Wii Fit

New obsession=Wii Fit. First I created my profile, picked out my hair, eye color and facial features. Sadly there were no options to change my outfit. I am stuck wearing a red shirt and grey pants, on the screen, but I'm obviously going to wear my glitter sneakers as I work out. Now the fun begins!! My sister, boyfriend and I all sat here as each one of us started playing the balancing and cardio games. I was very hesitant at first because we all looked like idiots moving in place on this little white step in the middle of the living room. Once I got comfortable, I was surprisingly starting to feel my body working and starting to sweat. Not only was I having a blast, I was getting a workout besides.  We made it a group activity trying to beat each other scores and ended up playing all night. Thank you Wii Fit, I think we will be seeing each other a lot in the future.

Need Sleep

Why is it that I always manage to be creative late at night? It makes it very hard to wake up in the mornings, leaving me tired and in desperate need of a gallon of strong coffee.  I am so glad my graduate class is over, and the holidays are behind us. I feel like I can finally relax, breathe and do something for myself. I decided to start knitting a dolman sleeve sweater for myself. I have mastered scarves, hats and different patterns, so I figure how hard could a sweater be? I am excited because I am going to incorporate this chunky ivory colored sweater with a black velvet skirt, complete with jewlery I started to make for my fall line I can finally start on! I hope to get this done soon, so I can actually wear it before the winter is over. Looks like it might be another late night, I can sleep when I die right?

Merry Christmas

The excitement of Christmas just isn't the same as it once was twenty years ago. I blame it on retail mostly, and the fact that I didn't have any games or dolls to play with after gifts were opened.  I sat there, drinking my coffee in my new white cozy bathrobe and thought about how Christmas morning used to be. My sister and I would wake each other up, go downstairs to see if santa came then for hours tried waking my parents up until finally at 5:30 in the morning they agreed to wake up so we could tear apart wrapping paper and see what santa had brought us. This year, we slept in late, my parents already had dressed up and I knew mostly what I was getting, with a few surprises.  All in all I'm not too sure about this growing up thing, I do not see the perks in it.  Although I got an amazing new purse, and some great clothes I have wanted for awhile, santa was still very generous. 

Lazy Sunday

Nothing is better than coming home from work, especially after a busy Saturday during the holiday season knowing you have the next day off.  I like to unwind, first with a glass of wine and second with a nice bubble bath.  This is the time where I get to have me time. During me time I get to paint my nails, organize my life for the week, organize my clothes, read magazines and be completely lazy and not feel guilty about it. I am so excited for my day off tomorrow, especially because it's lazy Sunday. I hardly ever get Sunday's off and they are my most favorite day of the week.  I am already anticipating breakfast and coffee in my robe, laying on the couch watching reruns of Rachel Zoe while I knit and make jewelry.  I honestly could not even dream of a better day off. Inspiration for the jewelry I want to make came from the new Trend Department at work. These necklaces go for about a $100, but nope since I like to be creative and make my own things I can make these necklaces in about half an hour for a fraction of the cost.

Christmas List

The day came when my mom asked me if I had made a Christmas List. I got super excited and said no but I'll go make one right now. Little did I know how hard that would be. I consider myself a professional shopper, and I work in retail...how hard could making a little Christmas list be? I poured over magazines and every online store that had a website to shop at and I still came up with nothing. Until one very slow night at Nordstrom, I wandered into the shoe department and found exactly what I needed. Steve Madden 'Hoood' boots. They had all the answers I needed to create a fabulous Christmas List. Because of these boots I now know what I needed to put on my list and hopefully santa wants to buy me this year! These military inspired boots will go with every skinny jean, every dress, shorts and tights, leggings and big chunky sweaters. Please santa, I think I need these.

