Travelogue: European Roadtrip Part 7 (Wattens, Austria)

Part 1 - Hamburg, Germany Part 2 - Berlin, Germany Part 3 - Dresden, Germany  Part 4 - Prague, Czech Republic  Part 5 - Salzburg, Austria   From Salzburg, we headed east and had a quick stop at Wattens, Austria to visit the famed  Swarovski Crystal World!   It was bling bling overload for all the senses!         I'll let these pics do all the talking to see why.    

 

Please scroll down to see these very special souvenirs I took home with me! 

 

 Just kidding. I wish though!!! 

See you next week as we head east to Innsbruck, Austria!

     

Postcards from San Francisco

We had a whirlwind trip to San Francisco to attend my roommate's wedding  to her boyfriend of 6 years.    I was so overcome with emotion to see her walk down the aisle and say her vows to the man who was just perfect for her. She was the very first person who found out I was engaged and the also the very same reason I almost did not.  (Long and funny story).    We had a few hours to kill before her wedding so we made our way leisurely walking to the Embarcadero and Fisherman's Wharf enjoying the rare time when the city is not hazy, nor foggy, nor breezy!  
Her wedding, the weather and the city  -- it was just a perfect day that day! 
 

                                                                     TOP: Vera Wang Lavender label embelished top.  Other ways to style here.

                                                                     SHORTS:  JLo for Kohls boucle shorts.  Still avaialble here.                                                  

                                                                     ACCESSORIES:  Prada baroque sunglasses.

                                                                     PURSE:  Chanel GST in black caviar

                                                                     SHOES:  Ferragamo black bow 'Vara'

 

Rain, Rain

We had so much rain this year and our lawn is loving it.  I too am also loving it because it's an excuse to wear my wellies.  I got it last year for our trip to New York, which coincidentally was when Sandy hit so I got good use out of it.  Since then, it has been sitting unused until now.   Rain, rain, please don't go away.  Hunter and I would really love to play!     

                                                                     TOP: Moschino Cheap and Chic keyhole white top.

                                                                     SHORTS:  Gap (gifted by my friend Faye)

                                                                     ACCESSORIES:  Zumba headband.

                                                                     SHOES:  Hunter 'Andora' wedge rain boot

 

Surprise Wedding!

We got an invitation to a friend's surprise 40th birthday party thrown by his  long-time girlfriend of 11 years. The venue was at the  poshest part of town with sweeping views of the city and the mighty Mississippi.  Everyone there was laughing and kidding their spouses not to expect  to be thrown the same grand party when it's their turn to celebrate 40.    As it turned out, all of us we were the one who ended up being surprised!     The invitation was really for a surprise wedding ceremony!   As we saw the couple enter through a secret door in their their wedding attire,  everyone had mixed emotions with varying ranges of disbelief and shock which quickly  turned into an overwhelming tears of happiness for both of them!    These are things you only read in magazines that celebrities routinely pull off to their friends.  In a way, with all the glamour, drama and shock factor, it was really very Hollywood.   It was a surprise we will not forget!   And what an honor to have been invited to share that special moment with them!      

                                                                     DRESS: Halston Heritage dress worn as a top.  Still available here!

                                                                     SKIRT:  Zac Posen pencil skirt worn as a mini skirt                                                 

                                                                     ACCESSORIES:  Givenchy earrings.

                                                                     PURSE:  Z Spoke by Zac Posen clutch

                                                                     SHOES:  Christian Louboutin 'Simple' pumps in patent black

 

Shopaholics Age Gracefully

We visited an orphanage the other week and played a "guess my age game" with the kids.  I was nervous at first but when it was my turn to have my age guessed, I was grinning to the moon and back.   The girls thoroughly flattered me by starting their age guesses at 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 28, 30, 31. When I told them it's way higher, they gave a confused look and asaked, "40???"   Well, I'm not quite 40 yet but getting pretty darn close.   I'll be in my early 40s before the decade ends.     Not too worried though.  If I'm constantly mistaken to be in the 20s, who cares how old I really am? Shopaholics age gracefully.  And for that I'm glad!





           

                                                                     TOP: Ann Taylor ribbon knot ribbon halter.  MICHAEL Michael Kors striped cardi                                                                                                                                           SHORTS:  Levi's frayed edge dark denim shorts

                                                                     ACCESSORIES:  Prada baroque sunglasses. Target earrings for 25 cents!!

                                                                     PURSE:  Mulberry Alexa in dusty pink

                                                                     SANDALS:  Prabal Gurung for Target gladiator flats

 

Travelogue: European Roadtrip Part 6 (The Sound of Music Tour)

Part 1 - Hamburg, Germany Part 2 - Berlin, Germany Part 3 - Dresden, Germany  Part 4 - Prague, Czech Republic  Part 5 - Salzburg, Austria   The highlight of this roadtrip has got to be the Sound of Music day tour we took from Salzburg.  I felt like a kid all over again, listening to the all the familiar tunes from the movie.  Except this time around, I was no longer watching it in front of the TV -- I was right there at the very scene, the very sight and the very place where my all-time favorite movie was taken.      All my childhood memories flooded back to me as I reminisced those happy times with my cousins singing along the songs, those endless summer days running around my mom's garden  and pretending that I am sixteen going on seventeen and needing an older and wiser dashing young lad...    I have found my happy place!     Someday, when I have kids of my own, I hope they appreciate the movie as I did and  visit this place and reminisce happy childhood as I have!  And hope they get to visit it too with a dashing young lad by their side as I have.    Below are snippets of the movie's song lyrics and the spot where the scene was shot.  Enjoy!  
   
♪ ♫  The hills are alive with the sound of music!  With songs they have sung for a thousand years... ♪ ♫
    ♪ ♫ Doe, a deer a female deer Ray, a drop of golden sun... ♪ ♫

  ♪ ♫ Raindrops and roses and blue satin sashes.. When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad... ♪ ♫

    ♪ ♫ How do you solve a problem like Maria... ♪ ♫

  ♪ ♫ I am sixteen going on seventeen...  Totally unprepared am I to face the world of men!  ♪ ♫

 

The wedding church of Maria and Captain von Trapp
    Not related to The Sound of Music but the town of Mondsee, Austria -- specifically at Cafe Braun, has undeniably the BEST apple strudel in the world.  I still dream of it to this day, 5 years after tasting it!

     ♪ ♫Climb every mountain... Ford every stream  Follow every rainbow ♪ ♫ 

    Just have one regret on this tour: we forgot to take a picture of an Edelweiss!  We did get to sing-a-long with it on the bus and I was doing so with all out full emotion. That is until somebody blurted out, "Oh I didn't know Edelweiss is a flower!"  I had to burst into laughter!      See you next week for a quick stop at Wattens, Austria!