Jake's Steakhouse

Last week I took photos of my father's favorite restaurant. It's called Jake's Steakhouse and it's just steps away from my parent's place in Riverdale. Usually when I head home to visit my parents I'll stop into the restaurant first to see if my dad is there (he almost always is). Since it's so close and the food is so delicious, my family is in there a lot and we've gotten to know the owners, managers, servers, cooks and bartenders pretty well. It's like a home away from home. If you ever find yourself in Riverdale or near their East Meadow location I highly suggest you stop by. The food and drinks are

incredible and the staff is wonderful.

(Carefully) Dreaming of Fall

Like most people in New York, I'm welcoming spring with open arms. I'm welcoming all of the rooftop hangout sessions in the warm sun, the days of sitting in Washington Square Park while eating lavender ice cream from Sundaes and Cones and eventually getting the days getting warm enough that I can sit and watch movies in the park and do evening picnics. I don't even want to acknowledge fall or winter because just thinking about them gives me a chill I'm not ready for.

Last Tuesday I went over to offices of Kravetz PR to check out some fall previews. Even though I'm ferociously against the cold weather, the wall of Big Buddah bags that welcomed me when I walked through the door got me a little excited for Autumn

This season, Big Buddah went with a lot of structure in their looks. Each bag has metal pieced into the bag whether in be in handle or as a bold long tassels running down the the side. Fitting beautiful metallics with the perfect fall colors of such as black, navy and cognac had me drooling. 

My favorite was this beautiful navy crossbody bag. Crossbody bags are usually my go to bag. I can keep my hands free while keeping my bag close. My favorite part of this beautiful bag is the buckle. As you can see in the picture the buckle rests as a diamond shape but in order to open the bag you turn the diamond into a straight square and open away. 

Next to all of these amazing bags was another part of my heaven, shoes. I got to preview some of Steven Madden's new fall line and even some of the companies he works with and owns. His collaboration with Keyshia Cole was so successful that they teamed up again to design another collection. It's no secret that I love my wild shoes so I was instantly drawn to these graffiti covered heels. 

I already have a pair of custom Doc Martens that some of my friends tagged up so why not add a pair of heels to that list?

My other favorite shoes were from the Steve Madden owned company Report Signature. The designer brought the idea of a white shoe to a new place. Instead of having an all white bright bootie, they decided to give the canvas a cracked paint look. As if that wasn't enough of a pop they added a silver dipped point to the shoe.

The dream continued in the next room with Miz Mooz where it was vintage inspired heaven. The shoes  were all beautifully crafted and menswear inspired all while not being afraid to bring bright colors to fall. I fell hopelessly in love with their boots. I have pair of boots from a pretty big leather company and spent hundreds of dollars only to have them basically disintegrate. When I touched the leather on the Miz Mooz shoes I could immediately feel the difference. Even better than that, they were at least $200 cheaper. 

My other favorite pair from Miz Mooz were the brown leather booties with a gold sequin accent. I'm pretty much all about anything with sequins (especially with gold sequins). The sequins reminded me of  fish scales that you would find on a mermaid. I will absolutely be purchasing a pair asap. 

Next to the racks of Miz Mooz stood a table with jewelry from Meira T. The jewelry is jaw dropping. The line is filled with middle eastern influences and the designer takes stones does beautiful things with them. Above is a stunning necklace that has thin diamond slices around the the beautiful gold chain along with a pendant that has tiny diamonds surrounded by bigger colored diamonds. It's an unbelievable piece to see. I love the designer's ability to keep the stones looking natural as seen in the photo below. 

The last preview I saw brought me right back to my love of warmer weather. The swimwear line by Lisa Blue  is a big splash of bright colors. I was blown away when I took a closer look. The fabrics used for this swimwear are so soft. I told Billy, my preview guide from Kravetz PR, that I would be afraid to get the suits wet but he assured me that they were water safe and I had nothing to worry about.  Best part of this swimwear? 25% of the profit is donated to helping save the whales and dolphins. 

My favorite piece was this blue cover up. The print on the chiffon beauty was a stunning group of blue and purple feathers, which is perfect because being anywhere windy with a chiffon piece makes me feel like almost like a bird.

I had such a blast hanging with the Kravetz PR crew and previewing the new lines. I can't wait to incorporate some of these pieces into my wardrobe!

Spring dreams

The weather has finally been getting warmer and I've been trying to stay outside as much as I possibly can. I use to love Washington Heights in the Spring and Summer because of how vibrant the neighborhood would become. It seemed as if everyone had their windows open playing music that would remind me of what I would listen to on hot summer days with my dad. I'm so excited to see what my new neighborhood has to offer. I see it coming more and more alive which each nice day. It's nice to see people out and smiling. It's especially nice to see everyone's sense of style after seeing countless bubble coats, bulky scarves and hats this winter.

As much as I love my neighborhood it's nice to get away sometimes. This week, B and I decided to head up to visit my parents in Riverdale and enjoy my favorite park again. We sat by what my best friend and I use to call the Secret Garden when we were kids. The stairs are originally the entrance to the Van Cortland Mansion and now overlook the pool, the always changing sculptures and the garden that leads to the lake. I love sitting there and soaking up the sun.

