lifestyle


New York Fashion Week travel guide

restaurants near skylight clarkson

New York Fashion Week has come to an end. In addition to seeing all the new collections on the runways for next season, attending New York Fashion Week also means travel for those of us who are not from New York. This means rushing from show to show, stopping for a bite to eat at a restaurant, and having fun! So I decided to make a little New York Fashion Week travel guide for you!

One of my favorite things about traveling, is having an excuse to eat out! Although some moments during fashion week mean eating snacks instead of a full meal, or grabbing something fast to-go, there are moments when I can indulge in a sit down meal at a fabulous restaurant. I have four favorite restaurants to eat at while in New York for fashion week. Pictured above, are the meals I enjoyed at each of them over the past week.

From top left:

  1. Trattoria Bianca: They have the best Italian food! I ate there in September, and again last week. The ravioli is to-die-for, and so is the soup!
  2. Lauduree Paris: I always wanted to try Laduree, so when my friend Laura from Have Need Want suggested we enjoy brunch at Laduree, I was game! I had a fabulous mushroom crepe, which I highly recommend, green tea, and a yummy dessert. Of course, I also left with a gift box of macarons. Highly recommend!
  3. Sushi Samba: This place is amazing! They serve, get this, Peruvian, Brazilian, and Japanese fusion! The result is amazing flavor, and an unique dining experience. You must try it! I’m thrilled my friend Rita suggested we eat there, it was perfection.
  4. Westville Hudson: This restaurant was really close to the Skylight Clarkson, and our hotel. They serve fabulous farm to table food. We ending up eating dinner there twice! My apologies for the poor photo quality, the lighting wasn’t iPhone friendly 😉 This is a great spot for vegetarian, and vegan options. I loved every meal I ate there. I highly recommend the grilled salmon, and the pesto mashed potatoes. Yummy!

These are a few moments during fashion week which were especially memorable. From top right:

  1. Vivienne Hu’s after-party. Vivienne Hu is one of my favorite designer collections shown during New York Fashion Week. Her fall 2016 collection was especially amazing. It was an honor to be invited to her after-party, and to have the chance to speak with her about her collection, and the new “see it on the runway, buy it now,” concept which is starting to emerge at fashion week. This photo of myself, Laura, and Vivienne Hu reminds me of this special event.
  2. Monique Lhuilier’s collection was dreamy, nostalgic, and beautiful. I intended to post this photo on Instagram while I was waiting at my seat for everyone to enter the room and sit down, but I never did. This is what my lap usually looks like before a show. I read the run of show materials placed at my seat in order to get a sense of the designers inspiration of the season, observe the crowd, and wait patiently for the show to begin.
  3. A cronut! I never had a cronut before. My fabulous friend Rita and her husband picked one up for me and brought it to my hotel room knowing I had a full schedule. It was such a special treat, and a big help in getting some breakfast inside of my tummy! Ha! This moment also reminds me what a beautiful friend I have in Rita.
  4. This is the outfit I wore on day four of New York Fashion Week. Laura and I did not have a chance to snap our outfit photos that day. We were too busy attending shows, meetings, and working. We tried to take a few pictures in our hotel lobby, but the lighting was not my friend. My coat is by Rebecca Taylor, and it is sold out; but you can find  more fabulous coats by her online here.

If you are traveling to New York Fashion Week in September, or just want to stay in the area, I can recommend three moderately priced hotels which are modern inside, offer great service, and are walkable to the shows!

If you would like to stay on 33rd street by the Skylight Moynihan, I highly recommend the Marriot Fairfield. It is right across the street, and offers free breakfast. They do not have a restaurant onsite, but it is walkable to Hell’s Kitchen, and several yummy places to eat; including Trattoria Bianca mentioned above.

If the Skylight Clarkson is the location you would like to walk to, then there are two choices; which are both considerably less expensive then the Fairfield. The Courtyard by Marriott SOHO and the Four Points Sheraton SOHO are both an easy walk to the Skylight Clarkson. The Four Points Sheraton has a restaurant onsite too which is handy.

You can find great deals on hotels online here.

I understand boutique hotels might be preferable when traveling to New York, but fashion week is a full week, which means several nights in a hotel. This can mean a large hotel bill. The chain hotels I recommend are easy on the wallet, by New York standards, they are clean, offer great service, and hey, you might even be able to use your points and/or earn points! Love that!

