Fall Color / Fashion Week Outfits

Following Fashion Week's guest outfits is just as important these days, as showing the runway looks, if not more important! That is where fashion happens - and a great inspiration for real life. I Love these looks from Mr. Newton's blog, these two NY Fashion Week outfits. A great and very "New York" way to use fall colors. Not sure who the first girl is, but the second is the Project Runway 2010 winner Gretchen Jones.

This WEEK

Ok, we have survived an earthquake and a hurricane. (And some of us have survived a wicked cold!)  Now the fashion folks have to survive the Fashion Week.. And the rest of us are saddened again and again with all the coverage of the 9/11 anniversary that transports us back to that horrible morning, day and following weeks.

Last night it was Fashion's Night Out, and I went for the first time.. Because of family or work obligations, I've never been before during the few years that it's been happening. But this time I did go. I chose to come back to LI from work and go to the Americana mall at Manhasset, tagging the family along (it seems I rarely do anything without them - anyhoo, I thought my oldest would've quite enjoyed the hoopla).  But what a disappointment it was. By the time we were there, which was around 7:30 pm, there was hardly anything going on.. Some bubbly at Etro and Vince, and some black raspberry vodka cocktails at Escada (due to the cold, I had not one sip - come to think of it, maybe that is why it just seemed like such a bore..). I guess Long Islandites party early - as I was told that most of the people were there early and stores were getting ready to call it a night.. Well, next year, if I get the chance, I will do FNO in the City - I have heard that Saks is a lot of fun.

Now I am going to look at the coverage of the NY Fashion Week - the previews say that it is a lot less skin and a lot more color than previous years. Longer hems, less cleavage - I am ok with that!

Quote for Today

Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you have decided to look beyond the imperfections.

By somebody a lot wiser than me

Last Call for Summer

It's time to begin shopping for the fall and stores are full of in-between-season stuff... But I could not resist the last call for these summer shoes from Nine West. Thought they were so cute and thanks to the summery print they go with almost anything I would wear, like my pinstripe pants here:

The BDI and Christine Lagarde

What a surprise to have a lady of the finance world in Vanity Fair's Best Dressed List. It is of course an honor, but also a bit of a double edged sword.. In some circles it is not that great to be known for your style instead of (or even in addition to) your brains, professionality, and capability. But aside from that thought, it is great that a professional woman of the highest degree was included on the list and is celebrated for her very appropriate and tasteful business dress style.

Drool Worthy

Bottega Veneta has an iPad case that is so drool worthy I have to share it here.. It is not on my shopping list, but a girl can always drool, right?

Westbury Gardens - The Glorious Gardens

Westbury Gardens - House

The Phipps family lived in this Westbury house from 1907 to mid 1950's. The house is beautiful and preserved exactly as it was. This was one of the great estates of Long Island's hey day and although it is by no means the largest or the grandest it is a great example of a bygone era.

Oh NO - I can't make it!

To the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty show at the Met, that is, which has been there for months (why on earth I did not go there months ago??) and has been THE most popular exhibition on fashion EVER. Everybody has loved it and I am so mad at myself for not having gone.. Sunday is the last day for the show, the wait lines are hours long and the museum extended its opening hours to midnight. So that all the other laggards can see the show.

Inspiration - Butterfly

Went to visit Westbury Gardens today and was able to snap this photo. Lovely place, so inspiring.  Summer is so full of beauty... More to come on Westbury Gardens.

Early Morning Fashion Musings

So now that I've been waking up super early, I've had a chance to read my favorite newspaper, Wall Street Journal, every morning. The reason I really love WSJ is the excellent articles on fashion, designers, style and the business of fashion. This week alone there has been a number of interesting stories, including one about Divorce Sales, where divorcees shed their old designer clothes, bags, shoes and jewelry. What a great idea, I thought. It is always good to make room for the new, and especially so if you have a lot of stuff with "baggage" i.e. stuff that reminds you of a life or a person that you once had. Getting rid of the old makes you fill in the vacuum with new, both figuratively and practically, and thus helps you move on and create a new (and maybe better!) life for yourself.

