rain, schmain!

It's been rainy all weekend in NYC, and I dislike it! But I guess we're just beginning to gear up for more showers in April. The only bright side to this rainy weather (no pun intended) are these fantastic DKNY Active Rain Boots. I've never owned rain boots (truly!) because it's so tough to find a pair that doesn't scream I'm-a-RAIN-boot-look-at-my-POLKA-DOTS-and-STRIPES! But I guess DKNY has shown me that rain boots can be chic, would you look at that.

PS: More DKNY posts...

spring break sentiments

I am having trouble coming up with words to describe my recent trip to Buenos Aires for Spring Break. You know how sometimes when something is that amazing, you grapple with the right phrases because it feels like you can never truly do it justice? Buenos Aires might just be too wonderful for me to articulate. It was a truly beautiful experience. (And it was fully paid for by NYU! Too good.)

I loved learning about Argentine history, listening to Spanish on the street, zooming around in cabs and trying to speak with their friendly drivers, watching a tango show, consuming lots of steak, empanadas, and wine, exploring the different barrios (Palermo, La Boca, and Recoleta mostly), going out dancing, and most of all, taking in Argentina's summer weather and sunshine... ahh, it was just the best.

(Pssst! You can find my whole photo album here!)

primarily, poetically...

Red, yellow, and blue -- I see you.

And I'd like to take a collection
of pretty pictures & primary
colors, bead them in my scarves,
tangle them in my hair, blot my eyes
with their light and love, take a knife &
fork and gobble them up pixel by sheen,
make sweet rhythm to their colorful beats,
their one-shot tales, their two-dimensional
frames, their three-dimensional lives...

(photo by the Sartorialist)

*Buenos Aires updates coming up soon, sorry for the wait!

simply celine

"Are you a Celine woman...?"

My loves, I'm baaack! (I had the time of my life, I'm just bursting with stories and photos to share with you! Next post, I promise.) But first, I want to acknowledge a question the Sartorialist asked this week about the two hottest fashion shows of the season, Celine and Louis Vuitton: "Are you a Celine woman or a LV woman?" Well, my answer is Celine, indubitably, Celine. (Louis Vuitton can suck it.)

Maybe it's because when I see a Celine collection, I can't help but think Aha! This is what a real woman wears! Because the crisp tailoring and structure seem to embody the strong, sophisticated working woman -- a woman who is comfortable in her clothes and most of all, comfortable with herself.

Or maybe I just have a girl-crush on Creative Director Phoebe Philo, a fashion visionary, BFF of Stella McCartney, and a young mama to boot. Or because Celine is exactly the "older sister" of Chloé, Philo's previous fashion house. Mon Dieu, how we've grown up!

Whatever it is that draws me to Celine, it's undeniable: the Celine woman is fierce. Fierce because she is graceful and tough at the same time. She's a woman on a mission, and isn't that inspiring? (Whatever mission it may be...) Who wouldn't want to be her?

(Pre-Fall 2010 photos via style.com)

buenos aires bound

I am off. The red lipstick, summer clothes, and espadrilles are packed. Spring break has never felt so good. (Are you going anywhere?) See you in ten days! xoxo

(photo by nirrimi)

tribeca film festival lineup!

I'm taking a class in conjunction with the Tribeca Film Festival here in downtown Manhattan, which means one thing: All access pass to the entire film festival, April 21 to May 2! (I'm not freaking out or anything... nope. Just crossing off another one of my 12 life aspirations, no big deal.) AHHH!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

My professor just emailed me the lineup of films that will be competing, and I'm making my must-watch list during study breaks (3 exams done, 1 more to go!). So far, these jewels have caught my eye:

William Vincent
(USA) – World Premiere

The versatile James Franco (Milk, Spider-Man) stars in the story of William Vincent, a quiet and peculiar criminal uninterested in the fruits of crime. When he falls for a gangster’s (Josh Lucas) favorite call girl (Julianne Nicholson), William is forced to flee New York. But after four years in exile, William secretly returns, intent on rescuing the woman he loves from her dangerous fate.

