Weekend at Newport, RI

For our 3rd year wedding anniversary, my DH planned a lovely weekend at Newport, RI. What was special about this trip was that we were able to share it with our two girls, Daisy and Lulu. It's the first vacation we've taken with the girls. It was so much fun.

When we got there and took a good deep breath of the sea air, the first thing my DH said was, "maybe we can stay here an extra day."

Everything about the town was so relaxing. The staff at the Hyatt was super friendly. We watched the white sail boats cut through the blue water and sky.

The view from our hotel room.

Our girls are crazy about tennis balls, so naturally when we played tennis, the girls went crazy, running around picking up tennis balls.

So while in Newport, of course we have to sample the local seafood. For dinner we went to The Landing upon the recommendation of our hotel concierge. We had fabulous steamers, lobster, and fillet mignon.

For lunch we went to The Cook House. This time we brought our girls with us 'cause they have a cute little sidewalk cafe. The food was also great. The best was definitely the steamed local mussels we had in garlic and butter.

Daisy, not wanting to drink from the dog bar at The Cook House.

The second day, we walked the Cliff Walk that follows along the ocean side with the Newport Mansions on one side. Although the temperature was in the 70's, the cool ocean breeze made it very comfortable. Our girls were so tired that my DH had to carry one of them towards the end of the walk.

Lulu enjoying a break from walking the Cliff Walk. That's my DH's hand in the upper left hand corner

Gen Art Emerging Designer Sale

On Tuesday, New York's young and fashionable gathered at the Puck Building for the Gen Art Emerging Designer Sale.

Even though I got there early, I still had to wait in line to get in. What is it about NYC and lines? I saw a sign that said that I can skip the line if I waved my NY:INC American Express Card. Can't believe I just cancelled that useless card 3 weeks ago!

When I got in, the list lady couldn't find my name on the list ... but she stamped me anyways. So off I went, shopping.

First I tried on these really cute shoes, but couldn't find one in my size. Next I wondered over to a handbag place and set my sights on this large, roomy, leather bag with gold studs. I don't know what I was thinking, after all, I was at a sale where all the items were below wholesale prices.

I put the bag down to check out the rest of the selection, and before I knew it, someone else picked it up and started fondling it. I kept following her around, telling myself that she was just looking, there's no way she was going to buy MY bag. Well, I think you can guess how that story ends ... that girl bought my bag!

Dejected, I went to get a free bottle of water, and thought about drinking a couple of Bailey cocktails. Since I was shopping by myself, I felt kinda silly drinking by myself. So I went on to visit my friend Grace Sun who was showing there.

I had previously went to her private sales, but didn't buy much because everything was in sample size so I couldn't try anything on. This time however, I was able to try things on and ended buying a dress and a blouse. I wish I could have bought more, but I don't think she had her full collection there.

I also bought a whole bunch of french lace lingerie from a designer named CLO. My DH really liked them :)

All in all, a great shopping experience, can't wait for next year's!

Who do I hang with?

My friend Aphrodite had these $25 off $100 purchase coupons for Bloomingdale's. So I joined her on her little shopping's spree. I just can't pass up a good deal.

I must say we did very well. We ran around the store finding things we liked that matched up to the $100 total so we can maximize the discount. It helps that Aphrodite is a super mathematician, I would have given up a long time ago.

I did have an opportunity to shop the store before while waiting for her to show up. First I circled around the dress department. This is where they have all the cocktail/evening dresses with labels like Vera Wang, Badgely Mischka, Tadashi, BCBG, Nicole Miller, Carmen Marc Valvo, etc.

Bloomies was having a great sale, so there were a lot of items for around $100 after discounts and coupons. But the retail prices of the section were around $200 to $500 for cocktail dress and $400 to $1000+ for long evening gowns.

I noticed that while some dresses were cute, overall I did not find them stylish or fashion forward. I was quit disappointed because I have respect for all of the above mentioned designers.

Then I went to the designer collection floor. Each designer had their own section whether it was a section of a wall with names Stella McCartney, Alberta Ferretti, Petere Som, etc. or a separate "boutique" like Chanel, Armani, etc.

