How Did I Miss This?! June 24, 2009

The Beekeepers Ball

Beekeepers, friends of beekeepers, friends of bees, people who like to dress as bees, people who like to dress their children as bees, bee-dressed children, and fans of local food were all in attendance at the Beekeepers Ball, held Monday night at Water Taxi Beach at South Street Seaport.

The beer, provided by the Brooklyn brewery Kelso, was infused with city honey and whipped up specially for the occasion.

Is this city amazing, or what? Seriously, a Beekeeper’s Ball. Unbelievable.

Dressed for the occasion May 29, 2009

As you know, I have been on the hunt for a black dress for quite some time. I have now tried on 40 dresses that could be or would be suitable for a bridesmaid …. if only they fit!

Well, I went from zero options to possibly 4 options in no time flat!

Option #1: A simple black, satin strapless dress that just needs to be shortened. The only problem is, it could use a sash, so I’d have to find one.

Option #2: A custom made dress by yours truly. I started this project today with my sewing teacher. It should be pretty cute! Problem: it might not be good enough or done on time.

Option #’s 3 & 4: Check it — I found 2 dresses at White House Black Market and bought them both. I was there a few weeks ago and they had a dress similar to these that I think would have fit if they carried it in my size. I even check on-line, but no luck. So fingers crossed that one of these is going to get the job done! They should arrive in a few days. I think that whichever fits me the best is going to be The Big Winner. Which do you like better, the left or the right option? I know which is my favorite!

Now all I’ll have to do is shorten whichever dress I go with and find a cute pair of black, satin, high heels, and I am good to go! Yeah! What a huge relief….

Can I do that again? May 28, 2009

I am still looking for a black dress to wear as a bridesmaid in my soon to be sister-in-laws wedding. All of this wedding stuff is making me wish I could wear my dress again.

Isn’t it pretty?

Of course, I didn’t look quite so tall or skinny in it.

Enter, The Pimm’s Cup May 26, 2009

I love Memorial Day weekend. It used to be even better because I would get the day off from work, and nothing is better than a long weekend. But now that that’s not the case, I had to enjoy it for it’s summer kick-off feel, and it definitely kicked things off to a good start!

Friday I went to the beach with my cousin. It was too cold to swim, but we napped in the sunshine and chatted about boys. That night I went out on a date with my hubs to the backyard patio of one of our favorite LIC spots for a plate of fries and a pitcher of sangria.

Saturday I spent with my sister. Breakfast at cute little spot called 5 Ninth where we are pretty sure Heath Ledger is in hiding and working as a waiter. My sister ordered Toads In A Hole. Isn’t that the cutest name for a breakfast ever?  After our lovely meal we took a walk and went shopping, and drooled over dresses  and rompers like these at Trina Turk:

Saturday night MNH came home exhausted from 2 rounds of golf and being in the sun all day, so we had a low key dinner with a friend.

Then I woke up on Sunday just in time to clean and put together a quick lunch before my parents and sister came over for a wee-little birthday gathering for my mom. We walked to another great LIC spot for a drink later that day. I love gins and tonic in the afternoon. MNH and I ended the night at a friends house for a BBQ.

Monday was another beautiful day, and we spent it golfing with my brother and sister-in-law. I now have a fabulous farmer’s tan and a bruise on my thigh that is in the shape of a golf club head. (How in the world…..)

Back in Brooklyn we grabbed a sandwich and a drink (enter the Pimm’s Cup, the new drink of the summer of ‘09) at Frankie’s in Carroll Gardens.

The Pimm’s Cup is summer in a glass. We took such a liking to it that we were inspired to continue the long weekend at my brother’s place for another BBQ and a round or two of PC’s. It was the perfect way to end a great weekend!

Befitting in Black May 21, 2009

As you may know from a previous post, I am a bridesmaid in my brother-in-law’s wedding.

I am to wear a black dress of my choice – the only stipulation, aside from the color – is that it hit somewhere around the knee. I posted a few dresses and everyone agreed that the bride’s choice was the best choice.

I totally agree, but the only store carrying it near me doesn’t have my size!  I am going to check them out anyway because they just might have another dress that would work.  I have already tried on about 20 different dresses. Can you believe that?! All I need is a cute, little, black dress, and I can’t find one! Well, that’s not entirely true. I found plenty of dresses, and plenty were cute. They just don’t fit me (or they cost hundreds and hundreds!). Thus is the hardship of the 5 ‘ nothing woman…

To combat this problem, I have decided to make a dress. Don’t worry, I am still looking for a real dress to wear in the wedding, but I am also making a dress so that I always have a nice, simple, black dress that fits me when I need one. Now, you might think this is quite the endeavor, and you would be right. It involves boning and panels, after all. However, my sewing instructor seems to think it’s possible and so I am going to design and custom fit a strapless, black cocktail dress.

It won’t be fancy, but at least it will fit.

Did I Mention…. May 13, 2009

that I am a bridesmaid in my brother-in-law’s wedding? He is marrying a wonderful woman whom I love very much, and she asked me to be a bridesmaid! The wedding is July 4th in St. Louis, and it is going to be ridiculous amounts of fun!

