Definitely In My Zone

I hope you all had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend!  As someone who immerses myself in fashion & interior design, the word luxury usually brings to mind designer clothing & accessories & sumptuous fabrics & home furnishings, i.e. expensive & beautiful material things.  This Memorial Day weekend reminded me that freedom & time with our loved ones is the ULTIMATE luxury & I was happy to spend it doing just that.  In our often times materialistic & fame obsessed culture let us never forget the sacrifices made by so many others so we could be free to prosper, express our opinions & creativity & enjoy our time with family, friends & pets.  I am truly proud & grateful to live in the diverse, entrepreneurial & yes, sometimes crazy, America the beautiful. 

Continuing on the note of gratitude, this past week I was so thankful & fortunate to attend Blogfest 2013, a conference in NYC for interior design bloggers graciously sponsored by Kravet.  I realized that it was the first time in my interior design career that I was surrounded by so many of my amazing peers & the positive energy was palpable.  There was a time in my life where this was all a pipe dream & I truly felt grateful to spend time with so many kindred spirits that are passionate about what they do, i.e. bringing more beauty & comfort to the world through their unique visions as designers :).  I was delighted to see some old friends & make some new ones.  Here are some highlights....

A "Bubbly & Bites" cocktail party at Jonathan Adler's "Happy Chic" shop on Madison Ave....

Fellow design bloggers Sarah Sarna, Lisa Ehrlich, Laurie Gorelick & me

 

My favorite room in the Kips Bay Decorator Show House - a sassy & sophisticated lounge by garcia maldonado inc. ......

HGTV Magazine hosted a beautiful lunch with presentations by HGTV Magazine Editor in Chief Sara Peterson & renowned interior designers Alexa Hampton & Thom Filicia at the Norman Foster designed Hearst Tower (one of my favorite architects & buildings in NYC)...

 

Me & the super talented (& rip roaringly funny) Thom Filicia (you might remember my dress from here).  One of my all time favorite things in life is hearing a person's success story & I loved Thom's advice....Put yourself out there & JUST SHOW UP!  It's all about being in the right place at the right time.  And also be fair, be open to listening to others' opinions & then assess them for yourself.

And as the perfect ending to an unbelievably inspiring day I had a glass of Sancerre & the oyster pan roast (aka heaven in a bowl) with tarragon butter crostini at The John Dory.

Stay tuned, more to follow tomorrow!