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Go Country For a Day

Ever wonder why country boots are so popular down south? It’s because they are not only durable, but comfy as well. I may not be a fan of denim shirts, country music or southern fried chicken, but cute and comfy I can do.

I realize that cowboy boots are on their way out of style in the fashion world, but I don’t always follow all the rules. My boots aren’t exactly cowboy, but they are western. I found them last year on a random trip to dsw and was convinced to purchase them. I almost didn’t get them, but a year later, I’m glad that I did because I’ve gotten a lot of use out of them.

There’s something carefree and charming about these boots, especially when paired with a dress. They give a little something more than flats, heels or sandals, and keep your feet comfy while you wear them. When the weather is a bit warmer, I do this thing where I put together no two outfits alike: prim and proper, casually suburban, summer beach-y. But I have to say that carefree country may be my favorite because I can be girly yet comfortable. Anything goes!

Every so often my bff and I have country days, and we’re having one this weekend. They are always a blast. So, next time there is a cool day (aka below 80 degrees) like there is today, dust off your boots, put on a floral dress and go.

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Summer is Unofficially Here

This past weekend is one that we look forward to all winter – especially with the one we just had, the temperatures hitting record lows, and a blanket of snow that never seemed to leave – the unofficial start to summer, and what a weekend it was.

Though it started off with some showers, most of the weekend was hot (temperatures reached the mid-80s) and, more importantly, full of sun. During the rainy periods I watched movies with a friend, cooked and ran errands, and during the better half of the weekend I was out soaking up the sun, iced latte in hand and doused in spf.

While autumn is my favorite season of the year for many reasons, no matter how much I end up complaining about it, summer is my second, but not for what you may think. Of course, I love the long daylight hours, trips to the beach, and the sun, but the real reason that I love summer is for the sundresses. And yesterday, as I was switching out my sweaters for my summer clothes, I was reminded of that. No matter how hot or humid it is, or what kind of day I’ve having, dunning a light, airy frock always puts a smile on my face. Maybe I’m just a girly girl – I did wear dresses every single day of kindergarten – but sundresses make everything better.

So, while summer doesn’t officially start until June 21st, sundress season has begun. I have already added two new ones to my collection and you can bet that there will be more. What is my ideal summer day? Sitting outside in a sundress with a good book and a glass of champagne or prosecco. What’s yours?

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Discover Laidback London

A few years ago when my office changed locations, I discovered a cute little boutique with a pink awning called Pookie & Sebastian, but it was only recently that I chose to venture in and aside from an amazing dress and bracelet that I purchased, I found something else there that is far more valuable, beautiful sandals by a company called Laidback London. They were a little pricey, but you could tell that they were of a high quality and worth the cost. Me, being the type of person who needs to know everything, immediately set about to find out information on the company and was amazed at what I found.

Laidback London was founded in 2002, spawning from the idea of making quality, fair trade sandals that are uniquely beautiful and timeless. The products are created in Africa, the leather is from a local tannery and everything about these sandals is handmade. The leather is dyed and cut by hand. The beads are hand sewn into the leather and the shoes are stitched together by hand. I have only worn my pair a few times, but I have received many compliments. Not only are they beautiful and comfortable, they can be dressed down or up. Really, the perfect sandals for summer. Check them out at laidbacklondon.com.

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The Met, an Old Friend

There are some places that, no matter how long it’s been since you’ve visited, or no matter who you had gone with, always envelope you into their doors and surround you with familiarity and warmness. This is the Met to me. Every time I go there I lose myself both in the beauty that it houses and in the literal sense. I always get lost. Normally, that is the type of thing that would frustrate me, but not there. I always look in wonder at my new surroundings and enjoy every minute of it.

Whenever I venture to the museum I have to visit the Egyptian temple, Monet and Degas (I love Degas), but the place that I spend the most time in is a result of one of my happy accidents. A few years ago, I stumbled upon a staircase, a beautiful hand carved staircase that sits on the first floor between European Sculpture and Decorative Arts and the American Wing, from Cassiobury House in Hertfordshire, dating back to the late 1600s. It’s breathtaking, and although that is by far my favorite piece, it is not my favorite section. It is from there, however, that I discovered the period rooms in the American Wing and truly fell in love. You walk through rooms from the late 1600s to early 1900s and see beautiful furnishings, amazing chandeliers….It brings you back to a different time where great care was taken into the production of rooms and houses and possessions. Even the floors in this section are old, hardwood and creak under your feet. Aside from the beautiful interiors, I love the period rooms because they’re quiet, never crowded and truly feel like home. No matter what mood I’m in, they give me an inner peace that I rarely find elsewhere. It’s the most special place in the Met to me. In it, time stands still. Where are your special places?

