{outfit post} lock out...

That's right, I went up to the roof to take some outfit pictures for you guys, and then locked myself out of my apartment. I hope you enjoy the fact that I consider us all to be good enough friends for me to admit that right now. I scurried up there sans keys and sans cell phone, and carrying a bunch of miscellaneous objects with which to prop up my camera. (One of them was a box of checks. Another one of them was a hardbound copy of Twilight. Really.)

Fortunately, my downstairs neighbor came home just as I had used my last ounce of energy trying to will the locked door open. Unfortunately, I had to explain to him what I was doing with a box of checks, a giant tween vampire novel, a camera and no keys. Pretty glamorous, right?

For the next three hours, I took advantage of his air conditioning, accompanied him on some errands, watched a terrible movie and eventually got rescued by our house-guest-of-the-week, Alli, circa 9:45 p.m. If it hadn't been such a mess of an evening I probably wouldn't have bothered to post these pictures, but I became stranded in my own building and didn't get dinner until 10 pm because of them, so by gosh you're going to see them.

Theory pants; H&M tank; J. Crew sweater; vintage belt; Sam Edelman sandals, Persol sunnies.

Apparently the growing-out of my bangs has lead to rock a comb-over worthy of the The Donald. Oy. Moving on... I had a quick little freelance job on Monday helping out at the Bloomingdales.com photo studio, so I donned my best "Fashionably Professional: Even in This Humidity" outfit, which obviously included my most treasured grown-up girl piece: my Theory pants. The atmosphere at the studio is rather laid back, and it's an absolute free-for-all when it comes to daily attire. There's an ever-changing bevy of photographers, stylists, and assistants coming and going each week, each with a unique style, and more than a few tattoos. The sartorial freedom that this affords is rather glorious. A cotton tank, flat sandals and fancy pants made for the perfect mix to spend 8 hours organizing, steaming, dressing, pinning and accessorizing.

 All-in-all, I suppose there are worse places a girl could be stranded.

{shoe crush} cap toe flats...

I was lucky enough to have my parents finally come visit me out here this past weekend. It was a trip almost two years coming - and I can't express how excited I was to show them around my New York and see them for the first time since Christmas.

We had a great weekend - a perfect balance of their uptown, upscale Manhattan of past visits, and my downtown day-to-day life. All the things we did piece together like a pretty great guide to wining and dining with a dash of culture and shopping from Soho to the Upper East Side:


{We dined.}

• Gotham Grill: White table clothes, amazing seafood and a very 90s New York vibe, like Gramercy Tavern and totally delicious (the seafood salad is unreal)
• The Modern: minimalist, fancy and contemporary - just like the museum (amazing duck confit)
• db Bistro Moderne: fancy and delicious
  
• The Standard Grill: great spot for an early breakfast al fresco
  
• Public: trendy, brunch-y, delicious lentil salad and great drinks
• La Piscine: on the roof of Hotel Americano; lots of delicious fried seafood with a side of DJ
  
• Brasserie Julienne: cute little french joint on 2nd Ave in the 80s, live jazz with your moules frites
  
• Morandi: loud, busy and seriously great Italian fare on Waverly and 7th Ave
  

{We drank.}

• La Piscine: Before dinner every night we had cocktails on the roof with an amazing view of the city
  
• Kingswood: After dinner at db, I brought my parents to meet up with friends and see one of my favorite West Village bars
  
• Public: a dirty martini for Mom, a bourbon iced tea for me and the Bloody Maria for Dad
  

{We saw.}

• The MoMA:the Cindy Sherman exhibit was cool and creepy, but the permanent exhibits are always refreshing and unmissable
  
• The East River Ferry: A fun and unique way to get between Manhattan and Brooklyn - especially on a warm day; we took it to and from 34th street to the flea market 
• Brooklyn Flea (Williamsburg): people watching, antique-ing and artisianal everything - of course
  
• The Met: My favorite museum in Manhattan, and the Steins Collection and Shiaparelli and Prada exhibit were crowded but truly wonderful (unfortunately the Cloud City exhibit on the roof was closed for weather)

{We shopped.}

• Uniqlo @ 53rd & 5th: picked up 4 shirts for my dad, but the crazy atmosphere and sheer amount of clothes is a little too much
  
• Treasure & Bond: cool, well-curated jewelry, gifts and apparel on lower West Broadway in Soho
  
• MoMA Design Store: so many unique and useful knick-knacks, and perfectly sized art prints for $10