Beautiful

I've always been more of a clotheshorse than a makeup-&-hair kinda girl. You know the type, the one who has more colors of ballet flats than eye shadows? The girl who skips the beauty articles and heads straight for the fashion spreads. The one who openly admitted Hello Kitty chapstick was part of her makeup routine (now it's Skittles lip gloss, if you were wondering). C'est moi.

Perhaps it's the darkening circles under my eyes or an increased sense of vanity, but I know I can do better. Who am I kidding, I must do better. I'm looking more and more like "before" pictures. It's fortuitous then, that a friend gave me her friend's and family discount for Sephora. Check out my wish list below - it even looks beautiful!

PS - I also want to do a facial peel and my research has revealed that this could be a good one... I don't know, though. There's something about the word "peel" and "face" in the same sentence that makes me nervous. Yikes!

Bisous!

PS

The hair experiment is a failure so far. My fishtail braid was less fishtail-y and more, umm, mess-y. I'll keep you posted.

The Baaaaallllet...

Here's a question for you: Why live minutes from Lincoln Center if you don't attend the ballet? Right? Ok. Get excited. I read about a new ballet, Ocean's Kingdom composed by Sir Paul McCartney with costumes designed by, you guessed it, Stella. Say it with me, eek!



Bisous!

Bottom Pic by Andrea Mohin/The New York Times

Frustration

Confession: I get frustrated easily. I know it's hard to believe, but I do. Lines take too long, computer screens won't load, my hair doesn't do what I want it to do...

I don't know that I believe in the power of stress balls, but aren't these fun!?

They're a little pricey at $45 a pop but maybe the smile you'd get just by looking at it could actually ease some tension?

Bisous!

Hair...

I am hopeless. Usually, I just blast my hair with the blow dryer for a few minutes, pull my ill-thought-out-bangs back and call it a day.

But then I ran across THIS hair tutorial from THIS awesome blog. What if I actually tried it? A new hairstyle every day!? Genius, I know. I'll let you know how it goes...

Bisous!

PS - am obsessed with the Free People October Catalog because I am really a bohemian at heart.

Farmer's Market

There is a teeeeny tiny farmer's market 4 blocks from work. They have one veggie stand. Despite the diminished size, the produce still looked amazing - gourds and pumpkins, apples and pears, cherry tomatoes, carrots and watercress! Of course, we just bought a bag of warm apple-cinnamon donuts. Yum!

Bisous!

Creative Friends...

...are the best, aren't they? I just grabbed drinks with my amazingly talented, tres hip friend, Jen last night. She's launching her line of awesome, super luxurious, ridiculously hi-quality handbags. Check out the entire line here! Or wait and buy them at TenOverSix in LA or in NY at Sucre (red wine is prohibiting me from remembering the other NY stores...) You heard it here first!

Bisous!

So for my next birthday...

I can expect this cake, right?

From my new favorite blog: ZsaZsa Bellagio.

Ahhh, memories...

I went to see the movie 50 50 with my friend Mandi last night. It was great; funny, heartfelt, well-acted & mostly tasteful (excluding the Patrick Swayze joke).

The main character is played by Joseph Gordon Levitt (who is adorable even bald, p.s. must be those dimples) and it reminded me of a GQ spread I saw a few years ago with JGL and Claudia Schiffer (seriously, who get's to look that good that consistently?!?!). Anyway, you're welcome. :) Bisous!

I have a cold....

...and all I want to do is curl up, eat chocolate and watch Steel Magnolias. Doesn't that sound like a perfect way to spend a sick day? These cozy bed pics are making me feel a bit better...


Picture: Cozy by Tori Barratt Crane

This is lovely...

Source: etsy.com via Heather on Pinterest

It's called the "Autumn Sapphire Necklace" and couldn't be a more appropriate accessory for this rainy, autumn day.

Heather Morgan

I am a super fan! I am. I would make a poster board with glitter and stand outside the Today Show in the freezing cold for my friend, Heather Morgan. She’s a crazy-talented singer-songwriter from Nashville by way of Texas (which is where I met her at TCU!). She writes songs about cowboys and whiskey, she has this amazingly rich voice, she toured with Willie Nelson - oh, and what I love most about her: she is Living. The. Dream. She packed up her bags and guitar, moved to Nashville after college and started hustling from day one. And now she’s playing in NYC this Friday!

For those of you not able to make her show you can check her out below.



Bisous!

The Where...

After an embarrassingly long search for the "perfect" bar to usher me into the world of confident alone-bar-sitting I ended up at Agozar! A venue with an exclamation point in the name and a logo that looks like it should be for Zack Morris' local hangout.

It was pretty anti-climactic. But, I learned that I probably won't die from spontaneous combustion or embarrassment if I sit alone at a bar. Next time (and there will be a next time, mom) I'll pick a place that's more my speed and style like Freeman's or The Room or Sycamore Bar & Flower Shop...maybe I'll hit up somewhere fancy like the Ritz Carlton. What to wear?

