Apartmentalizing

I spent a very hungover yesterday finally moving into my new apartment.  There is something so damn tricky about making an old NYC walk-up look as glam as I need it to, especially when there is a severe space issue happening.  How does an entire walk-in closet of clothes, shoes, scarves and bags translate to a mini closet (with no shelves)?  Where do I put all of the pots, pans, wine glasses, serving dishes and plates that previously lived in a big, open kitchen when I now have two cabinets and about six inches of countertop?  My relief at finally being settled in is now met with complete anxiety because I just have way too much stuff for a small apartment. 

So how do you girls do this?  Aside from storage units and storing sweaters in the oven (I cook way too much for this to ever work out), how do you make it work?  Obviously, there are bigger dramas in life than not having a walk-in closet, but I love being at home and comfortable in my home so I'm going to have to get on making this feel cozy in a hurry.  I've been talking with some of the girls at work and it's hilarious and comforting to hear that literally everyone has (or has had) a tiny apartment and all are fully capable of leading healthy and productive lives.  Me thinks it's time to shut up, quit my whining and remember that I definitely didn't move to NYC for the awesome and affordable real estate.

Want to giggle at other NYC apartment woes?  Click on this.

Wonderful Weekend

Have a great weekend my loves.  Are you following me on Pinterest yet?  If not...what are you waiting for?

Pop Quiz Hot Shot

I have a really strong nose memory and I am obsessed with Le Labo's Santal 26 candle.  It will forever and ever remind me of the way the lobby smells at the Gramercy Park Hotel (one of my favorite hotels in the city).  It's just musky, sexy and perfect.  The first G-Star Raw event that I worked on was that ridiculous FW08 show with the moving runway and Dennis Hopper reading Rudyard Kipling's "If."  It was beyond a-may-zing and you can refresh your memory here. 

Anyway, the day of the show, I spent a couple hours in the lobby with Dennis drinking tea and chatting in between his press appointments.  I can't begin to tell you how random, sweet and interesting he was.  When I left that day, the Santal 26 scent was lingering on my coat and I couldn't get enough.  I still can't.  So on that note, if any of you are looking for the perfect housewarming gift for my new apartment....now you can't go wrong.

Put a Ring on It

One of the girls in my office always wears the most delicate gold rings and I find myself lusting after them at least once a day.  I used to be into really big, chunky jewelry but I've gotta say - there is something really sexy about stacking subtle pieces.  Catbird is 100% my favorite source for exquisite, well curated jewelry and their skinny 14K gold rings are phenomenal.  The pricepoint is really affordable and who doesn't want a tiny heart, a sweet little ampersand or a stack of their whisper-thin threadbare rings around your finger? 

If you're feeling especially girly, you can snag an alphabet ring and wear your boyfriend, husband, or girlfriend's initial.  It's a little bit 15-year-old girl, but a sweet sentiment and a lot easier than getting a silly tattoo that you'll only end up regretting.

The next time you are in Brooklyn, do yourself a favor and swing by Catbird.  It's one of the best things on Bedford Ave...besides Rosemary's.

All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

A few months ago I made a really big mistake...

Around the beginning of 2012, things in my personal life were pretty crappy.  My life was changing in about every way it can (when not involving death or pregnancy) and I felt this intense need to simplify things.  I wasn't feeling like myself, I had moved across the country (for the second time in a year) and I thought that I had to cut out any unnecessary extravagances, lock it up and just get serious.  So I sold my Coachella tickets. 

Now if you know me, read this blog or have ever seen me out - you know that I love to dance around to very loud, very awesome music.  Put this loud, awesome music in the middle of a desert, add an electric carnival, awesome fashion, shirtless werewolves from True Blood, Radiohead, The Black Keys, Gotye, Swedish House Mafia, Avicii, David Guetta, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg and a performance by a hologrammed Tupac who is conveniently back from the dead?  That is my Disneyland.  That is everything.  Like I said...big mistake.

Coachella officially closed last night and judging by everyone's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, it looked too awesome for words.  Don't get me wrong, my East Coast weekend was great, fantastic actually, but this has now been the third year in a row that I've missed Coachella for one reason or another.  Mark my words, it won't happen again.  Next year...it.  is. on.

A friend of mine took this photo last night.  Sigh.



So enough whimpering and onto the clothes.  As always, Coachella is the unofficial beginning of summer fashion and as always, the pretty people did not disappoint.  Check out some of the bohemian-fabulousness below.

 Harley Viera-Newton.

 Kate Bosworth. 

Joe Manganiello. 

I mean...those guns should NEVER have sleeves covering them.

Fergie & Josh Duhamel.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

There is no one hotter than Rosie.

 Rihanna.

Hologram Tupac.