Shopping Trip

My morning started off with a bold cup of starbucks coffee and the realization my mom had the entire day off. Usually that results in a shopping trip, and being so close to Christmas, I knew it was a given. I got ready for the day, wore leggings, a floofy top as my boyfriend likes to call it and boots because I was ready to try on a million things in hope of finding amazing additions to my deprived wardrobe. Little did I know my mom had a different idea of what the day was going to entail. After two hours of driving 30 minutes away from home, stopping at every home depot, lumber store and lighting store in between and getting lost along the way in my mother's attempt to find things for our house being remodeled I finally made it to the mall. By this time I was car sick, lost all patience and was physically exhausted from shivering in the car as my mom thought it would be a great idea to take her keys with her and leave me in the freezing cold. Got some lunch, changed my mood and got some shopping done for myself and others. Next time I'm going to think twice about a shopping trip with my mom, because my idea of shopping does not include debating which hardwood floor would look best in the living room.

Leather Pants

I am about to jump on the coveted leather pants bandwagon, without a single thought in my mind. These lusted after pants have been a trend for some time now, and it is just coming to my realization how badly they need a home in my closet.  H&M has very inexpensive options and luckily the store is right next to Nordstrom, so all I have to do is walk outside my store and into H&M.  I already want to wear them with every boot and chunky knit sweater in my closet, I don't know how I went so long without them. I'm calling it a little Christmas gift to myself.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Woke up to yet another gloomy, rainy day. Since I am not a proud owner of a pair of rain boots it makes it difficult to want to get dressed and go out into the rain to do some much needed errands. Since I woke up, I have caught up on an entire weeks worth of soaps, almost finished my scarf I am knitting and read the latest Vogue magazine. I guess I can't complain about the rain, seeing as this has been such a relaxing day off. Maybe I will start to wish for rain more often, it gives me a good excuse to stay in underneath the blankets on the couch guilt free. But then again maybe a nice pair of rain boots would do me good.

Vintage

I have always been intrigued and inspired by vintage clothing, jewlery, and materials. I am embarassed to say I can spend hours upon hours searching on blogs, magazines and ebay for amazing one of a kind vintage things. I came across the FashionVault and FashionVoice on ebay and I was amazed. Celebrity stylists and trendsetters shop on ebay and lend their fashion expertise. Thanks to Annabel Tollman I am now sickly obsessed with finding a pair of vintage silk lingerie tap shorts with lace. I'm thinking thick tights a blazer and some booties to make this outfit. Other obsessions include vintage fur scarf, big jewlery, silk scarves, leather gloves and an interesting hat. Now for the all nighter I am about to pull on the pursuit of finding these silk shorts is another story.

Navy is the New Black

Black has been my go to color of choice for clothing in which seems like a century. I know I am not the only one who sticks to white, grey and black hues when it comes to dressing. Black is always so effortless and easy to throw on while still looking great. Today I opted for a different neutral than normal and chose to wear a navy blue lace dress. While still looking put together, I feel more glamorous and vibrant, almost like I took longer to put my outfit together and spent more time on this new and exciting neutral. So, navy and lace mixed with a giant pearl necklace, black tights and black blazer. Who said you couldn't mix black and navy?! I for one think it is the best color pairing.

6:30 A.M.

It is 6:30 a.m. I have no words I am stunned for the fact that a) I am awake, b) I can't fall back asleep and c) I am ok with this. Just made my morning coffee, it is a little too hot to drink right now which leaves me ample time to get comfortable on the couch and wrapped in my blankets. I made a to do list in my head while I was trying to go back to sleep. The days list includes finishing my hw for my graduate course (so excited 2 assignments left), finish my scarf I am knitting as a gift, scrounge up information on Providence Style Week (looking to show my collection in June), and designing 2 looks and drawing them on paper. The goal is to finish this before I have work at 12. My productive level to get things done this week is off the charts, so I'm thinking this is a reasonable goal.

