Pera Soho: A Crowd Pleaser With Something Extra!

By Anne M. Raso

Pera Soho is a light, airy, Mediterranean fusion eatery that is perfect for Sunday brunch, especially when you have some members of your dining party wanting authentic Mediterranean fare and some wanting a simple pancake. They have got everyone covered here, even steak lovers and people who just want a healthy piece of chicken breast on a baby arugula salad with a light zesty lemon and olive oil dressing. They also specialize in “mezes” (small plates) and many folks head to the eatery to share a few along with their much-heralded specialty cocktails.

Interior

Hayari Paris' Goldy Fragrance Launch and Vera Bradley's Baby Line Preview

By: Anne M. Raso

Two last parties rounded out my all out fantastic week. First, the "scent"sational  Hayari Paris took out a private room in Bar Boulud for an editor's breakfast filled with gorgeous white flowers and couturier designs on mannequins. They had the early morning fete to celebrate their newest fragrance Goldy, which is for sale exclusively at C.O. Bigelow & Company pharmacy in the West Village and on their site bigelowchemists.com.

Goldy

Oz: The Great And Powerful Collection from HSN Preview Party

By: Anne M. Raso 

I continued my week around town by attending the HSN Preview for the Oz: The Great And Powerful official collection -- which was something not to be missed. For those of you who are unaware (or living under a rock without a TV), Oz: The Great And Powerful  is a new movie that will be released this Friday based loosely on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and is the prequel to the legendary old school film The Wizard of Oz.  As The Wizard of Oz is still one of my favorite films from yesteryear to this day, I absolutely had to attend! Held in the HSN offices in midtown, the collection includes over of 50 of HSN's most popular brands and over 400 products doing their "Oz thing."

Courtesy: Disney Films

Singer Carnie Wilson Celebrates the Grand Opening of Lane Bryant in NYC

By: Anne M. Raso

Three remarkable parties and one preview stick out in my head from last week, the most highly-publicized and unique one being the grand reopening of the Lane Bryant store on West 34th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Because they had a store on 34th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues for so many years (I went there with my grandmother in the 60s and 70s), I automatically went there instead of the address on the invitation -- OOPS! The store is gigantic and luminaries such as singer/entrepreneur Carnie Wilson and Jay Manuel were on board to greet guests and even suggest some ensembles that would look good on them. Several plus models featured in the Lane Bryant catalog and on store displays were on hand, looking even better than their photographs if that is possible.

Singer Carnie Wilson and Lane Bryant Model