Editorial Hoarding.

I have a tendency to watch really bad reality television, and Hoarders is no exception. After I watch Hoarders, I always, always have the tendency to go up to my room and throw away or sort out at least 10 things, to avoid the fate of turning into someone who keeps food from 6 years ago and sleeps on top of garbage bags filled with dead cats and stuffed animals because I can't find my bed (if you have ever seen the show you will realize that I am not even being funny - some things that you see on there will haunt you until the day you die).

Lately, I sadly decided that what I needed to start weeding out is my collection of glossies, that literally I have been storing (see: hoarding), since about my sophomore year of high school.

As I looked at the stacks upon stacks of magazines that have taken over my nightstand, shelves on my bookcase, and that were stored neatly in containers underneath my bed, I felt a sense of sadness as I went through to discard them - but really, enough is enough.

As I flipped through the various glossies, deciding which ones I needed to recycle, I gazed upon the editorials and was just captivated by the photography, the clothes, and the evolution of styles in the ten years worth of magazines that I have.

So rather than hoard all these magazines, and run the risk of one day hoarding animals and having nowhere to sleep, I'm posting some of my favorite editorials from throughout the years - because space on my blog is much more available and uncluttered than space in my bedroom!













Say what you will about her, but Victoria Beckham takes some beautiful pictures.


Mario Testino.










Annie Leibovitz.




This is one of my all-time favorite editorials (and I don't even like Drew Barrymore, so take that for what it's worth!). Vogue, 2005.





Tim Walker (one of my favorite fashion photographers in existence).



The juxtaposition of the hard, gothic makeup and the cute whimsy of the floral gown and yellow house is stunning.


I still am in love with the Chanel dress worn by Gemma Ward on the left (and loved it ever since Marissa wore it to prom on The OC).


Karl Lagerfeld for Bazaar 2008.


Who are your favorite fashion photographers?

*Hope all those on the East Coast are doing okay after Irene - it was definitely a scary time!
We had a ton of branches/trees fall, lost power for a day, and had a flooded basement, but we're all safe, which is all that matters! Hope you all made out as well as we did. xox

Currently listening to: Sex Up My Brain - Designer Drugs (and feeling really sad that I won't be making it to EZoo this year. I'm actually way devastated about not being able to see Fake Blood and Skrillex).

With a Little Help from my Friends.

I was talking to my mom yesterday on our drive home from the Cape (more about that later), and I was just reflecting on how much I hate change, but how certain things have gotten easier as the years have gone by.

I used to cling to things and people - even ones I knew weren't healthy for me to be around, just because the thought of changing a dynamic of my life was really difficult for me to fathom. The littlest parts of change were (aka are) hard for me to swallow - even silly things, like deleting people who I never talk to or who annoy me off my Facebook (which I finally did, narrowing it down from 1500 to less than 600 - which was a big step in weeding people out).

It comes to a point in life though, when you realize that there are certain people that weigh you down - whether it's intentionally or unintentionally, I really believe that there are people that are just not healthy to play such a vital role in your life. Some people bring about negativity to you - maybe by their actions, or maybe by your own (like the person whose Facebook page you go on merely to criticize - not healthy and something you can change).

My mom and I were reflecting on my high school days, and talking about a certain girl that I used to be BEST friends with. As in, stayed with her for two weeks while my parents went to Europe, she came on vacations with me, we did everything together. At school, if people were looking for me, they would ask her where I was - we were as close as could be.

It wasn't that we didn't have fun together - we had so much fun together. But as time went on, she started on a really self destructive path - and while we all had shit that we were working through in high school, she seemed to have the mentality that if she was going down, everyone had to go down with her.

It got to the point where I just couldn't pretend it wasn't happening anymore - it was a downward spiral that I just couldn't keep up with or condone anymore. I made a clean break (actually, not so clean - it was messy and horrible), but I moved on. I grew from it.