Stay tuned! I have more coverage from New York Fashion Week coming up this week.


Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in the winter

bench surfer santa cruzsanta cruz beach in winterwinter amusement park outfit idea bumper cars in waiting santa cruz beach boardwalk scenepotato on a stickwinter boardwalk outfit ideaboardwalk at nightboardwalk at night in the winter

Outfit: Sunglasses: Chanel / Earrings: c/o Laurel Burch / Lipstick: Chanel Mighty / Sweater: Banana Republic / Ring: Kendra Scott / Nail Polish: Chanel Sunrise Trip / Handbag: Tory Burch (on sale!!) / Jeans: Gap / Shoes: Rag & Bone (sold out, also love this pair and this pair)

Over Christmas break, we took the kids to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Winter is a great time to go to the Boardwalk because there are less crowds, significantly lower lines, and you can really maximize your day; since you are not spending it in long lines!

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in winter has reduced hours, and not all of the rides are open. On the day we went, the Boardwalk was open from 12pm-5pm. We arrived at noon and stayed until about 5:15pm. It was a full day, and loads of fun!  There were about twelve rides open, so in addition to going on rides, we played mini golf, and a few carnival games.

The food at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is always fun too. Can you believe the potato on a stick my daughter is holding in the photo above?! It was like potato chips on a stick, but fresh! They make the potato on a stick right there in front of you, so you can see it is fresh; and I would like to think it is healthier than potato chips from a bag at the super market. The kids also ate french fries; and I enjoyed a delicious hot cocoa made from Ghirardelli Chocolate, yum!

The favorite ride of the day for my kids were the bumper cars. I think they went back on the ride close to ten times! There were a lot of people riding the bumper cars, yet there wasn’t a line, so it was easy to keep going back on the same ride. It was the perfect amount of people!

If you are interested in heading down to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in winter, be sure to call first and see how many rides are open. You will also want to check the hours. They do offer a reduced daily rate during the winter, which is nice.

What are some places you like to go to in the winter because there is less of crowd than in the summer?


Scenes from Instagram

mansur gavriel shoulder bags cross body

I indulged in Mansur Gavriel’s new cross body bags. Aren’t they fabulous! I am already a huge fan of their drawstring bags, so I had to take the shoulder bag plunge. Available for pre-order online here.

casual outfit idea

One of my current favorite, #ootd You can the complete outfit here.

kendra scott fall 2015 collection rsmasterclass

Earlier in the week I attended a short seminar hosted by RewardStyle and sponsored by Kendra Scott. #rsMasterClass was a great event featuring SEO and web design tips. I also met some fabulous local bloggers.

Kendra Scott’s fall collection is nothing short of amazing. I have already indulged in these bracelets and this pair of earrings. To view the whole fall 2015 collection, please click here.

saratoga view of silicon valley

I am not a runner, but I did go for a run earlier this week. I ended up very sore and unsure running is really a workout for me. Perhaps I should stick to cardio kickboxing, step, swimming, and spin class! This is a picture of the beautiful view of Silicon Valley from the Saratoga hills.

fringe fall booties cute

I bought these cute little booties for fall. I admire them every few days in my closet while waiting for fall weather. Since we don’t get cool weather here in the San Francisco Bay Area until late October, I might be gazing at them for awhile. You can find yourself a pair online here.

chloe faye handbag and kendra scott ring

In case you didn’t already know, I love Kendra Scott jewelry! I also love this little shoulder bag; the Chloe Faye. On this day earlier this month I paired my ring and bag with a black skirt, pink top, and black shoes. Almost a Pink Panther vibe, but thankfully the pink was pale enough to not make the theme song play in the background.

pacthwork skinny jeans denim for fall 2015

I’m getting patchy for fall! I jumped on the patchwork trend for the autumn season with these cute denim skinnies. I cannot wait to wear them! They are in my closet alongside those cute little fringe booties waiting for a cool, autumn day to be worn.

froyo summer fun

We have had quite a few days over 90 here in the San Francisco Bay Area. So, I have been indulging in froyo with my kids. When it comes to froyo, it’s all about the toppings. 😉 Ring online here.

work office outfit idea

Although this skirt happens to be a fall item, I have found myself wearing it non-stop! For full details on this outfit, click here.

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