Early Morning Stroll in New Shoes

adidas sneakers, betsey johnson socks

I woke up super early today, decided to take a stroll at the river and break in my new running shoes. There's just something about that first walk in brand new shoes. If they're heels, you enjoy their look and feel, if they're sneakers you enjoy the feel of walking on clouds. That's at least how these make me feel. Their color is much more pink in real life than in the pictures.

Pinterest Fun and Perfect Summer Dress

Happy Friday. Pinterest is so cool. It reminds me of Polyvore but instead of the sets, you can create story boards. Here is my first story board - ThisIsAYes Things I Love.
Brands I included: Free People, Rebecca Minkoff, Christian Louboutin, Miu Miu, Marc by Marc Jacobs, ONE by Matisse shoes, Club Monaco

This dress deserves a special mention, separate from the board. I just think it's perfect - its print and cut. If I got it, it would be a real Me Dress. The waves, the navy white - illustrates what I love in life.

Not a surprise, it's a DVF handy dress. I looked all over and it's only available in size 6. So any Cinderella, who is size 6 can get it.

ThisIsAYes Thursday - Fashion People, Wishbone Necklaces as Bracelets and Love for Photography

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loving taking a break in my day and reading something completely random

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I don't think I'll ever get tired of Marc by Marc Jacobs bird accessories

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The book Fashion People is so funny, cartoonish illustrations of who is who in fashion with awesome text

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my photography classes at ICP  are challenging yet rewarding. How cool is the picture I took yesterday!

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New Minimalism blog

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One of my favorite bloggers - Heart and Bleecker is wearing a wishbone necklace as a bracelet. 
Love it!

In My Purse, Dresses with Details and Ruffled Skirts

Here's what's in my purse now - got 2b mini hairspray - love it, the only non sticky spray I know, Kiehl's lip balm, MAC and Chanel lipgloss, Chanel concealer, Pelle Borsa going out mini money purse, iPhone - the case is by John "Crash" Matos - designer of the graffiti Tumi suitcases

A few of my favorite pieces from my closet now. I love the details on the dress. The skirt is by Topshop and I wore it here

Smorgas Rastaurant - Meatball and Herring Eating Fun

Brunch is one of my favorite meals, maybe it's because it always means that the weekend is here and maybe that brunch food is just so yummy. This past weekend my friends and I decided to go for something different and have some Norwegian food. Don't get me wrong, I love eggs Benedict and other brunch staples but having herrings and meatballs is just different and new. Smorgas was our weekend destination, a place full of Norwegian delicacies.

Herrings in four types of sauces and meatballs

jill stuart dress, henri bendell headband

After brunch fun

Fashion Blog ThisIsAYes Photo Set

It was fun to have my blog photos transformed into this short set. Make yours with pummelvision.
It's easy and fast.

ThisIsAYes Thursday Molten Chocolate Cake, Sailboat Ties and Rebecca Minkoff

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best picture of the week, which I took

 

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Cupcakes and Cashmere Emily makes the molten chocolate cake from scratch using this recipe

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What's better for a guy than a tie that tells a story and makes us dream - by Brooks Brothers

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How a Young Designer Stands out in a Crowded Fashion Market - awesome article about Rebecca Minkoff

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And speaking of which I have my eye on this Rebecca Minkoff Rumi dress. Voting for corals instead of the nudes this season...

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Plummelvision lets you create cool videos out of photos. Cool idea, check it out, make yours, it's fast.

Rain Boots

AG Adriano Goldschmied pants, bebe sweater, via spiega vest, prada bag, asos shoes

They're announcing a week of rain on and off in New York. Rain always brings rain boots questions to my mind. Are there any cute ones out there? I haven't seen any great waterproof boots. I'm not talking about the rubber ones because even the best in class like these DKNY Veuve Cliquot below, Hunter or the Burberry ones just don't do it for me. These types were good when you were little and loved walking in the puddles. How to stay dry then?

