Orange You Glad?

Mixing my professional and casual wardrobes is sometimes a challenge for me.  I'm always afraid of looking too masculine if I wear a button-down shirt outside of work.  A while ago, I saw a picture of some editor of something dancing at a party with a button-down shirt knotted in the front.  Since it looked good on her, I decided to try it with a silky, over-sized blouse from Express.  I was pretty happy knotting my shirt like I used to do back in the 90's.  I never got away with it for long back then, my mother always told me to put my shirt down.  My five year old self probably wasn't smart enough to remember the tank underneath all the time, haha.

Speaking of, are the 90's making another go 'round? Neon is out in full force, that's for sure, and I've started noticing more tops with knotted features. I think these things are ok, as long as no one is gathering their baggy tee shirts to the side and holding them there with a scrunchy.  Really, as long as the scrunchy doesn't make a comeback, we'll survive.

Notice something different about my pictures today? They're outside! I asked the Writer to play photographer for me, so we went out side for some shots.  It was a little windy and brisk, but I'm sure we were all sick of seeing my pantry doors. I'm not yet comfortable taking my tripod outside with me as some of my male neighbors have been known to be fairly rude.

What I'm Wearing:

Tank: The Limited

White Button-Down: Express 

Jeans: Charlottle Russe (I think)

Ankle Boots: Blowfish

CIAO!

"A Finer Night You Know You'll Never See"

Even though it has been almost a week since Valentine's Day, I wanted to share some pictures and details of my date night with The Writer.

My knight in shining armor arrived at my door bearing a beautiful bouquet of flowers:

Each of us opened our gifts from the other before heading off to the local art museum to take a spin through the galleries before dinner.  My presents make me smile, not only because I love them, but because they prove how well The Writer knows me and how thoughtful he is.  He ordered in chocolates from Sockerbit, a NYC candy store that I'd visited and raved about last summer.  They are delicious!  He also found The Sartorialist's book of street style photos for me. Hello, endless inspiration!

After the art museum, which was quite enjoyable, we continued on for a late dinner at Kozmo's, a reclaimed laundromat.  What used to be a very utilitarian space is now a spacious, yet cozy, dining establishment.  The floor and parts of the walls that aren't exposed brick are perfectly stained to reflect a familiar glow and the booths are big enough to lie down in, not that we tried.

When we'd finished our scrumptious meals,  we came back to my apartment for champagne and strawberries and other desserts I'd spent the day making.  I might've gone a little overboard on the sweets, since we still have quite a few left over.  It was fun having a variety and I'm pretty sure The Writer was in sugar heaven.

Our Feast!

Strawberry and Blackberry Thumbprint Cookies 

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Covered Brownies

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Happy Valentine's Day!

Title: Cinderella by Rogers & Hammerstein

The Swing of Things

There I go, being a horrible blogger and not updating in forever again...

Work has been especially busy since we've been short staffed, but I don't want to talk about work on my blog, so that's as far as I'm going to take that excuse.  Even if I weren't camera-less once again, I've been too wiped out from overtime, etc. to put as much thought into putting together outfits anyway.  I'm ashamed!

I had a shocking realization yesterday, the 15th: Christmas is in 10 days!  Aaahh! I feel like there are so many things left to do.  I put up my Christmas tree last night while watching Roman Holiday, but I fell asleep before the tree or the movie were finished.  With Christmas now nine days away, this also means that my parents will be here in less than a week.  I've already got a to-do list forming in my head, oy vey.

 What I'm Wearing:

Flutter Tank: Candie's (Kohls)

Open Front Cardigan: Mossimo (Target)

Houndstooth Pencil Skirt: The Limited

Black Pantyhose: Who knows?

Buckle Pumps: Christian Siriano for Payless

I'm sad to report that I've worn these shoes to work everyday this week.  Not that I dislike them, but it tells me I'm lacking creativity in my clothing choices when the same pair of shoes matches every outfit for four days straight.  I think another pair of black shoes are on my shopping list for after Christmas, when my credit card balance isn't quite so scary, or today, you never know. Haha.  The Writer's mom recently sent me Confessions of a Shopaholic to read.  I hope she was just passing it on after enjoying it herself, which I'm sure is the case, rather than trying to tell me something, haha.

