Celebrities: They're just like me!

This is just to let you know all know that Suri Cruise is officially as cool as me. 


I was minding my own business, scanning through TMZ on my iPhone following a delightful July 4th BBQ and saw the following picture: 

Suri was out getting ice cream with her mom, Katie Holmes, who you all know (unless you're hiding under a rock to get away from the heat) has recently divorced Tom Cruise/escaped the clutches of Scientology. Suri and Katie were having ice cream in NYC, laughing it up, having a grand old time just mom and daughter (and bodyguards). 


I immediately turned to the BF, shoved this picture in his face and asked, "Does this dress look familiar??" He responded with, "...Um, maybe?"


Yes. Yes it does. It's the exact same dress that I wore to the Derby earlier this year!

I love when celebrities want to be just like me. Do you think they sell this dress in child size? Or did they custom make it for her out of the same fabric? Did they buy it in adult size and just tailor it down to child size? Tell me your secrets, Suri Cruise!

UPDATE: Run out the clock.

C would like to add another website to waste your time at work: how to talk to girls at parties. contrary to the name, it really doesn't have much to do with how to talk to girls at parties (although that is a blog idea right there, if you are looking for one). 


it is a man clothes website: pictures of man clothes, questions about man clothes and discussions about man clothes. if you are a man, you'll enjoy this site. if you are a lady who likes to look at male models, you may also enjoy it. 

UPDATE: "They say a cluttered desk means a cluttered mind." --Michael Scott

If you haven't already read my post on jewelry organization, go read that first. The same disclaimer applies here:

• Gentlemen: this post may not be for you. Other than watches, I'm pretty sure most of you do not wear jewelry. Proceed with caution. 
• Ladies: Has your jewelry gotten out of control? Do you have no method of organization? Is your dresser/desk/nightstand cluttered with every necklace you own? Read below and be unorganized no more! 

Regarding said "better situation for watches and bangles," BEHOLD: 

For the bangles, I bought a hammered bowl from West Elm that is actually a serveware piece: 

There are several beautiful pieces in this collection (I have the "large bowl"). I also really like the footed bowl and almost bought that one instead, but I thought I might have to pile up the bracelets as opposed to having a concave bowl to place them into. If you have smaller and/or less bangles, this would be a good item to get. 


For the watches, I bought a tray from West Elm that is actually a bathroom accessory:

I thought it was so pretty! Who would relegate this to the bathroom? It's perfect for laying out watches - I can fit about nine on here. West Elm sells a huge variety of cute trays (both for bathroom and serving or entertaining) that can be used for jewelry storage/display. I LOVE these menswear print trays, but they sadly were not large enough for watch purposes. Please post below if you see anything else awesome and jewelry-worthy!


Gentlemen (and ladies who don't care about the above): I promise a non-jewelry post shortly!

"They say a cluttered desk means a cluttered mind." --Michael Scott

Gentlemen: this post may not be for you. Other than watches, I'm pretty sure most of you do not wear jewelry. Proceed with caution. 


Ladies: Has your jewelry gotten out of control? Do you have no method of organization? Is your dresser/desk/nightstand cluttered with every necklace you own? Read below and be unorganized no more! 


For several years, I've had one of those 100 pocket things that hangs in the closet. This worked out well in New York, but my closet is a little different now and this was just not cutting it anymore. My dresser had become a sea of unorganized watches, rings and necklaces, not to mention all of my small earrings which were always impossible to locate. On my quest to accessorize more, I needed to have a clean way to store my jewelry out on my dresser. 

The "Before" Picture: 

After much research, I found two items at Bed Bath and Beyond. The first is a telescoping necklace holder, $20. It has two levels of double hooks. You can either keep the levels together, or move the second one up to hold even longer necklaces. Of course, mine is at the highest point. With the double hooks, you can really have things organized and all hanging separately. It also has a large, scooped tray at the bottom that can hold rings, or small bracelets. The bottom is felted so it won't scratch your dresser! 

