Look of the Day: Candids

The title of this post stems from the fact that most of the pictures in it are candid photos, which is shocking to me! If there’s something worse than me trying to pose for a photo, it’s me not posing for a photo while it’s taken.  I mean, when I try to pose I might look awkward and unnatural, but when I don’t the pictures usually end up being the most unflattering photos ever. However, this time either my very amateur photographer is getting better at capturing me unguarded at just the right time, or the photography Gods decided to have mercy on me and allow for some good candid shots to happen…perhaps both. Whatever it was, all I have to say is yay!

In other news, you are now getting  a first glimpse at one of my many current obsessions: burgundy! Just look at these gorgeous shoes, I just couldn’t resist buying them as soon as I saw them (on clearance thank goodness!).  As you probably already know, it’s the color of the season, and it is everywhere. It has always been one of my favorite autumn colors, so there’s already several burgundy items in my closet, so be prepared to get several doses of this hue in future posts.

 

Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction
Dress: from Marshall's
Clutch: H&M
Necklace: vintage
Watch: Fossil
Cat-eye sunnies: $5 from street vendor in Mexico City

Look of the Day: Fancy Date Night

20120925-152331.jpg

Between having my sweetheart gone on a business trip for about 5 weeks and me spending the weekend he came back in bed with a cold, we hadn’t had a proper date night in too long. So I was more than happy to realize the weekend we will finally be able to have one was during Restaurant Week. What better way to reinstate date night than with a fancy date night!
For those of you who don’t know about Restaurant Week, it’s an event where many local restaurants offer a 3 course prix-fixe menu for a very reasonable price. Many cities nationwide celebrate Restaurant Week, and here in the Phoenix area they’ve been doing it for several years. It’s a great way to get around and try some of the upscale (and pricier!) restaurants without breaking the bank.
We’ve been doing Restaurant Week for a few years now, and this time we decided to try The Capital Grille. It’s a very nice steakhouse and as most in that category they also offer some great seafood choices. The first two courses were delicious, from the french onion soup and salad to the steak & lobster, the seared citrus salmon, even the mashed potatoes and green beans were extraordinary; the desserts were good but didn’t really impress me, the dark cholocate espresso cake was a bit too rich for me, and the creme brulee was good but I’ve had better. All in all a great meal and a great deal.
Now, one of my favorite things about fancy date nights is of course the opportunity to dress up! It seems like here in Arizona there really aren’t very many opportunities to do so. I don’t know if it’s the weather or just a cultural thing, but most people here are very casual in their dressing, sometimes too casual I would say. I mean, I understand that the weather really does require wearing shorts and flip flops most of the time, but that doesn’t automatically make jeans fancy attire!
Anyway, I decided a long time ago to dress for myself and wear what I like even if that makes me overdressed in other people’s eyes. No more saving my nice clothes and favorite outfits for special occasions because those don’t come around often enough for me. At the end of the day, what’s so bad about being “overdressed”? That I might be the best dressed person there? Better to be overdressed than underdressed, that’s for sure.
So, this time I wore an LBD I scored at the Good Will Store for $10, can’t beat that! I love this dress, the skirt is especially flattering on me, but I hadn’t realized until looking at these pics, that I probably need to have the top part tailor a bit. I think it’s supposed to be slightly loose on top, which it’s why it didn’t bother me that it was, but seeing it in the photos I think it’s too loose on the sleeves and waist for me. The dress came with a belt, but this time I switched it for a sequined belt from H&M. I added gold accesories, and voilà, ready for fancy date night!
What would you wear for a fancy date night?

20120925-155826.jpg

20120925-155306.jpg

20120925-160000.jpg

20120925-160607.jpg

20120925-160731.jpg

20120925-161424.jpg
20120925-160851.jpg

 

What I wore
Black dress: Good Will Store
Black sequined belt: H&M
Statement necklace: Bebe
Black clutch: vintage (my mom's from the early 90's!)
Chain bracelet: from Macy's
Gold sparkly shoes: Guess

Look of the Day: Central Park and More

I can’t think of a better way to spend a beautiful Sunday than to hang out in Central Park, and that’s exactly what we did when we were in New York. After having a nice little brunch on the Upper East Side, we arrived to the park and spend a few hours there. I love everything about this landmark. Bethesda Fountain and the Literary walk are two of my favorite spots within the park, not to mention all the lovely tunnels and bridges. I of course visit the park every time I’m in the city, but this time I got to do another first, take a carriage ride around the park, which was lovely.

After the park, I decided I wanted to check out the iconic Plaza Hotel, and so we did. It is be-a-u-tiful. I can only imagine what staying there and having a room with such a view of Central Park would be like. We got there just in time for tea, and I would’ve loved to sit there for an hour sipping on tea, eating tea sandwiches and scones, but that’s not precisely at the top of the list for a 13 year old boy, so I decided to leave ‘tea at the Plaza’ as something to look forward to on my next trip.

Then we hopped in the car and headed south to downtown and Wall Street area. Because it was a holiday weekend, and so many New Yorkers flee to the beach to say goodbye to summertime, the city didn’t feel as crowded as usual and traffic wasn’t terrible. However Soho was buzzing, there were people everywhere, coming and going and shopping and eating. Chinatown was pretty busy too, but Wall Street area was understandably mostly dead. Except for this tiny corner of the actual Wall Street where there was a movie shooting with none other than hottie Chris Pine. The movie crew obviously didn’t allow people to get close to the scene or the actors, but I did manage to take a picture from across the street showing a glimpse of his good looking face.

Next we headed to South Street Seaport because I was determined to get a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge. I had seen it before and even drove on it on my past trips, but surprisingly I never took a picture of it. South Street Seaport provides a pretty good view of it, and I snapped away as many pictures as I could, because it takes many for me to find one or two that I’m happy with. We hanged out there for a little while, and sat at one of the cafes for a snack, but the food was terrible.

Finally we ended our day right where we started it, in the Upper East Side. We had planned to have dinner at the famous Serendipity 3, but I was so naive as to think I could just walk in and get a table. Turns out you better make a reservation or you might end up waiting over an hour and a half. Which was our actual wait, although we decided to put our names on the list and then walked to a little brasserie on the corner to have dinner there, and we got back just in time to get our table at Serendipity 3 if only just to have one of their infamous desserts. I can see why this place has become so popular, it is quite charming and their desserts are a sight in themselves. I am not particularly a fan of such a sugar overdose but it was nice just to sit there, and enjoy a few bites with loved ones.

As usual, I leave you with the pictures of the day, outfit included. Enjoy!

 

In Central Park
Literary Walk

My actual smile

Favorite sunnies

New statement necklace

Bridge in the park

Saxophone player in tunnel

Light at the end of the tunnel

Bethesda Fountain

New Yorkers at the park

The Plaza Hotel

Flatiron Building

Washington Square Arch

NYSE

Cutie Chris Pine

Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge from the FDR

What I wore
Top: H&M
Skirt: vintage
Belt: H&M
Statement necklace: from Macy's
Neon bracelets: Target and Charming Charlie
Yellow handbag: H&M
Black flats: Crocs
Sunnies: $5 from street vendor in Mexico City

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...