Sue Erneta

Shopping with Sue… at Lemlem

January 31, 2012 at 1:17 pm, by Sue Erneta

With less than 48 hours until I leave for vacation, I’ve got beach on the brain. And traveling with me will be a few of my favorite items — my scarves from Lemlem.

For the uninitiated, I’ll give you the brief story. Lemlem was created by the gorgeous supermodel Liya Kebede in 2007. The line consists of handwoven dresses, tops, skirts, scarves and shoes for women and girls. I’m not gonna lie, it ain’t cheap. But when something is special and you can wear it over and over, then maybe $150 for a scarf isn’t so bad.

Her scarves are my favorite because they always have this beautiful color mix — some amazing pop of super bright against pure white — and they are so easy to wear. I love them around my neck on a plane to keep the chill away and then as a sarong on the beach. I even wrap them around my kids as little beach dresses.

The dresses and tunics are adorable too – and even come in kids sizes – though they do run upwards of $200+. They’re carried at one of my favorite place to shop – jcrew.com — so I’m always on the lookout to see some pop up on sale. Oh look: there are a couple right now!

Another reason to love Lemlem is that by purchasing the product, not only are you keeping alive the ancient art of hand weaving but you are giving a job to someone who may not have had one before. Check out these pictures of the weaving process. It makes it look totally worth $150 to me.

Photos from Lemlem.

 

 

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Shopping with Sue…at Rachel Rachel Roy

January 25, 2012 at 3:50 pm, by Sue Erneta

I’ll admit it. I have a girl crush on Rachel Roy. I mean, she’s gorgeous and stylish and all but there is so much more to love than just that. Of course, there is her ah-mah-zing namesake collection that counts Kate Hudson, Eva Mendes and First Lady Michelle Obama as fans. But if you know anything about me, it’s a deal that really gets me going. And with the Rachel Rachel Roy collection, you (and I!) can have that same eclectic style that we love her in main line, in a much more affordable and extensive collection of  clothing, jewelry, shoes, and handbags.

You can pick up the line at Macy’s stores and on Macys.com or you can check out Rachel’s website for blog posts and to shop from either of her lines. I’m obsessed with just about every piece from Rachel Rachel Roy but if I had to put just one outfit together, I’d pick the Susan dress, the Kimi pumps in nude (Yes – that’s a studded heel!), and the Small Frame Clutch that we shot in our February closet organizing story. At only $59, I think everyone should a clutch that versatile in their wardrobe.

And if we didn’t already love Rachel enough, check out her charity products that all give 100% of net proceeds to the participating organization. Available right now is the Heart of Haiti jewelry collection (that ring is gorgeous!) and the Kindness is Always Fashionable clutch. Proceeds of the clutch go to OrphanAid in Ghana.

So, if you’re looking for something new at a great price, please check out Rachel Rachel Roy at rachelroy.com and while you’re there, read about Rachel’s amazing charity work. She’s truly an inspiration and totally crush-worthy!

Image from rachelroy.com.

 

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Facebook and My Kids: Am I over-sharing?

January 19, 2012 at 2:11 pm, by Sue Erneta

There are different kinds of people on Facebook. Personally, I fall somewhere between the kind that can’t eat lunch without sharing what kind of salad dressing they had, and those who you forget are on Facebook because they never post or comment. I post a few times a week — sometimes more (sorry!) — but I always try to make it funny, interesting, or just plain cute (it helps when your kids are adorable!). Some might think I over-share, especially when it comes to my kids. I mean, I once posted a video of Lily at age 2 sitting on the potty singing Beyonce songs. (What? It was cropped from the waist up!) Here’s my theory: I share with my Facebook friends what I would share with a real friend. Sure, there are co-workers and business contacts that I count among my Facebook friends but they’re only the ones that I’m actually friends with in real life. I’ve had some random publicists (that I’ve never met!) try to friend me and I’ve said no. For those people, you can follow my fashion posts on twitter @lhjFashionLady or read my blogs on lhj.com or even just pick up the magazine to see my stories. (Ugh – writing that list makes me feel like I’m everywhere! Aren’t you sick of me? Why are you still reading this?)

I have a friend who has vowed to raise his child “Facebook-free”. It should come as no surprise that I don’t know anything about his daughter. I think of Facebook as a nice place to share some stories. In fact, my husband has several family members in Argentina who have never met our kids but get to know all about them via Facebook. How is that a bad thing?

