Dinner with Stephen, and What I Wore

Stephen is finally back from a weeklong business trip, and tonight we celebrated by dinner at our favorite little Italian spot. (Okay, it's Stephen's favorite Italian spot. I actually hate Italian food, but I haven't broken it to him yet. I'm not going to let a few dozen plates of pasta get between me and an otherwise amazing boyfriend!) It's an intimate little place, so I wanted to wear something romantic and relatively low key, so I picked this lacey white dress from Stella McCartney. (Yes, white + lace often = wedding. And yes, it was intentional. It's just a gentle reminder to Stephen that we have been dating for almost two months. He can't drag his feet forever!)

These Jimmy Choo sandals added a little sparkle.

And of course I had to pick a glamorous bag!

Current Events

I've decided that it's time I got more informed about world events, so today I spent some time catching up on my news. I got up early and switched on E! News Daily. I was so behind! I didn't even know that Khloe is now a redhead, and she debuted her new color last night! (I love it, by the way. I think it makes her even more striking!) So I watched some episodes of Keeping Up With the Kardashians that I had recorded, just to make sure I hadn't missed anything else! I can't afford to be so out of touch with current events. People count on me to know about important things like this! But I can't keep beating myself up about it. I've set my DVR to record E! News every morning, even though I won't be getting up at 7 a.m. to watch it. That's just impractical. I also won't let my issues of Variety and WWD and US Weekly pile up, unread, by the front door anymore. After the Kardashians marathon, I spent some time rereading my September issue of Vogue, just to make sure I hadn't missed anything. Overall, it was a very productive way to spend the morning!

Technical Difficulties

Due to technical difficulties (my computer was buried under a pile of clothes!), I was unable to blog yesterday. My apologies. I know everyone is dying to know how my resolutions are going! Well, today I started out with high hopes. I fully intended to investigate some out-of-the-way shops and make some serious contributions to the economy. Unfortunately, it was drizzling all day, so I found a way to spread my financial contributions even farther, without subjecting my hair to any unnecessary frizz! I shoppped online. Fortunately, Bergdorf Goodman, Gilt Group, and Net A Porter were all too happy to accommodate me.  Yeaaaaaa! I feel good. Not only will the cash infusions that I have just made stimulate the economy, but they will make my wardrobe soooo much cuter!

A Different Approach

Today I tried scowling at everyone everywhere, all day long. Shockingly, I was able to frown as much as I wanted to without drawing any undue attention to myself. I'm the only one who seems bothered by it. Who wants to be a grump all day? It made me cranky. Plus I think I've developed a wrinkle. I don't care what kind of looks I get.  I'm going back to smiling. And I'm going to get some Botox for that wrinkle!

Mystery Solved

Here's a Revelation: If you walk around New York City smiling at everybody, all day, all the time, people will look at you funny. Who knew?

Puzzled

I spent all day today just walking around the city, taking it all in. Can't believe how much I missed it! By the end of the day, however, I noticed the strangest phenomenon. Almost every single person I met was looking at me funny. A few dozen quick mirror checks revealed that nothing was amiss, and yet I still got these odd looks from everyone I saw. I am used to getting attention, but usually it's awe or adoration or simply admiration. I haven't been this confused since the debacle on the beach in Daytona, when I figured out that my fabulous platforms were stealing the show.

Loulou's Resolutions

I love New Year's Day! There's nothing like a fresh start to make you feel all rosy and optimistic. Now that I have returned from my self-imposed sabbatical in Daytona Beach, I am ready to jump back into city life. But not before making my annual list of resolutions. I only make fun resolutions that I was planning on doing anyway because, let's face it, who needs another to-do list? Plus, I like the amazing rush that comes from setting and achieving goals, so I try to make the "achieving" part of the equation as easy as possible! So on that note, here are my top 3 resolutions for 2011:

1. Make the World a Better Place: Yes, I know this sounds very very intimidating and not at all fun, but as Oprah and other very successful people know, even the biggest goals can be broken down into itty, bitty steps. So here are mine: Shop as much as possible at as many different places as possible so that I can maximize the positive impact I make on the economy. Improve the welfare of animals by contributing to the zoo. (It's the only place where animals can go and be safe. Animal rights people who want animals to run free clearly do not know that in the wild, animals eat each other! It's a little known fact!). Smile at everybody, all the time, every day. It's very un-New York, I know, but I firmly believe that this town needs more smilers anyway. It's an easy way to lift someone's spirits!

2. Single-handedly bring back some of the more ladylike styles of the past. I will start by wearing pearls with everything and matching my nail polish to my lipstick. So fabulously retro!

3. Manage my Investments Better: I like my investments where I can see them - in my shoe closet. (I think fellow shoe-lover SJP said that first!) That means I am going to have to build a bigger, better closet to accommodate all the new shoes I plan on buying, and I am going to make sure that they get dusted and polished regularly. After all, they are the single biggest investment I've ever made!