Light Enhances Color

The big fashion trend this spring being color, a colorphobic person like me is at a disadvantage. I am certainly not going to be seen in day glo orange or neon pink. Still I feel the need to acknowledge the trend in some small way. My investment will be minimal though, perhaps a scarf. This Tory Burch version might fit the bill.

Goodbye Elizabeth

Elizabeth Taylor was an amazing actress with a great talent and a flair for style. I will forever remember her as the little girl in Lassie and as Cleopatra. Her life was full of drama too. And as a mother I can't help but admire her, that somewhere in between marriages and movies she also managed to raise 4 children...

It's a Party

The first quarter of this year has seen a lot of entertaining at our home. The last big hulabaloo was my daughter's 3rd birthday party. Lots of kids running around totally wild and adults enjoying conversation while kids were busy playing. The guests were invited to come at 1:00 p.m. (this was a little girl's princess party) and we thought that the party would be over no later than 6:00 p.m. I guess it is a measure of success when the guests don't want to leave. Most of the guests did not leave until midnight! But everyone had so much fun, nobody wanted to leave. Some kids threw a fit because they wanted to stay for a sleepover. But at that point the hostess with the mostess, i.e., me, was so exhausted, that I had to say no...

The little snow white birthday girl. The dress was on for a whole 10 minutes after the guests arrived and then the birthday girl, or should I say, birthday diva, decided that it was time to change to another outfit...

The baker of these wonderful "pullas", my au pair. They were delicious, I heard...so delicious that they were all gone before I even had a chance to taste them..

Wardrobe Malfunction

The fast approaching warm weather season has spurred me to examine my wardrobe. The first observation is that it is in a sorry state.

Rachel Zoe's closet must be amazing!

I have a lot of clothes and nothing to wear.

I feel like I am just now waking up from a looong hibernation during which my wardrobe has been much ignored. The biggest style challenge is my weight which is out of control and because of which I don't fit into most of my pre-pregnancy clothes. I have resorted to wearing a few pieces that are left over from previous "fat" times (and quite old) and a couple of new pieces bought in desperation. I am sick of wearing the same stuff over and over.

I could continue analyzing what has brought my wardrobe to this sorry state, and put off actually doing something about it, or I could think about possible solutions to improve the situation.

California Closet - wish I had one! 

Solution 1:
Throw away everything, go shopping and buy a whole new wardrobe. ***  Tempting, but unconscientious and irresponsible. Ruled out.

Solution 2: Starve myself and fit into the better clothes in my wardrobe within a couple of weeks. ***  Well, if it was that easy why is there so many overweight people around?

Solution 3: Purchase a few key pieces; ideally pieces that would work even after I eventually lose the babyweight.  ***  Doable! Just have to decide what to buy. Resist impulses and stick to a plan.

Solution 4: Be more creative with the clothes that I do have and fit into. Use accessories to spruce them up.  *** Duh! Isn't that what I have been trying to do for the past 3 months?

Who would not kill to have Tamara Mellon's closet? All those Jimmy Choos....

Spring Fling

I love the new long skirts for spring and summer. I found an old Banana Republic beige suede a-line skirt from my closet which has been perfect now when the weather is still cooler.

This Reiss skirt is very similar to my BR skirt.

But I need to go shopping for lighter fabric skirts for summer.

Here are some favorite styles:

DvF

Lafayette 146

Stella McCartney

DKNY for weekend-wear

The world on my shoulders

So I did get the Evelyne last week and was overjoyed (still am). The bag is absolutely gorgeus; and has over the weekend been tested to be just as practical as I was hoping it to be. However, spending that much money on a bag, when there is so much suffering going on in the world, did make me feel cold, selfish and uncaring. Japan's horrible situation is in our faces 24/7 as news channels feast on disaster porn. Libya's situation is grave and scary and Egypt is still raw. My guilt was not eased much by the donation I made to UNICEF, but there does not seem much more that I can do. Donations are still needed. If you can, give a little bit to my favorite charities which are

UNICEF and DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS.

