Downtown Goes Uptown

In the spirit of doing & seeing as much as I can this summer (and sometimes that means spending an entire Sunday laying in the park with a book), a few friends & I decided to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art a few weeks ago to catch the Charles James exhibit and enjoy the amazing rooftop view (looks a lot like I'm holding green juice, right? Well, let me tell you...there was a hefty dose of gin buried in all that cucumber + kale, too). 

I'm having a bit of a dilemma lately wherein I hate e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g in my closet. My style has evolved + simplified a lot of the last couple years, so a few weeks ago I did a serious purge and dumped 90% of it at Buffalo Exchange & my local thrift shop (you can find the rest here!). Considering I didn't own much in the way of summer clothes until the last few years—because when you're a lifeguard for seven years, you pretty much run around in your swimsuit for 3+ months and throw on cheap, easy sundresses for bar patios at night—it's still a less-than-robust area of my wardrobe. 

SO, when you're going to the Upper East Side—known for its poise and old money—it's time to step it up...right? Wrong. I tried on just about every dress I own, and while the masses of floral-print sundresses I have (thanks, Target!) are great for the beach or the park, I feel like I'm dressing too "young" for who I am today when I wear them out and about. Which is how I settled on a neon mini-skirt and Pink Floyd crop top. Sometimes I'll get dressed, and while I'm not excited by whatever I'm wearing, it gets me through the day. Other times, I feel completely myself despite looking a little out-there, and this was one of those days...even if it meant shocking some UESiders with a flash of belly button here and there ;)

American Eagle Pink Floyd Crop Top c/o || J. Crew Mini Skirt (on sale for $45!) || Lionette Necklace 

Illesteva Sunglasses || Joie Sandals c/o Zappos || Essie Polish in "I'm Addicted"

YSL in Rose Culté || Michael Kors Watch c/o Zappos

#SelfiesWithMountains | Phoenix pt. II

Sharing just a few more pictures from my Phoenix trip with you today. It was short & sweet, with me arriving (finally) at about 1a Saturday morning, Phoenix time, and heading out at lunchtime on Monday. Though it was my first time there (and really anywhere in the vicinity, unless you count numerous trips to Las Vegas in previous years), I honestly didn't do that much. It was great to see my best friend—we've known each other for over 15 years and hadn't seen one another in almost a year—and much of our time was spent hanging out, playing with her dog and drinking margaritas (duh). 

We did, however, take an afternoon to head to the Desert Botanical Garden, a very different version of the botanical gardens I'm used to in NYC, to take in some warm afternoon sunshine & beautiful Dale Chihuly artwork. If you're not familiar with his work, take a second to head over to Google—he's most recognizable for his works at the Bellagio in Vegas, but this Chihuly in the Garden exhibit really captured my heart. I also couldn't help taking a #shamelesselfie, complete with mountains & Chihuly, and of course snapped some—okay, a few hundred—photos of the mind-blowingly gorgeous sunset.

Side note: a lot of the visitors that day were a bit older (think: grandmas), and many of them were excited to see my friend & I taking #selfieswithmountains—as evidenced by them proclaiming 

as they walked by, "Oh, they're taking a selfie!". Giggles for days about this.

Wearing: Express Shirtdress || Lionette Necklace || Ray-Ban Sunglasses || ECCO Leather Bag

Kelsi Dagger Sandals || Givenchy Le Rouge in Magnolia Organza

Phoenix Florals

A few years ago, while traveling from NYC, I spoke out loud about how lucky I was to have encountered very few flight issues in my life so far, but it would seem I spoke much, much too soon. Most of the past year has been marred with delays and cancellations and re-bookings, and Friday was no exception. You may recall my last post was written while at the airport, shortly before I'd hoped to hop on a flight. Since I have apparently cursed myself—and, if you know of any ways to un-do a travel curse, I'll be forever in your debt if you share—it was several more hours, flight changes, cancellations and an entirely different NYC area airport later before I was finally Phoenix-bound.

Luckily, my wonderful friend was more than willing to pick me up when I finally arrived after 1a, and when you step off a plane that late at night to 65 degree weather after suffering through a never-ending winter, you'd be a fool not to be in a fantastic mood. Especially when the following day is National Margarita Day and you get to wear shorts to go day-drink a bit at a sand bar in 80 degree weather. 

Otte New York Sophie Top || Prabal Gurung for Target Shorts || ECCO Bag c/o

Kelsi Dagger Sandals || Lionette Necklace (similar) || Ray-Ban Sunglasses

Polka Dots

If I were to truly evaluate my wardrobe, I think I'd find that I'm mostly attracted to a variety of solid colors, sometimes with embellishments, and the occasional crazy, bright print. Rarely anything in between (let's not spend too much time on what this says about me, OK?). Apparently, despite its usually girl-ier nature, polka dots are kinda becoming my thing (remember this post?). Next to conquer—colored polka dots, duh! 

And, just for fun...this is what happens when you keep trying to photo-bomb my shoot! (There are several teenage boys just outside the frame.)

Jacket (old, similar) || Otte Pullover || Acne Jeans || Sole Society Giuliana Boots

Street Vendor Scarf (from Italy!) || Lionette Necklace || Steve Madden Bag

Photos: Joey DeBenedetto