Shindigger

Richard Chai, Shu Pei, Liu Wen, Phillip Lim

Eastern Exposure: Asia Society Celebrates Asia Week at The Plaza

The Observer was about halfway through our black rice and bok choy at the Asia Society’s Asia Week kick-off gala on Monday night when iGavel online auctioneer Lark Mason plucked our dessert spoon off the table and politely asked us to tell him about it.

Mr. Mason, a frequent appraiser on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, was enlisting us to play along in mock version of the show.

We found the spoon while cleaning out our dead grandmother’s attic, we lied. We have a feeling it’s important.

Mr. Mason turned the spoon slowly in his hand.

“Manufactured in China, in the 1930s, for American export. She probably received it as a wedding gift,” he said matter-of-factly. “But I’m sure it has a lot of sentimental value.”  Read More

Countdown to Bliss

Stephanie Foster and Paul Virtue

Met: 1985

Engaged: Dec. 13, 2003

Projected Wedding Date: May 9, 2004

Let’s get physical … in perpetuity! Paul Virtue, 40, a personal trainer, plans to marry Stephanie Foster, 42, a yoga and acting teacher, in an intimate ceremony on the island of Maui.

The aptly named Mr. Read More