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Meeting Diane Keaton

Last week, I attended the book launch for Diane Keaton’s new memoir, Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty, published by Random House, along with my friend Mei. The event was held at Barnes & Noble’s Union Square location and free with the purchase of her book (as most events held at B&N are), and there was a significant turnout.

There are few celebrities that I would get excited to meet (Julia Roberts, the original cast of 90210), and even fewer that I would purchase a memoir from (same answer), then there’s Diane Keaton. Having grown up watching many of her movies (okay, I must admit that I have yet to see The Godfather), and being of the opinion that she is an amazing actress, one of the greats, because, well, she is, I was thrilled to get the opportunity to not only see her in person, but actually meet her. And, it was awesome.

Before she even got to the stage and was announced, I saw her walking towards us. My friend and I had seats that were pretty close to the stage, but were asked to move last minute to make room for others and had chairs brought up to us on the side lines. This kind of obstructed our view a bit, but turned out to be the best move because when they started forming lines based on rows for Diane to sign her book, I ended up being the first one up there.

Diane Keaton was funny, smart and most of all, really sweet. And, while I hadn’t originally planned on doing anything with her book other than getting it signed, I might crack it open after all. Oh, and she had a black and white plaid mani of which I complimented her on.

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Below Freezing in the Spring

This morning I awoke to a cold apartment and my weatherman uttering the two words I never want to hear in the middle of April and (gasp) just mere days before my birthday: wind chill. With temperatures in the upper 70s this past weekend (at least in Connecticut they were), how could we go from contemplating a bikini to deciding whether or not to slip our feet back into the Uggs that have just been tucked into the back of our closets? The thought to me was unfathomable, especially since I’ve been browsing the internet (purchasing) in search of new flats and sundresses to add to my collection, daydreaming of the first days where I will once again be able to wear the light, airy frocks…because really, there is nothing in the world like them.

Instead, today, I forewent my Uggs and scarf (I would rather freeze that wear either again this season), donning a sweater and my lightest wool coat before frowning in the mirror and stepping out of the house, having the good sense to grab a hat at the last minute. As I was walking outside, I saw the telltale sign that winter had indeed come back even if just for the next couple of days and frowned at the traces of snow covering bits of grass and cars. I pulled my hat on, stiffened my shoulders and shoved my hands in my pockets, longing for the warm air to return.

But, not to fret. We will reach the 60s by Friday just in time for my birthday weekend!

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The Life & Death of It All

It’s been a while since I’ve heard anyone utter that expression, but due to recent events in my life, this popped into my head this morning. I am reminded of a scene from the finale of Dawson’s Creek (yes, I was a fan back in the day), where, to paraphrase, Dawson says that the opposite of life isn’t death, that life has no opposite.

It has been a long time since that show aired, but that line has stuck with me through the years, mainly because of how true it is. Birth is the opposite of death because birth is the beginning of something and death the end, but life…life is existing. Can there be a true opposite to that? I don’t think that there is, and I think that that is a thought that is overlooked more often than not. Many people go through life without a care in the world, ignorant of the very real fact that they are on a once-in-a-lifetime journey, because when life ends, that’s it. There are no second chances or do-overs. It’s just over. Then there are others who strive to make a name for themselves, to leave a legacy, but they have it all wrong too. These people are so wrapped up in leaving something behind that they, too, are ignorant in the rarity that is life, and therefore miss out on the little things, which, as we know, really are what make up one’s life. Not that there is anything wrong with living either of those ways, it’s just that often times a person’s life isn’t really appreciated until circumstances threaten its very existence. And it shouldn’t be that way.

We tend to obsess over the little things that really have no significance, something of which I am definitely guilty of. But, I often find that while I am obsessing, something big or traumatic happens to someone that I care about which always forces me to take a step back and reexamine my life, and brings me to the realization that all of my obsessing is just wasting time that should be spent doing/thinking about other things. That, if I put as much effort into my life and my relationships as I do obsessing, I would be leading a much fuller life and, hopefully, not missing out on the things that truly matter.

Right now, in the midst of a life or death situation of someone that I truly care about, I sit back and think about everything that I thought was important, people who I once thought would be with me forever but have faded away, and I realize that, while some of these people I do miss, the only thing that matters is right now: this minute. And that everything else just isn’t as important as I once thought. That the only thing to do is to live in the present, because everything else just isn’t living….

Life has no opposite; life is existing.

