Quote Unquote

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." Abraham Lincoln

Spring Finds at Madewell

I have a bad case of spring fever. I can't stop thinking about how amazing it will be to start wearing spring dresses and leaving work when it's still light out. J.Crew's Madewell has some cute pieces for spring, including my favourites below. They reminded me that I need to make my way down to the store in SoHo more often! Shop here for Spring!

Metal Mesh Trim Cardigan, Chambray Workshirt, Graphic Tulip Mini (must have), Canyon Minibag

Metal Mesh Trim Cardigan, City Slouch Trouser Jeans, Leather Double Belt, The Sunset Sandal (must have)

Tretorn's "Save Saab"

Tretorn is going to bat for the survival of the much-loved Swedish car manufacturer, Saab, with the launch of their "Save Saab" campaign. You can purchase their kitschy t-shirt for a limited time here.

My 100th Blog Post!

This marks my 100th posting since I started blogging in May 2009. As this began as a creative outlet, blogging has brought an incredible amount of opportunities my way. I feel so lucky to have met the people I've met and to have attended all of the events I've attended. I hope that I have many more stories and fun things to share. Thank you for all of the comments and support!

xx
Kat

Restaurants: Tavern on Jane, Tartine

Tavern on Jane

Tartine

This past weekend I spent a lovely day in the West Village with friends and found two spots that I loved: Tavern on Jane and Tartine. Unassuming from the outside (and inside, really), we stopped into Tavern on Jane for "a drink" and ended up staying for 4 hours! Given, there was a football game on, but it was relaxing and fun- vintage posters on exposed brick- not too trendy, not too grungy.

We got hungry and thought that Tartine would be a good next stop. It was my first experience at a BYOB restaurant. We picked up our Stag's Leap from a wine shop around the corner, sipped and sat outside waiting for our table (which wasn't actually that cold), and had a lovely meal!

Tavern on Jane
31 Eighth Avenue (at Jane Street)
New York, New York 10014
212.675.2526

Tartine
253 W. 11th Street (at 4th Street)
New York, New York 10014
212.229.2611

*all photography credit to New York Magazine

PE Guerin Door Knockers

I'd love to have one of these door knockers by PE Guerin on my white (non-existent) colonial in the suburbs. I'm thinking the eagle would look best on a red front door? Shop here.

Artist Spotlight: Clare Owen Illustrations

I'm not sure where I came across the dark yet dainty and feminine illustrations by Clare Owen, but I'm happy I did! You can view a selection of her prints on her site, but her blog is where most of her art is featured. Email her here or visit her site here!

Object of Desire: REISS Tiered Racer Back Tank

I found this sky blue racer back tank top at REISS in the West Village this weekend and decidedly need to have it. Perfect for over white jeans in the summer. Shop here.

Restaurants: Upper East Side's Shake Shack

Shake Shack, which has it's main outpost in Gramercy's Madison Square Park, has announced it will be opening another location on the Upper East Side's 86th Street and Madison Avenue. Good food? Yes. Healthy? Not so much. Bonne chance to my girlfriends that live around the corner!

L.L. Bean Signature Launch

L.L. Bean introduced their website pre-launch this past weekend- you can now sign up for email updates and catalogues! View a slide show of the collection and shop select items before the line is officially unveiled in March here. Looking forward to having that long dress (above) in my closet this summer!

Stella McCartney Cruise 2010

Stella McCartney's Cruise 2010 line hit stores yesterday with her simple yet strongly structured shapes and trademark black/nude colours. Some of my favourites from the collection are shown above (I am LOVING the sequin pants and white linen tunic look!) Shop here.

Help Remedies

After a recent run-through at the Food Emporium on the Upper East Side, I found one of the coolest packaged products I've seen in a while. Help Remedies, a medical company created to solve simple health issues, has six different remedies for common illnesses- all in a tiny, very simplistically packaged product.

They claim to find the best solution there is for an illness and take away everything else (for instance, there is no sugar coating on their ibuprofen tablets). By stripping away some of the complexities of pharmaceuticals, they intend on making medicine friendlier and more accessible, and in doing so empowering people to make their own health decisions.

The product is made of molded paper pulp and a bio-plastic made from corn. They admittedly use these materials because they are interesting to look at. Oh, and they're also compostable. Shop here.

Quote Unquote

After talking with a friend about New Year's resolutions, we both agreed that they usually end up being more "life improvements" that we try to live by day-to-day anyway. I love this quote and think it's not just something to live by in the new year, but a proactive effort to make every day.

Stationary: kate spade

Now that the holidays have come and gone, I've run out of my favourite "thank you" notes and am in need of some new ones. I love the idea of sending hand-written notes to let someone know you are grateful- it's so much more personal than an email! kate spade always seems to tickle my fancy when it comes to stationary and I think I'm going to invest in one of these two options! Purchase them from Crane's here.

"Small card. Big thank you."

"Tickled Pink."

The Loaded Trunk

The Loaded Trunk is a site that calls to all "textile hoarders, jewelry junkies, armchair travelers, creative household geniuses, ethnic object collectors, lovers of the quirky and unusual, and anyone who reaches out to the world with a sense of humor, wonder, and curiosity".

It is a often-changing world boutique that is loaded with bits and pieces from the travels of site's the buyer, Roni. He works with a global network of artisans and designers and each item is either created specifically for The Loaded Trunk, or purchased from a local market across the globe.

Visit The Loaded Trunk here.

Girly Movie Picks

I'm shamelessly looking forward to seeing the movies "Sex and the City 2" and "Valentine's Day". I think SATC is just making me excited for a New York City summer that is just too far away. Watch the trailers below.