Happy Friday!

Burr it's freezing here in NYC! I pulled on all of the layers today. Wish I could just stayed snuggled up inside all day.

I need to get cracking on the xmas to-do list this weekend. How come life always turns into one big to-do list? First wedding, now this! Too much to do, too little time. Wish me luck!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Image: found here

Divine de la Renta!

I'm just dying over the new Oscar de la Renta Pre-Fall '10 collection. Chock full of sparkle, glamour, make me melt ombre blush to rose to red, and fur. I'm not a fan of fur but that pink one?!?! Can someone please make me a faux version ASAP? Pretty please? Oh and I'm loving the veil treamtents. How fab would that be for bridal?


Images: via ELLE

Getting Lost In Amsterdam

We had such a spectacular time in Amsterdam. The vibe is quite different from London...very chill, anything goes and fun-loving & extremely tolerant. It's quite beautiful with numerous canals, bridges, and really wonderful architecture. Sprinkle in a few great museums, pancake houses, cafes & shops, it's everything I love wrapped up in one charming city.


We visited the Anne Frank House, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. All are definite must sees. The Anne Frank House was extremely moving and the Rijksmuseum had spectacular pieces by the Dutch masters including Rembrant and Vermeer. And over at the Van Gogh Museum besides hundreds of pieces of his work, there was also an exibition of letters he wrote to his brother, other family members and friends over the years. I think I actually liked that exibition as much as his paintings. If anyone is planning on visiting Amsterdam before January of 2010 you should really be sure to check it out.

Outside the Rijksmuseum

One of the highlights of Amsterdam had to be the amazing pancakes! I stopped by The Pancake Bakery on quite a few occasions. Sweet and savory, they were all amazing! We've been going through pancake withdrawl since we've been back. Luckily it seems as if J might have tracked down a place in NYC that makes them...The Sullivan Diner. I'm gonna try to check it out in the very near future to see if it satisfies the craving.

Me outside the famous Pancake Bakery. This was my second visit there so I was really excited to go in!

Delicious pancakes. The one in the back is banana and I put Nutella on top. The one in the front is bacon and cheese. Yummmm!

On my second visit, I decided to try poffertjes, tiny Dutch pancakes. I went with the butter and sugar variation. Pure perfection! They actually melted in your mouth!

On every table they have something called Stroop which is the syrup of choice in Amsterdam, powdered sugar and a bucket of pure molasses.

We also discovered Stroopwaffles at The Pancake Bakery. They give you one with every cup of coffee. They're caramel waffle cookies. Just amazing! We brought a few packages back with us but I think I might order a few more and give them out as xmas gifts.

We went shopping at a few stores. One of my favorites was Sissy-Boy Homeland, a lifestyle concept shop. It kinda reminds me of the Dutch version of Antropology. The displays were just gorgeous. I bought a few of these mercury glass votives.

We also stopped by De Kaaskamer, a cheese-lover's paradise. The sell over 400 different types of cheese from all over Europe. In addition they also sell wine, olives, tapanades, meats and sandwiches & salads.

And we strolled through the Flower Market. What a amazing feast for the eyes! We brought back some tulip bulbs for our families.

And I wanted to share some more exciting news with you all. I temporarily overcame my fear of Smart Cars! I'm not sure how long that will last now that I'm back in the states...

Conquering the fear!

All in all, it was an absolutely amazing trip that I'll remember forever. Unfortunately now it's time for me to stop daydreaming about my honeymoon and get my butt into holiday gear!

Knottie News

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Today I wanted to let you know about some very cool happenings taking place over at The Knot.

Firstly, The Knot & Philosophy have joined forces to create a new kit designed to pamper brides-to-be. The special set features an inspiring message for the bride, along with a philosophy created exclusively for The Knot: You must love yourself before you can love another.


Retailing for $100, “tying The Knot” includes nine essential bridal beauty products, including purity one-step facial cleanser; amazing grace firming body emulsion, bath gel, and spray fragrance to help her feel amazingly clean and beautifully feminine; and kiss me exfoliating lip scrub for soft, smooth, kissable lips.

