Show your personality, one charm at a time

Not ready to make a bold statement with your work wardrobe? I found a perfect way to insert your personality into your corporate attire, without being too risky and having the CFO look at you like you're crazy for wearing skinny black pants, five-inch high-heeled booties, a jewel-blue silk t-shirt and boyfriend blazer...

Check out Jami Rodriguez for inexpensive, interesting, yet understated charm necklaces. Yes, Jami can create some outrageous and attention-grabbing accessories, but I am partial to her tiny charm necklaces, some of which incorporate taboo shapes, including skulls and tusks.

Pay tribute to your, ehem, extra-curricular college activities with Jami's Tiny Mushroom Necklace:

Or subtly show your passion for music with her Tiny Boombox Necklace:

What's on your Bucket List?

I don't know about you, but the holiday season always brings forth a boat-load of emotions not felt on a normal, non-November/December day. Not only are these feeling bubbling up and overflowing from my eyeballs, I'll often feel differing emotions at the same time. For example, I can be utterly content as I peer into the decorated windows at Lord and Taylor or Macy's, while feeling completely melancholy, yet excited at the exact. same. time. One minute I am happily decorating my tree, excited as I shop for the perfect Christmas Eve outfit (this year it's a black, wool tulip skirt, and short-sleeved green and black silk shirt with my classy, wedge motorcyclish type black boots), wistful as I remember all of the Christmas Eve dinners we spent with my Poppy who is now deceased, and sad just thinking that I am single during the holiday season for the second year in a row.

So feeling all of this, plus much more, has prompted me to revisit my Bucket List. I mean, I am examining my life via my emotions right now anyway, so why not check out the "Things to do Before I Die" list and see if I can cross off anything.

So here it is. Brie's Bucket List. The things I've done are in black - other ambitions are in white. I know some of these items are not exactly, ummm, I guess the word is moral (i.e. Have an affair), but I think they will all help build character and support my goal of having an interesting life.

So, I ask you, WHAT'S ON YOUR LIST?

Yet another reason I don't eat meat

This fish is fried, yet still alive! I have a pretty strong stomach when it comes to the grotesque, but this almost had me running down the hall to the ladies' room.

Josh Baskin would love this

Would you take the stairs?

How to dress like a guy, but look like a girl

Dude-inspired clothing and accessories for women is definitely hot right now. From boyfriend jeans and military jackets, to stealing a white tee from your main squeeze, all that smells like after shave is gold.

What they (magazine editors and the Rachel Bilson's of the world) do not tell you is that wearing clothing originally designed for men can, in fact, make you look, well, manly. Since we are not all cut from the same paper as Miranda Kerr and Jen Aniston and don't have personal stylists, we can look dowdy in our hip and trendy plaid shirts and converse sneaks.

Here a few tips to help you still look like a sexy woman when dressing like a man:
1. Don't go all man. Wear your boyfriend jeans with sexy pumps or throw on a boyfriend blazer with fitted, low v-neck t-shirt and funky necklace.
2. Yes, this style is lose-fitting. But it's not baggy. You shouldn't look like you are swimming in clothes. If you are, don’t wear the piece or find a great way to fit the clothes to your body. For example, if your man's plaid flannel tee is a large and you're more like a small, roll up the sleeves and throw on a skinny belt, some sexy legging, thigh high, flat, black boots, mascara and shimmery lip gloss. Oh, and don't forget to brush your hair. The look is "hipster chic", not "I need a shower".
3. Be confident about what you're wearing and don't let the look wear you.
4. If you're not sure about the "boyfriend" look, then ease into it. Buy one male-inspired piece at time and, for the love of Michael Kors, don't wear all your dude items at once (see number 1).
5. Follow your fashion instincts. If you think you're going a bit over the top, you probably are.
6. Don't forget to wear some make-up. Wearing your man's clothes isn't an excuse to not touch up your already lovely face. Go ahead and wear pink lip gloss when you're donning the military jacket. And please, (as I said in number 2) don't forget to brush your hair.
7. Accessories will save you from going full on dude. Invest in a great, long necklace, some geode earrings and a big, jade ring - and wear the hell out of them.

