Saturday Shopping Adventures in Prepadelphia

Happy Easter!  I found a few minutes before Mancakes' parents come over to sneak away and write a little about some fabulous shopping finds I discovered yesterday.  Mancakes and I originally headed out looking for wall decoration for our living room.  We stopped in several antiques shops and home stores along Pine Street, but, in typical Ladycakes fashion, I got distracted  by all of the cute boutiques along the way.  Mancakes was gracious enough to indulge me, and I found some wonderful new stores. 

First, Mancakes and I stopped in a store called the Crystal Cage located at 1116 Pine Street in Philadelphia.  The inside is a shopaholics' dream.  Some of the items, such as shiney purses, were downtown chic, while other items such as cashmere wraps and cute belts (one of which I ultimately bought!) leaned toward the preppy genre.  The owner Kelly was incredibly nice and fashionable and added to the total shopping experience.  She even had a leather "man chair" in the store which Mancakes was all too happy to take advantage of while I oogled my way around the store. 

Now, I must tell you about the belt I bought.  I had never heard of the designer before, but after being introduced, I immediately became hooked!  The designer is Terry Stack.  http://www.terrystack.com/  Instead of having holes, all the belts, which are made of Italian leather, have velcro.  This is perfect for me, because my waist size always seems to be inbetween the holes.  The velcro will be perfect to help me get the belt around my waist "just so," and I can gain a few pounds or lose a few pounds without worrying that I'll lose my precious belt in the process.  Next, Terry Stack also creates various separate buckles, which are sold separately, that you can mix and match to change up your look.  You just slide the buckles over the section where you velcroed and, voila!, you have a beautiful and unique brooch-style buckle.  Among the buckles that Kelly had in her store were a gold owl, silver ships, and a silver horse.  I ended up choosing a white leather belt with a silver horse buckle.  I am already deciding how I can incorporate it into an outfit and am so excited to wear it soon.  You can see more options for belts and buckles on the Terry Stack website here:  http://www.terrystack.com/cart/.  Kelly told me that the stores is having a cashmere event soon with beer and brats.  She said the beer and brats are for the men, but I don't know . . .  I think this woman has secretly discovered the way to my heart - beautiful fabric and wonderful food to boot?  Done and done! 

The next store that Mancakes and I went in is a store that I've heard about before, but never realized where it was:  Halloween.  And after seeing the storefront, I think you'll realize why I was confused as to its whereabouts.  Here it is: 

  
Halloween, a concept costume jewelry boutique, is located at 1329 Pine Street.  The store is unassumingly located away from other stores and nestled inbetween residences.  No sign adorns the store from the outside.  Mancakes and I almost passed it up, but noticed a couple in front of us ring the doorbell and enter, the door cracking open just a sliver to reveal a magical parallel world inside.  We were intrigued and had to follow. 

The inside of Halloween is decorated in a romantic gothic style, with dark wood, seemingly hundreds of jewelry displays and various gargoyle or whimsical garden statues placed around the store.  Halloween does not remind one of Hot Topic, but instead of Harry Potter.  The darkness is not foreboding or in any type of defiance, but magical.  I myself love Harry Potter and have always wished, not so secretly, that I could attend Hogwarts.  Halloween may not be Hogwarts, but in my opinion is as close as you can get in Philadelphia. 

The jewelry collection itself in Halloween is massive.  They have every type of upscale, antique costume jewelry you can imagine.  My favorite part of the store was the "pearl corner," with multitudes of pearl earrings, necklaces, bracelets and brooches displayed on rope nets and around mermaids busts, evoking a mystical "Pirates of the Carribean" effect.  None of the jewelry was "junk jewelry," with prices hovering around $300 and up.  However, the jewelry was all unique and most of it contained real gemstones, so the pricing is reasonable in my opinion.    Philadelphia magazine, as well as other Philly blogs and publications, have featured articles about the owner Henri David.  David seems to be a real character and hosts an elaborate Halloween ball every year.  I can only imagine how incredible it is.

I will leave you with pictures of the inside of Halloween.  Take care, loves.

Until next time . . .

XOXO,
Ladycakes
 

Derby Style, Part 1

The Kentucky Derby is soon approaching, friends!  This year it is the same day as my birthday and as Soon-To-Be-Mrs. Sophisticate's bachelorette party, so I probably won't get to watch it.  But I will enjoy looking at all of the pictures of the event after.  Horse racing events are one of the few situations in American culture where it is not only acceptable, but preferrable, to wear a hat.  I love this!  I really wish that there were more occassions where ladies could bust out their inner Southern Belle.  Come to think of it, maybe there are more occassions in the South, but there definitely aren't in the North.  Then all of the brightly colored dresses, ties, suits - Love.  It's even expected that the men dress brightly and it's a rare opportunity for some who wouldn't otherwise to have fun with fashion.  Today I'm mainly focusing on the ladies, but I hope that I have time over the next few weeks to focus on the men, too.