Dalai Lama at Newark Peace Education Summit, Attending Conferences and Tacit Knowledge

I was very excited to be able to attend the Newark Peace Education Summit on Friday. At the end of the day I met up with a friend of mine for drinks and discussed the experience of attending conferences. She was searching for direct applications of things learned, I was explaining that I treat attending conferences less directly.

I truly believe in tacit knowledge - knowledge you're not aware you possess. You achieve it through experiences, which can be completely unrelated to your business or profession. 

I enjoyed the Peace Conference a lot - from achieving inner peace to spreading the peace message lecture, to peace and family, accomplished guests with great stories to the highlight of the event - Dalai Lama... what an enriching day!

"Inner Peace is not something you can buy like other stuff, it's something you strive for, something you achieve" - Dalai Lama

"Achieve inner peace before setting your goals in life" - Dalai Lama

He jokes, he smiles and his talk is sometimes hard to understand - this is unimportant - it's his grand presence and the contagious laugh that people want to be surrounded by.

You can notice the extreme calm in his face. Dalai Lama is smiling without the smile.

Independent Fashion Bloggers and Links a la Mode

Happy Saturday.
My post made it to the Links a la Mode list where editors from Independent Fashion Bloggers choose twenty best articles of the week. It was the Alexander Mcqueen Exhibit at the Met feature.
Check out who else made the list!

I had a great Friday - went to the Newark Peace Summit with Dalai Lama. Check out my post on Monday.

Savage Blogging

Edited by Vahni of Grit & Glamour
Savage Beauty. Don't tell me you haven't heard the paradoxically exquisite title of the Alexander McQueen exhibit currently mesmerizing the fashion world and the blogosphere. I mention it for two reasons. First, a couple bloggers in this week's roundup show you the exhibit in New York—as well as a satellite version in London—through their own lenses. So if you didn't know about it, check out their posts and resurrect your fashion cred.
Savage Blogging. Now that's my title, and while it was inspired by the McQueen exhibit, it also characterizes the approach many bloggers take, as well as entries this week that speak to the issue. Want to be haute stuff in the blog world, like The Sartorialist? Think it's all a numbers game? Well, I certainly hope not. That is savage blogging: when your objective ceases to be the art of it, the connection, and you are devoured by an obsession with your numbers. When you get so big that you forget you used to be a nobody until fellow bloggers read your blog and lifted you up. When you stop conversing, and simply become a talking head. With a camera. No thanks.
As blogging and social media mature, many are finally realizing what my mama told me years ago: You get more flies with honey. Don't be savage bloggers, loves. When you give and interact genuinely, your star will shine, I promise you. Your numbers will grow, and people won't write you any "open letters" to remind you that you've gotten a little too big for your britches. Honey, honeybuns. Got it?

Links à la Mode: May 12th

• A Reason to be Fabulous: The classic white button-down remixed for work and play.
• Best of Bklyn: The six shoes every girl should have for a complete shoe wardrobe.
• Beyond Fabric: How to solve your hemming conundrums.
• Boheme Noir: The 20 most pointless designer accessoires ever.
• Brunette Blogging: Blogging Commandments — do's and don'ts for bloggers.
• By Anika:Colouring outside the lines, in fashion and in life.
• Consider Me Lovely: Things I Now Know For Sure (lessons in blogging)
• Dozen Dresses: The First-Timer's Guide to Shopping In Paris
• Decoding Dress: An open letter to Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist)
• Finding Tokyo: Why do you blog? It's not about numbers....it's about the connection.
• Grit & Glamour: Shots You Never Saw and What They Taught Me
• HauteWorld: Harvey Nichols brings "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" to London.
• Her Catwalk: 7 More Ways to Stop Impulse Spending
• IFB: How to Break the Ice at Events
• KP Fusion: Moment of Honesty: What's the purpose of your blog?
• Letters to Daria: Travel in style or comfort?
• Lights So Bright: The difference between leopard and cheetah prints.
• NY Don't Leave Me: Tackling sandals and socks!
• Shoeperwoman: The Trouble with Dresses
• The Citizen Rosebud: The I.O.U. Project—a new online venture aiming to make a difference.
• This Is A Yes: Alexander McQueen Exhibit at the Met

