Candace Bushnell: Making This Summer Hot.

This year will be a year

that I remembered for many reasons.

I moved to England.

I started my dream job.

I contemplated an affair with a Croque Madame in Paris...

and I became obsessed with Candace Bushnell.

Remember last year when I received 

the surprise signed copy of The Carrie Diaries 

?

I soooo underappreciated that.

Had it been this year,

it would have been a different story.

I.would.have.flipped.out.

True, I'm a little late in the game.

Candace Bushnell's already been a legend for years

for the creation of Sex & The City...

but what can I say?

Endless hours on British public transport

have provided the perfect setting for me 

to get immersed in her books for hours upon end.

In fact, I finished the last pages 

of my only remaining Bushnell book, Trading Up,

  on my way home from London last night.

As fate would have it, I soon learned 

that the new sequel to last year's prequel

of Sex and the City,

Summer and the City

goes in store today

at Barnes & Noble.

Just in time for summer,

and just in time to keep my addiction fed.

image via

Britain's Got Talent

Susan Boyle.

David Beckham.

Jude Law.

There's no denying that this tiny island is packed with talent.

So it comes as no surprise

 to watch the twitter world go crazy

after yesterday's announcement 

of the UK's first shelter e-zine,

 Heart Home.

Led by a stunningly clever and cute trio

from the centre of London's design community

Arianna, Carole, & Daniel

are announcing the premier issue for this September.

After tonight's dinner with Arianna & Carole 

(and my darling friend, Helena),

 at the always delicious Busaba Thai,

now having to wait the entire summer 

for the launch issue in September seems a bit painful!

Heart Home is going to have tons of gorgeous British homes,

loads of quirky & unique features,

and most importantly?

It will have an unabashed, cool, British vibe 

that will inevitably leave you tingling.

Can I get an "amen?"

Monday Moods: I feel... louvrely.

I'm coming home from a weekend in Paris

where the hub has been playing basketball

in the European MBA Olympics.

{Is that hilarious? Yeah, I agree.}

So while he was busy sweating it out

against Cambridge, INSEAD, & London School of Economics...

I got cozy with

Caravaggio, Velazaquez, & Delacroix.

But the most inspiring point of my day?


Walking out of the Louvre
 to a scoop of pistachio from an ice cream cart
and a sunny nap in the Tuileries.

*images original to Aspiring Kennedy

Why I Love... Graphic Image.

Back in my previous life,

I had a "cool job."

You know the type, don't you?

The only dress code is to look good,

you travel to exotic locations and stay at the best hotels,

you're friendly with buyers and editors,

& you make a hilariously small salary 

that leaves you feeling extremely broke 

among the glossy world you work in?

Yup. If that's the criteria,

then I once had a very cool job.

I think my favorite part of it was the trade shows.

They are so much work, 

but they always brought such adventures and stories.

After a few shows, 

you start to develop a nose for the important buyers.

...Bendel, Saks, Harrods, Barneys...

You start to remember each other from previous shows and meetings,

and it gets easier to be prepared...

but the easiest buyers to spot 

are always from Neiman Marcus & Bergdorf Goodman.

While they might have their buyer's badge hidden in their handbag,

they all carry the same tell-tale object in their hands:

A Graphic Image Diary.

You can spot those giant planners half way down the convention center aisles...

and boy, are they gorgeous.

Graphic Image is a family owned company out of New York 

that sits above the rest of the over-saturated leather market

with their gorgeously unique line 

of luxe everyday items.

I'm sure you've seen their goods before-

but as their website quotes:

"We're the biggest brand that nobody's ever heard of."

It's true.

You'd recognize their handiwork in a heartbeat,

but most people never know their name.

Graphic Image pieces are so lovely 

no label is needed to sway the customer into the purchase.

At stores like Bergdorf & Barneys- 

that speaks volumes.

A teal, leather dictionary?

(Why, yes, I do have one of these!)

Metallic passport covers?

(As if international travel wasn't swanky enough!)

But the planners...

they have my heart.

I'm waiting patiently

until the day comes

when I have my own...

with my initials monogrammed at the bottom

like all the BG & NM buyers.

And the day that happens?

Well, I'll know then that I'm actually cool.

Paris Or Bust.

Every spring, European MBA programs

get together for some friendly "Olympics"... in PARIS.

So, I'm happily taking my place as a WAG

("wives and girlfriends")

and heading out for the fun

as Tyler plays basketball for Oxford.

