Wow... it's been almost a year... Updates Galore

Hey There Fellow Bloggers,

It's been a long time (last post was nearly a year ago in October 2010!) Well least to say, I have lots to update you on my friends.

These days I am no longer bustling through the Saturday AM crowds on the Rue du Rhone in Geneva, Switzerland, but rather I am dashing down Mass Ave through the Infinite Corridor at one of the most innovative and well-known schools in the world. Yup, that's right- Cricket back in school, B-School style in Cambridge, MA.

It has been a crazy year- last we left it in Fall 2010, I was just preparing to apply to business schools. Then, apres November, the winter ski season started up with a bang. We had tons of snow in Geneva (and the surrounding Alps for that matter) at the end of 2010. I was fortunate enough to share a ski chalet with a few other Americans and 2 Aussies in Verbier, Switzerland. Thus, the weekends last year consisted of catching the Friday evening train up to the mountains, and then skiing, cooking, relaxing until Sunday evening. Not to mention, hitting up T-Bar and Farinet (the Dorian's of the Swiss Alps) for the most amazing apres-ski I've ever seen. It was an unbelievable experience that definitely made living in Europe 10x the more worth-while. (Read my earlier post about snobby vs getting old... Verbier was a total game changer).

Then in February I found out the exciting news that I was accepted to school, and things began to change rapidly. The next few months entailed packing up my apartment and organizing my move back to my beloved New England state of Massachusetts. Summer was great- spent a lot of time up on the lake with family in Maine and visiting Grampy. It went by in a whirl though.

Now I'm in Cambridge. It's amazing... and still hasn't sunk in yet. Classes have started, and boy we have a ton of work already. But even though the work load is heavy, my perspective and pace has changed. As a born and raised New Englander (and Preppy), this world is no longer the only one I know. I once felt like an outsider exploring the new worlds of New York City and Geneva, Switzerland. Now, as I return to my primal environment that I once blogged about as my point of comfort and familiarity, 'home' is much more extensive than just New England. I feel a little 'typical' running around in my polo and Ralph Lauren cable knit sweater... so unoriginal and so typical of collegiate New England. I'm so much more than that now... do I need to show that in my clothing choices too? Well I can say for sure, I'm definitely excited to rock my bright pink Moon Boots when the snow starts falling (very popular in Geneva, SO not new england) and my fur 'gilet' with leggings. This preppy New Englander has definitely got some European influence now after the almost 2 years abroad, and its definitely made for a wider and wiser view on the world in terms of culture, politics, work... and fashion ;) Stay tuned...

Is Guinness Preppy?

Is Guinness a preppy beer? According to the bible of preppy drinking, titled 'Tipsy in Madras' by Johnnie Walker & Mitzy Walsh, Guinness is not even listed! Is this because it was a long forgotten friend they just forgot to mention (that happens sometimes, and if that's the case, we forgive you Mitz & J) or is Guiness just so non-preppy it was not even mentioned?

Here are the top 18 preppy beers, according to Mitz & J, from preppy to least preppy order:

1. Heineken (aka Greenie) because its served on tap at the Yale Club in NYC

2. Lowenbrau because its the drink of choice for the rat pack, at least in the movie St. Elmo's fire

3. Molson Goldon (this one is my mum's favorite in the ski season)

4. Becks (aka the Keymasterrr) because its served on tap at the Harvard Club in NYC

5. Labatt's Blue because it's Canada's version of Budweiser

6. Amstel Light because the Farmington & Nightingale-Bamford set like it

7. Anchor Steam because there are some beer snobs in San Fran

8. Rolling Rock because "when you're going to a party at a yuppie's house but you don't want to spend a lot of money, and know that Bud would be ill-received"

9. Knickerbockers... not sure why this is on the list considering the company that produces it went out of business in 1997... oh wait, because if you can say you at least used to drink it, your part of an extinct preppy era

10. St. Pauli Girl because the good ol' boys like it

11. Corona.... I really don't know how this got on the list Mitz & J... really.I know you mention this is on the list because of the GDPs (Greateful Dead Preps), but really... I think they'd prefer a a Rolling Rock over this lime-needing Mexican beer

12. Budweiser aka "The King"... again, not sure how this one got on the list, but my only justification is because of the preppy house parties in high school when mum and dad went to the cape for the weekend with their friends and someone's older brother would buy a few 30 packs of Bud...

