Friday's Simply Smitten - Blush & Blooms

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“Imagination and faith are the secrets of creation”

-Neville Goddard

Happy Friday! This week felt off. That is the only way I can describe it. I felt lazy, grumpy, not in the right headspace, and unproductive. Call it seasonal depression or mercury in retrograde, something was off. I even got locked out of my apartment building. The key just decided to not work……thank goodness it’s Friday!

Even though I felt off this week, it was still filled with laughter and fun. Last weekend I met up with a few friends for brunch at Cafe Cluny in the West Village. I will only muster through the cold weather for brunch. The food was great- I had an omelette. It was nice to catch up with friends and chitchat about life. The rest of my weekend I was huddled indoors finishing my book club book.

Monday morning I went uptown to meet up with Sarah and Jackie at Pâtisserie Vanessa in the Upper East Side. The cute french cafe invited Jackie to a tasting, so Sarah and I tagged along. While unfortunately most of the pastries were not gluten free, I was able to have macrons and GF banana bread as well as a cup of matcha. All delicious!

I went to my usual DanceBody full-out class Tuesday morning. We learned another new dance that I think I did a decent job picking up. I have to say, I think this collection of dances may be the hardest ever… but they are also so good! I am still trying to break down the Sean Paul section of “Baby Boy” by Beyonce. It’s very fast. Although these dances are challenging, I am having a lot of fun learning them and performing.

Besides dancing I have been going to pilates lately. I went to New York Pilates for the second time. I didn’t go to Taby’s class this week, instead I went to the Flatiron location. Although I have done pilates numerous times either via mat or reformer, I haven’t gone to a class in a long time. I am definitely feeling it- very sore. Since I have issues with my right upper and middle trapezius, I modify a lot by going slower, taking breaks, and equalizing my weight so there isn’t too much pressure on it. However, I am feeling stronger and am enjoying changing up my workout routine.

Over the last few years I have sparked an interest in interior design. While I wouldn’t necessarily call myself Bunny Williams, I do enjoy learning about design and browsing home decor. So when two of my favorite things, fashion and home decor, collaborate I am over the moon excited. A few weeks ago I went uptown to Bergdorfs to view the new Chairish display. The 7th floor of BG host all of the the home decor collections. The main hallway rotates the display of prominent brands. So for now it is items from Chairish (willl be there until April). To celebrate this new collection, there was a private party at Bergdorfs Wednesday evening. I got to tag along with a few friends who are prominent figures in the interior design world.

Before the event I met up with my friends for happy hour at the new bar in The Fifth Avenue Hotel called The Portrait Bar. It may be one of my favorite bars in the city now. The decor is diverse and a little grand millennial. There is a variety of portraits displayed as wall galleries, as well as bookshelves with sculptures and figurines. You can sit on a comfy couch or a lounge chair while sipping cocktails and dinning on bar food. Since we didn’t have a reservation we had to sit at the bar, which was fine with us. I went with my friends Sarah, Jacqueline, and Danielle. We each had a cocktail and shared appetizers. Then together went uptown to Bergdorfs for the event. The party was lovely. I had to pinch myself when I saw Linda Fargo— the VP of fashion for Bergdorfs. It was an incredible night-. The party was one for the books!

The rest of my week was basically mundane stuff. My dishwasher is not working, so have to wait to get a new one. I also, as mentioned, felt off. It seems to be the consensus this week– everyone I have talked to or saw online say that they felt tired and unproductive this week. Keep reminding myself that it’s seasonal depression and it will pass.

What I am watching: During the Emmys they were celebrating tv shows of the past. One in particular was Dynasty. When Joan Collins came out to talk about the famous show, I decided to watch it. I wanted to know what all the fuss was about all these years. Well, the show is amazing! Everything about it– the fashion, the drama, the nostalgia of the 80s has me hooked. Watching the show I am surprised how progressive it was for being in the early 80s. For instance, I was surprised the son is gay. I wasn’t expecting for a main character (and one of the best ones in my opinion) during that time period to be openly gay on tv.. I think it wonderful! However, I am so surprise how much they use homophobic slurs on ABC. If this show aired today it would be an HBO or Netflix show. No way it would air on basic cable. To further my surprise, they also talk about mental health, SA, and weed. Obviously these are things that have been around since the dawn of day, but I am surprise for it to be on basic cable during a conservative time period. The show is amazing and I am so excited for Joan Collins character to be introduced.

Last weekend I watched the new docuseries on Netflix called American Nightmare. I do not want to give any of it away, but it is the most wild and infuriating true crime story I have ever heard. I highly recommend watching!

Last but not least I started season 2 of The Traitors. I love this show and am happy that season 2 has been amazing thus far. I do like that this season is all D-list celebrities instead of having half celebrities, half regular folks. I think having it full celebrities makes the lying and deception a little more acceptable. The ending of last season (while very much deserved) I think was a little hard to swallow because a contestant who was a non-celebrity got completely screwed over. This time around I do not care who gets screwed over in the game because I know they all already have a platform. Makes the deceit much more fun.

What I bought: Since I finished my book, I needed to get a new one. A few of my friends recommended Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering. So far I am really enjoying it! Also this past week I finally bought this pretty dress and this textured lady jacket (on sale!).

On The Blog

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This weekend I have nothing planned and I couldn’t be happier about it. I am thinking of either going to a movie by myself or just frolicking around– depending on the weather. I just need a mental health break and to get out of my apartment.

Have a wonderful weekend xo

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