Lucky Charm

I have long admired the Van Cleef and Arpels Alhambra jewelry. I would love to have either the Alhambra Vintage necklace, or the pendant. The four leaf clover motif appeals to me personally - it is a lucky charm.  During my childhood's summers in Finland my mother used to find me real four leaf clovers to bring luck and to make me happy, and I used to put them to dry in between the pages of books and keep them until they eventually crumbled. The jewelry version would not crumble :-)  I have been dropping hints as I have a big birthday coming up this year... we shall see...

Antiquing

Walterboro, South Carolina

One of the best things about traveling is unexpectedly finding new great places that you fall in love with. On our recent road trip we stopped for lunch at a South Carolina town full of antique and vintage shops, Walterboro. The cutest, quiet and tranquil little town with one main street, and all the antique shops in a row... We treasure hunted for an hour or so, and I found an amazing Indian hand woven and printed fabric that I will use as a table cover. And the best part, it only cost $12 - that would have never happened in New York - in fact, I saw some similar fabrics at the ABC Home store for about $400!

The Little Things That Make You Happy

Traveling with kids can be challenging...believe me, I know, having traveled with small babies several times a year on long flights. And when you travel, little things can make you really happy, like some swans fashioned out of towels, waiting for you in your hotel room when you come in all tired and ready to crash. Then all you need is a hot shower, clean crisp sheets, and a good night's sleep.

Prints Prints Prints

Something interesting is happening in the fashion industry.. And it is prints. Prints are not just a fad anymore or a short lived trend, but an important way in which fashion houses can differentiate themselves without slapping logos everywhere. Of course some companies have used prints for forever (Hello Marimekko!, Missoni, Pucci, etc.) but now they seem to really have become key for many fashion houses, which use prints to add interest and to add the ability to ID a style. Past season Prada (bananas), Stella McCartney (lemons), and now for this spring, Jil Sander's paisley. Instantly recognizable, and elevating a line's profile to new heights.

Jil Sander

Jil Sander

Jil Sander

And the Winner is...

Meryl Streep is not know for her fashion sense, but at this year's Oscar's she was stunning in this Lanvin gown. It was so totally right for her, and for the moment. It oozed old Hollywood glamour and was oddly on trend with the color gold (apparently Milan's shows were full of this color, i.e. we'll be seeing it a lot in months to come). When you are older, it is so hard to choose dresses that don't make you look like you're trying hard to look young, or just make you look too matronly, or too complicated, or too something. This dress is perfect in every regard, and I am so happy that Ms. Streep won the Oscar. She definitely deserved it - and even though it seems that she has won something every year, she has not won the best actress since 1982. And I don't think that anyone can question her amazing talent...

The Heiress

Cathy Horyn, one of my favorite fashion journalists, wrote a great article about Stella McCartney for last Sunday's New York Times Magazine. I love reading serious articles about fashion professionals, and this is good enough to share:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/magazine/stella-mccartney.html?ref=magazine 

The Road Trip Conquered

The road trip to Florida was great! It can be a real pain in the a** to travel with small children, but this time it went really well. No melt downs, tantrums, nobody threw up or leaked their diapers, and they didn't even fight! The drive to Orlando is really long, and I am not sure that I want to do it again any time soon, but I am really happy that we did go, and got this experience. We had so much fun while driving; we came up with a family motto: "the family must go on", and our own words to Kelly Clarke's song Stronger "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, drive a little longer". We counted the states we passed and were fascinated about the climate change from winter to summer. We discovered Cracker Barrel restaurants! And when we saw the first palm trees we cheered really loud! On the way back we were like old pros.. we knew where the best rest stops were and what to do in the car to entertain ourselves (dvd's, playing i spy, reading, doing quizzes). And we all know each other a little bit better and our family bond is just that much stronger...

Goodbye Whitney

Whitney, your funeral is taking place today. So sorry that you passed away. Your talent was amazing. I have always loved this song, and my kids love it too... Thanks for giving it to us. Thanks for giving so much joy through your music to so many people. If only you would have had some of that joy in your own life, and not be so troubled with substance abuse. Goodbye and rest in peace. 


I believe the children are our future
Teach them well
And let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty
They possess inside
Give them a sense of pride
To make it easier
Let the children's laughter
Remind us how we used to be

Everybody's searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone
Who fulfilled my needs
A lonely place to be
And so I learned to depend on me.

I decided long ago
Never to walk in anyone's shadow
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I lived as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity

Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

Stock Ticker to Watch: KORS

Where was I when Michael Kors went public with an IPO? The stock has doubled in the two months it's been on the market.. Fashion is not always a very good business for investors, but leave it to Mr. Kors to prove that it indeed can be profitable to invest in a fashion stock!

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/shares-of-michael-kors-as-trendy-as-its-wares/

And with collections like these, I expect this stock to do very well for the foreseeable future!