Hats - A Staple of Derby Fashion 

Just look at a picture of what the crowd looks like:

And celebrities turn out, too!

I love Ashley Simpson and Pete Wentz's old-school society take on derby style.  It adds a cheeky twist to preppy glamour.  (from 2010)

And not to be left out, the lady of fashion herself wouldn't miss the Derby:

That's right - if we were taking score, I think Barbie has the winningest look of the day!

There are so many stores right now that have looks that would be incredible for the Derby.  Lilly Pulitzer's Franco Dress in Hotty Pink Hot to Trot is adorable:

Throw a hat on with the dress and voila!  You're ready to go.

 

Vineyard Vines even has their own Derby Collection:

 

 

And of course, I think the ever fashionable Kate Spade would be apropos for the event as well.  This is just one option from the 2011 summer collection:

Love the pearls and the pop of color on the shoes . . . Again, just add a hat, and you're ready to Derby!  (Can that be used as a verb?)

Well, loves, I must be off for now . . . but this will be continued.  Until then, practice making the perfect Mint Julep.

XOXO,

Ladycakes

Preppy Sports and a Correction

Hi all - I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend.  If you are a Philadelphian like me, you are probably wringing yourself out from that intense thunderstorm we had last night.  Yikes!  Senior Fussybutt kept barking, I think because he thought our home was being invaded by thunderously stomping giants!  But today is a new day . . . and it is a gorgeous one.

Let me start by issuing a correction to one of my previous posts - below I said that Armie Hammer and his wife's wedding was featured in this month's Town and Country.  I was wrong and I apologize for the error.  Really, their wedding was featured in January's Town and Country Weddings and it is Armie's wife herself who is featured in April's edition of Town and Country.  Does anyone know how to do a Town and Country Wedding magazine backorder?  Still want photos of that amazing wedding!

Well, now that I have established the error of my ways . . .

I am ready to move on! 

Today I bring to you the topic of preppy sports.  I must state immediately as a disclaimer that I do not now and really never have played any preppy sport, so I am probably not the most qualified person to discuss this topic.   Furthermore, I seriously lack coordination, so I am not really good at any sport.  But I am a person who is enthusiastic about discussing sports and I want to learn more . . . Tally ho, then!

What makes a sport preppy?  I would argue that sports are not inherently preppy, but become preppy when the people who predominantly play them are of the upwardly-mobile constitution.  (The chicken or the egg?!)  In any case, it seems to me that sports that are "preppy" have several things in common:

1.  You get to wear cute outfits while participating.

2.  They are co-ed. 

3.  They are played by people of a variety of ages, from young to old.

4.  They include certain socially proprietous rules of conduct.

5.  And they are usually followed by cocktails. 

While Mr. Mancakes loves more stereotypically "American," masculine sports such as football, baseball and hockey, I think there is something fundamentally lacking in a sport where one cannot dress up for the game.  I would love going to Eagles games if I could wear a dress and drink a martini!  But alas, Eagles games usually consist of jersey-donning Philadelphians downing Bud Light . . . and don't even get me started on the the rest of their outfits!  Such things would never happen in golf! 

Furthermore, while I do enjoy watching all sports with Mancakes because it is something fun we can do together, I want to learn more about sports that I can actually play myself instead of just watching.  Even though I am a tall, bigger-than-most woman, there is no way I am getting anywhere near a baseball field myself - A League of Their Own was an amazing movie, but it taught me baseball is tough.  And I won't even begin with the other options . . . Though, surprisingly, "preppy sports" do seem more accessible to women.  I find this unsurprising, seeing as most ideas that are tasteful and good involve women!

So what are the "preppy" sports?  I'm no expert, but in my opinion tennis and golf immediately come to mind as staples, followed by other racquetball sports (squash, racquetball), sailing, horseback riding, lacross, crew, skiing, field hockey . . . can you think of any others? 

All joking aside about cute outfits and  superiority to football, I think that some preppy sports boast real lifestyle benefits.  Sports like tennis and golf are sports that one can learn young and are low-impact, so one can continue playing throughout his or her whole life.  You can play them around the world by yourself (well, except for tennis, or other club sports), so there's no need to go through the hassle of organizing a team.  Additionally, they give you the opportunity to be outside and get some fresh air if you otherwise have no reason to be outside.  Some of the sports listed above are activities that you can do to be active with your family and friends.  Not to mention that they may introduce you to new friends.  Conversely, sports like raquetball and squash are great for city-dwellers like myself who may not have immediate access to outdoors sports.       

