Tired! (oh, and happy Father's Day too)

Wow it is hard to do construction! I have to say that I have not appreciated ENOUGH all those people who actually build their own houses...from start to finish. At least we have the house already built and are just making some changes to it. It is still an extreme makeover site - not a good place for kids to hang out, so it is nerve racking to be at the house with kids, which we had to do this weekend as various kitchen people came around taking measures and planning the kitchen. We will get at least two quotes before making the decision on which way to go.

One thing I have learned in this process is that prices vary astronomically from one place to another.

And the other thing learned is that too much choice is not necessarily a good thing. I am getting tired just picking stuff. This weekend it was toilets - I mean who knew that there are so many different models out there? Round bowl, elongated bowl, short seat, tall seat, flush power, etc. And shower bodies! I just want to be able to turn on the water, adjust the temperature and water volume. Why are there so many knobs and what do they do? Shower heads, hand helds, rain shower, steam shower, my head is spinning with all this new information that I really did not need... I guess this is why rich people have designers!

Anyway, things are progressing, but I am still getting a little nervous..we are supposed to be moving in about a month. Wonder if that will actually happen - or do we have to postpone..

The third thing I've learned is that renovation is extremely stressful. I just don't get it how the Novogratz family from the "9 by Design" show do it. I am already on the brink of a huge blow-up with my significant other as the pressure builds..this has not been the bonding experience that I thought it might be. There will be a lot more bonding when it's all said and done and we can sit in our new house in peace and look at what we have achieved. But that is still weeks away. Until then I have to tread carefully with the male ego of my darling husband while holding on to my own wants and needs...

Floors

I have been doing some research on floors, and it looks like Bamboo is the way to go. Bamboo floors are comparable to hardwood floors, but instead of taking year 60 years to grow, bamboo can mature in 3 years. Bamboo is not really a "wood" at all, but a grass. However, the floors behave much like wood floors. The eco-friendliness definitely factors in our decision to go with bamboo, but we also like the look. Below are a couple of pics of beautiful bamboo floors.

Our original plan was to put a marble tile in the entrance, kitchen and corridor, but we have now decided to replace the existing wood floors in the living room and dining areas too. To achieve a coherent look we will use the same flooring material (bamboo!) in the whole first floor.

This is the actual floor that we have chosen for now (Woven Bamboo Toast):

One Less Thing to Worry About

My new au pair confirmed that she has plane tickets and will be here in early July.

Thank God.

I was starting to worry that maybe she changed her mind...it has happened before. But now that her flights are confirmed, I feel better.

Oh, and I have totally forgotten to congratulate my "boyfriend" Michael Kors for winning the CFDA award. It is soooo well deserved!

I can't even pick my favorites from his shows, they are all so fabulous. I could be dressed in any of his outfits! The wearability and luxurious casuality are just so wonderful!

Politics

There are interesting things happening in the U.S. politics now. The primaries in many states were held on Tuesday, and the women in running have been in the headlines. In California the senate race will be a tight one with the republican Carly Fiorina, the ex-CEO of Hewlett Packard, running against the current incumbent and very popular democrat Barbara Boxer. And Meg Whitman, the ex-CEO of eBay, is running for governor in the same state. The current sentiment, spurred on by the high unemployment brought on by the recession, is quite anti-big business, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out in these ladies' campaigns. Both took in very large salaries while laying off thousands of people. But like this fact, and their relative inexperience in politics wasn't enough, last week they also made derogatory comments about each other's hair. Hair! I mean, maybe this is why women have such a hard time being taken seriously. Hair! Come on...they're both smarter than that.

There is also an interesting speculation going about Obama's second term. His super bad handling of the BP oil spill (he has not even met with the BP CEO - but he has "people" working on the BP catastrophe) is very damaging to his approval ratings. Biden is not very popular either. But, Hillary Clinton has wonderful ratings! So there are rumours that Obama may dump Biden for the run for his second term and go for Hillary as his VP (something he of course should have done the first time around!)... We shall see...