B wears a vintage sweater

Pants from All Saints 

and shoes from Marc Jacobs (similar here)

I am wearing a Lucca Couture dress from Urban Outfitters 

Laid-Back Straw Boater Hat from Urban Outfitters 

Falling Feathers Tie-Back Headwrap from Urban Outfitters 

Statement necklace from Target

Sunglasses from ZeroUV

Jeffrey Campbell Stinson Ankle Boots from Nasty Gal 

Ring is my great grandmother's
Bracelets are my mother's

Kristina Hazelbaker

I met Kristina about a year and a half ago. I was sitting in my living room with Gatsby watching TV when I hear the door to the apartment open. We always left the door unlocked when someone was home because with five people living in the apartment, someone would always forget their keys. I knew that everyone I lived with was at work so I immediately was confused as to who was coming into  the apartment. The door opened and a young girl I had never since before enters the apartment moving as quickly as she can and walks right past me, mutters "Hi, I'm Kristina." and goes straight into Richard's room. Gatsby and I were both a little stunned and confused. I sent a mass text out to the boys asking if anyone was expecting a Kristina at the house. Richard explained it was his friend who would be staying with us for a bit. 

A few hours later Kristina emerged from the room in pajamas and apologized for not introducing herself more. "I had been drinking a little bit with friends and told the cab driver 255th street and Fort Washington instead of 255 Fort Washington. I had no idea where I was and I've only been in New York for less than 24 hours." She told me more of her adventures of exploring the city and trying to find her way home, her passion for dancing and how her and Richard know each other from Louisiana.  

Now fast forward to present day and Kristina and I have gotten really close. She's been helping me on multiple shoots and I happened to snag this photo from when I shot with Daniel Franzese for a second time. She was in charge of holding the extra sweaters and hats and making sure to call out "Car!" if a car was coming. 

While hanging out one day I asked Kristina what her first memory of New York City was 

"The first time I ever came to New York was when I was in 9th grade and my mom, my brother and I were here for my brother's graduation trip. We had just left LaGuardia Airport and I was starting to see the skyline coming up and I turned to my mother and said 'I'm going to live here someday.' My mother said something along the lines of 'but New York is so dirty' or something like that but I didn't care. I saw it and it was like magic to me." 

Escape to Van Cortland Park

This week was suppose to be a quiet one and it turned out to be extremely hectic with shoots. Mostly headshot sessions so it's been what seems like almost endless running around. It's a good busy that I love but I haven't been giving this blog enough attention. I love all of the style posts I've been doing and I love being able to work with these incredible companies but I'm very excited to be doing some more creative work now that the weather is getting warmer. I'm extremely excited to be finally getting to a fun project I've had under wraps with my friends Krystal and Addy.  

This week I received a package filled with really amazing pieces that you'll see posted in the next couple of weeks. I'm so excited to style all of these fantastic looks. B and I took to my favorite park in New York City, Van Cortland Park. I grew up right across the street from it and I use to refer to it as my back yard. I learned how to garden, swim, play tennis, ride my bike and so much more in that park. I love being able to bring my love there to relax and hang out. It's beautiful just like Central Park but without hundreds and hundreds of people wandering around. I highly recommend going up to explore if you ever the time. 

  Illustrator (and my best and oldest friend) Krystal Quiles also got in on the fun this week and did a quick sketch of B and I for this weeks style post! She drew our inner spirit animals in our looks for this week. If you look closely you'll notice I'm channeling my inner Panda look (because we all know my spirit animal is a panda) and B's spirit animal has been picked as our little pup Charlie.  

B wears a white T-shirt from All Saints (similar here)

Jeans from A.P.C

 Suspenders from Urban Outfitters

Shoes from Hudson 

I'm wearing Kimchi Blue Valencia Lace Flutter-Back Dress.

 Laid-Back Straw Boater Hat from Urban Outfitters 

Crystalline Pendant Necklace from Anthropologie 

Limited Edition Retro Round Circle Steampunk Revo Lens Flip Up Sunglasses from ZeroUV

Front Laced Hard Sole Knee Hi Boot from Minnetonka

Baggu Custom Duck Tote Bag from Urban Outfitters

Manicure inspired by Buzzfeed and Makeup.com

Rings and bracelets belong to my mother.

Titty Your City

Just when I tell myself I have a week to relax it ends up picking back up again. 

I've spent this week doing countless pick ups from some really lovely companies for a some new style posts coming up.  

One of the things I've come across this week is a contest being held by Gypsum Style called "Titty Your City" a contest in which you can win this awesome shirt. I decided to take to my friend Noah's roof again to show the city the goods. 

On the topic of Gypsum Style, I have gone through their site up start to finish and have fallen in love with pretty much everything. Here are some of my favorite pieces that you should absolutely check out.

1- Kitty Kat Halter: Because who doesn't like a shirt with an animal on it?

2- Free Spirit Lace Top: Perfect for listening to some chill bands during festival season. Light, airy and it's no secret how much I love lace. 

3- White Lust Maxi Dress: This white maxi dress is what you can wear to feel sexy and powerful. The slit on the bottom right of the dress paired with the deep v-neck is just divine. Throw this number on and listen to Beyonce's Flawless while walking to your date. 

4- Seduction Kimono: Kimonos are just the best and this kimono is one of the rare ones that can be worn outside in the real world and in bed.  The chic delicate leaves and colorful flowers that wrap around the kimono are perfect. I can just imagine all of it blowing in the wind or surprising my love wearing nothing but this kimono. 

5- Tinsel Pencil Skirt: My favorite piece and the one I'd probably wear the most. I'm obsessed with sequins. I own sequin shorts, shirts and my favorite, gold sequin pants. This perfect length pencil skirt is made out of black sequins and has an sleek slit on the right side of the skirt. It would be perfect for a night out when you feel like being an dark disco ball (trust me, it's a good thing)

Be sure to follow Gypsum Style on Instagram and let me know which piece from Gypsum Style is your must have below!