for all

those who plan on going all out tonight, i would suggest following the advice featured in this new york times article. eric wilson interviewed the people who really know a thing or two about making a spectacular statement - drag queens!

a choice tidbit from the piece...

sherry vine's dos & donts: “Be glamorous, be comfortable and be daring. It’s New Year’s and everyone is drunk, so you can get away with being outrageous. Just say you borrowed it from Lady Gaga.” ... “Don’t wear flip-flops, please! Stilettos are supposed to hurt. That’s why there’s booze. Don’t wear something you can’t dry-clean. Remember, everyone is drunk and will spill something on you. And don’t drink and drive, especially in stilettos.”

read more excellent advice here.

recently i've

become more and more interested in acquiring small stud earrings - small enough to wear to work, but quirky enough to fit my tastes.

example 1:
example 2:
both available here.

of course the reality is that i'll look for their vintage (hopefully less expensive) counterparts. but i always love having things to hunt for...it feeds my thrifty soul.

if i

could purchase this, i would.



in a heartbeat.

more of william wegman's genius, and other great works here

forget clothes

and shoes and accessories and products.


doing this, for an afternoon, would be heaven.

{photo found here}

great words

to live by:


{found here}

these puppies

are really doing it for me right now.


i don't think you see this shade of grass green often enough. and those small gold studs? the perfect size to embellish without being gaudy.

50% off their original retail price of $325 (crazy), they're still pricey at $162.50.

that said, they have sizes 11 & 12. which, as someone who comes from a big-footed-female family knows, is impressive.

i would go for it. go here.

for those

beauty mavens out there, sephora has provided an extra 20% of their sale, with the code EXTRA.

for what it's worth, my picks would be anything from bliss or korres.

shop sale products here.

not the

best picture, but maybe you get the idea.


i really enjoy the embrace of colors - lots of different greens here, but i think they look wonderful together.

{photo from canadian house and home found here}

doing my

best to keep this in mind...

that is all.

{found here}

this is

basically the score that i look for every. time. i. shop.


sweet goldish-pink pleated jacquard skirt.

originally: $450
purchased for: $35

from one of my alltime favorite stores in phila, petulia's folly.

i just

saw that lauren hutton, style icon extraordinaire, is now featured as one of jcrew's style icons.



"style...it's what you make of it once you've learned what to accept and ignore based on what best suits you."

see her looks and read her excellent advice here.

ps words cannot express how much i love that she kept her tooth gap.

this coat

went on sale just a little bit ago.

and i love it.
unfortunately it was still ~ $400. and now i can't even find it on the website.

for those of you that can rock it though (namely my mama), and have some extra $$$, i would recommend either
or
both lovely, both on sale, both still pricey.

see your options here.

i completely

forgot to post this a while back, which was when i fell into conversation with this woman


who had this amazing hair.

she was headed to model her hairstyle. hard to see exactly what was going on here, but trust me, it was phenomenal.

these lovely

little works of art are hand painted...


ON COOKIES.

get out of here, i love them so much.

find out more about maggie austen's beautiful works here.

i'm still

reeling from this story, complete with slideshow.


is it crazy to plan a trip to atlanta, ga just to see this wonderful house? because i'm considering it.

read it and see all the completely-my-style interiors here.

yadda yadda

yadda...cute little paper-art on the wall, cutesy oak paneling, more of the same reclaimed-wood-industrial-coffee-table-on-wheels...blah blah blah.


spy that teal velvet settee?

aaaaaagggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. so delicious.

{photo found here}

now that

my school term is over (hallelujah) i have some more time to drool over shoes.

a few of my recent picks:
{yves saint laurent}
{prada}
{chie mihara}


nothing too crazy here, but some fine details that really pack a punch.

i've realized that life is too short to just have bland shoes.

{all three - and lots more - found at the sale section at saks online}

what a

great series.larger (read pricier) sizes of "i bought all of these" by kate bingaman-burt still available at 20x200 here.

this is

basically how i've been eating recently.

hence my long(ish) trips to the gym.

the use

of negative space is what really does it for me here.

6 months to my birthday. i'll start the wish list with this.

find more of alexis bittar's gems here

i'm generally

not one for criticism.

oh wait. who am i kidding. i'm brutal.

and this girl should know better.

she's got the looks and the money to pull off incredible style.

and this is what she came up with?

ugh.

