Halloween Weather

Like clockwork the weather shifted from nice and balmy to cold and wet. It's amazing how year after year the weather is always nasty for the trick or treaters.
For me, this means it's time to pull out the Spiewak parka. Even though I am absolutely, completely and totally over the cold weather I love this jacket!! Maybe because I bought it for about $20 about 4 years ago or because it always keeps me warm and dry. Or maybe because this company was started back in Brooklyn in the early 1900's....
My jacket is older, so there is no photo, this one is pretty close minus it's not black. Click here for more jackets and all things Spiewak.

First Bite Boulder

So after the sugar buzz from all the Halloween candy has subsided and you have a hankering for some good eats, get on down to First Bite Boulder, Nov 3-10. There are about 40 restaurants participating, all proceeds go to Benefit There With Care and if you Mocopay - 'chandon' you get a free class of vino - not sure how Mocopay works but I am sure it's easy enough for a class of vino....

Goblin Dog + Muff Girl

This is my 100 pound deerhound Ollie creeping us out for Halloween. Trust me he's a handsome dog but the photo was perfect for Halloween....

I've also added a shot of Crazy KB with her classic, custom, one-of-a kind Muff Girl costume....up, up and away MG!!!!

ONLY IN BOULDER

I know I know, it's really hard to see, but I had to let the monk get a little distance from me. I am a hazard driving while taking photos and what would happen to my karma if I hit a monk!!!!! But check out the Croc wearing, mt biking monk!!

Vintage Questions

In NY I met up with DW, the fabulous eco-stylist. She took me to Norma's for brunch!! Nice call girl!

We got to chatting about fashion and vintage, the subject of vintage fur came up. Both of us have various vintage items, hand-me-downs (for lack of a better term) and otherwise. DW asked my take on vintage fur, where did I stand?

I am all for it. I don't see anything wrong with wearing something that my gmom or other relative purchased over 50 years ago. And rather in my closet than some heap god knows where.

Today I came across these buttons - seems I am not alone.

If you have vintage fur and want to purchase one of these pins call Rue St. Denis 212-260-3388 to order. Medium button is $15, large button is $20; shipping charges separate.

Walton Ford

I think I first learned of the artist Walton Ford in Vogue. Yes, there is more to this mag than just ads and outrageously priced couture clothing. I think the story was about an upcoming retrospective at a NY art museum, if my failing memory serves me....

Ok, so that is exhibit is long gone and if I had $1k burning a hole in pocket (rather than into my car) I would purchase this Walton Ford book available through Taschen (how I love Taschen)

Painful Wakeups

A lot my friends swear by the Now & Zen alarm clocks, manufactured here in Boulder. They just don't do it for me and I am over my clock radio. Too many mornings of waking up to terrible news or music, I am ready to pitch my clock radio across the room.
I have found my answer. The bomba Alarm clock - available through the Little Clock Shop. It's so lovely. Even if when shows an ungodly early hour, how could I be irritated?

A Tee is Just a Tee?

Perhaps you are in the pool that thinks a t-shirt is just a t-shirt, I disagree. Take it from someone whose drawers are overflowing with all makes and models, there are differences! There are the brands that fade, the brands that grow as you wear them, the brands that make you look and feel oh so sloppy.
Not so is the case with Lna T-shirts. Hands down my fav! The perfect thickness, cut long but hold their shape and with colors that stay true - you can't go wrong. I can't seem to find a website for LnA but you can find the shirts on numerous online boutiques.

Car Sub

For reasons too long and painful to discuss, my car (a German-made Station Wagon aka Grocery Getter) is temporarily out of commission. I'm driving a Toyota Corolla for a rental. It's a little too suburban for me but have to admit it's the best economy size rental I have ever driven. If you are looking for a modest car, that is zippy with AMAZING gas mileage look no further. ...Sure, so does the every so trendy Prius but no waiting lists for this model!

Save the Bees - buy more honey

The warmth and sunlight is decreasing with each passing day, this always makes me want more and more tea. And what better to drink with tea but honey!
Last month friends from LA were in town and their arrival brought a group of their friends, old and new, together for a large group dinner. At dinner I had the chance to sit and chat with the creators of Backyardhive.com This interesting couple not only bottle Raw honey in beautiful hand blown glass jars. (I can't wait to try it)
but created a mission...'to improving bee ecology and beekeeping methods that respect the honeybee."
Check out backyardhive.com for more information or to purchase their raw honey

Barneys Jewelry

I have to admit last trip to Barneys Co-Op was a letdown (for clothes at least). But what the Co-Op lacked the jewelry section made up for...I was drooling all over the glass cases. Designers such as; Simone Coste, Devon Page McCleary, all so glittering and gorg!
Barneys just released there jewelry mailer - click here to drool for yourself.

