Koton F/W 2010 Ad Campaign

I am so in love with this look...this sums up everything I love about the tailored & ladylike looks that are filling the pages of all of the fall fashion books, and rightfully so. Thank GOODNESS for the return of such simply luxe understated elegance!!

I can envision myself now walking into an office in NYC like this...

How sweet it is

We all have a restaurant that we may not visit too often, but when we do...oh, how good!  I believe not frequenting these spots too much is probably one of the reasons why we have such memorable feelings towards it.  Mine? It's a little gem called Dish Restaurant in Red Bank, NJ.  You walk in to the quaint space & sit, where you start to gaze up and down the walls noticing the, what else, dishes hanging as art.

This visit, I chose from the $25 prix fix menu, starting with the PEI mussels.  As much as I looooove their fried spinach (it's even better than it sounds) I wanted to try something new, and thank god I did!  The broth that they were steamed in, exudes this slightly rich broth that was created with white wine, pancetta & fennel.  If I thought it was appropriate, I would have lifted the empty bowl to my mouth to pour in the remaining yumminess.  Next, the 'Rosemary Lemon Roasted Free Range Chicken'.  I usually go with the tilapia & shrimp, but the root vegetable mash & frizzled red onions were speaking to me.



Ending the meal, as my mouth is now watering, was with the homemade bread pudding (I will note that every dessert that comes out to your table is homemade). This is not really the bread pudding you are thinking of.  It's made with a warm croissant, white chocolate, dark chocolate, and god knows what other insanely addictive foood.  Man, is it good.  What's even better is if you bring home the leftover treat & heat it up for breakfast!

Photos: Robin West

So much for saving money....

Photo: Gilt Group

Ok, so I am on a really tight budget.  I am currently planning a trip to visit a friend in Portland in September, a friend's wedding in Key Largo and Costa Rica early next year.  I have been saving like I never knew how to, pushing my leftover money into my mother's hands knowing that I can't get my hands on it.  For three months I have been doing great.

Until today.  I, I don't know why, went onto Gilt and came across a great pair of Kelsi Dagger red booties.  The guilt has already set in, but I can't wait to wear them with a great summer dress and then with black tights in the upcoming Fall months. It is almost worth eating tuna for the next month!

"Forgo Fist-Pumping on the Jersey Shore" via New York Magazine

Photo: The Breakers

As a native to the New Jersey shore, just north of Asbury Park, I am very aware of the reality and not so reality of MTV's portrayal of what the Jersey Shore really is. A few years back they aired two 'True Life' episodes following, what else, New Yorkers spending their summers in Seaside Heights (known to us natives as "Flea-side") and being out of control. After these aired was when I moved to San Francisco, getting the "you don't seem like the people in those shows...are you really from New Jersey?".

I enjoy these shows. Mostly, because if out-of-towners watch them and believe what they see, they will either not make this state more crowded by visiting, or go straight to Seaside and let me enjoy my favorite spots during the summer months. As you have seen in a few posts, I always enjoy Asbury Park and the creativity that is exuding from it's walls; art, fantastic restaurants, boardwalk treats, art galleries...it's all there and has unique followers just as them.

IF you are daring to look past these shows & embrace what the 'real' shore has to offer to you, here's a beginner's guide courtesy of New York Magazine, here.

Greetings from Asbury Park

Photos: Robin West

Farm Sanctuary

Farm Sanctuary
I am not a vegetarian, but I do have strong feelings towards how animals are treated on this planet, no matter what their life may lead to.  If you care as much as I do, please check out this website.