Additional philosophy products in the gift set are:

• hope in a jar moisturizer
• microdelivery peel pads
• kiss me clear lip balm -- SPF 20
• eye hope deluxe sample

Surrounding the product launch, The Knot is now running the Wedding Day Hope Sweepstakes. This interactive sitelet invites brides to share their hopes and dreams for their big day. These personal and authentic messages will be posted anonymously on the site’s user-generated bulletin board for everyone to see. The notes offer an outlet for brides to share their inner thoughts and feelings which every bride can relate to. Brides who share their hopes are automatically entered to win the grand prize of a luxury honeymoon worth over $10,000, courtesy of Viceroy Anguilla Resort & Residences. Other prizes include a wedding day makeover for one lucky bride and her bridesmaids, courtesy of philosophy beauty expert and makeup artist John Trau, as well as “tying The Knot” gift sets. The sweepstakes is running from now until December 31st, so be sure to enter soon!

And the excitement doesn't stop there. The Knot has also partnered with Beyonce...yes I said BEYONCE! and are offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for one lucky bride and her bridesmaids in The Knot and Beyonce Bachelorette Bash: Single ladies in Sin City sweepstakes.

This unique sweepstakes offers brides and her bridal party the chance to win the ultimate girls getaway in Las Vegas.

And to kick off the party, the lucky ladies will have the exclusive opportunity to learn the signature moves for the hottest dance, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” in a private dance lesson with Beyonce’s legendary choreographer Frank Gatson, JR – who choreographed the popular “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” video. Frank Gatson, JR. has also worked with such artists as Britney Spears, Usher, and Justin Timberlake! Gatson will be joined by one of Beyonce’s own back-up dancers. Pretty cool, right?!?!

Also included in the package are:

• Round trip tix courtesy of JetBlue
• 2-night/3-day stay at the celebrity favorite Wynn Las Vegas
• Dinner at the famous Botero restaunt
• Spa treatments at The Salon at Wynn or Encore
• 4 VIP Indulgence Tickets to see Le Reve, including champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries
• Complimentary entry into any of the nightclubs at Wynn Las Vegas
• The ultimate Beyonce Prize Package filled with a selection of her CD’s and DVD’s

Brides and bridesmaids are invited to sign up at here to win now through December 31st.

Kinda makes me wish that I were still planning my wedding :) Good luck to all of you!

Walking Round London Town

Happy Friday everyone! Well I finally figured out how to upload the photos from my new camera so today I can begin to share some of our amazing trip with you.

First of all I have to say that I LOVE London. Absolutely love, love, love it and would definitely be a very happy girl if I could live there. I didn't even mind the weather which is really remarkable because I'm usually a bit of a freak about my hair in such conditions. What can I say? It's just my kinda town :)

Me in London on one of the rare blue sky occasions. It was quite windy though...as you can see I'm looking pretty flushed because of the wind-burn!

We stayed at the Grosvenor House in Mayfair. It was a lovely hotel in a great location. Just a few blocks away from Oxford & Bond Street shopping, Hyde Park, and the Marble Arch tube which made it really convenient to get around town.

One of the highlights of the trip, besides the shopping (I'll get to that in another post), was the Winter Wonderland festival that was held inside Hyde Park.

The festival features a traditional German market with amusement rides (they even have a huge toboggan slide and an even huger ferris wheel!), musical entertainment and an outdoor ice skating rink.

It's hard to describe exactly why but was a really magical experience that I'll remember forever.

Here are my top three favorite things at the festival:

Mulled Blueberry Wine

The Candy Bar

German Pancakes with Nutella - Yummmm!!!!

The happy girl with her mulled wine, nutella german pancakes & yes, that's a Lauduree shopping bag :)

We had been to London once before 13 years earlier for our 1st honeymoon after our commitment ceremony so we didn't need to visit many of the tourist attractions. But there were a few that we wanted to catch this time that we missed the first time around...the Cabinent War Rooms and Churchill Museum, which was a really interesting peak inside the underground complex that Churchill used as an operational command and control center during WWII, and the London Eye, which wasn't even around when I made my first trip.

Me filming J with the London Eye in the background

For the most part we just walked around and shopped, had cocktails and ate delicious meals. Oh and I have to say, the culinary experience I had was muuuch different than the one I had 13 years before. On my first trip to London the only decent meal I could find was a local fish and chip shop that we ended up eating at three times! A few years ago I read in Gourmet magazine that London had a culinary revolution but I still had my doubts and my expectations were really low. I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised with the cuisine.

Enjoying one of many apple cinnamon martinis in The Red Bar

Next week I'll be back with more of the trip...London shopping & Amsterdam. Hope you all have a happy weekend!

Come One, Come All!

I'm not missing this tonite!

Rally for Marriage Equality!

The NYS Senate Wednesday voted to deny LGBT New Yorkers the same right to marry the ones we love that is afforded to all other New Yorkers. The NYS Senate FAILED New Yorkers Again!

But there is hope - we have never come so close! There is work to be done!

