Buying now..

These will be out of stock shortly, I promise. Much cheaper than the competitors' versions!

American Apparel Velvet Tassel Loafer $75

Kate Spade Deb Wedge

The "it" shoe for any serious working girl.  Don't believe me? Read more via the NY Times here.

"I know. We, the news media, are not supposed to ask female candidates about their hairstyle or their choice of pantsuits over skirts or their shoes. It is irrelevant. It is trivializing. It is sexist. “You would never write about Chuck Schumer’s shoes,” Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand said in a New York magazine article in response to a question about her flats.

But the Kate Spade wedge heels are not just one candidate’s shoes. They seem to be the shoes of a circle of younger women aspiring to power or already in it, women directly and indirectly passing on to one another ways of navigating the particular challenges of being a woman in the public eye. A woman must look put-together, but not as if she is a slave to fashion; she must look groomed, but never be spotted grooming."

Kate Spade Deb Wedge

Put Your Best Foot Forward In October

Can you believe it is October? I swear the last time I looked at my calendar it was late July. In October I always wish I lived in the suburbs in a big old house (identical to the one in Hocus Pocus) where the kids can knock on my door for trick or treating. Halloween in the city just ain't as cool. Being in the northeast, October is a very important month. One of the last months before the dreaded snowfalls, where we must take full advantage of heels in their highest heights (if you live in Boston or NYC - it is nearly impossible to wear heels in 3 feet of snow). Save the riding boots for weeknights, on the weekend we fly high.

tassel booties | suede platform pumps | mustard peep toe | leopard wedge | suede slingback

Not-so-frugal purchases..

I will shamelessly admit, I am coveting a pair of Stubbs & Wootton monogrammed loafers.  I know I know, we're on the verge of another economic crisis & purchasing $600 loafers would not fall into the "frugal" bucket - but a girl can dream right? There must be other fine purveyors of customizable velvet loafers on the world wide web, but alas I am unable to find them.  Until then, I'll wear my orange toms around NYC & pretend they have my initials on them.

images via Stubbs & Wooton

Giftguide: Part Deux

I love this time of year. As much as I love shopping for myself, I like shopping for others even more.  This year, I'm a little late in the game - but not for lack of perusing! Below are more of my 2010 finds.

1. Bobbi Brown Lipgloss ($20) in the best color I've ever seen: {Buff}  The consistency resembles MAC lipglass, but in a perfect nude shade.  I hope I find this at the bottom of my stocking!

2. Merriam-Webster Collegiate Edition Dictionary ($138.99) in genuine goatskin leather. I love the metallic white gold.  I think the perfect home for this is right on my bookcase!

3. Club Monaco started selling the "Library" line of Paddywax candles, & I must say, they're worth.every.penny. I particularly loved the Edgar Allen Poe scent ($25), but the Jane Austen scent was just as wonderful.

4. Ben's Garden Antique Estate Key Glass Necessity Tray ($64). I fell in love with Ben's Garden glass trays after seeing them in a little antique shop in my hometown.  The perfect catch-all tray for a mother, colleague, or boss.

5. Also from Ben's Garden - this slightly larger glass tray depics a map of one of my favorite summer spots, Cape Cod, MA. Vintage Cape Cod Glass Tray ($74)

6. For the entertainer in your life, a relatively inexpensive plum&gold rectangle lacquer tray from Caspari.  The tray is 14" x 19" perfect atop a ottoman, or to serve drinks off of & is a steal at only $30!

7. I love tartan patterned anything, & I love a man wearing a nice scarf.  This is the best of both worlds :) Barbour® Merino/Cashmere Tartan Scarf ($79) Tartan plaid will always be a classic, perfect for any man in your life any age!

8. The best product since sliced bread. Seriously.  Aigle Jumping Boots ($189). These boots are handcrafted in France with the look of leather with the functionality of rubber, including a 100% waterproof, oblique cut topline. How amazing are these?!  Looking like a chic riding boot, but acting like an all-weather rain boot. These blow those clunky Hunter boots right out of the water if you ask me.

9. One of many Graphic Image products that I love.  Apparently I'm into white gold metallic products, if I had an ipad - I would want this Monogrammed Case for Ipads ($135)

"Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who are alive." Howard Thurman

Wanting:

Dorothy's Ruby Slippers!

CharityFolks.com is hosting the 2009 Ruby Slippers Collection which benefits the

Elizabeth Glaser  Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Top shoe designers all over the world are coming together to reinvent Dorothy's kicks for a good cause.

If I had one the lottery yesterday - I would put a heffftyyy bid on those beauties that Oscar De La Renta did.

Loving:

ABC's new show Modern Family.  A mockumentary much like "The Office" but 100 times funnier. (I know what you're thinking. What the hell is a 'mockumentary'?  A mockumentary is a way of presenting a recording as a real life documentary, but it is actually fictional. It's commonly used as a medium for parody and satire.)

The half-hour show airs at 9 p.m. EST on ABC & will leave you with sore abs from laughing so hard, seriously.

Enjoying:

This recipe:

Not all of us are Rosie Riches who can afford to eat at The Ritz on a nightly basis, some of us actually cook for ourselves on occasion. Maybe we even cook for our boyfriend after we "accidentally forgot to call him when we got back from happy hour the day before". Whatever the reason is, I've got the recipe to go with it.

I'm not sure how, or even why, but this recipe is idiot proof. It was my Mother's go-to dish for a spontaneous dinner party, for last minute hungry kids, for everything - & now I know why. The best part of the dish isn't how easy the recipe is, or that you probably already have the ingredients - it's that it tastes even BETTER the next day...hello bag lunch for work!

Ingredients:
7 Roma tomatoes
Canned artichoke hearts (not in oil)
> 1 cup grated cheese (parmesan, romano, or asiago)
Linguine pasta
Olive Oil
>4 cloves of garlic
Oregano
Basil (fresh – at least 6 leaves)
Chicken breasts

Sauce:
Wash & chop tomatoes into large chunks.
Add into a large pot with olive oil covering bottom (generous amount).
Stir in chopped garlic cloves, oregano, salt, and chopped basil. Heat low adding artichoke hearts.
Cut two chicken breasts into bite sized chunks, cook in a pan over medium heat with salt & pepper (or our family’s favorite: Goya Adobo)
Bring sauce to a slow boil, stirring occasionally.
20 minutes prior to meal, add cheese to sauce (too soon & it will stick to the bottom of pot). Low heat & let simmer. Add Adobo as needed.

Cook pasta – al dente!
Pour sauce on top of linguine, add chicken, toss & serve.