The Eames Rocker

My 2-year old will finally get her own room once we move. It will be quite an adjustment for her and such a relief for us (she's still in a crib in our bedroom). She will inherit a bed from her big sister, and most of the other furniture in her room will be hand-me-downs from big sis and perhaps some refinished pieces from elsewhere in our apartment (I am planning to paint a 1950's small china cabinet white and putting it in her room). The only new piece in her room will be the wonderfully retro cute Eames molded rocker in new (original) Aqua Sky color. We purchased the rocker yesterday from Design Within Reach and the lead time for the aqua sky color is 12 weeks! The white rocker (pictured below) would have been in stock, but I think the aqua sky will be a nice punch of color in her otherwise white and pale pink room. The walls will be Behr's Powdered Blush pink, the bed and all other furniture is white. 

Extreme Makeover

There is an extreme makeover going on at our house! The demolition is almost done; living room wall paneling has been ripped out, the walls between kitchen, dining area and porch are gone, kitchen has been gutted, the entrance walls are gone, the master bathroom has been gutted. The house is now a real construction site.

TV Obsessions - part 3 - Crazy Housewives

There is just so much drama going on in the lives of the Real Housewives of New Jersey that I don't know where to even begin. News of Teresa's bankruptcy came out a few days ago. Seems that while she was shown on TV with a crazy wad of cash purchasing expensive items for her home and running insane shopping sprees for her daughters, her "official" financial status was VERY much under water, $11 MILLION dollars worth. I was stunned when I heard, after seeing the spending habits and her so openly exhibiting and bragging about her family's status and money. I mean this is a woman who has repeatedly said that she's too pretty to work (more like too stupid, say I). She has also said that the bankruptcy is a "fresh start". A FRESH START?? What the..? I just hope that the judge won't approve the bankruptcy as this is just so totally ridiculous. I have no sympathy for people that irresponsible!


And the other news is Danielle's sex tape. Which she leaked out herself. At least she doesn't think she's too pretty to work...I mean, there ARE many different kinds of professions.. Anyway, I don't think anyone was surprised to hear about the tape. I am just sad for her children, who seem to be very sweet and quite level headed despite having such a crazy mother.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

And now we have the sink too! After a very long day making plans at the house, we came home and I ordered the kitchen sink online. Found exactly the sink we have been looking for at Overstock.com for a fraction of the price. It is a farmhouse style overhang stainless steel sink, and comes with the industrial looking cool faucet and even a soap dispenser. Here is the pic:

Kitchen Cabinet Style File

Here is the look that I am after:

Countertops

We went to the Superior Stone slab yard in Astoria today to look at granite and marble slabs to get an idea of the kind of countertop we want for our new kitchen. (A few short weeks ago I did not even know that these kinds of places exist and now I am just casually discussing different slab yards - isn't life beautiful?)

I love the look of marble, but it's a porous stone and stains quite easily. Given my red wine habit that may not be such a good thing. Granite, on the other hand, is probably the most stain resistant stone and can take lots of abuse. The only thing about granite is that I don't really love the traditional look of it. I especially gag on the sight of the reddish standard shiny granite that the New Jersey Housewives love in their gaudy kitchens. So off to the slab yard we went in search of some granite even a non-housewife could love. We found some good options - the best being the White Fantasy (who came up with that name?). It actually looks a bit like marble, which, I guess, is why I so like it.

The White Fantasy!!!

Another, pretty cool looking slab was granite from a river bank, with pebbles on it. Yes, I guess I do have a thing for pebbles: 

This is called Black Marinace

There was also a very unusual marble with stripes, that could look amazing in a very modern kitchen: 

This marble is called Linac

And of course there were many many choices for the very traditional looking marble, of which I like the Calacatta Gold the best with gray and some gold veining: 

Calacatta Gold

So now we know there are some options in the granite family too, aside from the more traditional look. 