I’m certainly not a private person (I mean, why should I care if someone wants to see Sophia’s latest fashion ensemble? I mean, she is pretty cute!) but I suppose I could use a good “friend clean-up”. I mean, why am I letting the guy who was a cocky jerk in Jr. High enjoy beautiful pictures of my kids? Admittedly, I only accepted his friend request to see if he held onto his good looks or if he got fat and bald. Answer: It was the latter and for some twisted reason that kinda makes me happy.
So, I’ll do a little friend housekeeping (goodbye Jr. High jerk!) but for those of you that I keep on my list, you can count on me to keep over-sharing everything about my kids, my husband, my job, my blogs, my vacations, my house, and my life. And if it’s too much for you, go ahead and unfriend me. I don’t mind.

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Sale Shopping: My Favorite Way to Buy

January 10, 2012 at 9:55 am, by Sue Erneta

It’s January. And you know what that means: it’s SALE time! Sure, there are sales to be found year-round but January is like the Super Bowl of sales. (Did I just use a sports reference? Sorry. Won’t let it happen again.)
I once snagged a Helmut Lang coat for $120 at Saks…in January. That 3.1 Philip Lim cardigan I got at Barney’s for $55? Yup. That was in January too. My point? January is the time to keep your eyes peeled for great deals. What to look for?
Anything wintery: coats, sweaters, boots, and just about anything wool or cashmere. You should be able to score these at least 50% off. Check your closets and really take stock of what you have and what you need.

That old gray cardi that’s pilling? Might be time for a new one.

Afraid to take a chance on an interesting color or print? Now might be the time.

Do you wear your brown boots to death? How about a back up pair? (I promise you: You’ll be happier buying them now then next fall when they’re full price).
For more tips to help you figure out what you need and what to get rid of, check out Clothes Call, our fashion/closet organizing story in our February issue on newsstands now.
And if you need even more help with some style resolutions, check out Associate Fashion Editor Gabrielle Porcaro’s tips here.

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Resolving to be a Little More Selfish

January 5, 2012 at 4:34 pm, by Sue Erneta

As a busy mom with 2 young kids, a full time job and a long commute, I usually face January 1st with the following resolution: I’m doing the best I can. The fact that I can hold it together at all means I’m doing okay so this year I’m not resolving to change a thing.
Well this year, I’m making resolutions. And lots of them. And even though I’m a mom, none of them involve my kids. You see, that’s the problem. When your kids are young, you have to focus on them. But over the last few years, it’s the other things that have slipped: I haven’t been taking care of me. So, here are my 2012 resolutions. Wish me luck!
1) MY RELATIONSHIP RESOLUTION: More dates with my husband. Some couples have date night every week, we have it a few times a year. And that sucks. We’ve always chosen other things to spend our money on but we’re starting to realize how important it is to take time to…ya know…talk to each other. We’ve already had 2 (two!!) dinner dates since Christmas so we’re off to a good start.
2) MY WORK RESOLUTION: Write more blog posts. I’m supposed to write posts every week, alternating between mom blogs and fashion blogs but I certainly didn’t get them all in last year. I’m shooting for at least 52 this year and I’m also hoping to write a few that are out of my comfort zone – maybe a few posts about my home renovations and maybe a health post about resolution #3.
3) MY PERSONAL RESOLUTION: Get healthy. I know it’s cliche to list “losing weight” as a New Year’s resolution so I’m aiming instead for getting healthy (and hoping the weight lose comes with it.) Three years ago, I lost 35 pounds on Weight Watchers. Sure, I loved the compliments and I certainly was thrilled with the way my clothes looked but the best part was how healthy I felt. I had so much energy. Unfortunately, I’ve gained back about 25 pounds and I’m so angry with myself! So I’m switching a few things to get myself back on track: oatmeal for breakfast (goodbye bagel day at work!), drinking more water, walking the stairs in the subway instead of taking the escalator (all 120 of them at my local station) and finding healthier afternoon snacks instead of seeing what delicious baked goody our talented food editor has for us to sample today. And of course, portion control, portion control, portion control! I’ll also be tracking points on my Weight Watchers app and I’m hoping to take off 25 pounds by my 40th birthday in June.
Is anyone with me on this one?
4) MY BEAUTY RESOLUTION: Wash my face every night. I know it’s gross that I’m not doing this already but my aging skin is not looking good (you did notice that I boldly mentioned the big age milestone I’m hitting this year, right?) and I want to do anything I can to help it without needles and knives (for now at least).

So there you have my four big goals for 2012. I figure if I put them in writing, then I’ll be more apt to do them. What are you resolving to do? Write it in the comments and make it happen!

