to shop / gossamer birch shell – which color?

I lost track of Anthropologie for a while until Thanksgiving. I can’t resist additional off 50% off sales! And then, I kind of figured out the “secret” behind nabbing sales merchandise. The thing with Anthropologie and J.Crew is that they always have “cheap” stuff on sale. By cheap, I mean, tops for $30 or less, but most of the them, these tops aren’t great fabric content and won’t wear well without constant dry cleaning. I’m not letting myself get sucked into “cheap” sale stuff anymore and am glad that Anthropologie has a wonderful return policy.

During my random jaunts to Anthropologie, I saw this shell by Yoana Baraschi. I consider her brand to be one of the nicer, more substantial ones that Anthropologie carries. She’s the designer behind the popular Veiled Alder Dress, which kept on selling out at full price (and is now 50% off).

I admired its sister, the gossamer birch shell, from afar and finally found two in my size during my many trips to return massively reduced purchases. The strange thing is that the sizing is inconsistent between colors. The red fits bigger. I was debating between colors when I found out that the top was slashed another 50%, so I went back to Anthropologie for a price adjustment because it was within 2 weeks of purchase. It gave me less pressure to decide, but I’m in a get-rid-of-things mode. Which color should I keep? I’m leaning towards the red, but the bff liked the blue.

to shop / orla kiely for uniqlo review

I visited the 34th Street Herald Square Uniqlo for this launch — it’s become my favorite Uniqlo because it’s deserted compared to the Soho and Fifth Ave location. I was pressed for time, so I did my usual overbuying buy-now-think-later. On top of that, a friend wanted a few things but was out of town. I wasn’t sure what her size was so I grabbed both sizes. While I was there, I got a text from another friend asking if I needed anything from this collab. Great minds think alike :)

It was a dreary week. Cheerful Orla prints is just what was needed. Don’t be fooled by the dresses… they were made of a stiff cotton.

to read / paris versus new york: a tally of two cities

Paris versus New York: A Tally of Two Cities by Vahram Muratyan is the perfect affordable gift for anyone who loves New York City and Paris. Both cities are thick with culture, full of good shopping, food, museums, and the list goes on. While Paris has a je nais se quoi sparkle about it, I will admit that its trash is just as smelly as NYC’s. There is no place like New York City or Paris…

It looks like Amazon is having inventory problems at press time, but it should be resolved soon. Also, see the chic postcards that are coming out later this year!

to eat / {my east village} van leeuwen & big gay ice cream

I love ice cream. When I heard E 7th St was getting not one, but TWO, ice cream shops, I thought to myself once again, I love my neighborhood.

Van Leeuwen is a little further away and outside of from my area of frequent movement. After my experience, it’ll be a while before I return. VL ice cream is still good on its own and you can also buy it at Whole Foods. My advice is to stay away from the hot fudge. There was a weird waxy, unmelted texture going on and I got sick from it.

Big Gay Ice Cream started out as a truck. I’d only been to the truck once and the lines were horrendous. I was ecstatic when they decided to open a storefront really close to me. They had a Groupon that forced me to eat there more often then I preferred, so I visited it frequently. The lines were long when the shop just opened, but they have died down. Also, their staff is super friendly. I witnessed a proposal here. The last time I popped in, I got a salty pimp for free. I have no idea why none of the other patrons wanted a freebie. Not pictured are the ice cream sandwiches from Melt Bakery, which will be another post. I’m no ice cream sandwich connoisseur, but these were the best I’ve ever tasted!

• My top recs are the sundaes and the ice cream sandwiches. I like the spicy hot fudge.
• I advise studying the menu before visiting as the store layout is not slow decisionmaking-friendly.
• Subscribe to their Facebook/Twitter for specials and updates.

Some pictures with commentary. Please note that the following items were consumed across a span of four months.

The menu that changes – and has changed a bit since it opened.

weekends / antioxidants and blueprintjuice

My fridge has evolved over the years… friends have visited and have balked at the dearth of real food. Nowadays, it depends. Time is a luxury lately, so I’ve given into the convenience of FreshDirect.

Inspired by the salad I had at Cookshop, I put together my own salad of beets, blood orange, and strawberries. It must be antioxidant-heavy judging by the colors. I’ve been eating a ton of strawberries lately.

FD began selling BluePrintJuice of BluePrintCleanse fame. It has a longer shelf life than buying directly from BPC. FD is running a promotion, which makes a day’s worth of juice $45.50 if you order three days’ worth (i.e. the renovation cleanse). If you buy more, like four days, it is $2.50 cheaper a day. Ordering directly from BPC is $65/day. Buying from Whole Foods is about $49. BluePrintJuice doesn’t come with easy to follow numbers on the bottles, but the order is basically green, gold, green, yellow, red, white. I’ve been eating super poorly lately due to working too much, so let’s see how this goes!