In the Bag

What's in the bag? See for yourself..

Yes, this is the Hayden-Harnett Conrad bag from this post! I luurrrve it; it works both as a classic black bag for the office, AND dressy enough for meeting up with friends afterwards. The leather is super supple and soft (look at the shine on this baby!), and now I completely understand girls' love affairs with purses and handbags because I am officially OBSESSED. This marks several milestones - my first HH, and my first black bag.

The lining is gorgeous! I love peeking into my bag.

Compared to other girls' purses I've seen, I consider myself a light packer O.O Inside, I carry:

• small notebook with weekly to-do list and for jotting down random notes, + pens
• Lacoste wallet from Century 21
• Longchamp makeup bag with 1) Prescriptives Virtual Matte pressed powder, 2) Lancome Juicy Tube in Fruity Pop, 3) MAC Hello Kitty lipgloss in She Loves Candy, 4) MAC SlimShine in Ultra Elegant, 5) Kiehl's #1 lip balm, and 6) sample size of Prescriptives Virtual Matte foundation which are for emergencies but I've never used. I bet you can't tell I love lip stuff =)
• Neutrogena handcream
• 3G iPhone (I waited 4 hours in line the 2nd day it came out)
• elbow-length gloves to keep my phalanges warm, essential for NYC winter
• earmuffs - useful in theory but I don't like how they mess up my hair since they go around the head

Not shown but still in the picture is my Blackberry, which fits perfectly into the right external pocket, and my Metro card which lives inside the left outside pocket. When it comes to bags, I still need function in addition to fashion, so I love that this bag has so many pockets. Along with my building keycard and work keycard, sometimes I transfer my phone into the ingeniously magnetic (!) back pocket for easy access.

I must say, my first foray into the realm of purses was a success, and converted me into a believer.

Winter Warmerland

As a California girl who loves (and misses!) sweet sunshine-y shine, one of the biggest adjustments of moving to New York City was getting used to the cold. During October, it started to get chilly, and I brought out all my scarves, peacoats, and gloves. I suffered that week as my native NY friends made fun of my weak sauce ability to stand the cold, but I'd rather be lame and warm than cool and freezing.

I realized that there are 4 essential parts of the body that must be kept toasty, and if you do that, you'll be covered (literally). We'll start from the bottom up:

1) Cozy toes - Ever notice that it's harder to sleep when your toes are sticking out and freezing? For me, warm and happy toes are important to keeping the rest of me content. So after 4 years of resisting them in college, 2008 marks the winter when I finally gave in and bought Uggs. If you have them, you understand just how nice and fuzzy these are.  I chose the tall gray ones, which I haven't seen before in past seasons (left). For the rain and slushy snow about to come though, I'm hesitant to wear my Uggs. A girl definitely needs rain boots too. I really like the toe shape on the Jeffrey Campbell ones (right), but they are sold out at Nordstrom.

    

2) Gloves - Same idea as having your toes covered, phalanges are another external part  that will make the cold seem that much worse if exposed. I currently have a gray  cashmere pair, which are really warm due to the material, but they stretch out a bit, and I  want a more structured pair that will keep its shape, like these long leather ones from Saks or Portolano.

3) Scarves - Everyone has their favorites, or multiple favorites. I like cashmere ones for the warmth, and pashminas because they shed less on my wool coats. Recently, I've been trying to expand my toolbox of scarf-tying techniques, and ran into this helpful tutorial on Modcloth.com:

Scarf Tying 101, part 2

4) Earmuffs - Ears are the small peripheral parts we normally don't bother with, but in the cold, it's one of the first places to be afflicted by strong winds. I was recommended to get the 180s, which wrap around the head, but I find they're not as comfy for women to wear, as it clamps onto the hair and pushes it down. They're great for sporty activities though, like ice skating or running through Central Park with a ponytail. What I really want for Christmas are earmuffs that sit atop the head, like these Burberry ones, super cute!