Double the French Flair with New Dior Ads

The lighthearted charm of the new slew of Dior ad campaigns is all about Parisian prettiness, Lolita-like sex appeal and dualing doses of charm.

Mila Kunis is Jackie O with a French flair for Miss Dior AW12. Surrounded by flashbulbs and fawning photographers, Mila uses those minx-eyes to play the role of Miss Dior to coy perfection.

 

Daphne Groenevold is the flirty Brigitte Bardot to Mila’s sultry Jackie for the Dior Addict perfume campaign. Frolicking on the St Tropez Sand, blowing kisses to dashing French dandies and dancing on tables in a cherry-red leather dirndl skirt perfect for twirling and tempting sounds pretty addictive to me, oui oui?

Which Dior retro-throwback ad do you prefer?

xo

Linds

Saturday Breakfast: Cottage Cheese with Tomatoes & Basil

The small pleasures of a Saturday morning (later alarm, a few more moments to stay curled up amongst the pillows, the freedom of a full day ahead) definitely extend to my breakfast ritual. Or rather, lack thereof. I typically eat the same thing everyday for breakfast throughout the week, so come the weekend, anything goes.

That’s not to say I don’t still cling to the key ingredients: simplicity and scrumptiousness. Enter my new go-to: cottage cheese, tomatoes and fresh basil. Served with whole-grain crackers and a massive mug of coffee. Always coffee. Always massive.

Simple ingredients? Check. 

• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• grape tomatoes, halved
• salt & pepper
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• fresh basil
• whole-grain crackers (optional, but strongly encouraged!)

I was always an adventurous eater as a kid, thanks to parents who introduced me to different foods from different cultures, and who let me make my own decisions about food with one rule: you have to try it once before choosing to hate it. Childhood favorites were eclectic and risky: I loved (and still do) oysters, risotto, mango, any and all fish… pretty gourmet for a 3 year-old, I think.

But when I hated something, I was relentless. I wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole, turning my nose up at canned tuna, mustard, and most of all, cottage cheese. It wasn’t until recently that the thought of the stuff didn’t repulse me. Something about the texture, the curdles – blechhh. But I gave it another shot, on a whim, thanks to Trader Joe’s peachy prices and a general boredom with my eating routines.

Consider me cottage-cheese converted.

What are you breakfast staples? Do you switch it up come Saturday?

xo

Linds

 

 

Fashion Friday: Clash of the Couture Crowd

The street style of the international couture shows is always so enchanting. I’m fascinated by the dichotomy of classic Parisian chic with avant-garde adventurers taking editorials off the pages and onto the sidewalks. The clash and contrast makes for incredible imagery of a dreamworld where anything goes.

{images via tommy ton for style.com}

xo

Linds

Wednesday Wisdom

Book Club Chronicles: Wild

When I moved to New York, I began a relentless hunt for a book club. Turns out, it’s not as easy as one would think. Either the timing or the topics didn’t quite fit, so Goldilocks-style, I waited for the one that felt just right. Which, surprise surprise, fell right into my lap.

After moving to Brooklyn, I was chatting with my new roommates, lamenting my futile search for the book club of my dreams. One where snacks and wine were essential, themed snacks were mandatory, tangential sidetracking was encouraged, and differences of opinion were fuel to the festivities. “You’re looking for a book club? We have a book club! It’s just us at the moment, but we’re recruiting people!!” Kate excitedly proclaimed.

Done and done.

A book had already been selected for the debut meeting, so I plunged headfirst into the club’s inaugural selection: 

Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild chronicles her solo 1,100-mile hike through the Pacific Crest Trail. Newly divorced and coping with her mother’s death, Strayed dives into the trials of the trail. She’s profoundly unprepared, despite the hefty chunk of change she drops on gear; cracking open the trail guide on the first day of her hike affords a bemoaned sense of doom only remedied by the fact that, clearly, she lived to tell the tale. But she’s a woman, and an attractive one at that (a fact not lost on Strayed) she receives help from various sources along the way.

Meggie and Kelly, dressed to impress.

Being the over-analyzing girls of Greenpoint, of course we had to get our Cheryl frustrations out first before we could delve into our resounding appreciation for both her writing and the story itself.

On the topic of Cheryl’s overloaded backpack (dubbed Monster), twice the size of burly mens’ packs and a boulder she can barely shoulder: “I love Cheryl, but whatttt the hell was up with Monster? I wanted to scream through the pages ‘Bitch, just take some shit out!!!‘” – Kate

Agreed. Physical burden symbolizing emotional burden, okay okay. But seriously. Sign yourself up for Overpackers Anonymous.

‘Wild’ themed spread. Complimentary condom and freeze-dried food galore. We mean business.

Overall, I loved the book. Strayed  writes with a careful tone balanced between self-deprecation and self-discovery. My favorite scenes involved her back-and-forth inner conflict over her mother’s death: shifting from anger to overwhelming sadness to love back to anger, Cheryl’s cycle of emotional progress is as honest and brutal as the winding trail.

Next on the list: Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast

Hey – variety is the spice of life. To prep, we added some additional homework: carefully deliberate these 25 photos of Hemingway living it up and drinking it down. 

