what to pack for tuscany

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After three nights in rome, one week in tuscany, and two nights in florence here is my take on what to pack during the months of september or october:

For the dark looks- one pair of black jeans, one brown suede jacket, one long black dress, one short navy silk dress, three black tanks, one pair black yoga pants, one pair black running or exercise pants, one long sleeved grey tee, one cropped black lightweight cardigan, one grey hooded sweatshirt, two lightweight v-neck long sleeved tees, one black, one brown, one black bikini with matching cover-up/dress, one pair Wolford black tights, one pair Wolford socks, one pair black athletic socks.

For the colored looks- two Roberto Cavalli dresses, one patterned sleeveless silk shell, one patterned long-sleeved silk blouse, one neutral silk dress, one silver rain-treated anorak, one pair of white shorts, one printed bikini for dear friend that forgot hers.

Must express complete adoration for the Roberto Cavalli dresses. Can’t say enough about the versatility of these two pieces. Have worn them often on many different trips and they continue to look, feel, and travel great. Both have seen northern california several times and the short-sleeved one was worn as a swimsuit cover-up and as dress on our Spring 2012 trip to turks & caicos. They never wrinkle and can handle with grace a five-pound vacation swing thanks to the stretch in the fabric content. They can be easily dressed up or down. Great investment. Yes, they might have cost a bit up front but they make getting dressed super quick and easy. Another bonus? I wash them myself in a front-load machine on cold and hang to dry. Unbelievable.

Accessories- Two soft unstructured bags that can be folded flat in dust bags and placed in luggage, one black, one neutral, one cashmere wrap, one oblong printed scarf, sunglasses, reading glasses, two small clutch bags, one black, one gold, for when you want to feel fancy or not carry a huge bag.

Shoes- Three pair black boots, one pair flats, one pair flat sandals, one pair chic, slim, packable sneakers. Before final packing took the black ones out pictured in photo and upgraded them to some pretty cool Stella McCartney ones, more on those later…

Just as important, here’s what not to pack:

Three pairs of jeans, you really only need one. Five sweaters, you only need one or at most two. High-heeled sandals, absolutely not, lugged those things all over and they never came out of their dust bag. Nine dresses, you only need six. That’s about twelve extra pounds of clothing that you just don’t need. Combine that with the ten pounds of the extra body weight I am always trying to lose and that’s a lot of poundage you can leave home. 🙂

Now for the good part- quite sure the look was right- from boarding to departure not once was I spoken to in English. Pretty much had to pretend I knew what they were all talking about. Every day dress.

florence to rome

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Breakfast on the terrace overlooking the river, sightseeing, champagne lunch, again outdoors, shopping, cab, train and cab again. It’s a good thing when your clothes work and play as hard as you do. Wore the same dress as from buffalo to JFK, this time changed the boots, bag, and had to get the hair up. Dress and boots were great as the day involved TONS of bag schlepping. Gym visit not needed when walking all day and handling luggage. When packing for your trip to Italy it’s a good idea to test drive your luggage quantity. Make sure you can handle the whole lot yourself up and down multiple flights of stairs. Also try hauling your bag(s) overhead- remember you need to load those bags in the overhead train compartments pretty much all by yourself.

Dear friend pictured here also wearing Worth New York. She manages multiple gyms and kids when home in buffalo and has like five minutes when she shops with me at one of my trunk shows. Picked out this great leather piece for her during the fall show. She wears it with her Worth New York Flannel White Lucy Jean and again, flat boots made for walking. In a city known for its’ leather goods, she rocked her leather look and received many many compliments.

It’s been quite a week and a half. First time at a desk since last week Wednesday, (still in rome), as today’s flight to JFK was cancelled. Husband’s flight will get him home to the states this evening. Me, rerouted tomorrow through London. Like photo uploading, can’t rush or predict the airlines. Every day dress to London, tomorrow.

Miss my girls. xoxo

Dress, as before, Worth New York’s Bark Puzzle Tweed Jersey Faux Wrap Dress, Fall 2012. Bag, Celine.

Dear friend, fitness fanatic and mom of four wear’s Worth New York’s Lattechino Leather Belted Sleeveless Jacket and Flannel White Denim Lucy Pant, Fall 2012. Bag, Prada. Sleeveless Jacket also available in Black.