P.S. it is still dark out

To Sell, or Not to Sell

Recently, days off include waking up late, getting coffee, reading magazines and fashion blogs and cleaning my closet and drawers. I realized I have a lot of clothes that have been worn and unworn that I no longer feel the need to own. Most of these things are in perfect condition with tags on them or only worn a few times. I have decided to donate some, consign others and sell the goodies. I set up a seller account on ebay and I am going to try and sell a couple pairs of shoes and some jewlery. After listing these items, I felt a wave of saddness realizing maybe its not the right time to part with my suede thigh high boots. Who knows if I will want to wear them again in the future. I had to calm myself down by thinking if I sell these, I can buy another pair of shoes guilt free. It dawned on me that this is the perfect solution to my shopping habbits. I can sell the old to buy the new. Oh, the things I will do for the love of fashion.

Relax & Unwind

There is nothing better than coming home from a days work and a long commute to a hot homemade meal and a glass of wine prepared by your amazing boyfriend. Dinner was rice and mixed vegetables, asparagus, and fish with a salad on the side as well as bread and our own creation of olive oil dip, and a glass of chilled pinot grigio. Of course presentation is everything and I made sure the dinner table was perfectly styled and in the right place to make the meal look that much more inviting. After dinner, I made my poor boyfriend tune into an episode of gossip girl while I knit the beginning of a scarf I would like to give away for the holidays. Knitting is a new hobby of mine, while a little frustrating because I add and subtract stitches as I go and often have to take a couple rows out at a time, I am becoming a lot faster and more comfortable with the needles. This pattern scarf consists of knitting two stitches, then purling two stitches creating a perfect ribbed effect. I couldn't think of a better way to come home after a days work and in the midst of cold winter, such a perfect way to unwind after a busy day.

Good Morning Sunshine

For anyone who knows me, mornings are not my thing. I would much rather sleep sleep until noon, continue to lounge around all day and in turn get absolutely nothing done. However, this morning was quite different. I woke up bright and early, well for me 10 o'clock is early especially on a day on off. First thought was I NEED coffee!! After my first few sips, I decided today was going to be a very productive day. I have a lot of work to do on my portfolio to land me that dream job, and what better way to start off a day with a yummy coffee, a dose of the newest Vogue magazines and my Adobe Illustrator program to help me design with some new inspiration. I am designing a ready to wear women's line, for fall/winter 2011 complete with velvet, fur, sequins, silk and hand knit accessories. I am very inspired and excited and looking forward to the finished product. Until then, I am going to try this whole getting up early and being productive gig, because I think it is going to pay off.

Oh, New York, New York

Take me back to October, that crisp fall night in New York City with my best friends. New York City is where my heart is. Everything about the city at night is so glamorous. Channeling my inner most gossip girl, I sported thigh high black suede boots that only come out on certain nights, with a simple LBD wrapped in a cropped black fur coat. My glamorous friends in leather, sequins, and fur made us look like we belonged in the city and knew where to go. Don't let the fashionable outfits fool you, we got lost quite a few times, talked to some people we probably shouldn't, got involved in a dance off on the subway and had way too much fun for one night. I can't wait to be back in the city, this time hopefully for an extended visit with a job worth dying for.

xoxo Gossip Girl

Belts, Belts, Belts

Belts are my best friend. They serve so many purposes from holding pants up, to creating a smaller waist line or maybe just a decoration around your waist. I work at Nordstrom, on the second floor. Belts....on the first floor. I spend my days running up and down the escalator grabbing belts for every customer to complete their outfits. I mean I'm not complaining since I pass it off as a workout instead of going to the gym, but I just can't help my belt obsession that I pass onto each one of my customers. In conclusion besides being named the belt queen, I have made a belt of my own, out of ribbons to be precise. This amazing ribbon belt was made by cutting 6 inch strips on ribbon and then tying it onto a larger ribbon which will then tie around your waist. This belt took 10 minutes of my time, making it the perfect handmade gift giving idea for the holidays. Next up...a feather belt with some beading if I'm feeling extra adventurous.