As I sat in the car with my mom yesterday, I said to her, "Isn't it so weird that this person was once probably the most important person in my life - she was my backbone, and the person I'd constantly go to for advice and now she's a complete stranger to me."

My mom turned to me and said, "But you can't think about that - instead, think of how much you've grown, and all the relationships that you've maintained even through that growth, the ones that really, truly mean something to you."

And she's right.

Last week really reminded me how truly, truly blessed I am to have such positive friendships in my life. While this past year has been one of the most difficult and turbulent of my entire life, I've had people who have stuck by me through the laughs and the tears, the nights out and quiet nights just catching up at Starbucks (naturally) - I really am blessed beyond belief that I have two of the best friends in the world, and a number of really, really good friends.

On Wednesday, Tonya (my bff that I've spoken about here and here) and I reconnected with an old private school friend (which lead to another friend coming later on), and realized that while we had all grown up and changed, we were still comfortable and had the same bond that we did years ago. When we got home that night, Tonya and I texted each other and each had the same sentiment:

"All the bullshit and drama at HCA was worth it, because we came out of it with really good friends - and that's a really rare thing."

Mini reunion.

The ironic thing was that I ended up switching wallets since the edges of my current one were starting to wear off - and inside a different wallet in my closet, were a bunch of high school class pictures from friends - and the first three in the pile were of Tonya and the two guys we met up with Wednesday night. I forgot how much I missed them, and seeing those pictures made me so overwhelmed with happiness that we reconnected.

My other best friend Kristin was in Japan ALL summer long (if you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw my crazy tweets to her saying how much I missed her - slightly pathetic). I saw her the second she got home for veggie burgers (made with beets, farro, brown rice, and black beans yummm) and a major, major catch up session.

Then Thursday brought along another trait I so admire in Kristin - flexibility and the ability to make the most of any situation.

We had been planning a shore trip for WEEKS - my bags were packed, I went shopping, I didn't eat carbs all week so I could look my best (torture), and detoxed with lots of Green Machine smoothies (torture x2 because these are good in moderation, but lose their appeal after a while) - and of course, we woke up Thursday morning to forecasts of rain.

While we were obviously frustrated, we made the most out of the situation.

There were Starbucks trips where we laughed about how I am apparently a hot mess and not able to properly respond to texts while drinking (with aforementioned high school friends).

Necessary.

Whoops.

We walked around Ridgewood, acting like middle schoolers taking pictures with the statues around town (no, but really - that one of the postman scares the crap out of me when we go to town late at night - he's just there and looks so lifelike).

Oh hello, illegal parking job (whoops).

And then, we carb loaded, since both of us had been on ridiculous bikini body diets that whole week - so we headed to the Country Pancake House, where we gorged on the carbs that our bodies so desperately craved.

These pancakes are ENORMOUS - I ate 1 1/2 and thought I was going to throw up I was so full, and she ate one and was entirely content (and my mom ate the leftovers and said they were just delicious).

Sidenote: please forgive my makeup free appearance - we had planned a VERY early shore trip that did not leave time or energy for trivial things like makeup and looking good for the camera ;)

Whole wheat pecan pancakes with peaches on top - ridiculous.

Leftovers.

While it may seem like just typical time out with friends, which it was, I really walked away from it just feeling completely and totally blessed and happy. I think I used to take for granted just how rare of a gift friendship is, especially friendship that lasts over the years, that picks up where it leaves off, that remains the same even with distance - so despite all the changes in life, some of my friendships remain a constant, and for that, I am truly happy.

(I took about a bagillion pictures from my weekend at the Cape, so I will be breaking them into a bunch of posts as I load up all my pictures - seriously, there are probably way too many. I took pictures like it was my first trip there ever).

Do you still keep in touch with certain childhood/high school/college friends?

Currently listening to: H*A*M - Kanye West & Jay-Z

Whirlwind.

It's been a whirlwind of a week - one where I think I've been home merely to sleep, and then I'm off again the next morning, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.

