House Beautiful

Monthly Archive for July, 2010

Go Get ‘Em, Tigers!

Published on July 29, 2010 in Motivation, Shout-outs and White Oprah. 4 Comments

I ran across this photo last night during the wee hours, after I had finished some work and was doing what I do best when I’m tired, which is mindless Facebook wandering, and occasionally cyberstalking.  Hey, whatever.  Once in awhile, everybody needs to know what’s going on in the life of the girl who sat next to you in the 2nd grade, wore a pink corduroy vest and stuck her tongue out at you every day.  Wassup, Desiree Williams! 

(photo via mon ami, Mathilde)

Anyhoo, this snapshot was a friend’s post-Chinese-takeout iPhone upload with the caption, “I’m framing this one.”  And I thought to myself, you go on with your bad self, girlfriend.  It struck me as extraordinarily poignant since said friend is currently FLOURISHING in the face of what has been a legitimate train wreck in the middle of a tsunami in her personal life…  the mind-numbingly painful kind that would’ve sent most people straight to the couch with some Ho-Ho’s, fried chicken, and Bridget Jones’ Diary on repeat for a year.  But this girl picked herself up, dusted herself off, made an ocean of sweet lemonade out of some crusty, RANK lemons, and is embracing everything around her with childlike enthusiasm.  I’m currently in awe of her.

Another friend of mine found out last night that he got into one of the top MBA programs in the country; one that has a 15% acceptance rate…  YIKES.  It was a longshot, and a year-long, grueling application process, but one of those things he said he just had to gun for, even if he came up short.  And, whatta ya know!  In a few weeks, he’ll be shopping for a new Trapper Keeper and some #2 pencils.  Giddyup, Big Red!

The fortune cookie quote reminds me of something my pseudo-big-sister and co-blogger, Karrie, used to say to me when I was in college:  “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”  …and something one of my college volleyball coaches yelled to me one day during a vomit-inducing set of I’m-going-to-keel-over-any-minute-now marathon sprints:  “Your body is capable of so much more than you think it is.”  It’s all part of the same ball of wax, and it all boils down to the same thing:  If there’s something you want, GO FOR IT.  You only live once, and you really ARE capable of so much more than you probably realize.  Put yourself out there, and give it your best shot.  You’ll NEVER know unless you try, and almost every time, you’ll be surprised to find out what you’re made of. 

xoxo,

 

4 Comments

Rent the Runway: Love. Wear. Return.

Published on July 22, 2010 in Recessionista and Stuff We Love. 5 Comments

To all the ladies in the place with style and grace, allow me to ask you a couple simple questions: How many times have you hurriedly bought a dress for a wedding/birthday party/night out, only to feel guilty afterwards for never wearing said dress again?  Secondly, when’s the last time you looked at your checking account and noticed an extra $1,000 to be used to purchase a hot, fabulous dress to wear to a party?  Riiight, that’s what I thought.

Well step right up my little fashionista vixens, cause yours truly wants to dish about the most awe-inspiring new website to revolutionize the world of fashion and spin it on its head for those of us trying to save a buck.

It’s RenttheRunway.com, and it might just be the most genius thing I’ve ever discovered (excluding peanut butter M&Ms, of course).  Through their exclusive relationships with top designers, this super easy-to-use website allows women to actually rent the hottest, most current drool-worthy dresses, Netflix-style, for a tiny, and I mean tiny, fraction of the price.

It’s easy:

Step 1: Peruse and choose a dress from designers like Diane von Furstenberg, Alice & Olivia and Herve Leger.  A few of my favorites:

Halston Heritage “Sizzling Shoulder Dress” – Rental: $50, Retail: $295

Robert Rodriguez Black Label “Ruffled Coral Dress” – Rental: $75, Retail: $525

Nicole Miller “The Make Him Regret It Dress” – Rental: $75, Retail: $485

Halston Heritage “Pretty Poncho Dress” – Rental: $50, Retail: $325

Accessories are also available on the site so bangle it up!

Ted Rossi “Paparazzi Flash Cuff” – Rental: $30, Retail: $235

Actually adorned with Swarovski crystals for the inner Zsa Zsa in us all.

Isharya “Druzy Snake Pendant” – Rental: $25, Retail: $125

Susan Hanover “Bold Statement Cuff” – Rental: $30, Retail: “220”

Step 2: Choose the size of the dress you want (they even send your dress in two sizes to ensure a second fit – for free) and the date you’d like it shipped right to your door step.

Step 3:  Once you’re done, simply pop the dress in any mailbox in the pre-paid packaging, and they’ll take care of the dry cleaning!

The 4-or 8-day rentals start at $50 and $10 for accessories.  You can choose a second style as a backup for just $25!  All dresses come with a custom garment bag and “fit kit,” which includes double-sided tape, bra strap adjusters and deodorant stain removers.  And oh yeah, they even have on-call stylists to help with any questions on fitting, from how a material feels on you to how a particular dress hangs on different body types.  Can you handle it?

For those traveling, you can ship directly to your hotel and your dress will be perfectly dry cleaned, then just pop in the mail before you leave.  No need to even pack.

RenttheRunway.com is sure to make you feel like the belle of the ball.  Or as The New York Times phrases it, like “Cinderella on a budget.”

Now who doesn’t feel like slippin’ into some glass slippers every now and again???

Rock on my fellow budget-conscious-yet-still-sassy-as-ever friends,

xoxo,

5 Comments