Ends and Beginnings

Ah, the official end of winter—only, if you live in NYC like myself, it's got us in a vice grip for as long as it can. These photos are actually from earlier this season, and I realized this week I needed to post them before the weather changed...ha, ha! By the way, if you're a curious weather nerd like me, today isn't actually the first "day" of spring—it doesn't start until 6:48p tonight! Fingers crossed for a warmer, more spring-like tomorrow.

The West Village is, hands down, one of my favorite places to be on weekends (and, ok, it makes for cute photos). The little side streets are never crowded, and my friends and I tend to wander around admiring the brownstones and joking about owning one someday...#marryrich, right? I like to get brunch around noon at Joseph Leonard—if there's a wait, my friends and I usually head across the street to a cute letterpress shop or the nearby puppy store. I would never buy a puppy from a puppy store (#adoptdontshop!) BUT, it's not the dogs' fault they're there and playing with a puppy is a 100% guaranteed way to put you in a good mood. Post-brunch, if the weather is playing nice, we usually wander around Bleecker and the surrounding streets, popping in to cute shops. Since I have a sugar problem, it's a safe bet I'll be scooping up some candy from Sockerbit.

This weekend is going to have a different kind of puppy time in it, though. A few months back, I signed up for orientation with Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue so I can start volunteering, and I finally made it off the wait list! I used to volunteer with a rescue league back home and have been wanting to get involved out here in NYC for quite a while, but I actually found that a lot of shelters are outside the city besides the big ones like ASPCA and the Humane Society, and I wanted to work with a smaller rescue where I can get more involved and be of help. 

Alright, back to wishing for spring weather to match up with the start of the season. Anyone going someplace warm that can fit me in their suitcase soon?

wearing:

Zara Coat

Zara Plaid Scarf

360 Sweater Cashmere Sweater

Rag & Bone Dre Jeans in Surfer

Loeffler Randall Fenton Bootie

Illesteva Sunglasses

Sole Society Bucket Bag

Brocade This, Brocade That

I'm going to both apologize for and blame any mistakes or grammatical errors in this post on House of Cards...

I wanted to finish the season before too much time passed and someone inadvertently spoiled it for me, which meant multi-tasking between blogging and Netflix (thankful for whoever invented Smart TV's). I succeeded at about 10p last night…and all I'm going to say is, this was really Claire's season (sorry, Frank!). I haven't talked to many other people who watch it yet, so if you did I want to know what you thought of the season! 

Anyway, back to the reason for today's post, aside from the fact that I needed to get one up since it's been a while (oops). Let's rewind to a few weeks ago—I don't want to get too in-depth on NYFW because really, what do I have to say that's different from what anyone else can say? I think Hallie summed up what's going on in the blogging industry side of NYFW pretty well in this post; I did very little reach-out on behalf of my blog, but I did attend some shows for work—or, more aptly, I had invites to a lot of shows for work that I didn't even make it to. We hosted a little party at the SoHo Grand on Friday night that week, which meant an early morning, late night, and whopping five shows missed that day (including my favorite, Suno!). 

Saturday rolled around and I finally rolled my already-dragging ass out of bed to hit up Tibi & Mara Hoffman, which the NYFW gods had put one right after the other in locations 50 blocks apart. I hoofed it a few blocks east after the Tibi show to beat the crowds, snagged a cab, and zoomed uptown as fast as I could. Both shows were beautiful in their own right—Tibi had a great color palette for fall with unexpected pastels and soft, chenille-like fabrics, while Mara Hoffman continued to grow away from her signature printed fabrics and experiment with embellishments and hints of oversized accents. Afterwards, I met up with Emily to grab some much-needed caffeine, catch up before she jetted off somewhere warm, and snap some photos in the snow…we are fashion bloggers, after all, and what's a winter without snow photos? I kid, obviously, but it does make a nice accent (and help hide the huge bags under my eyes). 

It will be interesting to see how NYFW continues to evolve in coming seasons to accommodate bloggers and the demand for instant gratification, but for now I'm just glad it's over. It was right back into a busy work week for me after the weekend, and I haven't really slowed down since—spring is coming, after all! I've been packing my calendar and just this past weekend saw both the New York City Ballet and a Broadway show; yesterday morning was spent hanging out at Jonathan Adler's incredible SoHo store to kick off his collaboration with Pond's, and tonight I'm going to get my ass handed back to me with my first-ever class at the Fhitting Room's new location in Flatiron. Wish me luck! 

