autumn aura: new essie hues

clockwise from top left : carry on : case study : power clutch : glamour purse : very structured : lady like
images via {here + purchase too}

hello lovelies!  what a lovely day i had today.  a {very close to} teary-eyed quick visit back to my alma mater for a dissertation text, browsing bloomingdales with mom, a perfectly portioned lunch {and fro-yo} at their restaurant, 40 carrots & a relaxing mani-pedi at my most favorite ever nail spa, miniluxe.  it's a cross between the local nail salon & a day spa, and the result is just brilliant.  so clean & fresh & girly & with options for extended massage, oh and such fun retail things, the miniluxe experience is positively uplifting.  i had truly missed it!  and although today i chose a summer hue {orangey-red geranium by essie}, i also got a sneak peak at the essie fall collection, which is just divine, inspired by glam travel bags.  which is your favorite?  i am loving loving wine-y carry on, grey-green power clutch & burnt siena-ish very structured & the slightly muted glamour purse, case study & lady like would be parfait for weekday workday.  perhaps i should buy all six. goodness i do love essie.  the early evening air is getting cooler and its mum season.  autumn is on its cusp.  & if its nail colors are any indication, it is bound to be perfectly magical.  xx hillary  

oh & c'est absolument official.  hello christie's september. 

lovely links for a new week

image via pinterest

hello darlings!  i hope that your monday was the perfect start to a brand new week.  and for today, some links that i've gathered especially for you.  charming entertaining ideas, an amazing beauty website, home libraries, stationary, and delicious blueberry pancakes.  and the most adorable image of a mother and baby giraffe.  i had no idea how much j'adore giraffes until i began this blog (beaucoup! beaucoup!).  only three days until home.  oodles of packing and errands until them, and inevitable tears with an au revoir to dear friends and my london, but i do hear the massachusetts coast beckoning...  enjoy & bon soir.  xx hillary 

• a thoughtful entertaining touch: themed drink stirrers
• from a friend with discerning interior taste: home libraries
• please more post!: beautiful, printable, free party invitations
• updated with whole grains & yogurt: blueberry pancakes
• summer dessert: popsicles & champagne?  yes, please!
• stunning and fresh beauty tips via lauren conrad: makeup & hair

image via pinterest
the look of my next weekend {sigh}

lovely links for a new week

images, top left then clockwise via {here}, {here}, {here}, {here}, {here}, and {there}

some lovely links to begin your week:

• most.amazing.wedding.website
• in paris?: couture exhibition
• magic blemish clearing product i will never live without
• have you ever heard of olallieberries?
• need to master these chic diy hair ideas: chestnut bun and gibson roll
• 100% homemade grown-up s'mores 

hope your day was perfect.  xx hillary 

ethereal fashion: valentino haute couture fall 2011

images via {here}

if you regularly read fashion or design blogs, you have probably come across the behind-the-scenes photos from mr. valentino's fall 2011 haute couture show, published in V magazine, but i just could not resist.  the sheer, light-as-air pastel fabrics, crowns of blossoms, braided belts, hand-beaded gowns of perfection, the models transformed into to fairies or wood nymphs by his sublime creations, the designer conjuring a glimpse of an imaginary acadian world. 

i am very lucky to have been in mr. valentino's immediate proximity twice.  on the second occasion, i {running very late} dramatically stormed past him, without realizing this magician was in the building.  he absolutely {did not} notice.  and on both occasions he was looking oh so orange.  ohhh valentino.  

happy monday!  bienvenue to the clean slate of a new week.  more links to come later.  xx hillary 

l'art de perfume

the magic and mystique of perfume.  do you have a signature scent?  i've been wearing romance by ralph lauren for years. a light mist and dab here and there, and j'espère that those i know subliminally associate my presence with its fresh scent, and, perhaps, its promise of 'eternal romance.'  

but what glamour and luxury and beauty the art of perfume has inspired over its centuries of granting to women that ever-enduring air of je ne se quoi, especially the timeless chanel no. 5..

all images via pinterest

trés belle, non?  

xx hillary 

p.s. have you seen the film an education?  for me, chanel no. 5 always brings it to mind.