Pumpkin Patch

It was a beautiful day at the pumpkin patch today. We picked three pumpkins, big, medium and small; and bought apples, apple cider; and we got to suggest a name for a piggy... One daughter suggested "Sleepy" because he was sleeping, and the three year old suggested "Possu" (a pig is Finnish!) and the five-year old friend with us suggested "Bella".

I still don't know how she does it.. or how I do it..

The reality is that you cannot do it all. Something has to give. And in the movie Kate Reddy eventually has to relax her schedule to make sure that she can see her kids at least on the weekends.. So, the movie was light, funny and entertaining as expected. It also did bring up some issues that working mothers deal with, the guilt, the total lack of time for anything, the competition at work ready to pounce when you have a weak moment, etc. The cliche "mommy wars" theme, however, was a bit tired..

The movie was timely for me, as I've been pondering an opportunity that would require quite a big time commitment in addition to my current job. I now work four days a week, and this new project would probably take up the rest of the week. The question I ask myself is whether I do have the endurance, energy and motivation to spread myself so thin?

Show Pony

The guest outfits at fashion shows were very colorful this year.. not the usual black.. all the more for us mere mortals to gawk at. I wish I had been a fly on the wall (or the guest sitting behind) to hear the conversation between Nicki Minaj and Anna Wintour. Some mind reading ability would have been fun too, to find out what Wintour really thought about Minaj's outfit..







But I am saving the best for last:

I don't know how she does it

On Friday night I plan on going with girlfriends to see the new Sarah Jessica Parker flick "I Don't Know How She Does It", based on a novel of the same name. I read the novel a few years back when it first came out, fully expecting to relate to the situation and maybe find some advice on how to actually do it all. But I remember thinking that even though I am a working mother and trying to make a career in the financial industry I did not relate to Kate Reddy. Her character seemed far fetched. However, some of the issues that the book raised hit home, very much actually, especially the differences on how working mothers and fathers are viewed and treated. Nobody questions a man traveling on business and leaving the family behind, but that is not the case for women..I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked if I don't miss my kids when traveling, and I don't event have to travel that much, and only a couple of days at a time. Nobody will ever ask that question of a man. Taking time off from work for a kid's school event, teacher meeting, doctor visit, etc., makes a man seem like a great human being and does not diminish his value at the workplace, but if a woman does the same, it is an annoyance. The book was funny and I did enjoy reading it. I am hoping that the movie will be as entertaining. And it is nice to Sarah Jessica Parker finally grow out of the single woman roles!

I do love my TV shows...

When I got my first television set, I stopped caring so much about having close relationships.


--Andy Warhol, American artist


The fall TV watching season is now in full swing..I personally can't wait for the Boardwalk Empire to begin on HBO this Sunday. Yesterday I watched the first post-Charlie-Sheen Two and a Half Men episode with Ashton Kutcher. I almost felt sorry for Charlie - there really was no love lost or mourning for his character on the show..however, it was a funny episode and the show's never been very sentimental anyway...I got a few laughs.

Fashion Success Story - Tory Burch

I love Tory Burch! I hate her a little bit too, for being so successful, and for seemingly having it all.. But more I admire her for the ability to be able to build such an amazingly successful business in the middle of severe financial recession. I guess the line is appealing because of its wearable styles and reasonable prices. Tory really understands the woman who is buying her stuff. The stylized cross-T logo became well known almost over night it seems. The craze started with the ballerinas that fast became ubiquitous in the streets of New York, then spread to the tote bags and the colorful well fitted tunics. However, this was the first time TB showed at the New York Fashion Week. Here are a couple of my favorites for next
spring.

Quote for Today

"If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right."

Cheap Chic Crash

I am a big fan of cheap chic, so when I heard about the Missoni line for Target I made a mental note to check the web site when it hits on 9/13.. and I did - but apparently the line was so popular that it has crashed Target's web site. Can you believe it? I hope they still have these bed spreads available when they get the web site back up.. I just heard that everything is long gone from Target stores.

BCBG

Dresses are still big for Spring 2012. Here are a couple that I love from BCBG collection.

Notice the length! There's something very modern in the blue. Love the grey and a shot of orange color. Both dresses are very sporty and yet feminine.
 

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.