Wednesday wrap up

The woman who started the organic revolution way back when and the mind behind one of my favorite Restos in the ewe esss aye / @norapouillon of @restaurantnoras in Dee Cee. Since she opened in the late 70s all the presidents except for the republicans have eaten at Nora. I remember eating there during the 1993 (?) march on Washington and seeing Martina Navratilova. We've enjoyed many meals since then.

A photo posted by Nazila (@nazilam) on May 13, 2015 at 9:31pm PDT

Pretty good day around here if you discout the fact it rained (poor Ernest).

I managed to get some paperwork sorted,  made it to  Dress For Success to drop off donations including some lovely dresses that no longer fit me but will make some petite woman very happy. I struggled with letting them go. I realized that other than a few occasions where photos are used to document events, I could wear a paper yard waste sack with a nice Hermes belt and no one would remember what I wore to x event.

The same thing goes for shoes. I really wanted to buy a new pair of sneakers for an upcoming trip and went to Nordstrom to try them on for size (really, for size as the do run large).  The shoes were cute, they were not in the color I wanted.  I had to leave to attend a lunch honoring Nora Pouillon and on my way back to the car struggled with going back in the store to look for a substitute shoe.  When I got to the entrance, I turned back.  I took five seconds to think about why I wanted the shoes to match a skirt perfectly.while the ones I had in my closet were not perfect, they would do and no one would remember what I had on my feet.

It is more important to be remarkable and memorable because you are articulate, interesting and attentive. That is what people should and will remember about you no matter if your shoes don't match your skirt.

Buy this now - The travel edition

Fortnum's opened at St. Pancras last year. That isn't such a bad place to shop, is it. 

What I loved about being in Bruges over Thanksgiving Weekend was the lack of frenzied shopping that starts here at  4 pm on Thanksgiving day and goes until 6 pm on Christmas Eve. While the Christmas decorations were up at the Galleries Lafayette on November 10th, Bruges and Brussels were a little calmer.

This year I am trying to stay away from the chain stores and buying from independent sellers where possible. I scour Etsy for things I think TH would like, the kids get a zoo pass (no secret) and something else fun, my parents get their AAA membership (again, no secret).  

While looking around I found these gems.

Map your city and wear it proudly on a skirt. 

Thinking about upgrading your crossbody? 

Need a new dopp kit? 

This is a cool passport case with room for your loyalty cards. 

Bamboo is just not for pandas, iPads love it too. 

There is that Sarah Morris Longchamp tote you need and it folds up for travel. 

I hate carrying more that three beauty items per trip and this fits the bill. 

We are pretty (mostly) good about keeping a journal of our travels. 

If only I was 25 years old again and liked to take selfies, Quartz will give you the low down. I can't choose just one. 

Happy wrapping.

Sarah Morris for Longchamp - A pop of color

When I returned from Paris, my colleague asked me how many bags I picked up.

Yup, he knows me well.

Two.

I have a thing for bags - clutches, totes, purses, messenger bags - you name it, I love it.

The latest Longchamp collaboration with Sarah Morris is divine and I highly recommend you go pick one up before they disappear.

Sarah Morris has reimagined the eponymous, yet useful and practical les Pliages range into something new and edgy.  I fell in love when I saw them on the Longchamp site and was delighted to find the range at the rue St. Honoré branch.

I love all the colors and the black handles on the purse and travel bag are a nice change for the tan. The white leather used for the long handled shopping totes looked nice, but given the grubby nature of bus commuting I decided to stay with the black.  

The signature pieces modeled after her painting - "The Eclipse"  would go with everything, but the white background would stain easily. I know others have had luck washing their les Pliages bags and removing stains, so you may want to try that one out.  

Now on to the bags I bought - a handbag and a travel bag which look very similar.

The handbag feels more like a luggage tote - it's exceedingly roomy, maybe a little too roomy.  I could see over filling it and lugging more than you needed around for the day.  The travel bag is your standard "I bought too much on vacation and I need to check my bag" extra bag. 

The only drawback I see to these bags - or the ones I looked at is the white interior of the bags. White is great for finding things, but not so great for keeping clean. 

The hardest thing was picking a color. I loved the green, gray, blue and black.  I finally decided on the royal blue because it coordinates well with my current wardrobe and is vastly different from the tan, black, orange and olive pieces I already own and might brighten up a dull Seattle day.

cyber monday

I have to admit, it hooked me. However, short of buying the kids very cute little flannel robes from Lands End (double miles!), everything else on the list was for moi!

Lucky me, I received a 20 buck gift cert from Lucy today (no strings attached), 15% a purchase of more than one book from the University Bookstore and found another gift card.

Good thing I procrastinated.

Did I say that it snowed? It did, Ernest is in heaven. He loves it.

His grandmere is skeptical. I believe she now wishes she had left with grandpere. However, she has cable, her art projects and food to keep her amused until we can shovel her out tomorrow.

Lucky duck.

nm