I am in Miami and its raining!

Its meant to be the sunny state, here in Miami its raining.  I am sitting in the apartment, eating, watching tv and snuggling up with my fiance.  That is wonderful really and I cant complain.  The place we are staying has a pool sauna and hot tub and a view of the ocean.  I hope the weather clears up tomorrow, I would love to check out South Beach and everything Miami has to offer, I really want to find some cuban coffee too!  So I am pretty happy to be here and love the rain, although I would have rather had the sun.  I need some vitamin D intake. For sure!  I want to blog about the shopping I do here, I would like to try and find a one piece bathing suit because I think they are very sexy.  Will report asap

September Kitchen Demostrations at Macy's

September Macy's Kitchen Demoonstrations9/7
Sangria Tapas Bar & Restaurant
Manny Cunha
Born in Arcos de val de vez, Portugal. Manny started his culinary training in Lisbon, Portugal at his family's restaurant. With the love of exploring his culinary passions and curiosity for the origins of food and drink. Manny traveled to NY and became the first Portuguese chef to participate at the annual dinner for the James Beard foundation. Manny has owned and operated various restaurants in NY and Florida, and now bringing his love for cooking to Sangria Tapas Bar and Restaurant.

9/9
Culinary Academy of NY
Christopher Burgos
Join Chef Christopher Burgos, Culinary Chairman of STAR Career Academy of NY, as he shows you how to create healthy snacks for those returning students. He?ll show that snacking doesn?t have to be full of fat or sugar.

9/14
Duke?s
Michael Siry
Michael Siry is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and is the corporate chef and director of menu development for Big Daddy?s and Duke?s. He is also a competitive tri-athlete and Ironman, and won first place on the Food Network?s Chopped this spring.

9/16
Ruby Foo?s
Shawn Edelman
As Executive Chef of Ruby Foo?s in Times Square, Shawn Edelman incorporates his diverse experience into the vast multi-regional Asian menu. After graduating from the French Culinary Institute in New York City, Edelman worked in catering and then at the venerable Jean-Georges VONG restaurant. Upon joining the Ruby Foo?s team, he developed the restaurant?s popular sharing menu as a way to bring family and friends together in a friendly, comfortable atmosphere.

9/18
Great Performances
Marc Spooner
As Chef de Cuisine, Marc Spooner is at the culinary helm of Great Performances, creating menus for thousands of special events each year and overseeing more than 50 full-time cooks. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Spooner was a recent winner on Chopped, the prestigious Food Network competition.

9/21
La Newyorkina
Fany Gerson
Fany Gerson graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and has worked in kitchens worldwide, including Michelin-three-star Akelare in Spain, Eleven Madison Park, and Rosa Mexicano in New York, where she developed their acclaimed modern Mexican desserts.

9/23
Caracas Arepa Bar
Ilse Parra
Comandante suprema of our kitchen, Ilse brings her unique artistic sensibility and an honest approach to cooking that results in a thoroughly delightful experience at the table. Gifted in the kitchen from childhood, Ilse absorbed everything she could from her expert mom before becoming a student of genius chef Elena Ibarra. Convinced that fine dining should not be a privilege of the few, Ilse took her extensive collection of roots reggae and afro-latin rarities to Caracas? kitchen in 2003.

9/25
El Café at El Museo del Barrio
Victoria Saldana
Born in Mexico, Chef Saldana trained at her family?s restaurant and at culinary school in Mexico City before moving to New York. She is currently the Venue Chef at El Café at El Museo del Barrio following a 9-year tenure at Taste Catering.

9/28
La Sonrisa
Ariel Rodriguez
Born and raised in the heart of Manhattan, Ariel Rodriguez created his delicious empanadas from an old family recipe. Find out where you can try these delicous treats without needing to fly to argentina at www.lasonrisa.me

9/30
Marita?s Peruvian Cooking
Marita Lynn
Chef Marita Lynn is chef/owner of Catering by Marita, a full service catering company in New York and New Jersey. A native of Lima, Peru, she blogs about the cuisine of her homeland at MaritasPeruviancooking.com

MACY's The Biggest Department Store in New York City

Macys is awesome, the biggest department store in nyc.  It has like 8 floors or something and seems to go on forever, you can find anything, clothes, shoes, jewellry, stockings, furniture, kitchen stuff, anything you could possibly need.  I always go to Macys for things like stockings because there range is enormous.  You can always find exactly what you are looking for.  I also love the Cosmetics Section, the women will give you tips (of course trying to sell you their brands) but you usually can get a nice makeover and learn something new.
I have never ventured right up to the furniture level as I always get boggled and exhausted after a while.  I think it is a place you can only do in small doses, or maybe I am not that tough of a shopper!