Goodness from Bad Times

I was locked out of my office this am...so I ran some errands while listening to NPR. I caught this great story about NPR affiliate KPBS.
I know it's so cliche but I love hearing stories about good things that arise from tragedy.
The smart folks at KPBS created an up to the minute detailed map for the residents of San Diego. They worked around the clock to show house by house, structure by structure the location of the fires, it was so advanced and detailed that Google is now incorporating the tech into its own maps (see above) Google When the maps crashed, Google was there to help make sure it sayed afloat. At one point the station was surrounded by flames and forced to evacuate a neighboring commercial station went offline and hosted KPBS instead of the usual lineup. Click here to listen to the story.
If you want to make a donation to victims of the fire here are some links:
American Red Cross - www.redcross.org
Salvation Army - www.salvationarmy-socal.org
The Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - www.spcala.com

Lucky Dube

Last night, at the Boulder Theater with my fav boys, DR and Way, I caught the tail end of the Antibalas show. For whatever reason, this 13 piece Afrobeat Orchestra got me thinking about Lucky Dube.
It's definitely not breaking news that the South African Reggae talent was gunned down, IN FRONT OF HIS CHILDREN, last week. Que horror!
This man had some damn smooth pipes. And he was a sweetie, I was fortunate enough to meet him years ago. If you aren't familiar, take a listen..
And if you are curious, it was a great show, you can count on KP always nailing it! So much good stuff this week alone. Up tonight, Public Enemy, boyieee!!
But now I am hurting, stayed out way too late for a school night.

Green Gem

While visiting Amanda's shop Avitastyle I came across these cute little bracelets. Naturally, I had to grab one and then immediately pester Amanda to find out more...
The company is Iaccessories and I quickly fired off an email to learn more, "We created the bracelet to spread the message with a simple hand made piece of jewelry that is inexpensive. Maybe just by wearing it will remind us that we need to be concerned about the world and the environment. It's basically saying that fashion is knowing about what's new and becoming green is the way to go."
Way to go ladies!!
Click here to see their entire collection or to purchase a bracelet of your own. Or if you are like myself and need the immediate gratification, head on down to Avita on 3rd in Hollywood

More Right Coast Rundown

As I was drafting this next post in my head I came to the realization that it is merely going to be more of the same type of post as LA...meeting up with people you may or may not know, dining at random spots through out the city and hitting familiar and unfamiliar landmarks. So I will spare you.
However I must mention brunch at Blue Ribbon Bakery is the best!!!! Just the smells alone...actually the West Village as a whole rocks! Love it.
But next time you are in NY and have a tight schedule as I did. If want to get in as many different restaurants and experiences as possible, consider a progressive dinner. You know - cocktails in one spot, apps in another, dinner another, you get the drift. It the best way to cover a lot of ground in a short spell!
I should also mention the trip was centered around attending Celebrate Young Survival Coalition's Seventh Annual York In Living Pink event co-chaired by a friend and cancer survivor. It was a great turnout and they raised lots of money. GO LISA!!!

The Right Coast

Since I gave a considerable amount of time and attention to writing about my trip to LA. It's only fair I do the same with my trip to NY, which crazily enough occurred days before LA.

So after heading to the airport at an insanely early hour on a Sat I arrived, exhausted in NY. I checked my bags at the Park South Hotel, grab brunch and hit the streets! We cruised around the Nolita area; stopping in great shops like Erica Tanov, Terra Plana and Calypso. Then my oldest friend (we are talking elementary school) arrived. We chilled at the hotel and got ready for din-din.

Dinner was a delish meal at Babbo. This is one of Batali's gem's and there are no crocs on the door. See previous post on Mozza. The restaurant has 2 floors and each has such a different vibe - it's a toss up which I prefer.

It was an excellent meal - gluttony all around. We thought we had room for more and hopped around the corner to Otto. WRONG - we walked in and out, too stuffed and the thought of another drink or bite was disgusting.

The weather was mild and it was late for Boulder but never for NY. So we went back to the hotel dressed down, threw on our sneaks, brainstormed for a coffee shop that was a good, distance, cool and would be open past 11 and we were off....