Zara Jacket (old)

Elizabeth & James Brocade Blazer

J. Crew Blouse 

Acne Studios Jeans

Tibi Brocade Boots

3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli

Bite Beauty Lipstick in Violet

Young & Able

Last month, Rachel over at The Style Line reached out to see if I'd like to participate in a project with Young & Able, an online shop that supports emerging designers and currently has a pop-up in NYC at 345 Broome Street in SoHo.

I was happy to say yes, since one of the things that first drew me to blogging was the ability to discover all things new and exciting, from designers to shops to artists and more. They paired myself and a few other bloggers up with some of the designers, asking us to style a piece from their collection for the season. Mind you, it was a tad bit warmer out when we took these photos in November, so I shunned tights (I've since caved, but I'd like to take this moment for a PSA: spring is only 98 days away). It's also a little weird to look at these photos and realize just how long my hair got this year—I had about five inches chopped off last weekend!

The first designer was Nicole Lenzen, who makes beautiful, simple and incredibly flattering pieces that I could see myself wearing just about anywhere, from the office to drinks to holiday parties and into spring. It should come as no surprise that I gravitated towards a pretty blue silk number, which paired up pretty perfectly with my velvet Bionda Castana boots I scored at 70% off a few months ago (you can find 'em almost as cheap here).

Fun fact: we shot these photos right outside my apartment in Queens! That's my building on the left in the photo below—we're up on the second floor.

wearing: Banana Republic trench coat || Nicole Lenzen Erin dress || Bionda Castana boots 

The other designer I paired up with was Shana Luther, a Brooklyn-based leather goods designer. I particularly liked her cross-body bag, a style I've been drawn to lately as I look to downsize the amount of sh*t I'm carrying around daily (at minimum, I always have my wallet, phone, keys, a small makeup bag with hair ties, hand cream, lip balm, an eyeliner and lipstick, a book to read and a notebook to jot things down in, plus headphones and a charger cord). Cross-body bags are becoming a favorite because I've also found they lessen the strain on my shoulders...I carry my purse on the right side, and my neck/shoulder are always, always stiff and sore.

This is my "Am I doing weird things with my feet?" look. Cute, no? 

Make sure to check out the full project over on The Style Line, and stop by the Young & Able pop-up at 345 Broome in NYC if you're in town! 

wearing: Acne Dania sweater || COS wool skirt || Vince slip-on sneakers (size down 1/2 size!)

Photos: Christina Emilie

Photo Diary: Brooklyn

I'm going to gloss over the fact it's now November and it smelled like Winter in the air when I left my apartment yesterday and kick it back to last weekend, when I spent the most wonderful, beautiful, sunny fall day in Brooklyn, hitting up places both new and favorites of mine.

I started my morning off with a work event in TriBeCa, originally planning to keep my day pretty low-key but before long the sun was shining and it was beautiful outside. I wanted nothing more than to soak up the sunshine, so I found a friend willing to spend a day roaming in Brooklyn. Since she had a longer trek down than I did, I spent a little time meandering through some new-to-me streets in TriBeCa...how pretty were those trees?

Post train ride: soaking in the colorful streets....and winding up in a new boutique. I usually take the G when I'm in Fort Greene, but since I came in from downtown I got off at a new stop that took me past some freaking adorable restaurants, lots of fall-themed decor and right to the stoop of French Garment Cleaners, an impeccably cool boutique that stocks some of my favorites like Isabel Marant, Rachel Comey, Sea and Christian Wijnants, along with luxe, niche beauty products and perfumes. I fell head-over-heels for a blue velvet jacket, but I'm trying to be good with my bank account before I head to London! They stock both mens and womens, so I highly recommend a trip in next time you're in the neighborhood, no matter who you're with.  