One perhaps somewhat obvious downside to "preppy sports" is that they do involve more of a financial commitment than buying a football to throw around or a baseball and glove.  But I would argue that if you pick one sport that you really love and stick to that one sport, you can find affordable options to play.  I grew up in a town that, though it was not the Midwest, had a decidedly Midwestern feel to it.  We had a golf course and driving range in town that was not glamorous, but it was fun.  I would like to believe that their are options like this in many towns and cities.

In my quest to discover preppy sports, I am going to first try several things and then narrow down the ones that I like and can actually afford.  This May, I am considering taking horseback riding lessons with Miss Downtown.  I am also hoping that my plans with my friend Soon-To-Be-Mrs. Sophisticate pan out:  we are planning on doing a trial membership to the Philadelphia Raquetball Club.  Stay tuned as I let you know more about how these adventures develop.  I promise I won't hold back any embarassing details of my lack of coordination or know-how! 

Until next time . . .

XOXO,
Ladycakes

Wedding Wednesday! . . . err . . . Thursday . . .

Hello loves!  Happy Thursday!  Ever since I have been young, I have been obsessed with wedding style and wedding magazines.  (Now, mind you, I always considered the actual marriage was always very separate from the "wedding."  What really I wanted more than anything was a loving and supportive husband to be my partner in everything.  But, I figured if I'm going to dream, I might as well dream big and throw in a fabulous dress and glorious flowers, too!)  My mother and I used to buy several wedding magazines at a time and curl up together on the couch looking at dresses, flowers and reception locations, talking about what I would eventually like my wedding to be like.  My dad would occassionally stop to look over our shoulders and make some comment that he thought was pertinent.  ("I don't like that dress; it looks like a cupcake.  I don't like that one either - it has too many 'pom poms' on it.")  Well, I am happy to report that my wedding to Mr. Mancakes this past fall was everything I have always dreamed of - we got married in a beautiful, historic location with fabulous music, food, friends and family . . . Mr. Mancakes wasn't too shabby in his tux, either! 

Now, even though I have stopped looking for details for my own wedding, I am still drawn to wedding magazines.  I think it is because I love beautiful things and event planning.  And weddings are usually the ultimate event.  They are perhaps the biggest style statement a woman will make in her life.  Maybe not, but for many they are.  They are a combination of "interior decorating" in picking decorative touches for tables and locations and personal style in picking one's own dress, tuxes for the men (because who are we kidding - what man actually picks his own tux by himself?!), and dresses for one's bridesmaids.  More importantly, in my opinion, is the fact that weddings are often the first big statement, stylistic or otherwise, that a couple makes together.  It is the starting point for the rest of their lives together . . . what other stylistic moment could be more important?

With this in mind and because of my general obsession with weddings, I am going to bring to you every Wednesday a post on weddings and/or wedding style, i.e. Wedding Wednesdays!  When I thought of this today, I got so excited that I couldn't help but sit down immediately and begin posting, even though this time, I am about 20 hours behind schedule!       

Today I bring to you wedding and style inspiration of actor Armie Hammer's wedding to his journalist wife Elizabeth Chambers. 

Armie Hammer is the actor who played the Winklevoss twins in "The Social Network."  He did have a body double, Josh Price, but unfortunately at the end, Josh's face was replaced with Armie's!  Maybe next time, Joshie!  Annnyway, I digress . . . I stumbled across this video when looking for wedding style pictures - the video was made by Armie's obviously talented wife Ms. Chambers.  Watch here:  http://vimeo.com/12607954. 

I love everything about the wedding and the wedding video - from Ms. Chamber's simplistically beautiful dress by Melissa Sweet to the classic flowers to the organically sophisticated outdoor ceremony.  And how cute are the expressions on their faces while they are getting ready and when they look at each other?  Amazing.  The way the video is prepared is equally well-done.  I love the use of light in the film whether it is the sun glowing softly before setting on the horizon or the glowing lanterns in the evening.  The editing brilliantly times the climaxes in the song, "Wake Up" by the Arcade Fire, with the climaxes in movement and expression (the little girls appearing behind an opening door, the couple kissing).  I showed Mr. Mancakes and he told me that part of the effect of the video comes from the fact that the shots were filmed using more frames per second.  This is a film technique that is used on film that will eventually be slowed down later to maintain a smooth quality in the video.  Apparently, if normal speed is used, when the film is slowed down later, it is jerky.  Huh!  Mancakes never fails to amaze me with the random knowledge stored in his cranium!  Sexy, no? 

Armie and Elizabeth's wedding is actually being featured in this month's Town and Country magazine, on stands now.  I tried to find pictures for you, but, alas, none!  Next Wedding Wednesday, I hope to discuss Reese Witherspoon's *pink!* wedding dress and possibly some Twilight wedding . . .

Until then . . .

