LINK LOVE

I took a brief break for a fun little excursion to visit a very dear friend in Charleston.   What a fabulous city, definitely  a FANCY FAVORITE...hmmm we may have a new category here on the blog.  Anyway, its now back to the business of blogging and here are some interesting articles online in the past few weeks:

My love affair with Anthropologie continues and this made me laugh out loud:
http://suburbanturmoil.com/the-anthropologie-catalog-americas-only-legal-hallucinogen/2014/04/24/

As I told you in a recent post I began reading My Paris Dream and promised to report back.  I am  enjoying the book and  recommend it.  The link below is to an interview with the book's author, Kate Betts:

http://thechicagochic.com/summer-read-my-paris-dream/

My female friends are very important to me and I enjoyed reading other women's thoughts on friendship:
http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/04/25-famous-women-on-female-friendship.html

Signs of a genuine friendship:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/04/qualities-of-real-friends_n_5709821.html?ir=Healthy%20Living&utm_campaign=090414&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-healthy-living&utm_content=Title


I leave you today with this thought:

FRIDAY FANCIES

I will soon be traveling to Charleston to visit a dear friend.  Our plans include touring southern homes, shopping, laughing and drinking wine...not necessarily in that order:

Will you please buy this and wear it for both of us?  You know of my admiration and love for anything and everything tulle:

Already reserved this at the local library; thinking its similar to the Bravo channel but in book form:

http://nypost.com/2015/05/24/inside-the-bizarre-life-of-an-upper-east-side-housewife/



Speaking of some of my fave television shows such as Meet the Press, 60 Minutes and pretty much everything on Bravo, this is my current viewing obsession, SOUTHERN CHARM:

BUCKET LIST

Happy Memorial Day.  I hope all  of us are keeping in mind the thanks we owe to the brave men and women who have served our country.

I happened to speak with my wonderful neighbor and friend, Mary, this afternoon.  Shared with her a fun experience last weekend at a panel and book launching by one of my favorite authors, Jen Lancaster.  Jen (as her good friends, such as myself, like to call her) asked each attendee to write on a piece of paper one item on their bucket list.  I have MANY MANY MANY on my list; visit Paris, visit Italy, visit Maine,  stay at a beach side cottage for a week with cute restaurants/shopping nearby and lots of time to read and drink pretty cocktails under an umbrella, start a Bravo night with friends who are also serious about their television watching habits, etc etc etc.  After briefly scanning this long list it was difficult to pick just one and commit to it.  However I choose to write  "Have wine with Jen Lancaster" because 1.  It could happen that exact day  2.  I wanted her to know what a fan I was (my 2 BFFs who were with me...used the phrase "stalker" but...not at all the case in my mind) .  Guess what???  My card was picked,.  Jen filled up my glass with wine and we toasted...it was amazing and fun and something I will always remember.


This brings me to a conclusion I recently recognized about Bucket Lists.  We  have items we can actually MAKE HAPPEN as well as items we can dream about that COULD happen.  It is important to write all of your dreams down and be honest with yourself about which category each one falls into.  Obviously I want to spend a week in Lake Forest hanging out with Jen and her husband Fletch but really don't have much control over that invitation coming my way, but its still on my list.   Wine with Jen at an event, DONE!!!  Learning to drive to Chicago alone and being able to spend time doing what I want to do, DONE!   Starting a book club with good friends, DONE, still going strong 14 years plus.  I still haven't been abroad but who knows, it could happen.  It may depend on how important that goal is to me and how willing I am to work towards it/save money and be creative in ways to get there.

I would love to hear about your bucket list items; those you have made happen and those you are working towards. Please share in the comment section below.

FRIDAY FANCIES

Happy Memorial Day weekend.  Finally the sun has come out and I am looking forward to lots of time out on the deck.

I went to see this documentary earlier in the week and highly recommend:
http://www.diorandimovie.com

While we are dabbling in the land of France, just started this book:
http://www.amazon.com/My-Paris-Dream-Education-Seduction/dp/0679644423
I will report back if its worth your time to read.

.

While in Chicago last week, my husband and I had a fabulous dinner at Le Colonial and I tasted a delicious martini, below is the recipe, ENJOY:

HOW TO MAKE A FRENCH MARTINI

15ml Chambord liqueur

50ml Finlandia® vodka

60ml fresh pineapple juice

Raspberry or a lemon twist to garnish

Handful of ice

Pour the Chambord, vodka and pineapple juice in a shaker.
Add ice and shake like a tambourine. Strain into martini glass.
Top with a raspberry. Or a lemon twist.
As you like.

What are you weekend plans?  Please share in the comment section below:

FANCY NANCY IS BLOGGING AGAIN......

Hello all, its been a long time since my last post.  I needed to take a break away for awhile to be re-energized and full of new ideas to share with all of you.  I hope you will read the blog, comment, ask questions and share helpful information you have with all of us.

