Dresser Decor: A glimpse into my apartment

Even though I've been in my apartment for two months (wow.) it's nowhere near fully decorated. In fact, we only just got a couch and coffee table this past week. My room is pretty consistently a mess, and with minimal space there's not much to see. One space I am proud of right now, though, is my dresser - at least when I can manage to keep it neat. I had an idea of what I wanted my room to look like (remember this post?) and when I started picking up odds and ends for my dwelling, I tried to stick to that black, white, lucite and bright theme.

I started off with a melamine tray from Target and filled it with goodies from the Container Store - a bright pink acrylic box (that houses nail polish), two clear acrylic jars (one for bracelets and one for loose change so that I'm constantly saving for shoes), a white metal cup for brushes and hair clips and a clear acrylic cup for makeup and makeup brushes. Another tray, this one a heavier clear acrylic sits beside it...with more nail polish in it.

(Like the glimpse of my deodorant and night guard case?)

On the other side, I keep my stack of magazines (do I ever not have a stack of magazines) and all my various reading accoutrements (aka my Kindle and iPad). Don't you love my Fair Isle Kindle case? It was a handmade gift from my crafty older sister.

Though I don't have any art on my walls yet, right now I'm content with the picture hanging out with my makeup and jewelry and the jewelry that I've hung up on my wall. In such a small space it's vital to make use of every single inch of space and by hanging my jewelry up, it's both organized neatly and on display in an aesthetically pleasing way. Plus, it makes it super easy for me to put away which curbs my tendency to just throw things wherever is convenient.

It's still a work in progress - just like the rest of my apartment - but I'm glad to see at least one part of my room come together the way I wanted.

Obsession: Madewell Sheep Sweaters

I am not getting over animal prints any time soon. Just when I thought I could love nothing more than hedgehog prints, Madewell did it to me again. With sheep.

Images via Madewell.com

Look, I love sheep. Something about their little woolly bodies and bleating. In elementary school I made a clay sheep that my mother still keeps (and was briefly on display in our town's community center. I know you're jealous). I have a sheep pin that I've had since childhood that I still wear and get compliments on. Sheep are my jam. And so I'm seriously coveting one of these Madewell sweaters (to preorder or not to preorder - that is the question). I just can't decide though - do I want my sheep in a row, or in a pyramid?

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Sweet Lemon Magazine Issue 5 is live! Check it out!

Summer Reading: The Innocents

 One of my favorite things from childhood summers was the public library's summer reading program. You'd get a blank list at the beginning of the summer and fill it out as you read books. When you read the requisite number, you turned in your list for an almost completely useless coupon book. I was a big reader back in those days - time not spent at day camp or at the pool was spent reading. And with 100 pages counting as a 'book,' I could read Harry Potter and fill in multiple slots on my list. The coupons were rarely useful, but I got a lot of joy out of seeing how quickly I could complete my list (and sometimes how many lists I could fill out over the course of a summer). Unfortunately there's no equivalent for adults, such that I can tell, but I'm trying to get the same joy out of reading this summer when I have the time.

I'm not usually one of those people who reads the hot book recommended in magazines, but recently something caught my eye. I was intrigued by The Innocents by Francesca Segal because of its modern retelling of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. Here's a little back-story:

In my senior year of high school my English teacher gave us a choice of five books to read - we would list them in preference order and he would assign us to groups. My top choice was Wharton's The House of Mirth, drawn in by the promise of old New York society-based fiction. Instead, I got assigned Thomas Friedman's The Lexus and the Olive Tree (even though there was someone in the House of Mirth group who didn't want to read it. Obviously I'm still outraged by this injustice) - not a bad book, but nonfiction about globalization doesn't quite equal a page turner for me. Last summer when I was in New York, I decided to actually give Wharton a go by snatching up The Age of Innocence on a trip home. I spent afternoons reading in Washington Square Park, but it never got finished, put aside for other pursuits, like reading Helter Skelter (more on my fascination with true crime stories later). This summer I hoped that The Innocents would pull me in and rekindle my interest in finishing the original.

Luckily, it did just that. I finished it this weekend while lying on my stomach on a beach towel in Washington Square Park (back to old haunts) and I can say that it sufficiently whetted my appetite for the original tome. The London-set drama made me yearn to read the period New York version to recognize the streets I walk daily among the pages. I need to know how the updated version compares to Wharton's. I feel the same kind of urgency that I did all those summers ago filling out my reading list - now that I've finished one book, I just can't wait to pick up another.