Ivanka Trump's Wedding Dress

I totally think Ivanka trumps wedding dress is beautiful!
I would like something similar with the lace type sleaves.
So classy and sweet at the same time.
I wonder how much this wedding dress cost?
Probably more than I am willing to spend...hmm

Miami

I am heading to Miami this coming week. am really excited and thought I would check out the shopping there, cant wait to report back.
Anyone got any ideas where are the great places to go?

I can't wait to go to the beach and dive in the ocean.  Sometimes you need to leave the city, even if its just to appreciate it when you get back!

Anyway would def like to get a great bathing suit when I'm down there, I figure Miami would be a great place to get one.

Beach + sun = YAY, I can't wait.

Deciding what you need and what you want.

Today I realised that there is a difference between what I need and what I want.  Having a limit financially right now I can not just go into bloomingdales and buy anything I want. 
So I thought others might be in my category too!  I decided to make a list of what I really need to get in the near future and what I would like to get.

My need list included:  A pair of everyday black nice shoes (necessary because my ones I wear now are starting to bear through and there is nothing worse than having shoes that are not decent)
Stockings, for winter, I do not have any left from last winter and I wear them pretty much everyday in winter as I love to wear dresses.
Winter dresses is on my list, I do not have many winter dresses.  I do not need to buy many, maybe just 2 or 3 but I def need a few!
Last but not least, I really need a warm, long winter coat, that is def an essential.  I want one of the ones that are full of down and really keep you warm.

I figure all of these are necessary basic items that I need.  Of course what I want is different and I have some of those too:
A new bathing suit, even though its not summer, I want a beautiful one piece fitted one.
New Boots, for winter, not too high but sexy.
A new Handbag, a very classy black one.
Lots of new clothes of course.

So there is a difference.  I will go step by step but will not hesitate to buy the things I need because I want to be warm, well dressed and comfortable this winter.

Some Wedding Dresses I Love

I am getting married next July which is very exciting, and the most exciting bit is I get to choose and wear a wedding dress.  I thought I would post some of my favorite dresses so far that I have seen.  I havnt been anywhere to try any on yet but just browsing online.  You can even order some of these dresses.  The YES TO THE DRESS TV show store is in NYC, but I dont think that I will be wanting to get on tv when I try on all my dresses.  I am excited to go dress shopping!

I am trying to figure out the best wedding dress shops in Manhattan.  Did you know that you can even buy second hand dresses from places like the Salvation Army for $100?  Its a great idea if you are on a budget because I'm sure some of them are beautiful.  Personally I want a new dress.  There is something about having your own beautiful new dress on your wedding day, don't you think?

Am I the last one to discover Boltons?

I was on the Upper West Side on Sunday... I had met with an old friend at Alice's Tea Cup (which is such a cute cafe on 73rd and Columbus and has the best scones)...anyway afterwards I wandered the streets with not really a clear purpose of anything in particular.  I passed Bolton's looking in the window, (like I do in every shop window) and then decided to go back to check it out because it looked like there were classy type clothes inside and that always interests me!  Even if I can not afford to go shopping right now.

I ventured in and was very impressed, not with the shop look by the way, pretty plain and unexciting, but I was excited by the clothes there were, all good brands, well made clothing and really attractive, and totally affordable.  I write about this store because I think its a perfect place to find work wear for the office.  They have great blouses, tops, dresses, pants, skirts, jackets all what one would wear to the office.  You could seriously build a whole basic working wardrobe from here without breaking the bank.

I tried on a few things (just for the fun)  a sweater grey dress and a waist high layered black skirt, well when I tried on the skirt, I knew I had to have it, it was killer and only 24.95, I could wear it out, to work, to lunch, to the ballet, to anywhere!  I have paired it with a lace bodysuit from American Apparel and a black belt that I wear under the boobs and its dynamite outfit. 

I think I am the last one to discover this store but I am def going to go back! 

Shoe Woo - Great Shoe Shop on Lexington and 59th

I love this store, not only is it super funky looking inside with glitzy look, the shoes are affordable, very sexy and everything you could want.