This past week has been filled with family dinners out since Pat came home to visit for a long weekend, reunions with old high school friends that left me feeling reassured that sometimes things are just really easy and comfortable amongst the best of friends even when years have passed, the consumption of enormous pancakes when a trip to the shore didn't pan out (thanks a lot for the faulty report, weatherman), and obviously many trips to Starbucks.

Pictures and stories to come next week when I finally get a chance to breathe (not complaining - like I said, I wouldn't change a thing about it).

This weekend I'm heading up to the Cape with my parents for a weekend of food, drinks, and just getting away from it all - I'll try to visit your blogs, but if not I'll catch you on Monday!



Love you all, have a lovely rest of your week and weekend!


Currently listening to: Vampire Weekend - Walcott (this song always, always gets me in the mood for trips to the Cape - especially since it references Jersey in it too! You go, Ezra Koenig).

Royal Fashion Rules.

Obviously the world cannot get enough of Kate Middleton (or Princess Catherine, I guess?) - everywhere you turn now, you see pictures of her and surprisingly, not much critique (minus a few critiques about her weight).

There's something magnetic about the Royal family, and this modern day Cinderella story that people are just drawn to.



I know that I promised that I wouldn't do a Royal Wedding post (but focused instead on my love of Treacy hats here), but now that months have gone by, I have to say, my serious girl/style crush on the Duchess of Cambridge shows absolutely no signs of dwindling.

I think that what captivates people (or moi, since I can only speak for myself) about Kate Middleton - besides the fact that she is absolutely beautiful - is that she's stylish and trendy, but timeless. Everything that she wears, you can just imagine people talking about for years to come. She embraces trends, without being too trendy - and she makes it look so effortless.

So while maybe we all don't have the budget of a princess, here are some tips that I think we can all take from this iconic style icon.

Rule #1: Embrace color - don't be afraid of it.
Kate Middleton never shies away from color - she's been photographed in a rainbow's worth of dresses, accessories, and separates.





Rule #2: Keep denim classy.
Kate always rocks denim beautifully - and even while wearing skinny J Brand jeans (hello, I know my denim!), she keeps it classy with a gorgeous (and super trendy, yet timeless) navy blazer.






Rule #3: Know your audience.
I love that Kate plays with proportions - she can rock a minidress, skinny jeans, or puts on a tea-length skirt for more formal functions. While it's obviously more important for her to be dressed appropriately for the company she'll be around, we can all take that as a lesson! (i.e. Your family reunion is probably not the time to rock your new Herve Leger bandage minidress; and a night out with your girlfriends at a club is probably not the time to rock your new maxi skirt - unless you and I go clubbing at totally different places).







Rule #4: Have fun with accessories!
Obviously we all know I love Treacy and his fascinators - but find your own niche and signature accessory style. It could be anything from a scarf tied in your ponytail or looped through the straps of your handbag, to a pair of earrings that you're known for wearing. Find what works for your body/style!





Love that this was worn during a visit to Canada.


Rule #5: Monochromatic looks can look stylish and polished.
Kate somehow manages to pull off a monochromatic look without looking boring - which makes her a style icon in my book just based on this alone. White on white is a fun combination (i.e. a white button down paired with white shorts and a fun brown braided belt - my summer signature look!), and there are so many ways to play around with this.





Rule #6: Have fun with what you're wearing!
I love that while in the US and attending a rodeo, Will & Kate rocked cowboy hats and jeans. I think this shows that they can embrace their surroundings, and just have fun. It's another way that they keep it real - and yet they still look incredible.







Rule #7: Your smile is always your best accessory.
While obviously I can't see behind closed doors, so this is just an outsider looking in - I genuinely think that Kate Middleton loves life. She's always seen with a genuine smile on her face, which I think adds to the love people have of her- it definitely helps when you look approachable, and not like a snobby biotch.





Of course, I prefer my royals partying with Kanye - but that's just me.


Are you all as inspired by the Duchess as moi?

Images via.


Currently listening to: Six Foot, Seven Foot - Lil Wayne ft. Corey Gunz