Printemps

After what I am willing to brush aside as a "rough winter", springtime is finally here! That means cutoff shorts, outdoor concerts (including fun. and JT/Jay-Z, woo!), and the resurgence of blogging. In a bout of money unawareness, I bought a Canon Rebel T3, and I look forward to posting horribly composed photographs all summer long. Glad to be back, and glad to spend the afternoon catching up on all of your wonderful blogs!

So This Is The New Year

Happy 2012 dear readers! I'm writing this post on the long train ride back to NYC, looking out the window at a sea of white snow and reminiscing about the holidays. I hope you're all doing well, and I wish you all the best in the new year!

Here are just a few pictures from the past few weeks in Manhattan and Rochester - lots of Christmas lights, early new years parties (with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots!), and merry-go-round rides with my niece. How did you celebrate the holidays?

City shots

Amazing view from Williamsburg

Questlove of The Roots (!)

LoL

Boats and the sunset over the Hudson River

Drinking an iced coffee in Park Slope (still need to try the trenta!)

View out the window of a bar in Bushwick

Bad Blogger

nicole by Nicole Miller Michelle leopard heels (available here)

I'm sorry I've been such a bad blogger this month - between my internship, trying to see absolutely everything there is to see in this city, and applying for jobs, I barely have time to sleep! In the past few days I've met with the lovely PR ladies from Nicole Miller and nicole by Nicole Miller (check out those leopard beauties above!), previewed holiday goodies at the ABPR showroom, got lost in Bed-Stuy while trying to find a bar in Brooklyn, and ate an unhealthy amount of greasy food cart food. I haven't had much time for outfit pictures, but I was wondering if you all were interested in seeing random city pictures like the ones in my previous post? Let me know, I have tons to share if you guys like them! And I'll be trying to get back into blogger-mode this weekend with outfit pics, currently craving collages, and all that good stuff - and of course catching up on all of your blogs!

Passing time

Here are just a few random pics that never made it into my posts from the past few weeks...

View of midtown while walking through Central Park at night


The McQueen exhibit at the Met


So much patriotism on my walk to work

Leighton Meester filming Gossip Girl in my neighborhood (!!!)

Sunset from the rooftop of the Empire Hotel

"To him, no matter what the season was, this was still a town that existed in black and white and pulsated to the great tunes of George Gershwin"

(Photo taken by me, last time I visited the city)

It's official - I'm moving to NYC on Memorial Day weekend! I'm sorry that my blog has been so sparse these past few weeks, but it has been so much more work to plan this move than I ever thought it would be! Finding a decent sublet for the summer was almost impossible, and I'm so so lucky I stumbled upon a gorgeous, clean, quiet studio on the Upper West Side. Now I'm trying to figure out what to pack... and that part isn't going so well! Any tips on packing for a 4 month (maybe more!) stay in one of the most fashionable cities in the world? And if you're from NY, I'd love any tips on where to shop and eat too!

I'm selling a few things on ebay to help pay for NYC, check out my auctions here!

Niagara Wine Trail

Forever 21 dress; American Apparel jacket; Jeffrey Campbell Litas from Solestruck;
Vintage Chanel bag; Surell fur earmuffs from TJ Maxx

This weekend the BF and I went on a tour of the Niagara Wine Trail - we sampled wine and chocolates at local wineries during the day and froze at Niagara Falls at night! I wanted to share a few pictures with you all because even though my camera is awful, you can still sort of see how amazing Niagara Falls looks covered in ice and snow.

I hope you're all having a love-filled Valentine's Day! Don't forget to enter to win a Foley + Corinna bag this week!

We could see Toronto right across the lake! Are any of you guys from that part of Canada?

Go-To

I haven't had time to take proper outfit pictures lately, but I was able to take a couple quick snaps of the things I've been reaching for again and again this week. I've pretty much been living in shorts and tees (and my Cavs jersey!), so there isn't too much to show! I'm definitely not a great summer-weather dresser - I'd choose jeans and sweaters over tank tops and booty shorts every time!

Studded headband from ShopToast

Minnetonka moccasins from Urban Outfitters

Vintage fuzzy leopard cuff

And of course, my little-boy-sized Cavs jersey

What do you all reach for in your closets when you are lacking inspiration? Do you have go-to outfits or accessories for days when you feel you have nothing to wear? I'd love to hear from you all - I'm seriously lacking warm-weather wardrobe inspiration lately!

Sex and the City 2 Trailer!

I know what I'm doing the day before my 24th birthday.... Sex and the City 2! Lets hear it for New York, New York, New Yoooork!