Item number two is the GemGini, also $20 from Bed Bath & Beyond. Despite the annoying name, I really like this product. It is awesome for holding longer earrings, and has spaces for post earrings and/or rings at the bottom. I wear a lot of smaller earrings to work, so this is perfect for having those organized and at the ready. It comes set up with magnets - they advertise that you can magnetize this to the inside of your medicine cabinet so you can "put on makeup and jewelry at the same time." Not sure I would ever do those activities at the same time, but it's a nice idea. You can also use the sticky strips to hang it up on a wall. I haven't done that yet (just have it leaning against the wall), but that's your option. The only issue is that this doesn't really have an option for "huggie" style earrings. I have a few of those hanging on the bottom hooks right now... We'll see how long that lasts. All in all, it's great to have everything organized but available. I feel like I can see everything and it makes me want to wear things I don't usually wear because I can actually find them! 

If you like this concept but want something cuter, I would definitely look at Etsy. They have a TON of earrings organizers like this, but with cute frames and colors. I just didn't want to hang something on the wall, so I went simple.  

Ta da! Organization achieved.

I still need some better situation for bangles and watches 

(you know I have about 15 watches in the rotation), but that's for another day.

bloody sunday.

What did you do today? I spent part of my afternoon bloodstaining my nails. Considering it is about a week until Halloween and I have yet to secure a pink and white spandex suit, à la Nicki Minaj, I think this will have to suffice as my costume. And I'm really no good at planning costumes anyhow.

This nail art was surprisingly easy, and is from my new favorite fashion blog, refinery29. Follow their instructions here. I would recommend a straw on the smaller side (maybe more like a coffee stir) and perhaps a darker shade than I used - my nails look a bit more like someone dropped strawberry jam on me. I still thought it was really fun to do, and would also look cool with a different color on top for non-Halloween time. I'm thinking of trying purple.

Here are my bloody/strawberry jam nails. Let me know how yours turn out!

'ella.

dear gizmodo: thank you for introducing me to these goggle umbrellas. not only are they adorable, they come in some of my favorite colors! who doesn't want to be ensconced in the waterproof protection of an umbrella while also being able to spy on the world around you? i sure as heck do. add this to the birthday list please! also, i can't believe gizmodo failed to point out the periscope top on the umbrella. i assume it doesn't actually work, but is still a great feature.

i need this beet right now.

so, i am new to the land of iPhones. but in general, i am pretty obsessed with keeping my stuff, especially electronic stuff, safe and happy. even the screen on my slr camera has a little protector. so, i've always been really impressed with these fantastic sushi iPhone covers:

it protects my stuff, but also looks awesome. this designer on etsy has other amazing cases like the above - my personal favorite is the one that looks like a cassette tape. but then gizmodo showed me another source of cell phone cover amazement today:

that's right. dress your little blackberry or iPhone up in a cute, jean overall situation! hopefully this post comes just in time to help someone out with their last-minute holiday shopping.

what's the time?

just had to show you all my new watch, 1 of 2. Two new watches in one weekend!! i think i have reached my quota for the year now....

that's really not the trend in vampires right now.

dearest E: here is a post JUST FOR YOU. (Ok, everyone else can read it too.)

so, the big day is almost upon us! that's right, it's halloween. now, i am not too big on halloween. as a kid, i was pretty much scared of my own shadow, and running around at NIGHT in the DARK was not an interest of mine. the costumes were scary and it was always too cold (thanks, chicago). so after a couple years of trick-or-treating as a kid, halloween got the kibosh, and i've ignored it mostly ever since.

for those of you who know me, you'll understand why i was never interested in the adult version of halloween either. i'm not big on getting really really drunk and wandering around the city in slutty costumes. hence, the shunning continued.

but, this year i am going to take a chance and go out for halloween. i have a built in costume: the insane, black and gold lamé 80's prom dress that i wore for purim junior year of college. i'll crimp my hair and there you go - instant costume.

the issue now is, as M pointed out, i'm not really "going as" anything. is "80's prom girl" an acceptable costume to go as? at this point, i'm not going to rethink the whole thing. i don't have the stamina or the imagination to whip up some other awesome costume now. but (and here's where you come in) if i had to do it all over again, what should i have gone as? if this year goes well, i can use your suggestion next year. or even sooner for purim! so, send in your suggestions now, and also let me know what you're going to be this year!

happy trick-or-treating... stay away from any vampires that look like Creed...

