Back in London, and spending the weekend here for the first since time since the beginning of July, and I'm actually looking forward to it. I have a ticket to the Paralympics Athletics Saturday, and I'll also be able to go to go to Barrecore and my favorite outdoor market in the Duke of York Square that I haven't seen in ages. I'm going to try some new hot spots in Mayfair with my American pal Saturday night, but not drink too much to safely make it Yoga at Lululemon Sunday. From there I want to visit the British Museum to see the 100 objects from the book I've been reading, "A History of the World in 100 Objects."
It's surprising how much this place has really started to feel like home.
I'm not sure how, but it became September and it really feels like summer is over. Though the arrival of fall has strangely brought the sunshine to London during the day, there is a crispy chill in the air in the mornings and nights, and for the first time last night I woke up in the middle of the night and had to pull my pink tie-dyed Southampton blanket out and throw it over my duvet before crawling back into bed.
Fall is my favorite season. And although it's actually nearly the end of the year, it always feels more like the beginning of it. Everything starts in the fall.... the holidays, the start of school, fashion week.
There's something in the air in September - and maybe it is that sudden chill - that actually gives you chills, that makes you feel like something new is coming.
In Paris, this time of year is called La Rentrée, "the return." So since I am French at heart, it's appropriate that it is during the fall that I will have my very own rentrée to New York.
But not before saying a proper goodbye to London, and really making my last month here count. I've made a pact with myself to never just go home after work. Everyday here is going to be a fabulous day, and it has been so far.
Last night, I got lucky enough last night to be invited to a celebratory dinner at a restaurant in SoHo called Nopi with some friends here who just turned in their dissertations. Friends who I hadn't seen looking mentally or physically well since May when their finals were finally over. Over the summer, they would come to meet me for lunch to take a break from their studies - and show up disgruntled, disheveled, and be entirely disengaged in our conversations.
They couldn't sleep, socialize, groom, dress, or have fun for the past 3 months. Life revolved around their dissertation. It slightly made me think I may want to re-consider my desire to go back to school later in life for a Masters Degree, but I know from experience that no matter what chaos is ensuing in my life it doesn't stop me from putting on a dress and heels and having clean, curled hair.
I nearly didn't recognize the smiling, shiny, stylin' versions of my girlfriends already sitting at the table sipping Syrah when I arrived. And spending time with my friends, I'm already realizing how much I'm going to miss the relationships I've built with them. When I leave London, I also have to leave a few people here who are that rare kind that are really worth hanging on to.
Tonight after work I headed to Mayfair with my co-worker to take part in London's Fashion's Night Out - a much smaller and calmer version of what happens in New York, which was actually a great thing since last year I found myself immobile in the crowded streets of Soho.
My co-worker is recently engaged and has yet to pick her ring, so we started the night in a fancy, boutique jewelry store, drinking Moet and snacking on their prime rib passers while she tried on some serious bling. We headed from there to the Burlington Arcade and then made our way up Bond St, popping in and out of the main events at Dior, Tiffanys, Tory Burch, Burberry, Aspinal, and of course - the star attraction, Louis Vuitton.
I am fascinated by their current collaboration with Yayoi Kusama, Japanese Polka Dot Artist, and had to see the collection in person. This crazed octogenarian originally hit the scene in the 1960s alongside Warhol and Lichtenstein, and says dots are her "personal medicine." Today she still willfully resides in a mental institution in Japan, that she checked herself into in the 70s.
Fashion's Night Out really is one of the coolest events of the year, and was extra fabulous in London. Aside from being just a plain brilliant idea, it's a wonderful way to see what's new and exciting in fashion and experience it with others. It was also amazing just to see London so full of fashionable people, the stores open past 7pm, and freebies everywhere!
My favorite souvenir from the night is a small bottle of my very own perfume that I got to custom create and name by choosing scents I liked, and then having the mixologist bring my creation to life - all for free! As I choose the scents that appealed to me, he explained how the kind of scents you are attracted to can tell a lot about the kind of person you are.
Uh huh..... I'm not that dumb, but I love to humor people.
For my custom perfume, I chose a base scent of vanilla, a middle scent of amber, and a top scent of gentle florals. According to this man's chart he referenced after mixing, floral scents are attractive to those who are romantics and dreamers, amber to those who are naturally charming and extroverted, and vanilla to those who are calm and collected. While I am 100% certain that his chart is entirely made up - it sounded perfect. And clearly, I have a gift - because it smells incredible.
After everything was mixed and poured, you got to name your fragrance and have it wrapped up and slipped into a tiny, feather filled to-go bag. A fabulous idea for a freebie, and I have certainly found my new scent that I am going to wear everyday since I love that it is entirely unique.
So what did I choose to name my fun, one of a kind fragrance?
"La Rentrée"
It's surprising how much this place has really started to feel like home.