Say it with me - I am good enough, smart enough.....

Since I am attempting, trying, trying to keep my inbox lean and mean, I am sorting through all the folders, drafts, etc. Today, I found these Stuart Smalleyesque (well not really but I found Al Franken extremely funny as SS) quotes:
Quote #1
Do what you love to do“If you put your attention on doing what you love to do…and you get really good at it…then people will want to pay you for it. They want to pay you a lot for it. So, the money becomes the bonus, it is no longer the driving force. It is more based in something that you feel passionate … your bank balance does not measure the result.”

Quote #2
"We see things not as they are, but as we are" H.M. Tomlinson. Response ,"There is no reality, only perception,"an old Indian saying.

And Quote #3 - which has nada to do with the others, or does it?
It’s not Advertising vs. PR, it’s messaging vs. conversation.

Sad day, Sunday, last day...

The plan was to reconnect with a friend from CU at Axe (so delish) but she had a sailing race go off earlier than intended so that was a no go. When I headed back from the OC to LA, I found myself in gridlock on the 405 - welcome to LA!! So I had much less time than expected....but back to the Westside I go. I cruised around Santa Monica - farmers, etc and back to Venice. I was walking down the street and peered into a shop where I noticed the lovely art work of Melissa Moss. I popped into the shop and bought a few of her cards. Here's one

I then headed over to the new Organic and Eco beauty shop Vert. This shop was created by a friend of a friend, the lovely and talented Renata Helfman. She happened to be in the shop and we caught up for a few. This shop is going to be huge!! She has already been profiled in numerous major publications including Vogue and the Sunday LA times. Here is a link to the article from Sunday's LA times and the photo from the spread.
Since I knew I would be hungry on the flight home (sniff, sniff) I started to think about my options....rather than go with the good but familiar I decided to scope out something new, to me, at least. So I hit the 3 Square Bakery and picked up a sandwich and out of this world cookie!!!! Last but least I tried to visit the Elizabeth Paige Smith Gallery but it was opening late so I missed it. But here is a photo of the door and the current artist, Jeremiah Ketner, I was hoping to see.

And next trip I want to eat at this spot - I forget the name, or maybe I don't want to share. Here is a photo I took of the bar. It's a brown rice sushi joint.And so ends my trip to LA....

And Saturday...

Wow, I am starting to get tired just writing about the weekend! Originally I planned to head to Laguna on Saturday morning but our dinner wasn't too late and it made more sense to miss the traffic and head down on Fri eve. So that is what I did...

I was visiting with the multi-talented filmista, fashionista, designer, writer and blogger Mary Jo Matsumoto of Trustyourstyle.com. This was my first trip to Laguna and MJ was a great tour guide.

We started off with a yummy Al fresco brunch at Sapphire. We sat on the deck and looked out West towards the water, drank lots of coffee and ate a huge meal to give us lots of energy for our day. Post meal we cruised the shops and galleries, walked and shopped, walked and shopped; memorable stops include Lala and The Surf Gallery.

I feel I am slacking on the pretty pictures, so this is a painting by the artist Alex Weinstein. His exhibit is no longer showing, currently it's a show by a handful of Roxy artists - definitely worth checking. And be sure to stop in the shop directly south of the gallery, can't remember the name. This clothing/surf shop has a great selection of tops and pants for guys/gals. We walked for hours in town. Then we were shopped out so we hit Salt Creek beach. We took a nice walk in the sand and surf. By now we were getting thirsty and hit The Coyote Grill for some damn tasty margs and mexi dinner. After all the sun, shopping, walking and cocktails we were beat!

Friday LA Style

Started the morn with a yummy breakfast with Amanda at Coral Tree Cafe in Brentwood. This spot was new to me but def had the feel of Urth without all the crowds. My Friday was a little ridiculous running all over LA but I wanted to see a bunch of people so I just had to make it work...
After breakie I headed over to 3rd Street in Hollywood. There are great spots to shop and dine over here; Joan's, Avita, Milk, Bird, Plastica, Sigerson....just to name a few.
I then made my way over to BH to catch up Jodi of Beyond Yoga. We eat lunch at Urth Caffe, this was crazy crowded. It was great to see her, her about her life and happs. Jodi has the BEST yoga clothing line. She makes this wonderful jacket which kept me warm and cozy on my recent trip to NY.
Jodi had to go back to running her biz so I made my way back over to the Westside, just can't stay away....en route I happened to pass the BP Helios House gas station. Click here if you want to read about it....And here are some quick and terrible photos I took from my phone.