We now have to choose the cabinets. The cabinet guy and the kitchen designer (my dear friend!) are coming to the house tomorrow. I guess I should do a post on cabinet styles to clear my head on that one. I kind of know what I want, which is dark espresso with stainless steel pulls. Some upper cabinets with frosted light glass so that the look doesn't get too heavy. Once we know the cabinets we will put in, then we can choose the stone. I am leaning towards the White Fantasy granite on the island and maybe a white glass countertop on the side counters. It may be too much to have the granite all over. But I will of course listen to my favorite designer's advice as well. I can't wait for her to see the house and give me some real advice on everything. But most of all, I can't wait to see the drawings for our kitchen!

Businessminded - You Go Girl

The retail numbers for May came out today and were somewhat disappointing, especially since retail did quite well very early on in the year. Jan, Feb and March people seemed to be back to shopping and spending, but April and May there's been a serious pullback to frugality. Could be the news of financial trouble from Europe (the Greece situation) or the horrible oil catastrophe that is making people avoid overt consumerism. Whatever is making people shop less, is not affecting the luxury segment as that is the only retail sector with double digit year over year growth (although last year was the worst year ever). Another winner is internet retail which keeps growing despite the economy.

And what do you get when you put luxury and internet together ----> Net-a-Porter. The luxury fashion web site that most fashionistas browse from time to time wishing they could just order the whole damn site. I don't admire too many people, it's just not like me to have idols, but I do have to say that a wave of admiration went through me when I read the June Vogue story of Natalie Massenet, the founder of Net-a-Porter that just sold her share of the company to the Richemont Luxury Group for $76 million. Shrewd lady! She has created an amazing online business and has now proven that high end fashion can be successfully sold on the internet. So successfully in fact, that there is bound to be lots of competition gearing up. Coincidentally, a great time to cash in on her hard work! She will stay on as a CEO, undoubtedly pulling in a very respectable salary.

Natalie Massenet is one of the most influential people in the fashion business now. She is a real career woman who does not sugarcoat the difficulty of having a career and a family (she has a husband and two daughters). In Vogue she says "Choose the right husband and a nanny, and then don't worry about a social life. Everything but family and work has to go." I know that I can relate to that.

But the best is yet to come. As all my friends know, I am the biggest bargain lover on earth, and I go a little bonkers at outlets. I don't think that fashion should be so exclusive. Anyway, Massenet's latest business endeavor is an online luxury fashion outlet, the outnet.com. I checked it out and there are many nice pieces right now, for amazing prices. A gorgeous draped Chloe silk skirt at 70% discount. If you are not in fashion business, who cares that it's last season! I know that I don't. I will definitely keep following this fashionable business lady and her career, wishing that maybe I could learn something from her.

Natalie Massenet looks the part!

Splitting up after 40 years

I just heard the news of Al and Tipper Gore splitting up after 40 years together. Without commenting on their specific situation (since I don't personally know them, I can't know the reasons behind), I just have to say that the news made me sad. That is a long time to share with someone, and I am sure there is a lot of ups and downs, happy and sad times in those 40 years. The cynic in me wants to say that I am sure we will read about the reasons for the separation in their upcoming books... But despite the cynicism, I am still sad for them.

Hyperventilation

Isn't it funny that when the thing that you have most wanted finally happens, it seems scary, too big and difficult, and just makes you hyperventilate. You almost regret ever wanting it! We have been looking for a house (or apartment) for years. First we couldn't decide where we wanted to live. We looked at apartments, but could not find anything that was big enough for us or close to good schools. Then we looked at houses but got scared of living in the suburbs. Then we looked at apartments again, and this cycle went on for a few years. Meanwhile real estate prices kept rising and finally collapsed. And when we finally made the decision to go for a house in the suburbia, it took forever to find a house that seemed like it was worthwile to make the big move. The only good thing about this is that I can say that we bought at the bottom of the market! We were procrastinating all this for so long that we didn't even mind waiting a few extra months after actually buying a house before moving in. But now that the time is here I have cold feet.. is this normal or am I just crazy? I change between being excited about the possibilities and then scared about the change of lifestyle, long commute, feeling isolated and lonely, living in a construction zone and being overwhelmed financially.. I need some ZEN, right now!

