A little love from Bergdorfs and a lot for Rene Caovilla

I love that my friends at Bergdorf Goodman have such a flattering opinion of me… and my shoe collection!

But the fact that they think I'm in the same realm as Rene Caovilla is blush-worthy!

Be amazed at the beautiful images featured on the 5th/58th blog and be ready to swoon at the gorgeous shoes!

Didn't Expect That - Pony Eyes

I love museum shops and I love false eyelashes but I never expected to see the combination.  And I surely (don't call me Shirley!) didn't expect them to look like this....

The Victoria and Albert Museum, as a part of their Imperial Chinese Robes exhibition, is offering small paper-cut pony eyelashes.

2 pairs of small paper-cut eyelashes.


Derived from a fascination with the Chinese tradition of fine papercut work, these false eyelashes are a fun and modern interpretation.

Intricately cut and delicately pretty, the design is infused with symbolic meaning rooted in Chinese culture: horses (ponies) are symbolic of success.

Designed by Ting yu Wang.

Small Pony Eyelashes at the V&A Museum shop - £14.00

Ensemble du Jour - 6-12-10

Saturday I was able to have a fun day out with my sweetie. He suggested that we go out to lunch and to our favorite antique store. I love when we go out to something other than doing errands because I use it as an excuse to wear some of my favorite things, like hats, that I just don't have the time to incorporate on my way to work.



It was very warm out but I knew we would be running in and out of the air conditioning. I wore a very bright floral dress (and probably my only yellow piece of clothing) with a light cropped cardigan. The dress is a few years back from Target's Isaac Mizrahi line.



I wanted a very summery mix and to play up the green too. So I used my Stephen Jones boater, a vintage wicker-y bag, my lace parasol from Venice and Jessica Simpson Pegeen heels.

Here is the dress without the cardigan. The waistline is a bit above my natural waistline so it has more of an empire feel to it.

The fabric on this is the best part. The bodice has the bigger pattern.

The skirt is pleated with a smaller pattern on top of the box pleats and a larger pattern in the folds. The dress is even lined so it's a pretty nice quality for a mass merchandiser.

Because it was so warm I kept the jewelry simple - a very delicate gold chain with pearls and a gold bead.

A hat close up with the green and navy ribbon.

I like the preppy colors of these shoes but they are not great for walking a lot, I'll admit. I ended up changing into my favorite Keds after we ate lunch and before we walked around.

I was happy to receive several compliments as we visited the shops. It's funny how, when you take the time to put on something just a bit nicer, like a dress, how sweetly people respond.

Indulging in New York

I haven't really talked much about what we did or gave each other for Christmas. That's because my main present from the hubby was a surprise trip to New York for New Year's Eve and to visit with Miss WendyB.

We flew in on the 30th and stayed downtown at the Smyth Tribeca. It's a new hotel, just under a year old, and a bit "hipster". But the location was good and the service was great. The sheets were very soft. I could use with a bit more closet/dresser top space, all in all it was great.

Our trip was totally centered around food. The first night I had made a reservation at Pure Food and Wine. I've been dying to try the restaurant for the past few visits and have not been able to make it but I'm so glad we did this time!



We did the five course chef's tasting meal and it was spectacular. Everything was divine and we were amazed at some of the dishes. I will be making sure to go back on my next visit.

The next day, New Year's Eve, we woke up to snow. Our days were planned around going to my favorite museums and our main goal was to see the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA because the hubby is a HUGE fan... well, so am I. I was going to get timed tickets in advance but they were all sold out for the 31st and the online system wasn't working. We took our chances by heading for the museum to see what was available but when we got there the line was down the block.

We did have a back-up plan, however. Instead of standing out in the snow for an hour, hoping to get in, we went into the store and bought a MoMA membership for $60 and a guest pass for $5. This gave us full access without having to do a timed ticket. The membership is good for a year, so I can go back in February, and it also gives you discounts at the stores too. The regular timed tickets are $20 each, so for just $25 more total we got right in.



The exhibit is great. Filled with iconic pieces from Tim's movies but also tons of tiny details that showcase his wit and talent and strong design sense. Truly a must-see for any fan.