Next stop: the flea! I didn't make it nearly as many times as I wanted to this summer, and the one in Fort Greene is a little easier to navigate most days than Williamsburg. I don't always buy something (this time I walked away with a little sterling silver and rough crystal ring), but it's a great place to go to source inspiration. We're currently in the process of decorating the second living room in my apartment, so I've been on the hunt for unique furniture, mirrors, artwork etc...and my #1 decorating goal is to get our gallery wall up (after three years, oops) before the end of the year, making frames a top priority when I'm scavenging! It's also fun to see some of the artisans, there's always tons of great/fun jewelry but a personal favorite of mine is SKT Ceramics (you may remember seeing some of their mugs on my instagram feed here and here, I currently own both cups and the mug!).

The sun was incredibly bright and I'd eaten nothing but a bagel, so post-flea we set our sights on brunch al fresco. A quick Yelp search led us to Ici, the cutest restaurant tucked on the ground floor of a brownstone and exactly what we were looking for. Garden/patio out back? Check. Good drinks? Double Check. Quiet, relaxed atmosphere? Yes and yes. The brew was La Colombe and served in giant cups (see the first picture!) and the food was unbelievably good. I'm almost hesitant to speak so highly of it for fear it'll become widely discovered and be too packed to get a table next time I go! 

There were still a few hours of daylight left, so (if you're still with me here), we took a stroll to one of my absolute favorite neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Boerum Hill. I first discovered this little gem of a neighborhood last year when my mom was visiting; I really wanted to stock up on gardening supplies and plants for the summer, so we took the subway down to go to GRDN, a well stocked little shop of gardening supplies, plants and home decor off Atlantic Avenue. My mom is as much a wandering explorer as I am, so we strolled up Atlantic into a variety of boutiques, antique shops, bakeries and home goods stores. I loved it so much I took the train back the following weekend, and make a point to pop in some of my favorites (Meg, Collier West and Horseman Antiques to name a few) anytime I'm in the area. 

One last little note—all the photos here were taken with my new Olympus e-pen7 lite, possibly one of the most amazing little cameras I've owned to date. I'm still working out a lot of the features since I'm used to shooting on a full dSLR, but I've been very impressed by the quality, and my favorite feature is the wifi hookup...I can send photos straight to my phone via their app and upload to social media right then (some recent photos #shotwithmypen are here, here and here). It's been especially helpful in lower light situations where my phone camera can't get all the details, and lastly, it weighs about a third of what my Nikon does, so I'm considering traveling with only the Olympus for my trip this week! While the camera was a gift from the Olympus team, this is not a sponsored post—all photos and opinions are my own, I'm just really enjoying the new camera :) 

Denim Doing Good

Have you heard about Rialto Jean Project yet? No? Well, that should change—stat. RJP is a sustainable jean project that donates a portion of their sales to benefit children's art programs…specifically, the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and New York Presbyterian Child Life Services, which use their art programs to help children learn to cope with their hospitalization and illness by expressing themselves  through a variety of art forms and therapies (the Children's Hospital says it best—read about their programs here). 

I can't exactly remember how I first stumbled across RJP—I have a feeling it could have been through Jean Stories, a really great denim blog, or any other number of sites I work my way through during the day, but I know I was hooked right away. It's not exactly a secret that I don't shy away from color (although my wardrobe has gotten more neutral-friendly over the last year) and I'm often found in a great jean whenever possible, so I love the vibrant, paint-splattered palette. Erin Feniger, the creator of RJP, selects high-quality vintage jeans (think Levi's, Gap, Paige, 7 for All Mankind etc.) in a variety of washes and styles, from traditional blue flares to pink skinnies and distressed boyfriends. The jeans run between $200-$245, and if you're in NYC you can see even more styles at their pop-up shop at 206 Front Street in South Street Seaport.

Thinking I need to get a boyfriend style first. Which pair is your favorite?

 all images via Rialto Jean Project. Shop the entire collection here!

Lazy Sunday // Link Love

Oh, Sunday…you sure got here fast! I see you brought gusty fall weather—the perpetually uninvited guest. No matter, here's hoping everyone is curled up with a cup of coffee this morning, maybe catch up on your DVR for the week!

After all that's been going on the last few weeks months, during which I've barely spent a night a week at home, splitting the rest between work and events, drinks with friends, going to performances, weekend travel and basically saying "yes" to everything imaginable, it really didn't surprise me that by Friday I was feeling majorly burned out. Although work is incredibly busy, I couldn't seem to get much of anything done buy the end of last week—one of those "so much to do, you don't do anything" kind of days, layered on top of exhaustion.

