NYFW ReCap (Fall/Winter 13/14)

This is the second season in a row I’ve missed of NYFW; the firsts since I began going in 2008, in which I’ve done everything from modeling, volunteering, dressing, and various other behind the scenes jobs. How did this happen? It can’t happen again.

Thanks to modern technologies, Style.com and WWD I’ve been able to keep up with the shows as they happen which is great! I love all the street style blogs as well and between these media outlets and my friends’, it’s still as if I’m at Lincoln Center or MADE, all whilst in the warmth and comfort of my office desk.

Now, since I’ve been able to keep up I’ve garnered some decent opinions and reviews!  While I was sadly unimpressed by the simplicity of many collections, including Narciso Rodriguez, Proenza Schouler, and Alexander Wang (come on, guys, I was expecting a little more “oomph”; prints and fun silhouettes!), there were some collections that blew me away, as well as certain stand out pieces from collections.

**Click on the images to make them larger!**

First up, a long time favorite, Alice and Olivia. I covered the presentation a few years back and I’m always in love with the flirty femininity and cohesiveness of Stacey Bendet’s designs. This season was no exception; the perfect mix of edgy punk, equestrian, and holiday dressing for next seasons colder months. The tartan plaids show the comeback of 90s trends, while accents of lace and fur offer romanticism and cozy warmth, all together. My favorite look is the open back black lace gown, hubba hubbbaaaa.

Keeping with the 90s comeback trend, Rodarte’s collection had me nostalgic for the tie dye and acid wash summer camp apparel of my youth, but in more ‘fall’ hues and grown up styles. But really; acid wash denim printed silk? Tie dye printed nylon?!  I can get behind that. And the creeper-stilletto hybrid shoes: GET IN MY CLOSET. NOW. I’m serious.

Oscar. Oh, Oscar. Fun fact: despite my punky facade I have an addiction to ball gowns. I own about 5; I only went to one prom. This season’s collection from Oscar De La Renta was nothing short of breathtakingly spectacular. From the saturated hues to the detailed work, tonal gauzey gloves, and even the equestrian hats, it was LOVE. My favorite look is definitely the caped plum ensemble, little red riding hood goes goth, yea? Does this lines’ exceptionalaity have anything to do with the lent hand of John Galliano? Most likely.

Now, on the opposite side of the spectrum and back to my punk preferences, Jeremy Scott kept up his usual game. Also heavily 90s inspired, his sweaters are cheeky and graphic; one of each please!? I foresee Rihanna in some of these pieces, but her and I should both be leaving the head-to-toe lemon-lime fur at home, or maybe in the showroom.

More favorite looks from NYFW: Pearly irridescents at Nanette Lepore, fall hued mirror prints at Tracey Reese, gorgeous pattern play at J.crew, loud and proud ode to New York at Kate Spade (and who can resist the sweet prints, pun intended), and accentuated hips at Vera Wang.

Other notable points from NYFW? Both Betsey Johnson and Kenneth Cole sent their models down the runways on cell phones; oh the 21st century. There’s been an emerging trend both on the runways and on the red carpet of diamond cleavage; you know, what Kate Hudson and Katy Perry were recently seen in. Yea, that; subtle yet trending and with bazonkas like me, this is a trend I’ll definitely be trying. Plenty of tiered ruffled full length skirts counteracted full, shorter circle skirts. Color trends look to be tonal reds all around, deep muted blues, and plenty of black and white neutrals.

While that’s all for NEXT year’s cold wintry months, I’m ready to start looking forward to THIS spring! Stay tun ed for wishlists and outfit posts from yours truly ❤

Don’t Forget to Follow Me!

On BlogLovin’     On Twitter     On Lookbook

Back in School They Never Taught Us What We Needed To Know

Yuengling Beer shirt from Yuengling Brewery, Pennsylvania
H&M Skirt
Liz Claiborne tights
gifted Eclectic Eccentricity bracelet
H&M Booties
Fossil Belt
Vintage Liz Claiborne hat

Photos by Greg Easton

Don’t Forget to Follow Me!

On Bloglovin’ On Twitter On LookBook

Recipe Monday: Pumpkin Risotto

Welcome from the heart of Hurricane Sandy! I’m beating the rainy blues by cooking until the power goes out, and I’ve been feeling festive! Today’s recipe; pumpkin risotto, complete with butternut squash.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp of butter or margarine

1 tbsp Olive oil

2.5 cups of Arborrio rice

3 cups butternut squash

1 can Pumpkin puree

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, diced (or 2 tbsp of minced garlic from a can)

1 can of vegetable broth

Begin by cooking your garlic, onion, butter, and oil in a pan. When the butter is melted, add 1 cup of rice and 1/4 the can of broth, and 1 scoop of pumpkin. Stir continually, adding in the butternut squash, more rice, broth, and pumpkin puree as you go and the rice soaks up the broth and flavors.

 

While I worked on the risotto (it takes a solid hour-hour and half of cooking, until all the rice has soaked up all the liquid) my dad cooked a pumpkin dessert! Needless to say, our kitchen smelled amazing.

When you’ve finished soaking all up, turn off the stove and let cool a bit, then transfer to a serving dish. I chose to add some sprinkles of parsley before serving!

Enjoy! This is a delicious and warm addition to any festive meal!

Don’t Forget to Follow Me!
On BlogLovin’     On Twitter       On Lookbook

She Spits on Summer and Smiles Into The Night

I think I’m falling….for FALL! Normally I thrive solely for summer; shorts and tees and tanks. But this current change in weather has me looking towards the future. I’m so excited for what fall has in store (see my color & accessories post on FemInspire, as well as my Fall Wishlist). I was thrilled to find these perfectly hued ankle boots at H&M, and threw on this chambray DIY shirt. I’m also ecstatic to be wearing my leather jacket again (from H&M) which has been a favorite of mine since I first bought it.

