THE MAGNOLIA ST. DIARIES

Slipperage

If you are like me, and try to avoid heels to work like the plague (except when I’m feeling a bit…low) I am always on the hunt for stylish flats.

Ok, so maybe they evoke Hugh Hefner in a smoking jacket. But these puppies are badass. Stubbs & Wooden are the original makers but lucky for normal humans Sam Edelman and Steve Madden are to the rescue to make knockoffs.

This weekend I am devoting a significant (almost obscene) amount of time getting my fall wardrobe together. I have the BCBG show to see, and you know you can’t just wake up in there looking less than faboosh.

I myself are going to pick up the black pony hair above from Steve Madden for a mere 119$. Anything that is seen walking down the runway from The Row is going to be something that I want.

Blind Barber

Last night, I was feeling a bit drab about life in general and sometimes after work what I want and what I need often are conflicting ideas. Truthfully, I wanted to go home sit on the couch and drink a glass of wine. Maybe even throw on some Pretty Little Liars (don’t judge) and just zone out.

A good friend of mine asked if I could, instead, dye her hair ombre like mine. I of course agreed and the night quickly turned around. We made a goat cheese, spinach, almond, and blackberry salad with a lemon vinaigrette. That coupled with a sourdough gruyere grilled cheese (with grilled onions, truffle oil, and grilled mushrooms) and toasted with white wine. YUM!

Good friends, good food, good wine-what else could you need on a beautiful New York night?

See the finished product below, I have become quite the hairdresser!

Here is another I did a few weeks ago on my roommate:

Morning Buzz

My roommate and I the past couple of months have started out our mornings right. Bon Iver + liquid breakfast.

Yes, the juice trend has gotton to us. And we are thrilled about it. Of course, I can’t manage to ONLY have the juice for breakfast, but still it holds me over until I get to the office to make myself some yummy oatmeal.

If your looking to start your day off right and want to be hard core healthy try the recipe below:

• Half of a lemon squeezed
• A full leaf of Kale
• A sliver of ginger
• A handful of wheat grass
• Half of a pear
• A handful of wild blueberries
• Half a kiwi
• Top if off with some ice, water, and a splash of your favorite fruit juice (I like orange or pineapple)
• Also, you can throw in a tiny dash of ACV (apple cider vinegar) if you believe in the myth…. http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/

Can you say healthy? As I am drinking it I tell myself my body is my temple my body is my temple….

End of Summer Playlist

Beach Baby-Bon Iver

The Longest Road(Deadmau5)-Morgan Page

You know what I mean-Cults

Lions in Cages-Wolf Gang

Hot like fire-The XX

Young blood-The Naked and Famous

Teardrop-Massive Attack

Unnatural

Even though it is technically not Fall yet, there is something in the air in New York. Something has shifted. Fall is almost here. Fashion’s Night Out is around the corner, September issues are flooding the shelves, and Fashion Week invitations are zooming into insiders’ inboxes.

Labor day is quickly approaching, and I couldn’t be more excited. Fall signifies, for me, rebirth. A new day, a new year, and a new beginning. Although many consider it quite the opposite; I guess I’m still young enough to remember the feeling of going back to school.

Of course, it wasn’t so much about returning to school as it was about what I will choose to wear on the first day back. I still remember every start I had throughout high school. My favorite involved a pair of olive green lace up pants from Shosanna, it was very I’m a Girl, Not yet a Woman of me. (College usually involved some sort of variation of leggings, an over sized t-shirt, and a pair of flip flops… shudder)

As I stroll though the hallways of W, with racks and racks of the editors’ hand picked items, one in particular catches my eye. A cilantro blue fur stole. I do a double take. My first thought is, that’s so…. different. So…..unexpected. So…unnatural.

Its been a month or so since I’ve seen my beloved stole. And I still can’t get it out of my head. How chic I would be if I had that stole draped with my oversized camel colored blazer-maybe a red lip for night time? Or maybe I could wear it coupled with a LBD. Or even with a jean jacket for a casual Friday?

This is what fashion is all about. Envisioning yourself as someone you want to be the next year. Whether your feeling a bit more boho, or rebellious, or maybe even glam- it’s all about trying on different versions of yourself. Each season, like each outfit, brings a new idea of who you are and what you want to be. Until one day, if your lucky, you’ll land into that pair of shoes that fits perfectly.

The IT Bag

Every season, there is a bag that is trolled around on fashion’s elite, socialites, and the best of the best. Its the bag that is so beyond our wildest dreams that even us, mere middle class humans, try to figure out a way to pay the obscene price tag. 

With every purchase, (or lack there of) I try to imagine what life would be like if I owned it. Where would I be going out tonight? Shall it be the exclusive Mister H at the Mondrian or will it be Darby Downstairs? No No, I’m much too busy to see Florence tonight she will have to wait till tomorrow. Yes everyone, this bag is that great. 

Last year is was the YSL bowler bag, and this year it’s the Celine mini luggage tote. Behold all its glory. And for a mere $1,000 this could be yours! 