The bride wants the bridesmaids in a black dress of their choice and so far, I haven’t found one that I think is really right. However, I do have a few choices, what do you think of these…

2. White House Black Market

1. Bluefly

3. Bluefly

Weekend Wrap-up May 12, 2009

I had every intention of going to the Domino tag sale on Saturday. I really did. But then I slept late, and then I realized I had to finish sewing my mom’s mother’s day gift (a bag), and then I realized the lines would be long AND that I’d have to carry that stuff around all day — so I didn’t go. And by the sounds of it, the lines were really long and things were pricey, at least, what little of the good stuff there was. Check out a recap from two of my favorite blogs, A Cup Of Jo and High-Heeled foot In the Door.

So while I didn’t hit that sale I did still do some shopping damage. My sister and I went to Anthropologie, where I got nothing because the adorable dresses were way out of my (unemployed) price range. My sister, however, found this really cute dress to bring with her on her upcoming Hawaiian vacay (jealous!).  But then we went to Banana Republic and I got some fun stuff including a giant, gold necklace and aviator sunglasses.

After our shopping we grabbed a quick bite then headed to a movie. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is exactly what you expect and maybe just a tiny bit worse from a Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner film.

At this point it was still early evening and we felt like we earned a drink, so we headed to the Belmont Lounge and sat out back for a glass of wine.  But… one turned into two, to to three, then our sister-in-law joined us, then we all decided to go to Brooklyn where MNH and my brother were, and everything from there is a bit of a blur. We ended up sleeping over, which was too funny.

Anyway, long story short, the next day was Mother’s Day and my brother hosted a brunch. I gave my mom a bag I made for her. It should have only taken me a few hours one day, but I made the exterior too big and didn’t realize that until I tried to put it all together, so put darts in to make it a bit smaller. It turned out pretty cute though there are still plenty of issues with it that I would have redone if I had a bit more time. I think she really liked it though!

Swim Season May 7, 2009

Yesterday, hating the rainy, dreary weather, I conjured up images of my honeymoon and got so excited by the thought of beautiful, warm weather, & sunny, sandy beaches that I went shopping.

I hate shopping for bikinis -it kills me. Especially now, since I have gained about 10 LBS since losing my job and can’t bear the thought of getting into a bathing suit. But, on-line you don’t actually have too! Enter, J. Crew.

Their bathing suits usually fit me really well, and I desperately needed new ones as you can practically see through the only one I have left.  So, here is what I purchased, and the best part was, while looking for my card to order it all with, I found a gift card! So it hardly cost me anything at all … that brought some sunshine to a pretty gross day!

I know they don’t all have pairs – but I think the orange looks cute with the brown and the blue, and sometimes you ust don’t want to be all matchey-match, you know? Plus, I need extras of the bottom part, because I always forget not to sit on the side of the pool, so the butt gets all fuzzy after a while and that is not cute.

Bring it on, summer, I’m ready now!!

Pretend Shopping April 7, 2009

Sometimes, like now, when I am DYING to get out of winter gear and start shedding layers, and I have that urge to go shopping but I just can’t afford to, I pretend shop. It saves me a lot of money (and I mean, a lot) and I don’t have to deal with lines or people trying to spray me with perfume.

I pick a store on-line – it has to be on-line, because if I actually go there, it won’t be pretend anymore – and I actually put things in the color and size that I would buy right in my “cart,” as if I were actually going to purchase them. This is a really good trick, because once I look at the final bill I have absolutely NO desire to spend that money. Were I to attempt to do this in the store, it would be a complete disaster, because as MNH often points out, I do not look at prices. Ever.

So today I chose Anthropologie, because they have a great selection for spring and I am feeling a bit more beach-side vacay than cute/officey work wear – like Banana Republic, for instance. Anyway, I went shopping, and here’s what I didn’t buy, in no order. That’s right, I did not make little outfits – my skills and my patience are not developed enough for that, so just use your imagination:

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Shop hits the Big Apple April 3, 2009

SoHo has just opened the doors to Top Shop, a boutique from the UK that carries a variety of brands and price ranges, and in the UK is a super big deal.  MNH happened to be in the area last night, so stopped by thinking he’d get a look in while waiting for me, but he said the line was around the corner even at 8:15!

Relax people, it is still going to be there tomorrow!  And yes, that list line of the article below does in fact say there is going to be a pillow fight on Wall Street. I love this crazy city.

 

Article below from NYTimes UrbanEye

Cheap, Chic and Out of Control

By MELENA RYZIK

Friday, April 3, 2009

  

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Shoppers browsed in Top Shop on opening day in SoHo.

 

Fashion folk have been salivating over it for months, and now Topshop is finallyopen in Soho. The bad news:lines. The good news: “The Topshop folks get almost everything right,” writes Cathy Horyn. “The atmosphere is fun and exciting (it makes minimalist Uniqlo up the street look anemic). Although the range of merchandise is quite broad, from adorable blouses and cool fleece pants to Kate Moss’s very cute line, you feel there’s a reason for everything,” especially when it’s mostly under $150. To take your mind off the bad news, the store will have D.J.’s tonight; if it gets too overwhelming, take out your consumer aggression at the pillow fight on Wall Streettomorrow.

 

You can follow Top Shop here.