Equal Parts Cozy and Chic

Christine Centenera from Harper's Bazaar Australia is the visual definition of the best of both worlds. Her sweater makes you want to cozy up, hot cocoa in hand, on the hearth of a blazing fireplace while her skirt and fierce platforms have you strutting something sexy down the runway like it's the VS fashion show with slightly more coverage.  Oh, to be so chic as to not have to choose between one or the other!

{Via Street Peeper}

Get Your Gift On! | For The (Outdoors)Man in your life

Clockwise Top Left to Right 1. Field Notes Mixed Paper Memo Books 2. Penfield Stapleton Vest 3. Uniform Wares Rose Gold Watch 4. SeaVees Off Shore Boot 5. Folk Buckley Belt 6. J.W. Hulme Company Classic Small Field Bag

Shopping for all the lady loves in my life? Piece. Of. Cake. The men? You might as well put me in a foreign country without so much as a compass and a map- not that I would know how to work either of the two.  In my quest to get my gift on manly man style, I'll be sharing all my finds with you. I call the edit above The (Outdoors)MAN. You'll have your man yelling, "Timber!" in no time with these woodsy picks. Not quite into the Smokey the Bear look? I'm on the hunt for more polished picks!

Get your Gift on! | Nolita. Necessary.

 {The Pope Ring and Wedding Band by La Petite Princesse Love} 

With Black Friday in full swing and my Christmas shopping merely a thought, it was still most necessary to avoid SoHo like the plague! Instead I opted for strolling around lovely Nolita, walking in and out of cutesy boutiques while not having to bust it out Luda style and throw them bows just to get a deal. It was there that I stumbled across La Petite Princesse and instantly fell in love. The designer is known for her stunning, raw, sculptural pieces that are individually handmade and unique by nature. She draws her inspiration from such legendary artists as Mondrian and Warhol and my two fave picks above are under $100-perfect for the girl who loves bespoke pieces with bohemian flair!

Brunch in the East Village

I'm beginning to think that I'm a man when it comes to interior design.  I always find myself drawn to an aesthetic that easily falls under industrial chic, and I adore the drama of dark earth tones such as brown, gray, and black.  Early Saturday morning, I found myself at brunch in the East Village in a space that falls under all of the above sipping on a delicious cappuccino...

At The Smith, light fixtures hung from the ceiling on meat hooks or on stands fashioned out of cast iron pipes.  Vintage inspired hexagonal floor tiles patterned the floor in black and white and the walls were dressed in subway tiles.  The metals and tiles were accented with wood au naturel or painted in a slate blue (similar to my living room walls!) and worn leather covered bench and chair seats.  Water was served flat or sparkling in simple green or clear glass bottles and the daily specials were showcased on chalkboards.  Everything was perfection to my manly man tastes even my eggs benedict!

Hope you had a holiday filled with loved ones, laughter, and feasts galore! How are you wrapping up your weekend loves?

p.s. Did I mention I got my House in the City and cape?! They were both pleasant surprises that sent me into a twirl of shrieks and excitement! =) This calls for a holiday gift guide! 

Emerson & Emerson | Happy Thanks!

{Via EmersonMade}

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

For flowers that bloom about our feet;

For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;

For song of bird, and hum of bee;

For all things fair we hear or see,

Father in heaven, we thank Thee! ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

MUCH LOVE TO YOU AND YOURS ON THIS DAY OF THANKS!!

Thanksgiving Tips #1 and #2

Step 1. Dress for the feast in fashion and function with the help of Refinery 29's article "Five Outfits that Hide the Food Baby."

Step 2. Buy this pillow by Alexandra Ferguson for snuggling motivation.

Weekend Photo Recap {The Birthday Part I!}

After talking it up like it was a freakin' National holiday, I figure I owe you a few party pictures to show you what the fuss was all about!

{Leave it to Mom to start the day off special- homemade fresh strawberry cupcakes and a family tradition of misau aka Chinese soup that she always makes the morning of our birthdays for good luck!}

 {Birthday cards and hand-written letters from best friends =)}

 {Roses from mom and dad! Right before A took me to the most perfect dinner!}

{The birthday tailgate begins... Leah made special cupcakes!}

{A few bloody marys and some champers later and proof that alcohol blurs your vision- That is not Hello Kitty}

{Bff's!}

{Bless his little baby heart- upon hearing that it was my birthday he wanted to give me his fundraising popcorn.  As I cannot take treats from a child (let alone the Boy Scouts of America), we agreed on a picture- Boy Scouts honor!}

{RSK Reunited!}

 {R: Touch my wrist. C:Touches my wrist. R: Can you feel it? C: Feel what? R: Duh, the champagne bubbles running through my veins!}

{The best birthday tailgate ever!!}

Thanksgiving and Part II, here I come!