Keys to the Kingdom!

Finally got the keys to our house - YAY! The previous owner was renting from us since March and had a hard time letting go. She is a nice (very) old lady, sharp as a whip, and funny. She brought up three children in the house and had a very successful career in real estate - a good omen for me! Now that the house is empty we can see clearly the amount of work there is to be done and it is a bit overwhelming. Have to tackle everything step by step... Anyway, we are so happy that the work can now begin!

Appliances, Part III

After much research, reading consumer reports and running around in appliance stores, we finally made our picks and purchased all the major appliances yesterday: the induction cooktop, double oven, dishwasher (all Bosch), fridge (Samsung), and exhaust hood (Zephyr). The salesman was close to a nervous breakdown with us.. and my husband's haggling was driving all of us crazy. But in the end we got a good deal so it was worth it and even the salesman was happy as he probably does not get customers like us very often who will buy everything at once (he must've made a nice commission).

It will take a few weeks for delivery, but that's ok, as we have not even started on the kitchen yet (demolition will start next week). I am very happy with the appliances we picked. They are all top of the line and should serve us well. We also got a 10-year warranty and at-home service plan, which will make it very easy for us in case we have trouble with any of the machines. They will even replace the product if it cannot be fixed. I cannot wait to cook up a storm with these!

Bosch Double Wall Oven

Bosch Dishwasher

Bosch Induction Cooktop

 Samsung French Door Fridge with Freezer Drawer

 Zephyr Hood

Today we have been running around looking for a countertop, unfortunately all the slab yards were closed so we could not go and actually pick a slab, just look at samples at showrooms. Next Friday we will go and make the final decision at the slab yard. The picture of the kitchen has emerged in my head, and it is dark brown cabinets, light countertop (most likely granite for durability, although I love the look and veining of marble), and matching light floor. I may have to do a light floor in the entrance too, as the entrance should flow into the kitchen and the floor tile should be the same... So many choices, so hard to choose!

Pebbles for my Private Spa

The master bathroom in our new house is very small. And right now, it is uglier than ugly (you can see for yourselves below). But when I am done with it, it will be my own private spa with a pebble-tile steam shower, aaaaahhh. I had this whole spa thing pictured in my head, so I thought that this is going to be easy, just go and pick out the materials to match the picture in my head.. Well, not so fast! There are millions of choices to choose from, beginning with the pebble tiles! Black, white, light gray, dark gray, green, pink, etc. I like the more natural look of the gray pebbles, but even in the gray family the choices are endless. What to choose????

This is the space that will be TRANSFORMED into BEAUTY and TRANQUILITY!!

Oh, and (yay!!) we get the keys to our new house on Monday night, which is when all this fun is going to BEGIN!

Goodbye Idol

I have to admit that I have been watching every season of the American Idol until now. Some seasons have been better than others. My daughter has grown to love the show too. But last night marked the end of the Idol for me. I am a big fan of Simon and now that he is leaving, I doubt that the show will be very interesting next season, it had already grown a bit tired this season. I may still get a peek in here and there, but I doubt I will be into it as I have been until now. So Goodbye American Idol, it was fun while it lasted! And congrats to Lee and Crystal!

BTW - I thought that Paula Abdul looked fabulous in the fuschia dress. I wish my legs would look half as good when I am her age!