This look is all about the balance between masculine and feminine - balance is the operative word. Here are some suggested pieces that I think work deliciously well together:

 

 

Newest Obsession

To those of you who know me, it shouldn’t come as a surprise as I divulge my one kitschy obsession to be owls. Perhaps this fixation with all things hoot-tastic began in 2002, when, while recovering from de-wisdom-teething my mouth, I picked up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and fell in love with his winged friend, Hedwig. Portrayed in Rowling’s books as undeniably intelligent and as loyal as the family retriever, owls have become designers’ best friend. Their feathery images are slapped on everything from notebook covers (hello Vera Bradley) to mini-dresses (French Connection, you know I’m talking about you). Betsey Johnson has been using the wise owl to inspire her funky jewelry for at least three years; I own a long, gold and black necklace with a large own pendant sporting googley eyes and recently purchased owl earrings from my favorite sample sale website, RueLaLa (thanks Sherry!). Marc Jacobs even created a small purse shaped like these pellet-creating birds. Home designers are also using owl images to inspire some of their designs. From owl-shaped lamps to jewelry trees sporting the outline of an owl, it seems like everyone is wising up and falling in love with these nocturnal birds of prey.

A very noticeable difference

Dear Readers,

When you first met me, more than a year ago, I was different than I am today. Perhaps the most noticeable (besides an extra 5 pounds that have taken up residence in my boobs, face and belly) was the gradual disappearance of bangs.

September 2008: Blonde bangs are going strong


Mid 2009: Slowly disappearing


After much consideration, I have decided that the bangs must return...

October 2009: And they're back!


Thoughts??

Scare of the week

With a diet comprising primarily fruits, vegetables, soymilk, Cheerios, whole wheat bread and hummus, it’s no wonder I like to indulge in candy corn, dark chocolate Hershey Kisses and Tasti-d-lite on occasion. While I beat myself up after devouring a fro-yo, I know that things could worse. A lot worse.

Take, for example, the blog This is Why You’re Fat. Its title and tagline (Where dreams become heart attacks) say it all, and its submissions are simply shocking. Snacking on a Strudel Circus Stack may sound like a delicious way to spend 10 minutes of your day, but just think of what “Nutella and strawberry jam sandwiched between two Toaster Strudel Pastries topped with icing, cherry pie filling, whipped cream, sprinkles and a drizzle of honey” can do to your arteries. That’s right – clog them.


If ordering the Fat Bastard Burger with triple beef, triple bacon, triple cheese and caramelized onions sounds like a dandy idea at first, just remember who it’s named after. Yup, this guy:

Please people, be good to your body and it will be good to you. Next time you see something called The Widowmaker on a menu, for the love of God, keep on browsing. One and a half pounds of ground beef, one package of bacon, one package of Italian sausage, a box of hot pockets, and a half of a package of fried onion strips between two pepperoni pizzas topped with Velveeta cheese and marinara sauce may wind up costing your other half 10 grand in funeral costs.

A Penn State Weekend

I spent my weekend with my sorority sisters at our lovely alma mater, Penn State. One sister flew in from California for the weekend. Another came from Florida. One Pi drove up from a Philadelphia suburb. A Texan flew up and a Connecticutian picked up Cali and I from my apartment in Manhattan. Four of us stayed at my 21-year-old brother's house, a few blocks from campus. Needless to say, insanity ensued when my group of nine met up with my brother and his friends for a weekend of football, debauchery, school spirit, Table Wars at The Phyrst, a giant co-ed sleepover, scary movie night, Pokey Sticks, and tailgating.

Beaver Stadium is one of my favorite places on Earth. Look how beautiful it is:

This picture of tailgaters outside the stadium doesn't do the art of tailgating justice:

Lollipops cure everything - even hangovers and car sickness:

I don't know what I would without these girls. Thanks for an awesome weekend, kids. Miss you all already! You too, brother! WE ARE!

Hello web-world: I'm back in the blog scene

After many months of blogging silence, I have decided to emerge. Liken my re-entrance to the online world to the birth of a vampire, waking up after three days of transformation...

Okay, that sounds crazy. Nothing particularly transformative has happened since May, at least nothing as drastic and vampiric as what I just wrote, but in a way my step back into the bloglight (yes, that is a bad pun on "spotlight") can count as a step in the right direction after months of aimless wandering and borderline bad decisions. This will all be explained in upcoming posts.

In the meantime, I'd like to share with you these amazing sunglasses:


Seeing these glasses prompted me to actually start blogging again...today. I have been storing up post subjects for weeks now, but nothing lit that fire under my Victoria's Secret clad ass like these glasses. They are hipster-chic, yet sophisticated and I fell in love with them.

Further pushing me to share my fashion ideas and New York city adventures were these shoes:


I saw them in a store window while walking up Madison Avenue last night with my dear friend Stephanie (we strolled from Bowery and Houston to my apartment on 88th and First). How someone can love wooden sunglasses AND Swarovski crystal encrusted pumps at the same time, is a mystery to me. And I am the person that loves them both.

Anyway, join me again, dear friends and fellow bloggers, in my search for the perfect outfit, New York City adventures, my future husband, and, in a very big way, myself.