I concentrated more on the dresses from each label. I found them to be inspirational, fashionable, and very well constructed. All were made with high quality fabrics with superior finishings and foundation construction. I was quite impressed until I saw the prices. Nothing was below $2,000, even for the simplest shift dress.

So this whole time I was having an identify crisis. I kept asking myself, "who do I hang with?" and could not come up with an answer.

Even by the time I left I couldn't come up with an answer. I didn't want to hang with the dress department, 'cause I felt that the quality and style were sub par. I didn't want to hang with the designers, 'cause I was afraid it would be too expensive for my target customers.

Then I read a blog entry on fashion-incubators.com .... and I figured it out ... I just don't hang in Bloomingdale's.

To Perm or Not To Perm?

So remember how I said I was thinking of perming my hair after reading through the Japanese magazine, Vivi? Well, after I wrote the entry, I kinda got that thought out of my system. Then, my DS called and said that she's been thinking of getting a perm also. So we agreed that she'll drive up to the city on 4th of July and we'll both get our hair permed together.

This is a picture of I want to happen.

I know my hair dresser is going to tell me that look is done with a curling iron, but I figure if I can get some sort of large, loose curls put in, it'll have the same effect, no?

Maybe my good friend CC, the ex-hair dresser can weigh in on this debate?

Tax Return Time

I filed my first business sales tax return today! Since my sales is $0.00 for this quarter, it was easy.

It is a bit of a reality check. It's been 3 months since I started this line, and I don't even have my business plan done.

Magazines from ..... Italy!

So thanks to my friend KO, I've been flipping through the latest batch of magazines from around the world .... well, Italy this time. Love the Vogue.

Here is an inside spread ... what's with the floral print dress ...

.... maybe an inspiration from my flower garden is in order ....

Mags from Japan

The second batch of fashion magazines came from my old high school friend SH who was actually visiting from Japan. He didn't know what to get me at first, so figuring he was a guy and would need help in deciding what fashion mags to get, I gave him a whole list.

He did a really good job in picking up Vivi 'cause it's a very local magazine. I love the different layouts and colors. I especially appreciate all the Asian models 'cause I can better relate to their look. After going through the magazines, it did make want me to perm my hair. All the girls had these gorgeous long wavy hair.

Fashion wise, it was more street fashion, which Japan is so famous for. The other magazine I asked for was Fruits which concentrates purely on street fashion.

Fashion Mags from Around the World

Recently a lot of my friends have been traveling overseas on vacations. And I totally took advantage of this opportunity to ask them to bring back some fashion mags.

The pink one is from Japan, which I'll talk about later.

The first batch was from my friend, Aphrodite who want to Spain. Not only did she bring back Vogue Spain, she also found all these industry mags such as Hola and Moda that are just super expensive here.

They are just wonderful. So inspirational. I love them so much, that I may just spend my money at the incredibly over priced fashion book stores here for future copies ..... unless someone else is going to Spain ....

MODA Manhattan

I attended my first apparel trade show on Monday, many thanks to a friend, who is in the industry. She has been so incredibly helpful.

The show is Moda Manhattan. It's a juried trade show with companies in the apparel, accessory, and footwear industry.

My main purpose was just to check out the show and check out the types of people that showed there. There was one whole section on evening wear, which is where I would like to be grouped if I ever showed there.

I thought I would be intimidated by the whole experience, but I wasn't. Once I have a few accounts, I'll definitely be looking to show in some sort of a trade show.

Where Have I Been?

I know I've been MIA for the past few weeks ... my DH and I along with friends, decided to take a last minute vacation to the beautiful blue waters of South Caribbean.

That's my DH's swim trunks in the lower right hand corner.

Our cruise ship, Royal Caribbean, Adventure of the Seas. Highly Recommended.

This Green Monkey may look cute, but I think it was pissed at all the tourists snapping pictures of it. Or, it could be that the only thing he had to eat was that rock in its hands.

Now that I am back, it's back to business.