Whatever
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A good balance of effortless, edgy and chic.
Photos by JC Cerilla
Model Alice Le Paige at New York Models
Hair & Makeup Cherry Le
Styled by yours truly
Latest work for One Magazine, hope you like. x
Square it away
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Top - For Love and Lemons
Pants (actually a jumpsuit!) - Norma Kamali
Hat - Zara
Jacket - Nasty Gal
Sundays I love me some brunch. I think we all know this by now. You get to dress up in a fab outfit, head to a super cool spot downtown buzzing with people. Mimosas are being poured, perfect egg yolks come from the kitchen, and multiple plates of sizzling bacon are set down on tables for hungry revelers. It's the epicenter of New York City's energy on any given weekend, and where you go when your hangover has got you thinking you can't go on.
So, several avocado toasts and overgarnished fruity drinks later, all is well and you've finally caught up with all of your super-busy friends. Your buzz has got you feeling decent, until the bill comes. That little piece of paper with a list as long as a grocery bill after you've neglected your fridge for three weeks. And then you have to force yourself to realign your thoughts so that you can figure out the math? Total buzzkill.
Of the 11 friends at your table, 3 pay with cash, the rest want to split cards. Or, it all ends up going on two cards. One being yours. One friend goes to the ATM (who has time for that?), a couple of others pay you in a few days, and someone totally forgets, and you have to awkwardly ask them to pay you back, stat, because payday is too far away and you impulsively overspent on the shoes you saw at Bloomingdales the other day ('it was Friends & Family!' you tell yourself).
Or you split lunch with 8 people at work, leaving you in a similar situation. Been there, done that, yea? You don't have to be a brunch fanatic like myself to get stuck with this same problem frequently.
Well, that's where Square Cash swoops in to save your behind. This app makes sharing bills, and send money to friends, family, businesses, whoever- a piece of cake. With gold sprinkles on top.
Here's the quick rundown:
You take two seconds to download the app for free. Then, just add your debit card. After this, you're good to go and can send or receive money to anyone in your contacts or a mobile phone number.
Square Cash lets you make this username called a $Cashtag, which lets you get paid anonymously if you want to, and which I like. None of that sharing business- I don't really need the cost of my eggs benedict on a news feed. This app keeps it bare-bones simple for the user, from its clean design to its minimal requirement of information.
$Cashtag is also great because it makes it a breeze for non-Square Cash users to pay you. The sending party doesn't need an account (I hate telling friends and family to "download the app" just so we can make our exchange). You just send a text, they get your $Cashtag link, and click it. Super easy. Simple, like...a square.
Other highlights about the app: It doesn't "hold" your money the way other apps do. It's the ONLY app that allows you to send instant deposits, just with a small 1% fee.
You can even use bluetooth in times you don't have someone's number or don't feel like taking it down and saving it to your phone book. Sometimes I just want to pay an acquaintance or business and not give them my digits, so I love this part. Easy as airdropping photos. Holiday gifting for my super-picky family members is going to be a no-brainer this year.
One other big thing I'll be using this for is travel. I travel frequently, and when I'm away with friends, splitting costs quickly gets confusing. This is a great way to divide the total for the big hotel suite we share or the train tickets we bought in a rush because we cut the timing too close.
Check it out for yourself, and let me know what you think!
Also, shop my look below.
Tell me your thoughts on your favorite money-sharing apps, or if you already use Square Cash, how it's working out for you.
xx
*Thanks to Square Cash for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.*
Photos by Greg Routt
Soho Streets in Fall-to-Holiday Style
/Gita, Jenna, and i
Nomo Soho
Tunic - Shein
Vest - Laundry by Design
Tights - Item M6
Scarf - El Voyage
Sunglasses - Polette
This past weekend I was out at brunch with my lovely blogger friends MimiandChichi, Trendy Not Spendy, & The Style Theory. We had a lovely time catching up and discussing each of our projects of the moment. It's such beautiful thing to be surrounded by intelligent women who constantly inspire you.
As for my look - I actually listed this vest on my blog last year, it was one of the really great options that was similar to my look, and at an incredible price ($27!!)- so much so, that I went ahead and purchased it myself. The tunic is from Shein. I finally tried something from this site and I love it- they have so much fun clothing for really cheap. I don't know why, but I'm currently having a serious burgundy moment right now. It's such a perfect fall color and can also transition right into holiday style looks. Between this gorgeous color and the vest, I've got two outfit patterns apparently on repeat this fall!
I've listed some similar colored faux-fur vest options below, also at great price ranges (around or below $50) so that you can get the trend for yourself without breaking the back.
Any particular outfit looks you have on repeat lately?
Knee Boot Trend
/Dress - MissGuided
Boots - Zara
Sunglasses - Polette
Who doesn't love a good pair of fall boots? It's one of the things I look forward to when the season returns. On top of that, I'm perfectly content with the fact that the knee-high and over-the-knee boot trend is everywhere now. I found this beautiful pair at Zara, but there are plenty of other variations to choose from, and to help you I've listed several below-- all under $350! Wear them with anything from cozy sweater dresses, which I find so easy to throw on, to jeans and chunky knits or dressier tops. It's still warm enough now to wear them without tights.
Personally I enjoy a little online browsing while I'm waiting for my turkey. Hope all of you get to spend the day with those who are near and dear to you.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! <3
xxx
Stars & Ruffles
/Birthdays can be funny. One may get caught in a slump about getting older (usually that happens sometime after...hmm..21?) and need a bit of a self-reminder that there's plenty to be grateful about. Something that often helps: A fabulous dress and a pair of treat-yourself shoes.
I was lucky enough to be the first to wear this incredible dress from Layana Aguilar's gorgeous Spring 2017 collection. Layana debuted her lovely pieces back in September at her New York Fashion Week presentation. Recently, I got an up-close-and-personal look during a visit to the store where she currently carries her collection in SoHo.
The idea behind the collection revolves around the power of the female spirit, as represented by the hummingbirds you can see on my dress, and incorporated throughout the pieces. Small but resilient animals, this little bird was the designer's icon for the collection.
Layana cut her neoprene in a perfectly thought-out way which makes the wearer feel just that- happy yet powerful. The structure of the dress perfectly hugs the female body; ruffles act as waving vessels through which the woman exudes feminine vibrance.
I could go on about her gorgeous, cool, fun pieces, but you can also go and check them out for yourself. This dress and the rest of her spring collection will be available in a few weeks for preorder, but you can head to Flying Solo now and check out her fall clothing, like this amazing tie front skirt. While you're there, scope out the other awesome designers that are also housing their current collections in the concept store.
Circling back to birthdays... All I have to say is celebrate yourself. The people in your life who are near and dear to you will always celebrate you, but in the end, the most fulfilling thing is being able to appreciate yourself. To be honest, this is not about a birthday, it's about the everyday.
xx
Photos by Greg Routt