Now a certain quasi-designer, not wanting to mention any names LINDA LOUDERMILK. Held her own fashion show independent of the MB Fashion Week at this location. Due in large part to the hard work of a cool friend of mine, Mr MM. She hosed him over, to say the least, so that is all we will mention about that....
I finally made my destination - YogaWorks on Main Street to catch the class of the stunning Kia Miller . Not only was the class exactly what I needed (my calves felt like bricks) but she topped the class off with one of her students, an Indian man, closing the class with a beautiful Sanskrit song while we all laid in our 'dead' pose. The weather was gorg, as I mentioned, so after class I cruised around to people watch, window shop, enjoy the sunshine and westside.
I popped into Blonde - this store stocks so many great brands, it is really hard to leave empty handed. Plus, if the owner, Jill, is there she is a great help and pulls items for to try than you might have otherwise overlooked. A mighty different experience than the super snobs of another Jill shop, Jill Roberts.
Thanks Jill of Blonde!! I will be back for sure!
Later in the evening I met up with super cool and fun chicas Robyn and Emily for din din at Lilly's on Abbott Kinney in Venice. I proceeded to endlessly pick their brains and barage them with questions. The meal wasn't bad, well maybe mine and Emily's....looking forward to catching up with these two again in the near future.

LA Weekend

It was a great trip and the weather was gorg!! Seems I got out just in time, the winds were strong Sunday but I didn't feel any of the smoke from the fires. Before I delve into my post let's all think good thoughts for those in CA.....

While I will try and be comprehensive in my blogging I have to admit, as per the usual, I took barely any photos. So I will be sure to include lots of links to the places, people and things I encountered along the way - because really that was the reason for starting the blog, not talking about myself or my travels.

But here goes....

Thursday mid-day I arrived, bee-lined over to Amanda of Avita Style pad in Brentwood. I have written about Amanda before...she is an eco-designer and definitely paid her dues. IMO - she is about to blow up! She showed her spring collection at Econouvea to rave reviews. So much so that her collection was showcased in Vogueuk.com - click here to see the piece. Here is one of my favorite tops in the collection.

Since this was a big coup for Amanda we had to celebrate so we popped a bottle of bubbly - Veuve of course....best champagne for the price! And toasted to her success...Then we headed over to Mozza Osteria in Hollywood. The traffic was insane, even by LA standards and took an hour ++!!! We met Mark of American Rag and his cool multi-lingual world traveling friend from Hong Kong via France, UK and god knows where else. Can you tell I can't remember his name, for a quick drink and then headed off to Culver City....unfortunately I did not get a chance to visit ARag this trip, probably better for my bank account in the long run anyways.So the traffic subdued and Amanda is an excellent driver - right girl!!!! We arrived in Culver City met a few lovely ladies (Mary Jo, Shannon, Jeanie and Stacie) at Frachie. Since Mary Jo already posted the dinner I suggest you jump over to her blog to read about the dinner - http://www.trustyourstyle.com/. Have to say though, not a fan of this part of town...Dinner and the company was great! But we had a little more juice left so we all parted ways and Amanda and I headed over to Venice to meet her friends at Chaya and chat for a few. It was nice and chill. Some people call the Westside the deadside but that is fine with me!!!

And yes that was it for the evening!!! Stay tuned for day 2.

Back to the Grind....

Monday= end of play time.
I have a lot of great finds to post but it's going to be a bit.
To keep you held over check out The Superficial.com - hilarious, nasty, you are ashamed to visit this site but love it all the same. I am too busy and lazy to post a picture from the site - just trust me.
Thanks for Robyn and Emily for the tip!!!

Outties

One day work weeks are swwwwwwweeeetttt.......it's packing, cocktails and LALA.

Going back to Cali...

After all the negative reports of MB/LA fashion week can't say I feel I made the wrong decision coming back to Boulder for a quick regroup before heading to LA tomorrow.

For those of you, if any, that visit my blog on a regular basis and are in need of a few subs while I hiatus again - here's my recommendations for the day.

Trustyourstyle

KristopherDukes

Plopculture

No photos, blogger is having problems currently. Ciao for now!

