I got this dress at Intermix, which is usually WAY out of my price range, but I got it on sale (do you sense a theme for this trip?) so I splurged a bit. The embroidery at the bottom is my favorite part. Oh, and shoes are Steven by Steve Madden. Last year. Sale.

Next, my other $20 sale dress from Zara. Love the details on this one too.

As I wait patiently for my frozen banana cocktail with David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day within arms reach, I am gazing at the scene below…

And a full length shot of the Zara dress, which I also used as a swimsuit coverup. Beachy.

It finally arrived. Saturday. I have been awaiting this beauty for some time now. This might just be my favorite fashion mag – just a bit more my style than the rest. I recently re-subscribed to a bunch that I had been putting off for awhile with all my moving. And now, of course, I’m moving again. Eh…well, can’t wait forever. So excited!!

Those were the precise words they used to describe what one of our boat options was for a trip to snorkel in the Tobago Cayes…kind of brilliant. What? Some people may not know what a schooner looks like. We passed on that, but here is the ship, along with the last minute (literally night before our very early flight the next morning) swimsuit I chose as an impulse buy. I went with the standard American Apparel String Bikini. I’ve never owned a string before but ended up really liking it. And it wasn’t too expensive at $25 for each piece. I will warn you though, the lining is very minimal which meant I was forced to go with a darker color. Don’t be fooled into the neon pink so when you jump in the water, it will appear as if you are on a topless (and perhaps, bottomless) beach – yikes! I ended up quite happy with the navy blue or cobalt, as they called it. I always say keeping it simple is best. Not a huge fan of the wacky patterns or bling on the suit, if you know what I mean. Here’s an up close from their site…

P.S. Did you check out Jess’ new site yet? You definitely should…Birdhouse Interior Design Consulting. It’s pretty freakin’ sweet and she’s awesome at what she does. I may even have her fly out to NYC once I move in the fall for her design expertise. No joke.

No really. In this picture. I am. Truly. Can’t you tell from my nautical style? This was taken on our Champagne Sunset Cruise one night. My entire outfit was purchased at Club Monaco – sans the sunglasses (they were a gift). I usually find Club Monaco a bit pricy for my taste, but these were within reason. I found another super cute top on sale there as well and will be showing you very soon…kind of Mad Men-esque. I was wearing it when our tiny plane had to attempt three different landings in a storm and almost took off the top of a sailboat on the way back into the air. It was terrifying.

Our boat: Tornado.

On Sunday, I returned from the quiet serene of the Caribbean to the hustle and bustle of New York City. And let me tell you, it was a big slap in the face. My boyfriend and I went down to a small island in the Grenadines for a little vacay. I bought a few new items for the occasion and thought I would share some with you. Let’s start out with one of the $20 white dresses I got on sale at Zara – great store that is reasonably priced. I wore it one day as a swimsuit coverup. And, of course, a couple beach shots for you to set the vibe.

(the beach right in front of our door)

(view from the shower)

(at sunset one night – the light down there is amazing)

There was a small tear in this dress when I bought it. I plan on fixing it with my new (and by new, I mean bought last year and only used once thus far) sewing machine. Will show you the final product once I get there. Stay tuned for more tropical fashion posts.

I have an excessively large noggin. Because of this, I have a hard time finding headbands and hats that actually fit and stay on. This is not always the case, but is majority of the time. To remedy this, I’ve started making my own headbands.

Obviously you can make them out of any material, but the stretchy stuff works best (in my opinion). I also think, the thicker the better. This one I made from an old running tank I got at Target. It’s probably my favorite headband. Stays in place and I can wear it running, to wash my face at night, or to style up an outfit. Very versatile and inexpensive!

(notice the seams from the sides of the shirt near the tie I made – no worries, they are under your large melon where no one can see)

So I just moved (again), and decided it was time to clean out my closet (again). By the time I was done, I had three garbage bags full of some of my old college t-shirts, sweatshirts, stuff that hasn’t been in style since I graduated high school in the year 2000 – well you get the point…things I needed to get rid of. I kept a few that I shouldn’t have but we all have items which hold a special place in our heart. I did pretty good, if I do say so myself, of letting go of most of the unnecessary things that I’ve been hauling apartment to apartment in New York (and some much, much longer). It was tough, but very liberating in a sense and I highly recommend you do the same. Plus it frees up some of the minimal closet space provided for those of us living in NY. Take a look at the lot.

(please disregard my canary yellow pumps – they have this terrible karma attached)

Anyway, I took all my clothes down to Beacon’s Closet in Brooklyn. I thought they would just laugh at my things and tell me that I should be paying them for taking it off of my hands, but I was wrong. I made just over $100 off my clothes, and the clothes they don’t sell is then donated to charity. They are selling $300 worth of my clothes, but you only get 35% if you take cash, 55% for store credit. Unfortunately I didn’t find anything in there that day that suited me, but I strongly suggest going this route when getting rid of old clothes. It’s a win/win and there are places like this in most cities. I never thought it was worth it…until now, with a crisp $100 bill in my pocket (ok, it was five 20 dollar bills, but still). Do it. Who needs those spandex volleyball shorts you’ve been carting around since high school or those ugly Christmas sweaters you’ve been saving just in case there’s another ugly Christmas sweater party next year??

Hello Anna Wintour. It’s the Devil [Wears Prada] playing herself. And she smiles?!? I am definitely seeing this, but what do you think: true documentary or more scripted reality? And will you be seeing it?

I took a little jaunt to Copenhagen this past weekend. These pics were taken at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

Plaid Shirt – Urban Outfitters

Gray Jeans – Urban Outfitters

Brown Sandals – Gap

Gray Bag – Kenneth Cole from Filene’s Basement

Sunglasses – Gift from the boy

That little metalhead had a few tricks up his sleeve, hence, the ear plugging.

Speaking of H&M…this was one of my favorite outfits this winter. I kind of over-wore it. It was pretty cheap overall, minus those darn boots.

Navy Button-Up Belted Dress – H&M (I love H&M!)

Navy Textured Tights – Gap

Boots – see post

Invisible Necklace – Urban Outfitters

Sunglasses – Chinatown

I also recently saw this dress on an episode of Medium, “The Talented Ms. Boddicker”, about the psychic bank teller. Nice. I like your style, Ms. Boddicker.