in a hurry.

If you can’t bid, you can still click to get your own Instant Gourmet Kitchen. What a fabulous way to outfit the kitchen at a vacation home. $5000.

Icing fight

german_chocolate_cake.jpgEveryone has a childhood favorite.  Cake, that is.  Mine’s German Chocolate.

When I went home this weekend to celebrate my mom’s birthday, I wanted to present her with one.  Trouble is, her recipe is so fabulous, I was a bit hesitant to bring someone else’s to the table for fear that it might not measure up to the memories.  But when a friend tipped me off to Jean-Jacques Bakery, and I discovered they do a German Chocolate, I rolled the dice.  Good roll.  We literally fought over the extra dabs of icing.

The bakery’s on a fabulous strip of Richmond’s Cary Street, a stylish swathof one-off shops known as Carytown.  I picked up a reverse-painted Robert M. Weiss Shih Tzu coaster at Janet Brown, oogled a Rebecca Minkoff bag at Que Bella, and lunched at Can Can Brasserie. — Hats off Skirts up to their Parsnip Soup with Apple Butter, Hazelnut, and Rosemary Oil.

Cell with benefits

vertu-cell.jpgNon-verbal cell phone communication. An oxymoron? Not anymore.

Vertu’s Signature Diamond Phone speaks volumes, even when you set it to silent. For starters, it’s a world-class accessory, crafted in the haute joaillerie tradition. Averaging 7.2 carats, the phone contains 923 precious stones—a combination of pink diamonds, pink sapphires and rubies—and takes a skilled craftsman a full month to hand set.

That button? Oh, that’s the 24/7 global concierge service, ready to book everything from your restaurant reservations to private jet transport. And one more click will back up your data to ultra-secure servers maintained in an ex-military bunker in the U.K.

Made to order, the sticker price on this rose gold beauty is $73,000. Those who prefer a more subtle statement can lop off a zero and still get one of Vertu’s exceptionally engineered models, sans stones.

Scullery chic

twos-company-gloves.jpgIf you have to do dishes, you might as well do them in style. Yes, you can look fabulous while doing the dishes with these darling dishwashing gloves from Two’s Company. These couture rubber gloves come in red, black or blue, and are paired with white fabric ruffle prints, making it almost fun to take care of the household chores.

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