If You Like It, Put a Bird On It!

The last few months have been joyously hectic; lots of excitement with heaping doses of that I-just-need-to-GET-OUT-OF-HERE-NOW-ness.  Oh yes, that wonderfully awful task of moving.

Bones and I left Brooklyn unexpectedly, and now reside in Upper Manhattan.  Which does put an end to (at least spontaneous) Beacon's Closet missions - but also refocused me on my somewhat style-neglected home.

But how to spiff up your abode on a budget without resorting to the standard, boring Ikea fare?

I first began scouring Craigslist.  But bed bug fears?  Idea swiftly squashed.

Of course there's Amazon - and I did truly appreciate the fact that every practical item I sought could always be found on their site (like this neat rolling laundry cart - because I finally have an elevator!)

Decorations, though?  On to Worldmarket.com!

We need a soap dish for the bathroom?  No problem - this one has a bird on it!  Fanciful, yes, but also deliciously evocative of my colored skinny jeans wearing compatriots ever roaming the streets of Brooklyn.  A moment of silence as they bike onwards to the next new tapas bar.

Curtains were a bit more perplexing - I scoured Overstock, Target, random little shops...nothing felt right until I saw Worldmarket's lyrical branches curtains.  And even more delightful - when I sent a series of curtain links to Bones for pre-purchase perusal, he also selected them as his favorite.  Although, they were the first link on the list...



A few towels and coordinating accessories later, and onto the bedroom!  After 6 yrs of living like college students, we finally got a mattress.  Just about the most amazingly comfortable mattress from Healthy Choice - and, somehow, even organic.  Apparently, it will be here in three weeks, and I am ever counting down the sleepless nights.  So, of course, after some prodding by my lovely friend, I chose the bedding I really ached for in the hopes it will complement the sea green blue and bronze thang we currently have going on.

With my hunt now drawing to a close, am I decidedly done?  Well, not quite...

The next task?  Trying to replicate this $399 piece of wall art with said dear friend using materials costing under $40.

Arts and crafts time!

Seville Classics laundry sorter, Amazon.com

Soap dish, Worldmarket.com

Lyrical branches curtains, Worldmarket.com

Casbah Turkish towels, Worldmarket.com

Peacock dispenser, Worldmarket.com

Cherry blossom duvet set, Overstock.com

Lace pattern wall art, Brocadehome.com

A $48 Lipstick...Is It Made of Gold?

I am an incredibly pale person.  Like, looseleaf paper white.  And, as all my fair-skinned compatriots know, finding the red lipstick is somewhat of an arduous journey.  Either the color is too flashy, turning my face into a garish, cartoon pin-up version of it's normal Casper-esque self, or it's just...WRONG - too purple, too blue, not bright enough.  Oh the problems we have!

BUT I thought I found one, the one.  The ultimate hue I would never have thought to pick out for myself.  Flipping through the November, 2011 issue of Instyle magazine, Kate Bosworth's spread showcasing the makeup line of Tom Ford instantly floored me - such an incredibly striking color.  An orange based red (which us sallow ones always hear is a no-no), it completely brightened Ms. Kate's countenance - and left me oh so covetous.

The hitch - $48.00.

I shuddered.  How could one possibly justify such a costly cosmetic?  Especially me-of-the-drugstore-$2.50-Nivea-cherry-tinted-chapstick?

I agonized.  Deliberated.  Totally stewed over this lipstick.  Until my husband posited the following - if you get a raise or a bonus, buy it.

A few months later, with a very rewarding end of the year goodies package, I finally caved - Neiman Marcus, can you hear me?

And the results?

I have never gotten more compliments on my makeup.  Ever.

The packaging alone is completely luxurious - a hefty black and gold case at your disposable - shipped to me, no less, in a VHS cassette-sized box.  This, apparently, is a very-important-purchase.  Or so they wooed me to believe.

The lipstick goes on completely smooth right out of the case (I know, I know - you are supposed to use a lipstick brush, primer, and such.  But it's just fine as is).  The color stays all day long - which I've never fully experienced, not even with those scientific 8-hour formulas.  Perhaps a little drying towards the end of the day...but it still looks smashing, then, under my cherry lip balm.  And it is winter, of course.

So, no, not made of gold - but certainly worth a few doubloons.

Look – Instyle Magazine, November, 2011 Ed.

You're a Foul One, Mr. Grinch

What a spectacular, magical whirlwind of a month.

In the spirit of all things jolly, my chock-full-of-cheer Christmas playlist via Spotify...with, of course, an ever appropriate 25 tunes.

Have a happy dream of a day!

