Kota Sustainable Fashion Awards

Yesterday I went to the Kota Sustainable Fashion Awards show at the Garage 611. The event was held to support two very worthwhile organizations, Kota alliance that seeks to create a center for women in New York City for non-profit organizations whose global mission is to improve women's lives, and Stand for Education that builds schools in was ravaged countries, Sudan particularly.

There was an emerging global fashion designer runway show first, showcasing the work of six global designers, Lovia from Finland, Junghee Kim from South Korea, Cesar Galindo of New York, Gudrun Sjöden from Sweden, Bela NYC of New York, and Raif from Togo. It was fun to see the different styles and get a real taste of the fashion world.

Once the professional designers' show was over, there was a student designer competition. It was a bit Project Runway style, with nine student designers designing outfits from a fabric donated by Gudrun Sjöden. My pictures are horrible quality, but the student outfits were fantastic, super creative and they had really put a lot of effort into each one. I got very inspired.

Nyt sormet syyhyää että pääsis ompelukoneen kimppuun!

We hung with this crew of Finnish girls!  

I was wearing my Adam Selman shirt, Banana Republic leather leggings, Carlos Falchi python bag,
and shoes from Anthropologie. 

Countdown to Summer

Summer doesn't officially start until at some point in June, but for me, summer starts on the Memorial Day weekend. I am so ready for summer and can't wait to kick back and relax a little.

I took the kids to a local fair last Friday night. I was still a little under the weather, but tired of being sick and not going anywhere. We actually had a blast, and it felt almost like summer - until it got really cold when the sun went down...

This is a fried Oreo cookie. It was surprising delicious! 

BTW - what is your take on fringe? I'm such a sucker for trends, and I've been salivating all kinds of fringy things, but didn't pull the trigger until I found this H&M sweater. I think it has just the right amount of fringe for an adult like me ;-)

Jos seura tekee kaltaisekseen niin minä pysyn nuorena tämän tiimin kanssa hengaillessa. 

Quick - take a selfie before this thing starts! 

The brave trio had fun on the rides. My middle one is fearless! 

Monkey Bars

I'm still alive! And starting to finally feel better after a very nasty bug that brought the whole family down... Today everyone was feeling more normal. So we did more normal Sunday things - softball game and monkey bars on the play ground. Our little number 8 is quite the athlete. 

Miami White

I used to always think of Miami style being very colorful and body conscious, lots of flower prints and neon, not necessarily the most chic kind of style, and definitely not my style. But things have changed! Miami style can now be summed up in one word. White. Everyone was wearing white. And by accident, I had packed just the right white things for my mini-vacation. 

My dinner outfit was my new Adam Selman shirt, black tights, Steve Madden sandals and Gucci bag. 

Window shopping in Lindex long shirt. 

And real shopping in a Zara t-shirt and NYDJ jeans. 

Miami Beach

I'm back home after a lovely week in Miami. I was there for work for three days and then for a mini-vacation the rest of the week. Hubby came and met me there for the mini-vacation part. I'd forgotten how nice Miami Beach is. It is also a lot cooler than I remember, or maybe it has gotten way cooler in the past few years. Our vacation, however, was relaxing and mellow, not at all like those times when we used to party there before having a family.

The view from the 29th floor 

Miami is becoming a big art center. Although most of the galleries are in the Wynwood art district, Miami Beach has some artsy stuff too. 

Fresh coconut juice tastes so good! 

The South Beach art deco area looks the same it always did. Maybe just a bit cleaner. 

We stayed at the legendary Fontainebleau hotel. This is the lobby bar which was a pretty happening place. 

The hotel has numerous pools and the pool area is very glamorous. 

And of course the hotel has a private beach club. 

We got so luck with the weather! It was absolutely horrendous for the days that I had to work - thunderstorms and raining cats and dogs. And then it was absolutely gorgeous for the vacation part. 

I love walking the board walk on Miami Beach. It's miles long. 

The show Magic City was filmed at Fontainebleau

I did some window shopping at the Bal Harbour Shops in North Beach. 

The Bal Harbour has to be one of the coolest malls I've visited. Didn't buy a thing though.

The Sawgrass Mills outlet center was a different story. I spent an hour at the Tory Burch store alone, messaging back and forth with my daughter to determine what she'd like. 

A Change of Scenery

It took me 10 hours to get to Miami today, but upon my late arrival I was upgraded to a suite on the 29th floor. Sweet. Nice views of Miami Beach and the intercostal. I'm so happy to get to visit one of my favorite cities this week. It's a combined work and vacation trip. First work, then fun...

Vappu

Aika monena vuonna Vappu on mennyt ohi melkein noteeraamatta sitä ollenkaan. Ja parhainakin vuosina ollaan ehkä käyty Central Parkissa vappupiknikillä muiden suomalaisten kanssa. Mutta ei tänä vuonna! Ehei - tänä vuonna on tehty simaa, paistettu munkkeja, pidetty ylioppilaslakkia päässä, jaettu lapsille vappupallot, juotu vahan skumppaa, heiluteltu vappuhuiskuja, kuunneltu suomalaista iskelmää ja kaikenkaikkiaan juhlittu Vappua oikein kunnolla. Ja nyt lapsetkin on vihdoin tutustettu vapun tunnelmaan ja jopa saatu pitämään simasta.

Idea New Yorkin Suomi-koulun vappuriehaan lähti oikeastaan siitä etta au pairini osaa paistaa Suomen parhaita munkkeja.

Lapsille järkättiin kasvomaalausta ja ongintaa. 

Jokainen sai oman vappupallon, ja jotkut vähän useammankin. 

Tässä minä ja munkkimestari. Kiitos suussa sulavista munkeista!

Meidän popcorn konekin pääsi pitkästä aikaa tositoimiin. Jokainen perheenjäsen laitettiin hommiin. Vanhin tytär teki popcornia, serkku pantiin lipunmyyntiin, mies kantamaan kahvilapöytiä, au pair paistamaan munkkeja, ja au pairin kaveritkin värvättiin auttelemaan ilmapallojen täytössä ja lasten leikityksessä. 

Munkkeja paistetiin pari sataa ja kaikki meni. 

Ja kyllä oli aivan mahtavan hauska päivä kun mukavalla porukalla tehtiin yhdessä ikimuistoinen koko perheen Vappurieha! 

Ja samalla kerättiin koulun kassaan vähän ekstraa. 

Kiitos kaverit kuvista. Itse olin niin kiireinen etten ehtinyt niitä ottamaan kuin tuon ekan selfien pienen koirulini kanssa.