Hello Hauteness

Hello Hauteness followers!  I have some exciting news to share!  First of all, I have a job!  Three months after leaving Austin, Texas and moving to New York City, I’ve found a new position.  I can’t go into details because I’m not allowed to mention my company via social media, but I will say that I’m working for a well-known fashion & beauty firm that has offered me a great opportunity to learn and grow.  I’m thrilled to take on this new chapter of my professional life and truly think I’ve found a great home where I’ve landed.

Second of all, six weeks after moving into the city I am finally ready to share pictures of our apartment with all of you.  I can’t share every detail and the place is not completely decorated (I’d say we’re at about 90%), but hopefully this will quench the thirst of those of you who have been asking for pictures since we first moved back in July.

Prints of our friends and family in black & white are featured in the living room.  I love the classic look of black & white photos, don’t you?

One of my favorite features of our apartment is the exposed brick wall.  It captures your attention as soon as you walk in.  This is a common element of NYC apartments and I love it!

While we do have a fireplace it is not a working one so I decided to use the space to store our DVD’s.  Believe it or not, I was able to fit all of our movies down to the very last one.  If we get even one more DVD it won’t fit.  Just another reason why we were meant to be in this apartment.

We don’t really have a dining room so I found this great table at Target with collapsible leaves to fit up against the wall.  The print hanging on the wall is one of Rich’s favorites and looks great with the brick.

This is Rodney, our Roomba!  Yes, we named our robot vacuum cleaner.  I highly recommend a Roomba for anyone living in a small space.  Rodney does a great job and saves me from having to vacuum.  Love it!

Our closet space is small, but I’ve made the most of it.  When I moved up here I invested in slim felt-covered hangers that allow for more space on the bar.  We have two closets (both of which Rich surrendered to me) and they don’t have overhead lights.  To fix this problem I purchased touch LED lights from Bed Bath & Beyond.  I must say, they really do the job!

I love our bedroom!  Rich already had the furniture (from Ikea) so I decided to try to soften up the modern feel of his set by accenting with more feminine textiles.  The bedding is from West Elm and the curtain is from Overstock.com.  I really love that curtain.  Thank you to our friend @ericaStanoch for the fabulous lamp!

Our kitchen is small but charming.  We are lucky to have a dishwasher (not common in NYC apartments) and I have enough space to cook comfortably.  Rich tends to steer clear of the kitchen so we don’t have to worry about getting in each other’s way.  The canisters are from Ikea.  Rich’s sister Kim gave me the idea to customize them with press-on letters…which is exactly what I did.  I’m really happy with how they turned out.

Last but not least is our bathroom.  It is definitely smaller than what I had in Texas, but it’s actually bigger than I expected to find in NYC.  The giant mirrored medicine cabinet makes the room feel bigger than it is.  I really like this geometric print shower curtain we got from Target.

So that’s it!  Home sweet Upper West Side home!  Sorry for the delay but hopefully this gives you a good glimpse into our humble abode.

Earlier this week my good friend Kristine (@gloriakt) was in the city so I took her visit as an opportunity to check out some places I’ve been curious to explore.  At the top of my list was just about any restaurant featured in the movie You’ve Got Mail.  As a typical girl, I LOVE romantic comedies and one of the reasons I’ve been so excited to explore my Upper West Side neighborhood is the fact that it’s where the movie took place.  Knowing that Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan walked down to same streets as me and ordered coffee from my local Starbucks brings out my inner tourist.

Tuesday morning Kristine and I ventured out to Cafe Lalo for brunch.  This is where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s characters, who are email pen pals, are supposed to meet for the first time.  Remember the scene?  Meg is sitting at a table with a book and a red rose waiting for Tom, who is standing outside trying to decide if he should go in or not because he’s just discovered that the possible love of his life is actually his nemesis in business.  *Sigh*  I love this stuff!

Immediately once I turned the corner onto 83rd Street and saw Cafe Lalo I knew I was at the right place.  The cute tree-lined street.  The steps leading up to the entrance.  The charming wooden framed windows.  And it only got better once we got inside.  You walk past a sinfully delicious pastry case to get to your cute little table, that is conveniently located practically on top of the table next to you (typical for NYC).  There are so many delicious breakfast entrees in the menu that it took Kristine and I 15 minutes just to decide on what to eat.  Cafe Lalo offers up typical breakfasts from around the world, which I found fascinating and delicious all at once.  In the end, Kristine ordered the Dutch Breakfast while I ordered the Italian Breakfast, along with our giant Cappuccino and Viennese Coffee.