 

lunch at avignonesi

 

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Six days in Tuscany so far and not even sure where to begin. Eight of us in total. Wine tasting and touring have kept us beyond busy and blessedly away from the internet. Decide to post about two of the heartbeats of this blog, what to wear and good food.

Day one in Monticchiello, lunch at the Cantina, and first bottle of wine was Avignonesi Il Marzocco Chardonnay Cortona. Loved it. Decided then that a visit to the winery was a must. Called from the villa the next morning and used best Italian to secure a same day tour and lunch reservation.

Dear friend dressed in Worth New York. Me, content writer and phototgrapher, wore a resurrected navy silk ADAM dress. We both wore low heeled Chanel boots and carried Chanel bags. No advance planning. Remember in high school when you and your friends all tried to dress alike to feel like you fit in? Some things remain the same…

Lunch was divine. Fashion and lifestyle tip while touring Tuscany in September? It’s hot during the day and you will be doing a ton of walking. Keep your footwear sensible but stylish. Fabric content and cut light but dress in dark colors. For mountain top breezes and short skirts make sure to wear your La Perla underneath. Unknown Italian men will thank you.

For more on Avignonesi, click here: www.avignonesi.it/.

For more on Worth New York, click here: www.worthnewyork.com.

 

 

 

 

dinner in rome

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Investing in beautiful clothing is a good thing. Dress you see here? Purchased ten years ago and still makes you feel alluring. Second time this dress has seen Italy. First time was eight years ago when younger sister was married in Tuscany. Oldest daughter, now twenty-two, actually wore it when she was fifteen to serve in the wedding party, can’t say the word bridesmaid. California sister has exquisite taste and let the wedding party choose our own attire, thank you Tracy. Looked and looked for a dress for oldest daughter to wear but couldn’t find anything better than what was already in the closet. Simple shoulder strap adjustment and all set. Dress, Lela Rose.

To keep things from looking too pretty added gutsy Loeffler Randall black leather booties with a substantial heel. Need the stability for walking cobblestone streets. Jerome Dreyfuss bag holds the camera and iPad. Invest in beautiful clothing, keep the good stuff and wear often, every day dress for dinner in Rome.

what to wear to rome

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Late night flight from JFK to Rome, Italy. Get through security, second time for the day, have some airport dinner, and ditch the dress. Slip into the women’s restroom and take off all of the day clothes. Put on some black skinny jeans with a good amount of stretch, black tank, layer a long sleeved tee over that, add a scarf and lightweight leather jacket, change the footwear to Jimmy Choo Youth Biker Boot, so comfortable, and we are good to go.

Stash the dress and Chanel Boy Boots back in the carryon, brush and floss the teeth, find an open outlet or two and juice up all tech gear. Board the plane, enjoy a glass of wine, and lights out.

Arrive in Rome, meet car, travel to hotel. It’s hot out there and husband wants to walk so out comes the dress, again, and jeans, tank, and tee are on the floor. Switch the footwear up so the feet feel fresh and out we go. Every day dress in Rome.

what to wear to jfk

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Busy, crazy day. Coffee meeting with Patti to discuss recruiting strategy was great. Thinking your juice cleanse will be what’s needed after this trip. Thanks for your help and inspiration.

Dressed in this new Bark Puzzle Tweed piece for running around all day and running to the airport for 4:43 pm flight. Chanel Boy Boot from last season was easy to slip on and off and made security a breeze.

Boarding now. Every day dress.

Bark Puzzle Piece Tweed Dress, Worth New York, Fall 2012.

last thursday night

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Simple post here: days have been busy with work and nights have been busy with fun. Last week Thursday good friends and neighbors invited us for dinner to celebrate the last few nights of summer 2012. Oh, what a night. Super GREAT time had by all. Had to get myself in bed by 8:30 pm Friday night. Thank you good neighbors. It was an excellent evening.

In keeping with their theme of summer nights even though fall fashion is all around us, did an outfit repeat of what was worn weeks ago to a party in July. Simply changed the shoes, darkened the nail color, and added navy cashmere wrap if needed, it wasn’t.

Have to say that this Carine Roitfeld collection for MAC is a winner. Shown here is one of the two nail colors; Underfire Red. Happy to report this one is man approved, husband doesn’t always go for or get the much loved Vamp.

Keep things easy, outfit repeat, every day dress.

 

clean out the fridge

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Okay, friends- fashion, food and lifestyle here: clothes, like groceries, have a shelf life.

