Some days, it's all about the accessories

I had a lazy Monday since it was a work holiday.  My one outing other than the gym was a bite in the 'hood for dinner.  The sidewalks were super icy and treacherous and this winter wonderland makes me want to crawl into the boring parts of my closet.

Necklace and bracelet from Elisha Daniels, YSL arty ring

I may have succumbed to practical and boring in my clothes, but at least the jewels spruced it up a bit.  Besides I hadn't worn my new YSL arty ring yet and I thought it went perfectly with the chunky gold necklace and bracelet.

J Crew chambray shirt, J Brand black jeans, Cole Haan boots

I wore a basic chambray shirt from J Crew, black J Brand jeans and Cole Haan riding boots. 

It's still only January and I am quite ready for this winter wonderland to pass us by. 

Birthday Baubles

The birthday weekend was a whirlwind of so much fun spent in NYC with my family and friends.

Canon G12

Let me start by showing you my super fancy new Canon G12 camera that was a gift from my sister and brother in law.  I'm hoping this will bring great improvement to my blog pics since the picture viewer flips around so I'll be able to see how the picture looks as I'm taking it.

J Crew cuff bracelet

They also gave me this J Crew cuff bracelet with emerald stones that I had seen on our trip to Charleston a few months ago and posted about here.

Necklace from Elisha Daniels

Elisha gave me this multi-chain necklace with three beautiful large stones and an even bigger silver clasp. 

YSL arty ring

My other girlfriends gave me this YSL arty ring with the bright blue stone that I had posted about last month.

Plus the ladies gave me these two Italian cookbooks to provide more inspiration for my culinary pursuits.

Kenneth Jay Lane pin

As if that all wasn't enough, my brother and sister in law found this Kenneth Jay Lane art deco brooch from Net-a-Porter.  How on earth they knew I had been eyeing this, I will never know.

Chanel ring

As a gift to myself, I tracked down this gold and pearl Chanel ring that I've been wanting.

I love every one of my gifts and can't express how blessed I am to have such over the top generous friends and family.  Even better than all the gifts is the time that I spent this weekend with my great friends and my family.  Elisha, my sister and I had a lovely boozy lunch on Friday at Locanda Verde and if you haven't been and have the chance, I highly recommend going.  Every bite of every morsel we ate was so delicious with the highlight for me being the porchetta sandwich that my sister ordered.  Mmmm mmmm.

Even though the whole weekend was spent celebrating, my official birthday dinner was Saturday night at Fille Ponte in Tribeca.  But my birthday cake was my favorite dessert ever which is the ricotta cheesecake from Pepolino.  Years ago we got a taste of it when we had a dinner there and it now often shows up at many family birthday dinners.

I'm sad to see the end of such a wonderful weekend with my family and friends.  But I'm looking forward to wearing all of my new baubles and photographing them with my new fancy camera!

Out of a Rut

The New England weather in winter is less than inspiring when it comes to getting dressed each day.  When it's below freezing and the winds are whipping it's difficult to dress for anything other than staying warm.  And I abhor getting dressed for anything other than wearing what I want to wear because I want to wear it (and not because it's warm or practical or comfortable).

Marc Jacobs jacket, J Brand jeans, Glenda Gies handbag

Since it was in the low 50s today, the snow is melting and I didn't need to wear a heavy coat.  I was meeting a friend for dinner in my 'hood and I wore one of my very favorite jackets.  This Marc Jacobs boucle number went perfectly with my vintage inspired Glenda Gies handbag.

Miu Miu shoes

I wore my bright pink suede and bejeweled Miu Miu shoes that I bought many years ago at the Prada outlet outside of Florence.

Chanel pins

I adorned myself with two sparkly Chanel pins; one which I bought for myself last year and one that was a generous gift from my girlfriends for a past birthday.

To ward of the chill, I covered up with a fur trimmed cashmere wrap and hot pink long leather gloves that were a gift from Elisha.

Tomorrow is expected to be more of the same balmy weather which I'm wholeheartedly looking forward to.  I hope you are enjoying your first days of 2011!

Happy New Year!!

It's hard to believe that 2011 is already upon us.  Since I'm lucky enough to go out any night of the year that I want, I typically like to have a low key new year's eve.  This year, my dear friend Elisha had a few people over.  Here's what I wore.

Lace trimmed DVF top, Anthropologie shorts, Chanel bag and shoes

It was lovely and warm and I was so thrilled not to have to bundle up for a change.  I wore this lacy DVF top that has been in my closet for years and these festive shorts that I bought recently at Anthropologie. 

Chanel shoes

Plus I pulled one of my very favorite pairs of Chanel shoes from the tippy top of my closet. 

Necklace from Elisha's shop

How gorgeous is this pearl necklace with vintage bejeweled broach?

Tahari coat

 I topped it off with my navy blue Tahari coat since it wasn't freezing for a change.

Elisha

I got to Elisha's place and she had on this gorgeous baby pink lace dress.  I would never have guessed but she got it at Forever 21!

Ferragamo bag

Elisha had this gorgeous cherry red Ferragamo bag that I had never seen before.  This was from her deep archives. 

We gorged ourselves on cheese, pasta and lots of champagne.

 

And here I am at the end of a very fun night.  I hope you all had a fabulous new year!

My Christmas Back in Boston

There's an impending blizzard supposedly on its way to Boston but as of now, the snow is still falling relatively lightly. Elisha and I celebrated our Christmas today nestled in on one of the couches at the Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons.  It was so lovely to be toasty inside and watch the snowfall.

