New Header!

Maybe it's all the Halloween candy I've been eating in preparation for this weekend (What, how do you guys prepare for Halloween?) but I just got revved up and made a new header for this wonky little blog o' mine. Tell me if you think it's far too outlandish, for I am neither vintage nor classy as I feel the header sort of looks. Yet, I love its simplicity, and I did just move across the country to begin a fabulous new adventure in the glamorous isle of Manhattan so the suitcases fit.  I'm not trying to convince you, I'm just really smitten. So really, only give feedback if it's positive. And I'm talking to both of you, readers.

Now, go to! Halloween skulduggery awaits. To get you in the mood, check out this gem from The Short and the Sweet of It that will take you back and put a smile on your face!

PS - I know, 3rd post on a day. I'm a nut.

Happy Halloween!

I know, I'm getting crazy, posting twice on one day! You guys couldn't get me posting two days in a row a few weeks ago and now I just can't stop! Mostly I'm just obsessed with Halloween and what I feel is the beginning of fall. Also, I saw this fabulous bracelet compliments of the ever-dramatic Rachel Zoe and I simply had to showcase it! I die for this ghoulish accessory. Wonder if Tink could rock a skeleton hand...

Halloween!

Okay guys, I led you astray. I carved no pumpkins last night. I had no energy after schlepping my belongings to my new abode. I did, however, eat sushi and pumpkins have indeed been purchased. This morning. On my way to work. Because I honestly felt guilty that I had so fully intended to carve mini-jack-o-lanterns and then done utterly none of it, that I bought them on my way into work to appease the guilt. I know, I'm sort of neurotic. But look! Aren't they beautiful? Who could carve pumpkins like these anyways. Not me, as I lack the proper instruments I realized.

  The sushi that distracted me from carving was indeed a delightful excuse to drink plum wine and rest my sore arms. (Oh, did I not mention that I walked my remaining worldly possessions to my new place? 17 blocks. Sometimes the things I refuse to spend money on seem so pathetic in hindsight. Though mostly only when they involve aching limbs.) We ate at The Loop, and it was good, affordable, delicious sushi. I highly recommend. The fact that it's dangerously close to my new abode is either a bonus or a curse. Only time will tell.

And now! A fond farewell to October via the beautiful and ever-changing leaves. I was in a meeting yesterday in a conference room from which we could glimpse Central Park - and the leaves were mesmerizing. It was all I could do to not bust out my phone and take a picture right there. Oh, you thought the amazingly high-quality photos on this blog were a result of some sort of actual camera? No, no my friends, camera on the phone. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I'm nothing if not classy.

I hope everyone has a rockin' and spooky Halloween, filled with more treats than tricks! I will be attending various festivities (read: bars and The Parade - yes, duh, I'm going. All I caught was the tail-end of drunken hangers-on last year and that just ain't gonna fly as a resident) as Tinker Bell. (With this hair, could I not?! Oh, that's right, you can now all see the 'do! Or if you can't, then Where's Waldo? was not offered to you often enough as a child. Found it?)

Mini-Halloween

I'm dying to carve a pumpkin for Halloween this year - typically, this craving hits me as I've moved to a city with no porches to speak of. As I move into my new apartment tonight, I'm thrilled at the prospect of carving some mini-jack-o-lanterns with the new roomie, and displaying them in our windows for our (inordinately close-in-proximity) neighbors to see. It may be the weekend of Halloween, but better late than never, right?! How cute would a mini gourd like these look, complete with a tea light inside for spooky shadows?

Thanks to this site Google brought me to, for those images above. I think posts without pictures get dull, but obviously I had to borrow (and credit!) someone else's pictures to make my post interesting. I'll be sure to showcase my own finished products if they turn out fit for mass visual consumption. That's right, I said "mass" - so the two of you better call at least 1 coworker each over to look at whatever finished results I post. And thank you.

Over It!

