Winter Weekend

Good morning, loves! And happy Friday to you all!

We've been experiencing quite the winter spell here in NYC with frigid temperatures the past few days. It's been quite the shock since we've been spoiled with fairly mild winters as of late.

So what's a girl to do? Plan a weekend indoors to work on the many home projects on the agenda.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend whatever you have planned!

xoxo

Images: 1, 2, 3 All images edited by The Alternative Wife

Pardon The Interupption

Hello loves! It's been way too long. First off Happy New Year! Secondly, I have to apologize for my absence the past 2 months. It's been a long road with a lot of soul searching but things are looking up here. My family is doing much better. Thank you all for your sweet comments and messages. Hearing from you really helped lift my spirits through those dark days.

The whole storm and devastation that came with it really rocked my world pretty hard and I ended up making a lot of changes in the past few months. Obviously, I've stepped away from blogging for the time being to focus on some other areas of my life.  I'm taking better care of myself and also taking on a long awaited redecorating project in my home.  I'm basically redoing my whole apartment.  It's amazing how much time all of these things are taking.  And I'm also planning on getting back to illustrating and taking some photography classes.  Things that I've been talking about for years and years but haven't had the time to do.  All of those unrealized dreams started weighing on me and I decided that I needed to make some major changes and really take them on in full force.

So what does all of this mean for The Alternative Wife? I honestly don't have a firm answer.  I'd love to get back to my normal blogging schedule.  It definitely has been a major void in my life and I miss you all tremendously.  But for the time being until I can really make some progress in these other areas of my life I think that I'll be popping by intermittently.  Ideally that will be more often than not. And hopefully I'll be able to share some of the projects that I'm taking on with you all.  In the meantime you can always find me on Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.

Hope you are all doing well and I will definitely be stopping by in the near future to catch up.

Love to you all!

xoxo

Images: 1, 2, 3 All images edited by The Alternative Wife

Weathering the Storm

Hello loves.  Thank you for all of your good wishes and kind words this past week.  As you have probably heard Hurricane Sandy caused a tremendous damage here and really disrupted everything.  The neighborhood where J & I live got hit very hard and were temporarily homeless with no electricity, heat, water, phones or means of communication.

We evacuated our apartment on Wednesday, a few days after the storm, and stayed at different places each night.  All of the hotels rooms were sold out and there is a major gas shortage here and we only had 1/4 tank of gas so we couldn't get very far.  It was the most terrifying and stressful experience ever.

But compared to the destruction it's caused to other people I'm one of the lucky ones.  At least I had a home to come back to. My family, on the other hand, has been completely devastated.  I have so many family members who have lost their homes and all of their belongings.  They have taken a major hit and I don't know how long it will take them to recover.  My father, my aunt, cousins who all have small babies and sister have all suffered tremendous loss.  It's really incomprehensible and I can't really wrap my brain around it all.   So many people are still struggling and the temperatures have dropped and we also have another major storm heading our way this Wednesday through Thursday.  I pray it doesn't bring more damage but I can't imagine that it won't given the current disaster.

Thank you again to all who have reached out to check in. It really means so much to me. I apologize for not getting back immediately.  Communication was very difficult but it means the world to me.  Times like these really teach you a lesson.  To never take anything for granted and to treasure everything you have in your life. 

Hope you are all doing well and I look forward to getting back into the swing of things but it might take a while to get back to normal. My family is my first priority and connectivity is still iffy here so it's been a little tough.

Love to you all!

xoxo

Image: 1 - Rachel Weisz by Greg Williams for Esquire UK - edited by The Alternative Wife

Oh Sandy...

Good morning, loves!  Hope you all had a nice weekend.

Not sure if you've heard but we're braving through a hurricane here in NYC.  It's supposed to last for a few days so for now I'm hunkering down and staying indoors until it's safe to venture outside.  Hoping that we don't loose power but we've already lost hot water and the storm is supposed to be the worst we've ever seen here so I'm not feeling too hopeful about that.

Hope to get by to see you all soon!  Enjoy the start of the week, sweets!

xoxo

Images: 1, 2 All images edited by The Alternative Wife

Comfy Weekend

Good morning, lovelies! And happy Friday to you! What do you all have planned for the weekend?

Me?  Not too much.  A little family time on Saturday afternoon but otherwise I'm planning on hunkering down at home and getting some rest.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you all on Monday!

xoxo

Images: 1, 2, 3 All images edited by The Alternative Wife

Knit Wit

Happy Thursday, lovelies!  Hope the week is treating you well.

We're in the middle of a stretch of cloudy cool days here in NYC and it's not quite heavy jacket weather so I've been pulling out all of my knitwear lately and layering it up.  Lots of sweaters, pullovers, knit jackets, knit socks.  You name it.  If they make it in a knit, I probably own it.  Leaving the hats and gloves home for now but I'm sure it won't be too long before I'll need them.  Oh and the best part of my days is when I'm cuddled up nice and snug under my cozy knit blanket.  Could I love fall any more? :)

Have a wonderful day, sweets and happy almost Friday!

xoxo

Images: 1, 2, 3 All images edited by The Alternative Wife

A Look To The Past

Hi my loves! And happy Wednesday to you all.