Speaking of my dear Writer, he's graduating from college tonight!  I'm so excited for him, especially since he found out a few days that he got a better grade than he expected in his most difficult class.  This day seemed so far away when we first started dating.  I'm glad its finally here and all his hard work (and he has worked very hard) has paid off.  I'm so proud!

Last Friday Night

Last Friday night went a little differently than I'd planned.  It was The Writer's mom's last day in town before flying back to Florida, so they were hanging out and I'd planned on putting my feet up and relaxing after a long day at work.  As I was walking in from my car, I noticed that my garage door was open.  This was unusual, since I'd had a padlock on it since I'd moved in.  After further inspection, I discovered that whoever had cut the lock from the door had also take both mine and The Writer's mountain bikes.  I was so shocked. I thought I lived in a really safe area and had nothing to worry about, though I kept my doors locked anyway.  I filed a police report, but I have a feeling our bicycles are gone for good.

It would be a little silly to run out and get a new bike now, or even ask for one for Christmas, since Ohio will be covered in snow sooner rather than later.  I've been searching around, nonetheless, to see what's out there.  My parents got me my mountain bike when I was ten years old, maybe.  It was great for riding around camp, but since I'm not much for camping anymore, I think I may look into more of a casual, cruising-type bike, if there is such a thing.  Something maybe like this:

source

Or maybe one in mint:

source

How cute are these saddlebags?! And in Va-Voom red? Oo La!

source

I Need Tweed!

I almost squealed with delight when I saw this dress!

I literally squealed when I was given this jacket.  Its my first Topshop piece!

 The Writer picked this jacket out for me during his trip to London last year.  We'd just started dating when he left, yet he was so thoughtful in his shopping (and in many other ways).  I think my personal style is just growing into the pieces now, but I've always loved them.  Who knew my boyfriend was so avant garde?

What I'm Wearing:

Tweed Sleeveless Dress: The Limited

Embellished Jacket: Topshop

Bow Pumps: Mudd

Nails: "Bobbing for Baubles" by Essie

An attempt to get close up with the swirls that cover the jacket

NYC in Photos

Since my camera broke several days into my trip, I was either camera-less or borrowing my boyfriends.  This meant that many of my posts didn't have and snapshots to go with them right away.  I thought, rather than go back and amend all prior NYC posts, why not just post 'em all, album style? Enjoy!

In Central Park: First thing we did together : )

@ The Fireworks: Tired and sweaty from a
long day of travel and walking

By the Jackie O. Resevior on our way to The Gugg

The Guggenheim

Me, in somewhat recycled but favorite outfit

@MoMA's Free Friday Nights

Broadway Boogie Woogie: A favorite

My squirrel friend in Battery Park

@ The Cloisters

Cloisters Garden

Another garden!

Just a little Tiffany (@the Met)

One of my SoHo finds. The light fabric was
great in the heat

Me & Hatshepsut know how to pose!

I love his sense of humor!

Art & Sugar

My last full day in New York City was certainly full of excitement!  The main event on our agenda was to take advantage of the two-for-one Metropolitan Museum of Art/The Cloisters admission and see them both.  We'd intended to see the Met first and then rush up to The Cloisters before they closed, but we accidentally got on an express train that changed our minds for us.

The Cloisters

When we got out of the subway, we walked through the beautiful Fort Tryon Park which boasts incredible views of the river and beautiful and well maintained flower gardens.  It would be a great picnic spot, just saying.  By the time we arrived at the medieval looking building, I was glad for the air conditioning.  We spent a few hours looking over the artwork and admiring the architecture, some of which was actual pieces of old monasteries and the like that had been shipped over from Europe.  I'm so glad to have a boyfriend that likes going to museums and engaging in thoughtful conversations about the work in them.  I was a very happy girl that day.

