Advanced Love: The Secrets of a Lasting (and Stylish) Relationship

Welcome to the world of Advanced Love, courtesy of photographer, author, and fellow bleeding heart, Ari Seth Cohen. Following the success of his Advanced Style universe, celebrating the sartorial flair of the senior set (in book and film format), comes yet another round of mature fashion mavericks living life to the fullest – only, this…

We Found a California B&B that Might be Madder than the Madonna Inn

As unabashed lovers of the more-is-more mantra, we were destined to fall in love with “The Victorian Mansion at Los Alamos” – which is anything but Victorian, in a way. It can be a 1950s drive-in, or a Parisian escape; a pirate’s lair, or a gladiator’s delight. The last Victorian estate in the area, this mansion-turned-B&B…

Who were the Fasting Girls?

Mollie Fancher spent half a century in her bed. They called her “The Brooklyn Enigma,” but she was born your average, middle class New York gal. That all changed in 1865, when she gained fame from a freak accident in which she fell out of a horse-drawn trolley, and was dragged behind by her scarf.…

For Over 30 Years, a Tokyo Soba Chef Drew Everything He Ate

Sometimes, it’s the simple stories that stay with us the longest. Like that of Itsuo Kobayashi, a former Japanese soba chef born in 1962 who has recorded his meals in painstakingly detailed, hand-drawn food diaries of sorts for the past 32 years. In addition to recollections about taste, Kobayashi’s pen has accounted for every last…

Victorian Mansion For Sale, Perfect for Wes Anderson’s remake of the Addams Family

Meet the Victorian gem that rolled right out of our dreams, and into the little city of Abilene, Kansas. The yellow brick mansion – boasting two dozen rooms and five storeys – is the ultimate Addams-Family-meets-Wes-Anderson fantasy. The “Lebold Mansion,” est. 1880, is already renovated – such a rare case for these beauties, which often…

Meet Mrs. Madge Gill: The Outsider Artist Who Painted through the Spirit World

“Mediumistic Art.” It’s something we’d never heard of, until we uncovered the mysterious world of Mrs. Madge Gill. One of history’s most important outsider artists, Madge tended to her garden, her husband, and her children in what appeared to be the quiet life of a London housewife. But one day, she felt a stirring to…

52 Years Later, the Biggest Global Cult Is Still Off the Hook

On a Monday afternoon in 1971, Jeremy Spencer – Fleetwood Mac’s then-lead guitarist – popped out of the band’s Los Angeles hotel to grab some groceries. It was the last time they saw him, reported Rolling Stone, before Spencer disappeared without a trace. No note was left. No baggage taken. When management found him three…

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The Keys to Amsterdam’s Secret Chapel B&B

What’s gold, pink, and Amsterdam’s best kept secret? The 18th century chapel-turned-AirBnB that landed in our inbox this morning, courtesy of a hot tip from our pal Holly Beach of the Choosy Traveller, who recently discovered the hidden gem and found it to be of the most unique places she’s ever seen “in Amsterdam, or…

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So Cheese Rolling is an actual Sport and Everything is Wonderful

Don’t play with your food, they said. But whoever uttered those words has clearly never attended the annual “Cheese-Rolling and Wake” at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire, UK. Think of your favourite mischievous childhood pastime of rolling down hills, the steeper the better – and just add cheese. Since the dawn of time-ish, brave locals have been…

The Coded Couture of Antique Lacework

They were like snowflakes spun from silk, sought after just as feverishly as gold on the black market. Whether they were twisted with pearls or tied with silver knots, no two pieces of lace were the same in 1765. All too often forgotten in dusty attics today, for centuries, lacework was all about how you…