Bite Beauty Lab

After visiting The Met on Sunday to see China Through the Looking Glass, Alyssa and I went to the Bite Beauty Lab in Soho to sit down for a consultation with a color specialist to create custom lipsticks. I went with a Kylie Jenner inspired nude (which I was embarrassed to ask for) while Alyssa asked for a berry that looked like blood on her lips. Our specialist, Nicole was awesome and delivered exactly what we each asked for on her first "mix". 

Visit the Bite website to book your own appointment. Apparently weekends fill up pretty quickly, though we were the only customers in the lab at the time. Another exciting option is going with a group of friends, parties can be booked after hours (with champagne). If you have more than 10 people, you can book the entire lab for around $350! 

First you provide direction for what shade you're looking for and then your specialist mixes the shades in front of you and allows you to try them on until your specifications have been met. Apparently not everyone loves the shade on their first mix, so she was pretty happy with us that we loved the shades right away. 

After determining your mix, you pick your scent (we both opted for mint and vanilla) and your bullet shape (lipstick lid). 4 lid designs are available and all are mirrored on the shape that lipsticks develop into after the wearer applies them several times. 

Your personal recipe is then made by cutting pieces of these lipstick "bon bons" that match the shades available in the jars in my first picture. 

The bon bons are then melted down in jars and your scent is added. 

Once the shade is confirmed to match the shade from your mix, it's then poured into a lipstick mold and placed on a frozen metal plate to set for about 5 minutes and then your lipstick is very carefully inserted into the bullet! Mine set in the first pour, but Alyssa's needed a second pour as hers crumbled when the mold was initially opened, but that only cost us another 5 minutes or so. 

Bite has the cutest business card!

At the end of your session, you'll receive your personalized lipstick ($36-$48) and a recipe card for you to come back with in the future should you wish to recreate your shade! Having a "custom lipstick" definitely feels a bit self indulgent and unnecessary, but I love unnecessary shit!

China Through the Looking Glass

Guys, you have until September 7th to get yourself to The Met to see this exhibit. It was absolutely beautiful. My best friend and I attend the costume institute exhibits every year for the past 5 or so years but this one was one of my favorites (Savage Beauty will likely be #1 forever). This exhibit spans several galleries and floors and feels endless (in a good, but also slightly confusing way). I'd say that of all the exhibits we've seen, this one is the most transformative in the sense that you really feel as though you are in another time and place, where a gorgeous faux Chinese garden, pond, and pagoda was recreated within the Met complete with Dior and Margiela garments floating on "water". Below are some pictures that I snapped while walking through-guards did not stop pictures like they have in years past.

If you are unable to attend this exhibit, definitely pick up the accompanying exhibit book on Amazon, which I plan to order ASAP (PS it's $13 cheaper than buying in at The Met).

This Sarah Burton for McQueen gown was STUNNING. This picture in no way does this gown justice :(

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Last week Jon and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary, which many people know to be our 3rd since we were quietly married at the courthouse a year before our wedding.

We kept it very simple-both of us worked that day- with the exception that my husband surprised me with flowers over lunch at the store. We had been meaning to go out a noodle bar together (he's a big fan and I've always wanted to give it a try) so we chose David Chang's Momofuku Noodle Bar as the site for our anniversary dinner.

Dinner was amazing following an hour + wait time-it was so worth it.

I felt amazing in the outfit that I picked out. This jersey dress was so comfortable and had a draped silky overlap that covers any lumps and bumps that one may have. My sandals were light and easy to walk in and my new bag from London made me feel pulled together and ladylike. I would happily wear this outfit everyday if I could (in fact I threw it back on the next morning to wear to work).

Dress (red23 via The Fig Leaf), Sandals (old, similar)

Brunch at Back Forty West

I have never found a restaurant that I've discovered for the first time and returned to within 3 weeks. If I were to say that again, I'd be lying. Back Forty West entered my conscious sometime in late January while planning a dinner date with friends. Fast forward to last week and Jon and I were making our plan for Valentine's Day.

Pulled pork hash with kale, eggs, fingerling potatoes, and mustard seeds. 

We've never been the type of couple that enjoys going out to dinner at a packed restaurant to choose a meal from a prix fixe menu. So we chose to make dinner at home (squid ink pasta with garlic and oil, and roasted vegetables) on Saturday and head to Back Forty West for brunch on Sunday morning.  Jon could tell you that I spent our entire drive into the city waxing poetic about this restaurant and luckily my efforts were rewarded with another amazing meal. 

Mushrooms, arugula, and eggs on perfectly toasted bread. 

Jon is a tough critic, and in general his tastes are very different from mine, so the fact that he cleaned his plate and admitting to liking this place is a huge deal for me. I won't lie, their killer classic rock playlist definitely worked in my favor. 