May I just say, that this was one of my favorite experiences to date in New York. I got to enjoy good conversation with a good friend over delicious food and coffee in an absolutely charming environment.  From the exposed brick walls to the vintage posters to the fresh lavender plants hanging above the bar, I loved everything about Cafe Lalo.  Not to mention that the food was beyond delicious and actually rather healthy.  The ingredients tasted truly fresh and the menu offerings were unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere else.  I know I don’t typically critique restaurants on this, my fashion blog, but I just had to share with all of you this little gem in the heart of the Upper West Side.

Whether you live in the city or are just visiting, I highly recommend you make it a point to visit Cafe Lalo…especially if you’re a hopeless romantic and a fan of You’ve Got Mail.  Cheers!

Big news Hauteness readers!  I’m very excited to announce that I am now contributing to the fabulous blog Pretty in Kate.

As the name probably gives away, this is a blog devoted to following the Duchess of Cambridge and her many outfits.  Not exactly a hard fit for me to throw in my two cents!  A princess + “get the look” posts = heaven for me!

So check out Pretty in Kate to get the latest on the former Miss Middleton’s fabulous style, along with other little tidbits we find out by stalking her every move.

P.S.  The blue Issa dress she wore in this picture for the engagement announcement is still my favorite piece she’s worn.

I am very excited to write this post because I have the pleasure of spotlighting my good friend Meredith Budwin and her fabulous jewelry line, Merah.  For years Meredith struggled with a nickel allergy that made it hard to find stylish, trendy earrings that did not irritate her skin.  I remember that she always wore the same pair of classic diamond studs because it was the only earring she could wear because the posts were solid gold.  Imagine if all of the earrings you wore had to be made of solid gold.  It would get a little expensive, right?

Well after some time spent researching the market for 100% nickel-free earrings and finding nothing, Mere made the brave decision to quit her job and open an affordable online boutique to cater to other stylish women with the same problem.  And this is how Merah was born.

All of Merah’s styles are on hypoallergenic earring hooks made from a metallic element that is 100% nickel-free without any impurities, similar to solid gold, but for a fraction of the price. Unlike other metals commonly used in “hypoallergenic” earrings, this element is commonly used in medical implants due to its nonreactive nature.  Pretty smart discovery on Meredith’s part if you ask me.  The feedback she’s received from customers has been overwhelming.

“The response to Merah has been incredible – countless women have shared their stories with us,” said Meredith. “Before Merah, some of our customers had simply stopped wearing earrings altogether while others opted to suffer through a few uncomfortable hours of wearing earrings for special occasions. I love being able to tell women with sensitive ears that there is a pain-free and affordable option now.”

In addition to the usual Merah baubles, I am also thrilled to announce that just last week Merah introduced a beyond fabulous designer collection featuring styles from none other than BonBon by Micah Yancey.  You can now choose from 13 one-of-a-kind BonBon designs with hypoallergenic hooks!  Love.  It.

So whether you’re an allergy sufferer or not, be sure to check out the chic styles at www.ShopMerah.com.  Merah offers up 45 styles ranging in price from $20 to $98 with free domestic shipping.  You can’t beat that!

Kudos to Meredith for making a company out of problem for which she couldn’t find a solution.  I’m very proud of her and of Merah!

Be sure to follow Merah on Facebook and Twitter for special discounts and announcements.

Three days after I landed in NYC I was invited to participate in a fashion show.  While I’m used to working behind the scenes at shows doing stylist or production work, this invitation came as a surprise because I was asked to model this time around.  As a size 8, this is not exactly the norm for me.

As it turns out, Katie Behnke, Creative Director of Elegantees, wanted me because of my curves.  Katie herself has more of the typical model physique, but she wants her designs to appeal to women who come in different packages.  As part of the charity fashion show she put on to benefit Freedom Forth on June 16th, Ms. Behnke brought together beautiful ladies of all shapes, colors and sizes to show off her fabulous designs.  I applaud her for this move not only because it allowed me to be a model for an evening, but also because it celebrates beauty in all forms.  The result was a fun fashion show featuring real women in flattering styles.  Well done Katie!

