The Dog Days Are Over

Even though the weather outside is still sweltering, it makes me sad to know that with the advent August, summer is officially over. I'll use any tactic to squeeze in a few more poolside escapades, including wearing a bikini in lieu of underwear. It's a bizarre method, I realize, but if your friends are anything like mine you can never be too prepared for a night out.

1. Rachel by Rachel Roy, sleeveless Anjali dress - $99 $74.99
2. All Saints, Aztec bikini top - $75 $52.50
3. All Saints, Azetc bikini bottom - $75 $52.50
4. Forever 21, "nature elements" necklace - $1.50
5. Forever 21, round sunglasses - $5.80
6. Melissa, bow flip flops - $59
7. Kate Spade, Lawn Party half circle tote - $295 $147 

Lightweight, breathable dresses with a bit of structure will keep you from looking schlumpy even in 90° heat. A tribal print sequined bikini is exactly the kind of big reveal I want to make when I peel off my dress to jump into the pool. Of course, jumping into pools doesn't give a girl time to put her jewelry in a safe, dry place, so something like Forever 21's selection of baubles under $5 work perfectly for me.

Happy Feet

How do you feel about the socks + heels trend? It seems like everyone I know either loves it or hates it. Personally, I can't get enough of the look.

The trick here is to pair like with like. Dainty heels need to be coordinated with thinner fabrics while chunkier heels and boots look best with thicker knitted socks. A key point in pulling off the socks and heels combo is to shy away from eclectic mixes. A wild frenzy of patterns and colors will make it look like you forgot to do the laundry instead of translating into effortless cool.

With proper coordination, you can even pair socks and heels together for an evening look.

*If anyone tries to tell you that wearing socks with heels is a fashion faux pas, gently remind them that the most iconic heels in Hollywood were worn with baby blue socks!

Project Frugalista

Happy August! Now that it's the first of the month I can officially start on Project Frugalista, the primary reason why I've started this fashion blog.

Rebecca from Confessions of a Shopaholic... NOT a role model!

 In an effort to spend money like a responsible grownup and dress with class, I'm going to limit my clothing purchases to $200 a month. Now I know that's a lot of money for some and not much money at all for others, but it's an amount I feel like is doable for most of us. For me, cutting down on frivolous spending is very important because of major future expenses that are soon coming. My fiancé and I hope to have a nice apartment and a comfortable nest egg in the next few years, and with wedding expenses calculated in, there is a lot of saving to do!

The $200 spending cap isn't just about saving money, however. It's about getting into the habit of thinking carefully before making decisions. Mindfulness means purchasing high quality items that will carry me for several seasons and will still look fashionable when my daughter raids my closet 20 years from now. And, hopefully, the act of saving up for nicer items will help me appreciate them more.

Do you have any financial goals set for this month? How do you budget for your fashion expenses?

I Like Music, Music Sounds Good.

Collecting cook books has become something of a hobby for me. There are a lot of weird and wonderful ones out there, and even if I'll never cook from some of them I still enjoy reading the recipes (the older volumes I've gotten from thrift stores, especially--it's like having a secret cadre of grandmothers whispering in your ear about their church bake sale secrets).

I recently found a cook book for $2 at a local vintage shop. It's titled "I Like Food, Food Tastes Good" and is a compilation of recipes by indie bands like Les Savy Fav, My Morning Jacket, Interpol, Grizzly Bear, Battles, RJD2... basically the recipe index looks like a Pitchfork list of must-listen-to bands. In true rock star style (the recipes are printed verbatim as the bands have submitted them), the instructions for most of these dishes are vague and/or laced with profanities... and in the case of Devandra Banhart's recipe for something called Africanitas Ricas, the last five lines of "instructions" seem to be pure gibberish.

These Jeffrey Campbell Fox Tick’s are so drool-worthy, even though everyone and their grandma already has a pair of Tick booties.

Art In Motion

I’m one of those cretinous people who will spend more time in the museum gift shop than the actual museum itself.

In my defense, the world’s best museums often have the world’s best gift shops. The Museum of Modern Art, I’ll even venture to say, has a gift shop that outshines the actual museum itself (I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t really “get” modern art—two years ago I saw a video exhibit at MoMA that included a clip of bare breasted woman walking in a shallow pool filled with trash… I’m still losing sleep at night trying to decipher its meaning).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art gift shop has hands-down one of the best jewelry selections of any retailer, period. Since most of their designs are either direct copies of historical artifacts or inspired by a specific period, you would think the jewelry would feel dated or costume-y. On the contrary! A surprising number of the pieces have a cool, classic-contemporary vibe and can easily be mixed into a modern wardrobe.

1. Egyptian Princess Turquoise Necklace - $75.00 $56.25
2. Golden Fringe Earrings - $75.00
3. Parisian Art Nouveau Pendant Necklace - $110.00
4. Precolumbian Ornament Earrings - $85.00
5. Two-Tone Egyptian Knot Bangle Bracelet - $185.00
6. Art Nouveau Peacock Feather Bracelet - $265.00
7. Russian Imperial Enamel Ring - $63.75

(Not) For The Servantless American Cook

While Julia Child’s opus, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, has seen a healthy revival in interest thanks to Julie & Julia, the original bible of French cuisine remains under the mainstream radar.

  

Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935) was called “the King of Chefs and the Chef of Kings”. He refined French haute cuisine and virtually created the modern professional kitchen through the development of the brigade de cuisine system. His book, Le Guide de Culinaire, is a veritable encyclopedia of French cuisine—an absolutely invaluable source of haute cuisine protocol, how-to’s and of course, recipes.

Since Escoffier’s intended audience was other professional chefs and chefs-to-be, some of the recipes in Le Guide de Culinaire are difficult to execute in the home kitchen. Nonetheless, Escoffier’s masterpiece deserves a place on the shelves of any home cook who appreciates culinary history and restaurant technique. The new translation (available on Amazon for $44) has gone through a cosmetic revision as well. The chic black and white cover makes the book all the more covetable.