nice day for a white wedding...

In Britain, there's a tradition when it comes to weddings, (as I'm sure most of you will have witnessed during the Royal wedding) that women simply MUST wear something on their head...whether it's a hat, a fascinator, hairband, corsage or some other obscure form of hair decoration, it's just tradition.




Alas, the majority of guests at the American-British wedding I attended were natives, and it's safe to say my mother and I stood out from the crowd - adorned in our headgear (mother in a Royal Blue creation by a local milliner, whereas I opted for a smaller ornate, sleek and sophisticated headpiece)


Dress: Julian Macdonald, Pashmina: Vintage, Headpiece: Debenhams.

I've only ever seen American weddings in movies and on tv, and expected a few differences in the style of the wedding reception in comparison to British weddings... but I wasn't quite prepared for this!

After a tear jerking service (Chris and Ginny, you are a perfect couple) we headed back to The Rittenhouse for the reception - and I was stunned. The gaggle of guests were treat to a champagne reception, along with cocktails and sumptuous hors d'œuvre before heading to the grand ballroom... remember Monica and Chandler's wedding on Friends? I was reminded of that only BETTER.




The room oozed glamour and sophistication, filled with delicate bouquets of pink roses and decadent chandeliers... complete with their own wedding band for the night! This was the sort of wedding I'd spent my childhood fantasizing over, and I was in heaven.

Below my brother and I.



The amazing 'Sid Miller' band, who had a blind percussionist - a truly gifted musician.



Below, my heart shaped clutch - it seemed like the most appropriate bag I had to take to a wedding :)




I have to admit, I was slightly shocked at the lack of hats there, and felt a little out of place wearing one...but I did receive a lot of compliments from American gals (and guys!) so perhaps the hat tradition will work its way across the pond one day. Who knows?




Sans hat, even the toilets were beautifully decorated...



"The dress must follow the body of a woman, not the body following the shape of the dress." -Hubert de Givenchy



Me (and my hat!) in the hotel lobby.

"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different."
- Coco Chanel




"A hat is a flag, a shield, a bit of armor, and the badge of femininity. A hat is the difference between wearing clothes and wearing a costume; it's the difference between being dressed and being dressed up; it's the difference between looking adequate and looking your best. A hat is to be stylish in, to glow under, to flirt beneath, to make all others seem jealous over, and to make all men feel masculine about. A piece of magic is a hat." - Martha Sliter

On the road, well kinda...

Our main reason behind venturing across the pond to New York was to attend a close family friend's wedding, held in Philadelphia.

After much deliberation we decided to travel from NYC by train, which would be quicker than hiring a car/taking the Greyhound...

I'm SO glad we visited Philly, it's an amazing city.

We were lucky enough to stay in the super luxurious Rittenhouse Hotel, where the reception was also held.




how appropriate that Philly's nickname is the city of brotherly love...

I adore this sculpture.















































The Rocky statue is obligatory for any visitor to Philadelphia, complete with a sprint up the museum steps!


The Philadelphia skyline - Scallop detail dress: ASOS, cardigan: Forever 21, Sunnies: h&m



Rittenhouse bed! Batwing sleeve top: h&m, Cigarette cut jeans: Next




Tortoiseshell print dress and brogues: Urban Outfitters, jeggings and cardigan: h&m, belt: vintage

from the Battery, to the top of Manhattan

A few of my snaps from our walk across Brooklyn Bridge, what a breathtaking sight of the skyline.

Fond memories.
















I was unsure at the time what these padlocks signified, but after a little looking into it I found out they were 'love locks'...used to represent the bond between two lovers, what a cute gesture.







I kinda wish I'd left a love lock myself now...

I ♥ NY!

xoxo

Long time, no blog - part quatre

Being an avid SATC fan, we just had to spend an afternoon in Greenwich Village Carrie Bradshaw style!
We visited her iconic steps, and bought cupcakes from one of the show's hotspots - The Magnolia Bakery :)



The cupcakes were amazing, so creamy and adorable to look at! We sat in a park to much them whilst lapping up the sunshine, and sipping iced lattes. Delish.

Whilst on Bleecker, I popped into the Lulu Guinness store, Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs and Mulberry gawping at the things I couldn't afford...

I layered up with an h&m blazer, cardigan from Forever 21, lacy top from h&m, and a camisole from ASOS.

My handbag is an old faithful bought on my last trip to NYC - from Dooney and Bourke :)

Also wearing Uggs for comfort, and aviators from h&m.

I had a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting, covered in pretty little sprinkles. So sweet.

yum yum yum!! xoxo

Long time, no blog - part trois

The Sphere statue in Battery Park represents so much. The plaque alongside it says the following:

For three decades, this sculpture stood in the plaza of the World Trade Center. Entitled "The Sphere", it was conceived by artist Fritz Koenig as a symbol of world peace. It was damaged during the tragic events of September 11, 2001, but endures as an icon of hope and the indestructible spirit of this country. The Sphere was placed here on March 11, 2002 as a temporary memorial to all who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.
This eternal flame was ignited on September 11, 2002 in honor of all those that were lost. Their spirit and sacrifice will never be forgotten an eternal flame which acts as a constant reminder of the lives lost on September 11th 2001, and is an emotional sight.