PS- Carrie's turban = *love*! And her J'adore Dior tee? Hmmm...

~*~Oh the weather outside is frightful~*~

~*~But the fire is so delightful~*~

...as is this caramel brulee latte!

Hope you're all staying warm, wherever you are!

I <3 NY

I just got home a few days ago and I'm already planning my next trip to NY! I'd love to see the city covered in a sheet of fresh white snow - that just sounds so romantic! Ah, I need you real New York-ers out there to snap me out of this sentimental haze! But for now, I'm off to watch Manhattan for the millionth time...

*

Inspired by this post from Lulu, I am going to take the blog in a different direction for a second.

"Most fashion blogs/ people/ personalities just seem so boring. "Be a real person!" I would say. Do you ever wonder if anyone feels anything beyond "Oh I covet this..."?" -Lulu

I realize the irony in writing this this directly following a "Currently Craving" post, but what can you do. I feel that I've been hiding the real me from this blog because I'm afraid of what happened to Lulu when she wrote about her breakdown a while back, and the harsh, critical comments that seem to be staples on other blogs.

I've only ever gotten one negative comment on this blog, and it was something about my hair being frizzy. That's it. So I guess I have always been playing it safe, being sure I never say or show anything that people can pick at or tear apart. But by doing that, this blog really has nothing to do with me. You could replace me with any other mainstream fashion blog reading, TFS-obsessed girl and the results would be the same.

So I guess what I'm trying to say in this tirade is that we all need to be ourselves, and not fall into the easy trap that I have of playing it safe and hiding who we are and how we feel for fear of banishment from our peers (or something like that?). And I'm going to try to take my own advice and reclaim this blog...

*RIP Daul Kim*

Bloggers are taking over!!

Bleach Black Boot by Frye

I was browsing through the Free People website this afternoon and I stumbled upon the amazing boots above - called the "Bleach Black Boot" by Frye. Could this boot be inspired by the ladies of Bleach Black? I'm just speculating here, but it does look like something they would wear (also, I realize the boot is a black boot that has been bleached out... but work with me!).

And by now I'm sure you all have heard about the shoes for Urban Outfitters designed by Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes - if not, check them out here, they're so so cute! Bloggers are taking over, and I'm loving it!

The city never sleeps, better slip you an ambien

I've been a horrible blogger lately, I'm so so sorry! I've been very busy, but I promise I have some posts I'm working on that will hopefully go up over the weekend. For now, I hope this video can serve as an apology! Let's hear it for New York!

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

Video from Kanye University

And on a personal note...

Oh yes. You all better watch out, Lebron and the Cavs have it this year! And I need to see this Lebron documentary, More Than A Game - anyone know if it's online anywhere?

Back to fashion, I wanted to let you guys know about a promotion going on this month. Hershey's Bliss (the chocolates!) are hosting the Diamond-draped and Chocolate-covered with Hershey's Bliss contest. They are inviting women nationwide to "Share the Bliss" of a 16.5-carat diamond necklace in celebration of the debut of new Hershey's Bliss Chocolate Bars. All you have to do to enter is write a short essay on what "bliss" means to you and where you would wear the diamond necklace if you won. Click here for more details.

Also, don't forget to enter my little blog contest going on this month! Enter to win an Ella Moss top by sharing what you have learned about breast cancer from the National Breast Cancer Foundation's website!

leopard and sweats

Sweater: Vintage
Sweats: Walmart
Tee: Urban Outfitters
Boots: Alice+Olivia for Payless

Ok guys, confession time, and this time it's a real confession. An embarrassing confession. This is hard to say... but I'll just be out with it... I am addicted to Real Chance of Love. I never saw the first season, but I am wayyyy too involved in the second season. I have my favorites - Mamacita for Chance and Sassy for Real. It's my guilty pleasure! Do you guys have guilty pleasure TV shows, that you watch when you think no one is looking? Let me know so I don't feel like such a loser getting wrapped up in my Snuggie and watching reruns of Real Chance of Love!

Oh, and on a fashion-related note, I plan on taking the sweats I'm wearing in these pics and DIY-ing them in to these ridiculously-priced $160 Erin Wasson x RVCA sweats this weekend! Wish me luck!

Inspire Me

I've been feeling vastly uninspired lately, so I decided to go through folders of pictures I saved on my computer, and lo and behold I found some inspiring jewelry! But I have to ask, where do these great pieces come from? It can't be ebay, because I never see anything like this! Where do you all shop for vintage and/or unique jewelry?

Pics from Fashiontoast, Lulu, Chic Heroin, and Sea of Shoes