The list could go on and on, but I don't want you to think I'm just playing the "Oh my god I'm SO busy. Like, really, really busy" card…(most) all this busy-ness has certainly been by choice, and it's lead to one of the best years of my life to date! This weekend, though, I just needed to step back and chill out. By Friday night, I was ready to doze off at the ballet and the champagne at the after party wasn't doing me any favors, so I cut out a little early, actually did doze off a tiny bit on the train, came home and fell asleep with all my lights (and makeup) on til 4a, then finally went to bed and didn't set an alarm, which is rare for me. It was so nice to wake up on my own, and I opted to make zero plans for the day. I won't bore you with the rest of the details, except to say my roommates and I did a little feng shui last night til about 2a that has me considering sharing parts of our apartment on here this winter.


Now, since I need to go get ready for brunch (yup, being one of those people today!), I'll leave you with the links I've been bookmarking this week:

Really enjoyed reading Jamie's take on the whole blogger burnout thing on the web right now.

I shared The Cut's hilarious article on "basic bitches" with my co-worker last week, which prompted him to go get his last pumpkin spice latté ever, because he doesn't want to be basic anymore. PSA: pumpkin is not a spice!

Looking for pretty Parisian photos? Hallie's postcards from Paris will do the trick! Warning: inspires wanderlust.

Eventbrite has a great fall guide to NYC…and so does the Otte Blog!

Pretty dotted dishes from West Elm.

How to be more productive at work (a.k.a., advice I desperately needed this week).

I recently got my much-beloved blanket scarf out for the season, which has me looking for a new style or  two to add to my wardrobe this year!

Beautiful still life photography.

I'm a little late sharing this, but Jennifer Lawrence's response to the nude photo scandal reminded me of why I admire her, so much.

Lusting after a pair of blue suede boots for fall. I'm torn between a heeled pair, a flat pair or a lace-up pair!

image via

Link Love

Kicking posts this week off in reverse—but it's good to shake things up every now and again, no? This weekend was both perfect and not long enough...I never seem to accomplish half the things I say I'm going to do each weekend (this weekend's list included finally hanging up some of my gallery wall…after three years, and no it did not happen). When the weather is as beautiful as it's been I try to spend as much time outside as possible before I adopt "hermit status" in the winter, so much of Saturday was spent on a rooftop in Brooklyn, watching the sun set and bidding a good friend who's on her way to London today au revoir (for now). Those city views, man. Sunday became an opportunity to clean up around my apartment, swap my clothes out for fall and make a (small) dent in the stacks of magazines that's always piling up.

It's been a while since I've done one of these so I have some good ones below—Happy Tuesday!

How to properly store your summer clothes (absolutely necessary—don't neglect them as you make the swap!).

I desperately want these floral slip-ons for fall!

Mackenzie wrote a beautiful post on getting out of a funk recently, I could absolutely relate.

As I try to regain my hold on the French language and make an effort to travel and immerse myself in other cultures more frequently, I really enjoyed this read on "Acting French".

How to fake a good night's sleep (basically, my morning bible).

These Zimmerman booties are pretty similar to my favorite Loeffler Randall ones (last seen here).

Truths about the fast fashion industry.

The best hotel bars in NYC…and there are some GREAT ones on there!

Found—the perfect sleek (and affordable) loafer for fall.

How amazing are these Hudson Woods homes?? Sign me up for one, stat, please.

It's true, so why not advertise it? Although if it were more accurate, there'd be an "almost" in the middle.

Summer might be over, but I'm still making an effort to pick up some of the books on this reading list.

10 Foods that make your skin glow.

Have you heard of Rails? They're my new favorite for plaid shirts this fall.

*image via

Superhero

Happy Friday! Or, as I'm starting to call it, the start of the weekend where I try not to lose my mind. Just over a week from now, I'll be hopping on a plane home for 12 days—which sounds relaxing, but the reality is there's a lot I have to accomplish before I go (the least of which are laundry, packing, and cleaning up my apartment!), a bridal shower and bachelorette party that I'm hosting 12 hours after I land, and the start of NYFW 36 hours after I get back to NYC. Which is why I'm all about moments when I get to step back and relax for a minute...