XOXO,
Ladycakes 

Emily Henderson I'm Not . . .

Because Emily Henderson is fabulous!  Have you heard of her?  She won Design Star on HGTV and now has her own show called "Secrets From a Stylist" in which she merges the styles of couples.  She is so creative in the way she identifies each individual's style by having each person pick out what objects he or she is attracted to.  She then gives each style a clever personalized name like "Mantique," for a man who likes antique.  After she identifies the man's style and the woman's style, she combines the two by incorporating elements of each to create a new combined style, like "Hollywood Country Club."  Brilliant!  It helps for her show that she is adorable and never gets ruffled, even when her couple doesn't like the style at first.

Secrets From a Stylist

But, though Emily Henderson I am not, I do love interior decorating.  I love thinking of eventually owning my own home some day with Mr. Mancakes, and I love the idea of decorating the entire home with beautiful things that I love that I have some emotional connection to.  I love perusing the pages of Elle Decor and Traditional Home.  In fact, my lovely mother recently got me a subscription to Traditional Home and I am thrilled!  All of this being said however, I still do not even know how to define my own style - how can I ever combine my style with Mr. Mancakes' style if I don't even know my own style!  I always have the problem of liking too many things . . . combining too many styles all at the same time until everything is all mashed together like a big mess.

You see, I love bright colors, a la Lilly Pulitzer (who by the way, has recently introduced a Home Collection with Garnet Hill) . . .

Then, I also like East Coast prep All-American like the new Tommy Hilfiger collection or JCrew . . .

Then there are Nautical themes . . .

And, oh, who can forget Kate Spade?  LOVE the Kate Spade . . . I call it smart chic.

And last, probably the farthest style-wise from the others, I love French and English country and romance . . .

Am I a little girl lost?  (Well, age-wise, definitely not.  But metaphorically speaking, maybe.)  How could I possibly combine so many styles and be happy with the result?  And I haven't even asked Mancakes what he thinks yet!

I decided to go for guidance to HGTV's find your style quiz.  After looking at many pictures and clicking on the pictures that appealed to me most, the quiz told me my style is "Romantic":

Your style is Romantic

Elegant yet relaxing. Luxurious fabrics, soft colors, fresh florals. Appeals to all the senses and sets a warm mood. My home has Romantic style.

What?!  That's it?  I mean, granted, I agree that I like what is listed in the description as "romantic," but how do you mesh everything that I described above into romantic?  *Sigh.*  Emily, if you are reading this, come save me!

I guess when the times comes, I will just have to learn through trial and error, with some moments of defiance from Mancakes.  He has already told me he hates French country and loves all things rustic.

And, of course, Senor Fussybutt will probably eat everything anyway . . .

Until next time . . .

XOXO,
Ladycakes

Introductions

Hi everyone!  Let me introduce myself - my name is Mrs. Ladycakes.  The hubby is the one who decided my name should be "Mrs. Ladycakes," because he always calls me ladycakes.  I have wanted to blog for years and finally have mustered the courage to do so.  Writing has always been a great way for me to collect my thoughts, and I have often had *Aha!* moments while writing, whether it was in essays, emails, letters to friends, or even through gchat.  So my goal in having this blog is to have fun, learn more about myself through the process of blogging and hopefully entertain you!  Welcome!

Just a little on me - I live in the fabulous city of Philadelphia, and this year has been one of great change for me.  I got married (to Mr. Mancakes, of course; yes, it's true that in deciding that my name should be "Mrs. Ladycakes," he did not foresee that that would necessitate him being "Mr. Mancakes"!  He'll adjust . . . : ) ), got a bulldog (Senor Fussybutt), and graduated from law school.  The changes have been very exciting, but have left me in a very new phase of my life, as I adjust to really working full-time for the first time and being a wife (and mommy to Senor Fussy!).  Stay tuned !!!

Mr. Mancakes is an attorney, but what he truly loves is food and real estate.  He loves going out to eat all different kinds of food, loves watching the Food Network and loves talking about different locations for and styles of restaurants.  He also loves walking through Philly and looking at all the different buildings, watching what businesses succeed where and keeping up with the sell price of various types of real estate.  I hope that someday he can explore these passions, whether as a 2nd career or hobby. 

As for Senor Fussy, all he wants is to be held, to eat and to bark and bite!  (The biting is an issue . . . )  You know, we got Senor Fussy, because everyone had told us bulldogs were great city dogs.  Everyone said, "They don't bark, they're relatively inactive, they don't shed, etc."  Well, guess what people, none of these descriptions fit Senor Fussybutt!  He has barked from the moment we got him, he runs around like crazy and you should see the hair all over our entire house.  But, c'est la vie, he is our son and we love him regardless!

Well, I must be off - until next time.

XOXO,
Ladycakes