Animal Print Obsession: Hedgehog Hegemony

Animal prints are just about everywhere now, but there's one little critter I couldn't help noticing: the hedgehog.

Back when I was in high school and desperate for a pet (there are dog allergies in my family that prevented us from getting another dog and a cat was completely out of the question) there was a time when I thought the perfect creature to fill the hole in my life was a hedgehog. I didn't end up with a little hedgehog friend, but I still think they're pretty darn cute. I fell in love with the Kate Spade hedgehog pieces, but at those prices (that iPad case is $85) the animals were once again out of my reach. So of course I was thrilled to see Asos' take on hedgehogs, this time on a sweater. Sure, the little guys are a bit cartoon-ier, but they're no less cute. And at only slightly above $50, these are some hedgehogs that might actually be able to make it into my home.

Fun fact: I learned the word hegemony from the Ender's Game series

Stopshop

Or, Why Summer's not Taking any More of my Money

One of the realities of New York is that it's a serious money drain. On top of the higher cost of living (rent, food, etc.) there's the constant lure of restaurants that deliver, $15 cocktails with friends, shopping for a new outfit (the H&M and Zara down the street from my office are a consistent temptation)... the list goes on. We all know that I have a hard time resisting a good buy, but this summer I'm on a mission. Seeing as how I basically hate summer weather (an opinion that was justified by this past week's oppressively disgusting heat and humidity) I've decided not to buy any summer clothes unless it's absolutely necessary. The truth is that all my summer clothes just get gross and sweaty, and half the time I'm just throwing on a dress and a pair of sandals before calling it a day. I'd much rather save my money for other things, like gelato and fall clothes.

Fall is my favorite season to dress for once the temperature drops from summer highs into the comfortable chill of mornings in the high 40s and afternoons in the low 60s. When the weather gets hot, I'm either dreaming of being on a beach somewhere or dreaming of sweaters. And since the racks that fill the halls of my office are displaying wool coats and we're discussing boots while the temperature hovers around 90 degrees, I'm experiencing some major winterlust. So I'm saying no. No to sales at H&M, no to another sleeveless sundress, no to dropping my hard-earned money on something that will only be worn during the summer and then tucked away until next June. Instead, I'm saving my pennies for fall, fun and, let's be honest, weekend gelato lunches. Wish me luck!

How to Live out of a Suitcase (For an Indeterminate Amount of Time)

What I've been living in, I mean, out of

Though it feels like much longer, I've been in New York for over a month now and have lived in my apartment a few weeks. One part of the lengthy feel to my first month or so in my new home city is that up until a week and a half ago, when I received some boxes from my family, I've been living out of a suitcase (and, you know, from what I've bought here). There is an art to living out of a suitcase. I have not yet mastered that art.

Unfortunately, packing is not my strong suit. In my nervous panic over starting a new job I seem to have packed whatever would fit into my suitcase, duffel and purse without a thought to what would go together and the kind of weather/temperature fluctuations that would rule my daily outfit choice. In some ways I've been fine (no worries about running out of underwear) and in other ways I haven't (rampant rain meant a lot of days of soaked feet). Regardless, I've learned a lot about how (and how not) to prepare for spending weeks with only the clothes out of one suitcase (and in my case, a duffel bag...and whatever I ended up buying) and it all boils down to four main ideas.

1. Pack items that work together. This seems like a no-brainer, but when you're nervous or excited or just plain terrified (and I was on a 24-hour cycle of those emotions before I moved) it can slip your mind a bit. Honestly, this was still the part I was best at, though I did start running out of good shirt options (oh hey, trips to Zara and H&M...). Pack your suitcase like you're doing one of those 30 for 30 challenges - but don't limit yourself to 30 items if you've got the space. Make sure your shirts go with your skirts and your jackets. Make sure your shoes go with everything.

2. Consider all weather options. I did not do this, hence the sopping wet feet almost every time it rained. Bring a pair of shoes that can get wet, make sure you have enough outerwear, pack items that layer well so that when it gets hot you aren't stuck sweating all 75% of your body out and that when it gets cold you're not running into the nearest H&M to buy a hoodie (this happened one time when I was in New York for an interview). Make sure you have everything necessary to keep you dry and at a comfortable temperature.


3. Pack things that wash and dry in a machine. I'm a stickler for following wash instructions, and since a fair amount of my clothing comes from retailers that like you to air dry their clothing I was stuck with a lot of items I was able to wear once and then stuff back into my suitcase until I had an apartment of my own, a drying rack and time to go to the laundromat (only two of those three things have happened thus far). My saviors have been things that either a. don't smell bad after wearing or b. can be put into both the washer and dryer and thus can be dropped off at a wash and fold place in the morning and picked up in the evening. Even if you're not in a city where it's easy to drop your clothes off to be washed  by someone else, however you end up doing your laundry you're going to be really glad when you don't have to figure out where to dry clothes that need to air dry.


