Keds x Madewell

Ugh, first Milly x Topsider and now this? 

I am ashamed (sort of) by my Keds obsession - 11 pairs and counting, last I checked. I think I need to make room in closet for at least one more pair, don't you? 

$50, Madewell and Keds

Polka dots. for sure. I would make the nude part white, however...maybe I'll swap out the laces for something wacky. 

Do You Watch The Bachelor?

Or, as I refer to it:

The Greatest Show of Our Time

The Greatest Social Experiment Ever

The Single Reason Aliens Will Think We Are an Insane Tribe

Or, as this dude refers to it:

The Hunger Games

Do you watch it? Do you love it? I think that the only reason to watch the Bachelor/ Bachelorette is in order to prepare yourself for the actual Greatest Show of Our Time, Bachelor Pad. It's rare on this blog I try to be a) actually funny or b) discuss something that has in-time relevancy (as opposed to salad forks and letter press), but Courtney Robertson on this season is just way, way, way too good to be true. Home girl has it going on - and I mean "Pretty Girl Syndrome." She thinks things will work out because she's pretty - and Ben has proven her right at every. single. turn. Did anyone catch that creepy faux wedding ceremony? That would have made any other girl look Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted crazy, but it seemed to only solidify his interest in her. 

My other gripe with this show is that they need to HIRE HAIR, MAKE UP, & WARDROBE. Even Courtney gets it wrong. See below. 

It's Alice + Olivia, and I don't care. Fail. 

Here's what I envision the final three girls wearing for their next rose ceremony, regardless of it being in Switzerland.

LINDZI or LINZI or LINDZEIEYE, what have you:

Girl could use a little differentiation in her skin color and what better way to accomplish that then by putting her in blush. White would make it look too Magda-ish and color seems to not be her thing. 

Tibi, $396, Revolve Clothing

NIKKI or NICCKAY or NICKII, whatever

She's got some hips to hide, so why not do it in my favorite dress? I am wearing this in navy (duh) this weekend to a wedding but lavender like below would be great on Nikki. Hides everything. Except these terrible shoes. Shame on you, Singer22! 

Contrarian, $381, Singer22

And my girl Courtney, alas, she should go for it since she's a model/actress or whatever - do it up right in Oscar.

                 

Oscar de la Renta, really expensive, Neiman Marcus

Lust: Milly x Topsider

Me loves. You loves?

I need another pair of Top-siders like I need a hole in my head, but these are too cute to pass up! They're the bright fashion spot in an otherwise grey winter. 

{Milly x Top-sider, $125}

Look What I Scored!

I am SO excited for this Banana Republic trench that's been sold out online for weeks - can you believe it's my first real trench? The tan version has always washed me out and the black it too harsh, so (of course, like all things in life) navy is the winner. The cute polka dots add a little bit of fashion to an otherwise timeless silhouette. So excited to wear it when it's finally warmer out. However - it looks startingly similar to a Sonia by Sonia trench...can you tell which is which? Scroll down for the answer. 

Left is BR, Right is SSR!

Let's Talk About Food Poisoning.

Or, let's not. I won't be talking about food for a while, unfortunately, while this works its way out of me, but check out these really cool websites in the meantime!

Beachtomato:

All things style and taste, but beach-centric. Great ideas for honeymoon spots, fashion, and beach beauty. My favorite part? A "beach of the week" and "beach house of the week" features. I could look at these pictures all day, especially when it's snowing (finally!) outside. 

{I want to go to there}

Cocodot:

It's like someone took my brain and put it into a website. This is all entertaining, all the time, broken down by gifts to give (and get), decor to shop, table to shop, and then great editorial content in the inspiration section. I could stare at this page for a long while for sure.  And of course they have your paper needs covered as well. 

{Social stationary needs, too, like the above - chic, darling, chic}

Sir Jack's: 

While most of the stuff on this site is for dudes, there are lots of fun things on there for the ladies, like great sunglasses cases and scarves. But if you need to get your guy a gift, peruse away. I especially am keen on the estate & office section.

{A reproduction bartending guide for the turn of the 20th century}

What Should I Read Next:

Wandering through The Strand bookstore is one way I find new things to read and another is by Amazon's suggestions. However, when I've exhausted both of these ways - and believe me, this happens all the time - there is a great new place to mess around. What Should I Read Next  gives you a long list of alternative books based on one you input into its search field. While it doesn't tell you why it's chosen something that it has, there is an immediate link to Amazon so you can find out for yourself. I had over 50 new titles to look up by the time I was done with playing around. 

Enjoy! x

Table Makeover, And How to Get Spray Paint off Your Face

I'm on a quest to keep myself busy during the day and thought yesterday would be a great day to paint my old table. My best and I found this literally outside our old apartment down in Chinatown - just hanging out in front of our door! It was fate. Originally it was a gross, dirty white-ish color and we painted it turquoise to go in our color explosion of a living room.

In an effort to make a more cohesive bedroom space, I decided to paint it. It was 50 degrees out and calm....on the street. On the 5th floor balcony at the back of the building, it was like hurricane winds. I didn't let that discourage me, though. Nor did I let the spray paint that ended up in my hair. Or on my face. And under my nails. Fun fact: makeup remover or any other oil based remover gets spray paint off your body and good old shampoo gets it out of your hair. Although maybe I should have left the gold in - it looked cool with the black of my hair.

Et voila, my new table! It's a little too bright gold, but I like it with my Sea Island prints over my bed. I'm doing the best I can with a New York apartment. Say hi to Augusta who's chilling right there in the pillows!

Ignore my medicine cabinet beneath the table and the cord to my humidifier. I'm pretty pleased! 

Healthy & Delicious: Broccoli Slaw Adapted

So a new addition to my DVR (this is what happens when you're at home during the day) has been Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger. While some of her recipes are kind of boring, I do like a lot of them for their substitutions. One such recipe was on the other day - Creamy Broccoli Slaw. I got really excited because it seemed easy, until I realized I don't have a food processor with a shred blade. But I do have a food processor I love! So anyway, I did the next best thing and adapted her adapted recipe. Enjoy!

{not the prettiest picture, but instagram makes things a little cuter!}

1 bunch broccoli (with long stalks if possible)

1-2 large carrots (optional - I didn't have any on hand so I didn't use any)

Handful of roasted unsalted sunflower seeds

1/3 cup non-fat greek yogurt

1 tablespoon mayonnaise (I used Smart Balance - it tasted fine, but you can use real mayo here since it's so little)

2 tablespoons brown mustard

salt and pepper to taste

shred, peel, or julienne the broccoli stalks, trimming off any excess hard parts on the outside of the stalk. do the carrots the same way if you're using them.

cut the florets close to the top so that the bits fall into tiny pieces. chop finely.

mix mustard, mayo, and greek yogurt together. stir into the vegetables. add sunflower seeds. 

chill and store up to 2 days.