My Visit to Kate Spade in NYC ...

First of all let's just say, Kate Spade is genius! The company is better than ever & deserves all the attention it is getting via the blog world!  

I remember the FIRST GIFT my guy gave me....a Kate Spade purse in 1998. It was a cute black & white zebra print bag with an all red inside!  I was in LOVE with both my guy & the purse ha! Well, it was a nice gesture on his part because I can TOTALLY remember how much I adored Kate Spade! Major points for him right ladies??  


To this day I STILL have both the bag & the guy.....

 

The Kate Spade shop in NYC was one of those stores I was dying to visit - it's situated in Soho & it couldn't have been on a better day!! It was the ONLY day it wasn't actually raining in the city! 

I decided to shoot the things that caught my eye the most - from the store decor (amazing & so girly) to the super cute wallets (my favorites)! 

Their DARK floor is almost identical to the one I have in my home & the SUPER tall striped curtains gave the place a super chic feel! 


If you're visiting Manhattan - you must check out Kate Spade, it was like Disney Land .....but for fashion conscious girls like myself!  

 Below are my favorites! Especially the black and white wallet!

Have you been to Kate Spade in NYC yet?? What did you think???

-images by jen ramos

Most Amazing Hot Chocolate at Marie Belle... (Via Made By Girl)

I went back home to NYC a few years ago to visit my family & I visited a little cafe called Marie Belle on Broome Street in Manhattan. I had NO IDEA what this place was about, but my experience was quite a PLEASANT one! I met one of the managers & they served my best friend and I Aztec hot chocolate in a small espresso cup. I looooove chocolate (especially dark) but when I saw this hot chocolate in that tiny espresso cup, I realized it was VERY thick!!

I had NEVER seen hot chocolate that thick & smooth looking in my life! I was anxious and curious to taste it....so I sipped it and it was AMAZING! I got instant chocolate EUPHORIA (which I get from really great chocolate) I felt so relaxed...

Do you know that feeling?? A Chocolate high some people like to call it...ever felt that??!?

Well, ever since I arrived back home from the NYC, I regretted not buying a container of Marie Belle's Aztec Hot Chocolate. I had been contemplating buying it online but never did....finally I walked into William Sonoma yesterday & to my surprise, there it was sitting on the shelf with my name on it. (Not really) So, I went for it even though it's $25 for a 20 oz container, the taste is worth it.

As for making it, I make mine European Style...its thick and you can even top it off with a bit of whipped cream!

images by jen ramos

image above via pretty little mess

Design Confidential: Brooklyn.... via Traditional Home

Traditional home featured some Brooklyn homes in a piece they called Design Confidential: Brooklyn. I immediately had to check it out...because as many of you know I have a passion for BROOKLYN, (especially Williamsburg) where my best friend lives. The last time I was there I strolled around and stopped at VARIOUS cafe's and neighborhood furniture stores. I love their sense of community, you can SERIOUSLY feel it the minute you walk into a store or coffee shop! I absolutely recommend that if you visit NYC, you must go to best parts of Brooklyn...see their gorgeous brownstone-lined streets and then stop & have a cup of coffee with a bagel. 


The homes below were featured on the Traditional Home site, and in my opinion, there weren't enough of them. I REALLY do hope they add more!


Have you visited Brooklyn? How did you like it? Where did you go??

images via traditional home



P.S. One of my last trips to BROOKLYN actually inspired this Brooklyn print in my shop!