Don't forget to check out the handbags upstairs.  Last time I was there, half the store was on sale and they had pretty cool bags for $10 Each. 

You can look at the shoe woo website http://www.shoewoo.com/ but I recommend if you can get to the store, go there.  So cool.  They have a "sculpture" of lots of shoes, painted white on the floor to ceiling beam, very cool!

This store was made for shoe lovers.  If you are in NEW YORK, put it on your to do list!

Scarlett Johanssen in Mango Clothing line. Awesome clothes

Scarlett Johanssen has a campaign for Mango Fashion Clothing.  Go to Mango.com to see as I cant seem to get the pics on here.   She looks gorgeous but more importantly the fashion is awesome.
Scarlett appears in a series of highly stylized poses, in hip-hugging dresses, roll-up blue jeans, a thick sweater and peep-toe shoes.

How To Dress To Impress Men

I live with my Fiance in Midtown East.  I find that although mostly I am dressing for myself, I love to look good and be appreciated by him.   He is my star!

The thing I have realised with men is that they do not necessarily have a clue when it comes to fashion, but they know when a woman looks good.  

Men may notice the skimpily dressed woman at the supermarket, however does not mean they have a respect for that look.   When they see a well dressed woman, she stands out more in a way because one notices how she has put herself together.  I think the way you dress demands a certain respect and communicates a lot about who you are as a person.  Like I said, men may not really giving much attention to fashion but they will usually find respect for a well dressed woman. 

There are certain rules when dressing I think.  Its not that you can't expose any skin or something to be classy, it is that you should be aware of how you put outfits together.  For example, if you are wearing a skirt that shows your legs, make sure your upper half is more covered and dont expose any cleavage.  If you are wearing a tight top or a sexy top, make sure your bottom half is not as exposed.  If you are wearing a short skirt and a cleavage top, it can look cheap.
A knee length black heavy fabric dress which skims the curves of my body is flattering, sexy, elegant and sophisticated all at the same time. 

Another look is Turtle neck sweaters with sexy tights.
When you have great legs, you can wear a short skirt with heels and a top that goes right up to your neck; looks gorgeous!

When it comes to make up, men may say things like "I like it when you look natural"   What they mean really is that they dont like when your makeup is really obvious, like your makeup is extravagant or you have foundation caked on to your skin.  I think they like it best when they dont notice you are wearing makeup.  They could say you dont need any makeup but I think they dont really know what they are talking about here.  Just look natural and dont over do it, and they will see you shine. 

Of course it is most important to dress and wear makeup to make yourself happy! 

http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000032549767&pubid=21000000000299929

Fashions night out was awesome

I live  very close to Bloomingdales on 59th and LEX, so on my way to the subway I saw so much bustle going on for fashions night out!  Outside the store they had 3 people only wearing underwear.  I felt sorry for the girls as it happened to be pretty cold on Friday night, but they definitely looked hot.  They definitely stood out in the busy street! And lots of people had stopped as they handed out flyers. 

I didnt stay around this area though and headed down town.  I actually took a friend of mine, who is 11 with me to SOHO, who I used to babysit, as she really wanted to meet someone famous.  I felt a little bad as she was the only kid around and in all the stores they had DJS, loud music and were often giving away free beer or champagne.  The streets were crowded full of young, sexy, fashionably dressed!  She really enjoyed it, and though we didnt manage to find anyone famous, she was completely happy with a free balloon she got...

We didnt stay out too late, but later I went out with some friends, (my own age) and what a crazy night in the city!  I have to say fashions night out was done so well, and a great atmosphere where everyone felt welcome.  I had a lot of fun.

Fashion's Night Out is Tonight? Where Will You be?

The count down is down to a few hours and its very exciting.  Due to so many stores participating all over the city, it is really a choice where you will spend your night tonight! 

It is definitely hard to be everywhere and with so many wonderful performances, celebrities, the hype is big.  I'm going to stick to the Soho area because it is my favorite area to Shop in NYC

I have a a few suggestions of my favorite picks.

RALPH LAUREN
379 West Broadway.
Jessica Alba and Andre Leon will be making an appearance there, celebrate with them with champagne!

Kate Spades Soho Shop will have TIMM GUNN from Project Runway show, giving out copies of his book.

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen serving cocktails at Bergdorfs.

Free Makeovers at Forever 21.

Victoria Beckham and Victoria Secret models will be at their selected stores.

