Scenes from New York... (+ A Lot of Lovely and Amazing)

New York City with Audrey was utterly and completely fantastic...

And it was a total whirlwind -- we were literally there for less than 24 hours and somehow managed to pack so much goodness into that single day that I'm still trying to process it all... + we're both a bit exhausted, as due to a cancelled flight, we had to spend last night in North Carolina, but the inconvenience was well worth the experience.

So you might be wondering why we went on this crazy, super-fast adventure right after retuning home from California... Well, we were there on behalf of the lovely and amazing Gabby, who (since sweet baby June is too wee to travel) asked Audrey and me to represent Design Mom at an event sponsored by Electrolux* to promote the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. (That was a mouthful, no?)

*{Electrolux sponsored the event and our trip}

In short, the event was pretty stellar (think Amy Atlas dessert tables) and (even more important) for a completely stellar cause. I'll have a full recap over on Design Mom soon. But in the meantime, you know I had to share a few trip highlights and pics over here...

Here's what we managed to squeeze in during our 24 hours in NYC: a trip to FAO Schwarz (at Audrey's request), a carriage ride around Central Park, a jaunt through Nolita, a dinner meet-up at Pulino's with the lovely and amazing Molly, a ride on the subway, a walk through Times Square after dark (thank you Molly!), the aforementioned Electrolux party, meeting the also aforementioned Amy Atlas, who is, yep, you guessed it, incredibly lovely and amazing and a quick trip to the Museum of Natural History.

Whew!

Friends I have to say it was a pretty epic time...but we're awfully glad to be home.

Scenes From The Weekend...

Just popping in quickly to share a few photos from our long weekend in California before we head off to New York...

Suffice to say our time there (all cuddling baby Josie and splashing in the pool and In-n-Out burgers and trekking through Sequoia National Forest and gin and tonics by a rushing river and, well…quintessential California mellow) will be a stark contrast to our time in NYC.

But variety is the spice of life, no?

Be back soon...happy Monday!

I had to get in a couple of shots of my beloved See's...

Audrey and my mom strolling baby Josie...

An Outfit (Deconstructed) ... + Some Packing

I am heavy in “outfit creation” mode for our two trips. (There’s nothing like planning for a trip to put you in sartorial overdrive, no?)

I completely geek out when it comes to packing. I lay out all of my outfits for each day of the trip + all the coordinating accessories before anything ever makes it into the suitcase. And, if it's an extra special trip (like our upcoming NYC adventure), I might even try on the outfits in advance. I know, I know...

So this week's outfit is the result of my OCD packing tendencies*. I scoured my closet for my most favorite pieces and am planning to wear this to dinner Monday night in the city.

The Details:

• Dress -- Vena Cava


• Wedges -- Target


• Necklace -- Lizzie Fortunato
  
  

* I could probably do a completely separate post on packing, as I put so much thought into the process...

Here's the lowdown -- I try to never, ever check bags, as too much can go wrong with that whole scene, so I'm pretty ruthless about what I bring, including only what I think I'll actually wear (thus the outfit planning) and nothing else. I also keep a little travel toiletry kit at the ready with carry-on size versions of my shampoo, cleanser, etc... And (this is the really nutty part), I keep lists of what I've packed on previous trips to make future packing easier. I told you...I have packing issues.

The photo above is our packed suitcase for NYC. (Audrey and I get home from California on Sunday evening and then leave for New York at 5:00 am the next morning, so I had to pack that suitcase in advance, which is a situation I've never quite encountered before...) Since we're going to be there for less than 24 hours (!), I'm allowing us only two outfits each. That's it...nothing else. (I figure heck, we're going to be in New York City, we can buy something if we have to, right?)

Wish us luck!

Some Thoughts on A Few Girls...

image via the sartorialist

First up this girl -- who really is more of a "lady" than a "girl" I suppose... Semantics aside, she's here because she just looks so darn rockin.

She is my sartorial alter ego.

