You know you’ve officially made it when Lara Shriftman is inviting you to her rather intimate luncheons. So, what do you do when you receive the personalized emails? Obvi, reply, yes and merci.

This past invite was more special than those of the past. You ask why? This luncheon, hosted by Cultured Magazine Editor Sarah Harrelson and PR Guru Lara Shriftman was in honor of Celebrity Author/Editor Kate Betts brand new acclaimed book ‘My Paris Dream.’ It was all was rather unique because each hand selected guest was asked to bring their mentor or mentee….I mean how purely beautiful is that.

I had no clue what to expect, but I certainly knew who to invite, and that lucky lady was my Grandmother Berenice Steiner, who is everything and more than I wish to be in my life. A pioneer in the art world, a wife of 68-years, a mother to three beautiful daughters and a loving grandmother to a lawyer, doctor, architect and moi…. I mean she must have done something right….

So, on Wednesday morning, my mentor Berenice and I got all GlamSquad’ up by four gorgeous women in her Bal Harbour apartment, and headed over to Stephen Starr’s Makoto for a true treat.

We arrived fashionably late because my Vintage YSL blouses button flew off and of course I can’t sew, so thank god to Xiomara at Saks for being a great samaritan and fixin’ me up.

The lunch had approximately 50 guests that included Belkys Nerey, Maria Tettamanti, Elysze Held, Luis Rigual, Manny Machado, Natalie Gee, Cheryl Stephenson, Michelle Rubell and even Lara’s mentee, Sophia Schrager, who flew in from NYC for the day. My kinda girl!

I guess the great fortune of my tardiness was a blessing in disguise because Lara ended up seating me next to Betts, who was inspirational, interesting, interesting, and if I were able to start my life over from scratch, I would have liked to have had the opportunity to live in her shoes. Yes, I did once live in Paris, but not as the Editor in Chief of Harper’s Bazaar.

The lunch was incredible. Way too much food, minimal cell phone usage, great clothing, and pure beauty, but the best part was having had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with my grandma. It had been a rough year for our family, as you know she lost her husband of 68 years, so what’s better than having had her by my side, looking absolutely gorgeous in Chanel and seeing her grand daughter in her element….plus a great signed book-to-go and some great Chanel cosmetics?

As I always say: J’adore….and here you go….some superb select photos from the tres elegante afternoon.