Life comes at us fast. When feeling overwhelmed with the pace of it all we often dump our stuff on the floor and let the fridge go a bit.

With quickly facing a change of season it is prime time to clean the fridge and clean the closet. Closet can feel like a huge job, been there. My advice? To begin to get a sense of order start with the fridge. You know what to do. Follow Martha’s advice. Check that off the list, feel a sense of accomplishment, and move on to the closet.

Out goes anything you haven’t worn in twelve months. Anything you won’t fit into, big or small, and anything with stains or tears that can’t be repaired. White jeans and white tees really only look good for one season, maybe two at best, and need to be replaced. Donate what you don’t wear.

Figure out your favorites- real butter, half and half no low fat stuff, great coffee, great produce as related to great fitting jeans, silk blouses, and nice dresses. Buy frequently, use often, replace and replenish.

Your day will be easier when you get rid of the expired stuff. Food and fashion.

Today, for two hour committee walk through for Fall in Fashion 2012 luncheon, networking/recruiting phone calls, dinner at home and seventh grade math homework wore Worth New York’s Flannel White Streamliner dress from Spring 2012 and Manolo Blahnik kitten heel shoes. Husband loves the heel height, daughter’s don’t. Clean the fridge, clean your closet, and every day dress. xo

Talk to me, I like to write. It’s therapeutic and mind clearing. Every day dress has over 7,300 site visits. Thank you. Let me know what you would like to see more of.

 

seeing stars

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Yes, pretty much bought the entire Carine Roitfeld MAC collection. When a beautiful and intriguing 57 year old women pitches new makeup, count me in. Normally a Chanel fan but a switch up is good. Kind of like cross training and muscle confusion- to continually get results you need to keep things fresh.

Chose the darkest Full Face Kit- Jungle Camouflage. Super easy to use and mainly used fingers for application and blending. At the end took a shadow brush and kind of smudged the whole eye effort around. Lustre Tropical Mist lipstick with Stripdown lip pencil feet good on and balanced down the dark eye. Used Eye Brows pencil, Kohl Power Eye Pencil, Fluidline, and Brow Set.

To keep it interesting and to draw attention to the super dark eye makeup, used the Good Luck Star press-on stencils. Felt edgy and provocative, just as promised.  Will definitely repeat the look.

For Friday night dinner out wore Worth New York’s Black Plaid Asymmetrical Sheath, Fall 2012 Collection, Jimmy Choo shoes and Louis Vuitton bag. Fabric content of dress, 54% Viscose 24% Polyester 20% Wool 2% Elastane, provides great fit and ease of movement.

first day of school

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First day since early June 2012 that all kids were occupied. Oh, boy. Started the morning by picking up coffee for WNY Women’s Foundation Fall in Fashion Luncheon meeting and didn’t stop until after late 8th grade parent’s meeting and introducing myself to the new head of Elmwood Franklin School, a woman for the first time ever in the school’s history. Very good day.

What to wear on the first day of school was always a super big decision. So much so that I taught myself to sew and made many first day back to school outfits starting out in seventh grade. Still remember the navy skirt and khaki pants I made. Sewing skills last you a lifetime. Made prom dresses, made my dress, all five bridesmaids, and two flower girl dresses for back to school time September wedding.  Even remember the gray dress with yellow daisies I wore on the first day of kindergarten when I probably didn’t even talk yet. Husband can’t believe I remember events by what I wore; I can tell you explicitly the outfit I was wearing on our first date.

Yesterday, for first day of school, wore a dress. Of course. When your day goes non-stop a dress is the go to option. And when it’s an uber refined t-shirt shape that makes getting dressed even so much easier.

Upstate New York women mark your calendars for Friday, November 2nd. That day will bring us together at the Buffalo Club for the WNY Women’s Foundation Fall in Fashion 2012 Luncheon. Serving as one of the co-chairs this year and couldn’t be prouder- LOVE this piece of their tagline- We believe that when women and girls are secure, entire communities are stronger. You can visit their site at www.wnywomensfoundation.org. That’s my philanthropic project this fall. Been on this committee since it’s inception nine years ago and I can tell you what I wore each and every time. Every day dress.

Dress worn pictured at Hoyt Lake Rose Garden, Delaware Park, Buffalo, Worth New York Fall Winter 2011.