ELINA FURMAN LANDAUER

Originals / By / July 28, 2020

OCCUPATION: Publisher, book author, editor, founder of A-List Mom and the new A-List Mom Travel

MY STYLE: A blend of boho cool with some structured and edgy pieces mixed in. I love combining high and low and borrowing from a variety of fashion eras. In terms of home design, I prefer bright graphic pops of color against neutrals and monochromatic interiors. I think one’s home should look elegant but lived in, with wide-open layouts to keep an eye out for the children.

I LOVE NEW YORK BECAUSE:

It offers everything—sports, theater, art—that’s good for kids. The city has become what I call a big playground for families. We moved to a town called Dobbs Ferry, which is a half hour out of the city by car. It’s situated on hills right above the Hudson River and reminds me of some of my favorite places to visit in Europe. I love the idea of having the city so close by, plus all the comforts of a sleepy town full of nature and history. In Dobbs Ferry, we love visiting restaurants, playing outside on the riverfront parks, and watching sunsets while dining al fresco. We also love going our on our boat and exploring the shore.

Alice’s Tea Cup

This adorable Upper West Side joint proves that afternoon tea isn’t just for the British, or the afternoon, or girls! “I don’t mind saying that for a long time I longed to have a girl,” says Elina Furman. “Fortunately, my son loves clothes and restaurants that are more ornate.” You can enjoy the usual assortment of scones and sandwiches at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The tea list features classic standbys as well, but also uncommon blends from all over the world. The Cameroon Fannings is grown at 3,300 feet on a volcano, the Rooibos Admiral’s Cup has red bush herb and chocolate essence, and the Gyokuro is picked once a year in Japan. We love the Mother-to-be tea, which has a raspberry leaf base and improves digestion. Alice’s Tea Cup also makes custom cakes that are perfect for celebrations as whimsical as Carroll’s Wonderland.

Make Meaning

Make meaning—a multi-purpose crafts concept store on the Upper East Side—is the perfect place for you and your kids to create some rainy day memories, not to mention ceramics, jewelry, soap, and candles. The colorful space speaks to the fun, laidback atmosphere, but various “associate creativity enthusiasts,” ACEs, for short, stand by to offer tips that all but ensure you take home a mini masterpiece. In the case of the popular cake-decorating class, though, you might not have much left to take home! This and other skill-based courses fill with children and adult, and the store even plays hosts to adult-only events like bachelorette parties and corporate team-building days.

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

When it comes to food, this is as local as it gets. Just thirty miles north of Manhattan’s city streets sits Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, an 80-acre farm on the Rockefeller estate in the Pocantico Hills. Visitors can take a tour of the pastures and related workshops, some more glamorous than others—there’s the intro to jam making, and then there’s the course on internal parasites in sheep and goats! Eating at the restaurant here is a blissful sort of education in itself, as the food speaks for itself. Chef Dan Barber’s efforts have won the restaurant a formidable reputation and a consistent spot on ‘best-of’ lists. Famously, there are no menus at Blue Hill, or at least not traditional ones. Diners simply select from a list of in-season ingredients and Barber and Co. takes it from there.

Eleni’s

Eleni Gianopulos used to work in publishing, but eventually her side job as a caterer, largely of her mother’s oatmeal raisin cookies, grew into a sweet empire. Today, the brand is better known for hand-iced sugar cookies, considered “Conversation Cookies” for their fun, timely designs. There are flip flop and star cookies for Memorial Day, cap and tassel cookies for graduation, wrench and hammer cookies for Father’s Day, and the list goes on. Of course, you hardly need an occasion to enjoy Eleni’s, and many visitors frequent the Chelsea Market location in search of an everyday treat. If it’s a Sunday, sign up for one of the cookie-decorating classes just for kids!

The Benjamin

Working at his father’s laundry business, Benjamin Denihan used to care for the clothes of the Vanderbilts and Marilyn Monroe. He maintained a similarly upscale clientele when he became a boutique hotel owner, and The Benjamin, housed in an Emery Roth Beaux-Arts building in Midtown Manhattan, lives up to its namesake in every way. A big meal at its James Beard Award-winning restaurant, the National, will leave you ready for a good night’s sleep, which happens to be the hotel’s specialty. You can choose from a pillow menu that boasts twelve varieties, including a five-foot body cushion and a special maternity pillow. Pint-sized guests are automatically enrolled in the Winks’ Kidzzz Club, in which Winks the Owl instructs on a healthy bedtime ritual and flies in search of family-friendly daytime activities.

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