Thursday, July 22, 2010

Week in Review (Part 1)

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Week in review...

The last week has been FABULOUS. Why you ask? Well, because the 16th was my birthday. It all started on Thursday night...

First stop - dinner with my parents at Duo Mari in New Brunswick, NJ. I had only been there once before and I will definitely return again and again. The food and service are amazing! Now all the gorging I did there really should have been enough, but really it was just the beginning.

When I got home from dinner I had a package waiting for me from an amazing woman who has been part of my life since I was just 4 years old. Her and my mom were class mothers of our Pre-K class. Jennie Ng Lopresto is an incredibly talented designer who has this beautiful ray of light that shines from her (ALWAYS). She designs amazing jewelery using her inspiration from life, antiques, pop culture and everything else around her. Her following is huge, but she personally works with each and every client - thus the reason why you haven't yet seen her in the Bs (Bergdorf's and Bendel's). The bracelet she sent me is so very me and just 3-of-a-kind. I even created a whole outfit around it for the following day.

I woke up Friday morning and put on my new metallic and natural linen shorts from The Loft, white tank, Jennie Ng Lopresto bracelet and white and rhinestone sandals.

I took the day off of work. I'm lucky enough that I am in a position where I can do this every year. I feel like your birthday is the one day a year that you shouldn't feel guilty being selfish. First I got my presents from Mr E.

Not the cupcake, the pan. I really wanted a jumbo cupcake pan to make my friends and fam yummy treats. While I know I can just walk into Sprinkles and buy one, these will be made with love.

Ipad - He knows me better than I know myself. I didn't even know I wanted one, but he said I NEEDED it. He was right. Love it. Send your app reccs my way!



Then we went to Mesa Grill for lunch. If you've never been - go! What I love about it is the fact that it's different than so many of the restaurants in NYC. Southwest cooking is not very common. What I didn't like was that it was restaurant week and majorly crowded for a summer Friday at 1PM. Can't win them all!

Next it was time for me to do some birthday damage at the accessory capital of NY: Bendel's. As soon as I saw this bag by Magnes Sisters, I knew it was coming home with me. I love the taupe gray color for fall (though I'm carrying it today) and I think the unique shape is great. It fits the Ipad perfectly, along with everything else I need to carry.

All that shopping in 90 degree weather made me in desperate need of a refreshing snack. So we hopped, skipped, jumped and drove on over to one of my favorite place - Popbar. If you aren't familiar with it, the entire place is for popsicles, but not the regular kind. They're kind of like gourmet Froze Fruits, surely you remember those. This time I got a plain grapefruit one, but Mr E scored a coconut gelato bar half dipped in dark chocolate. Both delish.

If you're headed there, make sure to stop at the pickle stand. Well, that is if you're a pickle aficionado like me. It's only a few steps away and they have flavors like Cajun pickle! Unfortunately it was too hot to tote around that day and too strange to eat with my grapefruit, but next time.


From there, we did some more shipping. I'm sure my husband was just thrilled - oh what he does for me! I got a pair of blue Native shoes to wear for my Saturday Birthday excursion (more to come on that). I'm totally obsessed. They're lightweight, water proof and pretty darn cute. So different than the Aqua Socks I once wore (come on, you know you did too).


After wearing myself out, I was actually hungry again. You'd think I'd need a break from food, but that actually didn't come until about Sunday night, so I was still good to go. We had reservations at Morimoto. At first I felt like I was cheating. I had never been there before because we are regulars at Nobu (Tribeca). So much so that our favorite waiter knows our entire order by heart. Stepping into Morimoto was like a totally different world. Completely different than the simple and understated decor of Nobu. At first this scared me because very often the snazzier the restaurant, the more mediocre the food. Initially I wanted to run through the Meatpacking district and all the way to Tribeca...but I stuck it out and I am so happy I did. The food was AMAZING. We got a bunch of dishes as appetizers and then some sushi. The standouts were the Miso Soup for 2, the Fried Calamari salad and the King Crab Leg in creamy spicy sauce. When we go back, I would actually skip the sushi. I thought it was ok, but nothing to rave about. The dishes there are what is top notch.


I slept like a birthday Princess and awoke on Saturday morning for a day of fun with my friends. More to come!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Affordable Fashion at Galtime

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Everyone now and then the fabulous people at Galtime.com let me state my personal opinion on a current and fun fashion subject. Today my latest article was posted. It's about finding affordable fashion in these tough times. Check it out!
Luxury For Less By Vanessa

Thursday, July 1, 2010

15 Years Later Clueless Dress Makes A Comeback

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This morning I woke up to a little bit of excitement, well exciting for me. While reading my morning blogs and news I discovered a short article on InStyle.com. It immediately caught my eye because in the title it mentioned "Clueless". Clueless happens to be my favorite movie of all time and I'm pretty sure any girl who was my age when it was released probably holds it close to their heart as well. Now for those who don't share my enthusiasm, don't get worked up. I don't actually believe the movie deserves critical acclaim or was snubbed at the 1996 Oscar's. I just think it is the best movie of all time - in its genre (teen comedy). If you disagree, at least consider that it gave us Paul Rudd (yummy). So now that, coupled with my love for fashion is what got me really excited this morning. LA's Confederacy Boutique asked Calvin Klein director Francisco Costa to re-cut the iconic white dress (15 years later) from the film for their store. I'm sure you remember it, but if you need a refresher - Cher (Alicia Silverstone) greets her date, the Jason Priestly look-a-like Christian, in the family dining room. Her father asks her, "What are you wearing?" She replies, "A dress." He asks, "Says who?" and she chuckles and responds, "Calvin Klein". The dress makes its debut today on their website for $916.



Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Sample Sale Alert! Ingwa; Melero

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June 10th - June 11th
12PM – 8PM

Select items for $19 and $29. All other items $39, $49 & $79. Buy 3 items and get 50% off a fourth item.

Ingwa; Melero
509 West 155th Street, Apt 3I(btw Amsterdam & Broadway)
New York, NY 10032

Only cash will be accepted. No credit cards. No checks

Monday, June 7, 2010

Not a Giant Leap, But a Nice Step

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I'll be the first to admit that transitioning to a more eco-friendly lifestyle is a slow process for me. Of course, I always recycle, don't use unnecessary electricity and reuse or recycle any plastic bags that find their way to me. However, I'm definitely not ready to even consider letting my powerful sports car go, but I suppose one step at a time. That's where this comes in. Yesterday I made a teensy bit more progress. I was buying a bridal shower gift at Bed Bath & Beyond when I walked past these awesome cups by Copco. I own their hot beverage reusable cups, but since I'm not a coffee drinker, it rarely gets used. These are perfect because everyday my husband takes iced tea to work (Paradise Tropical passion fruit iced tea that we brew at home) and only a few weeks ago he asked me to order him a case of plastic cups like they have at Dunkin Donuts. I'm so glad I didn't get around to it because this cup eliminates so much un-needed plastic and is still exactly what he wanted. It's reusable, sturdy, has a simple modern design without a logo and cost only $7.99 We grabbed 2 and used a $5 off coupon making them $10.98. Score!


Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Best Thing I Ever Ate...My Edition

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I'm so lucky that both my husband and I have jobs where we can accompany each other on business trips. We usually manage to devote time to work and then find some extra for ourselves, so earlier this month it was no different. We spent a week in LA having poolside meetings (tough life) with reps for NessaLee Baby and hitting some downtown showrooms for NessaLee Style. Then we popped over to Santa Barbara to get in a few days of much needed R&R. Whether we're working or playing, we're always partially focused on eating. Everyone who knows us knows that we're foodies. We seek out great food and when we find something we love, we remember it. During our drive back to LA (from SB) we started compiling a list of the Best Things We Ever Ate, inspired by the tv show on the Food Network that we watch every now and then. We decided that we will continue to add to it, but I still want to share what we have so far. There's definitely a theme on the locations.
1. Oysters - Wolfgangs Steakhouse, All Locations
2. French Toast - (Tie) Jeannine's, Montecito, CA & The Farm, Beverly Hills, CA
3. Shrimp Dish - Petros, Los Olivos, CA
4. Crab Dish - Nobu (special not on the menu, only available at downtown NYC locations)
5. Sangria - The Spain, NYC
6. Cupcakes - Sprinkles (all locations)
7. Hummus - Aroma Cafe, Hollywood, CA
8. Yaki Udon - Yawa, NYC
9. Tuna Tartar - Le Petit Four, Hollywood, CA
10. Waffle - Le Pain Quotidien, All Locations
11. Miso Soup - Nobu, All Locations
12. Salad Dressing - Konbu, Manalapan, NJ
13. Marrow - Bistro Jeanty, Yountville, CA
14. Gnocchi - Redd, Yountville, CA
15. Chicken Wings - Cercle Rouge, NYC
16. Potato Leek Soup - Madame Jeanette's, Aruba
17. Gourmet Pizza - Wolfgang Pucks's Salmon Pizza, All Locations
18. Cheeseburger - Riva, Las Vegas, NV
19. Oatmeal - Solage, Calistoga, CA
20. Square Pizza - L&B, Brooklyn, NY
21. Baked Clams - Brophy Bros, Santa Barbara, CA
22. Tortilla Soup - El Meson, Freehold, NJ
23. Iced Tea - Las Ventanas, Cabo, Mexico
24. Sweet Potato Fries - Bobby's Burger Palace, All Locations
25. Coffee Drink - Dulce De Leche at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (not on menu), All Locations
26. Late Night Sandwich - Grease Trucks, Rutgers
27. Hot Teas - Mighty Leaf Tea Company (served at finer hotels, restaurants and in our house)
28. Dim Sum - Crown Palace, Marlboro, NJ
29. Ice Cream Sandwich - Diddy Riese, Westwood, CA

Friday, May 7, 2010

SOLE MATES

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Crissy gave us a VERY small preview of our 3 Year Anniversary photos, so I'm passing the love on to all of you. Hopefully more prettiness to follow!