Met Fashion Blog

The Metropolitan Museum website has a blog called blog.mode: addressing fashion. I'm not sure if this is a temporary 'online exhibit' or if they will always do this... it says until april 13th, so perhaps this is temporary. It's an interesting idea, and an incredibly fun place to browse. They has some amazing pieces which I assume are from their own archives with a description about each. It's like a mini history lesson/Vogue-flip-through all in one. I love it, and will be spending quite a bit of time here...
(photo of Alexander McQueen's 'Oyster Dress' from March 10th entry)

Room Service

Today I am totally exhausted. We had a photoshoot at the archive and I had never realised how much time goes into them. Right now I'd like to climb into one (anyone) of these lovely bedrooms as seen on the Living Etc website. I have tomorrow off, and would really like to work on my bedroom and dressing room. I'd love to make it more fabulous and glamorous (I'll have to do it while Erik is out... not sure that's really his style...uh...yeah, not so much) I'll have to wait until the weekend to find any old furniture to re-paint, but for now I'll do what I can...

This room would go perfectly with my gold indian-inspired sandals...

This one calls for more of a satin kitten heel...

Gold vintage ballroom-like heels perhaps?

Yellow leather flats I'd say...

Turquoise peep toes please.

(all images from Living Etc)

I Can't Be Mad at You Forever...

We were in a fight, but I suppose I can forgive you...I can't hold a grudge against shoes like this....

Thank you Anthropologie...just for being your gosh-darn-un-stay-mad-at-able-at self. sigh.

JUMP!

Everywhere I'm seeing these, jumpsuits/playsuits/rompers... whatever you wish to call them. At first I was aghast... Are we 3 years old!? Are they even flattering? And if you go to the restroom with one of your girlfriends (because females often travel to the loos in twos)...you will be awkwardly sitting on the commode topless! Then I thought, hmmm... it does look playful (if we are in fact going for a playful Rollergirl from Boogie Nights look), you don't have to choose a top and bottom to wear... great for the beach perhaps? The safari one may be cute in heels? I'm still not sure what I think...we'll see...
(above from Old Navy.)


The Gap.


Diane Von Furstenberg.


David David. Which is funny because my friend Yasmin's boyfriend in high school was actually named David David. For real! First and last name! Different middle name however...Why be predictable, no?.

8 Women

As I was sitting on the sofa painstakingly sewing sequins onto an old dress, I stumbled upon the most stylishly fun film ever. After searching Catherine Deneuve, French films, and musicals, I came upon my answer, the film,8 Women. The costumes! The colors! The wallpaper! The furniture! the style! I'm loving it.

However...one teensy problem... our cable here in Israel only subtitles foreign films into Hebrew... and I don't speak French, so I have no idea what is going on... Ah well, I'll have to rent it again while I'm home. But, for now, with no understanding, it's a treat to watch.

Am I Speaking Too Loudly??

As if the weather can hear me, after all my bragging of how great and hot it was here, of how it was the perfect beach temperature, (I'm not the only one who thought this...hoards of men had rifled through their closets to find their speedos, despite the fact they were still in 'winter body' mode) I'm now left with grey-ish white skies. Perhaps the only thing that could bring a sun-worshipping girl out of this funk would be this ensemble, all available at Urban Outfitters.

Mod Squad

Really?!? This is Banana Republic? That's what I said when I saw these dresses. Way to go... no more boring-woman-clothes who wear pantsuits and 'slacks'. These are the types of dresses that you can spy on people while sipping coffee at an outdoor cafe on a cobble street wearing enormous sunglasses, waiting for your date to whisk you away on his vespa. Now that's what I'm talking about...

Squint

There was a piece in British Vogue's March issue about new upholsterers taking on a more fashion angle with their pieces. Interesting, and a fun way to think of dressing your house. I was taken by Lisa Whatmough's company Squint. She takes vintage fabrics, old Japanese silks, Indian pieces and patchworks them all to cover the furniture. It has a neat look, although if you had one of these in your place, you'd have to be careful with what else was in the room so as not to look too cluttered. I've seen this kind of idea...in Anthropologie maybe? and cheaper ones in Urban Outfitters (perhaps copying her? I'm not sure...). But I'm liking it, and glad that in a time of Ikea with our disposable futon covers, the job of an upholster is getting more and more creative.

