Beach Bound

In the spirit of the Hamptons - where I am headed this weekend with my best girl friends from middle school AND with our MOTHERS (mother daughter weekend yea yeaaa) I thought I'd post these amazing photos I found on Who What Wear from Vogue Paris (May 2013). OMG nothing could make me want to be in the sun, on the water, at the beach, more. These photos are amazing. Like they could sell the shit out of any nautical inspired clothing, perfume, makeup, hair products, anything. Sometimes images are just perfect and just ooze (sorry I hate that word) such a strong feeling and this is one of those cases. Enjoy! More pics of my own to come!

My Fave.

Ph: Gilles Bensimon, Stylist: Geraldine Saglio, Model: Edita Vilkeviciute

I've Got A New Scent-Sation

This week is going by so fast - I think because the weekend was really fun and this week's weather has been BLISS thus far. I work in Jersey City right by the water (so you can see all of downtown Manhattan, which is the redeeming part) and yesterday literally everyone in our building was on the boardwalk soaking up the sun.

Over the weekend I met up with my 2 best girlfriends from middle school (Sarah & Shelly, I love them so much!!) - I went to middle school in Tampa, Florida - and we had another activity day.

This was from Brooklyn Painting Lounge - we went to paint a couple Sunday's ago and each session is a different painting thing. Best part - it's BYOB so we sipped on Sparkling wine while creating these tie dye masterpieces.

Our activity days are turning out to be my favorite btw. First we met up at Freeman's, this awesome brunch place on the lower east side - you go down a (pee smelling) alley to find this dark cozy like barn-ish kind of restaurant with dead animals on the walls - definitely feel like you are in Kentucky rather than LES, which made my eyes light up right away. So we did that, then we went to The Wren before our activity (I'll tell you what activity in a moment) and we got drinks to get pumped up. I got an elf-sized mimosa thing (very delicious, but each sip was probably like $2.50 which is annoying) and Sarah who I thought didn't like spicy stuff got this literally beef jerkey peppered drink (DON'T ORDER IT) that literally would be used for hazing or something - had a chunk of beef in it, tasted like a liquid steak, and not a filet - because that I might consider.

This just in! Sarah captured every good moment of the day and even had a photo of this Beef Drank!!

Anyways, then we scurried along over to the East Village because our activity for the day was perfume making! #sniff

I'm glad Sarah did a little photo journalism here with this one - nice action shot.

So I forgot to mention that before we entered the fragrance shop I told the girls about my favorite perfumes - Bond No. 9 - and so we had this idea that we should go smell something we liked, Google the ingredients (how many fruits and flowers could it be?) and then duh, we'd just recreate it. Super easy. So we went to Bond - fell in love with a couple $300+ perfumes (they are cheaper on Nordstrom.com btw). If you are interested, my new fave is "Montauk," which is a unisex scent that kind of smells manly, but in the best way, and is so clean and cool - and my old fave is "The Scent of Peace" which is just beautiful.

Get them here - literally amazing scents

So back at the perfume factory, we had lists of things that we thought embodied these scents, so we tried to recreate them with the relatively limited selection of perfume oils available to us in the store. Clearly scents were becoming altered, because for example: to make Montauk I needed driftwood as one ingredient. The perfume factory only had "Woodstock" so I subbed that one in instead. If you are imagining the difference between the 2, I am sure you are already correct. Driftwood most likely smells like clean ocean air that you'd breathe in while having a nice outdoor lunch in the Hamptons, and Woodstock smells like unwashed hippie sunbathing by a lake. My final product consisted of woodstock, blue musk, mandarin "breeze" (flying oranges, I guess), Sweet heart vanilla aka Strippa, White Patchouli aka same shit as Woodstock. So the lady working at the story craftily squirted these perfumes on an INDEX CARD and rubbed then together with her index finger. 2 issues I have with that: 1) I am no perfume expert but I thought the general rule was DON'T RUB IT on your skin because the temperature change will alter the scent and 2) I don't know where that index finger has been!!!! My blend morphed into literally just Old Spice. Sarah's (she is the one on right side of pic at the top) became baby powder, and I don't know if Shelly (middle one in pic) even considered mixing her blend - She said aloud (so funny) "I just know this is going to smell gross so I don't think I want to even make it." But the activity was really fun and we learned a valuable lesson that day: buy expensive perfume.