A Brand New Life (Yeo-haeng-ja)
(South Korea, France) – New York Premiere

When her father offers to take her on a trip, nine-year-old Jin-hee happily sings him a love song, the bittersweet notes inaudible to her own ear, until she realizes he has abandoned her at a Catholic orphanage. Celebrated from the Cannes to Berlin film festivals, Ounie Lecomte’s directorial debut, a semi-autobiographical portrait of 1970s South Korea, masterfully captures the emotional journey of loss, friendship, and starting anew. In Korean with English subtitles.

Lucky Life
(USA) – World Premiere

When one of them falls ill, a group of friends takes one last trip to the beach, desiring a meaningful farewell. Years later, as one of the couples plans to have a child, the trip lingers as a haunting memory. Lee Isaac Chung’s follow-up to his award-winning Munyurangabo is equal parts graceful, warmly acted relationship drama and beautifully shot visual poem.

Heartbreaker (L'arnacoeur)
(France) – New York Premiere

Alex (Romain Duris) and his sister (Julie Ferrier) break up couples for a living. They have a 100 percent success rate and only two rules: Never split a healthy couple, and never fall in love. But with a week to break up beautiful Juliette (Vanessa Paradis) and her seemingly perfect boyfriend, the rules start to bend, and soon the heartbreakers risk having their own hearts broken. This charming and glamorous romantic comedy veers from laughs to tears to tears of laughter. In French with English subtitles.

What do you think? Are you as intrigued as I am? Doesn't that last one sound sinfully good??? Check out full list here. :)

blue dreams

Today, I felt the first tiptoe of spring in Manhattan. I wore a light trench coat and walked to class completely drenched in sunshine, my long silky scarf flying in the warm (oh so warm!) breeze. Really, I wish I could be outside all the time in beautiful weather like this, but just three more days until my exams are over! (Wish me luck.) And then Buenos Aires, here I come! I leave Friday. :)

PS: Did you watch the Oscars??? I adored every single moment, from the pretty dresses to Steve & Alec's hilarious jokes. (Rachel McAdams & Elizabeth Banks' dresses below are my fave -- do I have a bias for blue? I think.... definitely!)

(top two photos by Susannah Conway)

a lovely poem

A Little Tooth

Your baby grows a tooth, then two,

and four, and five, then she wants some meat

directly from the bone. It's all

over: she'll learn some words, she'll fall

in love with cretins, dolts, a sweet

talker on his way to jail. And you,

your wife, get old, flyblown, and rue

nothing. You did, you loved, your feet

are sore. It's dusk. Your daughter's tall.

- Thomas Lux

(photo via here)

inside the bag...

I got tagged! You guys are so creative, I don't know who comes up with these fun blog games, but I like them! So the rules are to share one of my bags + its contents, because we all know a girl's bag certainly tells a story about its owner. I got all psyched to snap some shots of my things, but then I realized they are actually rather boring...

My trusty Liz Claiborne school bag

Wallet, Revlon red lipstick, DuWop lipbalm, Blackberry, Marketing textbook, Glamour magazine (for the subway!), Moleskin weekly planner, poetry notebook, and snacks.

Does this mean I'm a boring person?! (Hey, I like books.... and snacks!) Well, in my defense, it's midterms crunch time, so I'm more functional and academic than anything else at this point! Before I go back to studying, what's in your bag? I'd love to know, Trishie, Louise, Diya, and Lara! (And all of you lovely readers as well -- I'm so curious.)

PS: Another fun blog game post.

brunch at the smith

Ah, weekend brunch. New Yorkers are a little fanatical about their brunches, but who wouldn't be with so many yummy things to eat at such wonderful restaurants like The Smith? Also, I had the luxury of having three of my dearest friends accompany me -- Anuja, Danny, and George (who came to visit from Hofstra). Seriously, I felt like the luckiest girl alive!

Can you guess what I had? (Hint: I'm very carnivorous.)