I recently read a blog post from Angie's blog  http://youlookfab.com about maxi skirts and dresses.  They continue to be a strong fashion statement year after year, season after season.  Last spring I slipped on my solid black maxi skirt and top and for some reason thought I looked like a monk...in looks only trust me on this...I am definitely not holy enough to compare myself in any other way.  So..back to the topic at hand (I may tend to ramble a bit, if you haven't noticed....).  In this post Angie explains that solid columns of long skirts and dresses give the appearance of a uni-leg...that they need to have a dip or a slit or anything that would break up this solid color mass.  Ahhh.....that is it...that is why something felt off but I couldn't articulate what "that" was.  After you read the article and view the photos, please share your thoughts on this VERY IMPORTANT topic in the comments section  at the end of this post  http://youlookfab.com/2015/05/14/prevent-maxi-skirt-uni-leg-with-front-side-slits/

What are some other big summer trends this season?  I am seeing denim and chambray EVERYWHERE...dresses, skirts, rompers, jackets, shirts, pretty much every article of clothing and/or accessory.  Do you know the difference between chambray and denim?  Well, thank goodness for google and the ability to cut/paste this easy explanation of the two:

While chambray and denim  are often confused for one another, they’re not exactly the same fabric. A chambray is a plain weave fabric woven with a colored yarn in the warp and a white yarn in the weft. Like chambray, denim is made with a colored yarn in the warp and white in the weft, but is woven in a twill construction. The chambray’s warp and weft threads will alternate one over the other, while denim’s warp thread will go over two threads in the weft before going under one. Typically, you will notice a lighter color to the underside of a denim fabric, whereas the underside of chambray will appear much more similar to its face side. 

Other fashion items still going strong in the summer of 2015 are Birkenstocks, Gladiator shoes, midi skirts, handkerchief hems on both skirts and dresses and hair that is left loose and wavy.

Its good to be back.  I love discussing fashion, books, food and restaurants, movies, blogs (I may have a few I read..ahem...well more than a few what but do numbers really mean in the end??? ) and look forward to sharing all with you.

I leave you with this fancy thought:

FRIDAY FANCIES

Hello all, what have you seen recently that you want/need/LOVE ????

I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorfs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_tlLasDH3A )  Have you watched it? The personal shopper from Bergdorf's has now written a book and altho I just started reading it today, I can already recommend it.

One more book recommendation:  The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin.  Historical fiction about Charles Lindberg and his wife Anne Morrow Lindberg.  It is our book club's selection for September and I am anxious to see if others found it as fascinating as I did:

Speaking of pink...well we were not directly discussing pink but isn't it always somewhere in our thoughts???  Who doesn't love a pretty pink coat:

http://www.bodenusa.com/en-US/Womens-Coats-Jackets/Coats/WE462/Womens-Claudia-Coat.html?NavGroupID=2

http://www.bodenusa.com/en-US/Womens-Coats-Jackets/Coats/WE449/Womens-Eliza-Coat.html?NavGroupID=2

An animal print bag would be adorable with a pink coat:

http://www.bodenusa.com/en-US/Womens-Accessories/Handbags,-Clutches-Wallets/AM217/Womens-Draycott-Bag.html?NavGroupID=1

In honor  of NY Fashion Week I leave you with this thought:

FALL FASHION FAVES

Its September, New York Fashion Week is in full swing and that means we all need to start thinking about blazers, cozy cardigans, boots, pumpkin spice lattes and Christmas music.  OK, maybe a bit too early for the music but everything else speaks fall to me.  I have plowed through most of the September fashion magazines (InStyle, Glamour. Marie Claire and soon Vogue, need to gear up for that one) and have a few observations:

1.  Longer length skirts are BACK and I could not be happier.  Here are a few I find delicious:

Boden USA

JCrew Pencil Skirt, a CLASSIC

2.  Maxi dresses are still going strong.  I like maxis and wear them BUT...of course there has to be a "but" here..they can be very difficult to walk in unless the perfect length.  Should one be clumsy, its very easy to get your shoes tangled into the back or front of your dress and such a fall is not graceful nor pretty...I perhaps have had experience with this "look" and do not recommend it.

Pretty as always, Anthropologie

3.  Long long long cardigans have returned.  Does the thought here apply that if you wore an item the first time it was in style mean you cannot wear it again?  Who said that?????  Certainly not me...so I just may be sporting at least one of these:

Anthropologie again

4.  Boots and booties are the perfect footwear for pretty much everything in your closet from jeans to skirts to dresses, casual to fancy:

Cole Haan - Nordstroms

5.  Grey is the new black.  Burgandy and dark green are huge this season.

JCrew cardigan

6.  Cozy knits.

Who else but Kate Spade?

What is on your fall wish list?  Please share with us in the comments section.