Best Gifts For Your Besties, Under $50-

I am in love with these Multitude Hair Ties in Neutral from Anthropologie. They are very comfortable and add that special sparkle to your bestie's hair for the holidays.

Home Made Winter by Yvette Van Boven is simply amazing. It has tons of delicious + easy recipes that are very appropriate for the season. I especially love the hand-made feel to it: it is filled with hand-drawings and hand-written notes. Plus the photos are amazing and make you feel part of the book.

Your bestie would be thrilled to get this beautiful Mistletoe General Store Candle. Its vintage-mirror finish will add a great sparkle to any decor and I can see the jar being reused for years after the candle is done.

The light vanilla-scented lip gloss and the gold-glitter nailpolish duo, West End Wonderland by Butter London, will make you feel festive let you glow though the holidays. Click here to see my favorite ideas of makeup and nails.

Seaberry Restorative Body Cream by Fresh is the best moisturizer out there. It is light-scented and long-lasting.

Perfect Fall Nail Colors

School of Hard Rocks
Power Clutch by Essie
Bobbing for Baubles by Essie
Cocktail Bling by Essie

Going Incognito by Essie

Smokin' Hot by Essie

Neutral Ombre

Monday Style: Spring Neutrals

I took these photos during my last visit to Club Monaco store in Philadelphia. Beautiful delicate fabrics, lots of timeless neutrals. I love the vintage/antique look of them. Perfect for spring and summer!

Chloe Woven Scarf

Krista Bicycle Print Shirt

Admiring the floor tile..!

Senya Lace Scarf
Nail Polish: Tea With The Queen by Butter

Monday Style: Love Is In The Air

Love Note Cards by Christian Lacroix
Love You Necklace by Jennifer Meyer
3/4 Love Dress by Lisa Perry
Tiny Valentine Heart Earrings by Meltem
Ole Caliente' Nail Polish from Essie Spring 2012 Collection
In the background: Love, Love, Love Valentine's Day banner by Shirley

Monday Style: She Is A Vision

Halvah Maxi Dress by Leifsdottir

Pillow Talk Nailpolish, a personal favorite from Essie
Fresh from Fresh: Sugar Passion Lip Treatment
Foxglove Boots by Pezzella
Victorian Cameo Ring by Doyle & Doyle

Fun Summer Style

TREAT FOR YOUR FEET: I love the dark teal color of the Muse Nail Varnish from Illamasqua. The color is very pure, modern and unique, and it changes depending on the lighting. It looks absolutely beautiful on my toes with its high gloss finish. (Who would have thought the Teal is going to be called Modern again?)
FUN SHOES: Tack Room Heels will go along well with the funky teal on my toes.
BAGS DO NOT GET ANY CUTER: than the Sett & Reset Tote. All of the essentials will easily fit in this spacious bag. The pretty plaid pattern of the silk trimmed in leather is so much fun!

Outdoor Seating: Picnic Style

There is this place in my neighborhood, Garnett's Cafe. I love going there. I remember the very first time I had lunch there, before the big move, exhausted after looking at multiple houses. I immediately fell in love with its casual and very charming decor. Located at a corner building in a triangle-shaped space, it offers a nice variety of salads and sandwiches that are catered just for you. Its retro-looking bar has a good variety of wine and beer. Their freshly-baked pies and cakes are amazing. The line of random cute chairs sitting in front of the entrance, rain or shine, makes one feel very welcome.

Photo by Jeff Horne

Painting by Betsy Morgan

Last time I had lunch there, I discovered that those chairs in the front are not the only outdoor seating this place offers. You can eat outdoors in the little park, right across the street from the restaurant. A stack of blankets is waiting in the corner of the dining room to be spread out on a green lawn. A picnic basket filled with delicious food packed per your order will accompany you on your outdoors venture. How cool is that?

If this inspires you to have a picnic of your own, here are my recommendations of the absolutely necessary items:
Wicker Picnic Basket from Williams-Sonoma and Waterproof Picnic Blanket from Picnic World
Drink responsibly: Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha my favorite wine from Spain
Eat lots of french bread with cheese and grapes! Enjoy!
Show up in style: Backswept Dress from Anthropologie was made for picnics!
Accessorize with Sevigne Washed Leather Sandals from J.Crew, or go barefoot - your choice!
Don't forget to polish your nails with one of many beautiful colors from Illamasqua and to protect your skin from sunburn and bugs with the Badger SPF 30+ Anti-Bug Sunscreen by BadgerBalm

All Shades of Spring: Manhattan

Laura Mercier's Hydra Lip Tint in Crimson
OPI nail lacquer in Don't Mess With OPI
Central Park's steel sculpture by artist Eva Rothschild titled "Empire"

Urs Fischer’s 23-foot, 35,000-pound outdoor bronze sculpture of a yellow teddy bear combined with a giant working table lamp, Untitled

Window display of Anthropologie at Rockefeller Plaza
Swatched Terracotta Dinnerware

Mini cupcakes Baked by Melissa
Unknown building in NYC

Spring Polish

With spring's arrival, it's time to get polished, shake off the winter's blues and put on a happy hue. The brights of the season are just so energizing! And so many colors to choose from!

I pick a bright orange for my toes: Y'all Come Back Ya Hear? by OPI. It is not too yellow, not too peachy. It has a perfect balance of everything that make your nails look flattering and modern.

For my fingernails I choose a neutral gray: Waking Up In Vegas by Deborah Lippmann. Am still in love with it, even though I've had it since last spring. I get so many compliments on it, people always ask me where I bought it.

If you are a perfectionist, and want impeccable manicure & pedicure that last longer, I recommend to always do the following:

• use a base coat

• apply two coats of lacquer

• use a top coat
  

• be very patient with drying

Neutral Territory

Over the past few years I have managed to purchase tons of shirts, pants and jackets in various horizontal or vertical stripes and plaid. I love to combine them, but try to manage my looks without overdoing it. Well, sometimes I do overdo it (he-he). Recently I found myself leaning towards neutral accessories. I am thrilled to admit they help to tie it all together, especially when I have one or two (or three!) bold patterns going on at the same time. Here are some of my picks:

'Wellington' Goatskin Leather Satchel & Robin Hat

Marabou Feather Vest & OPI Nail Lacquer: Barefoot in Barcelona

Glittering Bean Necklace & The Stars Come Out Oxfords

Never Say 'Never'

When I was about 7 years old I clearly remember looking at my aunt's grey cardigan and stating to her that I dislike grey color. I told her that I will never-ever wear grey anything. Little did I know...
Not only grey is one of the dominant colors in my wardrobe, I also put it on my nails! I am in love with this particular nail color from Deborah Lippmann. It is very neutral in a fresh hip way. And it is long lasting. But do not disobey the rules! Always use: base coat + two coats of color + top coat. And be patient: beautiful manicure requires plenty of time to dry. So follow the rules and never say 'never’!!!


WAKING UP IN VEGAS Nail Color

Purple Rain

Everyone who knows me well can assure you that purple will be the last color I will add to my wardrobe. But the true color admirer I am, I do appreciate its royal beauty, though from a distance. The reality is, its power can be dangerous to a sensitive eye and when used in a certain shade on a certain skin tone it may appear sickly. As I am typing this away my perfect nails are painted in a perfect purple that I discovered. Nars Cosmetics just came out with a perfection of a purple nail color in their Spring 2010 Collection: it has just the right amount of red and blue notes. It is neither too dark nor too light, yet it would look gorgeous with any skin tone! Purple Rain (gothic purple) is available for $16.00 at Sephora. But hurry! Its popularity is wiping out stores' shelves!


Purple Rain