Let There be Peace on Earth

I love this time of year, but sometimes there is so much pressure to have fun, buy the right gifts, and spend as much time as possible with friends and family, that I end up exhausted.

This mannequin in the window seemed to totally speak to me the other day.....telling me "RELAX!! "

Not to mention that I love that "Miss Calm, Yogi-like Mannequin Girl", is wearing my favorite color...gray, and wearing some super bad ass faux fur!

Anyway, I'm trying to take her advice and relish every moment of this wonderful time of year. 

I'm lighting my Christmas Tree every day.....

Putting up pretty flower arrangements,

Enjoying these lovely scented candles, that btw, dont make you cough and are safe to inhale because they are beeswax candles from whole foods. I highly recommend them! The one in the pic above is amazing. Its a fire crackle candle, meaning it mimics the sound of a fireplace...(available at Target). But I swear it makes me cough!  And look at the black "soot" around the rim! Not healthy:(

The ones below are MUCH better for you...

Decorating with cranberries and other fruits...and attempting to actually eat the fruit so I don't gain to much extra holiday poundage....

WHAT DO YOU DO JUST FOR YOU, AROUND THE HOLIDAYS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY AND BRINGS YOU PEACE OF MIND?

Never, Ever, Buy a Dress When you Actually Need One

Every other dress, starting left to right....buy at modcloth.com

All others...purchase at asos.com

Well, tonight was a total bomb. I meant to cook myself a healthy meal, work on some jewelry, and take a hot bath...

What did I ACTUALLY do with my time? Ate a box of cookies, talked on the phone, and bought clothes online!!!! Good going!

Anyway, with the holidays among us, I figured I'm bound to want a new dress or two;) ...I love all of them!

Sooooooo, can you guys guess which dress I purchased? 

Thanksgiving...

Well, Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Its time to eat a bunch of food and then shop! But for me, the shopping will be online only, as I cannot handle Black Friday sale crowds!!

Boots and Bags are my favorite things! I love clothes but I'd rather wear the same black dress everyday as long as I got to have new boots and new bags for each day....

Heres a little Set of some items on my wish list:

Some pics of the Fall decor in my house....

***Remember that picture I took at the Regency Beverly Wislhire? 

Click Here.....Well, here it is, the same concept put to good use on my dining room table;)

Hope these pics added a little something to your fun Turkey Day! Now I'm gonna relax in my new nordstrom slipper boots and maybe work on some of my jewelry on my new jewelers bench!!!

Closet Full of Gray, but a Life Full of Color

My Outfit

Sweater: Seventy Two Changes

Jeans: Denim & Thread

Boots: Golden Goose

As promised, here is an outfit post of the gray cut-out sweater I was so excited to purchase on sale last week. I happen to love it, but my husband says its not his favorite. I guess thats because I'm looking at it purely from a fashion perspective, whereas men in some ways are natural image consultants...

well, only in the sense that they have the intuition that something looks good or bad but they definitely don't know how to explain it. Although I'm not saying this sweater is bad...I love it!

What I mean by "natural image consultant" is that a man could care less about fashion/clothing but more about how the girl looks wearing it...(this sweater is actually a lil too boxy for my figure, for example). 

If my hand weren't on my hip in this photo, you could see the "boxiness" I'm talking about....

Image consultants try to keep up with the latest trends but ALWAYS pay attention to body shape and proportion. Its actually pretty interesting, because we image consultants are very different from "stylists" who seem to focus almost completely on the clothes standing out rather than the girl being the primary focus.

 Have you ever heard of the saying..."the dress is wearing the girl, rather than the girl is wearing the dress?" Well, being that my educational training is Image Consulting, I try to not let my clothes wear me, but sometimes it really is just about the fashion..and thats what men (and some of the old school image consultants) just don't get! 

Oh, and one more thing, I'm so excited for Thanksgiving and having 4 days of down time! It's been making me feel so positive and thankful to everyone and all the good things in my life....I guess thats "wear" todays post title comes in;)

Just Goes to Show....

Julien Macdonald Cable Sweater $918

....that even if you are bummed that the item you are lusting after costs $918, if you are patient, you can find something for way less, that you like just as much...or almost, without sacrificing quality.

Seventy Two Changes Sweater Orig $228 Sale $113.90

Lucky for me, Nordstrom put this sweater on sale last week for their Friends and Family event, and I just happened to stumble on it.

 I love it and am so excited, because 1. I'm digging the cutout sweater trend, and 2. I'm crazy over everything gray. Woohoo!!! 