A chapel in The Cloisters

One of many lovely gardens

We knew we weren't going to have enough time to see all of the Met, so when we got there, we took a moment to grab some lunch (the Met cafeteria puts potato chips on their mac & cheese, just sayin') and pinpoint the galleries we wanted to see the most.  For The Writer, it was the Arms and Armor and I wanted to make sure we got to the Egyptian wing and temple.  We also managed to make it through some of the painting and photography before the guards decided it was time for us to go.  I'd wanted to see the McQueen exhibit, but we'd heard the wait was an hour and a half and we didn't have that much time there.  Unfortunately the exhibit will be closing a mere three days before I return to Manhattan.

Since we'd had a late lunch, we weren't quite hungry for dinner when the museum closed.  We were, we decidedly, quite ready for some ice cream.  On our way to the subway that would take us down to Lula's, I spotted a sign in the window of Purple Elephant Cake Boutique that said they had vegan cupcakes.  While neither of us are anywhere close to being vegan, The Writer's lactose intolerance keeps us on the hunt for dairy-free treats and vegan is always a safe choice.  We stopped in and got a few cupcakes, even though we were on our way to eat ice cream.  He had a vanilla cupcake with chocolate icing and I had a sweet-n-salty vanilla cupcake.  I used to never be a cake person, I preferred fruity treats like pies, but this trip ruined me. I officially like cake.

Not letting the fact that we'd just had super sweet cupcake deter us, we continued downtown to Lula's and enjoyed our vegan ice cream cones.  Dinner, at this point, was out of the question.  We were too full on cupcakes and ice cream.  We did feel quite kiddish, having had every kids' dream dinner, so we decided to go to FAO Schwartz because what kid doesn't want to go to a toy store after a sugar-filled meal?  Unfortunately, it had closed by the time we got there. Bedtime, I guess.  Plan B was to stroll casually through the lobby and shops of The Plaza hotel, just to check it out.  I wouldn't mind staying there sometime, that's for sure.

We walked around the park area for a bit before grabbing some groceries and heading to bed.  It seemed the sugar rush we'd ingested was no match for the mileage we'd covered that day.

*Photos by The Writer. I borrowed his camera for a few shots, but most (not obviously taken with a webcam or otherwise cited) are from his camera, as mine is broken : ( *

Bargains, Bubble Tea, and Boats

Who doesn't like to sleep in on a Monday?  Since The Writer's "weekend" begins on Mondays, that's exactly what we did.  Even though we knew we had a lot to pack into his last two free days of my visit, we still got off to a pretty slow start.

Once we did get moving, we went down to check out Century 21, a store of hugely discounted designer duds.  We'd gotten off the subway right by the World Trade Center site, but like I'd noticed before, there wasn't much to see.  Once we got to Century 21 it was a madhouse.  The deals were certainly good, so I understand the rush.  The Writer found himself a new gray Tommy Hilfiger suit for over half off!  We left the store in search of the tailor shop they'd referred us to (my love has long arms, apparently) and some lunch. What an experience the tailor shop was! The older Italian gentleman running the place shared that he's been working in a tailor shop since he was seven years old.  Now that's a family business!

We got some sandwiche from Pret (baguette!) and started walking towards Battery Park for a picnic.  Along the way, I spotted a bubble tea street vendor.  I hadn't had bubble tea in such a long time. For a while, I was working at a coffee shop that made it and could have it any time I wanted.  Unfortunately, those days were over but I was about to rekindle my love of bubble tea just as I'd reawakened my love of baguette sandwiches.  The Writer was not a fan of my litchi bubble tea.

The Writer being silly

After our little picnic, we decided to investigate Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island ferry passes.  I wasn't initially interested in going out to see the landmarks, but it was something The Writer had really been wanting to do, so we went. I'm so glad we did!  We didn't spend too much time on Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty is located because we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time in the Ellis Island museum.  We got back on the ferry after snapping some photos and walking a bit on the island.