(a big thanks to A for pulling some pics for me! xoxo)

i'm sorry. what?!

as i was rushing home today, i breezed past the gap on 57th street. since gap is making a huge push for jeans these days, perhaps its no surprise... but in the window of the baby gap section i saw - skinny jeans for toddlers. i kid you not. the description online is "cool skinny jeans for your future fashionista." whatever happened to kids just being kids? the days when children had separate types of clothes, and not just shrunken adult clothes?

fyi - gap is also selling "boyfriend" jeans (which look insane on even the adult models... how do they look on normal sized adults?! let alone toddlers!), boot cut jeans, wide leg jeans..... basically everything on the adult side, just shrunk down for the kids. gap? stop it!

will my kids kill me if i don't let them wear skinny jeans? (or the future equivalent... skinny spacesuits, maybe.) i don't want them to be forced to be "future fashionistas." just let them work on being kids.

what would tim say?

so, i'm a fan of skinny jeans. most of my current jeans are of the skinny variety. but this i just don't understand. why in the heck would i want "black ankle skinny jeans that feature sheer mesh panels"?? nymag suggests this means that either true pants are on their way out, or this is a way to ease people back into pants who haven't worn them in a while.

sidenote: who decided that the back should be normal skinny jean? would these make more sense if they were mesh all the way around, like jean shorts attached to mesh leggings, or do they then lose their "skinny jean" appeal?

sometimes, fashion posts are for the boys.

i'm a late bloomer to the j crew land. i used to think their pants were too boxy for me and therefore never shopped there. but a recent trip taught me otherwise, and i am now in love with their skirts and fancy tshirts (my new fav across the board).

so, i was walking by ex-co-workers mailbox today and saw the new j crew catalog. finders keepers! as i was flipping through, i noticed a picture of the moon is down. the pic looked exactly like what you see here, all vintagey and old. um, what? the line next to the picture said "shop our vintage book collection at the Men's Shop in Soho". so - now j crew is telling me how to further accessorize my preppy/hipster lifestyle with old books? that does work well with my already-beat-up leather messenger bag... ok, i'll bite. after some research i found this post about the new soho store, with a very cool slideshow. i lourrrrve the vintage cufflinks they show, as well as the general old-timey vibe of the store. have any of you lovely men been out to the new j crew manland? is it extra cool? or just regular j crew in disguise?

revised office.

pardon my absence. it's tough work when you're the boss!

while i wasn't layin' down the law, i was redecorating my little space (or "cube plus" as rabbi a calls it). got rid of a bookshelf for extra space, found a printer and third lamp... it's quite the cozy spot.

i also stole this quite-awesome poster from the production floor. hopefully they do not miss it. it's pretty apropos to have my office shoe factory right under a "the devil wears prada" poster....

...and the headband strikes again.

you knew she had to be back sooner or later. and if a girl can be mean to my tim gunn, there's no telling who else she'll bitch out at. apparently kenley collins (project runway season 5 insaneo-headband-wearing-daughter-of-a-tugboat-captain designer) was arrested last night in brooklyn for bringing out the crazy on her ex-fiance. apparently she attacked him with multiple weapons including a... cat? thanks tmz, for your always stellar reporting.

professor hilarity, take 2.

hopefully you caught my post a few weeks ago, where i began my "professor quotes" section. here we go again, with more gems from the master of organizational behavior.

but before i even get into what he said last night, let's discuss his clothes. i've seen him twice now, and both times he has worn really fancy looking suits with this stand-up type collar. his shirts have the same short little, standy-uppy type collar. what the heck?! where does one even purchase a suit like this?? also, he never wears a tie, but always has a little hankie, poofie thing hanging out of his pocket. he lives in italy usually, so maybe i can blame it on that?
anyhow:

• [again, about the overhead projector] "Can this light be turned off? Damn. I already used my near-death experience joke last time."
• "Let's talk about tooting your own horn."
• "In that type of role you have consultants working for you, if you're willing to tap them."
  

apparently i am the fashion police.

it's also possible that i just saw some of the worst dressed people in the universe last night. not that i thought that naples, fl was any fashion capital. it's not. but the way some partygoers were dressed, you'd think they've never seen what normal people look like. here are two choice photographs showing the fashion-impaired. please keep in mind that these photographs do not include one of a woman who had made such poor fashion choices that all i could do was stare as she walked by.

um, i'm not sure what's going on here, but i doubt this was ever in style.

oh, honey. you forgot your pants!