November Endings

Shirt and Purse from H & M, Michael Kors Watch, the rest is SUPER old and probably from Wet Seal, The Body Shop, or wherever I shopped during high school

This was my outfit for dinner on actual Thanksgiving night. (See here for when I do family turkey night.) Some friends and I went out to Sons of Essex in the Lower East Side for their awesome prix fixe meal with unlimited pumpkin ginger mimosas. And they like to plop those bubbly suckers down for replenishment even before you're done with what you're nursing. Needless to say, I don't remember what I ate. No, I do. Their truffle mac and cheese should be considered illegal. Illegale!!

Anyway, I sent the above pic to my mom, who immediately texted me, "Who took this photo? Your head looks huge and your legs look short." She is my ray of sunshine.

The Man with the Golden Gun...for Your Nails!

Gold is in this season, whether it's gold hardware on your purse or gold accents on your shoes. Even the nails are getting the luxury treatment...with 18K gold foil in OPI's 007-inspired The Man with the Golden Gun top coat.

images via opi.com

It is currently sold out in many stores and web sites.  I found a limited number of the polish on Amazon for $52.  

image via thewonderforest.com

image via pollypolish.com

image via shopaholic.com

What do you think? Is it worth the hype? I'll be definitely looking for any cheap copycat polish!

Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh

I get really excited about heading down to Pittsburgh every year to see my husband's family. Our celebration occurs on the weekend. We usually have about 2 dozen people gather together for order-in Chinese food on Friday, family games, arts & crafts, inappropriate jokes/conversation, and of course- awesome T-Day food on Saturday! 

2 things were going to sweeten the deal this year:

1) Fried turkey. I'm a sorry excuse for a Southerner.  I never had this before. Now, I can say I have. And it is freaking amazing.

HECK YEAH

2) My friend from LA, Thuy, was coming to join us for dinner with her boyfriend! This is what they arrived to once entering the house.

Club music and duct tape fashion. We do a contest every year for best design.

Our winning cousin.  Ladies, he's single. Yes, that's my niece behind him.   Everyone in the family is fairly subjected to the weirdness.

Would You...Tuxedo Stripes?

I remember hitting up my local Macy's and wearing this look back in high school.  I don't recall it being a huge fad.  (Yes,  I kind of marched to the beat of my own drum when it came to fashion.  Sometimes it worked. A lot of times it didn't.)

But now, I'm seeing many celebrities embracing this interesting hybrid of racing and tuxedo stripes on denim, leggings, leather, any material seems game!

image via peoplewatch.com

Blakey Lively and Miranda Kerr paired their stripes with a simple white top and heels.  These two tall gals don't need it, but a benefit of the stripes is the great illusion of elongating your legs.

The thicker stripes on Blake's pants and her more loose fit can lean toward resembling track pants. However, she manages to dress her pants up with statement jewelry, a dressy blouse, and feminine shoes.

I want to reiterate the key point of nice, fitted pants to go with the tuxedo stripe. I recall being in Korea in 2003 and seeing all of these women wearing actual workout track pants that were baggy with heels. Twas not a good look, in my opinion.

To get your own pair of similar pants, check out Rag & Bone tuxedo jeans and leggings online or at Nordstrom.

image via ragandbone.com

The Magic of Dry Shampoo: Just Spray and Go!

image via dailyglow.com

For most of my life, I dutifully washed my hair every single day. I felt so fresh from my habit of daily shampooing, imagining all the dirt and grime accumulated on my scalp getting flushed down the shower drain to oblivion. Mind you, I didn't even have oily hair. Yet, getting my lather on psychologically uplifted me to sparkling, pristine levels of cleanliness.

Fast forward to last year, when I warmed up to the foreign idea of washing one's hair only three to four times a week. In my adult life, I had gotten adventurous with regard to my hair. I went through several color treatments and experienced a couple of insane roller coaster rides between straight and curly perms. The end result was dry, processed hair.

I had read that the longer, thicker, and more processed the hair, the longer it can go between washes. The oils from the scalp don't travel down the hair shaft as quickly, so the hair tends to be more dry and requires less frequent shampooing. Also, overwashing can cause hair color to fade and dry hair out, leading to breakage and extra damage. Although I had the research to reassure me that it was indeed ok to let a day or two go without a washing, I still felt paranoid about greasy locks and hair odor. My worries subsided when dry shampoo became my best friend.  

image via schwarzkopf.com

Free Personal Shopping Appointments at Topshop

Perhaps you are the target of friends wanting to get you on those crazy makeover shows or you just need a little help throwing some fabulous outfits together.  Now, personal shoppers aren't only for celebrities or socialites. And if you live in NYC, you can get the service free compliments of Topshop!

image via topshop.com

Check out their services!