Pit Stop

I am back in Boulder for a day or two before heading to LA. It was a great time but for whatever reason I decided to create a list of the most forgettable moments of the trip.
See how fast the NY gets into me! I tend to avoid talking about myself on the blog but whatever.
Here goes...
*Selecting the cab piloted by a driver on his first day, clueless and an abysmal command of the English language. Even spelling it out - I-R-V-I-N-G and with a left here or right here it was hopeless. I know everyone has a first day but come on!!!
*Heading to a fav sushi joint only to find it closed.
*Taking a quick jaunt to Gramercy Park for a little peace and serenity only to find the north side taken over by trucks, lights, crew, craft services, anything you can image for the Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher film.
*Standing one inch away from Mr Punkd himself. He is not that tall!!!
*Jeans in boots, jeans in boots, jeans in boots, jeans in boots, actually just boots. NYers I look to you for inspiration but this is an epidemic. I am officially over it!
*Flying back, desperate to sleep, in my prime window seat only to have Crystal Gayle's hair (not really her) brushing and laying on my shoulder and arm on a much too frequent basis. GROSS!!! *Exhausted and thinking about writing this list on the plane without a laptop or pen to speak of!

*And here is a unmemorable pic of the West Village to go along with the list.

212, 646, 323, 310....

No, these are not my pin codes they are the area codes of the cities I will soon inhabiting.
I have spent the past 3+++ hours turning my inbox into a lean mean fighting machine, deleting, deleting, deleting messages. Yet my phone is still telling me I am maxed out. ERRRRRRR~~
Why do I keep this stuff?
All the while my computer is moving at dial up speeds. So let's just say I wouldn't put any bets on a new entry for the next week or so...
Do you really care?

And then...

when you find that guy you want to make sure you are packing one of these....

from Ho on the go...

Wings & Horns

I am not 'all up' on the streetwear and collaborations. Doesn't really interest me, I only write about what I like...and this new line from Wings&Horns is gorg! Any guy rockin' this line is hot in my book!!!

I think you can go to http://www.highsnobiety.com/ to see more

International Car Free Day Brough to you by Nike

Nike's ad for International Car Free Day - killah! No comment on all the sweatshop labor happening under your watchful eye...

People are so dang creative

...here's a link to a DIY product using old plastic bottles and bic pens to make a sprinkler. Yes, it's a little creepy looking. Click here for the step by step

Bad Brand Association

Probably not what any Fortune 500 company had in mind for brand association...leave it to the Smoking Gun to compile this photo montage. I don't even want to know what this woman was convicted for, especially sporting this Childtime polo. Click here to see the entire spread of winners!

Because I didn't already love Arcade Fire enough

Now they produce a kick a**, cool as shit interactive music video. Click here to check it.

Shopping Wasteland

Since we live in a shopping desert in Boulder, sorry no love for Chelsea whatsoever. Don't even ask me to list why...
Some great online shopping sites are having major sales - no tax, free shipping and you can return if its not a winner.
My suggestions..
Revolveclothing.com
Shopbop.com
Activeendeavors.com

Or you could go down to Denver and shop at Blush.

Office Mayhem

If you are clicking away on your laptop in the local cafe' ya just won't understand. Here is a funny step by step guide of how to stage an office uprising. Many would definitely be skipped over in this office, YUCK! But I would love to give the copier a good shove or two now and forever. This is one of the G rated steps - click here to hit the rest...

Baby got some new shoes

These Ashley Dearborn babies were calling my name. The brownish heel and black straps = match everything. I can even rock'em with black tights when its gets colder, which is every morning and night lately. Best of all they are super comfortable! Head over to her website and see if there is anything that floats your boat - click here

October is a Pink Month

Race for the Cure passed through Denver yesterday morning. I was too busy snoozing so I thought I better find another way to do my part.

Hello....shopping! The options are endless so I've weeded various mags and sites and made a little 'best of' outfit just for you!!

Here are the links to purchase all the great pieces; tee - saks.com, jeans - fidelitydenim.com (these I can vouch for first hand - get'em!), ballet flats - scoopnyc.com, bracelet - revolveclothing.com, watch - coach.com

It's up to you to find out more about each charity and what % of your purchase goes directly to said charity - start shopping!

Take Risks

IMO, these days very few advertisers dare to walk outside the lines, take risks, push the envelope. The website Best Rejected Advertising (via lifelounge) is further proof in the puddin' & a great visit - click here to see all the images.

The Remote of all remotes...

Love this, not only because it reminds me of the candy buttons I lived and died for as a kid but because it's impossible to lose and beautiful to look at. Click here for more info.