Happy Thanksgiving!

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough." - Eckhart Tolle

This is one of my all time favorite quotes & is so fitting as we celebrate Thanksgiving.

I recently had a profound conversation with a very wise friend.  I was holding on to some negativity from the past & it was time to let it go once & for all.  She said to me, "No one has a right to be angry.  You were given the privilege of life on this planet.  Every breath in this world is a privilege & after that, nothing is a right."

Wow.  It shook me to the core & was so humbling.  I saw how my ego & pain body had hijacked a piece of my happiness for all these years.  As A Course in Miracles says, "Would you rather be right or happy?"  To conquer darkness you must bring in the light & stop the self-inflicted insanity.

Some of this may sound a little harsh- of course we want life to go smoothly & for everyone to treat us with love & respect at all times.  But the reality is each one of us is dealing with our own pain & issues & sometimes we don't treat others with loving kindness.  Don't ever take another's actions personally, they have nothing to do with you & everything to do with them.

You & you alone are responsible for your happiness & the beauty of this is that when it comes from inside it can never be taken away.  No matter what may be going on in your life, the fact that you exist is a miracle & every delicious breath is a reminder to celebrate & give thanks.

Gratitude is truly the key to attracting the life of your dreams & you can read more about its transformative power here.

I am grateful for each & every one of  you & wish you a Thanksgiving full of peace, heart-warming moments with loved ones & lots of fun & laughter!

Love & light,

photo: me (a W. Village townhouse in the Thanksgiving spirit)

Adventures Across the Pond- The City of Light :)

The Eurostar train ride was amazing- beautiful scenery of the English & French countrysides, lunch service with delicious cheese, bread & wine & in 2.5 hours it's, "Bonjour Paris!"

All we had to do was hop on the metro to get to our hotel & we'd be ready to conquer the City of Light...or so we thought...

Let me start with a little back story that will make sense in a minute...I'm petite with a petite stomach & therefore can't drink a lot at a time.  Hence, in London, I had a penchant for ordering half-pints of beer- the perfect size for me & it's not warm by the time I reach the bottom.  Well my sister & her fiance got a kick out of this & took to calling me "half-pint"...

So back to our arrival in Paris...

We put our metro tickets in the slots & proceed through the entrance doors...my sister walks through, her fiance walks through, I walk through, pulling my wheelie suitcase behind me, but then get stopped to a screeching halt as the automatic entrance doors shut on my suitcase.

I start yanking as hard as I can on my suitcase but the doors won't release it.  As I'm staring horrified at the situation my sister comes barreling up behind me yelling, "Out of the way half-pint!"  She grabs the retractable handle on my suitcase, yanks as hard as she can, the handle snaps in half on one side & then comes completely out of my suitcase & she goes flying backward with said retractable (broken) handle in her hand.

I scream & can't stop laughing & in the meantime my suitcase is still stuck in the death grip.  Finally my sister's fiance & another guy had to pry it out, breaking the doors in the process.

I don't know Paris, I know you're super chic & maybe you didn't want to let my wardrobe in but homegirl had to live out of a carry on for a week, cut me some slack!

After starting off with uncontrollable laughter, the trip continued to be some of the most fun & magic I've ever experienced...

strolling through the Luxembourg Gardens on a warm & sunny fall day...

 it was truly heaven on earth & I could have stayed there all day...

 necessary pilgrimage to the Motherland...

I'm on my way Karl!!...

Maje everywhere (which I LOVE)...

I'm old school- no nook or kindle or whatever- I love reading real books- seeing the design, font, turning the pages, underlining, dog-earing.  Only in Paris would you find a book store as precious as this... 

I'd been dreaming of sitting on a quai in the sunshine for a long time... 

 I could hardly believe it was happening!  An absolutely perfect fall day & a moment of transcendence...

mint tea in the garden at the Grand Mosque & then a glimpse of the sunset....

 followed by a champagne toast atop the Centre Pompidou...

