January Blues

The city is covered in snow, but not the beautiful, fluffy, blanket kind...more of the slushy, icy, muddy kind. And something tells me its not going anywhere for a loooong time.

I'm starting to look forward to Spring. Bright electric blues are seriously catching my eye. Both in fashion, and in decor. We're talking about painting one wall in our bedroom and this is quite inspiring to me.

5 Dollar Tapas

Tapeo, I love you. Seriously. This place is amazing. After moving to the area, we discovered that you can sit at the bar at Tapeo, and the tapas are all only $5. I kept thinking it was too good to be true, like only a select few would be $5. But no, they're all really $5 (except for a few of the more expensive ones which are $7.50; still a great deal).

I've been to Tapeo with friends a couple times, and this was Scott and my second time going back together. I'm slowly working my way through the whole menu. So far, everything is insanely delicious.



New A.B.S dress (worn as top), bought from Rue LaLa. Balenciaga clutch.


Sizzling garlic shrimp (this is the only dish that I've gotten every time I've been here). It's amazing....and it comes out really sizzling.


Goat cheese with honey and sweet onion- AMAZING


We also ate a delicious duck breast with foie gras and red cabbage dish. This was my favorite. I'm not always the biggest fan of duck, but this was so tender with a rich gravy. It was a special so I'm praying they have it again next time. And yes, it was only $5.





We're getting buried in snow over here. People keep saying to me "you must be used to it, you were in Colorado". Well, no. In Boulder it snows and then the sun comes out and it all melts away. But here, it doesn't melt, and when the sun comes out, there is no warmth in the air. I'm really starting to get sick of the piles of snow all over the city. It makes it quite difficult to walk around in my heels.

And my car is officially stuck. Good thing we can walk everywhere!

Just looking...

I took a stroll down Newbury and had a moment of weakness walking by Intermix. Since the store is only a block from my apartment, I have this conflict frequently. But tonight, I just had to look....







Since I was just looking (and I hate trying clothes on), it took motivation to actually make it to the dressing room. Enter this gorgeous Proenza Schouler dress at 70% off. Luckily, it wasn't as perfect on. Even at 70% off, I can't afford it. But now I feel motivated to find an amazing printed dress...



Also tried on this cute, romantic, lacy top by Twelfth Street Cynthia Vincent. It was really cute, but I remained strong and walked out empty handed. Still hunting for the perfect lacy camisole.

Space Saving

I never finished the tour of my apartment, and many people have been asking me where I keep all my stuff in a one bedroom apartment. So, I thought I would share some tips about making the most of a small space when renting. We have certainly learned a lot on the subject.

I professed my love for IKEA here, so it should be no surprise that our apartment slightly resembles an IKEA catalogue. And though the weeks spent assembling furniture were among the most tedious and relentless days, it's all worth it in the end to have matching furniture that fits perfectly, just the way we planned it.

Tip 1: You can never have too many Billy Bookcases

The Billy Bookcases from IKEA were one of my first discoveries. I had initially gone looking for a good shoe storage solution and knew as soon as I saw these that they were perfect. I have the distinct memory of taking my shoe off my foot and placing it on the display shelf, right in the store. Perfect fit, like Cinderella.

My shoe corner in our bedroom:


Soon after, we discovered the versatility of these book cases. Height extensions, glass doors, half glass doors, corner units, different widths, different finishes, lights, the possibilities are endless. And the depth of these is perfect. They are not bulky. As seen above they are the perfect depth for a shoe.

Clear doors to display my purses:






Height extension unit (perfect for dust bags, and things I don't need to reach regularly):


In our living room (we keep files and things we don't necessarily want to display in the bottom half. Perfect for displaying our books/dvds while adding extra, hidden storage space):


Tip 2: Drawers, drawers, and more drawers

We finally decided to get matching night stands and a real bed frame. A low platform frame and lower night stands can create the illusion of a bigger space. We made sure we had sufficient drawer space in our night stands, and we even have drawers in the bed frame too! (Not shown below, but can be seen here)



We could never sacrifice a TV in our bedroom, so we made sure to find the perfect fit for everything:



Our coffee table in the living room. I photographed it here as well, but could you tell these drawers were on the sides?:


Tip 3: Room Screens to conceal

A big source of stress when moving into a one bedroom- where to put my cat's litter box. I had the idea of a room separating screen to hide this as well as cleaning supplies like our Swiffer and vacuum. We all know that I was not about to sacrifice a closet for these things.

Room screen, from Crate and Barrel:


Nothing is built into the wall, and everything is versatile enough that we can rearrange it and bring it to wherever we might live next.

Fringe

We ventured back to Union Square in Somerville this weekend for old time's sake. Actually, the building where Scott works had a party. The work space, called "Fringe" is a warehouse containing many small businesses and artist studios. It was a great time, and of course a very different scene than what we now get in the Back Bay area.

Show me an old school photo booth and I'll be having a good time. Great idea for an event.

Scott and I have been together for over five years, so we don't get many "firsts" these days. This was a fun one...

Pretty Little Things

I stopped in Anthropologie today (just to look of course), and I completely fell in love with these coasters. How can one fall in love with a coaster? Immediately upon seeing them, I became convinced that our apartment didn't quite have that feminine touch, and living in such a small place, I am completely forbidden to buy anything that will add bulk to our apartment. But, coasters are so useful. And these are just so unique...






And one thing that Anthropologie always has a great selection of, journals. I decided I need a cute notepad to have with me on interviews and meeting contacts. I also like to keep something pretty to write on next to my bed, because everyone should be able to jot down random thoughts just when they come to mind. So, I picked up these cute flower painted notepads. And this journal...now, who can resist a giraffe wearing heels? Not me apparently...



Buy coasters here. Note: in the store, I was able to buy different colors individually for $8 each, rather than packs of 4 of one kind.

Golden Globe Fashion

I'm a total sucker for award shows. Scott and I were fighting over the remote all afternoon, me wanting to watch red carpet shows, and him football, of course. Here are my top stars of the evening:


Leighton Meester in Burberry Prorsum and Jimmy Choo shoes. This was a little different, but for me, in a good way. The long sleeves are a risk, but one which I think is perfectly complimented by the high slit:

Giuliana Rancic in Zac Posen:

Scarlett Johansson in Elie Saab:

Olivia Wilde in Marchesa and Louboutins- she stole the show, gorgeous!:


Theme of the night: gorgeous in green-


Angelina Jolie in Versace:
Mila Kunis in Vera Wang:
Catherine Zeta-Jones in Monique Lhuillier (which reminded me of a modern day Scarlett O'Hara):

IT bags

I saw this photo special on Vogue.com and loved seeing classic bags highlighted. It's nice to know that for people like me who can't afford to buy a new bag every month to keep up with the latest trend in "it" bags, there are those classic ones that always stay in style. They're much more worth the investment.

The article and photo shoot highlights the twist on these classic bags- embellishments, colors, exotics- but the essence of that classic style remains. These are the shapes and brands that you can turn to when you want to buy a bag that you won't regret having in 10 years.


Chloe

Marc Jacobs
Balenciaga

Fendi

Gucci

Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton

YSL Prada


All photos from Vogue.com. Click here for full article.