After we left the museum we went uptown and popped into a few stores. Bergdorfs and Saks were both having big sales but I didn't see anything on the sales racks or in the stores I wanted so we then walked around, saw the Rockefeller Christmas tree, bought some macarons and had a delicious lunch.

Then we had to head all the way back to the hotel so we could grab a quick disco nap before getting ready to go out to meet up with the Wendy and Mr.B party at Balthzar. I wore a sequined Sonia Rykiel dress with white collar and cuffs paired up with black tights, Manolo Campari black patent mary janes and WendyB Swear rings.

The hubby looked smart in his new suit and "It's-a-real-bow-tie-I-tied-it-myself" Chinese Zodiac symbol bow-tie.



We partied until about 2am and then totally crashed until the next morning. I was hoping to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art but it was closed! The info must have been buried somewhere on the site because we were not the only kind-off pissed-off and surprised people milling around outside the museum doors.

So, since that didn't pan out, we crossed the park and went to the Natural History museum... along with everyone else, I guess, because it was a madhouse. Sadly we got hungry while we were there and braved the food court. See this picture... It was nothing like this. It was total chaos. Best not to go into the whole ordeal.



But we did get to end the trip on a high note due to a delicious meal at Candle 79. Delicous and easy to see why they were voted as top vegan restaurant this past year in VegNews.

All in in all it was a quick trip but so fun because my Sweetie went with me to one of my favorite cities. Now I just need to drag him up there more often!

More More More New York

So I've tried to be a good blogger while I'm on the road but in spite of having my handy new mini HP (which I'm using right now) I have still been totally slack and quite a slug. On Thursday when I came in I was feeling a bit homesick but haven't had a chance to anymore because I've been running around so much and meeting so many people in person finally!

Yesterday Sarah (Miss @StyleIt) graciously invited me to be her "plus 1" to the Dolce and Gabbana Pat MacGrath make-up event at Saks. Sarah did a great post about the event here. We both got a lovely session with the talented artists. I had dashed down there from my hotel, got to stay for about 40 minutes and had to dash back out. Luckily Sarah got to stay longer and came away with quite a selection, so check out her full review!



I bolted back down to Grand Central to meet Miss WendyB to go to some crazy sounding place called Spuyten Duyvil. Okay, it's actually a stop in Riverdale but I didn't know if she was kidnapping me to sell off out of the back of some hookah bar or something!



By they way, I totally feel I am not living up to my shoe reputation because I've been wearing flats all over the place and not heels. What's that about?!? I'm from car driving country so I'm a wimp. But at least I'm not wearing big touristy sneakers and have a camera or a fanny pack!

While in Riverdale, I got a new dress that has a great yellow and black pattern (soon to be showcased when I get home and have more shoe options) and met some cute ladies and cats. Actually I liked the ladies so much that even though Wendy ditched us, we still all went to a yummy fun dinner and cute bar. Our dinner waiter plied us with drinks and desserts so you can't beat that, even if it did start to pour down rain right when I was trying to catch a cab.

Today I got up late ate some more NY bagels and decided to head over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I don't think I'd been there in a good 12 years, so if you are also on Twitter I'm sorry for all the crazy TwitPics I've spammed you with.

My favorite parts were the medieval unicorns, the armor room and this plate which reads: He who washes the head of an ass wastes the soap.



Truer words have never been spoken, right?

Actually this Joan Miró painting may be my new favorite thing. It's called "This is the Color of my Dreams."




Isn't it amazing?

Lucky me, Miss Wendy met me at the museum so we could see the new Model as Muse exhibit. Personally I thought it was a bit of a stretch compared to the premise they presented. The whole point of the exhibit was that models influenced fashion but, at least based on the show, it seemed to be more about models and photography not really designers and models working together. Frankly it felt a little flat and superficial to me. Some pretty photos though.

Afterwards I had lovely dinner with Wendy and then got to meet her sweetie pups and Mr. B. I know it's been said before but Wendy's even more fun in person! And cute! Yes, it's disgustingly true. I'm trying not to hate her for it!

No seriously, I luv her!

Now, what shall we do tomorrow???