Lands End cashmere turtleneck, J Crew skirt, Cole Haan boots

bracelet from street jeweler in SoHo, ring from Cadillac's Castle, belt bought in Charleston

I wore a cozy Land's End cashmere crewneck sweater, bright pink J Crew skirt and Cole Haan riding boots that are perfect for trekking through a limited amount of snow.

For the sake of keeping Christmas about spending time with family and friends and less about consumerism, my family and I for the most part have forsaken gift giving with a few exceptions.  One of my exceptions is my annual celebration with my dear friend Elisha.  She's over the top generous and here's what she gave to me.

I love these long hot pink leather gloves that she sells in her shop.  I bought them in brown but she knew I love the pink so she gave them to me.

Dior nail polish in Timeless Gold and City of Gold

These shiny gold Dior nail polishes are just oh so much fun.

I got home and put on Timeless Gold.

 

She also gave me this fabulous bracelet from her shop that goes with this necklace I bought awhile back.

As if that all wasn't enough, I got this gorgeous Louis Vuitton inclusion ring (the pic just doesn't do it justice).

How lucky am I?  All the jewels and baubles are so fun but only the icing on the cake to having such a wonderful friend to spend the holidays with.

Bedecked, Bedazzled and Bejeweled

Ring from some random street jeweler in SoHo, necklace/scarf from Elisha Daniels

What better time of year to go all out with the over the top jewels and accessories than the holidays?  Since I spent the better part of last week sick in bed I feel like I've already missed out on some of the holidays so tonight I was determined to make up for it.

I knew that I wanted to wear something sparkly and I was thinking I'd wear a sequin blazer that I bought last year at H&M.  But then this gunmetal sparkle dress that I bought close to five years ago at Nanette Lepore floated into my consciousness and when I put it on, it was exactly what I was in the mood for.

Nanette Lepore dress, Stuart Weitzman boots, Longchamp clutch

Even though the sparkle of the dress can stand on its own, I still amped up the bling by adding this scarf bejeweled with pearls and rhinestones galore. 

On another note, you know that "rule" where if you haven't worn something in a year you should get rid of it?  Well I no longer abide by that rule.  I can't tell you how many times I thought of getting rid of this dress for that very reason but tonight I was so glad to have it.  And as my wise and fashionable friend Elisha says on many occasions as she did tonight, it's more "now" than when you bought it. 

Parties :: Boston Common Magazine

Photo Boston Common Magazine

Check out the latest Boston Common Magazine.  There are photos from Boston Common Magazine's Neiman Marcus Fashion Show at Copley Place, including a pic of me and Elisha.

Holiday Soiree (and Shopping)

Today I got up knowing 1) it would be my Friday since I'm not working tomorrow and 2) I had a fun soiree to go to.

Ann Taylor turtleneck, Hermes belt

I put on a basic black cashmere turtleneck (you can never go wrong) with this fringy, glittery skirt that I think I bought online at Newport News I don't know how many years ago.  I can say that I haven't worn it in a couple years and I probably bought it at least seven years ago.  I wore this ensemble with the ever faithful Me Too booties and a Jojo necklace that I bought at Elisha's shop over the summer but that really has no season.

Jojo necklace, Chanel ring

You can see the necklace better here.  How gorgeous is the royal blue?  And now you can see why I wore the royal blue Tiziana handbag.

Tiziana handbag

When I got dressed for the winter elements, I thought how I would love to have a bright blue pair of gloves to throw on.  I have many colors of gloves (pink, red, orange, chocolate brown, black) but no bright blue.  I also thought I should wear my Mulberry blue postman's lock booties but I knew I would be on my feet and those boots are not made for a walking (they are sitting shoes). 

So at the party at Elisha's shop tonight, I bought these perfect bright blue suede gloves.  And speaking of the party, here are a few more pics.

 

This necklace is gorgeous and looks perfect with grey now or with all white come summertime.

Judy Sanchez, Elisha Daniels, Tina Sutton

Me and Elisha

I bought this really fun sequin beret that made me feel oh so French!

Unfortunately my photography skills leave much to be desired but this mutli-metal necklace was way cool especially since some of the chains were this khaki color that would be perfect with any military inspired pieces.

These necklaces were gorgeous each individually but even more fabulous together.

Basic Black: It's All About the Accessories

Kooba handbag

I wake up each day with visions of different outfits dancing in my head.  But sometimes the grand visions don't sync up with what actually comes to pass in the never ending rush to drag myself out of bed and chain myself to my desk where I sit for hours on end each day.

Fabric/tulle covered beads from Elisha's shop, Chanel brooch

I ended up throwing on a basic black long sleeve J Crew t-shirt and Banana Republic pants but I spiffed it all up with this flower print jacket that I am now reminded has a matching skirt.  I accessorized with this fun tulle covered bead necklace that I bought in Elisha's shop some time ago, my Chanel pin that I've been wearing to death and a hot pink Kooba bag that I rediscovered in my closet in the recent hangbag reorg.

Me Too booties

And since this was one of those days where I couldn't seem to pull it together, you end up with faceless pictures of me.  I almost forgot to put my makeup on today that's how out of it I was.

Holiday Soiree (plus a discount!) at Elisha's shop December 2

Design: Mario Avila Design Illustration: Hana Pegrimkova



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Most Stylish Bostonians

I'm sure you've heard me wax on about one of my dearest friends, Elisha.  Not only is she the best friend I could ask for but she is also one of the most stylish people I know.  Well clearly, this is not just my biased opinion. 

Photo boston.com

She is one of Boston's most stylish people.  Check out the article here.

P.S. Her outfit is Kate Spade.