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Winter Inadequacies & Traveling

After a late, wine-infused evening of great conversation with a new friend (a weekly tradition in the making), I woke up this morning to a world of more white than when I had gone to bed – if that is even possible. I quickly got dressed, threw on my rain-boots, and headed outside to shovel out the car. Seeing as how I am not normally in possession of a car, I also am not in possession of a shovel. I know, how can you live in NYC without a shovel, well I have been in my apartment for close to eight years and I have never needed one because my landlord always shovels me out…eventually. Ah, the perks of living in a private house. So, having a deficit in the winter-gear department, I grabbed the closest thing I had that resembled a shovel: a dust pan. Yes. I am that girl. I shoveled the car out this morning with a dustpan…and no gloves: a winning combination that left my hands red and raw. I am not proud of this moment; however, it is definitely something that I am going to laugh about in the not too distant future…like perhaps tomorrow or Friday after I have gotten rid of the last of the snow.

When I finished, I went back insides to warm up for a few minutes before my trek to the bus stop, but unfortunately it doesn’t end there. Not only did my bus end up being twenty minutes late, but it also broke down and I had to wait another large chunk of time to get onto the next one. Thankfully, my ride on the subway was fine, but right after I got off at Grand Central they stopped the 7-line from coming into the city because of a fire.

On the bright side, I was able to get my latte with no problems as there was surprisingly no line at Starbucks…hopefully my commute home won’t be so bad. I am sooo looking forward to my day of yoga, beauty and shopping on Friday 😁.

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Dior Vernis Nail Enamel (653) Darling

This past summer, I was killing time before meeting a friend for drinks and decided to browse around Sephora.  Not the greatest idea, since practically every time I step in there I end up purchasing something I hadn’t been expecting to get.  That particular trip, I believe ended with my purchasing a shade of Marc Jacobs Enamored Nail Glaze, Daisy to be exact.  I purchased something else that day , but I cannot remember what it was.  I had been very excited about the Marc Jacob nail polish because it was a new product for him, and because it was named after Daisy from Gatsby, clearly (he also has a shade called Gatsby of which I own as well).

So, I was walking around the store, browsing, and I came across this amazing shade of pink nail polish from Dior Vernis Nail Enamel: Darling (653).  Now, not only did I love it because I am a pink girl and it truly is an amazing shade of pink, but I also loved it because of the name.  My best friend Melissa and I have been calling each other darling for as long as I can remember.  I’m not sure how it started exactly, but of course the name drew me in.  I stood there for a few minutes, contemplating the purchase but ultimately left the store without it.  For the longest time I had been a strictly Essie girl, and I could not justify spending $24 on one bottle of nail polish no matter how perfect a shade of pink it was.

Fast forward a few months to my most recent Sephora trip.  I was in desperate need of mascara, of which I use Dior Extase, and so upon my entrance into the store, I knew that I would be back in the vicinity of that beloved nail polish color.  I convinced myself that if they did still have it, I would purchase it because really, at that point of course I was meant to own it.  After procuring my mascara – Dior really makes the best mascara – I glanced at the nail polish and, there was Darling, sitting there waiting for me.  I scooped it up immediately and rushed to the register…the line was atrociously long but seemed to move quickly enough. 

I have not used it yet, but very soon my nails will be inhabited by this beautiful shade of pink!

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Survivor: Blood vs. Water Finale

Having gotten into Survivor earlier in the year, and watching a ton of seasons back-to-back with every episode waiting at my fingertips, I never before had to endure the week-to-week wait that fans experienced until now.  The same suspense that kept me in my Survivor-a-thon craze held my attention week after week for the new season Blood vs. Water, though I missed the ability to stay up late into the night (or in on a rainy day) watching episodes.

Let me say that this was an amazing season.  I knew a few of the returning players, though none of them made it to the end.  I really liked the premise of pitting loved ones against each other – seeing which ones would stick by their loved ones and sacrifice themselves, and seeing which ones would turn against each other (which was bound to happen).  I wasn’t surprised when Rupert changed places with his wife because that’s the type of guy I could see that he was, but I was disappointed because I wanted to see him win for once.  Although I didn’t like Aras from Survivor: Panama, I came to like him this season and was rooting for him I think partially because I wanted him to beat his brother Vytas, and partially because I felt bad when the tribe went behind his back and voted him out – although that is a move that happens frequently with this game.

There came a point almost mid-way through when I expressed my thoughts that Tyson was the frontrunner.  For one thing he ended up finding both idols, which was definitely an advantage.  A second thing was that he seemed to have this control that no one really seemed to realize.  Everything that he did was calculated, even insofar as the way he ended up playing both idols, even though after they were in play it was clear that they had not actually been needed and were more for peace of mind.  A few weeks ago, when they decided to draw rocks at tribal council (only the second time it has been done), I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be.  It really could have changed-up the whole game.  Tyson didn’t end up drawing the white rock, and I was glad about that, although the person that I had wanted to leave (Ciera) didn’t draw the white rock either.

In the end, Tyson did win, and I think that he deserved it, although I would have liked for the edits to be a little less obvious about it.  The next season begins in February and it sounds like it will be an interesting one.  I can’t wait!