Today I'm looking to the past and the romantic nostalgia that comes with it.  I love using vintage pieces from both my family as well as Js.  Whether it be jewelry, coats, hats, clutches or china, silver and gold rimmed glassware.  It all takes me back and reminds me of a simpler time and of loved ones lost. And I cherish each and every piece.

My parents recently told me that they have some vintage costume jewelry and a beautiful Japanese tea set from my grandmother that they'd like to pass onto me & my sister. And I couldn't be more touched to be given the opportunity to own some more of her things.  She was such a wonderful woman, I can't really describe in words how incredible she was, and she had such exquisite taste and I'm truly grateful to be given the opportunity to own any bit of her. 

How about you all? Do you all have things passed on from loved ones?  If so, what's your most treasured item?

Have a wonderful day, sweets! :)

xoxo

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4 All images edited by The Alternative Wife

Fifty Shades of...

Ok, so besides the fact that I am totally over those books, you know which books I'm talking about, right? Christian, Anastasia, Mr. Grey, Fifty Shades this, Fifty Shades that...

No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't really get into them. I read the first book which was alright I guess. Then I accidentally started reading the 3rd book but didn't realize that I was reading out of order until 1/3 of the way into the 3rd book. Then back to the 2nd and never really finished it. Bored, confused, whatever you may call it.

I honestly blame iBooks for the mess up.  On my bookshelf all nice and pretty stood book #1 in the first position.  Then book #3 was next on the shelf followed by book #2 which was marked as NEW.  See why I was confused?  Wouldn't you think the book in the 3rd position marked as NEW was the last book?  Please agree with me. I'm trying to make myself feel better here. :)

In any case, putting all that confusion aside, I honestly found the whole series and premise of the books kinda boring.  And I'm not really sure what that says about me...I choose not to dig too deep there....

But onto what I was saying.  Besides the fact that I am totally over that book, I am loving all shades of grey these days.  I've been pinning up a storm.  I can't get enough of it. Check out my Grey Matters Pinterest board to see for yourselves.

How bout you guys?  Are you a fan of grey? The books or otherwise?

Have a wonderful day, sweets and I'll see you all tomorrow :)

xoxo

Images: 1, 2, 3 All images edited by The Alternative Wife

Cozy Morning

Good morning, loves!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend and that you're all happy and rearing to go this Monday morning.

I had a wonderful fall weekend in the city.  Lots of work and play like I mentioned on Friday and I got to catch up on some much needed sleep.  Saturday we got a lot of chores accomplished and then took our first trip ever on across the river to Hoboken for a party.  It's pretty incredible that it was our first time there and we've lived in NYC for 22 years.  Crazy but true. 

And Sunday started out with a run to get bagels and coffee followed by a walk to the green market.  Stopped home and did a bit of cooking for the week.  Then we headed on out to see Nice Work if You Can Get It on Broadway with Matthew Broderick.  It was such a great show.  I highly recommend it if you're interested in seeing a Broadway play. 

It was a fabulous weekend overall and now here we are at Monday morning already.  Wish I could just stay in bed a few more hours, make a nice breakfast and lounge around a bit.  You know, just slowly ease into the week but work calls so off I go :)

Have a wonderful Monday, sweets and I'll see you all soon!

xoxo
 
Images: 1, 2, 3, 4 All images edited by The Alternative Wife

Work & Play Weekend

Good morning, loves!  And happy Friday to you all! The weekend is finally here and I couldn't be happier. 

I have a busy weekend on tap.  A party on Saturday and a play on Sunday and in between it all I have to get some much needed housework in.  I'd also like to sleep in both days if possible.  Like I mentioned earlier this week, I haven't been having much luck in the sleep department as of late so I'd like to try to get as much of it as I can this weekend.  All in all a busy weekend but I'm planning on enjoying each and every moment of it.  Even the housework :)

What do you all have planned this weekend?  Whatever your plans, I hope it's a great one!
See you all Monday!

xoxo

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4 All images edited by The Alternative Wife

Sweet Break

Good morning, loves!  And happy Thursday to you all

I'm on the run today with quite a busy day ahead but just wanted to wish you all a beautiful day.  Thinking of making a quick stop in at Ladurée for a little mid day treat to get me through the rest of the day.

Have a sweet day and I'll see you all Friday :)

xoxo

Images: 1, 2, 3 All images edited by The Alternative Wife

Beauty Sleep

Good morning, loves!  And happy mid-week to you all.  Hope you're having a lovely week so far.

Today I'm dreaming of sleep.  And lots of it.  For some reason I haven't been getting quite enough of it lately. And when I do finally get to bed I'm not getting a solid night's sleep.  Not sure what it is...a lot on my mind? the change of weather?  Whatever it is, I'm hoping to nip this problem in the bud and get back to normalcy ASAP.  And it doesn't help that my summer tan is fading because the bags under my eyes are quite noticeable.  Yikes!

Thinking of trying a few new things.  Reading, spritzing the bed with lavender pillow mist, a sleeping mask...Any other suggestions for  me?

Have a wonderful day, sweets and hope you all get a restful night's sleep :)

xoxo

Images: 1, 2, 3 all images edited by The Alternative Wife