Where to Eat in New York: Eataly

The Scene

My goal whenever I'm in NYC is to have experiences I can't have in LA. That means Topshop for shopping, the Met for nerding, Central Park for strolling, and any number of only-in-New York-restaurants for noshing.

Top of my list for this trip for pigging: Eataly, Mario Batalli's shrine to all things Italian. Eataly is this massive food emporium that takes up an entire city block. In addition to selling a variety of products that are only available in Europe, it has eating stations and restaurants peppered throughout the space. It reminds me of one of my favorite places on earth: the marketplace at the Gallaries Lafayette in Paris. I don't know why Americans can't grasp the concept of gourmet food courts.

It's been a good 10 years since my mom and I were in Europe together so Eataly was a dream for her. Her eyes and mouth looked like this most of the night. Pretty adorbs ;)

My mom loves food and is an excellent cook in large part because of her Italian grandmother. She practically skipped through the aisles at Eataly, peering at all the products and regailing me with stories of her childhood. Love that she loved it so much.  

The Food

We snagged the first table we could find at one of the little food stations and had a light but delicious meal. 

 

Broccoli pesto bruschetta with ricotta cheese and pine nuts---insanely good.

Gnocchi in a TDF mushroom sauce. First time I had gnocchi that was cheese based not potato based. Lighter and TASTY.

And no dinner with this little sugar fiend would be complete without dessert...a few of them...with hot chocolate.

A+ of a only-in-NYC culinary experience. But rumor has it Eataly is heading west to West Hollywood!

The Outfit

Forever 21 jeans

St. John blazer

Old Navy sweater

The Accessories

Louis Vuitton bag

Valentino scarf

Tory Burch flats

Forever 21 earrings

Michele watch

Me&Ro neckalce

The Grade 

A

The Commentary

Got THE best weather in NYC. Warm but not humid. Felt like LA.

This outfit was just the thing not only for the weather but for the first day of transitioning from work into fun in they city: felt professional but still on trend. Built it around the red pants. Am OBSESSED with them and frankly all things red lately.  The nautical sweater I nabbed at Old Navy last month because I was surprised at how luxe it looked for $30. The gold button blazer, polka dot scarf on the LV bag and Reva flats created a pretty preppy look.

Felt straight out of the 80s and Connecticut.  Only in NYC does that feel like a good look for me.

The Inspiration

$300 Orient Watch Giveaway

In the last few years, I haven't been much of a watch person. But that all changed recently when I "came into" a snazzy black ceramic one. Am suddenly as obsessed as I was with my Swatch Pop Watch when I was 10.  

My mom aka THE BITER is too. When we were in NYC,OF COURSE, she ran out and got a similar one. F that little cutie.

Now it's your turn to be a big ole copy cat like my momma. Thanks to Orient Watch and their Sapphire Crystal collection, one lucky winner will win a watch priced at up to $300. Of all their watches for women, these are two of my favorites. 

To be entered, just leave a comment below with your name and email address before next Monday the 24th at 5 pm PT. Good luck!

EXTENDING THE DEADLINE UNTIL FRIDAY AT 5 PM!

On My Promotion, New Bag and Blogging

Gawd, I've missed bloggy blogging. The last few weeks have been bananas. Mostly consumed with first preparing for and then surviving and finally recovering from 10 days in NYC for work. And somewhere along the way, when I wasn't quite expecting it...I happened to snag a promotion at work. Woop woop.

Ended up being PURRfect timing. Meant I could do a little celebratory shopping during my Big Apple trip. Work hard, shop hard, right? Meet one of the delish products of my celebration at Bendel's: Rebecca Minkoff's bow crossbody bag. I luvre her mucho. Still hearting all things crossbody. Think the look is young and hep and forces me not to schlep so much shit around.  Makes me think about what I need more carefully.




Which brings me to an interesting/awkward/important subject that I feel like addressing so indulge me, por favor. A few weeks ago at a lovely dinner with new blogger friends, we discussed how blogging has become big business with many of the well-known fashion bloggers getting agents. During that dinner, I was also made aware of  bloggers sharing stories about going into debt to keep up appearances on their blogs!!

 Both stories didn't sit well with me. In fact, they've been making me feel a little weird about blogging. I mean, I get it, blogging IS weird. It's this weird exhibitionist thing to do that's very "HEY LOOK AT MY LIFE." And, yes, there's a natural fit for brands to position products thrown in the mix. So I get where the pressure and the perception and the commerce and the marketing all converge for the perfect pretty profitable storm.

One real issue for me is that blogging feels like it's shifting from a place of self expression and authenticity to a place that's focused on pushing an agenda or keeping up with the Joneses. Makes me sad that plaforms that can be so empowering for real women are morphing into just another commodity...just another place to inflict glossy veneers of fakeness on each other that create separation not connection. Or even worse: maybe blogs are influencing a new generation of women to think that having things is more important than having things to say. God, I hope not.

That's why I  just wanted to say that blogging for me remains about having a creative outlet, about creating a place where I found my voice again...as a storyteller and yes, fashion lover. In blogging as in life, the goal for me has always been to share and learn. I want to inspire and be inspiring. Not only with how I dress but by how I go about being a smart, funny, driven, crazy and imperfect woman on the planet. 

And I suddenly feel the need to be more explicit on a topic that not enough women talk about openly: fiscal responsibility. I think it's important, if you are reading my blog, to know that I work hard for what I have. I have had a job since I was 14 years old. I have also had a mortgage and a 401K since I was 23. I have had a Mr. Diabolina for quite a while too. And while he is a BFD professionally and will spoil me on birthdays and holidays, the majority of things I feature on this blog, were bought for me, by me, in cash money, honey. No credit card debt or daddy of any kind required.

The life that I blog is the culmination of 18 years of hard work in school and a decade of busting my ass professionally. Plus, there's a healthy dose of luck thrown in there too. I am lucky to have been born to a woman who is extremely smart about managing AND enjoying her money...and who taught me to be the same way. Lucky to have found a partner and a core circle of friends that I have known for more than a decade, who are ambitious and make me want to do more, be more.

And, say what you will about this point, but I feel lucky to have been born in this country. Despite the shenanigans in DC and on Wall Street and our culture of consumption, this is still one of the best places on earth to be a woman with a plan. Period.

Often, while I blog, I marvel at the opportunities I have and think about my cousins in Guatemala. They are so educated and so hard working and yet they struggle so fundamentally to get ahead. They live in a country that just doesn't afford them the opportunities we have here. That the luck of the draw can determine the trajectory of one's potential seems so crazy unfair to me but I am crazy grateful for the hand I drew and I try to give back.

So that's a whole lotta rambling about the perception and realities behind blogging. I don't know that any of this matters to you. But it matters to me that you know I think about it, the responsibility of all of it, not just the pretty pictures ;)




The Inspiration