After that we went into the chocolate store to the left and the guitar store to the right. The great thing about the east village is that there are so many very unique and specific independently owned stores and you can never really go to all of them because some change out over time. Each store seems to house someone who is so passionate about their craft; it's like professors at colleges who have dedicated themselves to not just one subject, but one topic in that subject (my adviser was from Harvard and focused on Work-Life balance - I majored in Sociology & Anthropology). The chocolate store had like 20 chocolates for sale in interesting flavors (even though the store was really small, selling 20 chocolates doesn't take much space) like peanut butter and jelly and bourbon and tea, and I guarantee that woman knows exactly what's in each one. One time I walked into a jewelry store and the artist was creating these little skull rungs that had such intricate faces and it was all by hand! Such cool stuff.

Me trying to play a guitar chord on the banjo.

And dennn Shelly and I went for drinks (typical) and had some wine (happy hour all day Sundays = $6 wines = yesss) and then had more drinks on my patio and had a fabulous day. I tried to rally for a concert (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) that evening which I went to (Yeah I did) - it was really fun but potentially not the best choice for a Sunday: the day of rest.

Cool venue, close to my apt which is nice.  

The concert was awesome - that lead girl is nuts, like actually nuts. She wears crazy shit and spits water in the air and screams and basically made me rethink what I wear each day.

This chick. She wore like the same outfit at the concert I was at. I googled this pic since I wasn't close enough to take one this clear and in such a fabulous second position (ballet position - basically just means "spread legs") Also my general philosophy at these small concerts is "stay as close to the bar as possible," which generally means far away from the stage (also a great choice in this situation, since I didn't know she was a spitter), UNLESS IT IS A COUNTRY CONCERT. In that case.. get up there!! The plus side is that no one really attends country concerts in this city or shares my passion for them (except Shelly) so really you can just do whatever you want there. 

And best part, we walked right by Glen Hansard who is the cutest man I've ever seen. If you don't know, he was in the movie Once which is now the best musical - it's incredible.  And that was a great Sunday.

The Colors, Duke, the Colors! I'm Colorblind, Kid.

Yea, got your attention!

OK, First, watch this. 

You are about to be hypnotized in the best possible way.

Isn't that beautiful? I learned about the musician from a documentary called "Press Pause Play" which was very interesting - about the changing world of music and technology - I highly recommend it.

So on a less important & meaningful note, just 2 days after I posted about tie dye (literally was slightly embarrassed to share my interest in it), Whowhatwear.com has a whole page on tie dye's return to the spotlight. Check out this literally one of a kind outfit below. They could have chosen way cooler images to include in their slide show of pieces, but hey.. who cares. I'm just happy they share my interest in these little rainbow numbers.

Read more here! FUN!

So on another exciting and colorful note, I ordered patio furniture for the terrace outside my room today which I am VERY excited about. I was going for this look (below)... but Rome wasn't built in a day... and either was my terrace. Plus, the environment is a little different, so I have to work with what I have.

So the primary difference here is that my space is a bit more confined (NYC) and I overlook other apartments instead of a waterfall - and in place of that little bear on the lounge chair will probably be a pigeon, and rather than all of those trees I have one potted (dying) "money tree" that tends to flip over mid day so I have to pick it up in the mornings, dust it off, and put some of its dust back in. 

BUT, outdoor space in NYC is awesome and I have a view of the clock tower in Union Square AND I can hear the church bells ring AND I only have like 3 apartments that can see me when I lay there tanning. Until now I've tanned twice out there, and both times I laid on newspaper (homeless style) but now that I have lounge chairs it's going to be like literally walking out to a resort. YESSSss. And definitely better than going to lay out in Washington Square park because I have a bathroom inside and no crazies to get near me while I lay in peace and (partial)quiet.

So, I was assuming that the furniture I ordered would come looking like the 2 lounge chairs, 2 chairs and 1 small table, but instead was surprised to find 2 medium sized but like disproportionately heavier square boxes outside my door yesterday. "Now how can a lounge chair fit in a 3x3 ft box?," I thought to myself. "Fuck, it doesn't," I replied to myself. I guess for like $200 large items don't come assembled ex: IKEA, so now I have important plans for Saturday morning, because I need to build this furniture asap. Will post pics of it as soon as it's built! PS. I'm like secretly happy it came in pieces because I love building stuff. It's so rewarding when you get to look at a final product after a few days hours.

Here is one more good song to work to that I used to love in college, if you are interested. Love instrumental stuff like this. Especially when it involves a guitar or banjo. Nothin' like a good banjo.

Have a good weekend! 

And I Would Walk Five Hundred Miles

I have been on this ridiculous, incessant, never ending hunt for comfortable heels for awhile now, and while one day I will invent them (a perfect stylish pair of black pumps that fits snuggly around your heels with no blisters, has padded arch support and a memory foam foot bed to keep the balls of your feet happy after walking to work), for now I am left to find which brand offers the most stylish, least granny, most comfortable version of a black pump. I've literally done a lot of research and this is my list of finds. Wait, one second. So the reason I've been so obsessed with finding a comfortable pair of heels is because I've found that everyday I am wearing the same black flats or House of Harlow black booties or my black riding boots to work, and I am sure that no one is thinking I am epitomizing professionalism over here from my cube. Today, for example, I look like G.I. Jane.