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Christmas Traditions

December 22, 2011 at 2:08 pm, by Sue Erneta

As much as I prefer summer to winter, I still can’t get enough of Christmas time. It’s the traditions – visiting Santa, finding the perfect gift, and baking cookies – that make this time of year feel so special. And getting to experience it all through the eyes of my kids is magical. Seriously, those two haven’t seen a Christmas light they don’t like while Ole Judgey over here (that’d be me) certainly oohs and aahs over the simple, clean white light displays, I also cringe and gasp over the ones with multiple colored flashing lights attached to plastic lawn ornaments. And that’s where my Christmas tree tastes come from. Let me explain:
For all the years I lived in NYC pre-Pablo I never got my own Christmas tree. (Jewish roommate + heading home for Christmas = just not worth it) I always hated the big colored bulbs my parents used and when I was an adult, my mom finally said “When you have your own tree, you can have whatever lights you want.” (Sounds a little snippy but this was only after I nagged her for years to switch to small white bulbs, so you could say I had it coming.)
When Pablo moved in with me, we got our first tree together. When we went to buy the lights, he grabbed for a box of multi-colored lights and I reached for a box of white ones. Um…was he crazy? How could I have not known this shocking personality flaw about the man that I love? You see, he wanted multi-colored because that’s what he always had in the Erneta house and I wanted white because it wasn’t what we had in the Owen house. So we decided that we would trade off each year. Since 2000, he gets the even years and I get the odd ones. (Looks like he won the first year which shows how young and smitten I was.) I figured this was a tradition that we would carry on for the rest of ours lives. Truth be told, Pablo does nothing to decorate the house for the holidays so I’m sure if the colored lights had some kind of tragic accident, no one would ever replace them.

But this year when we put the lights on the tree (my year, yay!), my 6 year old looked at me with sad eyes and asked why we didn’t have “the pretty lights with all different colors”. I re-explained the tradition and told her it was a “white lights” year. But, as I talked I could hear the cracks in my story. Why should Mommy and Daddy each get a vote if the kids don’t? That doesn’t seem fair. So, I fear this may be the last year of the white light tree.  Unless of course, the colored lights fall off a shelf in the attic. Nah – I wouldn’t do that. I’ve got to pick my battles and as long as the outside of the house is lit with white lights, I could maybe budge inside. I said maybe. Pablo keeps threatening to make the outside Griswold-esque and obviously, I couldn’t stand for that. Unless of course, he gets the kids on his side!

If you want to take a picture of your tree that’s all glowy and bright (and have a DSLR camera), check out this blog where I learned how to do it.

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Shopping with Sue…at J Crew

December 13, 2011 at 4:38 pm, by Sue Erneta

Ok. I know I write about J Crew quite often but I can’t help it. They carry absolutely everything from sweaters and jeans to dresses and blouse and of course some of the most decedent accessories you can get without spending a grand. And they do it all with a mix of classic style and total whimsy. But usually I’m writing about the deal I just got. (Did I mention the blouse I scored? Original price: $118. I paid $17 and change. Woo hoo!) But this time, I’m not looking at prices. I’m not trolling the sale rack doing math in my head (30% off of 89.99 is…?). This time I’m picking a money-is-no-object shopping list. Just a few things I would ask Santa for if I could stomach the idea of spending this much!

 

1. Cashmere boyfriend sweater – In my old age, I’ve finally learned that it’s not about having the most sweaters. It’s about having the best sweaters. The ones I wear repeatedly are the beautiful cashmeres in classic shapes. I’ve been wearing a few of them to death lately so a grey vneck newbie might be nice. $228.

2. Edie purse in Italian calfhair – I’ve had my eye on Edie since the Fall 2012 presentation last spring. I’ve even been known to prance around the store with her in my hand. And the leopard print calfhair is to die. Plus, it’s called a “purse” which is just lovely! $448

3. Viv pumps -  And speaking of lovely, these shoes are so not my style so that’s why they make the list. (Remember, money is no object in this little dream world. I’ll just look at them and admire them like a little sculpture!) $298

4. Pave link bracelet – At $118 this little beauty is a steal! Oh right, I forgot I was trying to be decedent and not care about the price. Ok then, I want 5 of them!

Well, wasn’t this fun to just dream and forget about price for a moment? Who am I kidding? You know I’ll be stalking jcrew.com/sale to see when these get marked down! (And Santa, If you were thinking of getting anything for me, just use the code JINGLE to get 30% off your order over $250 through midnight tomorrow night.) Happy shopping!

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