My kind of book club.

xo

Linds

24 Things

I’ve been reading Jenna’s blog Eat, Live, Run for what seems like an eternity now. As her readership has skyrocketed, I’ve become increasingly enchanted with her humor, poise, and growing confidence. Jenna allows herself to change her opinions to fit the evolution of her life. From the way she approaches food to travel to love, her honesty is eye-opening. Her ability to maintain a clarity of opinion while simultaneously allowing herself to adapt and change is something I aspire to as a writer.

Why bring up my ELR obsession? For her 27th birthday, Jenna blogged about a yoga exercise where she had to contemplate things she wish she could tell the younger version of herself. The list ranges from serious to sassy, funny to fundamentally profound. (#10, 16, 17 & 23 were my personal favorites and the heavyweight truths of the bunch.)

As I just turned 24 last month, what better time than to make my own list? My life has completely turned on its head over the past 10 months, and I still don’t feel even remotely close to being comfortable in my own skin. But, as Oprah says, there are some things that I know for sure (love you, O!). Moving to New York City certainly helped speed up the process of figuring out my place, something I’m still struggling with – but the following list is a compilation of things I’ve learned from family, mentors, and new friends.

The 24 things I wish I had known earlier….

1. When finding your place in the career world, you have to ditch the sense of entitlement. Stay hungry. Work hard. Be patient. But always keep your eye on the prize. Even if the prize changes along the route.
2. Friends can and will come in and out of your life; if you’re lucky, it will happen when you least expect it but need it most.
3. Stop trying to cover up every last skin flaw. A pound of concealer is noticeable – a teeny blemish is not.
4. Your parents are not perched on a pedestal, despite what you thought when you were 5. They can come undone and have moments of emotional weakness. But at the end of the day, the knowledge of their love is what makes them superhuman.
5. As much as I like to cook, I like watching my mom cook more. I’d rather sit on a stool in the kitchen with glasses of wine poured, Adele and Fleetwood Mac blasting in the background as she chops veggies, grilling and stirring away. Nothing else in the world exists outside of the kitchen. Some may call this lazy, but I’ve learned to call it by another name - therapy.
6. The day will come when your baby brother will tower over you; nothing will prepare you for that moment.
7. Read everything. As an aspiring writer, I never want to stop reading. It’s the only way to improve and keep the juices flowing. Books, magazines, signs on the street – absorb it all. Writers are sponges.
8. It’s okay to buy a ridiculous necklace or a pair of shoes simply because you think they will make amazing interior decorations. Surround yourself with beauty.
9. Lying will get you nowhere. The truth may be terrifying, but honesty really is the best policy.
10. A night on the town can be fun, but a night in with a home-cooked meal and a book can be even better.
11. It’s better to look healthy and have the energy to move then to look scary skinny and barely have the energy to think straight. Which leads me too…
12. That unbelievable red velvet cupcake you devoured from the best bakery in London? The salted dark chocolate chip cookie you splurged on during your first solo venture to an NYC farmer’s market? Eat it. Savor it. You work your ass off so that you can enjoy these pleasures, and they’re soooo worth it.
13. Be in the moment as much as you can.
14. When you’re truly tired, honor that fact; nothing’s fun when you’re riddled with exhaustion. Sleep!
15. If you wear something that you are truly uncomfortable in, people will notice. Take risks and wear what you love, but don’t sacrifice feeling like yourself.
16. It’s okay to enjoy being with a guy, knowing it may not lead anywhere. Our needs change over time; you’ll know when it’s time to move on. In the meantime, have fun and enjoy.
17. It’s never too early to start using eye cream. As offended as I am now when people mistake me for being 16, I’m pretty sure this will be a good thing when I’m 40 and look 25. If you have a baby face, embrace it!
18. It sucks, but it’s true: to a certain extent and in certain industries, you are who you know. That being said – you have the power to get to know people, and you’re sure as hell not going to meet them by moping in your room! Going to a museum, a restaurant or a concert by yourself may seem daunting, but it’s only when you break out of your comfort zone that change can and will happen.
19. Sometimes routines are meant to be broken.
20. There is no greater meal on the planet than fresh Wellfleet oysters (shucked by my brother) followed by lobster and corn on the cob. This meal must be eaten on Cape Cod, and must be consumed in the company of family, friends and copious amounts of cold pinot grigio. The only close second is a lychee martini, Inari pillows and an Olympus Maki roll from Mai Pearl. (But that is the only exception.) I wish I had know sooner that the Olympus Maki existed and was divinity on a plate.
21. Watching movies inside on a beautiful day is not a waste of time if it’s exactly what you feel like doing.
22. Jealousy is a wasted emotion.
23. Books are sexy. Guys that like books are sexy. Not caring about books is a turn-off, and I probably won’t relate to them anyway. If a guy can’t answer the question of what he likes to read, he’s probably not a bad person – just not the person for me.
24. Your life can change in a matter of months, when you least expect it. Learn to expect the unexpected.

xoxo

Linds

Lust List: Eyelet Bra Top

I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect bra top to wear under sheer silk pieces. Most that I’ve encountered are either too girly, majorly lacking in support (I really don’t want to wear a bra with my bra top, thanks so much American Apparel), or just plain boring. Then I stumbled upon this stunner from The Lake and Stars. While not exactly in my price range, it’s the bra top dreams are made of. Neutral enough to wear with colorful tanks and tees, I love the thick straps, oversized eyelet, and retro vibe. The front straps are enchantingly unique. On the hunt for a more budget-friendly version!

{image via Refinery 29}