My New Blog

Ciao Bloggisti,

After almost seven years (I can't believe it), I've started a new blog. I can be found at Arlene Gibbs Décor.

A lot has changed since November 2005. Without this blog I wouldn't have met some of the incredible people in my life or moved to Italy.

Grazie mille to everyone who took the time to read nyc/caribbean ragazza!

Favorite Things: Italian Sparkling Wine

One of my favorite things to drink is a nice glass of Italian sparkling wine. This is a subject I didn't know much about, beyond prosecco, before I moved to Italy.

I felt it was time to get educated on this extremely important topic.

I attended Vinoroma's Sparkling Saturdays wine tasting. For a more detailed description of the wines and much better photographs, my friend Gina wrote about it HERE.

Hande is a fantastic sommelier. She chose five very different wines for us to taste.

I liked how Hande explained the history of the regions and the wines. It was informative and interesting.

My favorite wine of the evening was Belecasel's Asolo Prosecco Extra Dry. It would be perfect to pair up with shellfish or a fish risotto.

It was my first time seeing the newish Vinoroma space. It's fantastic. The cellar is over 900 years old. That's right, nine hundred. I may need to camp out there during the summer as I do not have A/C.


I took these photos with my new phone's camera.

Flashback Friday - Rick Astley - "Never Gonna Give You Up"

I'm working on a new spec script set in 1987. I had a great time putting together my script's playlist.

One of the biggest hit of 1987 was from this gentleman.



Buon Weekend!

Do You Have An Interest In Pinterest?

Why is Pinterest everywhere all of a sudden?

It's been around for almost two years, but has seen an explosion in popularity recently.

I had lunch with a friend the other day and I mentioned that I had just signed up. She said I was the third person to rave about the site to her within the last 24 hours.

I read a large segment of the Pinteresti are women creating boards for weddings. I don't know any of those women personally.

Some dismiss Pinterest as Tumblr for chicks. Yes, 80% of the users are women. Yet, us silly women are driving more Internet traffic than Google+, YouTube, and a bunch of other popular sites.

I'm still working on my boards, but I think Pinterest is great. Basically, it's a visual bulletin board. What a brilliant idea.

Most of my friends who "Pin" work in creative fields; writers, potters, photographers, designers, cooks, advertising execs, etc.

Pinterest is going to be around for a while. A site has to be pretty special to stand out in a very crowded social media market.

Do you Pin? Why do you like about the site?

What the hell? Whitney Houston is dead?

I can't believe it. How is this possible?

I mean, I knew she had drug problems, but damn. Whitney was only 48. And now she's dead? Michael, Amy, now Whitney, all these super talented artists. Someone better tell me Prince is okay. I just watched Madonna on the Super Bowl, so I know she's alright.

I wore Whitney's debut album out.


I heard nothing but great things about her upcoming role in Sparkle. I was excited to see Whitney make her great comeback. I was just talking about the movie to one of the producers. Salim Akil, who directed Jumping The Broom, also directed Sparkle. It's a freaking shame.



Yes, Whitney was known more for pop music, but the woman had an incredible voice. A talent like hers is rare, so rare. I do think it's a gift.

She grew up singing gospel and soul music. Whitney was influenced by her mom, singer Cissy Houston, her cousin Dionne Warwick, and her godmother Aretha Franklin.

Whitney was one of the world's best-selling music artists. She broke many records and like Michael Jackson was one of the few black artists to "cross over" in the early days of MTV.

She was also a mom, model, and actress.

One of my favorite Whitney tracks is from her second album. Produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez, it was the JAM.


RIP Whitney Elizabeth Houston

Get Your Cocktail On: Pierluigi

I walk past this restaurant all the time and noticed that they were doing some major renovations last year.

I heard there was a bar. I had to investigate.

My friend Courtney wanted to meet up to celebrate Jumping The Broom's recent NAACP Image nominations. We decided to check out the cocktail situation at Pierluigi.

We approve.

The vibe is very chill, quiet, and relaxing. The small bar is a perfect spot for a drink before dinner. The cocktails were well made and we had great service.

The prices are a little bit higher than places like Bar Fico, 12 euros for a cocktail versus 10. It's much cheaper than Hotel de Russie.

This a grown up spot located in a gorgeous location. We'll be back.

Ristorante Pierluigi
Piazza dé Ricci, 144
Closed on Mondays

NY Giants Win!

As a football fan, this was a great Super Bowl, better than those boring blowout Super Bowls.

As a Giants fan, it was way too stressful. The last two minutes were unreal. It was 4:30 a.m. when the game ended so I tried to keep my yelling to a minimum. It was not easy.

I am so proud of the Giants.

They did not start the season well. Everyone thought the Packers would destroy them during the playoffs. People keep underestimating Eli despite him being named Super Bowl MVP twice.

This team has some great younger players, like Nicks, Cruz. I'm excited for the future.

Watching the game in Italian (primo down! il fumble! Mamma Mia, il sack!) was priceless.

Madonna's entrance was fantastic. That is how you do a half-time show. The next person talking smack about her age needs to STFU. She's 53 and more entertaining than "stars" half her age. I didn't see this amount of snark when men who were older than Madonna performed during half-time. That said, I'm not loving her new song. Maybe it will grow on me.



Photos:Getty Images

World Nutella Day - Banana Nutella Turnovers

Today is a great day. Hopefully the Giants will send the Patriots packing, but I digress.

It's WORLD NUTELLA DAY!

Two lovely ladies, American expats Sara Rosso at Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle Fabio at Bleeding Espresso, host this wonderful international event.

I really need to make something different, but I love the banana/Nutella combo. Next year, I will do my best.

This year I was short on time. I always have puff pastry in the freezer. This recipe couldn't be easier or more delicious. Enjoy.


BANANA NUTELLA TURNOVERS

2 sheets puff pastry (if frozen, defrost in fridge overnight or on the counter for approximately 20
minutes)
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup - 1 cup Nutella (to taste)
1 egg
raw sugar for sprinkling or cinnamon sugar (the latter to be added after baking)

Preheat oven to 375/190.5
Rough mash the bananas with a fork
Mix in the Nutella

In a small bow, add one tablespoon of water to the egg, beat to create an egg wash

Roll out each pastry sheet. You might want to put some flour down to prevent sticking.

Cut into 4x4 (inches) squares

Fill in center (careful not to overfill)

Brush edges with egg wash

Fold in half creating a triangle

Press edges together and use the tines of a fork to seal

Put on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Brush top with the egg wash and prick the top with the fork to create tiny holes

Sprinkle with raw sugar (optional)

Place in fridge to keep cool while you prepare the other turnovers

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown

Let cool, the filling will be VERY hot

Once cooled you could sprinkle confectioners/powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar on the turnovers.

Flashback Friday - The Soul Train Line, Elton John, and The Jackson 5

Don Cornelius started the show Soul Train in 1970. It ran for over 35 years.

This week Don committed suicide. According to news reports he was very ill and in a lot of pain. His son found the body.

As a kid I watched American Bandstand and Soul Train every Saturday morning.

I do remember seeing Elton's performance in 1975. One of my favorite songs.




Okay the shoes on the first guy dancing in the clip below, look like something Lady Gaga would wear today. Every time I hear this song I think of "Pulp Fiction."

The Commodores used to be funky back in the day. I miss this kind of music.




I might have seen this episode during the height of my "I'm going to marry Michael Jackson when I get older" mania.




Wishing everyone, peace, love, and soooooooooul this weekend. RIP DC.