Craft & Consumption

Monday, February 18, 2013

The Blum Store {Vintage Score}


I picked up this vintage coat a few years ago at a local consignment shop and it's become one of my all time favorites. The textured wool, velvet details, funky polka dot pattern, and simple black and white palette make it a go-to winter after winter. 

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Lake Placid




Last month we loaded up the station wagon and drove north to Lake Placid, NY. I went with my boyfriend, my brother, and a crew of our mutual friends. 


We found a charming cabin rental right off of main street in Lake Placid (picture above was taken just a block from our house). One of our friends called the Lake Placid, NY Chamber of Commerce to ask about local rental agencies, and we ended up scoring an amazing house just 4 weeks before New Year's Eve! All of the great homes on homeaway.com and vrbo.com that slept 8+ were booked by that time, so we felt super lucky that we found such a great place! Apparently using the old telephone occasionally has it's advantage over the inter web...

Monday, February 11, 2013

Media Monday: Newsroom {newest TV obsession}


I just finished the entire first season of Newsroom and I'm totally in, hook, line, and sinker. If you haven't started watching it, you should. 

As The Office has descended into the "unwatchable" category, and 30 Rock has finished its last season, I'm finding myself needing a TV fix to replace some of my old favorites.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

NYFW Day 2 {Chambray & Neon}

waxed coated jeans (Zara), chambray mens button down (old navy),
neon blazer (H&M, old), necklace (Sorrelli), booties (Ann Taylor)

Outfit two, day two of New York Fashion Week! I just want to say that I have discovered the magic of the Men's section, and I'm excited. I might be late to this party (HuffPo was on this back in August), but I bought a chambray short-sleeved men's oxford a few weeks ago on sale at GAP and have been wearing it TO. DEATH. The cut is long, roomy, and the short sleeves don't bulk up under blazers. Genius (if I do say so myself). I highly recommend the linen blend above ($25!!). 

On Thursday (Day 2 for me of NYFW) I spent the day running around like a crazy lady to shows (Kimberly Ovitz & Costello Tagliapietra) as well as a few meetings. Stay tuned for more details on the shows! 

Thursday, February 7, 2013

NYFW Day 1 {IFBcon}

Portrait c/o UrbanFieldnotes


I was fortunate to get my photo snapped outside of the IFBCon on my first day of NYFW. I am always running everywhere and never snap real shots of my outfits! BIGGGG thanks to Brent at Urban Fieldnotes for actually sending these over. Business cards do work! People do get in touch! YAY!

Of course I did a characteristically Lily-thing and wore orange socks instead of the requisite black. Whatever. My orange Muji socks rock, and... so there.

Stay tuned for the things I learned at IFB!

Outfit one, day one of New York Fashion Week:





Tuesday, February 5, 2013

NYFW {Packing}


It's that time of year again! I'm packing for New York Fashion Week! The shows officially start on Thursday Feb 7th at NYC's Lincoln Center. Stay tuned for lots of Sorrelli Girl coverage of the shows, complete with lots of writing from yours truly! I'll be covering the shows for my dear friend and confidante Julia (of Fashion Pulse Daily). Super psyched to be heading up to the fashion capital of the world this week!! 

#staytuned! 




Sunday, February 3, 2013

On Managing Yourself {Book Review}



I was recently given a compilation of essays published by the Harvard Business Review, the book is titled "On Managing Yourself". As it turns out, it's pretty amazing.

I've found that the essays in this little guy are completely spot-on for me at this stage in my career*. I've even found myself reading the essays aloud to colleagues, and wanting to pass-out relevant excerpts to others in my office. 

The first essay, "How Will you Measure Your Life", is a little touchy-feely. The author (Clayton Christensen) speaks to the importance of understanding one's values, and making sure that your actions and the things you dedicate your time to are in line with those values. It wasn't the most captivating of essays, but you get Christensen's point. 


The next essay, titled "Managing Oneself", explains how the various types of learning effect us in the workplace. Do you digest info best when listening? When reading? When talking out loud? The author, Peter Drucker, explains that it's super important no, crucial to know how you learn (and best retain information). Knowing how those around you learn is the next step, it makes you a hands down better manager. Don't send thousands of emails to a subordinate who digests info best by listening. They're missing half of the message just because of the medium!

The third essay got me really jazzed up. It's called "Who's Got the Monkey". Essentially the authors use a monkey as a metaphor for work. As a manager, I often become a bottleneck in the workplace. A staff member will ask me to review an email, or review a report, before they move on to their next step of the project. This puts the onus on me to move the ball forward. They (and 5 other subordinates) are waiting on an action item from me. Hello, bottleneck! 

The essay explains that in order to effectively manage, you can't "take the monkey". You have to keep the monkey with the subordinate who owns the project. Seriously, reading this essay turned on a light bulb in my brain. You've got to check it out. Super relevant stuff for anyone managing other people in the modern age!

I am about halfway done with the book and can't wait to finish it. There are more great essays about dealing with the influx of technology, and time management. Truly a great read! 

*Career Context: I have been working as the Sales & Marketing Director for Sorrelli (a fashion jewelry company) for the last 2.5 years. Before that I was the Marketing Manager at the same organization. I manage a team of about 5 direct reports and 15 indirect reports.