Also the next time I try this adventure, I might read this guide to drinking alone.

Bisous!

P.S. The above pic is of Balthazar - so chic, right? We stopped there for after hours drinks on Saturday!

Incognito

I've never gone to a bar by myself. Really. I've never sat down at a bar, ordered a drink and finished it alone. I’ve waited patiently for friends in bars (though, if we’re being honest those are rare occasions – wink), I've sat in delis and cafés by myself, I've even gone to the movies by myself - but I've never ever gone to a bar tout seul. Tonight's my night. I am checking this off the list. Who knows?! Maybe I'll like it!

In preparation, I planned my outfit carefully. Cuffed skinny jeans, ankle boots, tweed blazer, loose scarf, fake glasses… I feel like it says, hip, casual and most importantly; confident.

Incognito by hmthompson featuring mid rise skinny jeans

The where is still TBD - I'll keep you posted. Wish me luck!
*Artwork by the lovely artist, Connie Chadwell.

Elkin

I came across this lovely collection today on Daily Candy. It's a little bit Gothic, a little bit Victorian and a lot Dreamy. We all know I'm a sucker for fuzzy pictures with streaming sunlight, unexpected hemlines and (always!) a little romance. Sold!

Food for Thought

In an effort to create a healthier version of Heather, I’ve started “practicing” Yoga. Oh and PS, that’s how you do it, you practice yoga. Clearly I need more practice because in a recent class, my teacher had us do forearm stands. Right. He was under the impression that I would be able to do this–ahem–add this to my yoga practice. It was unsuccessful.

I should probably reevaluate my motivation. The goal of Yoga is the "attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility" (according to Wikipedia). My goal was Madonna Arms.PS: Madonna is opening a chain of fitness centers. Sign me up!

So. Insightful and tranquil. Pretty soon, these words will describe me! Erm, do tranquil people use exclamation points?

Cambridge Satchel

I wish I carried this bag every day - on the subway, to and from work, shopping with friends. Imagine how easy it would be to scurry out the door on time if you looked forward to throwing your keys and cell phone into this puppy! Oh, well...neon satchels probably fall into the Things-I-Like-But-Probably-Shouldn't-Because-I'm-Too-Old category along with Hello Kitty and Teen Vogue.

Cambridge Satchel by hmthompson featuring satchel bags

Macaroooons!

I am 100% on the Macaroon bandwagon. How could I not be?! They are pretty, they are French, they contain refined sugar…
With the oodles of Macaroons floating around the internets recently; on blogs, in the NY Times, on pinterest boards I have curated quite the macaroon obsession. Confession: I’ve never tasted one. I realize that people traditionally use their blogs to discuss all the awesome stuff they do and make or the stuff other people do and make. So let this be my place to discuss all the awesome stuff I might do and I might make (or taste). Like, maybe I’ll make my own macaroons! Or maybe I’ll make a day of it and hit up all the macaroon hot spots all over NYC: Maribelle, Laduree, Bouchon Bakery. Or maaaaaaybe I'll do both!

I’ll keep you posted…

Bisous!!

McLeod's Daughters

I've spent the last month watching the first two seasons of an Australian (what can only be described as) soap opera entitled McLeod's Daughters. And, before you start the teasing, let me remind you that I was gushing about Twilight long before many of you had ever heard about teen vampires let alone worn your "I heart Edward Cullen" tee shirts. It's about 2 sisters (the McLeod's) running a "station" with only women. They fix tractors, train horses, shear sheep, round up cattle and of course, get 'rescued' practically every episode by the really hot neighboring Ryan brothers. It's super cheesy and bears all the traits of daytime television including and not limited to; long-lost sisters, pseudo-incestuous relationships (I can explain, the younger McLeod sister had a brief fling with the older Ryan brother (of the neighboring "spread") but she's really destined to be with the younger Ryan brother, anyway, her older sister is actually destined to be with the older brother in the first place...see?!) fires, torrid affairs, car AND helicopter crashes, stampedes, thieves, long-lost fathers, betrayals. Right. Sooo...I love it!

Oh, and the fashion - it's amazing. No, really. These shows are from a decade ago and are meant to portray rural life in southern Australia - but there's something timeless (not to mention, sexy) about apparel worn for function over fashion, sleeping under the stars and pursuing your dreams no matter how hard you have to work for them.

McLeod's Daughters by hmthompson featuring butterfly jewelry

PS: I reckon an oilskin duster coat is just what I need to make it through another NY winter!
PPS: I sort of want to speak like I'm from the Australian bush. Favorite phrases include:
"I reckon" = I think
"I'm stuffed" = I'm screwed! or I messed up
"Rack off" = Ummm, you can figure that one out, right?
"Righto" = alright or sure thing - not sure it would sound right without the Aussie accent, though...