The Sweater

The sweater seems to be the "it" piece of clothing this fall. I looked for a cool sweater for quite some time until I found this Marc by Marc Jacobs number from Century 21. (As a side note: something wonderful has happened at C21 since the big renovation. It's easier to find stuff, to try on stuff, to buy stuff... It even seems like it's less crowded, or maybe I've just been lucky lately.) So here it is, combined with Banana Republic jeans, Sperries, Stella McCartney bag, Forever 21 necklace.

Trying on at C21. I got the communal fitting room all to myself!

The West Village

I love New York City and its many distinct neighborhoods. But as much as I do love the city, I am really happy I don't live there anymore. It's really tough to live there with kids. Or at least it would be really tough to live the kind of life that I want to live with kids (read: expensive!). The West Village is one of my favorite NYC neighborhoods, with its leafy quiet streets, pretty brownstones, tony boutiques for window shopping, and the ever-changing restaurant scene. It's also a great place for celebrity spotting. Not too long ago I was shopping in the same store with Jane Lynch, and just yesterday, my husband saw Damian Lewis driving by in a Porsche. He got a good look since he was stopped at a traffic light and had his window open. I was bummed that I didn't see him because I am a huge fan of Homeland!

Carrie's Steps

My favorite candy store! 

The Williamsburg Bridge. These days I am part of the "bridge-and-tunnel" crowd, and yes, the real city people do turn their noses up for us hillbillies... 

The White Tweed Skirt Again

Here is an outfit from last week, wearing the Ann Taylor white tweed skirt in another outfit, this time paired with an Ann Taylor silk top, Zara shoes, H&M jacket and necklace, and Balenciaga bag.  (I am so stuck on that bag you'll be seeing lots of it!) I'm also still wearing my old glasses here. See the difference!!

New Shoes & Winter White Skirt Outfit

I got a winter white tweed skirt from Ann Taylor a while back and have been wearing it now that the weather got cool enough to put some stockings on. Here I paired the skirt with H&M t-shirt and jacket, my new Tory Burch penny loafer pumps, and the Balenciaga bag. I also finally recruited my lovely au pair to take pictures and got up the nerve to share my blog with her. She is a very gorgeous and stylish young lady, and I've been dying to ask her to pose for some outfit pictures. We shall see...

New Glasses - New You

It is amazing how a little change in your appearance, such as a new pair of eye glasses, can change how people view your personality, style, professionalism, etc. I've always been in the camp to wear glasses that "disappear", or at least don't jump in your face. Until now, that is. My new glasses are quite noticeable. Many people have actually asked me why I got glasses - even though I've been wearing eyeglasses since I was 5 years old! (Well, I did have a phase when I was only wearing contact lenses for a few years, but that phase is long gone...) Anyway, it was time to get new glasses, and even though I did like my old Tiffany rimless frames, I was ready to get something with a bit more "oomph". I think age has something to do with this, as well as the trend of the big bold frames. I love my new Fendi frames. I am still adjusting though. It kind of feels like I'm wearing sunglasses all the time, due to the thick plastic frame. It's harder to forget that I'm wearing glasses, which was the norm with the old pair. Maybe I'll get there with time.

I've received so many compliments not only on the new glasses, but my overall look and outfits these past few days, although I didn't change anything else but the glasses. I guess the glasses brought everything up a notch. People noticed the stylish glasses, and decided that my outfit was stylish too. My husband said that the glasses definitely make me look more up-to-date and stylish, and my daughter thinks they make me look more outgoing. I'm happy with that feedback, of course. Anyone who doesn't agree with those statements, can keep their opinions to themselves.

My Baby Girls

Everyone in the family is totally in love with our new baby girl Coco. So far she has only destroyed a couple of pairs of socks and one small Muumi toy. And anyway she is too cute to be mad at! My other baby girl thinks she is a big independent girl, although she still wants her pacifier at night, and wants to be my crocodile baby (don't ask). Coco and her share a boundless energy. Wish they could give me some!

City Stroll

It's still officially summer, but definitely feels like fall is in the air. The full schedule is on again! We're back to strolling the streets of West Village every other Saturday due to kids' activities... I don't mind, I quite enjoy it. And now that the little one can join the play group in the morning, hubby and me have a precious hour and a half for ourselves for a cup of coffee and some yummy pain perdu at A.O.C., our favorite French bistro for brunch. 

The view from Williamsburg Bridge!

Fantastical creatures at the Alexis Bittar store on Bleecker. 

At Marc Jacobs you could be the designer and create a customized t-shirt.

Repeats

Sometimes you get stuck using the same few items of clothing despite of having a closet full of stuff. I'm sure everyone has some rules of how they repeat clothing, or at least I do. My rule is to not repeat the exact same outfit within the same week, however, you can recycle parts of it to other outfits. This is actually super helpful when life happens and you have to grab the items hanging in the front of your closet. Here are my repeats from last week. I wore the white J Crew top to work with my Levine pants, Balenciaga bag, BR necklace and Loft sandals. And then I wore the H&M print pants with a BR t-shirt, same bag, same sandals, and a necklace bought from NYC streets. 

Saturday night blues

Here are the mother and daughter outfits for a Saturday night dinner we had been invited to. It was a bluesy night, in every sense ;-)

Mom wore J Crew top with Banana Republic necklace, H&M pants, Eileen Fisher sandals, and Ralph Lauren vacchetta saddle bag. 

Daughter wore Ralph Lauren denim dress, Sperrys, and a paillette collar. 

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Last weekend we went for a Labor Day concert at our community park. Vonda Sheppard was playing. If you're like me, you won't know who she is...but I googled her, and she's the girl who made the Ally McBeal TV-show song. You'd know it if you heard it. It's been playing in my head for about a week now! A catchy tune, I guess. Vonda was fun and played a lot of current hit songs as covers. The little girls were dancing with their friends, while mommy was sipping her own grape juice and relaxing. Good times.

Each girl got their own autographed picture of Vonda! 

The Bags that go from Summer to Fall

These two bags turned out to be favorites of this summer, along with the old Michael Kors straw tote that has been seen on many outfit pictures. The straw tote will be stored away for the cooler months,  but I plan to wear the other two well into the fall. The orange Stella McCartney cross body pops against my blacks, jeans and darker neutrals, and I think it will go nicely with my army green stuff. The blue  Ralph Lauren saddle bag is a bit more challenging to pair with my fall stuff, but I'm planning to wear it with my light beiges, off whites and grays.

Life's a Beach

I have to post these beach picnic pictures too, if only so that I can remind myself of these good times when it gets chilly, rainy and miserable outside... This was our picnic last Friday, probably the last sunset picnic of the year. The band was playing at the Seacliff beach again, the whole family was together, and life was good. 

Collector's treasures