raining day in nyc

so i'm finally back in "the city of 8 million stories" and despite that I've used my umbrella two out of the three days, i feel home again....

so im back in black

so im back in new york. surprisingly hearing taxi horns during my rem cycle and the wrenching smell of the subway is in a way soothing. I'm back. I'm back to work, back to take out food, back to my city life routine. It's comforting. Since my "last post", life for this 22 year old is dramatically different. Remember that valentine's weekend I was so excited for? Well it was cut short in the best of ways. It was spent in the airport flying down to see my new future in-laws. Paul proposed!  Now I am leaving my job in may, new york in june, my NC home in august, and my independence in september. Will I have a routine come 2012?

so WSJ, belt bags or "hands free bags" are in are they?

can you believe it? its every disneyland mom's dream....fannypacks are making their way back! KS came out with one this winter in a basic leather but according to runways and especially DVF's CD Yvan Mispelaere , it will be all the rage come fall. they launch this month. even if they change the name to a waist bag and elevate materials used (heavens no to the tacky nylon) i might have to sit this trend out....

Kate Spade

"He hasn't sent one down the runway since 1992. 'You either love them and make them part of your life or you fight them until the end,' -Isaac Mizrahi."-WSJ

lovin some wes gordon

FALL FASHION WEEK IS HERE!!! 
and i can't believe im not in nyc....

just kicking things off and its already getting beautiful. long skirts, play on fabrics, new textures while turning to old inspiration...oh it makes me just so excited!  with the shows being second day in, his clean lines and traditional twist on the 70's style rage, wes gordon is my favorite (luca luca comes in a close second).

style.com

style.com

did i mention he's 24 and this is probably his 3 pronounced season?

are we all padded cell bound?

LOVE my early valentines day present!
you can find at lilly pulitzer

i am what you call a hopeless romantic. every single chick flick that comes out? bette and i already have popcorn. aspiring flings and sweet schemes? you'll find me right in the middle. i can't help it. even when i was little, i had a knack of being crazy for love. my six year old self sat in an old babysitters boyfriend's lap (that's a mouth full) telling him he was in love and demanding a proposal (later found out the ring was in his pocket). i spied on my brother and his girlfriends countless times hoping to get a peek....like sliver, i beam when people fall in love or like the witched witch, melt to tears when it tarnishes. i truly love love.


...so go figure that on this creeping holiday, i am padded cell bound. other than wearing Britain red lipstick to work and adorning my neck with a lilly "xoxo" scarf, i am getting really excited over a fabulous heart-shaped eating weekend i have planned.  my sweet boyfriend, putting himself in the line of fire is flying up from louisiana on saturday night. with this, i have 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 3 dinners to make as many heart shaped foods as possible. any ideas? ive gathered some breakfast thoughts and other silly ideas for appetizers but i need some help!

     

breakfast number 1- french toast topped with strawberries (red) complete with strawberry banana smoothies (pink) 

breakfast number 2 on valentines day--we've done this before and has since become somewhat of a "tradition"

whose your top 50?

Fashionista 50: The Most Influential People in New York Fashion

apparently the top most influential for NYC.  who is for you?

i've had this list on a disintegrating sheet of scratch paper long enough to now become a bookmark in my current, forever ongoing read, Pat Conroy's South of Broad. it may not be a full catalog of 50 but each thumbnail certainly represents an influence to more than just my "fashion" but to my style. These people and in few cases things, create pages that make up my personal index. An index that is constantly filled with different meanings, flipped through, and referred back to, almost like the pages of a dictionary.

in absolutely no particular order and probably will be edited tomorrow (and then again the day after that)...

1. Katie Brosnahan-aka Kate Spade
2. Michael Ward- designer and mentor
3. Lilly Pulitzer/ Janie  Schenborn (Lilly's fashion director)
4. The Sartorialist
5. Laryn Adams- owner of  charlotte boutique, CheZelle
6. Beth Jackson-my grandmother
7.  the one and only audrey hepburn
8. Jenna Lyons- JCrew
9. House of Balenciaga
10. designing brand- milly
11. Vera Wang
12. madison avenue-not a person i know but i can't help but to include
13. Carolina Herrera
14. a fresh 150 box of crayola crayons- also not a person but very influencing when trying to mix and match colors
15. Armi and Viljo Ratia- founders of finnish fabric design "marimekko"
16. Coco Chanel
17. anthropologie employees (seriously try leaving any of their stores and not walk away with ideas)
18. jacqueline kennedy
19. proenza schouler
20. Diane Von Furstenberg
21. lauren moffatt


makes me realize how much i live up to the southern ideology of traditional prepiness and color

the home within us

i spent some time this morning in one of my favorite Charlotte nicknack stores, paper skyscraper. once escaping the inflatable red heart and other enticing valentine memorabilia,  i had the greatest time getting inspired by PS's known collection of architectural based books and quirky magazines. Bobby McAlpine, one my mothers favorites, has a new book out called "The Home Within Us". his clean lines and  traditional attention to detail is worth looking into. it may not be definitive of my taste but none of the less adds another match in my design box of  "striking"  ideas...no pun intended

look what else i found during my morning adventure! more pink! get to painting your kitchen

"Pink has the power to lift your spirit. I would even go as far as it's the color of optimism"

You guessed it. That's right

yes i have a hot pink kitchen.... my roommate and i moved into our sweet, little tic-tac of a size new york apartment this past summer and felt it was necessary to paint. Not only did we paint our kitchen walls to match the color of my kate spade phone case but we continued our non-professional brushstrokes to our living/dining room with "hello there darling" citrus green (there is absolute no influence of my job at kate spade in these decisions...).we reasoned with the looming dreary days of winter ahead and the lack of any hope having one later down the road....

i have to admit even though it is entirely obvious that we shouldn't quit our day jobs (katherine gillam!) to pursue a career in painting, it is too much fun everytime i walk in to make coffee in the morning. ever need a constant pick me up? paint your kitchen hot pink. think you'll get tired of it? i've attached some other ideas below.

no no this is not my kitchen but a fabulous one at that!

now with explaining the inspiration of this blog's name, ill try to give a little insight on what to expect while reading the hot pink kitchen.

with this being my first ever post on my first ever blog (which is most likely a brief blip to my current interests) expect everything with nothing. for those who know me, i am constantly sporadic and very all over the place. many would describe me as what they call  "one hot mess". ill provide quotes, thoughts, ideas, questions to be answered, pictures, and a tiny glipse to my life as i attempt to grow up.

may you read, enjoy, and get inspired.