In addition to modeling the uber comfortable styles in the fashion show, Katie also asked me to participate in a photo shoot for the Elegantees website.  Honored and flattered, I accepted and now you can see me on their website showing off the Pamela and Lori styles.  May I just say, it’s totally surreal to see myself modeling.  Like, woah.

Doing my best model pose. What do you think?

So just what is Elegantees?  This is a stylish line of cotton jersey t-shirts that Katie launched in 2010 to feed two of her passions: fashion and philanthropy.  As the company grows and the initial start-up costs are recovered, eventually 100% of Elegantees’ dividends will go towards fighting sex and human trafficking.  In addition to this, Ms. Behnke is currently establishing relationships with factories in Peru and Nepal that are transforming communities by teaching sewing skills to those rescued from trafficking, therefore helping the fight against this horrible practice.

I recently sat down with the lovely (inside and out) Katie Behnke to hear more about her company and her mission to give back.

Where are you from?  What is your NYC story?

I’m a Midwestern girl from a farm in Iowa.  I always wanted to move to a big city, and after attending a local college I applied to the Fashion Institute of Technology and got in!  I moved to NYC in 2005, spent 3 years at FIT while taking on a series of internships and jobs before launching Elegantees in 2010.

What led you to start your own line?

It’s been a dream of mine since I was little and at my last job as a Production Manager I gained a lot of the knowledge I needed to start my own company.  Once I learned more about human and sex trafficking in a World Affairs class at FIT, I promised myself that if I ever started a company I would bring awareness to this issue.  I’m excited to say that I kept this promise and am currently working on establishing relationships with manufacturers that give back to their communities and help fight sex trafficking.  It’s my hope that the Spring 2012 collection will be produced exclusively by these factories.

What is the target market for Elegantees?

The majority of our customers are in their 20s and 30s that want to be fashionable but don’t want to work hard at it.  Elegantees are all about effortless and affordable style.

Do you have a signature piece/style that you will always carry?

It’s still a little too early to designate a signature piece, but I will always design styles that drape and are accented with trends.

Do you have a favorite style?

I’d have to say that the Lacy tee is my favorite.  It accentuates my shoulders and has nice sleeve detailing.

What is your favorite piece in your own closet?

I love my high-waisted boys uniform pants that I bought at a thrift shop.  I actually wore them at the fashion show.  They fit my proportions perfectly.  I just love wearing them!

Katie, wearing her fav pants, at the fashion show alongside her boyfriend Israel

Do you have any upcoming projects/events that you want to share with Hello Hauteness readers?

We’re having a fashion show in Dubuque, Iowa on August 14^th to benefit the Nepali Rescue Project.  I’m also excited to announce that I’m partnering with Whitney Fields, Austin, Texas based Stella & Dot Stylist, to design a line that will be photographed and featured in a fashion show in Austin hopefully around February of next year.

Where do you like to shop?

I actually love to go to the 5^th floor of Bergdorf’s in Manhattan not so much to shop but to snap pictures of items that inspire me for my own line.  I don’t shop too much because I know I can make anything I see in the stores, but I must admit that jewelry is my weakness.  I’m a huge fan of Prima Donna (5^th & 37^th), Forever 21, and if I could afford it, I’d get Stella and Dot often.

Who is your favorite fashion icon, male or female?

Jeanette Scott Thwing of jseverydayfashion.com. I love how she is so down-to-earth and inspires a lot of American women to dress with ease and affordability.

Are you a coffee or tea drinker?

I’m a hot tea drinker all the way!  I’m all about flavored teas.

Are you a flip-flops or heels girl?

Heels.  But, since I’m a New Yorker, I need to walk a lot and go for the shorter ones then. They can be comfortable yet sassy at the same time.  Plus, they just look and feel more special.

Are you a Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda or Samantha?

My friends tell me I’m a Charlotte…maybe because I seem to be the purest of our bunch.  I would definitely say that my style is more Carrie though.

Ladies, if you’re looking for comfortable yet stylish t-shirts, I can honestly say that Elegantees is the way to go.  You will not only be supporting a young entrepreneur, you’ll be supporting the bigger mission of raising awareness of human and sex trafficking.