I am not her when I get dressed in the morning, but I wish I were.

p.s. this image is from the 1970's and yet completely of the moment, no? Amazing how that fantastically confident, mildly unattainable stylish boho look is completely timeless...

Next up, this girl. Who most definitely, without a doubt, is a "Girl", capital "G." She's also my girl, and I'm having a bit of a love fest with her.

In a nutshell, Audrey is rocking my world right now. She's funny and witty and interesting and well...cool. I love hanging out with her, which is an awfully good thing since she and I are about to embark on a couple of whirlwind adventures (we're headed to California tomorrow to visit my sister and new baby Josie for a few days, and then we go on a quick overnight trip to NYC on Monday morning.)

I couldn't dream of a better travel partner than this kid.

And last but not least, this woman (not a bit of "girl" about her), Michele Oka Doner, who happens to be a insanely inspiring artist. But that's not why she's here.

No, she's here because she said this:

"Evolved women have begun to form a collective awareness of how to support one another. It goes way beyond 'what dress am I wearing tonight?' I really like women. I've learned how to negotiate a world filled with intelligent and attractive women, giving everyone their due."

Which I first spotted via Karey (who is a pretty amazing woman in her own right.)

I read and re-read this quote every few weeks...it's completely fantastic and also necessary, as I don't think the world does a very good job of teaching us women how to truly appreciate and support each other. I think society underestimates us a bit, perhaps even pits us against each other a smidge.

I have two sisters and two daughters...I'm all about girls. We owe it to each other to pick up where society leaves off and to rally and support and encourage each other. Fiercely.

Don't you think?

Loving...

The beautiful new Sunday Suppers site. I am especially smitten with every single detail of the Rustic Italian supper featured in Martha Stewart Living...the styling was perfection, no??

Aesa's gorgeous jewelry -- in fact, some of the most stunning I've spotted of late...

This sweet little Polarn O. Pyret frock...

p.s. A little birdie told me that Polarn O. Pyret's huge summer sale starts tomorrow, but this lovely already seems to be marked down. Hmm... a sign perhaps?

Laura’s gorgeous hand-calligraphed, marbleized aqua paper book jacket

This visual packing list via South of Market

I'm all about the packing list right now, as Audrey and I have two big trips coming up in the next week (!) more on that later...

Jenna’s lovely new photos

Pretty much all of painter Lily Stockman's work + her work space, bigBANG studio is a converted recording studio-turned-painting atelier in downtown Joshua Tree, California.

Sigh...

The perfection that is Sara Hicks Malone's home tour on d*s... (Sara is the talent behind the genius blog, Sara's Party Perfect, which just underwent a wholly fantastic redesign.)

Pssst...

Gilt has my beloved Iittala Taika dishes on sale today. I just bought eight soup bowls, as they were the only pieces missing from my set.

I just felt the need to share (confess)...


The dishes in action last Thanksgiving...

Scenes from The Weekend + A New Attitude and A Winner...

So I had a completely different post rolling around in my head to accompany my weekend photos. It was all, "I hate the heat" and "we're melting into the sidewalks around here" and blah, blah, blah...

But then I decided to stop whining and buck-up and just call out all the good stuff we did this weekend instead. Because let's face it...there are things you can only justify doing in the Summer. Like eating ice cream twice in one day or gleefully jumping into a (slightly) murky lake (both of which we happened to do this weekend...)

So herewith this weekend's highlights in list form (just to mix things up a bit and because my brain is too fried from all this heat to write complete sentences...you knew I couldn't resist one little jab.)

• A day at the lake
• Grilled hamburgers
• Rainbow toenails
• Date night sushi
• Mexican food for Father's Day
• Homemade lemonade
• A trip to the science museum
• Ice cream...twice

So really not a bad weekend...I need to start looking at the bright side of this whole summer thing. I'm just sayin.

P.S. -- The winner of Alexis' sweet "Art Barn" giveaway is Melissa... Congrats!