I came back changed.  The time with loved ones & the memories & magic of London & Paris are part of my heart now, giving it an extra glow :)     

photos: me

Adventures Across the Pond :) :)

I was so fortunate to recently head over to Europe with family & friends...the trip was a beautiful example of manifestation as it came out of the blue as a very special gift.  I got the call, said, "YES!!!!" & before I knew it I found myself in London with near & dear ones...

Here's a peak at my adventures....

strolling around Mayfair in the sunshine was blissful....

 I adore this hood', it's kind of like a slightly grander, more polished

West Village...

Grosvenor Square captured my heart.  It's so beautiful & peaceful & they even have a 9/11 memorial...

& the doorways, well, the pictures say it all...

as luck would have it Saatchi Gallery was running an exhibit on Coco Chanel!...

& one of the biggest highlights for me was visiting the motherland that is Alexander McQueen...

& the warrior queen that they do so well...

I was struck by the contrast in London- from light & heavenly....

 to dark & ominous...

 (we even caught a full moon over the Tower of London!)

 now this dark side is way more up my alley...The Fumoir bar at Claridge's...

 the walls look lacquered but they are actually leather which doesn't absorb the smell of smoke... 

this, my friends, is what you wear to The Fumoir... 

I don't smoke but would make an exception to rock this outfit from the Chanel exhibit, cigarette extended from hand in a glamorous holder...

but alas it was time to say cheerio to London & before we knew it we were on the Eurostar headed to the City of Light...Paris up next!

photos: me

Fall Fashion 2015- Back & Better Than Ever - Part I- The Light Side

Happy fall my friends!!  & you know what that means....it's not only my favorite & the most magical of seasons but it's...drum roll please...fall fashion time!!

As you may recall, last year I had a rough go of things but I am happy to report that this year is all rainbows & butterflies (i.e. glamour, luxury & impeccable tailoring ;)  So let's get on with it!...

For the record, I will not be partaking in the mom jeans trend (& this is the first & last time I will speak of such hideous things)....& in fact there's a new jean in town ready to kick (& show off) some serious ass...mom jeans & women & men alike will fall weak in their presence...

Are you ready??  Are you ready??!  Enter the long, crisp & lean white flare...

this look from Sonia Rykiel is one of my top picks for the season.  The crisp white jeans tone down the major glamour & luxury of the fur coat (ugh, for the sake of this post let's just pretend this stunner is faux) & bring in a young, fresh & sassy vibe (I love how the dark buttons tie in the coat too).  

same jeans but totally different look...kind of retro-patriotic & just, well, fun...

some serious swagger at Isabel Marant, this takes jeans & a sweater to another stratosphere...love, love, love...

you might be noticing something a little strange here....yes, you're not going to believe it but this previously all black everything New Yorker has turned to the light side...friends, it's time to come clean... I am completely & utterly obsessed with white.  It's so fresh, ethereal, luxurious & expansive.  What's not to love?  (except the dry cleaning bills ;)  & I am thrilled with the idea of continuing white into the fall (& not winter white, but totally pure & fresh white)...

if Princess Leia went shopping at Saks I think this is what she'd come out with...

this Chloe dress looks very couture cleric or nurse but I'm intrigued & want to walk around in it & pretend I'm a chic shaman or something, beckoning people to come to the light side with me...

 Alexander McQueen, 'nuff said...

 Marni...

the McQueen dress gets a totally different look when paired with their black leather & shearling jacket...the silhouette, the girly/edgy combo, McQueen...ahhhh!  In my dictionary this is the definition of dope... :) :)

a killer day look at Isabel Marant...work it girl ;)...

& a diaphanous vision of loveliness for evening... 

Chanel's black & midnight blue eyes are the perfect dark & edgy counterpoint to these fresh, white looks while the glossy, nude lips keep things balanced & dewy... 

Up next...The Dark Side....with all my talk of being light & ethereal you know I couldn't keep away ;)... Stay tuned!

photos:  1/3/8/9/10/11/all others me

9/11/01: 2,977 Forever Young

On this painful day, let's all take a moment to pause & send love, light & peace to each other & the entire world.  Hold this intention in your heart always & let it guide your thoughts, words & actions every day.  Each of us has the power to transform darkness to light & make the world shine.

My post from a couple years ago....

