J'adore . . . Emmy Fashion

Lea Michele from Glee

One of my favorites from last night's Emmy Awards. They styling is perfect with the sparkling yet not over-the-top necklace. I also love that she wore her hair down, it keeps the look young and fresh.

Problem Solved!

My eye cream drama is on hiatus . . . yesterday I was lucky enough to find Kiehl's SPF 15 Eye Gel still in stock at Blue Mercury! I stocked up on a good six months worth, so that should give me plenty of time to find a replacement.

Many thanks to those of you that offered suggestions and advice.

This weekend I am finally getting a new Blackberry with a camera; long overdue. HAPPY FRIDAY!

Eye Cream Emergency

So today I logged on to the Kiehl's website to restock on some skincare products and what did I discover? They seem to have discontinued my favorite eye cream, Ultra Facial Moisturizing Eye Gel with SPF 15, and replaced it with . . . well, nothing!


I have very sensitive skin, particularly around the eye area; I have ocular rosacea--similar to the skin condition, but instead of red and irritated skin, I get red and irritated eyes from time to time--and any type of irritation or allergy seems to set it off. I have tried many, many different eye creams. All of which have resulted in bumps or redness breaking out around my eyes EXCEPT for the Kiehl's eye gel and Clinique All About Eyes, which I use at night by itself and during the day as a first layer under the Kiehl's eye gel.

So the question, what new product to try? Clinique is generally a safe choice, but they have no eye products with SPF. One possibility I came across is Korres Evening Primrose Eye Cream with SPF 6. But SPF 6 is kind of low I think, yes?

What kind of eye cream do you use?

One can dream . . .

The current issue of The Improper Bostonian (a biweekly magazine distributed free in the Boston area) features a gorgeous fall fashion spread.

I'm now dreaming of these black and brown Christian Louboutin boots and Armani jacket!


For the complete feature and details: www.improper.com/features/farewell-my-lovely/

Loving Lilly . . .

My Lilly swimsuit orders arrived early this evening and I love them! Two tankinis for me and a one-piece for my mother. There is always a risk when buying swimwear online because you can't try before you buy, so I was excited to try them on and find out that both tankini sets fit well and look great. In fact, I should have gotten a matching bikini top for each to make two sets out of one - must remember that for the next sale!

I also found surprises in each box - one had a lovely keyfob in "what the shell" patchwork and the other a cosmetic bag in "not so crabby". What a pleasant surprise and a bright end to this dreary, rainy day in Massachusetts!

p.s. Obviously I bought matching bottoms - what kind of beach would that be? Ha, ha! But seriously, the bottoms were only $9, such a great deal!

Flying By

August is flying by and it is hard to believe that the summer is almost over! I savored another beach day on Saturday. I went down to the Cape to spend time with some of my closest friends from law school and we had a fantastic time!

One thing summer's approaching end means is that my mother and I have been working hard to prepare for the fall craft fair season . . . she has been crocheting up a storm all summer and I have been working on a new website, business cards, and new jewelry. Here is a peek at some of my mother's beautiful crocheted pieces:


A note for you New Englanders who are reading, if you ever hear of a craft fair or festival (perhaps a holiday shopping night at your child's school or a fair in your community), please please let me know! We are still filling our schedule of fairs from September through December in Massachusetts.

What I'm Reading Now

C'est la Vie by Suzy Gershman

Suzy Gershman is a journalist/travel writer and is the author of the Born to Shop series of guidebooks. When Ms. Gershman's husband passed away from lung cancer in 2000, she decided to fulfill their dream of moving to Paris. The book chronicles her first year in the City of Lights. I am about halfway through so far and find her perspective on Paris and the tidbits presented about setting up a life there fascinating - from shopping at the outlets for Porthault sheet sets to mistakenly ordering a couch that won't fit through her apartment door.

I recently tried another travel memoir, A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi and I've set it aside for a while because, frankly, it makes no sense! The book begins with an Italian man seeing Ms. de Blasi on the street in Venice and falling instantly in love with her, then following her back to the U.S. Sounds romantic, yes? But, unfortunately, 30 pages in I still had no clue who the author is, why she was in Venice, who the Italian man is, etc.

Luckily, both books were bargains - one marked down at Borders and the other at a local used bookstore. You win some, you lose some I guess!

Are you reading anything good right now?

How was your weekend?

The weekend is over and here we are at Monday again . . . how was your weekend? My Friday the 13th started out with some good luck (I found the exact jeans I had been looking for at TJ Maxx on a quick lunchtime trip when I actually went into the store looking for something else) and somewhat bad luck (I lost my ATM card, but luckily was able to get it back!). Friday evening I enjoyed dinner at Legal Seafoods in Boston and then a birthday party for a dear great aunt who turned 89(!).