On the non-sartorial aspect, I’m excited for crunching leaves beneath my feet and New England adventures that I can only hope to include apple picking, pumpkin picking, and a belligerently drunk trip to King Richard’s Faire. What are you excited about for fall (fashionably or life-oriented)!?

Don’t Forget to Follow Me!

On BlogLovin’    On Twitter     On LookBook

Recipe Monday: Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin is my favorite part of fall; pumpkin muffins (which I made the first week of October), pupmkin bread, and ofcourse, pumpkin pie.

For Thanksgiving I took it upon myself, as the soon to be cooking connoisseur, I helped my father with as much as I could. We made a pumpkin pie from scratch, minus the crust.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

1 can of pumpkin puree

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 cup of melted butter (or whipped butter, or margarine)

1tsp of molasses (we substituted cord syrup for it)

1/4 tsp of nutmeg

1/4 tsp of ground ginger

1 can of evaporated milk

1 pre made pie crust (maybe someday I’ll learn to make it on my own!)

Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. Put the dry ingredients into a large bowl, dryly mixing the sugar, nutmeg, ground ginger, and a dash of cinnamon if you so please. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl.

Then mix all the ingredients, including the remaining molasses and evaporated milk, together in the one large bowl. Whisk until smooth.

Pour into the pre made pie crust/s, then bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Then, turn your oven down to 350 degrees, and continue to bake for another 40 or so minutes.

YUM!!

Fall Uniform

I’ve legitimately already worn this outfit three times. Begging my roommate to take photos of it and he always refused, so I’d wear it again. Why not? It’s cute, comfortable, warm…It’s my perfect fall uniform! So, in lieu of football being on ALL day, I was able to strike a deal in exchange of photos for the television rights.

Say What? tunic sweater

DIY skirt I made in High School

H&M Jacket

Target Over The Knee knit socks

Aldo boots (old)

R&Em gifted bag

I made this skirt, and a matching vest, straight out of high school. I have never attended a private school but I sometimes ponder how things would have played out differently if I had. Would it have hindered my sartorial experimentation, or would it have challenged me and forced me to hone in on proper accessorizing?

In present times, though, my only problem is that I’m not currently in school. I miss education, learning, and challenging myself with projects and my high aspirations for good grades. Who knows, hopefully I can go back to school someday but for now I’ll keep wearing my burgundy plaid skirt and working my dream in the fashion industry.

Don’t forget to follow me!

On BlogLovin’          On Twitter       On LookBook

I’ll be doing another AMAZING giveway when I hit 100 followers on BlogLovin’! ❤

Fall Pinks and Browns

It’s finally feeling somewhat like fall…somewhat being it’s mid-October and still comfortable outside in a tee shirt. Okay, it’s hardly fall at all. But each breath has that fall air. The leaves are FINALLY beginning to change their shades and fall to litter our sidewalks. Evenings require a light jacket or sweater. Pumpkins are filling the deli’s. It’s exciting. All I want to do is go on long walks, listening to Death Cab for Cutie and the crunching of leaves.

Top c/o Francesca’s Collection (buy it here !)

Scarf from an NYC Street Vendor

H&M jeans

Forever 21 boots

TopShop and Target bracelets

One of my favorite things about NYC is the street vendor scarves. $5 a pop gets you a pashmina-silk scarf that’s surprisingly warm and durable. OR you can get 5 for $20…I always get one for my friends and family as an extra add on to Christmas gifts!

Also, I know a lot of people are still complimenting my “anti-french” manicure, and I’m still loving it each day. Point in case, the faint purple shade was a perfect match to the tonal stripes of this top!

Fall Neutrals

One day while my friend Aleia was still visiting and we had nothing to do we went adventuring to Central Park. That place is a maze, and I can never remember where my favorite spots are until I happen to chance upon them and be like “oh, yea! this is the place with the waterfall!”. Besides rediscovering said waterfall and creek (pictures below), I found this adorably shrubbed, fenced walkway with gravel going right behind a baseball field. It was the perfect place to take photos that look like you’re somewhere MUCH more country. Sadly, the sun was setting all too brightly.

Old Navy boots

H&M Jeans

Top from Marshall’s

Forever 21 blazer

TopShop bracelet

It was a great day, perfect for walking in the park, but got chilly by 5pm so I headed home, but not before taking some more pictures of the scenery, and a few of my dear friend!

Indian Summer

Though we’re more than one week into October, and a few weeks into Fall we seem to be having a well appreciated Indian Summer here in NYC, and from what I’ve heard all of the north east.

I spent my Sunday walking around, hitting the Williamsburg Flea Market, some Bedford Ave shops, and then lounging in McCarren Park with a couple of visiting friends. I even picked up some Candy Corn to make it feel more like the realistic fall that it is.

Forever 21 shorts

Thrifted Tank

Scarf from Nordstrom’s

Jessica Simpson boots

ALSO: Don’t forget to enter my Hallie Friedman Jewelry giveaway HERE ! Today’s the last day and I’ll be picking a winner for the ring and matching earrings TOMORROW!

November Air

It’s beginning to get chilly as the holidays and winter approach. Here’s some images of the outfit I wore today.

Dollhouse jeans

Forever 21 black shirt

Fur cropped jacket, gift from my parents

H&M bracelets

Michael Kors boots

American Flyer vintage bag