Style & Real Estate - Celebrity Homes

Happy New Year friends! I hope you had a great holiday and had lots of fun ringing in 2015. We stayed in our NYC apartment, made ourself a nice dinner with treats from Chelsea Market and watched all the Times Square happenings. We were slightly tempted to run over to the madness and experience the famous countdown then we saw the crowd scan and decided that was a horrible idea. Is there anything scarier then being in a mob of people? I think not. 

So back to normal programming, lots going on over here. Still working on a blog redesign that I hope to have launched very soon as well as wrapping up our last few weeks in the amazing Big Apple. Our brief three months in this magical city has flown and we plan on making the most of our time here with family and friends visiting, seeing as many sites as we can and enjoying this dream apartment we have been so fortunate to be renting. Speaking of my beloved city, have you seen the amazing home of John Legend & Chrissy Teigen in Architectural Digest? Its not really a surprise that this adorable couple has a stunning home since can see sneak peaks of it through their instagram accounts but now it's complete reveal is available for our envious eyes. I am totally obsessed with how different it is from what you normally see from celebrity homes. It has moody colored walls and finishes, interesting art, a great mix of vintage and modern and is all around fabulous. Take a look below at some of my favorite room photos for yourself or see the entire article here. 

BOS ---> NYC

Boston // New York 

Morning friends! A quick little announcement today as I am literally on my way out the door. My husband and I will be relocating to NYC for a short period time for a work project. So while Boston is where we plan on making our forever home, I am very much looking forward to the next two months in NYC where we can host friends & family in our temporary apartment. Since we are both from Long Island, the city has always felt a bit of a home away from home for us, yet it's more work then play these days. I hope to play tourist in this large city we very rarely get to take advantage of. In our down time I look forward to visiting museums, trying new restaurants and enjoying the city during the best time of the year. See you in 2015 Boston!

Keeping It Real

 I thought I would start a new series today named "Keeping It Real" where I will share honest reviews of items, retailers and services that I promote on the blog. First up was my experience yesterday at the Rent The Runway showroom at Henri Bendel. We all know RTR for their designer dresses and accessories available for rent at a small fee. I personally hadn't used the service before but since I was in NY I thought I would test drive their new "store" concept where you can try on the dresses before you commit to renting them. I had arranged the appointment online and corresponded via email with a "style consultant" on the two dresses I was specifically interested in seeing in person. I sent the link to the item, the dress name and size I would need, once I had confirmed all the details with this representative I made my appointment. When I arrived in Henri Bendel I had some difficulty finding the RTR space within the actual store. Once located I checked in and was told to enter the shop where I waited 25 minutes for my appointment. During that time I snapped some of the photos you see in below. I had numerous people ask me if I was being helped and I would simply respond "waiting for someone to help" of which no one showed up till almost 30 minutes later. When my consultant finally graced me with her presence she asked me what I was looking for. I was confused because I would have thought my profile would have been updated to show that I was there for the gowns previously requested. She had no idea what I was speaking of so I then had to go through the web site with her to show which dresses I was interested in as they weren't on the floor {a sign I already noticed that things weren't going as I had hoped}. She then disappeared for a bit leaving me in a fitting room waiting to only come back and say they don't have any notes for me about those dresses {luckily I had all the email correspondences proving otherwise} and they had nothing for me to try on. I was walked out and told I wouldn't be charged for the appointment which was ridiculous because I was never told there was any fee for the appointment. It was a total disappointing experience and most importantly a waste of time for the customer. Their lack of professionalism and internal communication definitiely has made me rethink promoting this brand in the future as I have positively done in the past.

A Downtown Morning

Sorry for the lack of a post today! This morning my husband John and I had the privilege to be part of ringing the morning bell at the NYSE with Globalstar. It was such a lovely morning downtown in this massive city we grew up near and so memorable to be part of such a ceremonial tradition. Some snaps from the morning events are below!

me & my love on the NYSE floor

officially listed

ringing the bell {we are in the back} 

morning breakfast

Boston Meets New York

Whether it be a retail store or a restaurant, rarely do things generate in Boston and then find themselves in NYC. It's almost always the other way around. Well that is not the case with the fab Boston hot spot Toro, when it found a home in Manhattan's South Chelsea neighborhood. So while our beloved Boston is now where we call home we thought we would visit the NY location while visiting the city this week. After-all the New England location is awfully petite and doesn't offer reservations, which is a hard sell to my busy guy. I am happy to report it was as amazing and well worth the visit. We had to sacrifice the floor to ceiling Hudson River views as we were dining late at night but I imagine that the ambience is even more incredible during the day. A must try in the big apple!

Secret Spaces

There is a certain element of romance about traveling to New York, getting all dolled up and heading out to an elegant dinner with your special someone. I personally love that the massive city is always boasting a new place to try and or discovering hidden {literally} gems that are simply just new to me. Top all of that with a secret entrance and a swanky speak easy vibe and you have completely peaked my curiosity. Enter Beauty & Essex, this lower east side institution boasts a faux pawn shop at it's entrance of which when you pass through turns into a chic modern restaurant with some seriously stylish eats and drinks. I mean they serve bubbly in the ladies room, what is not to love about that! I can just imagine the incredible private parties that take place in their glamours spaces. While I haven't personally been to this sexy New York eatery {yet}, I have been to it's sister restaurant Stanton Social which was amazing. This is definitely on my list to try on our next trip to my beloved city!