Twenty-Something

I just spent a great afternoon with some friends of mine and we started chatting about how lucky we are to be in our twenties and living in Manhattan.  As self-congratulatory as our conversation probably sounded, it's honestly 100% the truth.  We talked about how hard it was when we first got here, how little money we had and how we missed our families.  We talked about how nice it would have been to have someone talk us through this.  So to the kids who just moved to the city (if you any of you read this blog), here are our pearls of wisdom:

Being in your twenties is all about discovering which things hurt you and what makes you feel good.  You move to the city blindly around 22 years old, practically pricking yourself with a dull blade, and then you walk out (to the suburbs in your thirties) with a tougher skin.  This is what this time is for - to feel and see as much as you can, to take advantage of not being tied down to anything and anyone and to go balls to the wall with everything that you do.  You're a raw nerve.  You hate getting upset over little things, about being constantly unraveled by relationships that don't work, bosses, promotions, and friends, but you have to remember something: you're just starting to figure yourself out.  I'm almost 29 and I finally feel like I know who I am, what I want and what awesome pieces of myself I have to offer another person in my life.  

Even though sometimes it doesn't feel like it - anything is possible.  People are ready for you.  They want to hear what you have to say.  They look at you and are curious about what words are going to come out of your mouth.  Make a mark.  Make a stain.  Make something.  You should love every single moment of this hot mess of a decade because trust me, your butt will never look this good again.

It's important to talk about the greatness of these years because it seems like we spend so much of our time wanting to be somewhere other than where we are.  Think about it.  Why the hell are we in such a hurry to live some grown-up, adult life that we saw in a Pottery Barn catalog?  Don't get me wrong, I'm really excited to get married, to have a house and a yard with the right guy, but don't think for a second that I won't be nostalgic for these years.  Don't think for a second that I'm not going to miss the nights when I first moved here and put on too much makeup, changed five million times, drank cheap wine and spent my night at a silly party in the Lower East Side.  For all of you girls who are young, ambitious and have just made it to the island, you had better enjoy every awkward kiss, every 6AM hangover, every late-night indulgence, every crappy apartment because one day it will be gone and you'll just be left with the pictures and some really good stories.

On that note, a quick scroll through iPhoto reminded me of how badass the past eight years really have been...

Special thanks to Thought Catalog for inspiring some of the tips above.

Share the Love

There is something very sexy and intimate about giving a really cool piece of art as a gift.  Let me just start out by saying that I fancy myself an amazing gift giver.  A few years ago for Christmas I gave a boyfriend at the time this amazing watch and the sweetest love letter you can imagine.  I got a gift card.  To Best Buy.  I can't make these things up.  I think when it comes to someone you are dating or married to (even when it comes to some of your closest friends), gifts need to be well thought out and really from the heart.  Anything else is just really cheesy.  

The prints from Blacklist Studio Prints make it almost impossible to miss the mark.  Their entire line is about giving something you love to the one you love.  I mean....is there anything more delightful than that?  Check out my favorites below and tell me that you don't want each and every one of their prints.  They are perfect for any occasion - a birthday, Valentine's Day, anniversary, engagement, wedding - anything.  I mean, give me one of these on Arbor Day and I'm yours forever.

Images courtesy of the Blacklist Studio Prints website.

The Perfect Match

It's time.  After four years of having my BlackBerry almost surgically attached to my hand, I've got to move on to greener pastures...  It's time for an iPhone.  I flirted with one for about a week last summer and hated how hard it was to type so I returned it and came crawling back to my CrackBerry.  Fast forward to almost a year later when I find myself cursing the stupid thing on a daily basis.  Besides...I'm mainly doing this for Instagram and this InCase tortoise phone case.

It's also time for me get a pair of glasses.  I wear my contacts every day and get scolded by my eye doctor all the time for not having a pair of glasses to toss on at night.  For this, I blame my parents.  While both phenomenal people, they are jerks for buying me the UGLIEST BLUE GLASSES ON EARTH when I was in middle school and I think I have a complex about wearing anything other than an oversized pair of sunnies.  I started wearing contacts when I was in eighth grade and "conveniently" kept losing my glasses from then on as I just didn't want to put them on my face.  Apparently old habits die hard.  My doctor is right though and if I've gotta do it, I'm definitely getting the Warby Parker's above.  How fantastic is the tortoise and lucite together?

Image courtesy of Hip Hip Gin Gin.

The Ex-Files

We don't often chat about relationships over here at D&D, but last night over sushi, an interesting topic came up -- staying friends with exes.  Are any of you friends with your ex?  I am actually a huge fan of this and try, when I can, to stay friendly with my ex-boyfriends.  Is this weird? 

The way I see it, at my age the men I date (I'm talking dating as in exclusively dating not as in the boring date with that Patrick Bateman-esque investment banker from a few weeks ago) all have the potential to become the person I spend the rest of my life with.  This has definitely made me much more selective and I've been lucky to spend time with a few guys who (for the most part) have been pretty great people.  It seems so wasteful and neflectful of the time spent together to just turn off any friendliness.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not chatting with these fellas every night but for the few old boyfriends that I still talk to, it's nice to know that they're doing well.  My college boyfriend (and one of the most amazing people I know) is getting married this weekend and I couldn't be happier for him. 