On days when I am just royally over it, when I don't want to do anything productive, when it's too muggy and hot outside (70 degrees this morning!) yet so cloudy you just know a thunderstorm is lurking in there someplace, I need some fantasy to take me away. I'm over structure, that J-Crew-GAP stiff look. I'm over boring work clothes, muted colors, conservative dressing. I want flowy, light, bright, whimsical. Lanvin and McQueen, take me away...

Thanks to perry street beach for the photos!

Home Additions

I have become completely obsessed with the prospect of decorating my new room. As I have not yet received my recently-ordered bed, I cannot be sure what the physical set-up of said room will be, but that hasn't stopped how thrilled I am to brainstorm bedside tables, hoping dimensions will be on my side. Over the idea of being matchy-matchy, I'm absolutely drooling over these potentials:

Here's looking at you Pottery Barn, Target and Urban Outfitters...

Weekend with Sister!

I was lucky enough to have my sister in town this weekend. I'm hoping that next time she comes to visit, I'll be able to show my sister a better time, know my way around fun and favorite places a bit more cleanly, have a list of things I think she will enjoy, and so forth. As it stood, however, I am still learning my way, and establishing myself in this place, so she had to settle for the limited bits I could scrounge up to do. One of which was Sunday brunch - a New York tradition - at the delightful Sarabeth's East on the Upper East Side.

(Please note I neglected to take any pictures and these are all taken from Yelp.com. Thank you to all your fabulous photographers out there!)

May I just say, while service for the bakery at this place was awful - I'm looking at you manager who refused to help customers as the two of us waited patiently and made consistent eye contact - the restaurant food was divine. I got the Salmon Eggs Benedict, and my sis got the Apple-Cinnamon French Toast.with Bananas. We ate ourselves silly, and washed the whole thing down with mango and peach bellinis. And may I just say, I would 100% return. I literally dreamt about my Salmon Eggs Benedict last night. Yeah, it's true.

There truly is nothing like family. The ability to sleep what probably amounted to 3/4 of a younger sibling's visit to her older sibling's new abode on the east coast, spend the other 1/4 of the trip eating, and to really not feel like it was a wasted trip? That can only be given and received by family. Thanks for the visit, Sis, and sorry that I'm documenting the whole thing via food. Love you!

The Leaves are Changing!

Part of the reason I was so excited to move to New York was for the weather. As a California girl born and raised in the southern region, I have never experienced seasons, never mind lived in the cold. So I'm becoming more and more giddy as fall creeps into the colors of Manhattan's cityscape. As I traipse around this city that fully embraces walkers, I'm finally noticing the colors changing in the leaves, which is a delightful addition to the weather's unavoidable chill.

Yeah, that piccy in the middle is just because I was impressed by the pink in the sky. Don't those beautifully yellowing leaves just make you want to throw on a scarf and pop into an eatery for a bowl of hot soup? This weather is definitely making me crave comfort foods. Cozy, warm meals that I can enjoy whilst watching the winter slowly creep upon us outside.

Adorbs!

As much as I love my roommate, I'm finding that my excitement about moving to my new apartment with a female roommate is fueled mostly because I want the chance to have a kitchen stocked with cute and functional accessories. Yes, I did just use the word "accessories" in relation to a kitchen. I'm domestically-challenged. But look at these bits and bobs for the home!

An adorable teapot for those soon-to-be-constant rainy days. Sure, I could continue to zap my coffee cup in the microwave for tea or cocoa, but there's something infinitely cozier about heating water on the stove. And in this cute little pot, who could resist?

A functional, but tres sweet, bottle opener, for those one-day-to-return summer afternoons. In the meantime, being able to host the boys independently of their key chain bottle openers is always nice, and this opener is so much cuter and classier than the top half of a bikini-clad blonde!

The Scottsboro Boys!

It's here! Today I am finally going to regale you with tales of "The Scottsboro Boys," which I was fortunate enough to see a couple weeks previously, during its preview run. Based on actual historical events, and incorporating one of the most racist theatrical "techniques" in the history of the stage, this Kander and Ebb musical makes for an inspiring, if not entirely feel-good, night out.