I had to give it a try

I admit I haven't been much of a museum person in the past. Maybe it's because I'm usually being dragged through them by my parents who are either moving too slow or too quickly, but I really enjoy them with The Writer.  He'd been to the Ellis Island museum before so he knew which parts were absolutely necessary to see before the last ferry left.  Seeing the giant rooms where the incoming immigrants waited and hearing their stories was so interesting.  I wish we'd had a little more time to spend out there.

On Liberty Island with the Manhattan skyline in the background

Tired from our busy day, we had some Asian Fusion cuisine at Alpha around the corner from his residences.  I had the best spicy tuna roll that I've ever eaten there.  It was absolutely delicious.  The Writer had the sesame chicken, which I sampled and found was delectable in its own right.  After dinner, we decided to get some cool treats at Rita's.  Their melon/tropical flavors are just what I want when I'm craving something cold and sweet.  I had the honeydew again, but this time mixed it with cantaloupe and passionfruit as well.  Our night ended with a long, lovely stroll down Broadway in the Upper West Side.

Manhattan in Heels

One should never take it to be a good sign when your first stop of the day is at the drug store to buy Band Aids for your feet.  All throughout my trip, I'd been seeing these women walking around in heels.  I'd brought one of my more comfortable pairs to wear with my orange Target dress and figured I'd give them a go on Friday.  I don't know how they do it!  I was silly to think that one or two Band Aids would make traipsing around Manhattan in four inch wedges bearable.  It did make me painfully aware of just how much I walk in a day around here.

After some lunch at Whole Foods with The Writer, I decided to check out Ground Zero.  I'd never seen the  former site of the World Trade Center towers even though I'd had several opportunities.  Truthfully, when I got there, there wasn't much to see except a construction site and part of a new skyscraper. I didn't walk around too much before heading towards the South Street Seaport.  The walk looked like a short distance on the map but it turned out to be quite long and crowded, especially in heels.  Due to the humidity and the threat of rain, I headed back uptown to rest my feet in Border's.

The Writer met me there after he got out of work and we went over to take advantage of Target Free Friday Nights at The Museum of Modern Art.  Still in my devil shoes, I hobbled around the galleries with the help of my love.  He was excited to see several pieces by Roy Lichtenstein, one of his favorite pop artists, and Van Gogh's Starry Night.  I could've spent a good part of forever in a smaller room with walls covered by four magnificent Monet's.  We were running out of time before the museum closed, but managed to see another favorite of mine, Mondrian's Broadway Boogie Woogie, before security herded us from the galleries.

Last on our agenda for the night was a trip to the Upper West Side for some Rita's Water Ice.  I hadn't had water ice in so long and it was just as good as I remembered.  I tried the new flavor, honeydew, and The Writer had raspberry.  I wish Rita's were as common as Starbucks, I would go there everyday.  Thankfully, bed was just a train ride away and I could finally take my shoes off and rest my exhausted feet.

New York City Solo

The Writer had to go back to work yesterday, which left me to explore the city on my own.  In all the times I've traveled to NYC, I've never had to navigate on my own.  I wasn't worried. I love subway systems and city grids, they make sense to me, unlike the winding country roads that swirl around until you have no idea who's cornfield you're in.

I hadn't slept especially well, so I spent a few hours in the morning reading in Borders and scouring Sephora's shelves for body care products that line up with my new obsession: paraben, mineral oil, and sodium laureth sulphate free.

Feeling rejuvenated from my lunch with The Writer, I headed down to SoHo for some shopping.  My first destination was Topshop.  I want to say that I loved it and never want to shop anywhere else, but that would be a lie.  I was most impressed by the shoes, however, I found the prices, in general, to be a little outside of my budget.  The clothes were of a higher quality than Forever 21, but had the same hipster shabbiness to them, for the most part. I did find a cute, vintage-inspired red and white polka dot dress that, if it weren't for the price tag, I probably would've bought.  It was 100% silk, and with the heat this week, I'm finding that all I want to wear are lightweight dresses.