13. Coors... because the kids in Vail need something to drink after skiing all day (surprised this one is not higher on the list!!)

14. Foster's because the kids on the crew team need a favorite beer too

15. Red Stripe because Tom Cruise drank it in the preppy movie "Cocktail"

16. Grolsch Premium Lager... again!! ... for the A cappella singers? I don't think so. This should be removed from the list M & J...

17. Busch, for the innocent and young (I can justify this the same way I can justify Bud being on this list)

18. The Beast (Milwaukee's Best) because there are lots of Marty McFly wannabees out there.

And where is Guinness? At 9CHF a glass in Geneva, and 3CHF a can, only those who truly enjoy the taste or are willing to throw down extra cash, are buying it in Europe. Is it because its too flashy? No, since when was beer flashy or too nouveau? Mitz, J.... I think we should add it to the list.

Why do I like it? Normally a lover of light beers, I visited the Guinness factory in Dublin a few years ago. As they say, I had the best glass of Guinness from the top of the factory's view room. Prior to then, Guinness was just this bitter dark beer that was just hard to swallow. However, the creamy rich Guinness coaxed me to the "dark side" and since then, I have always loved Guinness. Its a beer you drink, not chug, and it reminds me of enjoying a really dark piece of bitter chocolate. AND it has the fewest amount of calories out of all non-light beers at 112 calories per glass.

Staying in with wine... Snobby or sign of growing up?

Last night- aka Saturday night, I stayed in with my cat. I rented the chick-flick 'The House Bunny' on iTunes and had two glasses of fabulous Bordeaux wine. I also had a box of Special K w/ chocolate that I picked from- straight out of the box.

The above has become a comfortable, easy habit for my Friday and Saturday nights, since moving to Europe. It's such a change from my life in NY before, when Thursday nights = Dorrians, Fridays = birthday party downtown, Saturdays = day drinking followed by a few typical UES watering holes, Sunday = EJs and major debriefing session with the girls about the antics of the weekend.

So, is my new, tamed weekend ritual a sign of growing up or just being snobby? Yes snobby, because I *do* have the option to go out here, it's just that I choose not to go out. Everytime I have gone out, I have been dissapointed by the prospects. Rather than going out and surrounding myself with a mix of students abroad who are way too young for me and a bunch of old, euro men- I choose my wine, cat, and movie. After all, am I really going to find another like-minded, american-blooded preppy out and about in Europe? More like trying to find a needle in a haystack here, whereas they are a dime a dozen on the UES... And there are better ways to spend my time than rumaging through a haystack.

I then spend my Saturdays and Sundays with my girlfriends- we shop, do tea, and go to the park.

Thus, have I just started to 'grow up' a bit or have snubbed the party life because of the lack preppy boys??

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Do I spoil myself too much?

Mid-February, I decided to get semi-perminent eyelashes and a gel french-manicure. Now I have created a pedi, eyelash batting, money-spending monster of myself.

Then I decided I dressed too immaturely- enough with the cutsie pink polo cableknits and bright green hair ribbons- I'm a 25 year old professional for crying outloud and we aren't in New England anymore. Hense, the purchase of my two Hermes scarfs in early March.

Then April hit- perfect time to start thinking about getting in shape for summer. Yup, 10sessions of 1-1 personal pilates sessions purchased by me-- an expensive routine given that I plan on doing 30 sessions before mid-July to look fabulous in one of my best friend's weddings.

And now May. What have I done? I bought myself foie gras. Random, NBD compared to 2 Hermes scarfs in a week, right? No. It's just a symbol of this unnecessary spoiling streak that started in February. Enough is enough, and no one needs a whole little pot of foie gras for herself just because she can (plus it's so fattening!!)

Ugh, how to force myself out of this habit??

Preparing for New Kitten!