Another interesting article was about the "new" designer fabric, linen. Linen is being combined with other fibers to create fabrics that work for high end design, such as silk. The paper even had a picture of a $6000 Lanvin wedding dress that had the artful wrinkled look of linen. I loved it because linen is one of my favorite fabrics for the summer. I don't mind the wrinkles, but these new fiber combinations apparently make linen a lot less wrinkly. And - my own wedding dress was a linen blend as well...my mother's old dress from 1971; that dress was a blend of linen and something else that reduced the wrinkling, probably a synthetic fiber, but it still had that linen hand touch feel.

The third article, this week alone, worth to mention, is the new designer online shopping site for Chinese high end consumers, thecorner.com.cn, by the Italian company Yoox.  The site sells luxury items, which by itself is nothing new. The news is in the shipping service they have pioneered with Fedex. The courier will wait at the doorstep of the customer while they open the package, try on whatever they ordered and make up their minds whether to keep the item or not. If only that service would be used in the U.S. I might be ordering online too! Of course this is all designed to encourage the Chinese to embrace online luxury shopping, but what a great convenience that is...

Jet Lag

Usually people hate the jet lag, and I do too when I have to fly east, but coming home to the US from Finland I don't mind the jet lag at all. I actually quite enjoy it and try to make it last as long as possible. It's nice to gain the seven extra hours. You also fall into a perfect work day routine of early to bed, early to rise. So in the past couple of days I have been getting up at around 5 am, which leaves you plenty of time to brew coffee, chat with kids, take a stroll in the garden and watch the sprinklers' early morning shift, read the Wall Sreet Journal (more about that later) and get ready for work (and actually plan an outfit!). If only I would be able to keep this up forever! But knowing myself, one week is about as much as I can stretch it and then the siren call of my favorite shows (especially True Blood) waiting in the DVR, will have me watching TV after the kids have gone to bed, erasing the ability to wake up early... But I am enjoying this as long as it lasts!

Out of Office

I have checked out on vacation for about 3 weeks! I am hoping to live life fully and not be connected to internet during my time off of everything. Have a happy SUMMER!

See U later, Wall Street!

The Best Purchase

Sometimes even the most wanted items turn out to be duds.. I mean those items that we thought about and sweated over, looked for everywhere and went through some pain to acquire - just for them to then find a nice shelf in the closet and never to come out (I could mention some Giuseppe Zanotti shoes here, but I'll just let it be). And sometimes, we get something almost as an impulse, and it turns out so good that we wear it over and over and over. I have to say my best recent purchase has been the Evelyne bag. I wear it all the time and it is so comfortable, practical and of course stylish that I still stop to admire it every now and then when I get a glimpse of myself in a mirror or a window even with the risk of looking totally silly... What is your best purchase of late?

Hermes Evelyne

Babyproof

This necklace has proved to be the best purchase this spring and summer! It really is babyproof, as it has been pulled on, yanked, bitten, drooled on, and otherwise mishandled while on mommy's neck.. The apple does not fall far from the tree and all my daughters, including the 9 month old, are totally besotted by jewellery.

Banana Republic Necklace

Vogue's American Idols

Vogue online picked American Icons of Fashion - and one of the ICONS was Willow Smith! Excuse me, but how old is she again? 9 or something? Am I the only one who feels that it is a bit more than slightly ridiculous to call a child a fashion icon? She is talented, I am sure, she is very cute and enjoys her time in the spotlight (hopefully), but let's get real...she's no fashion ICON. A better word might be - trendsetter? 

Happy 4th of July

The best firework memory I have is watching fireworks from a boat on a lake, upstate New York, at mid summer. New York City's 4th of July firework spectacular is amazing too, with massive crowds trying to get the best spot to see the show, but there was just something extra special about the little lake, the many boats full of people watching the fireworks.

The Best of Long Island

On a certain mood I might be tempted to say it's the Americana mall, but seriously, the real best thing is the beaches. The good thing about living in Long Island is that the beaches are never too far away... These are pictures from the Sea Cliff Beach.

School's out

This has been the first vacation week for school kids in Long Island. My kids have had a sleepover, been at the pool and a picnic at the beach. Oh how I wish I was a kid again...

NYC Summer Guide

This must be the cutest guide to New York City that I have seen in a long time. So cute that I wanted to share it. Lots of ideas what to do in NYC this summer.

BOOK REPORT

Everything Old...