Saturday I enjoyed some sunshine, ran errands, and did this fun task:


Ironing! I usually try to iron a bunch of clothes at once and line them up in outfits in my wardrobe (and away from the non-ironed stuff in my closet). So usually, I relegate ironing to just once a week, or even once every 2 weeks, depending on how good I am at planning.

Sunday I went shopping with my mother. One of the stores we hit at the end of the day was Costco as they are offering discounted Universal Orlando park tickets (3 days to use anytime between now and the end of 2013). We're planning a Florida trip for next March and this weekend was tax-free weekend in Massachusetts so the timing was perfect! And although Costco was busy, it was not too crazy. There were alot of people buying big purchases like tv's. We only have a clothing tax on individual items over $175, so unlike Costco, stores like J Crew - where I found two pretty sweaters - were quite empty!

Perfectly PInk Foyer

I love the contrast of the very traditional elements of this foyer: the elaborate molding, chandelier, classic side table and mirror, and blue and white jar with the pink walls and black painted steps. So chic!

5th Avenue, 5am

This book is definitely going on my reading list:

Fifth Avenue, 5 a.m. is an accounting of the making of the iconic movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. Although I must confess that Sabrina is actually my favorite Audrey Hepburn movie, I also love Breakfast at Tiffany's.

One interesting fact shared in the book, the movie was only filmed for one week in Manhattan! The rest was shot in sunny California where Audrey Hepburn had recently had a baby.

From the New York Times book review by

In 1961 Paramount Pictures’ publicity department attempted a remarkable acrobatic feat. It tried to explain why Holly Golightly — the professionally adorable heroine of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” a woman who stayed out all night and regularly accepted $50 gratuities from sundry gentlemen friends — was actually squeaky-clean.

“Since Miss Audrey Hepburn has never played any part that has suggested she was anything but pure, polite and possibly a princess,” said one desperate press release, “a hard look at Miss Golightly is in order.”

Sam Wasson’s “Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.” is willing to take a fond and incisive look, if not Paramount’s self-importantly tough one. This alluring little book is devoted to the contradictions that pervade “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”: the contrivances that kept it so frothy, the weirdly backhanded feminist message (Holly was certainly free spirited) and the unusual place occupied by this sprite, her evening gown and her 5 a.m. Fifth Avenue Danish in the history of American film . . .

Like Wearing Slippers!

I stopped into J Crew on Thursday evening to return a swimsuit for my mother and tried on these beauties while I was there:

Studded Ballet Flats

I have to say, they are SO comfortable! I have two pairs of their classic ballet flats (courtesy of TJ Maxx - see here) and have always found them to be perfectly comfortable for the office or an afternoon out, but I wouldn't exactly call them walking shoes. These, however, are definitely a step up. They have more cushioning, a rubber sole, and a small hidden platform that gives them the little lift you sometimes need with a pair of a pants or a slightly longer skirt to ensure you don't look flat and frumpy.

I didn't buy them yet, but will hopefully add them to my closet in the early fall--I'm hoping for a sale, as I hate to buy things full-price!

I hope your weekend is off to a great start! I have some closet cleaning to do this morning and then I'm headed out into that beautiful sunshine and 70-something temps we're expecting today in Massachusetts. Happy Saturday!

Elephants, PJ's, and Target . . . oh my!

Last night I picked up pajama pants in this cute elephant print at Target! I love all things elephants - my maternal grandmother loved them and always said they represented good luck - especially if the tusks are up! I have a pretty gold elephant charm and a collection of figurines which were hers and I have added to through the years.

Most of the PJ's were on sale, so in addition to the pajama pants, I got shorts and a matching tee (the tee was literally $1.98 - crazy!) and a tank and shorts set. So if you're in need of an update to your sleeping wardrobe, head on over to Target this week!

I also found the perfect pink plastic and metal baskets for craft fair displays in the OneSpot - love bargains!!

August Already? Savor Summer!

Wow, I cannot believe it's already August. I hope you enjoyed the last weekend of July! I enjoyed Friday off from work, some time at the beach, a fantastic Red Sox game ("walk-off Big Papi" is back!), and outlet shopping.

So let's savor August and think summer - One of my essential summer drinks is iced tea. My favorite to buy already prepared is Starbucks black or green iced tea. I also love to have iced tea at home, but I hate the process of boiling the water, brewing it, and then letting it cool (I have to admit that I have little patience when it comes to all things remotely related to cooking). The solution I discovered --

Twinings English Classic Cold Brewed Iced Tea

All you do is drop the teabag in a glass of cold water and ice and let it sit for about 3 minutes - voila, perfect iced tea without the fake sugar and citric acid in other "on the go" iced tea products like Crystal Light. The only catch, I bought a box of it at the Twinings Tea Shop at Epcot in Disney World this past winter and haven't been able to find it any local supermarkets. Luckily, you can order them direct from the Twinings website. I am also hoping to stop into the original Twinings Tea Shop when I'm in London in September.

What is your favorite iced tea? Have you seen any cold-brewed varieties like this one?