{disappointing photo found here}

another

link for you.

just because i love the story.

go here.

reminds me of roald dahl's version about the mildenhall treasure story. also a great one. go here.

just a

link today.

to one of my favorite posts. from one of my favorite blogs.

for you.

go here.

{oh yes. it didn't hurt that it includes my name. which i love oh so much.}

oh you

know. for the opera ... or just around town.



gorgeousness.

{erdem lace & satin-twill coat, $2995, here}

if only

i were a brooch wearing kinda gal.


of course, it also sold like lightning.

{1900s faux turquoise bug brooch found here}

apparently

gap is opening in italy. woo woo right?


wrong.

to celebrate its arrival in the country, gap teamed up with valentino (of six-pugs-all-with-names-starting-in-m fame. oh and also delightful dresses).

good news. if i happened to be in italy at the moment.


my favorite is that jacket. but if i could pull of that little bolero number i would in a heartbeat. i detest the pants.

{read more here}

i know

it's a bit heretical to say that i don't like thanksgiving...


but i really don't.

i do like these sweet doggie pilgrims. a whole lot.

{found here}

i rully

rully rully like this rug.


does it go with my living room?

do i care?

{anthro diamond jungle dhurrie rug available here, $298}

is this

dress a bit silly?
i don't really care. i think it's great. it's like each sleeve is its own party.
{french connection "candy" dress here, $109}

in other (completely unrelated) news, few things warm my heart as fast as hearing my sweet little dog snore softly.

ahhh whoever

thought up this site is brilliant.


find more things organized neatly here.

this reminds

me a bit of my small couch. the velvety one with the unmatched seat pillow.


except this one looks so much better. why is that?

{i have completely lost the source of this lovely image. i blame finals}

cherry red

paired with camel? bold. and i like it.
i don't like this mousy model below. but i approve of every.other.thing in this picture.


i have had a love affair with camel colors for a while now, and finally feel somewhat vindicated.

{yumminess from zara}

as the

semester is drawing to a close and deadlines are looming and my nerves are running high...

blues help calm me down.

amazing what color can do.

{photos from photographer morten holtum, found here}

i have

completely forgotten where i found this image. another blog i think, so i apologize in advance. but i do know it's marni (s/s 11 perhaps?) and i do know i love it.

this is

way too much money. which, to be honest, is how i feel about most things these days.


but i do think it would get along nicely with the cards in my stationery drawer.

{telegraph stationery set found here. $14.50}

i am

looking for this. at a yard sale/ flea market/ thrift store.


and for about $2700 less. if anyone spies something like this, let me know.

if anyone has $2800 lying around, check it out here.

those spaniards

certainly know how to dress their little ones.


pompom socks? yes please.


p.s. love the knee chub too.

{found here}

this muted

outfit thrills me. love the tousled hair. looooove the wrap coat. dress? whatever.

{found here}

i. love.

this. guy.he's been around a while.
i think he is so incredibly spot on.

the sweet messages. the detail. the clear lack of pretention.

find out more about him here.

great choice

of dress for a land where color rules supreme.


{picture found here}

granted, this

isn't my usual type of post. but style, at least to me, goes way beyond clothes and the latest shoes and accessories and home interiors. beyond paintings and sculptures even. i mean, for all my love of art and furniture and jewelry, there is actually a reason i went to law school.

style that really moves me?
words. and the ability to magically capture thoughts and opinions and emotion and imagination, all within the narrow confines of the english language.

even more captivating?
when those words involve true style of character, of soul.

a bitty example. from a blog by a woman i've never met, whom i will probably never know.

except that i admire her style.

------

My son is gay

Or he’s not. I don’t care. He is still my son. And he is 5. And I am his mother. And if you have a problem with anything mentioned above, I don’t want to know you.

I have gone back and forth on whether I wanted to post something more in-depth about my sweet boy and his choice of Halloween costume. Or more specifically, the reactions to it. I figure if I’m still irked by it a few days later, I may as well go ahead and post my thoughts.

Here are the facts that lead up to my rant:

1. My son is 5 and goes to a church preschool.
2. He has loved Scooby Doo since developing the ability and attention span to sit still long enough to watch it.
3. Halloween is a holiday and its main focus is wearing a costume.
4. My son’s school had the kids dress up, do a little parade, and then change out of costumes for the rest of the party.
5. Boo’s best friend is a little girl
6. Boo has an older sister
7. Boo spends most of his time with me.
8. I am a woman.
9. I am Boo’s mother, not you.

