Indigo Girls

I always try to arrange a fun activity for the kids' parties. One year we painted pumpkins, one year we had puppet theater performances, another year we had an art exhibition...

This year we did tie dye.

I was aiming for something like this:

Couture tie dye.. These were from Dior in 2012. 

But I ended up with this:

I actually love my own couture tie dye sweatshirt! I just have to style it a bit better ;-)

This is the whole lot - pretty cool isn't it!  We'll wear them together and call ourselves the Indigo girls. 

Tie dye selfie

It all came from this vat of indigo color. 

This project was a bit of work, but lots of fun. I will definitely try tie dyeing again. Next time with different colors and methods. Stay tuned...

Tea Party

The good thing about having little girls is that you can recreate and live your own childhood dreams. One of those was having a fancy tea party. So for my middle daughter's 8th birthday party I heavily steered the theme ideas towards a tea party. (Se voi olla etten antanut hirveästi vaihtoehtoja.)  I'm always dying to use my Royal Albert Old Country Rose tea set, which was perfect for the occasion. 

 Since I've been pretty busy lately this party had to come together quickly, which meant mostly store bought goodies to eat.

Moni kakku päältä kaunis, silkkoa sisältä. 

These cup cakes looked good, but I guess they did not taste all that good since most of them were left uneaten. And that doesn't usually happen in this family. 

These I did make myself.. easy and delicious. And there was none left. 

Fancy ladies keep their pinky up while sipping tea. 

The girls looked the part wearing their "little house on the prairie" dresses. 

Olen muuten miettinyt pitäisikö alkaa kirjoittamaan suomeksi. Saisin harjoitusta ja kielenhuoltoa, ja vanhin tyttäreni joutuisi lukemaan suomenkieltä. Täytyy hieman tunnustella miltä tämä tuntuu...

LIC Market

We recently had lunch a little bit off the beaten path in Long Island City, Queens. We were coming back from the City and it was impossible to find parking in Manhattan, so we decided to cross the river and eat in Queens. During the time that it took to drive over the bridge, I quickly googled some restaurants in Long Island City, and the first search result was the LIC Market, which got good reviews. So there. And what a great little find. Super cute with farm to table type fresh, uncomplicated, real food. And very reasonable prices. Definitely worth going again if we find ourselves in that neighborhood again.

The New Barneys

I went to check out the new Barney's department store today for some spring fashion inspiration. The new store is actually in the same Chelsea 17th Street and 7th Avenue location where the first Barney's was located some decades ago. The new store is smaller than the Madison Ave flag ship location, but  I like that it's not overwhelmingly big. Obviously Barney's is not my usual shopping destination, because everything there costs a gazillion dollars. The first thing I looked at was a navy blue croc Altuzarra bull rope saddle bag, which was absolutely amazingly gorgeous. But at $20,000 bucks, it was too much cheddar for me. What was fun though, was that the bag was just hanging there close to the entrance. Not tucked away in a glass case, but available for all the world to finger it and try it on, and admire it from up-close. And I did get a bit personal with it, trying it on this way and that.. It was slightly painful to put it back on the rack. But I don't think I could have made it out the door with it, given the amount of salespeople circling me at that point. Not sure if they were afraid that I was really going to make a run for it, or if I was really considering to buy it and they were angling for the commission. Anyway, back on the rack it went. I decided not to take a photo of it because why amplify the regret. But I took other photos and here they are for your pure enjoyment. 

The windows were supposed to be showing short films and pictures of New York City by Bruce Weber, but the display didn't seem to be working properly...

Oui, ces't moi 

Hi again

The store's staircase is beautiful

So many beautiful things..so little money... 

But I nabbed this one! 

Yes I did! And apparently it was the last of its kind available in the Western Hemisphere! And I GOT IT! 

And now I have block heel sandals on my shopping list. 

And lace up flat sandals. Will have to take a look at DSW for Manolo rip-offs. 

Loved this stone. But where was the tassel jewelry? 

See what I mean about the block heel sandals. 

One more just to prove the point. 

There was no "bargain basement" in Barney's, unfortunately..but lots of perfumes that cost more than most people make in a week. 

This was in the window. A funny story: overheard a couple walking behind me. The woman said to the man: "Look at those necklaces." The man said to the woman: "They're for the average woman. And trust me, there's nothing average about you." So sweet :-)

Brought some opening party goodies for the kiddos. These chocolate covered marshmallows were actually super yummy. 

Deep Freeze

New York is in the grips of some pretty cold weather, and since I'm not a fan of suffering, I like to cover up properly from head to toe. Here's my new faux fur hat from the Ted Baker sale. I bought a faux fur collar too, with the intention of wearing them together, but then I realized that together they made me look like the Yeti or the Abominable Snowman. But separately they are fab! Or at least that's what I think :-)

Donuts make everything better

My daughter had knee surgery today, and she was an amazingly brave patient. I was way more nervous than she was (although trying to hide it well so I wouldn't get her scared or nervous). Of course afterwards she deserved some serious pampering. The donuts from the Doughnut Plant are special, and decadent enough for a special occasion, so we stopped at the Doughnut Plant shop in Queens on our way home from the surgery. I got a variety of donuts, but this rose petal donut was just out of this world. The donut is slightly cakey, has a very satisfying bite, is excuisitely glazed, and has just the right amount hint of a rose flavor.

My Big Parka Sales Score & Some Thoughts about Sales

Sale shopping can be very dangerous, at least for someone like me who has a tendency to get blinded by discounts. It took me forever to learn that not every bargain is a good buy. I actually stayed away from sales for many years because I realized that I was buying unnecessary (and sometimes plain weird) stuff that I never wore. Just because it was cheap. Well, it's not cheap if it's a) crowding your closet making it hard to find the good stuff, b) creating an emotional drag if you can't make yourself get rid of it since you never wore it, and c) making you feel guilty if you ended up spending too much anyway. For a while there I was completely turned off by sales and never even wanted to look. My strategy was to only buy things that I absolutely loved and needed, despite discounts. And there was a year when I didn't shop at all (but that's another story). Anyway, I feel like this January things started to shift and I actually really enjoyed looking (and shopping) at the sales again. It's fun to get good stuff for much less than the list price. I kept my cool, and only bought stuff that is wearable, my style, and at least somewhat needed in my wardrobe (clarification, lest we, meaning I, forget that I don't really NEED anything in my wardrobe, because the truth is that I could happily live another 50 years without buying a shred of clothing, and would not have to go naked). But what I'm trying to say is that I was able to buy a few things that I liked and that update my wardrobe nicely. Case in point, this big parka from Topshop. It was originally around $300 and I paid $58. I would call that a bargain, AND a good buy. I also got the faux fur collar from Ted Baker. I'm pretty sure that both will be well used, and will become staples that I always reach for. 

Back on the East Coast

I was definitely feeling the Monday blues today...after last week's California trip, and the Super Bowl Sunday, I was pretty beat when the alarm woke me up at 6:30 a.m. this morning. I trudged through this unremarkable day, and am now looking forward to the best part of it, which is coming up soon
---> going to bed!

Before that, here are a few shots of Saturday and spending quality time with my teenager, strolling on Bleecker Street in the West Village.

Laguna Beach

The best things about being on a work trip at Laguna Beach in California:

Sunshine
Palmtrees
Summer
The glittering sea (pacific ocean)
Salty sea air
Beach
Beautiful views
Everyone is happy! (how could you not be?)