5 things to love about THIS october.

INDIAN SUMMER!

Sam Adams Octoberfest...

mmm. get it while you can before they switch to winter lager.

anything pumpkin spiced...

Crunchy leaves...

Even though they are hard to find in these parts... I still love that sound.

& Glee ala Rocky Horror

tailoring is key.

Bethanny knows...

Tailoring is so important. It really makes such a difference. I used to get most of my clothes from the thrift stores in Chicago and have slowly taken every single piece to the tailor. My favorite tailor in the LES is the The Orchard Tailor Service, they are fast and cheap. Sometimes they do it while you wait. They did a fantastic job on my sequin hot pants, I'm sure that wasn't an easy task. Seriously ladies, take your clothes to the tailor. It's worth it.

new nails.

looking a little 80's today...

haculla.

Kind of love this... passed by on Lafayette two days in a row so I photographed it.

inspiration.

In honor of my own very recent room renovation, I've decided to add some of the photos that have inspired me. If you're looking to redecorate, maybe you'll get a few ideas!

Carrie Bradshaw's apartment - after she redecorated.

To the best of my knowledge her paint color was a custom mix for the set but is very similar to Benjamin Moore's Electric Blue. I almost painted my room this color but thought it was a touch too in your face. So happy I wen't with Buckland blue.

Carrie's apartment - in it's original state as seen in the series.

LOVE this charming teeny-tiny kitchen.

Especially for an NYC apt. I wish I would have done this in my first apartment, but since there were 3 people living in our little studio, similar to cave dwellers... they would have never allowed it. :)

inspiration boards...

I think these are great if you need an inspiration board, I actually think this cork board image is where my jewelry/thumb tack board derived from... The top one is a little cluttered for me, but still very cool.

The room of Blair Waldorf

Coco Chanel's Paris apartment

Holly Golightly's apt in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

My old Chicago apartment... Much more spacious than my current dwelling. Oh well.

buckland blue.

Took a break this week from my usual bi-weekly manicures and decided to paint my room instead. So much more work than I realized but I'm really happy with my color choice. I used Buckland Blue, by Benjamin Moore which is part of their historic color collection. It's a really pretty blue/gray shade. Not too bright but not too dark. I really do love it. Here are some before & after photos...

festive tunes.

feeling festive with my three favorite halloween songs...

moisturize.

I know that I can be a little bit dramatic... but I am being dead serious when I say that this lotion changed my life. I first discovered it when I was a taking a ceramics class in college and any moisture that I had left in my hands was sucked out by the clay... plus the seasons were changing... it was really awful.

There really is nothing as good as this stuff. You only need a pea size amount and it absorbs quickly and isn't greasy at all... plus if you have excess on your hands, you can run it through your hair to get rid of static (but just a little). Seriously buy this if you get dry, cracked skin in the winter. It costs like $7 at Duane Reade which is stupid, but I think most other places it costs around $4.

Nivea kiss of shine gloss, is really great for moisturizing too. Not sticky at all and has a really great shine. It's perfect for over lipstick too. Costs about $4 at any drugstore.

Rosebud salve is another great gloss for the colder months but since it's in a pot you have to stick you're finger in it, and I'm over that. But still a great product. Costs about $6 at Sephora or Urban Outfitters.

not a love story.

500 days of summer.

watching 500 days of summer this afternoon... i actually think this movie is kind of depressing but this is such a great dance sequence...

DIY. jewelry.

necklace organizer

supplies used: quark board, white spray paint, black & white images or magazine clippings & thumb tacks

Step 1: buy a cork board & spray paint it to desired color

Step 2: collect images and arrange them in a cohesive way that compliments your decor

Step 3: tack everything down, add extra tacks as needed.

Step 4: hang your necklaces from the tacks.

and you're done!

new nails.

yesterdays manicure.

unintentionally turned out to look a little too reminiscent of my high school days. way too much comet spirit going on here. i feel like i should be putting my my cheerleading uniform which I hung up almost 10 years ago. yikes.

and here it is (circa 2001)... ooo boy.

fall sweaters.

Just picked up some great fall sweaters from Forever21... good stuff.

forever 21 sweaters: tribal boucle sweater $28.90

forever 21 sweaters: beautiful knit sweater $24.80

Also, found a really great pair of jeggings (for lack of a better term), at american eagle for $49.50. So far I love them.

peter thomas roth.

A couple of weeks ago I was exchanging a few things at Sephora and I found this wonderful product. I'm not sure if I should blame my shiny skin on the NYC summer or just accept the fact that my skin is changing but I wish I would have found this product months ago. It's really easy to use & gives your skin a really great matte look. It's perfect for traveling too because of the cap BUT the best part is that it has an SPF of 30.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS wear sunscreen. No matter what! I cannot say this enough.

If you must use a bronzer, this is probably not for you. I am very pale so it works well with my complexion, the powder seems to be translucent... but still. It sells for $30 at Sephora.

Because I was so impressed with my first Peter Thomas Roth product, I decided to try out several more. I've been having some problems with my skin as of late and am NOT okay with it. So I picked up this small trial size acne kit from Ricky's the other day and have already seen a huge improvement. I've heard only good things about using beta hydroxy acid, so it was a big selling point... so here's to hoping! This sells for around $35 and you can get it at Ricky'sNYC or Sephora.

You can find any of the above products at

www.sephora.com

www.peterthomasroth.com

www.rickysNYC.com

threading & trish mcevoy.

While I was at Bloomingdales the other day, looking for ways to spend my hard earned money... I was just about out the door when I was approached by the Trish McEvoy salesperson... I've never tried any of their make-up, so I was ready to let him sell me some stuff. I wasn't ultra impressed with any of the products, but I thought I'd buy something anyway to be polite. I ended up getting the precision brow shaper, and I gotta say I'm actually very impressed with it. It's about $26, but so much better than any drugstore Maybelline or Covergirl pencil you can get. And it has this great little brush on the end to help blend it. I highly recommend it.

Trish McEvoy

Also, if you've never had your eyebrows threaded before you should probably give it a shot. It really is such a great alternative to waxing. I personally think that it hurts less & it doesn't irritate your skin. I am very pale, and am back to normal after about 20 minutes.

The place that I really like in my neighborhood is called 'classic eyebrow threading zone'... and they get the job done for $7. It's in the LES on Clinton Street btw Delancey & Rivington, but really most places do a great job.

If you've never even heard of threading before, you should check this out...

saturday nails.

Got another manicure today. Love it.

Also noticed some sweet posters on the wall... they always make me laugh.

(this last one wasn't actually there, but too good not to share)

DIY. drawers.

Custom bookshelf drawers on a budget.

supplies used: boxes, vinyl placemats, decorative knobs, packing tape, hot glue gun, tape measure, pen & a bubble envelope or some sort of wood backing.

white corrugated boxes $1.49 : the container store
lace design vinyl placemats $1.50 : pearl river mart
flat black round knob $2.49 : home depot

Step 1: assemble the boxes.

Step 2: find the center point of the box and hot glue the vinyl placemat over the box so that the center points are both aligned.

Step 3: Using an awl or very carefully a pair of scissors,
punch a hole through the center point and attach the knob.
Since we're using cardboard, you'll need some additional support & backing.
For now, I used a packing envelope to add some support, but ideally some thin wood backing would be better.

& you're done. Repeat as necessary.

Total Cost: around $35.00.