We won't be staying with the school

(we rented our own apartment in Paris through this site)

and not really missing out on the 12 hour bus ride

(advance Eurostar tickets for £69 r/t).

Besides the obvious reasons you get giddy about going to Paris,

I'm excited to go with Tyler...

he's never been!

We'll be spending the next five days

walking all the sites, eating all the food, 

shopping for more fun things for FOUR SALE,

and scouring all the museums loaded with gorgeous art.

It's hard to think of Paris 

without thinking of all the massively important art.

Which is why I think it's perfectly normal

to want to bring home some Parisian art of own's one.

Perhaps these are a bit less sophisticated 

than the beauties at the Louvre and D'Orsay, 

but I do find them quite clever.

via

via

via

If you could spend an afternoon gazing 

at one piece of art

or one artist's work...

what would you choose?

FOUR SALE

I love getting emails from readers

that ask me where/what/who I am wearing.

It makes me feel like I'm cool...

until I pathetically try to explain how I stumbled upon the noted item,

and long-windedly resolve that it would be impossible for them to have one, too.

"I found this really cool store in Cyprus 

and they were on sale for 1/2 off."

"Well, it is (insert cool designer here), 

but I had a coupon 

at an employee sample sale 

where my cousin worked."

You get the picture.

So today, while I was buying things 

for my friends off their wish lists

(a.k.a: "If you ever see anything cool for me in Europe 

like (insert cool object here),

will you snag it for me and I'll pay you back?"... 

I had an idea.

I'll buy a few extras and sell them to you on my Etsy site.

That way, you can get in on the action

for the same cool price I get it at.

 I won't be making money,

 just trying to share the love...

and my prime access to European retail.

Kind of brilliant, right?

I'm only going to buy four of any item, ever.

(Because I can't risk buying a ton of stuff you might not like. Sorry!)

It's a fun little concept called:

FOUR SALE

(You know, because there is only four of each piece.)

I'll let you know when I find something cool

and grab a few extra for you guys.

Like these cute clutches I bought today.

They were really "Marc Jacobs-y" to me...

(well, the pink & orange clutch is. you'll see it in the shop)

And ultimately, they're just too awesome to not share.


* note: sold out! *

Pop-Up Shop

Most of you know-

 I've got a thing for popsicles.

I've been blogging about them for a while now

in hope that they might become the next "thing."

Cupcakes are fine, but we've all had our fill.

I'm ready to trade out for a tasty chill.

(Did you catch that rhyme?)

All I'm asking is this:

Can someone PLEASE make popsicles cool?

If you have the cash, the time, and the style-

I've already planned out 

the perfect plan for a popsicle paradise.

Imagine this:

A silver airstream trailer happily perched

 on a plot of bright green astroturf, 

surrounded a white picked fence

and oozing with kitsch.

The trailer cheerfully greets the masses

through a giant window with red checked curtains

where it hands out frozen delights like

the Ferrer Rocher drumstick,

the strawberry margarita snowcone,

& the blood orange dreamsicle

to it's happy patrons.

See?

All the hard work is done for you.

Now all that's left is for someone to

finance it, build it, manage it, & maintain it.

(Easy peasy.)

Do any of you have a fun menu item 

for this popsicle menu?

(... I double dog dare you to get in on this fun ...)

Monday Moods: I feel... apologetic.

For a long time,

I've ripped on cruises

for being cheesy, unoriginal, and mainstream.

I hadn't been on a cruise since early high school,

and in my mind-

had developed a bit of an snotty attitude 

towards the idea of them.

Well, I take it back!

Our Royal Caribbean cruise

through the Greek Isles was amazing.

We visited so many places in our 11 days,

and it would have been impossible to duplicate that journey

if it were just us traveling on our own.

(Venice, Corfu, Croatia, Crete, Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Olympia)

After planning so many vacations by ourselves,

it was heavenly to not have to think about 

where to stay at each new place,

what train/bus/plane to take to get there,

where to find a decent place to eat.

 I had even  forgotten how lovely turndown service can be...

The swan towels are slightly bizarre, but hey, I'll take it.

Royal Caribbean was clean, amazing friendly, 

and the food was so tasty, this snob is forever silenced.

these little pastries are dangerously addicting.

While there may be other trips 

that offer higher exclusivity and swankier crowds,

I would proudly say that our cruise 

was the most relaxing trip we have ever taken.

So I hereby apologize.

Royal Caribbean, I spoke to soon.

Thanks for giving me a second chance,

and sweeping me off my feet.

Have you ever cruised?

Did you love it as much as us?