NYFW Spring 2014: Day Three Top Picks

If there is ever a reason to get up early on a Saturday morning, Fashion Week is it! Here are my top looks from Saturday's shows.

Mara Hoffman

Snacks & Treats to Kick Off Football Season

I know that football season officially started on Thursday night, but since my Patriots don't play until tomorrow afternoon the season hasn't really started for me yet. Obviously the most important part of watching the game is your favorite team winning, but next on the list is definitely the food. 

NYFW Spring 2014: Day Two Top Picks

New York Fashion Week is in full swing. These are my favorite Spring 2014 looks from day two. I admit that this post is heavy on the Kate Spade but everything was so cute! I just couldn't help myself. Enjoy!

Rachel Roy

NYFW Spring 2014: Day One Top Picks

After much anticipation New York Fashion Week has finally arrived! I could hardly concentrate at the office today because I kept hopping on Style.com to see all the show looks and reviews. I'll get straight to the fashion. These are my top picks from day one.

Red Valentino

Thursday Night Cocktail: Honeycrisp Apple Sangria

Image and Recipe via Nutmeg Nanny

Why ease into the fall season? I say jump in head first with this apple infused drink!

Yield: 5 - 6 Cups

Ingredients

2 Honeycrisp Apples

One 750-milliliter Unoaked Bottle Chardonnay

1/2 cup Peach Schnapps

1/4 cup Orange Blossom Honey

2 Oranges - 1 Quartered

1 Lemon - Quartered

1 Lime - Quartered

2 Cinnamon Sticks

2 Quarter-size Slices of Fresh Ginger

3 Whole Cloves

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

Ice

Club Soda

Directions

Peel, core and chop one of the apples. In a bowl, combine the Chardonnay, schnapps and honey. Add the quartered orange, lemon, lime, cinnamon sticks, chopped apple, ginger and cloves and refrigerate overnight. (If you don't want to wait that long at least give it 4 hours)

Strain the sangria into a pitcher. Peel, core and finely chop the remaining apple. Peel, section and chop the remaining orange. Mix the apple and orange in a bowl.

On a small plate, blend the sugar and cinnamon. Moisten the rims of wine glasses and dip in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Fill the glasses with ice. Pour in the sangria until three-quarters full. Top with a splash of club soda. Garnish with a spoonful of the chopped apple and orange.

Happy Fall!

Is It Fall Yet?

Signs that fall has arrived - The Halloween displays at my local Home Goods, the introduction of the pumpkin everything menus at Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks and the scary mob of college students at Target over the weekend.

Signs that fall has not arrived - The trees in my neighborhood are as green as can be, there is a distinct lack of Cortland apples at the grocery store, (please come soon, I want apple pie!) and the fact that I broke a sweat walking from my car to the office yesterday morning.

Fall is my favorite time of year, party because of the yummy food and most definitely because of the fashion! This is what I am looking forward to the most this season:

Fresh Apple Cider Donuts

My Mom's Homemade Apple Pie

Wearing my Favorite DKNY Tights

Apple Picking

Celebrating Three Family Birthdays in October

Attending a Friends Thanksgiving

Breaking Out my Favorite Boots and Booties

Football on Sunday's (Go Patriots!)

So, what are you looking forward to this fall?

Blogger Note: Beautiful Image at the Beginning of the Post is from Micky via Flikr Creative Commons

Street Chic: Sienna Miller

I've been a huge Sienna Miller fashion fan since she first appeared on the scene in 2004. She has a natural, easy style and it is well known within the industry that she opts to choose her own outfits rather than use a professional stylist. It's easy to see why - the woman doesn't need any help in the fashion department. 

Tuesday Morning Pick Me Up: Life is a Party!

Labor Day 2013

I hope everyone has a lovely Labor Day! I will be back tomorrow morning with a TUESDAY Morning Pick Me Up and a Street Chic post. 

Image Credit: TurtleDish via Flickr Creative Commons

Hey, Check This Out: Uber Boston

Over the past couple of months, all my friends have been raving about the car service Uber, but I had never tried it myself because I much prefer to drive my own car. Uber is basically like hiring a private car to take you from point A to point B. They have an app that you download onto your phone and once you sign up and register a method of payment, you are good to go. Your phone signal tells them your exact location, you can choose the kind of car you want (there are four options, the cheapest being a Toyota Camry) and once you hit the order button, the nearest car heads right over to pick you up.

My first Uber experience happened last Thursday afternoon when I had an appointment in Brighton and taking my car was not an option because it was being held hostage in my garage while they paved the road leading to the garage entrance. Note to self: pay better attention to those notices telling you when the road will be closed!

I was pretty annoyed about having to take a cab because the taxi system in Boston is awful. There aren't nearly enough cabs, they take forever to arrive when you order them, and some don't accept credit cards even though they are required to by law.

Downloading the app and joining was super easy, and once I ordered my Uber X car (a Toyota Camry) I was told when the car would arrive (six minutes) and was sent a confirmation text message letting me know that my car was on it's way. Once they assign you a driver, their picture pops up on your phone so that you can make sure that the person that arrives is an official Uber driver. Loved that!

About a minute before my driver arrived, I received another message letting me know that my car was about to pull up, plus a phone call from the driver himself. My Uber driver was incredibly friendly and provided a very smooth travel experience, and all for just $29 (including tip). Not bad for Charlestown to Brighton. Because Uber has your payment method on file, the fare and tip are all taken care of automatically and you are free to hop out of the car once you reach your destination. 

Shortly after you get out of the car you are sent another message with an option to rate your driver. I was happy to give my guy five stars. I took a second Uber car home from Brighton and I got the same great, friendly service. 

There aren't a lot of instances where I am not driving my own car, but if I ever do need a driver in a pinch, Uber is what I will be using. So glad I listened to my friends and gave Uber a try. 

Has anyone else tried Uber or a similar service? What did you think?

Blogger Note: The views expressed in this post are my own and I have no affiliation or partnership with Uber.