Click: A Pies Life Playlist

Songs:

1. Oi to the World - No Doubt
2. Father Christmas - The Kinks
3. Happy Christmas (War is Over) - John Lennon/Yoko Ono
4. Baby, It's Cold Outside - She & Him
5. You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Thurl Ravenscroft
6. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - NSync
7. Last Christmas - Wham!
8. Christmastime - The Smashing Pumpkins
9. A Christmas Duel - Cyndi Lauper, The Hives
10. The Lonely Jew on Christmas - Kyle Broflofski
11. Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
12. Christmastime is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
13. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Jackson Five
14. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Scott Weiland (this actually amazes me)
15. This Christmas - Christina Aguilera
16. Sleigh Ride - She & Him
17. O Holy Night - Eric Cartman
18. All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey
19. Jingle Bell Rock - The Muppets
20. Away in a Manger - Sufjan Stevens
21. Christmas All Over Again - Tom Petty
22. Winter Wonderland - Eurythmics
23. What's This? - Danny Elfman
24. Little Drummer Boy - David Bowie, Bing Crosby
25. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland

X-Ray Tree, nextgadgets.net

Wouldn't You Think I'm the Girl - The Girl Who Has...Everything?

I stumbled upon a brilliant little Tumblr post that simply delighted me - mock-up magazine covers of all our favorite Disney princesses, replete with faux cover articles.  There's tons more at the source, but I had to share my favorite ladies.  'Everything's Hotter Under the Water'?  I die.

Covers, petitetiaras.tumblr.com

Gold Foil Wonderland

Scooping up the perfect Christmas present can be kind of overwhelming, so very much so on these last all consuming-of-consumer weekends.  Perusing the web in the hopes of avoiding the crazed 'Black Friday' shopper spray of pepper, I was overcome in a quite different way - by stunning, stunning jewels.

The oldest form of jewelry making in India, kundan (pure gold) is a method of stone setting in which gold foils or detailed enamel designs are placed behind the gem prior to mounting.  The result is a bewitching, extravagant affair, with pieces more glittery and grandiose than the next. 

Type in 'kundan' on EBay alone, and find an assortment of ornate treasures.

Oddly enough, I ended up snatching up the least ostentatious of items for my grams - a collector of elephants, I couldn't say no to this burnished gold elephant bangle for her.

And, ok, maybe an ounce of glamour for myself in the process...

Necklace & earring set, EBay.com; seller artjewels1954

Bracelet, EBay.com; seller aria.jewels

Earrings, EBay.com; seller thethirdi

Necklace & earring set, EBay.com; seller indiatrend

Earrings, EBay.com; seller teriot_diva_fashions

Necklace & earring set, EBay.com; seller aria.jewels

Bracelet, Bombayjewelry.com

Earrings, Bombayjewelry.com



The Newest Covet: November 21, 2011

Fashion has always been a very fanciful realm for me.  In a long meeting?  I’ll dream of the latest Mackage winter coat showings.  Can’t seem to fall asleep?  I count outfits in my head, not sheep.

My latest faux excess?  The very appropriately named silver snake embossed covet bag from Rebecca Minkoff.

Always a fan of her designs, I recently started taking note of them again after one of my favorite people acquired a riff on her circle quilt swing purse (shown here in raspberry).  I loved the beribboned chain handles, and the clever use of studs to update such an iconic design.

The covet bag is similarly vintage inspired, with a wonderfully ladylike structure.  And the gorgeous metallic sheen is so well done – snakeskin can be so very hard to duplicate realistically, but Minkoff’s interpretation is Devi Kroell perfect at a fraction of the price (and more environmentally conscious to boot).

At $450, it’s a splurge.  Perhaps Santa will be especially kind to me this year.

A girl can dream, can’t she?

Bags, rebeccaminkoff.com

Your Peepers Will Thank You, You Half-Blind Hipster

I've been slightly obsessed with Warby Parker, the vintage-chic online glasses emporium, for some time.  Because where else in the world can you get unique, fun glasses, including prescription lenses, for $95? 

I snatched up the Fillmore in Tennessee Whiskey about a year ago, and have gotten an outrageous number of compliments on them.


 

(yes, that is a red velvet twinkie sundae, courtesy of Farmacy, Brooklyn, NY)

They recently reimagined their entire website, offering a new sunglasses line, some crazy new models, and, best of all, allowing you to try on up to five pairs in the privacy of your own home.  For free.  At home.   

Also ridiculously neat: if you can't find five pairs and, say, are only curious about 2 specs, the company will send you another 3 selections they think might tickle your fancy.

Is this the new wave of [im]personal shopping?

Eager to test this out, I just 'ordered' a few pairs for my friends and I to have a lady living room fashion party [of course, I just had a similar type of slumber party last week at which we tried on baubles and played with makeup until 4AM - let me tell you, it proved to be an excellent regressive exercise].

The Griffin in revolver black intrigues me, as do the Begley whiskey tortoise frames.

Griffin, in revolver black

Begley, in midnight blue

My choices are set to come in a few days.  So hooked!

Glasses, warbyparker.com