The Closet Awards

I came up with the fun idea to choose my current ten favorite items in my closet and give them each an award of sorts. It was really hard to pick just ten, but I did!

The Crush

I awarded this Forever 21 cardigan with The Crush because I was pretty much head over heels for it from the moment I saw it. I was shopping with a few friends and one of them really disliked it, but I bought it anyway! And I'm glad I did.

The Most Versatile

As you might have been able to tell, I have to try really hard not to wear this Forever 21 skirt with everything. It balances a simple tee or sweater perfectly, or nicely nips in a big blouse.

The Well Received

Whenever I wear these, I get squillions of compliments! These Forever 21 shorts are one of my favorite things I've ever purchased, they kicked my affinity for all things high-waisted into super high gear.

The Surprising Newcomer

Until this year I never would have imagined myself wearing a strapless floral maxi dress, but this lovely number from Forever 21 totally got me hooked. It makes me feel so pretty! I cannot wait to wear it while walking barefoot on my favorite beach in Martha's Vineyard.

The Best Thrift Find

These perfectly beat up Frye boots cost me something like eighteen dollars. I pray that my feet will never grow so I can wear them forever!

The Most Rewarding Impulse Purchase

I pretty much snatched this up on my way out of the thrift store one day, because I liked the pattern and it felt vaguely silky. It turned out to be one of my favorite things to wear! It's so comfy and oddly chic, considering it very well may be a maternity shirt. You can check out the pattern a little better here.

The Best Follow Through

This Forever 21 jacket was another thing I fell in love with as soon as I saw it. The plaid instantly attracted me, and it has such a gorgeous cut. I dithered about buying it for nearly half an hour in the store before finally deciding to, and I will be eternally happy that I did.

The Best Steal (literally!)

I stole this vintage Gap sweater from my mom while she was cleaning out her closet in the beginning of April. I love the silhouette of the open weave. When did Gap stop making really cool stuff like this?

The Signature

Even though I acquired this H&M dress just a week ago, I can already tell that it will be the defining piece of my summer wardrobe: easy, breezy (BEAUTIFUL... just kidding, sorry for the CoverGirl reference), and beautifully versatile. Over a bathing suit it's the perfect beach coverup, and I can't wait to pair it with gladiator sandals and a little vest for nighttime.

The Magic Dress

This BCBG dress is my ultimate confidence booster. Honestly, it makes me feel like a movie star! Since I generally wear modest clothes, I like that it's revealing in an unusual way. The draping in front is so lovely and flattering, and I adore the color. I wish I had more opportunities to wear this!

I had so much fun doing this... so I want you guys to join me!
I tag Emmy of Pretty Exquisite, Sylvia of Walk A Mile In These Shoes, Helen of Afeitar, Amelia of Ambiguous Alliterative Abomination, The Clothes Horse, Bonnie of Flashes Of Style, and Amy of Flying A Kite. Can't wait to see what awards you dole out!

Feel free to do this even if I haven't tagged you! If you do it, you don't have to use the same categories.

The New Love Of My Life

This is the dress Luke most wonderfully gifted me with on Sunday.

It is shapeless and soft and breezy and perfect.

I plan on never taking it off.

This dress is the definition of my ideal summer wardrobe. I took these pictures on Memorial Day, it was the most glorious evening weather.

h&m dress, forever 21 sunnies, random peace sign necklace

view from the hotel window

the lazy bumblebee humming of jets beyond the
iron balcony reminds me that this paradise is
far from secluded - although the palm trees
that sway in a lazy merengue on the sloping
grass, looking oddly like
Marfan sufferers with their spindly trunks
and tufty heads, do make up quite
a picturesque foreground for
the smug silver blurs that smear a pastel
sunset into a glinting, endless stroke of
utopian light.

New love of my life + being barefoot + flowers + long shower + new face wash + cool spring twilight + pastel sky + poem that reminds me of California and spring = a perfect evening.

Urban Ventures Part II

Today, well I guess technically yesterday, my bestie and I ventured into New York City to have pretty much the best day ever.

What I wore: Necessary Objects dress, vintage lace shirt, random belt, Gap bag, boots from some store in London, jeweled ring on a gifted chain, Mom's sunglasses.

Photography was prohibited in the exhibition, and I would have snapped some illicit photos but I really didn't want to risk getting kicked out!
But anyway, it was amazing. I salivated over a Swarovski crystal covered Versace jumpsuit and about ten original dresses from the collection John Galliano designed to celebrate Christian Dior's one hundredth birthday.
I wish clothes were still how they used to be in the thirties and forties: simple, elegant, architectural, classic. The whole idea of conceptualization and making ugly things pretty didn't exist then; fashion was just about making gorgeous things. Nothing was trendy or unusual, but it was all beautiful.
Same thing with the models. The exhibition does a really excellent job of showing how the concept of the ideal model has changed so drastically in the past eighty years or so.
Get yourself to the exhibition if you can! It was stellar.

After we saw the exhibition we wandered around the museum for a while. Both of us especially liked this painting by Joan Miró.

Luke being studious with the Paul Klee paintings, which I love.

The sculpture garden had really excellent light.

I take awkward pictures.

We wandered down Madison Avenue and found Sant Ambroeus, a perfect little European style restaurant. Both of us ordered the Il Marinaio from the "afternoon tea" menu: crab, shrimp, avocado, and mayonnaise. It was one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. And I had peach juice, which was surprisingly yummy.

I had hazelnut gelato there that was as amazing as any that I ate in Italy. It was perfection.
We took our desserts to Central Park.

I think Central Park is my favorite place to take pictures. Ever.

This croissant was so good.
The park was gloriously sunny and pretty. Luke kept telling me to stop using the word glorious, but everything about the day was.


By some twist of fate, we ended up right near the Alice in Wonderland statue! It was so cool, but there were little kids climbing all over it.
There were plaques in the ground circling the statue with quotes from the book.

Madison Avenue is such a treat to walk down. This was in the window of Giuseppe Zanotti, I was practically crying.

We walked about a zillion blocks because Luke wanted to get a new shirt.
I fell in love with this sequined vest but restrained myself from buying it.
I tried on a grey dress too, which was amazingly comfy and loose and perfect. And Luke bought it for me! He is the sweetest.

I made him pose for this. Isn't his new shirt totally snazzy? He looks sharp in purple.
What he wore: Old Navy linen shorts, first a Target shirt and then an H&M one, Rainbow sandals, Ray-Ban sunglasses, Guess watch.

We overheard the cashiers in H&M talking about a street fair, so we tracked it down. We shared an arepa, which was so delicious, and he dragged me to every stall that sold knockoff sunglasses.

Oooh, artsy.

We pretty much had a perfect day. I love New York City so much. It's one of my favorite places to be with my friends, and with Luke especially. We always have a good time. Where do you like to visit with your friends?

Stay tuned, I have a stunningly fabulous DIY project to show you very soon.