When was the last time you pampered yourself? [what to do in ny]

When was the last time you pampered yourself?

My pampering thyself comes and goes.

In Pictures: Proenza Schouler Sample Sale 2012 [Soho sample sale NY]

The space at 74 Mercer Street. NOT 82 Mercer Street. 

NO PHOTOS were allowed to be taken inside the sale. I am not sure why. There is no intellectual property to steal. Maybe because there was no dressing rooms and a nipple shot could take place if you are not careful with where you point that camera. It was too chaotic to take any good pictures anyway. I took what I could "ninja style" but most came out blurry so I guess it's as if there were no photos taken at all. Get what you can from these photos but I'd say by the end of the day, half of the stocks would be gone as sizes and styles were depleted within the first hour after opening except for the more recent collections. There were plenty of sweaters and jackets and wool dresses left. I went in hoping to snag some items at $20 which I did..and even better, at $10!

If you thought the cheapest items would start at $20 as informed by many websites, there were misinformed as I saw plenty of tees and tops for $15-$20. There was a good amount of sheer tees for $15, sheer long sleeves at $20 and samples at $20 (see pics). Some really nicely tailored wool pants were at $30 (they were true samples as some had no size markings or labels). About 30 minutes later, the stock was depleted to half on those racks. You had to be quick to get a piece.

When doors opened, they let small groups in so that you can check-in your bags and then I saw some of the first girls RUN right towards the three bins filled with bags including totes (maybe 10-15 of them), lizard skin camera bags at $350 (orig. $4250), crossbodies (Spring 2011), summer mesh bags (see below. In black, white and black. There were plenty of the white and grey but there were no longer there when I left). A girl had 3-4 totes/bags in her arms..it was quite frustrating. I wanted just ONE! I heard there was only one wallet from this eco friendly limited edition collection and one girl had it. It's originally $125 so I don't know how much it was at the sale. There were a few remaining textile bags from Spring 2011 collections priced at $125-$250. I saw many pieces at under $100 mostly on the right side of the room. As I am not familiar with the collection I suppose whatever is on the left which were above $150-$500 are from Fall/Winter/Summer 2012.

There was ONE goddarn mirror in the whole place and girls undressed and dressed right in front of 3 tall security agents. They didn't seem like pervs or interested in looking so you're safe.

The line was gone by 11 a.m. and all the bargain hunters already checked out with their new totes and samples by then. No stock replenishments I heard.

The line at 9:10 a.m.

The line at 9:55 a.m. I could not see the end.

spot that tote!

These top were $20 I think

Scuba tank at $10. Size M. There were probably 3 of this top. 

$20 soft sheer long sleeves

$15 for a sheer tee in neon yellow

My new old collection Spring 2011 Lizard skin camera bags

The bag bin had totes but were gone within minutes. That mesh tennis bag was $250. Lots of Spring 2011 striped bags.

Dresses

Thanks Sample Sally and RackedNy for the link!

xx

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Hobo in Hoboken [What to do in NY..or New Jersey]

Hoboken Pier A Park Esplanade

On a lazy Sunday, D and I didn't really want to go out or do anything. He was coming down with a cold and it was hot out but we felt like we should be out there playing in the sun. For me, it was to soak in as much fun during the Summertime before Fall's arrival and for D, I have no idea. I would have rather stayed in bed if I had a cold but I think he came out to make me happy but I know he loves to play too :) "I'm the worst gf ever" he commonly expresses.

I had mentioned to him that we should explore areas previously unchartered like we have done for most of Manhattan or Brooklyn (especially Williamsburg). We came up with a couple of boroughs such as Long Island, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Governor's Island ..but nothing that sparked our interest for our lazy Sunday afternoon. Hoboken NJ came to mind all of a sudden AND it would take us less than 25-30 minutes to get to if we caught all the trains on time. Going to Jersey became the best option out of all others. Hop on the L train and then the PATH (directly to Hoboken, 1 stop after Christopher St.), t'was perfect!

We arrived to Hoboken and had lunch at a nasty Thai restaurant called Sri Thai. Do not go there no matter how hungry you are. I was hungry but that pad thai was so bleh. There were so many options on Washington street however, we were turned off by all the bistros and bars on the main street serving beer and brunch and wanted to eat somewhere quiet. I guess next time we'll stick to the popular areas.

We strolled up Washington Street and I visited a couple of shops (tax-free on clothes in NJ!). For those who watch Cake Boss, Hoboken is where Carlo's bake shop is located. I have never watched the show before and do not know why there's a hype about it. There were no ridiculously long line up like people say but many tourists took pictures as they passed by. We walked back down Court St. and stopped by Rita's for some water ice (lemon pieces in the ice, mmm) and then finally went up to the Pier A park esplanade by the waterfront where I took lots of pictures with my phone. By that time, D with his stuffy nose and continuous perspiration was craving to go home and so we left but it seemed like just the perfect amount of time spent in Hoboken.

Turns out there's alot more to do in this city. Click here to find out more. I could try kayaking for free on the Hudson next time or visit Frank Sinatra's birthplace.

My bun is slowly being dismantled by the speedy wind

Tshirt: Tee I bought at a Lykke Li concert which I should wear more often.

Bracelet: Kate Spade + Garance Dore *wait for online promo codes to save $$! **The bracelet was sold out online and I had to order it from a store in Vegas and got a little extra discount on top of discount for my troubles.
Sandals: Aqua on sale at Bloomies.
Shorts: @Rag and Bone sample sale
Tote bag is a gift from my friend and is made in Montreal

My coral bracelet

Me posing awkwardly to show off the bracelet. Downtown with the city's tallest building underway to its glory

I heart Lykke Li

Clock tower ferry building

I've only been to Hoboken once before and it was a short stop. It was on the first night I arrived to NY to visit D for 3 weeks right before the Christmas holidays in 2009. We were on our way to Brooklyn from Newark airport and D brought me there so that I can see the beautiful Manhattan skyline (or to romantically make out with me?). It was dark, cold and beautiful. Seeing it was believing. I am in New York city. Little did I know at the time that I would actually be moving here. I still remember the moon barely giving me enough light to work with my camera in the dark to capture the magical sight. I also remember freezing my goddamn face off and wanted to get back in the car as quickly as possible.

An SLR newbie, I didn't take one good picture that night. I blame the cold of course.

View of the skyline from Hoboken in Dec 2009

The Empire State building. At that time, the World Trade Center was not built yet.

Photos by me

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In pictures: AFROPUNK festival 2012 [photos]

The entrance

I went to Afropunk festival to see my in-law Bill Campbell (my sister's husband's sister's husband) promoting his new book "Koontown Killing Kaper". I got myself a signed copy with complimentary poetry :)

This was my first time at the festival and it seemed pretty awesome if I had known all the bands. There were the more popular ones that I know such as Erykah Badu, Gym Class Heories, Janelle Monae and more all playing for free! There was a skate and bike show, live mural painting. Vendors and Food trucks were a plenty and as the day progressed, the crowd size increased exponentially. Also, seeing all the hip hop funk street style was awesome. I felt so out of place but enjoyed the crowd very much.

It's a two-day event (August 25th and 26th) at Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn!

Writer Bill Campbell hustling his book: Koontown Killing Kaper

The line up of food trucks

One truck I knew I would try and did! Taiwanese bian dan truck

Before the crowd gathered

Ninjasonik

Main stage

Afropunk style

The sea of people trying to enter when I left

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Early bird gets the worms [Bird Warehouse Sample Sale 2012]

Early bird gets the worm! I certainly was not early but wished I was..

I thought the Bird warehouse sale started on Saturday and not on Friday so that was my mistake. I got there an hour after opening (I could have been earlier if I didn't go to the wrong Brooklyn store in the first place which was on Smith St.) and was surprised AND disappointed everything was almost gone. I actually didn't realize I was not there on day 1 of the sale until I got home. It is a three day sale (runs through tomorrow August 26th) and on day two, most smaller sizes were cleared out. I saw a lot of sole pieces left and they were mostly M or L size. The prices were really amazing though.

The first thing I went to was the jeans rack and grabbed the last pair of size 27 jeans. The rest were mostly sizes 30 and 31.

Buttery Repetto flats

I saw cute Repetto shoes in size 36 for only $59 (they are regularly $250+). I wished I could squeeze into a 36 but alas. There were only two pairs of 7s left in the shoe department.

Large PS1 at $1380

BUT, I was surprised to see this bag. If I had $1380, then I could have at least get my hands on a delicious large taupe/mocha PS1 bag sitting pretty on a shelf. So tempting right? A PS1 on sale. Maybe people are saving up for the Proenza Schouler sample sale coming up next week.

Current Elliots

I couldn't believe I saw some Current Elliot's popular 'White Star' jeans at $89 (reg. $215) but only two pairs left in sizes 30-31 left! Other than that, I have nothing else to report. Most of the jewelry at the store can be found on their online sale.

I imagined warehouse sales to be loaded with more goodies than this...there was no stock replenishment whatsoever. Oh well. I got a pair of Citizen for Humanity jeans which made my day. I can now throw out these bootcut jeans that has a growing gap in the crotch area.

Plenty of these shoes left at $19. I like the patterns!

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Kiki de Montparnasse Sample Sale 2012 [Soho]

I'd wear this out to a hot partay

I was in Soho stopping by my usual salon to get my wax on (wax off). I painfully and slowly walked down Spring to go to the subway station and saw the Kiki de Montparnasse store. Then I remembered reading on Sample Sally who wrote about checking out the sale which started yesterday. I have only been to the store once before when I moved to NY (D waited for me outside) to see what the celebrity hype was all about and the place to shop for your honeymoon (Wait, I think I might be mixing it up with Agent Provocateur). I think there was a holiday sale going on but I still couldn't afford anything at all even with the deep discounts. So I thought I'd check out the sale out of curiosity since I was there anyway. There was no price list or anything and I got excited when the sales lady told me the discount was at 75% off everything except the cashmere leggings. I had forgotten the price tags for their lingerie were high and could be comparable to buying a Macbook air! Oh those beautiful silk underwear...maybe some other time I thought as I touched every smooth silky thing on every rack. There were these undies that stood out because there was a space on the back that exposes your upper butt cheeks which I suppose is for spanking purposes. I didn't leave the store empty handed though. I got me some 'French Lesson' panties that says "Spank Me" and "Eat Me" for $18.75 after discount which is probably the cheapest thing at the sale! There were also some 'Aime moi (Love Me)' panties but that's not dirty enough for me ;). Note that there were only XS sizes left of these panties at the sale but they are stretchy.

Since Sample Sally and some girls covered the prices and details of the sale pretty well, here are just more pics.

Sexy panties

Honeymoon gear

Lace is so pretty.

I would love to sleep in this silk gown

75% off $1195 is....not cheap enough for me :)

Naughty nurse

Aqua is always a good color but not on me

Mmm lace

I really like those bras

You can pay $100+ for barely anything!

I really liked these silk shorts

They were over $1100 at 50% off.

Spank me.

So..dirty..I like it! I'd put this on a cake..

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