Back to What I was Saying...

So yes, I started loving Steve Madden shoes when I found my green ones last year. Last spring I went to Las Vegas for the first time. Erik had work meetings, so I spent my day shopping. I bought these amazing peep toe red patent leather heels with a blue suede and white leather stripe across the front. I then stupidly packed them into storage in California. I didn't think I'd wear them here...which maybe I wouldn't have, but at least I could have gazed at them... ah well... It'll just be that much more fun when we move back and I unpack the lovelies.

(**On a side note, my friends Ben and Melissa just had a beautiful baby girl!!!! YAY!!!**)

THE trip...again..

Ok, so here are some phototoes! We drove north of our apartment to Akko, it's maybe 20 or 30 minutes north of Haifa. It's one of the oldest ports in the world.


Beautiful water against old ruins...we had a perfectly perfect birthday lunch.... and as usual, ordered waaay too much. oops.

After the food and then buying our coral and shells, we continued driving north to the most northern point, at the Lebanon border.

There we went down a cable car and into these amazing grottos in the rock.

Dark caves with bright turquoise water and the sound of bats... so amazing.

The border...

And yes... I wore my favorite shoes, which are, by the way, Steve Madden from about a year ago (I know, I was surprised myself when I first found them, which then started a love affair between me and the shoe company, but that's for another time...) These babies hiked though slippery cliffs and looked amazing while they did.

Then, as if the day couldn't get any better, we arrived at the zimmer (cabin) that erik had booked for the night. It was absolutely perfect. The place was INCREDIBLE! Apparently a lot of Israeli couples go there to propose... I almost gave the ring back to erik to have him re-ask me here... but my original proposal was pretty awesome... Ok getting off track...
this was the view we had...

In the distance you can see the sea, and yes, that is a hot tub on our own private deck...

There was also a flat screen tv with cable... we watched and were amazed by the Animal Planet.... what an awesome channel. and..wait for it... a massage chair. So basically out time was spent pushing the other one out of the massage chair and going in and out of the hot tub. It was the best. I went to bed pretty early and fell into the most perfect sleep on a bed that felt like marshmallows.... then in the middle of the night, I heard what sounded like 20 drunk people saying "wooo!!! Wooo!!!" I thought... that's weird... I mean, we're in the middle of nowhere.... there can't even be 20 people around here and why are they out screaming on a wednesday night, and why isn't anyone YELLING at them!?!! So then I got up, and listened more... no ha!, these were not drunk people celebrating, they were WILD ANIMALS!! I'm not sure if they were coyotes, or maybe foxes? ( I have to ask Sheila, she always knows the answers to things like this). I tried to wake up erik, but he was fast asleep.
Ok, so next morning, i jumped out of bed at 7 to maximize my time there. I loved it, it was so peaceful, and I never say that about places, I leave that to the people who wear birkenstocks and drink herbal tea, I prefer to be in places that stress me out. But this place was truly great. Until, the incident... Similiar to an experience I had in the Philippines when I was 15..... I picked up my swimming skirt off of the counter and out flew an enormous centipede thing... it landed on the floor and I SCREAMED. Then, as if on cue, a lizard then jolted into the bathroom.... was he trying to save me??? and I knew no one would believe me, so when the nasty multi-legged creature ran up the wall, I took a photo.
Gross, right?? (it was about 5 inches long)

But then breakfast arrived, and I forgot all about the yucky insect...

We then began our trip back home with some vineyard stops on the way.

We then stopped for lunch at a restaurant with amazing views...

and shoes....

and then a perfect sunset drive home...

I've decided that with the year 31, I want to wear great shoes everyday... we'll see if this lasts into the summer with our 100 degree weather that only calls for reef flip flops.... but for now, my marc jacobs, erik and I are going out for sushi.