Entre S'il Vous Plait

Here are the current plans for my entrance, although I am still debating whether to do black or white marble floor:

Black (or white) marble tile floor (the tile would continue into the kitchen, thus creating unity between these spaces)
One wall all mirror
Black lacquered desk for keys and mail
A fun rug to keep things light and set the mood
Black crystal chandelier hanging overhead

Rug http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=170&f=5802

Walmart Dress and Sex and the City 2 Premier

I almost dropped my eyes when I saw Wendy Wiliams wearing the same (or almost same) Walmart dress to the Sex and the City 2 Premier as I wore to the wedding on Saturday night. The only difference was that my dress was from the maternity collection. Sex and the City being the fashion icon of the decade, that is one bold move. I guess I have REALLY been right when I have been talking about fashion going more and more democratic in the past few years. And Sex and the City has a lot to do with that movement too, combining high and low and wearing what looks good (regardless of price tag!). I don't know if Manolo Blahniks would ever have become so popular without the show. Before SATC Blahniks and other shoes in that price range were for the Park Avenue trust fund socialites - but now all of us regular working girls want to wear them too... Whether that's a good or a bad thing, I don't know (it is a bit insane to drop a week's salary on shoes - but then again - who says that we have to always be sane)! All I do know is that I personally don't own one single pair of Manolos and I feel a bit deprived. However, since I am NOT shopping anymore (I keep repeating that like a mantra, in the hopes that I can really brainwash myself into NOT shopping completely), there will not be Manolos in my near future.

The new NYC Fashionista

My 7-year old daughter has always been into fashion - to the extent that I need to put on brakes at times, after all, she is only 7 and there is so much more to life than fashion. She has decided and styled all her outfits on her own for a couple of years now, and does a wonderful job if I may say. I loved this outfit because of the bright turqoise and the color coordination or purple and turqoise.  

Why does it have to be Sunday night?

What a lovely weekend this was! The highlight was a beautiful wedding at the Water Club. The tables were not numbered but named according to famous places in NY and London (the bride is from NYC and the groom from London). The live band was great and of course I had to shake my pregnant booty on the dance floor.

Unfortunately the above picture is the only one I took all night.. I am so bad! I should have taken a pic of the beautiful bride.. and the lovely view from the Water Club. And have someone snap a picture of me and my hubby..but no, I just get so in the moment that I forget about the camera. I guess what made the evening ever more lovely for me was all the wonderful compliments I received. I am not sure if people were just feeling a bit sorry for the obviously pregnant lady and wanted to make me feel better, but I probably have never received so many compliments in one night.

I had on a very cheap maternity dress from Walmart (of all places!!) I normally do not patronize Walmart from various reasons, one big reason being that I don't like their employment policies and cheap bad quality disposable stuff from China, and the second that New York does not have a Walmart store. But someone had told me about a line that Norma Kamali designed for Walmart and me being a big fan of cheap chic I had to give it a try. I ordered a bunch of maternity stuff online and the box arrived the day before the wedding. The Norma Kamali dress was just a black lycra thing with a tie in the back (it really showed off my belly though because I rather look like I am pregnant, not fat), but it fit me perfectly. So I wore the $20 Walmart dress with my Nine West silver heels, silver Tory Burch clutch, my black and diamond vintage cartier watch, a huge pave diamond ring and a big costume necklace of glittering glass I had scored from eBay a while back.

I guess I normally let myself look pretty drab these pregnant days since this one time that I got dolled up with good hair, make-up and a decent manicure I got so many oohs and aahs. The best compliment of course from my husband who at some point looked at me when we were dancing and said that you're the most beautiful woman in this room by far....after almost 19 years he can still make me so happy.

When it rains, it pours - or take this Kimora Lee Simmons!