Do you belong in New York City?

I do. For now at least. See my result below or take the quiz yourself to see if you are a true-blue lover of N.Y. to the C-I-T-Y.:

DO YOU BELONG IN NYC?
Yes, but sometimes you wish there were a better option.
You do love New York, and you fit in here better than you have anywhere else. You're committed to the city, and you take advantage of all of its amazing food, culture, nightlife and arts. But you have nagging doubts about this relationship. Spend your whole life here? Not sure about that. Sometimes you wonder about that farm in your fantasies or even just a smaller city. But in reality, you know there's nowhere better.

I know it's been a while...

...and I apologize for my month-long absence and will fill you in on what has transpired since early May, but for now, you have to watch this video. It's been years since Zack Morris has made a new appearance on network television, and I know most of you readers had a crush on either Zack or Slater (or both), so I thought I would share this with you...

Sixth Sense

It's not exactly as stylish as an iPhone, but this device is infinitely more useful...

V.D.I.Friday

Van Damme It's Friday!

Bob and James breakin' it down

For the tap-enthusiasts in us all:

I'm famous!

Okay, I'm not really famous, but I am in the most recent edition of New York Magazine! I went to a photo shoot for New York newbies at Chelsea Piers a few weeks ago. The feature story, called "Arrivals" interviewed 160 people who followed their dream to move to New York - I was one of them. Here is a photograph of the shoot, which was fully of energy, excitement, camaraderie and hope, that I couldn't help but leave feeling recharged and more in love with the city. While there, I spoke with some amazing people. I chatted for nearly an hour with one couple, a music duo who, after traveling the country for 15 years, decided to settle in the East Village. They bought their studio apartment a few months ago and are living amid boxes of records and countless instruments, and they love it. A man named David just finished writing a book about Jewish delis, and Brian thought he was just visiting a friend in Brooklyn for a few days; he has been here for four months. My story isn't as glamorous, but still, I'm living the dream.

CNN breaking news?!?

As a way to stay informed about the world's big news stories, I get CNN Breaking News headlines e-mailed to my work e-mail address. Most headlines fed to my brieann.szatkowski@company-Brie-works-for.com address are journalistically considered "breaking news" and about things that could possibly impact my day as a PR/communications professional. However, occasionally I receive e-mails from CNN and just roll my eyes. For example, here is a "breaking news" headline I received at 2:15 a.m. EDT: Just in case the image's text is too small for your eyes - the headline is "Ashton Kutcher is first to reach 1 million Twitter followers in contest with CNN." I understand the whole "social media breakthrough" that is Twitter, but come on. Is Ashton's milestone really something that should be considered "breaking news?" Because he reached the 1 million mark as part of a contest, does this mean he has really accomplished something noteworthy? Was this contest stupid? Discuss.

And we're officially fans

I love live music. There is nothing that gets me off my ass and on my feet more than a rockin' band, especially if I am familiar with the songs or know one/some of the musicians. While I would not call myself a music snob (I listen to a huge variety of music genres and am an equal opportunity listener), I would also not call myself a "fan" of many bands. I like many bands, but to label myself as a "fan," I have to personally be committed to that band's success, believe in the talent of the members and have a desire to see that band go far. Saying that I am a fan of XYZ band is saying a lot.

With this in mind, I want to officially declare myself a fan of Nine Circles. The Jersey-based band is booking gigs throughout New York and New Jersey, and its calendar is filling up fast.

Last night, Jackie and I headed downtown to Crash Mansion to see our new fave band rock out in the basement venue. After throwing back some shots with bassist Steve Morris, and chatting for a minute with guitarist Tom Spears, Jackie and I assumed our standard position - right next to the stage - and rocked to Nine Circles' tunes. The band's next album comes out on May 19.

The guys:


The girls:


And me:

Free panini night

Last night, Jackie and I spent a delightful hour at Vero, a restaurant and wine bar on 53rd Street at Second Avenue. A few weeks ago we learned that every Monday night, Vero will feed you for free if you order a cocktail, beer or glass of wine! Always in the mood for wine and desperate for a free meal, Jackie and I followed our source (Shecky's) to the popular midtown bar and were pleasantly surprised. Vero is a cross between an intimate bar and hoppin' restaurant. The clientele reminded us of, well, us - middle class, young New Yorkers. Jackie's "Sexy Sangria" and my glass of Shiraz were delicious and moderately priced ($11 each), but as we were each awarded a free panini with our beverage purchase, we were more than happy to part with less than $15 (including tax and tip). Our pressed sandwiches provided the perfect balance between bread, cheese, vegetables and (in Jackie's case) meat; and they tasted like more.

Another instance of spontaneous dancing