There are designer appearances, celebrities, street parties, fashion shows, musical performers and giveaways everywhere.  There is too much going on to be comprehensive but do a little research and most of all just have fun.  I figure all the shopping areas of New York are going to be great, whether you go to 5th Ave, Lexington and 57th, Soho, etc etc...It will be so much fun!

Count down to Fashions Day Out Tomorrow night

A thousand stores will be participating tomorrow night.  Where do you want to go?  Would love to hear if anyone else is excited about this event!!!
I found out that Sarah Jessica Parker and Bette Midler will be singing at Oscar de la Rentas on Madison Avenue.  That is definitely my pick for tomorrow night.  There are famous people all around the city, read article below for more ideas of where you would like to go.

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2010/09/09/2010-09-09_this_years_fashion_night_out_celebration_set_to_be_bigger_and_better_than_ever.html

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK

The public fashion show, the largest in the history of NY, featured more than 150 top models and focused on "trends of the fall season," Proceeds are benefiting the New York City AIDS fund.  Have you seen any of the footage?  It was pretty amazing with big time models like Gisele Bundken.  She looked so stunning.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20015795-10391698.html

I found out that 1,000 stores have signed on -- an increase of 200 from last year, still do not know all the stores but I'm figuring its going to be a lot of them!

This is a gorgeous dress from the fashion show!  Love it.  Most of the stuff I wouldn't wear but this dress...LOVE

Fashion's Night Out! NYC This Friday 10th September

Wow this is going to be awesome! Fashions night out is so fun for us who love shopping.  It is all the new fashion that was in Vogues Fashion show straight in the stores.  Selected stores who are participating are going to be open until 11pm.  I am so excited , I have never been before.  I am trying to find a list of all the stores that are participating.  Does anyone know where to find that?

I also found out there are "Payless" buses leaving from Lexington between 57th and 58th for $10 that take you around on Fashions night out. 

I found this website with info on the night. http://www.fashionsnightout.com/
I would love to know more info too!  Please let me know if you know.  I can't wait for Friday.
Oh and apparently it benefits AIDS fund.  YAY!

GEOX amazing EMPIRE STATE BUILDING HEELS

New York City lies at the heart of every shoe shopper.  New York is heaven on a stick when it comes to finding stunning, drop-dead gorgeous shoes. 

I found the most amazing Sex and the City/Carrie shoes that you can imagine!!!!  Check these out!  I knew I had to buy them when the sales lady showed me the silver carry case (looked like a brief case) that came as an accessory with the shoes.  If you are a tourist or live here you would want these shoes...so Different, so New York and so Sexy. 


They definitely had a substantial price tag of $250.00, however there was no option when it came down to it.  My heart told me to buy them!

Scarfs, the best assecory for fall!

There are so many gorgeous scarfs coming out for fall and I think they are the best accessory you can find.

You can either weat them as a belt around jeans or a pretty dress or the classic way as a scarf.  Try some beautiful patterned one, dark reds and greens are in for fall colours.

They always add the touch to an outfit.

Whats the best time to shop?

Unless you love shopping with the masses avoid shopping at the certain times;

On a friday!
On a Saturday afternoon
In the evening hours after 4pm

My favorite time to shop (when I have the time off) is in the morning, just when the shops open, preferably a mon or tues. 

It is so relaxing to have the shop to yourself, to browse, to not have to say excuse me a million times and subtly fight for any size that you would like.  Plus who wants to wait to try clothes on!!!!  I personally can not stand it. 

It is heaven to have a relaxed shopping time and you will find beautiful clothes that look good on you because you have the time and no pressure of anyone around you.

STRAWBERRY STORE UNDERWEAR

I am not much of a fan of the clothes at Strawberry BUT  I think the underwear is very cute and super affordable.

That was my observation anyway and I managed to pick up some great sexy underwear for a couple of bucks a piece.

If you dont want to spend a fortune at Victorias Secret, check them out.

I have nothing else to say about this, totally sold! 

TWO DOLLAR GORGEOUS SHOES

HOUSING WORKS 730-732 9th avenue, www.housing.works.pickup.
This place is a thrift store that benefits aids patients. 
OK THIS PLACE IS GREAT!!!! Not only do they have gorgeous shoes for $2, (Im not joking) but you are supporting a great cause.
Today I found some gold summer slip on sandals for $2!!! and some sexy red heels for $2! 
Just wanted to let you all know. If you live in NYC or come to NYC, check this place out!  You may find some great shoes that you would pay 1000 times more for usually.