So I never got to share what I did get for mother's day (which, in case you haven't noticed, is a humongous affair in this family - probably because I was the type to never have children and then ended up with 2 and a third on the way). Anyway... After all the talk about a Bottega Veneta and secretly hoping that my hubby would have somehow scored a Birkin at some auction, I got neither. But I did get bags. Four of them, as a matter of fact! What did I say - when it rains, it pours :-)

The story of the bags starts with an illegal ponzi-scheme recently discovered by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Often times when all other avenues to recover moneys have been exhausted, there is an auction that sells the criminal's possessions, such as cars, yachts, art, etc. all the way down to the jewelery and bags of the criminal's poor wife. Enter my husband whose hobby it is to check out auctions. He happens to go to this particular auction where they are selling the stuff that the Ponzi-scheme criminal and his wife used to own. My hubby was really after a certain very rare watch, which he did not win. But then as he was leaving a lot of four Louis Vuitton bags came on, and he thinks, hmm, my wife has been talking about bags like a crazy woman lately, let me bid on this one. And he wins the bid! And goes home with four brand new looking LV's.. A few days later it's mother's day - so guess what mommy got?

TV Obsessions - part 2 - 9 by Design

Bravo's new reality TV show, or docu-series, as Bravo calls it, is just delicious! With the baby-boom in my own life, it is amazing to watch a show about a really cool family with 7 children (no, it's not a typo!). And it's not his children and her children, these children are all from same parents, and live with their parents all the time. However, the show is not about the children, but about designing homes. A very timely subject for me, again. So it's no wonder I have been obsessed about the show. The first time I saw the show I dreamed about the family the whole night. And the second night I was renovating my new home in my dreams all night, with the catch that my new home was really their home. I know, Freud might have an opinion on that one.

The Novogratz family lives in my favorite NYC neighborhood, the West Village, and buys old dilapidated buildings and builds gorgeous and unique modern homes in them, all in the lower Manhattan area so that their kids don't have to change shcools when they move, which is apparently quite frequently. They basically started out as house-flippers and have since expanded to taking on other people's design jobs too. The homes are full of unique and creative details, and the furniture and art are a mix of very high end designer stuff and some rare vintage finds. The color scheme is mostly white which appeals to my Scandinavian sensibility. However, there is always some pops of strong color, and it's never boring or too precious looking. I have definitely had some ideas for my own home by watching the show, and some ideas that I was on the fence with were confirmed.

In the next episode the whole family will travel to London. I can't wait to see how they pull that off...

Design Overload at the A&D Building

Yesterday I attended the Opening Night at the A&D Building. It is an event for interior designers mostly and open to trade only, but a good friend of mine (who just happens to be an interior designer!) sneaked me in with her. For the mere mortal it was a design overload. But what a happy overload! There were tons of showrooms that were hosting receptions with wine, prosecco, and little bites to eat. Parteeeee! I had such a craving for the prosecco but in my condition it is verboten so no prosecco for me..just for my friend who enjoyed quite many glasses!

We started our tour with the Holly Hunt showroom, which was a totally new place for me. It is my friend's favorite, and apparently the favorite of many of her firm's upscale clients. We then moved on to the B&B Italia, who had the best party with a drop-dead-gorgeous DJ and the most fabulous new furniture collection. 

Given that I am in the process of planning my new kichen I was most interested in kitchen designs. The Varenna kitchen by Poliform was the tops! Loved it!

It would take too long to list every kitchen showroom we visited, so let me just think back to the big themes..

1. Stainless Steel - it was everywhere. Obviously in appliances, but also in countertops, islands and cabinet doors.
2. White Marble - it too was everywhere. There was all kinds of different looking and differently treated white marble.
3. White and Black - most of the showkitchens where glossy white and black, simple, and even plain. There was a lot of white glass!
4. No pulls - most of the cabinet doors had no pulls/knobs/handles, which gave the showkitchens an extremely streamlined look. Even the drawers had either no pulls or as unnoticeable pulls as possible.
5. Induction Cooktop - all showkitchens featured  this cooktop. The old electric cooktop was nowhere to be seen.