I was about to give up on SoHo, but I decided to give a few more stores a try.  Right before a sun shower, I ducked into a little Japanese store with all kinds of interesting things.  It reminded me of a miniature, Asian Ikea.  I wish Ohio'd had one before I came here, because this store was stocked with all kinds of travel accessories.  After the rain, I stopped at another store that reminded me of Ikea.  This one had more furniture and housewares and made me want an apartment that needed decorating.  I then wandered into a little boutique stocked almost entirely of dresses and shoes. Ding, ding, ding!  I found a lightweight, black and white abstract print dress there.  It needs a slip,  but I can probably find one of those today so that I can wear the dress in the next week.

My last purchase of the day came from another boutique a little further down Broadway.  This one was crowded and less classy than I prefer, but I found the perfect maxi dress that I've been searching for.  I deal with a strange phenomenon when maxi dress shopping. Unlike many Americans, I have a waist and that waist needs to be defined by my clothes, otherwise I look like I'm wearing a sack.  Maxi dresses are particularly difficult to shop for, because so many of them feature a gathered empire waist and flow out from under the bust line.  These make me look like arms and a head perched on top of a prairie-like traffic cone. The tiered ones are the worst.  They may flatter thicker girls, but me? I disappear.  This maxi dress was different.  It's a slightly clingy rayon/spandex blend, is strapless, and features a drawstring waistline that falls not too far from my natural waist.  I love the teal color too--I see it being very versatile.  Possibly the best thing about it, it was only $19.99.  If you've shopped for maxi dresses lately, you know its hard to find a nice one on sale for even $30. and that's pushing it.

After that, I thought it best to remove myself from SoHo, lest I be tempted to keep shopping.  I took the train back uptown to meet The Writer for dinner at Otarian, his favorite vegan restaurant.  We had potato and spinach burgers and sweet potato chiplets. Yum!  We did some quick grocery shopping before heading home.

Later on, we took a nighttime stroll along the High Line.  It was every bit as cool as I'd imagined and I really enjoyed the quite walk with my love.  I'm having such a great time on this trip, I don't think I want to leave.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

It's official! At 6:55am on the Fourth of July, I will be flying to New York City and by 9:30am, hopefully, The Writer and I will be doing this:

I can't actually remember whether or not we were really kissing. We were being goofy, that's for sure. 9:30am is a little early for goofiness, but after being apart for over a month, I don't think it will matter much.

I have so many ideas and things I want to do.  I got an unexpected surprise when I went to purchase my tickets this morning: if I flew there on the Fourth of July, I could have an extra two days more than I'd planned for a lower price than the deal I'd originally found.

I'm so excited!  I had a dream a few nights ago that I became BFF's with Isaac Mizrahi at Starbucks and totally became his muse.  In my dream, he gave me a handbag that looked like a Marc Jacobs design from a few years ago.  Regardless, it was beautiful and we were fabulous. I think it's a good sign.

The Post in Which I Cry at Random Times

If I write this post, I may cry at work.  I've been crying less and less everyday since The Writer left for NYC.  I'm embarrassed that I've been so emotional, but the schedule of his departure and other things left me a wreck.  We spend a lot of amazing time together last week...oh shoot, here come the tears again.

I miss my nook--that place just inside his shoulder that my head fits into when we cuddle.  I miss his smell. I miss having someone to talk to during meals, car rides, and shopping trips.  I miss the way he'd hold me.  I miss feeling my bed sag in his direction and the way he'd pull me close to him right as we were waking up.  I miss the eye-rolls when I start yet another episode of Sex and the City.  I miss the random interruptions to our conversations when I fancy car goes by.

I'm buying my plane ticket next week, as long as all goes well.  Then the official countdown to reunion can begin.  Four-and-a-half weeks seems like a really long time, but it will mean that his internship is halfway over, we'll be together again in an exciting new city, and I won't have to be jealous that he can go to H&M and TopShop whenever he wants.  Until then, I suppose, I should relish having the covers to myself and...other things I like to do alone?