Back Forty West

A couple weeks ago, I had a random day off and met two of my favorite friends for dinner at Back Forty West. I'm not usually the type of person that emails her friends 3 different restaurant options, with quotes about the restaurant and estimates of how long it would take them to arrive from their offices. But for some reason I did that this time. I went in to my little experiment planning to convince them to eat with me at Jack's Wife Freda because I've been wanting to go so badly, based solely on blog posts I've read about the two owners. After further research, I found that they didn't have a ton of pescetarian options for your truly and instead I made a reservation at Back Forty West (though I still want to try Jack's).

I really lucked out, because Back Forty West was absolutely amazing. Housed in a brownstone on the corner of Prince St and Crosby, the restaurant boasts a delicious farm-to-table menu in addition to an inviting, homey atmosphere with a fireplace; which was EXACTLY what we needed on a frigid night in NYC. We were seated upstairs, which really felt like we were in the home of friends or family and we were very luckily placed right next to the fireplace, so it was all the cozier.

Each of us had an appetizer, entree, and we shared 2 desserts. I can tell you in complete honesty that everything that hit that rustic wooden table was delicious. We shared "fireplace creme brûlée" for dessert and we were not disappointed at all. If you're wondering like we were what exactly that entails, the answer is this; our waitress brought out an unfinished brûlée and instead of using a flame to caramelize the top of it, she took a branding iron that resembled a hockey puck directly from the fireplace and stamped the top of the brûlée to create a smoky/crunchy topping.

Keep in mind that what you see below may not be available when you visit as their menu changes frequently based on what is in season and available to them.

Rosemary and sea salt fries, beat and ricotta salad, and roasted brussels sprouts with bacon. 

Farrow risotto with butternut squash and mushrooms (Cremini, I believe).

This was without a doubt the best brûlée I've ever had. It was sweet and smoky at the same time, like a grown up version of s'mores. 

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S'mac

Yesterday, I finally checked an item off my 101 in 1001 days to do list (inspired by Mackenzie's here). I made it into the city to S'mac for dinner with my husband! He may disagree but I think it was totally worth the 50 minute drive to wind up 25 miles away with delicious mac and cheese in front of me! S'mac specializes in fresh made mac and cheese dishes; you can either choose from their set menu (think Cajun, Buffalo Chicken, and "Lite" options) or you can make your own with any of the components found in their menu items.

Each meal is served in a skillet in three sizes ranging from "personal" (Nosh) to "I'm going to pay for this later" (Mondo) and is also available in a take home option or in a party size (you'll pay for it though). Also, they offer gluten free, lactose light, and vegan options as well! Honestly, you'd be hard pressed to find a person that wouldn't enjoy S'mac (unless they are grumpy about driving 25 miles for mac and cheese. ahem).

Obviously, you can't enjoy this post without knowing what I wore. 

My latest obsessions, this DVF mini cross body (on sale here) and vintage sunglasses that my best friend found in her basement (similar here). I like to think that these were the perfect mac and cheese eating accessories. 

My husband was all too thrilled to pose for a picture.

I had the Mediterranean Mac and Cheese and he had the Cajun style-both were delicious! (We both had the Nosh size, which was the perfect amount)

We had to break $20 for the parking attendant so we popped into Insomnia Cookies for take home treats (I went with a classic chocolate chunk and a deluxe S'mores cookie). I fully intend to eat a few bites everyday to really prolong the deliciousness that is these cookies. 

My Ideal Day

I'd pair this outfit with these loafers for my perfect day!

Today is proving to be much more Monday-ish than in recent weeks. It seems like all of my coworker and me are on the struggle bus-I have deemed myself the head mistress of the struggle bus driver academy-but I digress. I've taken to following The New Potato, which is a foodie lifestyle blog (think restaurant recommendations from Molly Sims and Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Every time they interview a guest, they ask them what their ideal food day would look like. I want to take that one step further to discuss what my ideal day would look like. While I really enjoy my job, the company I work for, and my coworkers (this has reached unhealthy levels of adoration), sitting through today would not be ideal for me.

So here goes:

• Wake up at 6:30am-I am not a morning person, but I always feel great when I get up early and feel like I have the whole day ahead of me
• The husband (who noted that I don't often use his name here) and I would take our babes for a leisurely walk around the block in perfect 68 degree weather
• I would then head to The Fountain for a massage, facial, and pedicure, then I would have brunch at Sook Pastry
• After that, I would head into the city to lose a couple hours inside the Museum of Natural History
• I would then make my way over to S'mac for dinner and stop quickly at Magnolia Bakery for a cupcake and banana pudding (clearly I'm not counting calories on this ideal day)
• Finally, I'd head home to spend some time on the couch with a glass of chardonnay, my pups, nameless husband, and cooking shows

After making up this lovely day, I really want to actually execute this. Perhaps for my birthday or I'll take a day off on a random Tuesday (which I loathe far more than Mondays). 

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