It's Like Staring at the Sun

Whenever I see Kate Moss on the cover of a magazine my heart picks up it's pace ever so slightly. She has been my favorite model for many years; she just continues to become more beautiful and fashionable with age. This month's Bazaar shoot by Terry Richardson featuring Kate was no disappointment.

All images via Harper's Baazar.

Weekend: Mlle Time




My wild girl and Me

This Friday morning I went home to Atlanta to take care of a few things and had the most energizing, encouraging weekend. I have a major life change in the works that I can share about soon, hopefully, and this weekend really made me feel I am making the right decision. Being home recharged my soul, seeing so many close friends all at once. My time in New York has taught me so many things about myself and what I value, especially how important it is to me to be close to friends, family, and my girl, Mlle B (above).



Highlights of the weekend included eating at The Optimist with two close friends, sitting outside at Kramer's (I appreciated this so much more than I would have thought possible), buying baby gifts at B. Braithwaite, going to a special baby shower, and making this amazing homemade white pizza. Thanks Ina!

I have been listening to The Lumineers album nonstop lately. They remind me of the Avett Brothers, which I love. The whole album is on their website and is a great soundtrack to work to. Happy listening!

The Lady in Gold

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, Gustav Klimt, 1907

I first fell in love with artist Gustav Klimt's work while visiting Vienna when I was studying abroad. Last night, I was lucky enough to attend a lecture by author Anne-Marie O'Connor at the Neue Galerie, a  New York museum devoted to early twentieth-century German and Austrian art, on Gustav Klimnt's famous painting of Viennese society figure Adele Bloch-Bauer, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. I was blown away listening to Ms. O'Connor present details from her book, The Lady in Gold,  about the fascinating history of the painting while gazing at this beautiful piece that I love so much.
 

Commissioned in 1907 by Adele's husband,  Klimt spent three years completing the painting using real gold leaf and motifs inspired by Byzantine tile. The painting hung in the Bloch-Bauer home until 1945, when the assets of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, including this Klimt painting, were confiscated after the Nazi invasion of Austria. What I found most interesting and ironic to learn from Ms. O'Connor's lecture was that the painting, depicting Jewish Bloch-Bauer, was presented in numerous Nazi art shows during this time.

The painting hung in the Austrian Gallery for over 60 years until American heirs of the Bloch-Bauer estate stepped forward to formally claim the painting, suing the Austrian government, seeking restitution of this and 4 other Klimt paintings. After many years of litigation, the Austrian government returned the paintings to the Bloch-Bauer heirs in 2006. The five Klimt works were then sold through auction house Christies to cosmetics-heir and founder of the Neue Galerie, Ronald Lauder. Lauder paid a staggering $135 million for Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, referring to it as "the Mona Lisa" of his Neue Galerie. The work now remains part of their permanent collection and is on display year round.

If you ever have the time while in New York to stop by this beautiful museum, I highly recommend it. The Upper East Side townhouse housing the museum is alone worth the visit. Also on display are many other works by Klimt and another favorite artist of mine, Egon Schiele.

Charlotte Rampling

I stumbled upon photos of the British actress Charlotte Rampling somewhere in the blog kingdom a few months ago and was struck by her timeless beauty and style. Charlotte began acting in the mid-1960's, but sadly I am only familiar with her role as Kiera Knightley's mother in The Duchess (I love period-movies, and this one did not disappoint). Regardless, the photos I found of her in the 60's and 70's are serving as my style and hair  inspiration this summer.

CFD-yay! Awards





The CFDA Awards were held on a rainy day in New York last night. Highlight winners included Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen and The Row for Womenswear Designers of the Year, Billy Reid for Menswear, Reed Krakoff for Accessories, and Johnny Depp as the Fashion Icon Award. Apparently when MK and A won their award they first thanked each other; being an identical twin myself I liked learning this tidbit. Too bad Johnny Depp was a no-show, I would have loved to see Captain Jack Sparrow's getup.

My favorites of the night: Kate Bosworth in Altuzarra and Zoe Saldana in Prabal Gurung

Weekend: Smiles and Turf

Saturday's View from Above

My weekends have been following a very predictable pattern lately: dinners out, iced coffees, reading in the park, many bites of something sweet, small doses of exercise, and quality time with favorite people. This weekend followed the pattern very nicely.

Saturday was one of best days I have had in such a long time. I picked up my favorite- iced, soy latte- then tried a new recipe for breakfast for my roommate and I (baked oatmeal, try it, you will not be disappointed). We had a late lunch at Grey Dog in Chelsea then a few drinks on the roof our friends' apartment. What a view.

Perfect night to follow a perfect day... My sister and I finally ate at Frankie's 570 which included rosé, crostini, meatballs, homemade pasta, and great conversation. I have been wanting to try Frankie's 570 since it opened and am happy to say that it lived up to my expectations: fresh, simple, casual Italian in a great setting. We then leisurely walked to SoHo (via some ice cream and drooling outside the Phillip Lim store) to see The Best, Exotic, Marigold Hotel. I love dry English humor, so this film, with some of my favorite English actors, was right up my alley.

I spent Sunday reading, splitting a lobster roll, running on the Westside Highway, enjoying this home cooked meal, then watching the Game of Thrones finale. The only thing missing from my weekend would have been a kiss from my sweet pup, who is living up her summer in Atlanta without me.





3.1 Phillip Lim

This food truck has set up shop in my favorite park. I tried the lobster roll-- perfection.
The smiles and turf weren't bad either.

Summer Fridays Feel Like...

Image via JCrew and Comme des Garcons.



This is how I feel if I get to leave work early on a Friday.

Spending the weekend in the city, hoping to cram in as much goodness as possible.