Christmas lists chicks…. 

My Comfort Zone

There are three things I need with me when I venture out into the bitter wilderness of New York. They don’t call this place the Concrete Jungle for nothing-when your pumping elbows with Lauren Santo Domingo or Meredith Melling Burke sometimes you need a few secret weapons…

1. Lipstick-red, maroon, dark cherry, something that could questionable just be my lip color with a little extra sauce. My favorites: NARS in Cruella, Bobby Brown in Raisin Berry, or Dior Addict in Brun Muse. I tend to go for the matte velvety look instead of the lipgloss-sometimes girls look like they are drooling. 
2. A fur of some sort-Whether its faux or real, I don’t feel right without putting a little something something on. In these wintry months, I love having something soft to snuggle up to. My favorites: a vintage fur collar (can find at almost any vintage spot-avoid bedbugs!) or the J.Crew Mongolian fur collar. And if your like me and you can’t afford the black longhair McQueen, well raid your family’s closet. Fur use to be a uniform before everyone went PETA. Thanks to my Italian grandmother I have collars in mink and …. well at least I’m not letting it go to waste….
3. Comfortable shoes: I’m sorry its just not worth it. I love wearing heels, but do you really want to be that person to wipe out ruin your newly minted H&M frock? There are shoes that exist that we can wear without having to be all Natalie Portman in Black Swan. My favorites: Stuart Witzman 50/50’s or Easy Spirit (yes I said Easy Spirit!! Ever hear the term looks like a shoe feels like a sneaker? well… its true) Elga, Nera or Mackenna. Half of the W editors are rocking the Mackenna’s.

Glad to be back. Expect a post every Sunday all two people who still follow along :)

Running Down a Dream

It’s eerie to think, that a year ago if my older self walked up to me and said, “You are going to be living in New York this time next year, working for a magazine, and on your way to meet Kelly Cutrone,” I would have bitch slapped myself. 

I have always (secretly) known I’d have to live a span of my life here, who would have thought I actually would do it. I still wake up wondering where I am. 

Don’t get me wrong there are days I just want to run home crawl into my bed and never get up. Then there are days I come across here that make me wonder if this is real life. Like today-I attended Fashion Week. 

A big reason why I had the guts to come here was because of a book. Kelly Cutrone, also known as, bad ass bitch in black. 

I met Kelly a few weeks ago, and I wouldn’t have guessed my admiration could grow even more than before I had met her. 

Via twitter some friends and I ventured to Washington Square to find her under the magical arc. She was hilarious, tragic, and enthralling at once. We sat and ate pizza listened to a street performer, discussed life lessons, and she even managed to sign every single person’s book. (Did I mention she gave everyone fashion week tickets?)

My copy of her book is nearly destroyed with highlighter, her witty banter styled writing glitters the book with wise-beyond-her-years quotes in between. 

Some of my favorite quotes:

“Perhaps they are scared of you perhaps they don’t believe in you, or perhaps they are nasty negative naysayers. Whichever it is, I advise you to stop sharing your dreams with people who try to hold you back..”

” if you want to be extra-ordinary, you will not get there by hanging around a bunch of people who tell you’re not extraordinary”

“If you act as if you know what you’re doing, and as if you’re in charge, you’ll be surprised by how many people will let you.”

“When you believe in something and truly go after it with all you have, amazing things will happen.”

“You can’t truly feel joy-if you’ve never known heartbreak.”

“If you don’t have faith in yourself and in something larger than yourself, and if you want to take this world at face value, you’re going to have a nasty ride.”

“I look at every challenge and mistake as an opportunity in progress.”

Made me laugh out loud-“If any one really wanted to change the world, they’d bring in fashion bitches, because nobody gets things done faster. If we went about saving the world like we go about producing shows, well, let’s just say New Orleans after Katrina would’ve been sorted”

 “My experience in the fashion industry has taught me to act confidently and decisively, without regret or self-doubt, in other words with detachment from the outcome.” Detachment doesn’t mean I’m trying less hard. It just means that fears and emotions that used to torment and paralyze me no longer have the same power over me.”

“Ultimately I have everything I need to survive inside of me”

“Thoughts have power”

“If your always thinking life sucks, your definitely going to see a lot of dismal shit out there.”

“I’ve learned that when things happen out of order in your life, you can choose to take them not as blows but as blessings in disguise.”

“The people who are making a difference in the world, are not like everyone else”

“Being yourself is a luxury.”

“My mistakes have become some of the best teachers in my life.”

“Fame and success will not bring you happiness without a deeper knowledge of yourself and a connection to something greater than yourself.”

To close the book: “If I could wish anything for you, it would be that you could accomplish in one year what it’s taken me forty-four to figure out. The world needs you. It needs you to find and fearlessly manifest your true powerful and authentic self, and it needs you to enjoy the pleasures that are here for the taking.” 

She is one of those people, who when you look back in life you can say truly influenced you.