4. Don't underestimate the importance of accessories. When I was getting ready to leave for the city I packed a pouch full of necklaces to wear with the clothes I would be repeating. And then, true to form, I left it at home (I always forget something). The truth is that accessories will do a lot to distract people from the fact that you've worn the same dress three times in the past two weeks. Keep them busy complimenting your shoes - it's called misdirection.And bonus: small accessories are perfect for those little pockets and nooks in your suitcase.

A Summer Uniform

Now that the weekend is over, I'm back to feeling fully rested (after spending this weekend recovering from Memorial Day weekend) and back to feeling energized about well, everything. I'm finally settling into my apartment (thanks to my recent acquisition of a dresser that makes me feel like I'm living in a real place), I love my job and I'm getting to know my neighborhood. One thing I'm not quite enthused about is the impending hot weather that summer will bring. We went through a mini heat wave a couple weeks ago and I was just about dying in my mid-spring out-of-a-suitcase wardrobe. Though the temperatures have dropped since (and are currently, frankly, a bit chilly) that hasn't stopped me from developing a sense of impending doom about what surely will be scorching days of summer. So I've developed an ideal summer wardrobe for sweltering summer weekdays and weekends - equally fitting for the office, my commute (by foot or by subway) and for running around the city - featuring the sandals I've already started running into the ground.

1. Joe Fresh 2. J. Crew 3. Madewell 4. BaubleBar

Recommended Reading: Libba Bray's Beauty Queens

As many people can attest, college is not a time for pleasure reading. As much as I love to read, the past few years have been spent with my head buried in academic texts and literary works (some of which I enjoyed, but they were still for school). Now that I'm out of school - and even now that I've started my job I don't have homework - I've started to ease myself back into reading for fun.

About a month ago, my mom and I took a quick trip to new York to meet up with my current roommate and look for an apartment (the very beginning of our housing search). With two train rides on the schedule, I knew I would need something to read. I first heard about Beauty Queens on a TWoP recap of Pretty Little Liars (no shame here). As a fan of Libba Bray's Great and Terrible Beauty series I was interested to see Bray's take on a more modern subject. Beauty Queens, as you would learn from reading the back cover or perusing the summary in the Kindle store (as I did), is about a plane full of teenage pageant girls crash landing on what seems to be a desert island. But it's not just about pageants and Lost-esque islands. What really impressed me was its commentary on society, femininity, feminism and what it means to be a woman (or girl) in the modern world. It was funny, it was thought-provoking and it was the perfect read for the train (and whenever I had down time in the hotel). If you're looking for a good book to read this summer - on the subway, on the beach or in your backyard - definitely pick it up.

Back in Action

Almost a month later, I'm back. Last time I posted I was getting ready to leave home for New York City and a new job waiting for me there. A lot has happened in the past month.

• I moved to New York, starting out (aka spending two weeks) by sleeping on a family friend's pullout couch
• I started my job, fashion credits assistant at Lucky Magazine (which won't change this blog an this blog does not reflect my employer) (I've always wanted to say that)
•  Bought my first pair of real designer shoes (thanks to a Manolo Blahnik sample sale)
• Found an apartment in a physically and emotionally exhausting whirlwind
• Moved into my apartment with my roommate (still a work in progress)
• Met my Sweet Lemon editor Carly (as well as bloggers Nicole, Mackenzie and Stephanie) and helped put out the 4th issue of Sweet Lemon Magazine
• Got my first real paycheck

It's kind of hard for me to believe that I'm a real adult, living and working in New York City. I saw my family this past weekend and felt like I should be going home with them. And unlike in school when I had defined breaks, I'm not sure when I'll see them next (though I'm planning on taking the train down in a couple weeks). Instead of being defined by classes and exams and vacations my life is more of an open expanse now. Sure, I have work five days a week and that part is defined, but I have no idea what exactly I'll be doing in five years. For now though, I love my job and I love New York. And I miss blogging. So, I'm coming back to it (in part due to inspiration from the ladies mentioned above). It might not be everyday - I'm still settling into my work routine - but it will be here. I promised suburbs to city and I'm going to deliver. And in the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter @_hannahoward, Instagram @hannamariehoward, on Tumblr and on Pinterest.