I think the Statue of Liberty is a beautiful statue too, everything that it signifies and represents is truly amazing.

Infact, I love the statue so much that I treat myself to the Longchamp Statue de Libertie 'Le Pliage' which I came across in Bloomingdales! (pics to follow soon)























I loved this pigeon who'd made The Sphere his home, the sneaky thing!


I also chuckled at the bluntness of this 'feed a pigeon breed a rat' poster...nothing like that would be used in the UK, so it's quirkiness made me smile :)






A final pic of me in Battery Park, wearing a Jasper Conran mac, High waisted Baxter jeans from Topshop and a 50's navy patent boxy vintage handbag.

Long time, no blog - part deux

We headed to the American Museum of Natural History, which disappointingly, the front of the building was going under restoration! But it was still impressive nonetheless. I'd been wanting to visit ever since I watched Nightmare at the Museum...childish I know. But it is world renowned museum :)

I was really taken by the statue outside of Teddy Roosevelt. It's often said that America is lacking in history, but I couldn't disagree more. American history is just as rich and culturally diverse as any other country, I'm fascinated by it.

Inside the museum was astonishing... the tremendously high ceilings and gigantic dinosaur skeletons left me in awe.

We decided to invest in subway passes for the week - a real must if you're planning on lots of activities! Walking and taxi's just don't compare.






And in a flash, we were bound for downtown.

Being the shopaholic that I am, I was looking forward to visiting Century 21 as I'd visited before and knew it would be rife with bargains! I didn't find lots to shout about...there were some cute Marc Jacobs sweaters/tees and thousands of handbags! But there wasn't much that screamed 'buy me'...

I ended up with a Coney Island t-shirt which I thought was cute, and a really pretty fairground print top from American brand MattyM.

The fabric is so soft, and I loved the quirky print! It's a staple top that'll carry throughout the seasons.






Apologies for the small picture...







Century 21 is only a couple of minutes away from Ground Zero, which doesn't seem like such an appropriate name anymore now that there is a thriving construction site.


The new world trade centre looks like it's going to be amazing. I can't wait to see the finished result.








"United we stand, divided we fall..."

Long time, no blog.

Since I've neglected this for over four months I think it's time to get blogging again!

First off, I've just got to report on my trip to NYC/Philidelphia.


I went back in March and had such an amazing time...

We arrived very late on the evening to our hotel, (a very glam boutique hotel nonetheless...) situated Midtown on the East Side, and imagine my surprise when I opened our curtains to see this glorious view! The Chrysler Building - one of my favourite pieces of architecture in the entire world, lit up and looking spectacular.

New York City is probably one of my favourite places in the world. I just love getting lost amongst the hustle and bustle of the city. There's so much to see, do and just to take-in. There's a real buzz to the city, and it seems palpable.

Anyway! The next morning, I looked out of the window again, and despite the dreary-ish weather, my face lit up to see a lady carrying a Manolo Blahnik bag...being an avid Sex and The City fan it seemed a little uncanny.



We spent the first day taking in the sights on foot, meandering around Central Park for the majority of the day.

This wasn't my first trip to NY, after a visit in 2005 - at the tender age of 16. However, that was a school trip and we weren't allowed much freedom, so I hadlots to explore this time around!

We stumbled across Central Park zoo at just the right time, there's an adorable clock there which must chime on the hour and we managed to catch it as we walked through. The little animals move around the clock, it was all very sweet.




I couldn't resist taking a few snaps of a grey squirrel along the way, I know they're considered vermin but I happen to think they're quite cute! I guess I feel guilty for thinking this, as Carrie Bradshaw said, "a squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit" and in this case she was probably right.






Our next stop was the iconic boathouse in Central Park where we had delicious coffee and brownies.






The boathouse overlooks a lake in Central Park and is absolutely stunning. It has a soothing quality about it, in the sense that you almost forget where you are - in the middle of the world's most popular cities. It's a popular film location, I remembered it from When Harry Met Sally and SATC primarily, but there are numerous film and tv programmes it's been used in. Definitely worth a visit :)


I'd really been looking forward to seeing the Alice in Wonderland sculpture in CP, as a child I loved reading Lewis Carrol's stories, and adored the Disney film version... I loved it so much that I named by blog after it :)






The bronze statue was unveiled in the late 1950's and depicts the memorable characters from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Alice, The Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, The White Rabbit and the dormouse. There are also engraved plaques circling the statue inscripted with lines from The Jabberwocky and little quotes from the text, simply beautiful.




To be continued....