H&M Spring 2011

H&M's Spring collection, which debuted last week, was a smattering of structured to flowy with hemlines ranging from high to low. I love the subtle 60's slash 70's vibe the collection has got going on and the pops of pink, salmon, and coral throughout!

And on an unrelated note, how was your weekend loves? Mine was a fabulous whirlwind of birthday festivies! (For those of you who were wondering- the big day was on Friday!)  Thank you so very much to everyone who stopped by with sweet birthday wishes!! Your thoughts put me absolutely over the moon, and I couldn't feel more blessed and lucky =) I can't wait to share my birthday weekend photo recap!!!

p.s. Who's excited about  this short week and Thanksgiving?!

{Via Red Carpet Fashion Awards}

Birthday A? or Birthday B?

After seriously having butterflies all day yesterday and walking around like a total looney, "Oh my goodness, I can't believe it's finally here" was the phrase of the day, I'm ready to begin a mahh-velous birth. day. Just one question...

Birthday A?

Or Birthday B?

I talk a big talk, and at this point you may not believe me, but it's absolutely "B" for me.  I would love nothing more than to have a pretty little dinner party with my closest friends and family. We'd savor every moment like the French and start with an amuse-bouche and an aperitif! Supper would be a feast of Fall Harvest- something deliciously savory like this. There would be champagne and cake, fresh cut flowers and white linen table cloths, an abundance of tea lights, and no shortage of the kind of laughter that makes your sides hurt!

 What's it for you? A? Or B? Happy Friday darlings!  

p.s. Stay tuned! Despite all the excitement around here, I've still put together a fun linky link weekend post! My present to you!

Birthday Countdown Wish List | Sparkly Birthday Shoes

As you all know, I have been shamelessly raving about my birthday since the first of November. I really can't help that I get giddy like a child (you must be thinking a spoiled rotten child at this point) who has just been released in a candy store, strike that, Willy Wonka's candy wonderland when it comes to these things. If displaying my "wish list" to the world were not self absorbed and obnoxious enough, I would now like to put the cherry on top (or candle?) and wish for these oh so sparkly sequins covered Kate Spade pretties ...because in all honestly, it so necessary for a birthday girl to be covered in sequins (well, at least her feet) while she prances around eating cake! Now where's the champagne? :)

Birthday Countdown Wish List | Bar Rings

Speaking of classics with a twist, how fun are these bar rings? I really do love dainty, simple rings. Remember this Marc Jacobs lovely I won over Labor Day weekend? I ditched two out of the three stackables and only sport the plain middle one over my diamonds and all! I think it's time to update my classic with a bar ring or three. What do you think loves?

{Discovered via Natalie Merrillyn}

Birthday Countdown Wish List | A Stylist for my Life

{Mrs. Lilien, stylist extraordinaire! Gumdrops, cloves, pills, and bedazzled bushes never looked so lovely!}

I may not have it in spades, but I think I'm self aware enough to state that as far as personal style, I'm not doing terribly bad. I believe that classics with a twist are usually the way to go. I believe that vintage is at its best flanked with modern panache. I believe in fresh cut flowers and handwritten letters. I believe in library cards and real books that you can touch and smell- not those silly new whatchamacallits. I believe in creating a life you adore and if it were in my budget that hiring Mrs. Lilien, stylist extraordinaire, would not be a bad move to make. After all, someone who can make fire engine red and school bus yellow look chic all at the same time has got it going on in my book! Here's what a life would look like styled by the Mrs. herself...

Isn't she so crazy chic? What do you believe in loves? Happy Hump Day!

{Via Mrs.Lilien}

Birthday Countdown Wish List | Cheeky Cocktails

How necessary is this pair of highballs?  They would be a clever, not to mention wildly fun, addition to our bar cart whose last purchase of pink and orange leather coasters was far too long ago! If I happen to find them sitting under my birthday tree, you can bet they will be put to good use without a second's wait.  I think I'd shake it up like Don or Betty Draper and pour a good ol' fashioned gimlet.  What about you darlings?

p.s. Speaking of shaking it up, how's this for a cheeky hostess gift? Cheers!