It's been hard getting into solo activities, because so many places around here hold memories of us.  Not that I don't want to think about him, but doing things alone that we used to do together while I'm still feeling ridiculously lonely only reminds me that I'm alone and that I miss him....and I hate crying, especially in public.

How Long Is June?

It's barely 3pm and I've already cried off all of my makeup.

I'm being a sap. I don't really have a reason to be crying. Sure, The Writer left for NYC today for his 10-week internship and I miss him, but seriously, Red, get a grip.

It's not that long. It'll fly by. We'll talk. We'll text. We'll Skype. I'll visit in five weeks. He'll still love me when he gets back. It'll all be ok.

I know this things are all true, so why am I still crying?

Let Them Eat Cake!

And eat cake, we did! Birthday cake, that is.

This weekend was The Writer's birthday.  I couldn't risk spoiling any of his surprises by posting them and I wanted photos, so I had to wait to share. The waiting is over!

The fact that I made a cake wasn't too surprising, but what was inside the cake was! It must be the cars, but he's a fan of the black and white checkerboard pattern.  Until this past semester, he carried a checkered Dickies messenger bag.  I saw a checkerboard cake kit online and knew it was perfect for him.  It wasn't the easiest or quickest project, but I think it turned out pretty well.

His next surprise was also the biggest one. I could hardly wait to give him this t-shirt.  Several months ago when we were in Florida, he saw a girl wearing a t-shirt with The Catcher in the Rye cover art on it and almost had a heart attack.  The Writer loves that book and it's cover art.  I accidentally found one online, thanks to StumbleUpon and Out of Print Clothing.  Out of Print Clothing donates a book to Books for Africa for every t-shirt they sell, which is pretty awesome.

 For dinner, I took him to Steak on a Stone, a really unique restaurant a few towns away.  They bring you your steak raw and you cook it yourself on an extremely hot volcanic rock that fits into the plate.  I'm not a steak eater, obviously, but it was definitely a fun experience for a carnivore like him.

Even though it wasn't my birthday, it was still one of the most fun days I've had in a while.  It was so relaxing to spend time together, walk in the park, and just generally enjoy ourselves.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to 

THIS GUY!

I've got all sorts of plans and surprises for his big day, but I have to wait to share them, lest I spill the beans. Why? Because The Writer now blogs, or is going to.

Read about his adventures as a CBS intern in NYC here.

Love you, Babe!

Friday Night Lights

Friday night, I did something very out of character for me.  The Writer and I ventured up to the nearest H&M, which was not the out of character thing that I did.  After we shopped and I used up my gift card and then some, we met The Roommate and her boyfriend in downtown Cleveland for an Indians baseball game.

I am not a baseball fan, nor am I from Ohio, so I can't say that a Cleveland baseball game was the most interesting or entertaining place for me to be.  However, the other three enjoy the games, so I did my best to be a good sport.  I was famished after a busy shopping trip, so my mood drastically improved after some ballpark pizza.  I even managed to follow along with the game a little bit and clap when I figured something good happened.  The Indians ended up winning the game in the bottom of the ninth inning - I clapped for that part. 

Us @ Progressive (Jacob's) Field

After the game, there was a fireworks show that was quite impressive! I've been to baseball games where they'd had fireworks, but none compared to this.  The fireworks were timed to a medley of cartoon theme songs, such as Alvin & the Chipmunks, The Simpsons, and Spongebob.  They definitely made sitting in the humidity worth it.

We opted out of hanging around the town after the game, since The Writer and I were both exhausted.  We didn't necessarily get out of the city right away because we were parked on the top deck of a parking garage and had to wait for everyone else to clear out before we could go.  We enjoyed the cool breeze and view of the city while we were waiting.  He'd been so busy with the end of his semester and I with my move that we had hardly had any time to simply sit and be together.  It was a great way to end the day.