{Happy Weekend!}

Let's hope that this snow melts away soon, because I am starting to have major warm weather and beach withdrawal. Have a good weekend everyone!

{So close, yet so far...}

Earlier this week I was SO happy because the sun was (kind of) out and birds were singing and I could walk outside without being wrapped up in a scarf, hat, gloves, and my enormous Michelin Man North Face puffer! I couldn't stop fantasizing about my vintage denim shorts, flowy shirts, open toed shoes, and the need for a pedicure. Then, I woke up to this...

Umm gross! So much for warmer weather coming soon. Luckily, my vacation to the Bahamas is a mere two weeks away, so I have that to look forward to! And lovely images of bright, inspirational rooms and clothing.

Sunset

Southern Living

Living Etc.

I actually did this to my bed freshmen year, except I used the hula skirt as a bedskirt.

Olivia Palermo, I love her style.

Diane von Furstenberg, SS'09

I'm really loving Moroccan influences right now.

Abbey Lee Kershaw for Australian Vogue. I love her hair (especially the pink!) and the orange lips. I am definitely going to work on incorporating those two things into my spring/summer makeup routine.What I wouldn't give to have these Alexander Wang wedges. I die, I die, I die. I'm saving up, because I have to have them.

{Pottery Barn Giveaway! from Live Creating Yourself}

As I have mentioned {many} times before, I am a reader and follower of many fabulous blogs, most of them home decor and fashion related. One of these blogs is the wonderful Live Creating Yourself by Alaina from Chicago. I feel that we share very similar tastes in home decor, and her photos of projects that she completes herself always a) inspire me to start that project I have been neglecting for weeks and b) make me wish I lived in an actual apartment.

I am INSANELY jealous of one of her most recent projects, the decoration of her home office.

How amazing is this office? I don't think I would ever complain about work in a space as great as this!

Anyway, now that I have spewed my blogger-envy, Alaina is offering an awesome Pottery Barn quilt giveaway! The quilt (seen at beginning of entry) makes me so excited for spring, and excited for the possibility that it could be mine! Check out her blog, and enter for a chance to win!

{What I did this weekend instead of what I planned on doing}

As often happens, I make a lot of detailed plans, then one thing comes along and throws them all off, and I force myself to come up with an entirely new plan. So, while there was certainly a lot of rest and relaxation this weekend, there was no puppy, no room decorating. Sigh.

Now the puppy is "visiting" on Wednesday and I will spend my time in between classes, studying, and interning this week searching the internet for pieces to buy and ship home for my room, because when they are there waiting for me, I will have to start decorating it.

So what did I do instead? I had dinner Friday and Saturday night at one of my family's restaurants, the Pier House (tequila marinated ahi tuna, yum), watched my brother and sister in their respective basketball games, spent time with family, got homework done (!), researched summer study abroad programs, and shopped. A lot. I guess I got tired of being a "recessionista" this weekend...

Pier House now, in the winter.

The view from upstairs during the summer. Ooh I can't wait for warm weather!

The goods.

{Happy Weekend!}

I am headed home this weekend for some much needed r&r. This week flew by, and I am definitely looking forward to some down time. Not to mention, my dad's family is (most likely) getting a dog!

I'll take any of these, please!

We will most likely be adopting our dog from the SPCA, which is something I really love to do. It makes me so sad to think that people could ever be so cruel to animals. I would love to get a dog at my mom's house as well, but that question gets me a consistent no, so for right now it is still just me and Bullet, my crazy cat, who at times is more like a dog anyway.

He is very spoiled, he sleeps with his head on a pillow in my mom's bed.

He also gets presents for Christmas. But he is very cute, and for the most part well behaved. All of my friends compare me to a crazy cat lady though... oh well.

I am also excited to go home because I am finally going to start working on decorating my bedroom at my dad's house. They moved in over a year ago, and I just haven't had the time to really buckle down and decorate. Here are some images I am taking inspiration from:

Coastal Living

Southern Living

House Beautiful

Coastal Living

Coastal Living

Apartment Therapy

Apartment Therapy

I have a black wrought iron bed, so I am planning to soften it up with some white, gauzy accent curtains. My room is green, so I am definitely going to go for a cozy garden feel, with many botanical and butterfly prints. I really want the room to feel very personal, but with many of the walls being eves or angled, and therefore not able to have pictures hung on them, what wall space is available will be hung with gallery-style pictures; a mix of personal photos, prints, and memorabilia. I am very excited as this is my first real "interior design" undertaking.

I'm looking forward to a weekend of shopping and searching for the perfect items for my room, both in stores and online, and hopefully playing with a new dog! Have a good weekend everyone, I'll post pictures as soon as I have some good ones!

{VPL by Victoria Bartlett}

This past weekend, I had the grueling, but amazing, experience of being part of putting on a show during New York Fashion Week. I have been interning with VPL by Victoria Bartlett since the beginning of January. Up until two weeks ago, my internship consisted of basic "intern" duties; running errands, checking samples in-and-out, and making myself available wherever needed. A lot of my time was spent in contact with stylists and magazine editors requesting VPL pieces for photo shoots.

Then, as soon as fashion week hit, things totally shifted gears. I spent all day Saturday, literally, from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday at the VPL offices two blocks away from Bryant Park, and at Pier 59, the location of the show. After catching a 2:30 a.m. Ram Van home, I was up again at 5:30 a.m. to catch a 6:40 a.m. Metro North train back into Manhattan.

So much work went into the making of this show. I spent hours, literally, hours, steaming the giant white curtains that were the backdrop for the show. Hours were also spent packing and laying out all 300 of the Sephora-sponsored gift bags. Needless to say, I was very tired after all of this, and not feeling the least bit glamorous or ready to face the next day.

But, all of my hard work and long hours and lack of sleep was totally worth it. It was such an amazing experience. As mentioned in my earlier post, I got to meet (aka interact) with incredible people from the fashion world. It really made me excited for my {future} career in the industry.

I was also able to experience how truly crazy the world of fashion is, especially during fashion week. Before the lights of the room were even all the way up, models were dressed in their civilian clothes and running out the door to their next show. When the show was over, there was no mingling or chatting, everyone ran out to head to their next show. I wonder if they even have time to enjoy it all. It was just incredible to me how fast everything goes. After the hours of work that everyone put in, the show was fifteen minutes, and when it was over, everyone was gone. Clean-up took about 15 minutes, that is it.

I guess there really is such a thing as a "New York minute."

The infamous curtains that I had to steam.

The beginning of filling the gift bags.

Backstage preparations.

Hair & makeup, and A LOT of chaos.

The runway.

Models backstage. They are just so effortlessly cool!

Hair and makeup.

Waiting for the show to begin.

Model Jacquelyn Jablonski, a family friend from home!

Designer Victoria Bartlett and Anna Selezneva

** All photos mine. I will spare you my horrible runway images and direct you here to see Victoria's amazing work.

{Fashion Week!}

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week is in full swing here in New York City. Luckily for me, VPL's office is only two blocks away from the Bryant Park, so I am greeted every morning by the world of fashion, and it says goodbye to me every night on my way home from interning. You can just feel the energy walking past the tents, not to mention there are people to see everywhere; so far I have seen Whitney Port, Molly Sims, Simon Doonan, Carine Roitfeld (!!!), Bobbi Queen, countless models, and many others.

I will be doing more in-depth posts on the trends from the runways later, but for now here are a few photos I shot while in the city. It is times like these that truly make me love Manhattan.