want more secret storefronts in NYC - check out this article

a stylish soiree - a new year & a new life + one

The other day I saw some photos of a wedding from an old friend back on Long Island. It's so nice to be able to see these happy occasions celebrated with lots of familiar faces when I don't live in NY anymore. It's no secret that I am wedding obsessed and can never seem to get enough of them. Well this one is no exception, I loved it especially because of the day it was celebrated on, New Years Eve!  Not only does it symbolize a new start in life with the new year but it's one of those nights that is just so fun get all glammed up and really let loose and what better place to do that at a wedding. Let's face it the usual bars and clubs are overpriced and over rated so having a wedding is the perfect occasion to go all out for. Choosing to have your wedding on this holiday does however mean a few things for the bride to be to think about, one - your theme is pretty much built in, so if you don't want a countdown or Auld Lang Syne played at midnight this probably isn't the ideal evening for your special day. Second - the holidays usually bring on the lbs - so you have to be prepared to either gain a pound here or there or diet at the hardest time of year. Finally - the two weeks prior to the wedding always seem to be the most hectic, lots of last minute details and answering a zillion questions to every vendor and your venue, so if you don't mind that piled with Christmas then you are good to go. Below is a what I imagine would make a fabulous a New Years Eve to look like - Happy Planning!

the perfect NYC venue

festive drink stirrers for the bar

signature cocktail of course has to include bubbly

(so fun to personalize your labels with the printable below)

why not try a ginger champagne cocktail

photo booth signs

reception centerpieces

mercury glass & white blossoms - so elegant & simple

new years decor

printable new years paper goods for day of signs

(loving the round striped pins for escort cards)

 fun favor for your guests

(fill with your favorite goodies)

black paper guest book

sparkly wedding cake

ornament & ribbon around napkin - so chic a holiday wedding

classic wedding invitation with embossed wrap around band

the glamorous & super affordable bridal gown

little rosette on the brides shoes to match the gown

some sparkle to match the sash's embellishment

bridesmaid dress

bridesmaids shoes

bridesmaids purse

sassy mother of the bride

adorable traditional flower girl dress

glitter shoes for flower girl

worlds cutest boutonniere

the grand finale - midnight kiss as husband & wife - tell your photog to be all up in your biz-nass to capture amazing photos like the ones below

total framer

who doesn't love a group shot where everyone looks like your wedding is the best they have ever been to

Happy 2012 Everyone - Here is to a fabulous year for everyone!

- make this your wedding with the shopping guide below -

nyc venue - http://gothamhallevents.com/planEvent/social.htm

bridal clutch - http://www.dsw.com/handbag/lulu+townsend+firework+flower+ruched+box+clutch?prodId=233786&cm_mmc=Shopping-_-all-_-LuluTownsendHandbags-_-233786&mr:referralID=98b9ddc3-37e0-11e1-a486-001b2166c2c0

brides shoes - http://www.dsw.com/shoe/badgley+mischka+randall+pump?prodId=236519&cm_mmc=Shopping-_-all-_-BadgleyMischka-_-236519&mr:referralID=c3617450-37df-11e1-8a48-001b2166becc

wedding gown - http://www.davidsbridal.com/Browse_Bridal-Gowns-Shop-By-Designer-White-by-Vera-Wang__pageSize-all

bridesmaid dress - http://www.shopbop.com/organza-one-shoulder-dress-thread/vp/v=1/845524441918714.htm?folderID=2534374302183382&fm=other-shopbysize&colorId=11745&extid=affprg

bridesmaid shoes - http://www.shopbop.com/lacie-piece-open-toe-pump/vp/v=1/845524441910692.htm?folderID=2534374302183603&fm=other-shopbysize&colorId=10212&extid=affprg

bridesmaid purse - http://www.dillards.com/product/Kate-Landry-Glitter-Case-Jeweled-Pushlock_301_-1_301_502989655?cm_mmc=Linkshare-_-J84DHJLQkR4-_-null-_-null&linkshare=null/affiliate

flower girl dress - http://www.etsy.com/listing/31463476/silver-grey-pretty-party-dress-with?ref=sr_gallery_37&ga_search_query=silver+flower+girl+dress&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

flower girl shoes - http://www.jcrew.com/wedding/Wedding_Flower_Girl.jsp

mother of the bride dress - http://watters.com/Collection/Collection20/#Style:1573

photo booth signs - http://www.etsy.com/listing/89003782/diy-photo-booth-props-new-years-eve?ref=sr_gallery_21&ga_search_query=new+years+eve&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

printable day of paper goods - http://www.etsy.com/listing/63950244/vintage-new-years-eve-printable-party?ref=sr_gallery_13&ga_search_query=new+years+eve&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

drink stirrers - http://www.etsy.com/listing/86927222/gold-and-silver-fooddrink-cupcake-picks?ref=sr_gallery_3&ga_ref=auto&ga_search_query=new+years+eve+drink+stirrers&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_ship_to=US&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

striped straws - http://www.etsy.com/listing/79897470/grey-striped-straws-30-paper-straws-with?ref=sr_gallery_9&ga_search_query=gray+and+white+paper+straws&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=

new years props - http://www.newyearfavors.com/new-years-party-kit-77202.html

wedding invitations - http://www.weddingpaperdivas.com/shop/winter--wedding_invitations.htm

guest book - http://www.exclusivelyweddings.com/Weddings/148-0305?refid=pmdigital&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=NonBrand&cm_mmc=PMD-_-CSE-_-Guest%5fBooks%5fand%5fPens-_-Froogle&gclid=CIeLzrPNu60CFQjd4AodcDA-Ag