So a few weeks before Halloween, Boo decides he wants to be Daphne from Scooby Doo, along with his best friend E. He had dressed as Scooby a couple of years ago. I was hesitant to make the purchase, not because it was a cross gendered situation, but because 5 year olds have a tendency to change their minds. After requesting a couple of more times, I said sure and placed the order. He flipped out when it arrived. It was perfect.

Then as we got closer to the actual day, he stared to hem and haw about it. After some discussion it comes out that he is afraid people will laugh at him. I pointed out that some people will because it is a cute and clever costume. He insists their laughter would be of the ‘making fun’ kind. I blow it off. Seriously, who would make fun of a child in costume?

And then the big day arrives. We get dressed up. We drop Squirt at his preschool and head over to his. Boo doesn’t want to get out of the car. He’s afraid of what people will say and do to him. I convince him to go inside. He halts at the door. He’s visibly nervous. I chalk it up to him being a bit of a worrier in general. Seriously, WHO WOULD MAKE FUN OF A CHILD IN A COSTUME ON HALLOWEEN? So he walks in. And there were several friends of mine that knew what he was wearing that smiled and waved and gave him high-fives. We walk down the hall to where his classroom is.

And that’s where things went wrong. Two mothers went wide-eyed and made faces as if they smelled decomp. And I realize that my son is seeing the same thing I am. So I say, “Doesn’t he look great?” And Mom A says in disgust, “Did he ask to be that?!” I say that he sure did as Halloween is the time of year that you can be whatever it is that you want to be. They continue with their nosy, probing questions as to how that was an option and didn’t I try to talk him out of it. Mom B mostly just stood there in shock and dismay.

And then Mom C approaches. She had been in the main room, saw us walk in, and followed us down the hall to let me know her thoughts. And they were that I should never have ‘allowed’ this and thank God it wasn’t next year when he was in Kindergarten since I would have had to put my foot down and ‘forbidden’ it. To which I calmly replied that I would do no such thing and couldn’t imagine what she was talking about. She continued on and on about how mean children could be and how he would be ridiculed.

My response to that: The only people that seem to have a problem with it is their mothers.

Another mom pointed out that high schools often have Spirit Days where girls dress like boys and vice versa. I mentioned Powderpuff Games where football players dress like cheerleaders and vice versa. Or every frat boy ever in college (Mom A said that her husband was a frat boy and NEVER dressed like a woman.)

But here’s the point, it is none of your damn business.

If you think that me allowing my son to be a female character for Halloween is somehow going to ‘make’ him gay then you are an idiot. Firstly, what a ridiculous concept. Secondly, if my son is gay, OK. I will love him no less. Thirdly, I am not worried that your son will grow up to be an actual ninja so back off.

If my daughter had dressed as Batman, no one would have thought twice about it. No one.

But it also was heartbreaking to me that my sweet, kind-hearted five year old was right to be worried. He knew that there were people like A, B, and C. And he, at 5, was concerned about how they would perceive him and what would happen to him.

Just as it was heartbreaking to those parents that have lost their children recently due to bullying. IT IS NOT OK TO BULLY. Even if you wrap it up in a bow and call it ‘concern.’ Those women were trying to bully me. And my son. MY son.

It is obvious that I neither abuse nor neglect my children. They are not perfect, but they are learning how to navigate this big, and sometimes cruel, world. I hate that my son had to learn this lesson while standing in front of allegedly Christian women. I hate that those women thought those thoughts, and worse felt comfortable saying them out loud. I hate that ‘pink’ is still called a girl color and that my baby has to be so brave if he wants to be Daphne for Halloween.

And all I hope for my kids, and yours, and those of Moms ABC, are that they are happy. If a set of purple sparkly tights and a velvety dress is what makes my baby happy one night, then so be it. If he wants to carry a purse, or marry a man, or paint fingernails with his best girlfriend, then ok. My job as his mother is not to stifle that man that he will be, but to help him along his way. Mine is not to dictate what is ‘normal’ and what is not, but to help him become a good person.

I hope I am doing that.

And my little man worked that costume like no other. He rocked that wig, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

------

{read the full post, accompanied by a picture of her lovely son, in full (stylish) halloween attire, at her blog: http://nerdyapplebottom.com/}

ahhhh

i love this combination.
executed wonderfully.
{found here}

one of

these, a great book, and a tall glass of homemade lemonade.


delicious.



more pictures, just because it looks heavenly.
find it here.