17 August 2013

HERE'S TO YOU, NEW YORK, NEW YORK!



Thanks for the early mornings and the late nights, the crowded streets, the taxis honking, the aggressive walking, the crazy people, the rude people, the umbrellas, the smell of trash in the summer, the subway and its code, Hop Stop, long walks, city blocks, a gridded street system, food stands and food trucks, fifteen dollar cocktails, one dollar beers, rooftops of any kind, the East River, the Hudson River, being an island, even though you don't seem like it, Uber, LaGuardia, the annoying TVs in the bad of cabs, but being able to pay with a credit card no matter what, bar tab minimums, lines, lines, and more lines, your museums, especially MoMA, your cupcakes, especially Baked by Melissa and Magnolia, your stores, Fifth Ave, Park Ave, Madison Ave, SoHo, LES, East Village, West Village, Meatpacking, people skinnier, prettier, and better dressed and people fatter, uglier, and more poorly dressed, uptown, downtown, people who will give you directions, people that don't speak English, Google Maps, cronuts, Pret, Guy & Gallard, your parks, Central Park, Bryant Park, the East River Park, the Shake Shack, Katz's, bagels and coffee, the lights at night, the packed streets at 3 am, Broadway shows, 7th Ave, famous people and regular people and people all just trying to make it, sunrises and sunsets, more rooftops, getting losts, nights out until 5 am, concerts in parks, baseball games, seeming like a real New Yorker, the difficulty of doing anything, getting groceries, shipping a box, going to BB&B, not having a Target, but having Union Market aka the best thing ever, drinking on boats and in parks and on rooftops - yours or someone else's - and even in hot tubs, and for all of the hustle and bustle and grit and magic that make up this city.

So just like dear Frankie said,
here's to you, New York, New York!


16 August 2013

WEEKEND LINKS



Lots of fun links that I'm loving this week, from party ideas to pick up lines to debates on education and women in the workforce. Read & enjoy & bake some yummy cookies - it's the weekend!


01. The Awkward Years Project: A submission-based tumblr that shows people now versus what they looked like in their "awkward years".  I have flashbacks to my own middle school days - braces, no makeup, and the inability to properly smile in school picutres....yikes!

02. Why Oh Why is the Birkenstock Back?: Jess Graves of the Love List says what a lot of us are thinking - Birkenstocks? WTF? I don't care if Vogue and Leandra have ok'd it, Birkenstocks are not a good look.

03. DIY Big Fringe Garland: I stumbled across this tutorial on Oh Happy Day, and think I might have to try it out for my friend's upcoming birthday. We've having people over to our new house at school the first weekend back, so I know it won't be decorated at all. I'm thinking that this easy-to-make, colorful space-filler-upper will make the room look more festive!

04. Best Apps for Design and Living: Alright, so considering I don't actually own my own home (not even an apartment, really), most of these are pretty useless to me now. But Domaine's round-up is great, and if you're doing anything with your home, from picking out paint colors to measuring windows, there's probably an app on this list to make your life easier.

05. 7 Best F. Scott Fitzgerlad Pick-Up Lines You Should Be Aware Of: Gents, for the next time you find yourself at the bar with the pretty lady  - learn from the master.

06. Six College Courses that Help Grads Land Jobs: My Dad actually sent me this one. All I can say is thank goodness I'm an Econ major. Though I'm definitely considering adding a writing class or a leadership-based course to my schedule this coming year...

07. SMP Sprinkles Shower: The cutest sprinkles-themed shower over on Style Me Pretty - pun intended! There's umbrellas, silver "rain" streamers, and blue drinks, and also donuts, marshmallows, and rice krispie treats all getting the rainbow treatment with a different kind of sprinkle. Too cute!


08. Are We Really Screwed If We Leave Work to Have Babies?: An interesting article on Refinery 29 in response to the NY Times article "The Opt-Out Generation Wants Back In", discussing whether or not women who "opted out" of work to raise their children are now regretting that decision or not.  I'm loving all the debate about this topic right now, as a soon-to-be young working women, though I can't help but feel that one of the women they interviewed summed it up best:
"The conclusion that I’m coming to with the whole Sheryl SandbergAnne Marie Slaughter / "Can Women Really Have It All’ debate really comes down, once again, to the wise words of Cher Horowitz: It’s a personal choice that every woman has got to make for herself."
Any article that quotes Clueless is a must read in my book!

15 August 2013

LAST DAY OF MY INTERNSHIP


Y'all, I feel like it was just yesterday I was posting about coming to New York for the summer and what I wore on my first day at my internship.  And yet, here we are, August 15th, and my official last day of work.  This summer has gone by so fast.

I'm so thankful to have had such a cool fashion PR job, to work with great girls ( interns and actual employees), and to get to experience some of the magic that goes in to the fashion industry.  I will say that it wasn't glamourous. Some days it was long hours doing stupid stuff, some days you sat there doing nothing, some days I wanted to kill somebody, and some days I felt like I was literally tossing my education out the window because you needed maybe all of two brain cells to do what I did. But I will say that I'm so grateful for the people I met and the experience it gave me - and of course, spending summer in New York City with my friends.

I'm not positive I want to do fashion PR (or at least in house) and I'm not positive I want to live in NYC after graduation. If anything, this summer has raised more questions than it has answered. But is has been an experience, and I'm so grateful I got the chance to take it - to work in fashion, to have an internship, to meet new people, to live in the city, and to take it all in.

It's been a wild ride, y'all!

14 August 2013

DRINK OF THE DAY: THE SOUTHERN SHANDY


Enjoy these last precious weeks of summertime!

13 August 2013

FALL SHOPPING



forever 21 dress / club monaco top / madewell skinny skinny ankle jeans / madewell chambray dress / madewell drape pocket t / club monaco dress / madewell boho top / madewell necklace / madewell gallerist dress / madewell sleeveless chambray shirt / club monaco dress / mango gold cuff /  madewell silk shirt / club monaco t-shirt / mango booties / topshop dress / club monaco dress / forever 21 shirt / forever 21 skirt


This past Saturday, I spent some time on a cloudy New York day to wander around SoHo, planning to pop into a few shops that we don't have at home (like Uniqlo + Topshop) to check them out before I leave next weekend.  Of course, I ended up "popping in" to a whole bunch of other stores - though I did refrain from even trying things on, considering I know I'll be right back in them on the other side on the country at some point next week.  However, I made note of lots of lovely lovely things that I want in my closet for this upcoming fall.  I'm thinking shift dresses, black and white, soft t-shirts, army green, chambray, boho dresses, fit+flare skirts, and graphic gold jewelry. 
Can't wait to go home and do some serious damage!!

P.S. I've been on the hunt for long time for a good knockoff Isbael Marant-style bootie that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and doesn't make me look like I have cankles (easier said than done - my ankles are not naturally slim).  These Mango booties, with their perfectly taupey suede, the slight stacked wood heel, and the perfect dip in the front that flatters the less-than-slim ankles, might be exactly what I've been looking for all my life. (AKA the last two seasons).