He proposed.

And lucky, lucky me.  I get to hold on to those amazing million little moments, again and again and again.

Time for another tattoo, perhaps.

Swan princess shoes.

Was browsing around the web and stumbled on these breathtakingly gorgeous swan embellished white satin pumps from Manolo Blahnik.

Despite its astronomical price, I added it to the "Future Wedding Inspiration" folder under "Bridal Dress & Accessories" -- until I landed on Bergdorf Goodman's description of the item and found out that Bella wore it to her own wedding in the latest Twilight movie. Um. That fact alone made me delete every single saved photo of the shoe from my files.

Manolo, of the Carrie Bradshaw/Sex and the City fame: you are utterly shameless.

In other non-designer shoe news, I finally found the most perfectly understated yet ridiculously sexy pair of black pumps while shopping with Manfriend yesterday. Ever since I lost my staple black suede peep-toes sometime last year, I have been on a persistent hunt for a worthy new replacement. As my luck would have it, I was thrilled to find out that the store had one last pair in my size.

My new 5-inch heeled babies make my legs look deliciously long and toned, and I danced, danced, danced the night away in them yesterday at a new club in the city, surrounded by some of my favorite people in the world. I can't wait to don them again for Valentine's Day for a night out on the town with my love (Mother Nature, pleasepleaseplease cooperate). Already got a fiery hot dress ready! ;)

You're always on my mind.

via

Sassy shoes and snazzy sunglasses.

Get connected: http://www.closetconnextion.com/.

More photos of me playing unofficial photographer here.

Beautiful people.

And their beautiful creations.

One of my favorite blogs comes from absolutely gorgeous, gorgeous NYC-based photographer, Jamie. Found below are bits of beauty for your Monday and upcoming week, From Me To You.

I am so restlessly excited for Spring to arrive. Among other things, I know my camera is dying to capture someone/something lovely.

Dancing queen, prancing into Spring.

It's been a long week of writing, editing, court filings, and application deadlines looming over my head -- and a series of unfortunate events last night! -- but I am so ready to show some skin, and don my dancing shoes this weekend!

Here's to hoping Mother Nature cheers up and stops crying soon. A night out with my favorite ladies, a girly sleepover, Sunday brunch, and potential Oscar-viewing; lots of laughs to be had and stories to be told, I'm sure of it.

Can. Not. Wait. Happy Friday!

Black lace and a naked face.

Cold weather always puts me in a deep, dark rut. It's so hard to feel (and stay) feminine and sexy when you work in a conservative, corporate office, and the weather is so uninspiring out.

What gets me through the season, though, are the multitudes of dark opaque tights and various textured stockings that keep me feeling cheeky. I honestly think I've worn pants twice this entire winter, and I don't foresee that number going up anytime soon. Quite frankly, I try to get away with wearing the least amount of clothing possible when (and where) appropriate, but hey, maybe that's just me.

In fact, my long-term goal is to telework for the rest of my life, someday -- responding to emails, "consulting", reading, and writing while I lie out naked on the white sands of a remote island in the Republic of Fiji somewhere.

Yes, someday. In the meantime, my uniform of choice will be the stockings-and-stilettos combo, please.

***Playfully erotic photos by model-turned-photographer Ellen von Unwerth via Google Images.

Wearing white.

I attended my very first bridal expo a few weekends ago with the Best Friend, where we spent most of our time squeezing through the crowds for second (and third) cake tastings before claiming our seats for the bridal fashion show. Then we giddily oohed and aahed over the glossy photos in the brochures and magazines while we waited for the procession of wedding dresses to float down the runway at any given moment.



But, alas. We were highly disappointed as the models came out one after the other in awfully ill-fitted dresses that made the show rather painful (and comical) to watch. My recently engaged girlfriend, who had given me free tickets to the event (thanks, K!), agreed: we had such high hopes for some of the designer collections, but spent the majority of the time wrinkling our noses, snickering, totally unimpressed. I was so, so excited to get a sneak peek of the White by Vera Wang collection for David's Bridal in person (the collection hits stores on February 11th), but maybe I should have just stuck with admiring the pretty pictures instead.



And so, perhaps the most important lessons to take away from all this for my own special day, is the following: 1) see it and feel it before you buy it, and 2) I better find myself a damn good seamstress, for sure.

Screenshots via The Huffington Post.

Spring/Summer 2011, when art thou arriving?

I both love and hate the fact that the fashion world is always one or two seasons ahead. On one hand, it gives you something to look forward to, but on the other, you are forever aching; forever waiting and wanting. You know, kind of like vacations: by the time it ends, you are already scheming and planning and dreaming of the next one.

Speaking of vacations, Manfriend and I will be celebrating July 4th in Singapore this summer (we are still trying to decide between Indonesia or Thailand afterwards), and I have been looking for a dress for the black-tie gala we will be attending that long weekend. Elie Saab's haute couture creations for this Spring are gorgeously romantic and pretty, and just basically more than perfect. A girl can dream -- and Mr. Saab knows this fact all too well, it seems.

Images via Style.com.

Vintage signs from Signs of Vintage.

Stumbled on a fabulous Etsy shop via The Swede Records' giveaway today. Signs of Vintage's creations are timelessly chic and charming -- and needless to say, I want one. Or several.

You can purchase ready-made prints for your wedding or your home, or opt to customize your own as well. As Manfriend and I both love the rustic, old country look, I'll keep the Mr. and Mrs. sign in mind for the big day. Too, too cute.

Dreaming of furs and feathers.

I have been in desperate want and need of a beautiful fur coat and a glorious dress with feathery details for a whiles now.

And so maybe it is my subconscious wishing it was a bear hibernating, or a bird migrating to some place warm and exotic instead of suffering in this unbearable winter weather -- but in any case, here's to hoping my vacation request does not get denied this time around. Asia awaits us this coming July.

Images via a personal new favorite, Young Sophisticates.

A work in progress.

Manfriend and I have been talking about redoing and redecorating our little love nest lately. A few cabinet lights here, a new bookcase there. We also need to get rid of his empty aquarium and that age-old television set in our room as soon as possible... {prints from graphic designer Therese Senneholt}
I was semi-bracing myself for a possible clash in aesthetics, but come to find out, the Mister and I both have similar tastes, which makes these upcoming changes and home improvement projects truly exciting to look forward to. Who knows what will happen once we start getting down and dirty, though... I'll let the animal print and hot pink pillows go, but filling up the house with framed prints and photos is a battle I'm totally fighting (and winning).

But first things first: we are thinking of repainting the walls white, white, white. Whereas some people might find the color too sterile and cold, I have always taken quite a liking to it. I have been browsing the web for inspiration and, although many of these photos look slightly too staged and entirely too sophisticated to truly feel like a comfortable "home" to me, I admire each owner's commitment to creating and keeping such beautiful living spaces. I can't wait to get started!

{via apartment therapy}

{via atlantis home}

{via flickr}