Evelyne

Oh, I am in such a tizzy state right now... I don't know what to do with myself!

The explanation: I went to the Wall Street Hermes store today, and they found a dark chocolate brown Evelyne III GM for me. The store had both sizes in stock in different colors, so I got to try them on, and decided that the GM (the largest size) is best for me. After all, I am a large girl, and can pull off a pretty large bag. Given how much stuff I need to tote around, the larger size might be more practical in the long run too. But! And there is always the but... Is it practical that the bag is open from the top? I plan on using it when running errands, traveling, going to places with my kids. Do things slip out? And somewhere I have heard that the strap has a tendency to slip as well. Does anyone have any experience with this bag? I have to go back to the store to finalize the order tomorrow because I had to run out today, being late for a meeting.
And on Monday I could pick up the bag. What to do, what to do, what to do?

Basement

Here are some before and after pictures of our basement renovation. The space still needs to be properly decorated, but the change is huge. The kids have a great play area for all their toys, which is wonderful because it keeps the toys away from the upstairs bedrooms and living spaces. And the whole family can enjoy movies in our own movie room. And if I ever find time to exercise, the gym will be waiting for me!

The basement before - not very inviting...

Kids' play room during construction

Play room

Movie room, the 65 inch 3D TV will go on the purple wall

Movie room

Gym room is in the background

Just some furniture and final touches needed

Fetish or Fascism?

Marc Jacobs' Louis Vuitton line was spot on for the spirit of the recent week... and I loved it! But then again, it's Marc Jacobs, so that's not really a surprise is it? I just hope that he will stay sane and continue to amaze us with his great collections.

Dinner Outfit

Here finally is the outfit I wore to the dinner last Saturday at Fig & Olive. Love that dress, hope I won't see every other girl wearing it since it is from H&M.

Dress H&M; Boots Nine West, Bag Chinese Laundry, Shirt Banana Republic

High Fashion

John Galliano's anti-semitic tirade has really shaken up the fashion world. There has been lots of interesting discussion going on, this op-ed piece in New York Times discusses fashion and fascism. A point of view that not everyone may agree with, but worthwile to share:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/opinion/07Garelick.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=Rhonda%20&st=cse

Spring time

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day in New York. The earth in my back yard smells like new life and the grass is dry enough to play ball on.  I surprised myself by getting an urge to get my hands dirty, and pulled out some old weeds and their roots from a patch that I intend to use for a little herb and flower garden. The actual planting still has to wait for another month and a half at least. And while working in the garden, I found this little chinese lion that has obviously been guarding our garden a long time, and I don't plan to remove him from his guarding post.

While waiting for some flowers to bloom in the garden, I can enjoy this beautiful orchid indoors. This orchid has been around a long time and is still so lovely.

In the evening my hubby and I went out after a very long time for a fun dinner at the Meatpacking district in Manhattan. We had great fun with friends and enjoyed yummy food at one of the area's hot spot restaurants, Fig & Olive. If I get a chance I will later post my outfit; I wore the H&M dress bought last weekend... 

The Little Fashionista

My 8 year old daughter is very interested in fashion and style. Sometimes a bit too much interested and then I have to remind her that there are other things in life that are more important, like studying, learning about life and cultivating the mind... But most of the time, we can keep things in balance and have fun with dressing up and styling each other. My daughter is in that age where it starts to get difficult to find appropriate clothes. I don't want her to dress up too grown up, and luckily, neither does she. Most of the time we agree on style, and she still listens to my opinion, which I am hoping won't change too soon!

Ralph Lauren sweater, Kmart top, GinaTricot leggings

Love the pink stripe lining of the sweater
The peace necklace is from Claire's (my daughter's favorite store) and changes colors based on your mood





Today's Quote

Whenever my kids create art, I think about this lovely quote:

We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into the frame is ours.