TV Obsessions - part 1 - Crazy Housewives

There are a few programs that I am totally addicted to..and I am sorry to say but they tend to be reality series.. There are actually four shows playing now that I have to watch. Thank God for DVR!!! (Recording cable box - without which I would never watch any TV except for the news.) Bravo is obviously the channel where most of it is happening as there are three must-see shows playing now on Bravo.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey is on its second season, and the ladies are so totally crazy that you just cannot stop watching. All I keep thinking about is why would anyone want to have themselves be depicted in the way those women come thru in that show. They are just so totally bitchy, stupid, insecure and vain. And their cluelessness just makes it all so hilarious! They are so proud of their gigantic homes decorated in god-awful "French Chateau" style that would give a migraine to any normal person visiting. I guess because of all this, I am just so totally hooked...

Then there is the Real Housewives of New York City. Who are not really housewives as most of them seem to do at least some kind of jobs (except perhaps the "Countless" Countess Luann, or new girl Sonja). We know these girls pretty well now as it is season three already.. And they sure have issues as well, but are somewhat more identifiable than the NJ housewives. Communication is a big issue here - I feel that they could all work out their issues if they all just learned to communicate better. And that includes listening as well as talking! But then again, if they did that, they would be almost like normal people, and the show would not be fun to watch..

The third Bravo show deserves its own entry so more about that later - I can just say that I am OBSESSED thinking about the family that the show is about!

Happy Mother's Day!

I have been pampered by my wonderful family all weekend long! I really am very blessed to have my adorable girls with each their own individual, amazing, fun and smart personality. And of course I am very blessed to have a best friend, lover, handy man, and the best father for my children all wrapped in one husband. A thought goes out to all those women too who want to have a family / children so badly but for some reason cannot... I am hoping the universe will make it happen for you!

So much excitement..

Kids have so much energy, it almost makes you exhausted just to watch.. Like roaming around in the West Village, Soho, China Town and Little Italy all day wasn't enough, my daughter invited a friend over and is now doing limbo, solving mysteries and just running around dancing and making silly sketch jokes.. How much would I get done if only I had that energy level?

What's in a Name?

Since I have been thinking about names lately (my new baby, my blog and changing lifestyle), I paid attention to the bit of news I heard the other day, about recent studies done in Canada and Holland about the effects of women adopting their husband's name when they get married. Very interesting study indeed, and the information made me very happy that I kept my own surname.

The women that take their husband's name are perceived as much more stereotypically female, lower-educated, with more children and more traditional family values, who work less hours in non-management jobs. In a job interview situation, if the interviewer knew that a woman had taken the husband's name, they perceived their salary requirement at over a $1000 less than women who had kept their own name.

I was pretty stunned about this, but I guess I shouldn't have been. The world still sees women as submissive and to some extent as "property". Even though sometimes it is annoying that my children have a different last name from mine (my husband insisted that they have his name), I am still happy that I kept my own name, my own identity and better career development prospects.

Gritty New York

On Friday I made the difficult decision of not doing my usual 2-week+ trek to Finland in the summer. I love the Finnish summer, with mosquitoes and all.. It is so clean, fresh and wonderful compared to a sweaty, humid New York summer. This summer, however, we will be in the middle of a huge renovation, packing up, moving and I will be quite pregnant in the middle of all this. It just adds up to a bit too much, so something has to give. 

Oh, and by the way... Our renovation project is getting bigger and bigger as we have decided to change the place of the stairs to the second floor of our new house. My husband and I finally sat down last night and drafted a budget for our big renovation (we could almost build a new house for the money that it will take - craaazyyyy - and a bit scary!). It looks like mommy has to do without a Bottega Veneta or a Birkin for now! But that is just fine. The new house will have plenty of space for my existing bag collection which I will be able to display in a way that I actually have access to all my treasures - who needs a new bag when they can have 20 that feel like new?

My Favorite Flower

This beautiful bloom is my favorite flower, 

and this specific peony is even more special because it grows in my mother's garden.

I will definitely plant some peonies in my own yard next summer.