I took my last summer Friday of the year last week (which makes it feel even more like fall in my head than this cooler weather we're having right now) and headed for the UES to grab lunch with Ashley. We headed to a quiet restaurant with tables lined up in the shade outdoors and spent some time just catching up, de-stressing from the week, and walking over to get some fro-yo after and meander to the park, where we nabbed a bench in the sunshine and gabbed a while longer. And, yes, I'm wholly aware I just used the words "meander" and "gabbed" in the same sentence…my brain must already be on Iowa-mode, ha!

Funny little story about this dress…I saw it at the beginning of the season when I was browsing new arrivals, but it faded from memory til last month when it popped back up on MAJOR sale on most sites. I kept debating whether I wanted to pull the trigger since it was still a tad pricey, but got an email one afternoon from the only site that still had my size in stock saying their sale section was ending that night. I got home shortly after midnight and hopped on my computer 20 minutes later…but the sale section was gone! So, naturally, at one a.m. I was writing emails to their customer service and even called when I discovered they had a 24-hour customer service line, but there was nothing they could do. A deeper Google search finally lead me to the last site to have just ONE in stock, in my size. Fate, right? Especially when it was $20 cheaper than everywhere else I'd seen it!

My co-workers have taken to calling it my "superhero dress" thanks to the cape-like overlay on the back. I personally love it for the simple fact it's a little unique and incredibly flattering. I've dressed it up with a chunky heel, and wore it like you see here to work last week with an edgier ankle boot.

J. Brand Lonsdale Dress || Schutz Ankle Boots (old) || Botkier Legacy Satchel (small version)

Italia Independent Sunglasses || Sequin Jewelry Necklace || Michael Kors Watch

Photos: Ashley Manfred

Beach Day

It seems like a cruel twist that as I write this, the skies outside my window are dark and the air is cool, but just two days ago it was what I think is universally referred to as "the perfect day"—85, light humidity, a breeze in the air and hardly a cloud in the sky. Which meant the only logical thing to do was load up a friend's car and head out to Jones Beach.

Getting there was an ordeal…we'd originally been planning on the weekend before, but bad weather ruined that one for us and we were dying to get out in the ocean one last time before summer ends. Thankfully, postponing a week brought us three straight days of heavenly weather and the chance to use my friend's car instead of a rented Zipcar. A godsend, if you will, because about 10 minutes out from the beach as we cruised along at about 10 miles an hour, we got rear-ended! I'll spare you the long story except to say that no one was seriously injured (I've been nursing a headache for a couple days and a touch of soreness in my neck; my other friends in the backseat also hit their heads) and the car suffered minimal damage; the worst parts were the occupants of the other car trying to make small-talk with us and getting to the beach an hour and a half later than we'd planned. All worth it once we arrived, though!

We try to pack beach days in to as many weekends as possible, but somehow much of this summer escaped before any truly solid days could be had—until Sunday, that is. The Rockaways are a great option if you don't have a car  available, but they can get crowded and the water's a touch dirtier than you'd probably want to admit while there; the nearly 2-hour subway ride in your swimsuit is considerably less fun than a quick 45-minute car ride to the cleaner beaches of Long Island, too. The sparkling blue hues struck us as soon as we crossed the sand, and I think my friend & I made it all of 15 minutes before we were in the water. The beach towel above wins for my new favorite beach accessory, though—huge, soft, and a giant whale of an image of a presumed old New Yorker cover! It took me an embarrassingly long time to get a beach towel (ahem, this is my first) out here and stop taking my bath towels with me...especially considering this one's super affordable ;)

Getting knocked on my ass by a HUGE wave…still not sure if I should be thankful my friend was there to capture the aftermath!

And, of course, what good is a beach day if you don't say a little thanks to the sun and sea gods after a long soak in the ocean? There are no more beach trips on my calendar in what's left of summer, but I'm hopeful we get a beautiful season next year.

Roxy Romper c/o Zappos || Victoria's Secret Swimsuit || Italia Independent Sunglasses c/o Zappos

Goorin Brothers Hat || Steve Madden Backpack c/o Zappos

J. Crew Maren Sandals || Home Source Beach Towel c/o Zappos