This one is from the summer, hence the insane tan we're all rocking. And no, we did not coordinate our jewelry: it just happened to work out that way. I'm the arm on the right, wearing a vintage jade bracelet, bronze & rust-colored wrap bracelet from Madewell and my favorite Jet Set watch in horn by the genius Michael Kors.

In the fashion vault of history, MK will go down from his 'Jet Set' line of timepieces. It seems like everyone I know owns at least one watch from this line...for good reason. They come in every single color, and in varying face sizes and levels of b-l-i-n-g. If you don't have one, check 'em out. I'm not usually a watch girl, but I've worn mine almost daily and I'm nowhere near getting tired of it.

xox,

Happy Black Friday to everyone! I'm currently sitting at home with a mouthful of gauze. No worries since I prefer to do my shopping in bed when I can, especially since I'm rocking some serious chipmunk cheeks.

That won't keep me from posting today's Friday Finds, which centers around my recent trip to NYC: what I wore and what I bought. Get excited.




Sunday was such lovely warm weather, so I decided to pair a a cranberry colored silk shirt dress {a thrifting find that had been floor length before a serious hemming-session} with black boots and tights. We braved the city jacket-less but I brought along with my favorite gray & white infinity scarf, just in case.
My high school BFF is lucky enough to live in a gorgeous apartment in the middle of Hell's Kitchen, so we were in close proximity to visit the Fashion District and start our shopping spree in Times Square, eventually making our way to Rockefeller Center. {Unfortunately, Tina Fey was M.I.A.}




A very conveniently placed LOFT resulted in a serious bling upgrade: thanks to a massive sale, I was able to snag a jeweled golden chain cuff, two simple stretch bands and a white & gold striped infinity scarf. Say what you want about Ann Taylor, LOFT never lets me down when it comes to the frosting. {How to Lose a Guy references will be appreciated here.}


This cuff matched my outfit perfectly--so clearly a sign from the fashion gods. I am obsessed with how perfectly it matches my dress and my favorite watch. It was too good a deal to pass up, and I was too excited not to wear it out of the store. I'm not the only who does that, right?




The rest of my sparkly loot will be making an appearance soon, with a more gold-themed outfit. Funny how everything seems to match each other. It took me longer than I'll care to admit to realize that the lightweight tan and gold striped scarf was actually an infinity scarf...and once I did, I was smitten.


A little retail shopping later and it was time for me to head home, but not without one more, less organized shopping stop....






Having felt a bit a bored during my latest thrifting adventures, and unable to afford anything at the lovely store windows I was tempted by, I had decided that (time allowing) NYC would be the perfect place to take my second-hand shopping to the next level: pay by the pound! After extensive research a quick yelp search, I came across Green Village, a warehouse of  clothing and furniture located in Brooklyn that fit my budget: pricing was $2/lb {with a 5 lb maximum.} So off we went, in search of buried treasures in the land of the hipsters.




Luckily for me, my thrifting partner in crime was down for the challenge, and so, two non-New Yorkers went off in search of adventure! After a bit of difficulty navigating the freeways of Manhattan we made our way into Brooklyn and found what we were looking for. Furniture was pilled inside and out of the two-story tall warehouse with many rows of blazers, winter jackets and various clothing by the front entrance. As you can see from the photos above, this place meant serious business and required lots o' patience to find what you had come looking for.






























When visiting larger thrifting stores, it's a good idea to walk around the place: get your bearings, and figure out which sections strike your fancy and which ones you could care less about. We were there for clothes and accessories {surprise, surprise} and decided to avoid the back rooms filled with scrap metal and furniture. After a an hour of digging through racks and scanning of the section of bags & boots, we tallied up our damage. To our disappointment, the pay-by-the-pound deal only applied to the piles of clothing in the back--a dimly lit area that was too cold to spend much time in. Instead, we opted to pay tag price for the more select pieces from the front racks. My only purchase was a good one: a light brown, unapologetically Birkin-style tote with a faux-croc embossed flap and fringe. Totally awesome at only $12.

It's a perfect handbag size: not too big to be cumbersome, but large enough to hold what daily essentials. Plus, the inner dividers will hopefully keep me more organized than purses of the past. I can't get over the fringe detail on the front and the embossed "Biki" label which reminds of: a. '70s era Biba fashion, and b. the manufacturers not-so subtle acknowledgement of the Hermes "Birkin" silhouette that this bag so clearly emulates.


All in all, my Sunday of shopping was a success! I've still got the pay-by-the-pound bug and am searching for more stores that offer it, just a little bit closer to home.

xox,