Friday, October 30, 2009

French Bulldog Friday

It's a new tradition based on an idea I had a million years ago when two different friends emailed me photos of Frenchies in the same week: French Bulldog Friday! If you have a Frenchie, or have seen one on the street and snapped a shot, please share your photo here.

A Boston-based little pup




Two NYers getting some sun



Off leash waiting at the light with its owner = good dog.


Look at that grin!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

How I Pimped My Ride

You may recall that a while ago I made a very big deal about the addition of bumper stickers to my sweet ride, Rubie (aka, Rubaroo). Well that was only in June, people. Since then, the Columbia, SC sun has BURNED THE HEART OFF MY 'I LOVE NY' BUMPER STICKER. Oh, sweet irony.

So for about a month I've been driving around like this - I BLANK NY:



Thankfully I have a very artistic friend, Larry Thacker, who I have commissioned to create a mini-mural on the bumper of my car. Hey, if they can emblazon palmetto trees all over the place, I can certainly pimp my ride. Here are the first stages of my customobile:



Now I triple-heart New York, so there!

In all seriousness, when I was in NYC last month I was really struck by how many people actually wear the I Heart NY t shirt. I guess there are plenty of New Yorkers who are crazy mad into their city as much as the folks here who emblazon their cars with flip flops and palmetto tree/crescent moon stickers. Touche, yo, touche.

Monday, October 12, 2009

She's Got Legs

Dear Caroline,

It's getting cold out, so do you have any recommendations for good tights? I'm also wondering if leggings are appropriate for a 35 year-old.

Sincerely,

Chilly in the City


My dearest Chilly,

Ma chere! You help me realize I haven't worn tights more than twice in the past two years. I am sad and grateful at the same time. We call this mixed emotions.

But my thoughtful nonsense doesn't answer your questions. In my earlier years, my two absolute favorite brands for tights were DKNY and Nine West. Always look for opaque and for me, the thicker the better. Check out these photos of fun colorful DKNY tights currently for sale on Nordstrom.com. >


Hey lovely readers -- if you have any other fave brands for our friend, Chilly, kindly share them via commenting.

And now onto the leggings question. When leggings were all the rage, they were ridiculously trendy. It is my opinion that they are now like any other clothing staple: jeans, white tank tops, black cardigans, etc. Especially now that the 80s are so hot (still). Just take a look at the Ready-to-Wear Fall Winter 2009 line from our savior, Marc Jacobs. It features leggings (not to mention tights, black tights!) on the runway. The leggings are indeed more like body stockings, but hey, a body stocking ends up looking like leggings on the legs, no?

Check out these hot little velvet leggings from Victoria's Secret (Caroline's Secret: while I hate Vickie's bras, I like her catalog/website for affordable clothing). >

Sunday, October 11, 2009

My Own Private Project Runway (And The Rest Of It)

Well cutie pies, it's been quite a couple of weeks. Let me start from the most recent and move back in time.

Today I was in Publix at the deli counter and you know how they're so charming and if, for example, you order a 1/2 pound of swiss cheese they cut the first slice and bring it to you on a sheet of plastic and ask you if the thickness is ok and no matter how you respond, they ask if you want to try the slice? Well today not only did I say, "no thank you," but I also asked them to slice the slices thinner (probably the first time ever). Guess what the girl behind the counter did in response? She THREW OUT that first slice! I saw her kind of throw it down but I thought she put it on the counter or something so I said "oh but you can add that first slice to the weight, no worries" but she said she had already thrown it out. WTF? Are we not in a recession? Are there not people who could eat that cheese, namely me? Ay dios mio.

I headed over to Publix after I went to see the movie, The Time Traveler's Wife. People, I read this book twice I liked it so much, and the movie wasn't too bad except for the fact that my beloved girl-crush, Rachel McAdams, fell short in the roll. One element that I will say stayed so close to my mind's eye was the color and tone of the movie. Maybe I should be a director of photography?

Or maybe I should be a handbag designer? Either way it's a little far fetched, I know, but after my experience with Nana by Sally, I felt like I could at least try out for the next Project Runway. Here's the sitch: During a trip to NYC in March, I popped into Mood for the first time ever. It's no wonder that store has gotten so much play on TV: everyone there is really quite nice and they run a tight, knowledgeable ship.

As many of you know, Sally traditionally works in fabric only, but she and I had been talking and we agreed that if I purchased some soft leather, she'd be willing to give it a try. Well check out the two beauties Sally created with the two hides I bought at Mood -- the clutch is her signature "Sophie" design and the bag is a new design that has been named *ahem* "Cerelle."





Isn't the "Cerelle" totally mod? It's very color-blocked, yes? The bottom is a very light grey suede and the clutch is a light beige buttery-rific leather with a funky beige, gold and black fabric interior. If you don't yet have a Nana by Sally bag, I ask you the simple question, why?