Calling All Hallows

I have grown up surrounded by women who know how to make a home beautiful and festive. My grandmother, mom, and now sister all have their own way of making their homes beautiful, seasonal, and inviting. To me it's a huge part of what defines being a grown up Southern woman.

So even though I'm not in the South and I'm not in a house, I wasn't going to let Halloween slip by. (It also helped that my mom sent me a care package of decorations.)

Halloween's not 'till Thursday!! It's not too late to throw something spooky up in your house!!!

Getting Crisp

Fall hit New York in a big way this week. It's easily my favorite season for many reasons, predominantly among them- LAYERING.

It was 58 degrees the other night so I made Evan go to the park and take pictures of my outfit and he was a really great sport about it.

{On Abby: American Apparel crop top and skirt, American Eagle sweater, Gap jacket, Urban Outfitters necklace, Frye bag and boots, Target knee socks}

{On Evan: Jack Spade jacket, Gap tee, Levi's, Frye boots}

I forced Evan into a picture because we unintentionally wore matching outfits. It was pretty creepy. I also made him take a picture because I find him enjoyable to look at.

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Moving On Up

A week ago I moved into my new dorm. While it's only a few blocks from my old one, it's definitely an update- I have my own room! We moved everything in in one day, that's including putting things on walls, hooking up electronics, everything. I thought Evan was gonna kill me, but we got it done.

Let me preface by saying, I am a nester and nesters come with a lot of stuff. But to me it's more than just stuff. I thrive best when I have a place to come home to that I enjoy and that inspires me. For me, that means things looking beautiful and being in their place. I love the way staging small things like picture frames, perfume bottles, and candles (don't tell my RA), can automatically make a space feel homey.

Function and fun is the name of the game folks.

Westward

Spent a day milling around the West Village last week. I don't go very often because it's not a short enough walk to just go on a whim, but there's no convenient train path from where I live... It was definitely worth the jaunt.

this one's for Justin

If that's not the most perfect thing you've ever seen, then I don't know what you're doing with your life.

Moments at MoMA

I spent an afternoon at the Museum of Modern Art about a week ago and it really got me thinking. I originally went to see the Rain Room, but the line was two hours long so I just meandered around for an hour and a half.

While I was exploring, I remembered the last time I had been to MoMA, in a large group towards the beginning of the year. One of my best friends, Nidhi, was obsessed with one of Dali's paintings. When we finally found it, she just stood in front of it for at least half an hour and cried. Just looking at the thing. The rest of us kind of laughed at her and ran around taking hipster looking pictures and instagraming our hearts out, proving that we were cultured.

On my solo trip, I started out doing the same thing, but somewhere between floor 3 and floor 4, I realized that I was spending much more time looking at the art through the lens of my iPhone and hardly any just looking at it with my own eyes. What's the point of that?

Once I put the phone down, I was able to really enjoy and appreciate what I was looking at. No matter what filter you put on it, nothing will ever look as cool as a Pollock, Monet, Picasso, Dali, or Cezanne (who I discovered is one of my favorites) does in real life. I flashed back to Nidhi (who notably doesn't have an instagram) standing in front of that painting and thought, maybe she has the right idea after all.

So, I'm sorry there aren't more expertly cropped and enhanced cell shots of my trip, but I'm learning to be okay with it. You'll just have to go look for yourself.

Downtown Debutantes

Went to my friend Mark's housewarming apartment this weekend. He snatched up an incredible place on Orchard St. Top floor with a sky light. It was the real deal.

View of the Freedom Tower from the fire escape.

Queen of downtown. 

Showing off. 

Thanks for the good time, Mark!