You see what I'm talking about?

THIS CAN'T be screaming "I am on my path to being the next CMO." So I recently reorganized my closet and put my heels in the front row so I can't ignore them and move straight onto the non sexy little flats that keep me at my normal height. But when I thought into WHY I don't wear heels to work, I realized it's because I don't like my foot wiggling around while walking down the stairs to the subway or getting jerked around on the L Train (I learned the hard way that it's imperative to hold on to the pole, regardless of what bacteria might be chilling on it) and I basically just want to be comfortable and feel as though I can sprint at any moment (a) to get away from cars that speed up to hit you while crossing the street b) in case I ever need to run from someone.

So my friends and I decided via group text that it is very hard to find comfortable stylish heels. We agreed that strapping yourself into a bootie or heel makes you feel a little more stable, but this doesn't solve the footbed "dear God the balls of my feet are on fucking fire and I can't take another step" feeling. So here is my list that I've found thus far. Clearly when I invent my comfy pump it will be at the top of the list. I need to get to work.

1. **BANANA REPUBLIC** (I gave it stars because it's the current winner) - I recently walked into Banana Republic store and grabbed a flat and when I touched it my little index finger sunk in and I was so happy to find that it has memory foam bottoms! I bought a pair of flats that are amazing and also just purchased a pair of ankle strap sandals yesterday, since I can't stop online shopping.

These at Banana Republic are $120, and if you use the coupon code  "BRAPRIL30" you get 30% until 4/7!!  Only $74!! I think these will turn to be a Spring favorite.

These nude pumps also have the comfort technology and  the thicker heel will definitely make long walks more comfortable.

2. Cole Haan - these are known for the "Nike Air" technology and while I recently purchased the pair below, I do still think definitely think there is room for improvement in the comfort department. For now, they are comfortable enough.

Great work shoes. Buy them here.

3. Nine West - I recently purchased this pair due to the amazing ratings - literally everyone (and by everyone I mean all the people I don't know writing reviews for this shoe that I am intently listening to) said they could walk all day in them. For the price, I thought I'd go for it. So good  at only $36.44 - and leather! One pair left, so I would hurry if you are an 8!

Buy them on Amazon here

4. ME TOO - My friend told me this morning that ME TOO makes very "smushy" heels as she called it, and that description was perfect for me. I actually almost bought this pair of heels yesterday (below) since I really want a great black ankle strappy heel for the summer, but I want one that I know I will wear and feel good walking around in all night.

ME TOO - find them here at piperlime - Also only $99

5. Kenneth Cole Collection - I am putting this one last because I don't think it exists anymore, and I am disappointed that they didn't continue this line at a logical price. So one day I discovered this shoe in the Kenneth Cole store on 5th avenue (I have no idea why I even walked in) but I picked up these beautiful black pumps and noticed they had an elastic band to hold your heel in place, 2 layers of memory foam, arch support, rubber soles, etc. - literally an orthopedic dream. But the price was $225. I thought that was ridiculous for Kenneth Cole, so I put them down. Obviously many others thought the same because the line extension went away and I don't think the brand has really turned around either. But anyways, hopefully someone else will make a shoe just like this for a reasonable price, and if they don't then as I told you, I will.

The collection is called "925" - hence the silver heel. You can read more about the comfort technology here.

So if you have any suggestions for the best most comfortable pumps or heels please let me know!! Why don't we already have this available to us??

Weekend Projects

So I have been really wanting some projects lately and I think my next one will be to make a pair of tie dyed jean shorts. (See below).

I like the ones on the left the best.

They do seem a little difficult to make and actually look good and cute - I am looking to get a pastel color and a nice pleasing to the eye rainbow fade across the front and back, not like grateful dead hippied-out bright primary colors that hurt the eyeballs. 

Other styles I like are below:

These are from Etsy.com and are $35.

And THESE are my super favorites - there is no chance in hell I will be able to craft these babies and get these little splatter effects - I just LOVE them. 

Also find these on Etsy - also the person's store is really cool - see the spiked loafers.

So once I find directions that are sufficient, I will post them. I just watched a few youtube videos and am becoming more and more inclined to just buy the pair above - between the supplies and risking ruining my bathtub and staining my hands - this looks like kind of an ordeal. Also, each video seems a little different. Will post whatever I decide!