Set in 1931 in the South, "The Scottsboro Boys" tells the story of 9 black boys between the ages of 13 and 19 unjustly accused of raping two white women while traveling on a train en route to find work during the dark days of the Great Depression. With this mesmerizing book, and the ever-successful musical pairings of Kander and Ebb's music and lyrics, this show would stand strong in its own right. The cast tasked with bringing this engrossing story to life, however, is what really make this show inspiring.

Combining strong dancing, incredible acting, and soaring vocals, the 11 members of this cast work together as a tremendous unit to take the audience on a roller coaster of emotions from the very start. While the characters are not fully developed, this only serves to emphasize the inhumanization of the boys accused of the original crime. Keeping an audience from getting to know characters in which we are still able to get invested is a true testament to the talents of this tremendous cast.

"The Scottsboro Boys" plays at The Lyceum Theater, located at 149 West 45th Street (Between Broadway and 6th Ave.), New York, NY 10036. You can get tickets at the box office, online, or by calling (212) 239-6200.

Dress Love!

I wish I was a good shopper. Thrift stores and local boutiques promote unique-ness. But they require patience, a trait which I do not possess. (I did once find, in a thrift shop, a fabulous gold clutch I got for $0.50 which perfectly matched a pair of gold strappy sandals I already owned and which I took to my first corporate holiday party, looking the very picture of chic and pulled-together, and secretly shaking my head over the fact that the last thing I wanted to be doing that evening was hanging with coworkers in my off-time)

Sorry, tangent. Back.

I am a poor thrifter and local-boutique-supporter because I am antsy. While I would prefer to have clothes that are not seen on every other make, shape and model of girl, I am far too impatient to return to independent shops every. single. week. That is, I believe, where Etsy comes in for me. Unique pieces, prepared with love, by hand, and therefore inherently more unique than anything that can be bought en masse. But I can search around online, and see up-front what is available. I am an Etsy convert!

Thanks to the magic of Etsy and the ever-fabulous WhatIWore, I have found another dress I love, adore, and simply must have! And the fact that I would be supporting an independent designer, and shop, makes it all the better. Check out this adorable dress (WITH POCKETS!) in all its glory thanks to ohreallybecky.

Bar Love

Last week I went on the first of the smattering of dates that were set up during the brief time I was on an online dating site. (You may have read the account? Or perhaps not, it wasn't a very riveting entry so I wouldn't hold it against you if this is the first you've heard of it.) We spent the evening at Destination, a bar in the East Village and I fell in love. With the bar. Jeez, come on you guys. I am way too jaded and bitter to become infatuated anymore.

The back corner has a smattering of bookshelves replete with aged books on poetry, and picture frames with people's families in them. The wallpaper in the bathrooms (I used both throughout the course of the night. Yeah, I know, classy broad) were postcards from people all throughout the world. With messages written to their parents, their friends, it was a lovely homey-meets-cultured vibe. And the buffalo wings weren't half bad either.
Destination Bar, 211 Avenue A, info@destinationbarnyc.com

Home Sweet Home

In my home life, I have consistently subscribed to the opinion that there is no sense decorating a rented apartment that I will be leaving when the lease is up in 9-12 months. And so I went through college and several years post-college with bare walls, hand-me-down furniture (thanks to everyone who has generously donated to my various homes), and basic bedding.

Suddenly, however, I am consumed with the desire to make my home an aesthetically-pleasing place to be. As I am a renter who will be sharing an apartment, there are certain things I cannot manipulate, the living room with its own hand-me-down furniture being one of them. However, my bedroom will be my space, and I fully intend to make it a chic, modern oasis. Here are some home decor inspirations I am currently daydreaming about:




Taken here and there from apartmenttherapy's and theglamourai's always-inspiring blogs.

Adorbs!

I'm obsessed with the idea of fashion and style. I read personal style and interior design blogs religiously - and at one time subscribed simultaneously to "Vogue," "InStyle," "Allure," "Lucky," "W," and "Vanity Fair" - but I'm not good at actually wearing outfits reflecting any kind of style.