So today I met my soon-to-be new kitten. So exciting! She is an orange tabby kitten, and absolutely adorable. I could have taken the kitten today, however, I haven't done any shopping for my new little friend... not even the purchase of a carrier to bring her home!

Thus, I have just ordered online the Shepra "Tote Around Town" carrier in Boston Tweed to pick her up in style-- no gross plastic cages for my kitten!

Then I ordered a cute pink harness and lead, so I can bring the new kitten to the park... how fabulous was the weather today by the way?? Beautiful day at the park..

And then of course, I need to get the monogrammed dishes for the kitten. However, I don't know what to name her! I'm thinking: Peaches, Empi (for Empire State, since I used to live in Manhattan), Bianca (because that's my fake bar name and my girlfriends think it would be funny), or something French (since I am living in a French speaking country now). I'm leaning toward "Empi" because its cute, but we'll see. However, I love these faux-leather (because real leather would get ruined in the cleaning process) bowls from http://www.petvogue.co.uk:

PS. Isn't she adorable?? This is me holding her today at the mother cat's house.

Preppy Office-Wear

One of my biggest adjustments after college was figuring out how to dress for the office. When I graduated college, I moved to NYC and I was working for one of the big investment banks. I was used to wearing a popped-collard polo and NorthFace fleece during most months of the year. Now I found myself in New York, constantly surrounded by professionals-- and mostly men for that matter. While men can be great role models in business, when it comes to office attire, I don't want to take after them :) For them, its as simple as a Brooks Brothers button down shirt, dress pants, and a tie. If he's a preppy banker, he wears a different Vineyard Vines tie everyday. You get the point- for men, its pretty clear on what to wear.

For women, its so frustrating because we have too many options! Whether it is a twin-set with pearls (which sometimes i think is not as dressy as it should be? I mean, I used to wear this normally on the weekends..), or a dress (which sometimes makes me feel over-dressed.. and again, I might wear the same conservative dress on a dinner date...), I am never quite sure what is crossing the line between too-dressy and not-enough dress. Further, what does a preppy girl wear to work? There is no Vineyard Vines for the working woman.

Well, with all of my complaining about what to wear to the office, I do 'make do' and I thought I would share my preppy office attire with you! This is what I wore today: pearls, pink non-iron Brooks Brothers shirt, grey Talbots pencil skirt, brown Talbots heals, and a Lilly Pulitzer sash (that came with a Lilly dress I bought last year).

Hopefully that helps give you some ideas if you have been facing the same office attire predicament as me! :)

Preppy Pant Predicament

Jeans are not preppy. I hate to break it to those of you who think jeans are preppy, but whether they are from Jcrew or 7forallmankind, jeans are not traditional preppy. While trouser-cut jeans might be closer to a prep's closet, when it comes down to it, jeans are trendy and fashionable, but not preppy. Even Life magazine needed to comment when Jackie Onassis started wearing jeans, writing "In fact, post-Camelot, Jackie began experimenting more with fashion, choosing brighter colors and patterns and even daring to wear jeans in public." (http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/31382/jackie-kennedy-postcamelot-style )

So, this morning I find myself in a preppy-pant predicament. Why? Because I look awful in khakis, and any other light colored pant. During the work week, its strictly dark grey, black, and navy pencil skirts. I sometimes go to the dark grey, black, or navy trousers. But this is the weekend, and for two days of the year, I should try not to dress like I am going to work! The summer is easy because I can throw on a cute dress or even some nice crisp white shorts. But during the winter, spring, and fall months-- its always a struggle.

Recently, I have been looking to purchase a nice pair of linen pants in navy, but I also get so frustrated because a) I am 5'2" so I will inevitably needed to get my pants hemmed, and b) I am hoping to lose about ten lbs over the next few months... so why buy pants now that will hopefully be too big in a few months time? I go through this same conversation with myself almost every weekend when I face this predicament and send myself to the stores to buy something other than jeans. And every weekend I leave the weekend empty handed. And now today is Sunday, and all of the stores in Europe are closed on Sundays. Guess I will need to struggle through today by being a 'fashionable' prep in jeans, or revert back to my stone colored cords that are actually too big and look a bit silly...!