Come join MENY Board President Cathy Marino-Thomas, NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and others as we rally to let the New York Senate know that we will continue to fight for marriage equality and equal rights...No More - No Less!

**signs, noise makers, etc. encouraged!!!**

Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009
Time: 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Location: Union Square - North End (17th Street)
Street: 17th Street & Broadway
City/Town: New York, NY

Crushing News

Today the New York State Senate voted against legalizing same sex marriage by a vote of 38 to 24. I'm having a hard time putting into words the emotions that I am feeling. It's completely devastating that our lawmakers would reject a bill thats sole purpose is to treat all New Yorkers equally. We're not asking for special treatment, just for equality.

I'm deeply saddened and basically speechless :(

Image: found here

Tiddy Tights

I don't know about you guys, but this time of the year my closet is seriously out of control with tights scattered absolutely everywhere. They're hanging from my door organizer, covering my closet floor or rolled up in balls in a shopping bag. Not a good system at all. Needless to say it takes quite a while to get ready in the mornings....

The good news is I have finally found a solution to my problem. Check out this great idea that What I Wore came up with. Can you say brilliant??? It's simple, cheap and looks pretty too. Just loving it!

So what do you guys think? Oh and I'd love to hear any other closet organization tips you might have. I'm always in need of help in that area :)

Image: found here

The Sun Always Shines

In my mind! Will the sun ever come out again???

Hello everyone! Well I'm finally back after my European vacay. It rained every single day yet it was absolutely amazing and I promise to fill you all in on everything very soon.

I will tell you that the trip got off to a great start. I was at JFK in an airport lounge with Doutzen Kroes ,one of my absoultely favorite models (shown above sporting some fab rain gear...i thought how appropriate! :)). I know it sounds kinda lame but I've always been a bit model obsessed so that was a little thrill for me. Dork! yes I know.... And then I was on the security line right in back of Rosie Huntington Whitely, one of Victoria's Secrets newest Angels and some other glamazons who I couldn't quite make out because their backs were turned to me. Turns out the VS fashion show was the night before I left for my trip so the angels were abound at JFK!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend and I hope all my yankee mates had a wonderful turkey day! xoxo

Image: Doutzen Kroes for British Vogue Dec '09

Our Wedding - Cookie Table

Well here we are finally...the end of the recaps! Today I'm wrapping them up with the cookie favor table.

And of course, there's a story to why we chose to do a cookie bar as our favors. I've mentioned this before, so forgive me for repeating myself, but we're kinda known amongst our friends and family as being the "Christmas Cookie Experts" because we make and decorate sugar cookies every year. So we thought "wouldn't it be a great idea to make our cookie recipe in the shape of a wedding cake and enclose our recipe as our favor?" Fab idea, right? Well not really when you get into thinking about the logistics of making 200 cookies right before your wedding. Could have been a deal breaker but luckily we have our amazing friends, Court & Nat, who volunteered to take over that task for us. They seriously were lifesavers and did an absolutely amazing job!

Check out their beautiful work!

Now I'm gonna take you back to about 2 weeks before the wedding. Everything was all set as far as favors were concerned. We had a plan in action, cookie trials were complete, supplies were purchased. Truth be told, we really should have stopped thinking about cookies. But nope, not us. We came up with the brilliant idea to expand the whole cookie idea and to have a cookie table with two of our favorite traditional family recipes. Luckily our family members were game and agreed to make those cookies as well. Talk about pressing your luck!

My Yia made her amazing Greek Koulourakia. They're seriously to die for!

And Jen's sister made her family's Norwegian Krumkake. This is a Christmas staple in her family. Just delish!

And of course I couldn't stop there. I just had to get maroon colored m&ms so that our guests could top off their goody bags :)

The final product

So that about wraps it up for the wedding recaps. Hope you all enjoyed the peak into our day. And thanks so much for all the comments & feedback. I loved hearing what you all thought! xoxo

All images: Daniel Krieger

Happy Friday!

Greetings from Amsterdam! Hope you all had a wonderful turkey day and I hope that you have a fun-filled weekend on tap. We'll be enjoying our last few days in Europe. I'm sure we'll have the time of our lives :)

Check back later for the last of the wedding recaps...the Cookie Table!

See you all when I get back! xoxo

Image: the Satoralist found here

Happy Turkey Day!!!

I want to wish all my fellow American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving today! Eat some yummy turkey & pie for me. I'm going to try to hunt some down in Amsterdam but I'll most likely have to settle for some delicious pancakes instead :)

Image: found here