I want to feel awesome leaving my apartment. No more Dirty California Hippie (coined by a dear friend back home). But wanting to, and actually doing it, those are two different scenarios. I guess I've started, I did get the chic haircut. Oh right, there's no photographic evidence for you, reader of my blog. Apologies. Trust me, it's a good look.

But for me to do it, dressing well needs to be easy. Basically, I like to sleep and don't want to spend more than 30 minutes (absolute max, ideally 15 minutes) getting ready in the morning. The solution I've reached? Dresses! Throw 'em over your head, belt 'em up (I need proof that I have a waist) and you're out the door! I think I'd like to start with this one:

Isn't that divine? Simple, elegant, totally work-appropriate. Couldn't you just see it with mustard or eggplant-colored tights for Fall? And look at that. Maybe I'm learning...

Cup of Jo directed me to the site from whence I fell in love with this dress, I certainly can't take credit for finding that gem on my own. But maybe, one day, I will...

"Lord of the Rings" in Concert

All right, all right! "Enough belly-aching about your first foray into New York dating!" The hordes cried. "Enough crowing that you're single and fabulous!" They lamented. Fine. You have adequately chastized me. Finally, I present to you a the splendor that was last Friday night, watching "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" performed with a live orchestra and choir. Let me just say, ah-mazing.

And that ringing endorsement is coming from someone who has neither read the books nor seen the movies. I am such a cultural ignoramus, in fact, that the friends with whom I saw this live specatacle, had a viewing the night prior to catch me up with the first film, as this is indeed a trilogy. Yes, I had to have a prep-course.

However, the night was incredible. Not only is the film itself pretty, and mesmerizing in its color schemes, but the music is breathtaking. And hearing that music performed live, with a full orchestra and a live choir?! Suffice it to say, the night was beyond.

Unfortunately, I'm embarrasingly late with this post, so the event has come and gone. However, there will be a showing of the third installment of the trilogy next year around this same time, to keep your eyes out!

"Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" was performed at Radio City Music Hall the weekend of October 8, 2010. http://www.theradiocitylotrconcert.com/ Stay apprised to catch next year's performance!

Freedom!

I have a confession to make to you, lovely only reader. A few weeks ago, upon my initiation of permanent residency in New York City, I joined a dating site. My initial intention had been to meet friends, I'm new in the city, why close myself off to potentials?, and all that.

However, after a handful of uneventful dates with an uninspiring person, I was ignored by said person for reasons that are surely numerous, but were never honestly communicated. At this point, I threw myself into this dating site, desperate after said site's primary purpose - to find me a somebody! Yet, after strings of messages, photo-hunts, and we-should-hang-outs, I realized that this is not what I want to spend my beginning days in New York doing. Surfing a dating site on the internet? When I have an incredible, hustling, bustling city right outside my window?!

And so, dear supportive Only Reader, I've deleted my profile. I do live in a city that houses models and actresses, yes, but I can hold my own, as I am. And I fully intend to.

I'm Not Dead!

I know, both of you were very concerned for my safety these past weeks when I have been completely MIA on this oft-traversed blog. Okay, I knew where I was but you, you other reader, were surely concerned for my well-being. And I thank you for that.

Never fear, I have returned. WITH A REALLY SHORT NEW HAIRCUT! We're talking a pixie here friends. An adorable, chic, easy-to-care-for pixie cut. However, since you, dear only reader, have either A.) never seen me - is that you?! Are you new to this blog and have not known me my entire life?! or B.) have seen what my before and after selves look like due to our long-time acquaintance (Hi Sister), I am not going to provide you with a picture.

I know, I know, what a tease. If you, only reader who may NOT be family, would like to see a picture of my haircut, leave me a comment. We'll see if I trust you. That's right, nothing's free in this world.

And coming up soon: a retelling of my fabulous theatrical outings this weekend! But maybe, don't wait with bated breath...there was rain and hail last night and sometimes puddle-jumping takes hours longer than anticipated, especially with new galoshes...