South Beach's Little Gem: Espanola Way

Sometimes the last thing you want after a day of laying out on Maimi's bustling South Beach is to have to fight more crowds when hunger strikes. Instead of lazily stopping at one of the hundreds of in your face restaurants on Ocean Drive, walk just a little further from the beach, and you'll find a quaint French Cafe on Espanola Way. A La Folie Cafe is a hidden gem of South Beach on the charming street of Espanola Way. Tucked far away from the touristy crowds, A La Folie is the quintessential place to indulge in an incredible crepe or grab coffee while enjoying the peace and quiet and feeling like you're at a true European cafe.

Sanibel Island's Nature Haven

On a previous trip to Florida, we decided to visit the gulf coast for a change of pace from the intensity of South Beach to something more relaxing. Sanibel Island off the coast of Ft. Myers was the perfect solution to ditch the flashiness on South Beach and escape to a hidden paradise. Just 2 hours west of Miami, Sanibel has everything outdoorsy to offer from kayaking to lounging on the vacant beaches, to encountering wild animals within arms reach. A visit to the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge was the perfect way to spend an afternoon post-beach to spot alligators, flamingos, and other wildlife in their natural habitat with no barrier to restrain them.
Check out our lucky finds while walking the nature trail on Sanibel Island.

In Full Bloom

After months of a constant tease and online stocking of their products, Liberty of London has finally launched their line for Target, in stores today. Living in New York City, I was fortunate enough to visit the pop up store at Bryant Park last Wednesday before Target carried the line. The store was so lavishly adorned from head to toe with flowers and adorable pots and pop floral details that I couldn't resist returning two more times within the store's short 3 day opening. Can someone say obsessed?! As a textile designer, I just can't get enough of the sweet printed summer frocks and home decor pieces. I grabbed as many items as I could... and good thing considering everything I purchased is now sold out already on the opening day! My biggest obsession happens to be my new paisley printed floral beach cruiser bike, which I rode home in NYC rush hour traffic without a care in the world. This unique, flirty bike is a definite head turner, even on the busy streets of NYC where almost nothing will phase pedestrians. Here are some of my favorite products that I snatched up!

Asymmetrical garland printed dress

My new love!

2 Tier Dessert Stand

Printed serving platter

Things Are Getting Curiouser And Curiouser

Tim Burton has outdone himself again with Alice in Wonderland. With each film he directs, his creativity explodes more and more. The film Alice In Wonderland was so wildly imaginative and whimsical that it exceeded my expectations, which were already very high! Aside from the fact that the story, animation, and makeup were all so perfectly imaginative, I was absolutely blown away by the fanciful costume design. Each time Alice fluctuated in size via potions, she appeared adorned in a different gorgeous couture dress, each competing with the last. Costume designer of the film Colleen Atwood is officially my new obsession. With an impressive list of films she wardrobed such asChicago, Big Fish, Little Women, and Edward Scissorhands, I must say that Alice in Wonderland may be my favorite of all. The wardrobe in the movie was so inspiring and sweet that I would die to wear any of Alice's amazing dresses! What impresses me most is that when Colleen began designing for this film, she vowed to veer as far away from the cliche "Alice Halloween costume" look. Instead, she evolved a more couture interpretation of the character, using the same iconic blue and silver hues that one would expect Alice to wear. With these incredible designs, Colleen deserves another Oscar to add to her collection (she was formerly awarded Oscars for her designs in Memoirs of a Geisha and Chicago and nominated for 28 others)!

Tim Burton sketch of the Queen of Hearts

Colleen Atwood sketch of one of Alice's dresses... very Galliano

Other designers are now jumping on the bandwagon and creating Alice in Wonderland inspired collections. Sue Wong has designed a flirty and sweet "Alice" Collection for Disney, which is now sold at major department stores such as Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales. Stella McCartney also has an Alice themed charm bracelet for sale now. I'm loving all this whimsy right now!

Sue Wong's "Alice" collection

Sue Wong flirtatious Alice adaptation

Setting Up Shop

JetSet Coco [Never] Sweat[s]-shop

Much to my excitement, JetSet Coco's newest chain strap purse will be exhibited on April 8th at the Rock The Runway spring fashion show hosted by the Junior Women's League in Dallas! I decided to truly set up shop and make a little JetSet Coco haven of my workspace to get motivated and continue creating great purses. Check out my website ... just the home page as of now, but it's getting there slowly but surely!

My new labels

Dust bag included in any JetSet Coco purse purchase

JetSet Coco's Newest Purse Release!!!

While I love the design of my circle purse, I decided to spice it up by adding another style to the JetSet Coco family. Check out the new "It" bag!

Purse style #2

Hand embellished with feathers and crystals

Silk lining inside purse

Close Up

Playful lining and pocket in purse interior

Lady Gaga at Radio City

Check out the resemblance of my JetSet Coco purse and the purse Lady Gaga uses during her set for the song "Beautiful Dirty Rich"! Take after Lady Gaga and get your JetSet Coco circular purse today!!!

Circle leather purse designed by JetSet Coco

Lady Gaga never fails to amaze when it comes to her catchy tunes and eccentric fashion sense. It's no surprise that her Fame Monster concert tour at Radio City Music Hall exceeded my expectations as well. Between eight costume changes of scantily clad fashion statements and her excellent execution of each song, I truly was impressed with her ability to put on a knock out show. As if this wasn't enough to blow the audience away, Gaga exhibited her musical talents by playing piano during the song Speechless, and even added philanthropic ideals throughout the show. As expected, the audience flashily adorned themselves in their best interpretation of Lady Gaga's wild getups, which added to the entertainment for the night. This show was absolutely worth the frustration of fighting for the tickets that sold out in the first ten minutes. Way to go Gaga. "You've left me speechless, so speechless..."

Paparazzi Performance

Finale