Road Trip Outfit

As J.R.R. Tolkien famously said, not all those who wander are lost. I love road trips, the sense of freedom and adventure. So I'm happy my au pair is getting the experience this weekend. This was her leaving for the road trip on Friday morning.

It's a wild wonderful world... follow your heart and let adventure unfold

Go where you have never been

Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer

One more pose, this one the "Japanese". And now, adventure awaits! 

My Favorite New Trend

...is the comfort sandals, or sport sandals, or whatever you want to call them. In my case, Birkenstocks. I mean, girls, I am so happy that I can wear Birkenstocks (BIRKENSTOCKS!!) as fashion. I have even worn them with socks (SOCKS!!) like below. THE BEST TREND EVER! Here's one quite typical Friday errand-running, hanging-with-kids outfit: JCrew denim shirt, H&M track pants, and old scarf, and my Nike Fuel to track my steps, calories, etc. This is me waiting for the school bus to arrive.

Leather Jacket

I'm still in a catch up mode here, but that's ok. Here's my new Michael Kors leather jacket, which was a part of a dinner outfit one nice April night when we went to our local place, Bar Frites, for a little bite, a few glasses of wine, and lots of conversation. Since buying this jacket, I've already seen two girls wearing the same jacket in the City. Not sure if it's a case of a strange coincidence, or if this jacket was some super seller item. Hopefully the former... Funny thing about the beaded clutch is that I've had it for a couple of years, but only worn it lots lately.

Favorite New York City Places - AOC

New York City obviously is full of restaurants; new ones seem to sprout overnight, and many of them are gone in a flash too. But some places have a bit more staying power. AOC is a French restaurant in the West Village, on Bleecker Street, that's been around for quite a while. We've been going there for many years, mostly for breakfast or brunch, because it's just around the corner from the Finnish School. I would really recommend the brunch...I've been there for dinner too, but brunch is better. The omelette with mushrooms, goat cheese and tomatoes, or whatever combination you'd choose, is an excellent choice, as is the french toast, served with fruit and ham, yummy. Usually it's just me and hubby, spending some quality couple time while the kids are in school, but recently we were joined by my lovely cousin. If you're in town, I would recommend trying AOC for a leisurely brunch! 

MK

I have to quickly get in my au pair's outfit photos before she leaves us. This was from a sunny day in April. Just thinking about her leaving soon puts a weight on my chest and tension in my neck. She has been such a delight, beautiful inside and out. The kids will be devastated...(me too)... And I will miss our deep discussions about fashion and style, and having someone with great taste to ask for style opinions...

Pilotto

I like the cheap chic designer collections. Quite obviously because I can't afford the expensive chic designer collections... But sometimes the collections don't quite work. Or they may have one or two nice pieces and the rest is, well, not very chic, at any price. That's what I think happened with the Peter Pilotto collection for Target this spring. It was certainly the colorful print that you'd expect from Peter Pilotto, but it just didn't work very well. I saw the looks and wasn't tempted to go to my local Target. And then I forgot about it, until I went to Target for something else, and saw all the Pilotto stuff on the clearance rack. This wasn't much later, mind you, after the collection came out. So I guess it wasn't a huge seller... Anyway, of course I checked it out, and most of it was what I had expected, not very chic, and the fabrics were really awfully fake-feeling and cheap looking. But then there was the sweatshirt. And it was a stand-out piece. Or at least I thought so. It was also on clearance, and I thought it was a steal. Here I'm wearing the Pilotto for Target sweatshirt, my NYDJ jeans, Tom's shoes, an old scarf, and my trusted old Prada tote.

NYC Views

I took these photos a while back, sometime this last winter, or early spring, but never had a chance to post. Freedom tower is almost finished, changing the downtown silhouette.  I also love the views from the Williamsburg Bridge; it is one of the best NYC east side views. The pictures were taken from a moving car, so not the sharpest...but still majestic!

Plum

I love Eileen Fisher knits. They are very good quality, and the fits are perfect for a large girl like me. I found this Eileen Fisher knit at Bloomingdales, on sale. The tights are from Bloomingdales too, and even though you really can't tell from the photo, they have a silver print. This was an outfit for a dinner at the in-laws a little while ago. And of course my plum Fendi bag color coordinates perfectly!

Marimekko & BR

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that I'm a big Marimekko fan. It's in my Finnish blood. I have a few Marimekko pieces that I've worn to death. They're definitely the calmer versions of Marimekko  as I'm really not that big on the big bright prints on me, although I do admire them on others. For me a little goes a long way. Anyway, I was quite happy when I heard that Banana Republic (one of my favorite stores) is doing a Marimekko collection this spring. And the clothes look quite good. I will definitely order something, right now I'm tempted by the Jurmo peplum top. Let's see if I can get one when they go on sale next week.

White and Green

My au pair had on a very cute outfit at last night's dinner - combining white and dark green. The green brought an unexpected element to the outfit, bringing it up a notch, and making it more interesting. Toats adorb, as my daughter would say...

Mother's Day

I had the loveliest Mother's Day in years. I woke up to a delicious pancakes-strawberries-chocolate chip-and-chocolate syrup breakfast, complete with the Sunday New York Times laid down next to my coffee mug. Then I received lots of cards and artwork done by my daughters, and a present that was very much to my liking :-)  After I had a Skype chat with my own mother, I did quite a bit of gardening (planted some flowers and a little vegetable garden!), while the kids were running around the back yard being hosed down by daddy (it was a really hot day). Afterwards we all got cleaned up and ready for a family dinner out on the water in Lindenhurst, at the Bay Vue restaurant. I love dining in scenic spots, especially spots with water views, and this was a new place for us to try.