SPONSOR: Suiting at Shopbop: Ellery, Theory, DKNY, Georgie, Sachin + Babi, Alberta Ferretti, Ports 1961, Sunglasses, Tibi dresses & Sale

Can I Take Your Photo? I'm Going to Show it to My Girlfriend

modcloth shoes and socks, topshop skirt, BCBG jacket, bebe top, bershka scarf, gucci sunglasses

This is already my second version of this skirt. The first one got destroyed by the super human powers of a dryer. I used to apply the rule of "survival of the fittest" to the clothes by washing and drying them equally. After having lost a few great pieces, which "haven't survived" I decided to be more careful. 

I give my clothes a better treatment now.

Anyway so I was in Bryant Park and a guy came up to me asking "can I take your photo, my girlfriend would like your style, I'd like to show it to her."

Wow, wow, wow, if any guy is reading this blog, please let me explain to you that it's not how girls think/work. There's only a slight chance of this situation having a positive ending if this guy comes home, shows a picture of some random girl, that he took. There's a small chance this could work, very small though. Guys, stay on a safe side... take pictures of tulips ;-)

Summer Ready? - from less Makeup to more Sailing, Mint Green Dresses, more Maxi Skirts and Round Sunglasses

After a long winter in New York, the long awaited warm weather has come. The streets, outdoor cafes are filled with everyone who came out to "soak up the sun." We all need it, it makes us smile, gives energy. Summer inspires me to make a lot of changes - fashion, beauty, lifestyle - everything gets a summer touch.
Here is my list.

Summer things I do:

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I got highlights as soon as winter finished. I used to wait to get them naturally towards the end of the summer but since last year I started having them done. Here's my hair straight from the John Barrett salon
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Waxing - even though I'm relatively new to this, now I treat it as a pre-summer must
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Exfoliating - your body will "soak up the sun" better without the dead cells in the way
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Less make-up less hair doing, a summer glow will do
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Taking "me days" off more often. Need an inspiration what to do on a perfect personal day off?
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Taking even more photos and playing with my camera to the fullest

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Sailing more - sailing is a passion of mine, which I'm still discovering - different wind conditions, weather, circumstances make sailing a constant lesson, which I keep learning

Summer things I want to get:

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more summery headbands

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One of my summer buys will be a pair of round sunglasses - I'm considering these Tom Ford

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Mint green dress, pants or a skirt - I'm in love with this color this season
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I've already got a few maxi skirts but I'm always open to more... 

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This summer I think I'm leaning more towards the nudes than brights so a pair of nude heels and a light pink flowy dress are on my fashion radar

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This Alexander Wang mini leather bag is amazing. I've never seen a rose gold and white leather combination so well done before. Gorgeous. Want it.

Random from my Closet

 

I realized my closet is full of stuff I don't wear because it is not the easiest to style. These "abandoned clothes" are not as easy to wear as dresses that you can just grab and go - they're either too see-through, too short or too boring and need to be spiced up. I began going through my closet and giving these pieces some thoughts (and throwing out a lot in the meantime). Here's the first ensemble. 

I don't remember where I got these except for the belt that I bought in Japan and the shoes, which are by Everybody.

 

I absolutely adore red brick buildings and especially the apartments with exposed brick walls. It's the best accent wall you can have. 

What Color Is Your Maxi Skirt?

bergdorf goodman headband, gucci sunglasses, marc by marc jacobs bag, vintage top, modcloth maxi skirt and shoes

The New York West Village is gorgeous, feeling like stepping out from the movie set, just like Carrie Bradshaw, from the stoop down to start the next adventure. Not sure if it's the trees, the brownstones or the proximity of the Hudson river that make it so special. I cherish everyday of living here.