Becomes New! Like this Coach Bucket bag. I have two of these, in black and in a beautiful light cognac color, somewhere in my closet. I saw the new editions at Net a Porter, and I have to say they still look good. So understated, simple and just right for now. Now, excuse me, I have to go shopping in my own closet!

Speak out or not?

I have been facing some trouble at work lately. I have an unhappy, very verbal and well connected client who is very negative and loves to complain. The problem is that this client's complaints are unfounded, sometimes totally untrue, and not based on real facts, and also not based on what my organization strategically is trying to achieve.

I have tried many ways to deal with the situation, but it's just getting worse. Initially I was very defensive and reactive, then I've been more attentive and pro-active, put in more hours, tried to do things differently, and even had a very direct conversation with this client, which helped for a very short while, but now we are back to square one. I feel like I am teetering on the edge of a blow out.

My boss and other clients have been dragged into the situation. My boss has sympathy for me, and sees the ridiculousness of this client's demands and complaints, but would rather not deal with this headache! My boss's boss, has reamed me out because of this situation - after all, it is my job to keep the clients happy.

I am at a total loss what to do next. I can't fight with my client, the fear being that if I speak out too much, I will get into trouble. But if I don't say anything, I will also get into trouble - and I cannot let this client spread false information around. How to balance the right amount of speaking out and still keep my job - that is what I have been pondering.

In this economy,  I would like to keep my job! And, it would feel so pointless to lose my job now, after all these years and struggling through babies and maternity leaves and balancing work and motherhood to be where I am today. So if all of a sudden I begin to post a lot on the best summer looks, swimsuits or yoga pants, I took the wrong decision and was fired.

To be continued...

Imagine Dream Inspire

Since I cannot take outfit photos of myself that I could actually post online (I may be too critical of myself because of the babyweight issue is STILL there, or then I really am super non-photogenic), here is an outfit picture of my 8-year old's outfit. She is very much into shirts that say something, such as this: Imagine Dream Inspire. And why not, that is a beautiful message. She picks out all her own outfits, and does a pretty good job, if I may say...

New York Love Story

Here is the view from my office this morning:

And here is the view of Central Park South, taken from a Wedding we attended Saturday night:

What a beautiful, diverse city New York is...

And now there is more to love! Trad Home | Lonnymag.com

I did not even have a chance to go through the whole issue..but have to share it as I am so excited that there is now more Lonny to love, in the form of the Trad Home online magazine that they are publishing in cooperation with Traditional Home. What I saw so far was wonderful.

Enjoy

Trad Home | Lonnymag.com

Lonny - Love it!

I love the online Interior Decorating magazine Lonny! The pictures are beautiful and it's full of inspiration.

And the best part is that it's FREE!

Enjoy...


May/June 2011 Issue | Lonnymag.com

Rain on Long Island

This week it has been rain rain and more rain.. My au pair took some beautiful rain photos which I am sharing with you here.

Welcome Home Darling

Happiness is the homecoming of your loved one...especially when he comes home with souvenirs for everyone!

And after having been the single mother to three kids for a few days / nights - the happiness was quadrupled when daddy came home. My hat off to single mothers, it is not easy, no. way. not. ever.

But back to souvenirs. The kids got t-shirts and caps, but my souvenir was the best - a Tod's bag. A beautiful beige/brown color, classic Tod's styling and perfect work-horse size. This will be my new work bag favorite. Had to take it to work right away!

Blogging

I love blogging, but just don't have the time to do it consistently. This is not a goodbye, just a note to say that even if I disappear for a while, I will be back, sooner or later..

Check despair.com for funny demotivational sayings

Motherhood

On the heels of Mother's Day, I have been reflecting on motherhood, and myself as a mother. When I became a mother, I felt that my life was no longer just mine. I take a lot of pride in trying to be the best mother that I can be. When you stop to think about it, the responsibility is astounding - a child's need for the mother is urgent, and a mother's influence is so deep and lasting. Everything you do, all the choices you make and the way you live your life affects your children. I view my children as little miracles, and am still amazed that I have been blessed with three amazing, smart and beautiful babies. It is not always easy being a mother, after all, we are all human and flawed in one way or the other.  But one thing makes it easier, and that is the fact that a mother's love is unconditional. You always want what's best for your children...