{via Erin Ever After & Mrs. Lilien}

Birthday Countdown Wish List | A House in the City

{A traipse around the West Village on a day I was sure winter had broken and spring had waltzed in, Nat and I discovered the most lovely, and I must say intriguing front door with the most delightful address- 875 1/2 Bank Street.  Whimsy in the West Village- enough to deem love at first sight and then and there it was decided...one day I shall live here}

I'm not quite wishing for a house in the city, well yes one day, but mainly just the book titled Restoring a House in the City to prepare for that, dare I say, said "one day." Some people dream of a sprawling multi-acre farm or prime waterfront property, but I dream of...

...nostalgic, tree-lined cobblestone streets and quiet neighborhoods secretly tucked away in the biggest cities on earth. I dream of renovated Brooklyn brownstones the perfect mix of neo and "trad..."

and pre-war treasures overflowing with character from ceiling medallions to chandeliers in the heart of Greenwich Village. If only my feet would one day find those antique wood floors, I promise I would never hear the creaking and squeaking. 

I'm certainly aware that all of the above comes with "unless I win the lottery price tags" so I will settle for the book since it is after all chock full of my hopes and dreams :)

{Images Via Restoring a House in the City}

Birthday Countdown Wish List | A Quote close to my Heart. Literally.

{What quote would you have stamped? See Etsy Shop}

 There are moments

that I know I will long for

even as I live them. 

Wouldn’t this be lovely hanging daintily around your neck? Do you ever have moments like these?  Moments bursting to the brim with life, love, joy? Moments so precious and ethereal that the tighter you try to hold on to them the quicker they slip through your fingers like a dream? Life is fleeting and such is the beauty- to have many of these moments and to remind yourself to be terribly happy at all times.

{Quote by Judith Katzir via}

Birthday Countdown Wish List | Macaroon Cakes and Sparklers!

Hello, birthday week!!! I know I must make it to the end of the week, but I'm becoming exceedingly excited for the festivities to begin! There's no denying that I'm officially in my late twenties as I decided "mid" ended at 26, but no worries, getting older is just another reason to celebrate with a little more panache than that of my early twenties drunken debaucheries! Wouldn't a cake made of dainty macaroons from famous French Bakery Laduree be perfectly fabulous? Of course there must be champagne, and I'm thinking sparklers would be utterly splendid!

On an unrelated note, how was your weekend luvies? Mine was filled with dear friends, mani and wine dates alfresco (we had the most delicious torrentes!), a soda shop brunch (alfresco of course!), pretty cupcakes, a stylish arrival from Temperley London, a jaunt to the library, a mini Sunday night dinner date (you guessed it, alfresco!), and a fall afternoon walkabout in which we encountered a grandstand street performing band! I couldn't have asked for anything more! Cheers to another week!

 

{My selections from the dessert bar at brunch! Don't you love when you don't have to choose between one or the other?}

{Via AmourAmour, Fime, and Green Wedding Shoes}

Happy Friday!

Hooray, it's Friday! I've finally gotten into the routine of waking up at such an ungodly hour as 5:15 AM. It feels great to have already worked out to my heart's content by the time the sun is just peaking over the horizon, which trust me the heart is not hard to please while it's chasing the treadmill clock whilst beating a thousand times a minute, but I'm so looking forward to waking up whenever I please and slowly, very slowly. What are you looking forward to the next few days? Just a few more hours, so until then here are a few posts that are definitely My Cup of Te. Happy Weekend loves!

I made this for dinner last night, but with peppery arugula and roasted artichokes

I believe I've found my christmas cards

Does the term "go for it" apply here? I think I'd look quite ludicrous

Did their parents really dress them up like this?

A pumpkin makeover you'll need for all those crazy family get togethers coming up

Hello, lipstick

I love anything vintage, including cocktails

A Wu Wedding

MK or A with or without the eyeliner?

Marc Jacobs gets silly with it

Toasted marshmallows reinvented

A dead ringer for the blue on my living room walls

She gave him her username and pass, and he wrote the cutest post for their anni

Ray Ban's new releases for Spring '11

Light blogging...butterflies taste with their feet?

Today I went on a day trip with dad to see a big account. The account is a homegrown, southern family business like ours, but 3rd generation with 5th generation customers! Well I'll be damned, right? Whoever hears of such these days? On top of that, they hand out Coca-Cola classics in glass bottles to everyone customer that walks in- for FREE!  So vintage right now. It was great to be around such incredibly genuine, motivated people (J.M. shut it down!), my dad, and to see history at work...thus, I am all tuckered out and am sharing only this lovely little saying above. Light blogging and bedtime it is!