Grey, but far from drab

I have found a new obsession. Actually, let me start from the beginning : a friend of mine told me that hands are a huge part of first impressions. Embarassed, I curled my fingers inwards and into my pockets, realizing the truth in this statement. I swore to myself that I would get my nails together. I am now proud to present myself as a former nail biter - no longer do I worry about the stubby awkward tips that used to be. There's even a significant amount of white on each one! Ah, the beauty of self-control. Now, I ponder how long this will last but I've discovered the perfect way to extend (pun... sort of intended?) the duration of this feature: nail polish. I've been removing, redoing, layering, coloring and testing different colors and this has proven to be quite effective in the maintenance of them. Annnnnnyway, getting to the point: my new obsession is neutral colors, or more specifically speaking, grey. Gray? How are we supposed to spell that nowadays? I say "po-tay-toe", you say "po-tah-toe", I guess. I'm going to go with the "e" spelling. Grey is the perfect color because it can be dark without being too drab and it's stylish at the same time - especially in a lighter, more matte version. I saw that Steph, over at Steph's Closet did a nice expose, if you will, on the color - HERE - with some great photos that demonstrate the grey sphere nicely. Revlon makes a nice gray, called "Steel-etto"; OPI's "Give me the Moon!" is very cool too; I also love Essie as a general nail polish provider (their great grays are called "Over The Top" "Steel-ing the Scene" and "Loophole") but my favorite is Rescue Beauty Lounge's "Concrete Jungle". I wish I had some great pictures of nail swatches, but I guess that will have to wait a tid bit. Above is the infamous Pollock, featuring lots and lots of grey, so that'll just have to do! I also think that grey is a great color for the transition from winter to spring - go dark to light and you're all set! FYI, below is what I'm wearing now - the photo doesn't do justice to the bluish grey (makes it look wayyy darker than it really is) by Flare from Urban Outfitters, but I love the color!


Song of the day: "Black and Gold" by Sam Sparro

Merry Christmas from NY

... or whatever holiday you might be celebrating!

Matching sisters, just like when we were 5. Only now more embarrassing! Batteries not included. Seriously though, best pj's EVER.

Image & plastic albino tree by JADHny - tres art-deco :)

And just for fun, some of the craziest Christmas lighting I found - Merry Christmas, Internet!

Song of the day: Sport Hit Paradise (feat. In Flagranti) - University of Jeans

It's a BUTT SLED

"What the HELL are you talking about?!" You say?

These are the Pull on Snow Shorts, by Orvis (found HERE), which is essentially an outfit jam-packed with non-removable fun.

PRO: Your SLED is already attached to your DERRIERE, so you can go sledding without having to carry around that pesky, heavy sled.

CON: You look like an upside down ninja turtle. Which, now that I think of it, it definitely NOT a con; maybe a better con is the fact that your legs have to be elevated the whole time you're sledding, but then again, this is probably a good thing seeing as it would result in one hell of an ab workout.

PRO: It comes in small kids, big kids (a.k.a. American kids) and adult sizes and is only $35.

CON: You can't really sled down with a friend, which could potentially be good because they just drag down your speed and momentum anyway.

Look at these kids having a grand old time!

My Christmas list is getting too long.

p.s. Song of the day: "White Whale" by Fireman (Subterranean Mix)

No Glove, No Love

It's getting chilly. It's also getting dark at 4pm, which isn't so fun. But more important is the chilly part. Which is why I've decided to go around looking at the glove trends because, as we all know, keeping your extremities warm is the lynchpin to keeping your entire body warm. Above are my favorite gloves on the planet: Smittens. They're mittens for you and your significant other. Apparently, the woman who created them was walking in the mountains with her husband and tried to hold his hand but her mittens were too bulky and the hand-holding therefore wasn't very fun. She decided to create mittens wherein both their hands could fit. I'm not 100% sure she asked her husband how he felt about being in public this way, but I find them to be hilariously genius.

I tried on these soft and delicious cashmere gloves at UNIQLO a couple weeks ago, but decided against them because cashmere is soft and warm, but doesn't block the wind - therefore, they are useless for the extremities-theory.

I really do love the punky, short leather look, with cut outs on the knuckles - I think it has a certain edge yet stays feminine with the sleekness of the leather along slim fingers.

Fingerless gloves are also badass - although not ideal for the cold, they always look cool - I especially love the sparkly, studded ones by Valentino (the black ones on top are by Uncle Karl at Chanel).

Speaking of fingerless gloves, someone knit these interesting gloves, specifically designed for iPod and iPhone users...

These are another pair of interesting... gloves? Are those hands NAKED under those handerpants? (Ironically enough, I screen-captured the word "NEXT").

I really like these lacy ones - they definitely do absolutely nothing to protect your hands/arms from the cold and/or wind, but they look very pretty - 80s Madonna even. They're lacy and fragile and delicate.

These are what I've been seeing a lot of, though - long AND fingerless gloves. Think of them as the modern day leg warmer, for the arm.

So basically you should be opting for a nice pair of short, bad-ass looking leather gloves and a long pair of arm-warmers. Or, if you REALLY want to feel the burn, go for something more like this:

They seriously exist.