Thoughts, love & prayers to all of those who perished & were affected by 9/11.  We will never forget you.  Twelve years ago my coworkers & I ran from the dust cloud consuming lower Manhattan.  At first we were told we were being bombed.  It was like getting hit on the head with a frying pan....I remember thinking, I don't want to die at a job I'm miserable at, I haven't become the person I always wanted to be....that was just as terrifying.  We soon found out to our disbelief that the towers had fallen.

I wanted to spend more time on this post but the takeaway is this...live with absolutely no regrets.  Say what you need to say, do what you need to do, tell the people you love how you feel about them, if you need to apologize or have a resentment drop your ego & make peace, live every day with an open heart & follow your dreams relentlessly.  No matter how healthy, young & heck, even beautiful you might be, 9/11 is a horribly sobering reminder that you are never guaranteed another day on this planet.  Cherish each one, spread the love & go to bed every night knowing that if tomorrow was your last day, you would enter the light in peace with no regrets.

I ran the 2011 NYC marathon in memory of those who lost their lives on 9/11, wearing this shirt I designed.

photos: me

Happynings

I'm a total word nerd & if I didn't love design so much I'd be hitting up Rap Genius for a job.  I mean how fun would it be to dissect rap lyrics all day?  So I was excited to hear that two of my favorite artists, Eminem & Jay Z, took first & second place as having the largest vocabularies in music... http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/24/entertainment/eminem-kanye-bob-dylan-study-music-feat/

Sure their music is genius but it's their stories that really get me, talk about turning straw into gold.  I saw them perform together at Yankee Stadium in 2010, it was such an amazing & surreal experience to see two of my favorite artists of all time in my favorite city of all time....one of those NYC moments that I will never forget....

Recently my yoga instructor asked if I'd been practicing yoga outside of class & our conversation went something like this...

Instructor: So, have you been keeping up your yoga practice outside of class?

Me: (a little sheepishly) Well....sort of...I stretch every day but I listen to music while I do it so that probably doesn't count...

Instructor: Music if fine, some people like to listen to drums or chanting or peaceful things like that...

Me: Ummm well....it's higher energy...like (just say it!)...Eminem(?!)

Instructor: Does it make you happy?

Me: Yes, very.

Instructor: Well if it makes you happy then it counts as yoga.

My gangsta style yoga??  Approved!! (to my utter surprise & delight :)

A dear friend recently invited me to a weekend retreat at Omega.  The synchronicity & energy there are off the charts & I was incredibly grateful to meet so many kindred spirits...

When I was finishing lunch outside the other day & texting this little dragonfly landed on my phone...talk about a signal from the universe to disconnect!  I lured him onto my hand & we stared at each other for like five minutes.  Dragonflies represent transformation, joy & lightness of being & remind us to live in the present as they have very short life spans.  Have you ever seen a dragonfly's face up close?  They are one of the cutest things I've ever seen, like little cartoon characters...

Today is my 41st birthday!!  My 40's have been everything I dreamed they would be so far & as I've become more aligned with my soul & life's purpose I've been in awe of the people, circumstances & opportunities that have been manifesting in my life.  I've always believed (& hoped) this would happen but to actually experience it has been life changing & my heart is full of love, peace & gratitude.  When you're on the right path, what you were put on this earth to be & do, you don't just believe, you profoundly know, & I'm super excited to continue the adventure :)

Birthday outfit??  The glamour girl in me wants to strut around in this Fendi feather dress that I've been dying over...

But the five year old in me wants to rock this cowboy kitten t-shirt & tutu (with a pair of glitter flip flops, of course ;) & dance to my new favorite song all day....

If you feel compelled to get me a birthday gift (heehee) please consider making a donation to one of my favorite animal rescue organizations, Best Friends Animal Society, here.  Over 9,000 cats & dogs are killed in U.S. shelters every day & Best Friends is working to make the U.S. a no kill nation through its "Save Them All" campaign.  Let's all help save these bundles of love & light, we can make it happen!

(kittens that my mom & I fostered)

That's it for now my friends....I hope you enjoy this amazing August weekend!!  Xoxo

photos: 1/4/all others me