I'm not sure how, but it became September and it really feels like summer is over. Though the arrival of fall has strangely brought the sunshine to London during the day, there is a crispy chill in the air in the mornings and nights, and for the first time last night I woke up in the middle of the night and had to pull my pink tie-dyed Southampton blanket out and throw it over my duvet before crawling back into bed.
Fall is my favorite season. And although it's actually nearly the end of the year, it always feels more like the beginning of it. Everything starts in the fall.... the holidays, the start of school, fashion week.
There's something in the air in September - and maybe it is that sudden chill - that actually gives you chills, that makes you feel like something new is coming.
In Paris, this time of year is called La Rentrée, "the return." So since I am French at heart, it's appropriate that it is during the fall that I will have my very own rentrée to New York.
But rather than feeling like I'm returning, or going back, I feel like I'm going forward. I left New York an unsure college graduate and I'm returning a more confident, determined, driven, experienced, and dare I say adult version of the girl I was when I left. So instead of moving back to New York, I'm moving forward to New York, and truly beginning my life.
But not before saying a proper goodbye to London, and really making my last month here count. I've made a pact with myself to never just go home after work. Everyday here is going to be a fabulous day, and it has been so far.
Last night, I got lucky enough last night to be invited to a celebratory dinner at a restaurant in SoHo called Nopi with some friends here who just turned in their dissertations. Friends who I hadn't seen looking mentally or physically well since May when their finals were finally over. Over the summer, they would come to meet me for lunch to take a break from their studies - and show up disgruntled, disheveled, and be entirely disengaged in our conversations.
They couldn't sleep, socialize, groom, dress, or have fun for the past 3 months. Life revolved around their dissertation. It slightly made me think I may want to re-consider my desire to go back to school later in life for a Masters Degree, but I know from experience that no matter what chaos is ensuing in my life it doesn't stop me from putting on a dress and heels and having clean, curled hair.
I nearly didn't recognize the smiling, shiny, stylin' versions of my girlfriends already sitting at the table sipping Syrah when I arrived. And spending time with my friends, I'm already realizing how much I'm going to miss the relationships I've built with them. When I leave London, I also have to leave a few people here who are that rare kind that are really worth hanging on to.
Tonight after work I headed to Mayfair with my co-worker to take part in London's Fashion's Night Out - a much smaller and calmer version of what happens in New York, which was actually a great thing since last year I found myself immobile in the crowded streets of Soho.
My co-worker is recently engaged and has yet to pick her ring, so we started the night in a fancy, boutique jewelry store, drinking Moet and snacking on their prime rib passers while she tried on some serious bling. We headed from there to the Burlington Arcade and then made our way up Bond St, popping in and out of the main events at Dior, Tiffanys, Tory Burch, Burberry, Aspinal, and of course - the star attraction, Louis Vuitton.
I am fascinated by their current collaboration with Yayoi Kusama, Japanese Polka Dot Artist, and had to see the collection in person. This crazed octogenarian originally hit the scene in the 1960s alongside Warhol and Lichtenstein, and says dots are her "personal medicine." Today she still willfully resides in a mental institution in Japan, that she checked herself into in the 70s.
Leave it to Marc Jacobs to re-discover her and name her a genius!
Sadly I've just missed her exhibit at the Tate Modern, which ended in June, so I won't get to judge for myself, but I am quite in love with Louis Vuitton's collection inspired by her quite literal, madness.
In the store, they had models dressed as her, the collection showcased throughout, short red wigs available for a free photo opt, and were serving tall, red, bubble tea cocktails that appeared to be polka dotted, and payed homage to Kusama's Asian descent. Always so clever, that LV!
Fashion's Night Out really is one of the coolest events of the year, and was extra fabulous in London. Aside from being just a plain brilliant idea, it's a wonderful way to see what's new and exciting in fashion and experience it with others. It was also amazing just to see London so full of fashionable people, the stores open past 7pm, and freebies everywhere!
My favorite souvenir from the night is a small bottle of my very own perfume that I got to custom create and name by choosing scents I liked, and then having the mixologist bring my creation to life - all for free! As I choose the scents that appealed to me, he explained how the kind of scents you are attracted to can tell a lot about the kind of person you are.
Uh huh..... I'm not that dumb, but I love to humor people.
For my custom perfume, I chose a base scent of vanilla, a middle scent of amber, and a top scent of gentle florals. According to this man's chart he referenced after mixing, floral scents are attractive to those who are romantics and dreamers, amber to those who are naturally charming and extroverted, and vanilla to those who are calm and collected. While I am 100% certain that his chart is entirely made up - it sounded perfect. And clearly, I have a gift - because it smells incredible.
After everything was mixed and poured, you got to name your fragrance and have it wrapped up and slipped into a tiny, feather filled to-go bag. A fabulous idea for a freebie, and I have certainly found my new scent that I am going to wear everyday since I love that it is entirely unique.
So what did I choose to name my fun, one of a kind fragrance?
"La Rentrée"
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