Anyway, I just checked, and even though friends and family is over, a lot of the items STAYED ON SALE!!! I would hurry though, because once Christmas gets closer, stores will do away with most discounting!!

Oh, and I PROMISE, I will do an outfit post this weekend, modeling my new fab sweater...let's hope I look as good in it as this gorgeous chic in the picture!

One more thing, this sweatshirt below, describes me to a T...at least my hubs and my trainer at the gym think so!! I should wear it during a workout for her one day!! 

(And it comes in gray..wouldn't you know)

Shopping the Closet: new outfits without buying a thing

As many of you know, I do image consulting as well as jewelry design...Recently, one of my clients and I went through her closet with the goal of re-using pieces and revamping her style. She was kind enough to let me take pictures of some of our progress.  In this post I'm showing 2 dresses she felt were boring and never wore.

 She was on the verge of throwing the gray one out!!!! 

Here's how we revamped it:

Original look (ie dress she hates)
BORING

New Look

The Outfit:

Dress: Tadashi

Sweater: Armani Exchange

Shoes: Steve Madden

Clutch: BCBG

A lot of my lovely followers know how much I love adding a top or sweater to a dress, to totally change the look, as shown in one of my past posts: Re-work a dress for cooler weather

Dress #2 (below) is adorable...I like it how she origially put it together, but I also like the alternative version for when she wants to mix things up:

The Outfit

Dress: Forever 21

Belt: Banana Republic

Clutch: thrift store purchase

Shoes: Pelle Moda

We had fun putting together a bunch of other looks as well. She has a lot of clothes but feels like she's always wearing the same stuff. Sometimes all you need is a fresh eye! 

Outfit Post & Alexander McQueen

My Outfit

Sweater: Inhabit

Jacket: Max studio (an oldie but a goodie)

Pants: Genetic Denim Cords

Bag: Alexander Mcqueen

Scarf: QI 

Ring: Mimi Jay

Shoes: Anthropologie

I absolutely love this bag! Its not too big, not too small, and the flap in the front is so convenient for pulling out my keys or subway card.  Its still available at Bergdorfs and I think Saks, but I believe this color is sold out...I got it in February....

The outfit, although simple, got me tons of compliments yesterday. I think its because of the bag and the scarf. Plus, I try NOT to match my handbag to my shoes, and that always mixes things up a bit:)

The Bronze and The Beautiful

Bronze is one of my favorite colors this season. I love how it makes me feel so luxurious and regal!

I compiled the collection above to show off some of the items on my wish list...

1.Proenza Schouler Cropped Sweater 2. Kate Spade new york Hi 5 Mittens 3. O.P.I. - Nail Lacquer - Innsbruck Bronze  4.Bobbi Brown Bronze Shimmer Brick Compact 5.Lanvin Punk lizard and python cuff 

6.Trussardi 1911 bag 7.Vivienne Westwood Skirt 8.Tsumori Chisato / Tiger Glitter Stripe Top 9.Maurie&Eve Black/ Gold Chain Reaction Strapless Dress 10.J.Crew Joey sequin-embellished skirt 11.Michael Kors 12.R & Y Augousti Watersnake Clutch 13.Kenny 5709 Black Silk Lace Top

Now for some bronze beauties I already own....

Got this belt at a vintage store

This Lauren Merkin Bag is a fave of mine

A ring from my collection, Mimi Jay

Ok, and just for fun..this bronze wallpaper is hanging up in my hallway and I'm OBSESSED with it! I love how the light shines on it and dresses up my home;)

Bronze is so flattering and luxurious. Not just on people but in home decor as well. I just can't seem to get enough of it lately;)

My Trip: Window Shopping in London

Harrods

Let me tell you that the window displays in London this year were some of the best I've seen...and I live in Manhattan.  It's like looking into the cover of a fashion magazine, except its life size and right in front of your eyes!  Harrods is an incredible department store and the window displays there were so lux and fabulous.  I wanted to take more pics but there were too many tourists gawking at the windows right along with me!!

These next pics are from Fenwick (great store btw)...I loved the styling on the mannequins and loved how they posed them.

The knee socks and fur were shown a lot. I am crazy for how they styled the black floral socks with the printed dress!

These next pics are the windows at Chanel. Everything looked so warm and comfy and FABULOUS!

Is it just me, or do window displays totally put you in the mood? 

(for shopping, that is)!!

I swear they are like shopping foreplay for me...especially when I'm in a different city besides my own!