Maxi dress and Romper

On Sunday afternoon we went furniture shopping (we had decided to get rid of our kitchen table chairs and put in a bench instead). To keep the kids happy we stopped by for lunch at Ihop - the International House of Pancakes. We had breakfast for lunch: eggs, bacon, French toast, pancakes... Ooooeeeeee! Can't do that too often!

I was wearing Michael Kors dress, J. Crew linen sweater, Gap sandals, Thomas Sabo bracelet, and Hermes bag. My daughter was in Ralph Lauren romper, Buffalo sweater, and Sperry shoes.  

I just noticed the pose :-). I guess the apple didn't fall too far...

Friday = Funday

I live for Fridays! My therapy session (walk/jog/stairclimbing in the gorgeous Seacliff scenery) this morning was exactly what I needed after spending most of the week inside. Afterwards got dressed up for running errands and grocery shopping. It is also so much more fun to dress on Fridays. The heat has finally broken, so was able to wear actual clothes ;-). I chose colorful accessories, shoes and scarf from Gap, pants from H&M, top from discount store (label cut out), bag from Michael Kors. 

A Riff on Nautical

Today's outfit felt good because it had a bit if a seaside feeling, and so I was thinking about my favorite LI beaches all day at the office. The jacket was a recent sale find from Gap, pants Ann Taylor, top Banana Republic, rope sandals Hunter, necklace Tiffany. 

Bits and Pieces

I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I decided to not take a longer vacation this summer.. The few days off here and there are not adding up to the same feeling, although I do savor those days fully. But I would love to completely get away and forget my passwords and phone numbers, and let go of all the office BS. That requires at least two weeks away, preferably away from home...

Here is my office outfit from yesterday: Marimekko top (when I ordered I thought it was a black background with white stripes, but this is what came out of the box.. No harm done, I love this one, and it may even be better for summer), Levine pants, and Zara shoes. 

This pile of boxes has been sitting in my bedroom for a few days. Too busy to open up, except the one that held my blouse. 

Oh, I was wearing these J Crew earrings yesterday too! 

Just for Today...

My yoga instructor put me in a great frame of mind on Sunday morning by teaching us the five principles of reiki:

1. Just for today, I will let go of anger

2. Just for today, I will let go of worry

3. Just for today, I will do my work honestly

4. Just for today, I will be grateful of all the blessings in my life

5. Just for today, I will be kind to all living things

For someone like me, who keeps making plans, and lives in the future too much, it is a wonderful reminder to remember to live one day at a time. 

I truly lived this happy 3-day weekend fully, one day at a time, enjoying my beautiful spot in this world.

Lip Color

I have a small confession to make...I am obsessed with lip colors. Lipsticks, glosses, stains, I love them all. At any given time I probably have about five or six lip colors in my purse, a few more in my drawer at the office, a good stash in circulation in my medicine cabinet at home,  a couple in a bowl in the entrance, and littered around here and there all around the house... I find lipsticks in purses that I haven't used for a while, in coat pockets, in kitchen drawers, cars, well, you get the picture. It's just the perfect pick-me-up, and the easiest way to perk up your look. Lately my favorites have been a lipstick from Lipstick Queen, and lip glosses from Buxom, Mac and Clinique, all long lasting and wonderful, but neutral colors, nothing too much in-your-face. So I was craving some real color for a change. I realize I'm a bit behind on the red lipstick craze, but better late than never. This might be my thing this fall. Also, in Montreal I had seen the young hip girls wearing gorgeous pink/fuchsia lips, which felt wonderfully new, and at the same time a bit retro... When I started paying attention I noticed that the hot pink trend is very much happening in New York City too! And I love it. So I went lipstick shopping. A few times. I got one red lipstick, and four (what's wrong with me?) fuchsia ones. I may review them all, but here is the one that I've been wearing every day since I got it, i.e. it's become my new favorite.

The favorite is the Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture, a gloss and stain hybrid.The color I chose, Vinyl Rose (15), is a nice pink more that fuchsia, although it looks really fuchsia on the wand. 

Beautiful packaging! 

mmmm..yummy candy from Sockerbit.

The color can be a bit more intense if you layer on more. I put it on pretty thinly here.  The glossiness disappeared at some point, no surprise there, but the color stayed and stayed, like a stain! However, it is easier to apply than a stain because the texture is gel-like. It is good to let it dry for a moment after application, just like a stain.

Another summer casual office outfit

I am actually learning a lot about my style by looking at my outfits on this blog. I am learning about my real style, not what I think is my style. Turns out those can be two quite different things... It's allowing me to be a much more strategic shopper, and my wallet thanks. A new shopping rule, in addition to the old questions of what is the value per wear, and what would I pair this with (an item that I already own), I now also ask whether I would post the item on the blog in an outfit photo. 

Unfortunately on work mornings I seldom have time to snap pictures of my outfit, so I end up in a fitting room on my lunch break...not ideal, but the best I can do on most days. Today's room was at Zara (got a green long army jacket, and red ankle strap pumps for the fall, in addition to lots of stuff for the daughters) and I'm wearing Levine pants, Anthropologie knit top, Banana Republic necklace, Loft sandals, LV bag. 

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Summer in the Office

Today's office outfit is Banana Republic pants, Loft lace top, Loft sandals, J Crew jewelry, and LV bag. Picture snapped in the TJ Maxx changing room at lunch break (I tried on a few things, but no purchase this time). 

The Perfect Sunday

Today had the best start and a happy ending. Yoga at home with private session in the morning, and a dinner with family in a beautiful LI beach setting in the evening. What more could a woman ask? Nothing, it turns out. It was simply perfect. 

Casual

These boyfriend jeans have been my casual staple for three summers already and still going strong.. I haven't exactly been focusing on fashion lately, and this outfit reflects that; just basic casual. Instead I've been trying to live in the moment, enjoy the summer, my family, and a slightly slower pace. (Kmart Jeans, Banana Republic T-shirt, JCrew Sandals. LV Crossbody Bag.)

My New Gym

My new beautiful gym is so much better than the old snooty and mean gym. And it's free! Who needs Equinox when you can exercise in this scenery?

Holiday

A few days of much needed vacation..good feeling...spending quality time with my lovies...relaxing...not stressing out about a thing. 

This short vacation started the day before yesterday, and a strange thing happened that almost ruined it for me. Someone, an older "gentle"man made an extremely rude comment at my gym, Equinox, about how I look. It was meant as a joke, but was very insulting. So much in fact that I came home crying like a baby. Then I decided that I cannot work out in an environment like that, and went back to terminate my membership. 

Unfortunately the area where I live has more than its fair share of people who think way too much of themselves. Reminds me a bit of Finland where people can be quite brutal to each other. (Elsewhere in even the NY area people are much more friendly, polite and laidback - and I don't know why in my area there is a concentration of unfriendly people, so much so in fact that I was warned by several people of this fact when I moved in, and now, having lived there for three years, I know it's true.) Anyway, I decided that I won't let one worthless jerk bully bring me down and ruin my vacation, so I bucked up and decided to just push past the hurt feelings and have fun and relax, just like I planned. 

So that same nite I took the girls to the Sleeping Beauty ballet, performed by the American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera in Lincoln Center. It was an amazing and enjoyable show and a great start for this vacation. 

Yesterday  we were on a road trip through the beautiful NY state to Montreal, Canada. We stopped for lunch at Lake George, and drove in the scenery of the Adirondack mountains. NY state is so gorgeous! 

Now we are in Montreal, Canada, and people are so friendly!