Inversely, I really don't have a problem if my boyfriends are still friendly with their exes.  I'm not a very jealous person by nature, but as long as there isn't any funny business going on, there really doesn't need to be a dramatic argument every time your boyfriend or husband's college girlfriend shoots him an email.  Relax.  He's with YOU, falling asleep next to YOU, and laughing at YOUR stupid jokes.  Look at it this way: those girls didn't work out for a reason. 

If you are genuinely interested in befriending an old boyfriend and girlfriend, you had better be sure that you aren't using the "let's be friends" trick as a way to get them back. That's lame. Give them a call. Grab a beer. Regardless of how ugly it may have ended, time (usually) does heal all wounds and chances are, that old nonsense you used to fight about is probably pretty funny by now.

Chow, Bella

Oddly, one of the biggest challenges in living alone is that I forget to eat.  I can't even believe that's true as eating is one of my favorite things to do but while I'm bumming around the apartment on weekends, I realize that I've gotten pretty good at ignoring my grumbling stomch.  Let's be honest, I don't want to spend the time cooking something elaborate (unless I'm cooking for someone else as well) and eating takeout gets expensive and fattening. 

Enter my need for quick, healthy, delish meals.  I'm really, really trying to limit my carb intake (I have an adorable bikini that I plan on wearing a lot this summer) but the whole wheat shells in the warm pasta salad below aren't SO bad.  I found this Tricolore Warm Pasta Salad recipe on vmac + cheese yesterday afternoon and it was soo good.  I tossed in some grilled chicken (I highly recommend this addition) and am seriously going to start making this all the time. 

Tricolore Pasta

Ingredients:

1 10-oz box of whole grain shell pasta

1/2 bunch of kale, rinsed and tossed crosswise into thin ribbons

1/2 pint sungold (yellow) cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved

1 red bell pepper, medium diced

2-oz goat cheese

Juice of one lemon

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and finely ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.  When the water is boiling, prep all of the veggies and put them in a large bowl.  Add the pasta and cook according to package directions (duh).  Once the pasta is ready, carefully ladle half a cup or so of the pasta water into another little bowl.  Quickly drain the pasta in a colander, but do not shake it - you want to retain some of the moisture in the shells.  Pour the hot pasta over the veggies.  Crumble in the goat cheese and pour in the lemon juice and olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.  The heat of the pasta will melt the goat cheese and give you a loose sauce.  Enjoy!!

Wanderlusting

I just got an email with an invitation to Cinque Terre (aka the Italian Riviera just above Tuscany) from June 3rd-9th...  If you've been reading this blog with any regularity in the past six months, you understand my absolute need for a vacation.  Of course, this email comes one day after I locked in my new apartment and two weeks before a month that includes two Colorado trips and a work trip back to LA.  But as wanderlust is literally my middle name, I have to share all of the gory details with you...and mull over the pros and cons in my head.

A company called Italian Fix plans intimate group trips to Italy and was started by three Texans who are all really awesome and have become the quintessential insiders in Cinque Terre...  They've designed these very unique vacations with the only goal of making people fall in love.  They want you to fall in love with yourself, with Italy and with that pasta dish that you can't pronounce.  This is all achieved by living in a seaside village for six days, taking morning fitness classes, swimming in the Mediterranean, and an Italian cooking class in a 17th century villa.  You can take the trip alone (nah), with a travel buddy (definitely) and they fold you into a group of up to ten people.  

This trip is all about meeting awesome new people and enjoying an amazing new place...  This is NOT one of those tour-bus-with-50-random-old-people-from-Ohio sort of situations.  Come on, this is a decadent vacation, not purgatory.  

For $2470 (not including airfare, vacation trinkets, and additional cocktails) you can disappear for a few days and worry only about making yourself happy.  Leave your BlackBerry at home, set an out of office on your Outlook and just....be.  I'm crossing my fingers and toes that there is another trip later this year because while June 3rd is logistically impossible, I don't think I could say no to an Italy trip in the fall.

Obsession of the Day

I am in love.  Head over heels, can't stop thinking about...Chloe's Green Paradise Sunray Pleated Dress.  I first saw it in LA in the window of Chloe's Melrose Place store a few weeks ago and I literally almost pulled over, parked the car and walked to the window to gape.  It is perfectly my style and would look amazing with tan skin and great beachy waves.  I mean, I'm sure the price tag is looming somewhere around $2000 but it's only money, right?  

Crazy in Love

Have any of you seen Beyonce's Tumblr?  It's frigging adorable and basically her personal photo album for the world to envy.  Aside from being naturally breathtaking, she has accessories I would slap my mother for (sorrymomIloveyou) and I am always in awe of how solid her relationship is.  In a world where they could have sold their daughter's photos for millions of dollars and could easily have every second of their lives in the press, they are so under the radar and, obviously, so in love. 

Check out these photos below...

YES.  This is 100% what I am looking for...  A badass partner in crime to work my ass off next to and to share our fabulousity with the globe.  I mean, how can you not just adore them?