 

Wherever You Go, Go With All Your Heart

This brave woman is going on real ROAD TRIP today! Me and the family are driving from New York to Orlando, FL (and back next week). My husband has done the drive several times helping various family members move down to Florida (and back), but I (nor the kids) have never done a car drive that long.. 1100 miles and 18 hours, according to Mapquest. 

Last summer we drove to Niagara Falls, 400 miles and 7 hours (again, according to Mapquest). That trip was so much fun we started planning this Orlando trip, but now that the time is here, I am scared! Yikes - what if it's too uncomfortable and what if we get annoyed of each other and fight the whole way?! Why did I agree to do this? It's too late to have a change of heart now. The kids are super excited about the road trip and going to Disney World.. the hubby just told me to let's make the best of it - so I guess he's a bit worried too...

Hopefully this trip will teach me and the family something new about ourselves,  strengthen our family bond and make some unforgettable memories.

Tory Burch - Cute and Wearable

It could be so easy to hate her, but instead, Tory Burch has long been one of my favorites. Her clothes are so wearable, and still fairly reasonably priced. And she keeps getting better. Just look at these styles for next fall...

Happy Valentine's Day

I have not really been paying attention to the fashion week this time, partly because I've been so busy and partly because the pictures I saw were not particularly interesting or exciting. Until today - when I saw what Mr. Jacobs had done... Crazy wonderful is how I would describe his collection. A nice Valentine's Day surprise. Fun and exciting for sure. Finally something to blog about!

New York Love Story - Times Square

Times Square is the most annoying place for a New Yorker. It is so crowded and full of tourists. But at the same time, it is so cool, that we have this place in our city, so full of life and showmanship. Times Square has changed in the recent year and is now a family destination..gone are the peep shows that crowded the area when I moved to New York over 20 years ago.

The Little Things That Make You Happy

You may already know about this web site where a new happy thing is posted every day: http://justlittlethings.net/  Some of the happy things are little and some are actually huge, like number 471 on my list here:

The Rug! It's Back!

The Keep Calm and Carry On RUG is back!! AND it's on SALE at Anthropologie. What should I do? There was a time when these rugs (with red background and light gray lettering) were selling at CB2, but I did not buy it and then when it sold out I kicked myself for not getting it. It would be so perfect for our entrance. Humorous but also exactly on message for our household with 3 little kids creating a constant chaos. We already have a different rug for the entrance now... What to do, what to do, what to do?

Skirts with Pants

I have now seen a few pictures of pre-fall 2012 lines where skirts go with pants. My first reaction was NO! Not again. Then I paused and thought that maybe this is not so bad after all. But after that momentary insanity, I realized, that it indeed is very bad. I will not be doing this again. It was enough that I did when the style was around last time in the nineties.

Alexander McQueen

Elections

Even though I have not had the time to follow super closely the political debates, I guess I can't pass the topic of the elections without making some comment, given that there are presidential elections going on in both of my countries, Finland and the U.S. It is interesting to compare and contrast, even though in US we are a bit behind and the big question now is which republican candidate will run against Obama. In Finland the elections were already held, and the big surprise was that the election went to second round (at least it was a surprise to me), and that the candidate against the more traditional type of presidential candidate (lawyer by training, served as Finland's finance minister) is a gay man and a green party candidate (who happens to have an amazing background working as a negotiator in international crisis areas, such as Sudan and Somalia).

Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/23/finland-presidential-race-pekka-haavisto_n_1223477.html 

I wonder how long it will take in America to have a woman as a President, or to nominate an openly gay man? Finland has had a woman President for 12 years, and now a very popular gay candidate. I am very proud to be Finnish.

I also wonder what would have happened if Hillary Clinton would have become the President of this country instead of Obama.. I was always for Hillary and think she is an amazing woman and a wonderful role model. I just hope this country can get through this year's elections without getting even more polarized and without widening the gap between the social classes, ethnic backgrounds, religions, sexual orientations, races, women's right to choose, those who have health care and those who have not, etc.

Having watched last night's CNN Republican Candidates Debate, I am not so sure that it's possible.

Office Outift

Here is another recent office outfit: dark blue Magaschoni cashmere open cardigan, Banana Republic white wool skirt (must be 10 years old, and used to be really loose on me, and fits now perfectly due to weight gain), Banana Republic necklace, the stripy top is from a discount store and the label was cut off.

The Best Part of the Picture: the little piano player in the background

Is your Personality making you Fat?

When I read this recent article in the Wall Street Journal, all I could think was OH MY GOD - this is why I am having such a hard time losing weight!

There is a clear connection between your personality and weight gain. And I seem to have the bonanza of personality traits that make you fat:

I am a stress junkie
I am a night owl
I am a giver
I am a mindless multitasker
I am a perfectionist

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204124204577150702592157004.html

The only thing missing from this list is being impulsive - which I have realized all on my own, is not a good personality trait for weight loss..

Maybe realizing how my personality affects my weight will make it a bit easier to deal with trying to lose weight..

New York Love Story - Williamsburg Bridge

My New York love story includes the Williamsburg Bridge: