[A stroll through Central Park.]

A Monday morning stroll through Central Park, followed by brunch on the Upper West Side and a pop into a little antique shop. All with this guy. Can we think of morning I'd love more? No. We cannot.

[Valentine.]

{Early morning break-in. Box of presents outside my bedroom door. Cupcakes. Red roses. Pink tutu. Sparkly tiara. Rosies for the roomies, too. Impressed.}

{Cupcake for breakfast. Cupcake for midnight.}

{Red skirt. Pink blouse. Fuschia coat. And gold, of course gold.} 

{"FYI, I treat Valentine's Day like St. Patrick's Day. And you're not wearing pink or red..." *pinch* <-- Me. To everyone. NOT obnoxious at all.}

{Surprise flowers delivered to work. Huge surprise. Office spectacle. Smiling girl.}

{Darth Vader candy dispenser. Best friend. May the force of love be with you.}

{Film festival. Wendy for Wife. Seriously. I'm looking at you, sir.}
{Tiara and tutu and wand. Twirling. Princessing. New favorite.}
{Favorite holiday. Still. Still!}

[Midnight cupcake.]

Nothing wrong with a black & gold cupcake for breakfast and a pink & red cupcake at midnight. Thank you to the one who was thoughtful enough to gift me these. I was a spoiled little girl today, that's for sure. A blissful sugar coma awaits me tonight.

But until then...Valentine's Day is over in DC, but not in Chicago and all that lies west of there, which is good enough for me. So, a cupcake in bed and a midnight movie. This is what one does at times like these, you know.

[V-day: Pink & Red.]

clockwise, from top left:

neon riviera cuff / atmosphere print / notebook / macarons / clutch / top

[On a Wednesday afternoon...]

source

What a thing to do.

What a thing to choose.

But no, in some way, I'm there with you.

Up against the wall, on a Wednesday afternoon.

Just keep following the heartlines on your hand.

Just keep following the heartlines on your hand.

Keep it up, I know you can.

Just keep following the heartlines on your hand.

Just discovered "Heartlines" by Florence + the Machine. So beautiful. Love. On repeat.

[Perfect Pair: Red, White, & Blue.]

1* / 2

*Photo of a friend, Jessie. She's fabulous. Check her out!

[Perfect Pair: Machine.]

1 / 2

[Kate Spade's Cha Cha Chocolate!]

Guys. GUYS. We all know how much I adore Kate Spade: My iPhone case (valentine to self). My gold purse (break up present to self). My shiny wallet (RIP Prada wallet present to self). My etiquette books (fall present to self). Every month this year they've rolled out a color of the month, and this month's color is chocolate. It seems that Kate Spade is finally aware of my love for their brand, as one of the products they're rolling out for this month is Cha Cha Chocolate! It's basically all the things I love -- Kate Spade, dark chocolate, and RED, plus it's named after me. I'm dying. If anyone ever wanted to know the key to my heart, this. is. IT.

Come to Cha Cha!

[Fashion Week Favorites: RED]

This is the first of probably a million fashion week posts. Maybe I was bored last week, or maybe the sartorial abyss that is Washington, DC finally got to me...but I couldn't get enough of Fashion Week.

So without further ado, HELLO red. You know my love of this color...I'd paint the world red if I could, including all the people...

Top: Oscar de la Renta //Bottom: ADAM, Jenny Packham, Carolina Herrera

Images via nymag.com.

[And then I dropped my iPhone in chocolate frosting.]

This week I went to a cupcake decorating class with Steph. Though my life is complete now that I know how to make a rubber ducky cupcake, the apple was my favorite as it hit some pretty key items on my favorite things list: sweet, red & sparkly. They're all pretty fun to make though, so if you ask me extra extra nicely and tell me that I'm pretty, I'll make you a dozen of any of these fun cupcakes.

[Pretty little things.]

[so.]

So in love

[with everyone and everything]

right now.

[a thing or two.]

[Oscars recap of little importance.]

1. Whoever came up with the Franco/Hathaway idea should be severely reprimanded. She was too giggly, and he could not have been more blasé. Let's get Sandra in there next year, shall we?

2. I L.O.V.E.D. Mandy and Mila's dresses--precious and perfect, both of them. Jennifer Hudson killed it with her ridiculous new body, while Gwyneth didn't have quite enough bod to fill out her dress. And Scarlett was boring and, as usual, obese. Meanwhile, at our viewing party (hosted by Stefi--thanks!), Domineau stunned in her ball gown, and I sparkled in leggings.

3. Lindsey and I tied for first place in our ballot competition--Art History majors for the win!

4. As always, my love for Marky Mark grows stronger by the minute...

5. Melissa Leo's non speech. ... ... ... ... That really can just never happen again.

6. I made the ballots for our prize-less contest, mostly just so I could have the excuse to play around with fonts and red paper. They functioned well as coasters.

What did you think of the show?

[went to new york. took some pictures of cupcakes. the usual.]

1. Magnolia cupcakes, obviously a staple of any New York weekend.
2. This may be the creepiest picture I've ever taken, but it was also strategic. You'll never guess what was behind the cupcake.
3. Look who I bumped into in New York! My sister! Weird...
4. Aftermath of a Cafe Lalo session with Lauren. (Plates' contents were inhaled too quickly to be photographed.)

[Re: Steph.]

On Valentine's Day, my lovely former college roommate, fellow Smithsonian worker bee, and occasional sub-for-boyfriend Steph surprised me at my office with roses and chocolate, and made my little day. It's made all the difference in the world to have her living ten minutes away and working just down the street, available for spur of the moment cupcake runs, meltdowns, and other staples of our twenty-two year old lives.

Thanks, Estephania! So glad we were put together in this world again!

an assortment of vday things.

1 & 2 - sweets and treats for last night's party.

3 - valentines i made for my lovies.

4 - perfect valentine roses from my love.

I would like to wish you a happy Valentine's Day.

LOVE

Just some pictures we took right before the madness of our massive Valentine's Day party last night.
Dearest roomies, I [LOVE] you!

A weekend in Chicago.

Last month my sister Kelly and I were so lucky to be able to visit our uncle in Chicago for a weekend. I think the last time the three of us spent time like that together must have been at least 14 years ago, before the other kiddies were born, so it was such a treat to play with our uncle for the weekend and feel like little girls again. Two of my highlights were riding the ferris wheel on Navy Peer, with its beautiful views of the shoreline and Lake Michigan (including that darling little lighthouse), and just hanging out in our uncle's apartment, which had pretty amazing nighttime views. We had a fabulous weekend, but after trekking the city in single-digit weather, I concluded that Chicago in January is best enjoyed from a warm studio with a view, deep dish pizza, and family.