Sushi Azabu and Pleats

S and I have been away every other weekend lately -  Barbados and Charleston to be exact (old news if you follow on Instagram). I am still weeding through the tons of photos so the blog recaps will come then.

However, we are back on track with Friday date night. Last night, we returned to an old favourite, Sushi Azabu, a "secret" basement sushi restaurant in TriBeCa - which has gone through significant change since we were were last there 85 weeks ago (so says Instagram). 

First, it used to be a little harder to find when the restaurant above it was the Greenwich Grill. Now that's been taken over by a Japanese izakaya, Daruma-ya. A Japanese restaurant beneath a Japanese restaurant? Surely that's obvious? Second and most importantly, no more $65 prix fixe *cries*. This was one of NYC's best sushi bargains and now it's double that, folks. Thank goodness the sushi is so fresh it makes up (slightly) for the sticker shock. Over copious amounts of sake, we devoured everything that was put in front of us (yes to uni; NO to eel) and laughed over S's broken Japanese and the chefs' rudimentary English. Fun times.

Our exact seats at the counter (via) 

Continuing my obsession for all things Clover Canyon, I went Greek with my date night getup. Jeans seemed mandatory too, considering the cool change in the air. Thought let me make it clear that I am #NotReadyForFall.

Clover Canyon pleated Classical Order Top, J Brand 620 Super Skinny in Palisades (newer wash, and another) {Note to fellow shorties: I cuffed the hem as the sandal straps extended high above my ankle. It's otherwise the perfect length unaltered}

Alexander Wang Livia Sandals (super sale this weekend), Vintage Chanel flap

J Crew Three Star necklace (cluster choker version), Cartier love bangle, Anchor ring from Etsy (highly recommended seller), Giles and Brother railroad cuff

A Blue Hill Birthday

To celebrate my birthday this past week, S and I made the journey a week ago to Pocantico Hills in Westchester County for dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. 

Stone Barns is a working farm so we arrived a couple of hours before our reservation to wander the grounds. Armed with a map (and poor choice of footwear), we strolled through the greenhouse with lettuce twice as big as my head, peeked into barns with dozens of young turkeys (which won't be so young come November!), and waved to the pigs in the pen, that barely looked up from their feed to acknowledge us. These were only trumped by the sheep grazing in the meadow at a distance. Such a peaceful sight as the sun was setting on the horizon.

DVF at LACMA

We had Martin Luther King day off work so S and I flew out to Los Angeles for the long weekend. 

While I've been to LAX numerous times on SYD-JFK flights, it was my first visit to the palm-tree-and-sunshine-filled City of Angels. We saw plenty in three days and I have lots of photos to share. Throwing chronology out the window, I would like to begin with the most colourful portion of our trip - our visit to the Diane von Furstenberg "Journey of a Dress" exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 

Pink walls greet you as you enter the gallery, with vintage DVF print ads, movie stills and pictures of herself and other luminaries in various iterations of the dress:

Cybil Shepherd in Taxi Driver 

Clover Canyon Christmas

2013 was a great year for me - a fresh job, a fitter lifestyle and a wonderful new husband. Ending the year on a high made making 2014 goals a little contrived. Regardless I like thinking about style resolutions - which on a fundamental level really means shopping a little less. I pledge to, however, continue to be smart about my purchases, and only add items to my wardrobe that are like nothing I currently own. 

Ergo, you saw the new kicks and hat, now let me introduce you to my latest obsession - Clover Canyon. This is a brand I've known of for months but while they appealed to my print-loving personality, their initial designs didn't quite rock my boat. Also the scuba-like fabric that appears in a lot of their designs can be rather unforgiving when used on slim silhouettes. 

Then they go and release an art-deco-inspired collection. Boom, dead. Come at me, neoprene.