Vintage Green with Touch of Red

By: Mimi

I was having one of those days where I didn't know what to wear. I finally pulled out a printed top and green skirt, which I initially thought were horrible together... until I spotted my red belt. I tucked in my blouse and put on the belt, and my outfit transformed into a feminine style reminiscent of the 50's or 60's. It's not an outfit I would usually wear, but I loved it!

- Blouse: Anthropology (on sale for $49)

- Skirt: Anthropology (on sale for $46)

- Belt: Anne Klein ($15 at Marshals)

- Shoes: Simply Vera Vera Wang (on sale for $39 at Kohls)

Necklace: Kenneth Lane ($48 on Gilt)

Earring: Handmade at local jewelry store

Bag: Chloe Paraty
Lips: NARS Cruella

HOTEL GRIFFOU

By: Mimi

I purchased a restaurant voucher for a 5-course tasting menu for 2 from Hotel Griffou for $100 on Gilt City. I thought that was a good deal, and I always love trying chef selections and seasonal menus.

The hubby and I try to go out on a date at least once a month, so when I saw this deal, I thought it was perfect for us.

Decor

The entrance to Hotel Griffou is quite interesting, as it is located under a town house. As you walk in, there is a narrow bar that feels like it is from the 20's. The space is very romantic and vintage, and each room has wall paper with different designs and colorful fabrics on the booth chairs--all while maintaining the same vintage feel.

- 5 stars for the Decor

Food

We were offered a complimentary champagne , which was a pleasant surprise. The bread was freshly baked, soft, and warm!

The first course was a melon dish with an oddly spicy kick to it. It looked very pretty, but it tasted like spicy watermelon, so it was just okay.

Speaking of melon, I ordered a melon cocktail, and it was amazing, it's a little pricey at $14. Their drink menu was awesome, in general, and I wanted to try everything!

The second course was the sea bass with berry sauce. The fish and the flavor was just right, and the berries were a perfect compliment .

The third course was seasonal vegetables with some sort of pasta. It was very tasty, and I wanted more. It reminded me of a pasta dish I had at Babbo, except it had loads of vegetables.

The fourth course was a steak dish with mini onions, cherry tomatoes, and mini potatoes. The steak was cooked to perfection. Each bite was so tender, and I loved that it was served on flavorful vegetables, as I love veggies! This was definitely the best dish.

For dessert, I had ice cream on berry pie, and the hubby had chocolate cake and ice cream--very basic dessert items, but delicious non-the-less. I appreciated that they served different desserts to us, so we could try each others, as we were supposed to get the same tasting menu.

4 stars for Food, as everything was good, but it's definitely not the best I have had. However, given the deal we got, I would give this experience 4.5 stars.

Service

The minute we walked into the restaurant, they were expecting us. They put us at a great table, the wait staff brought each course and replenished drinks in perfect time... and they were all good looking, which is always a bonus. The best part : I complimented one waitress's high heel shoes, as I was surprised that she could work in such shoes for long hours. She told me they were from Kohl's Simply Vera-Vera Wang collection, and they were super comfortable. The minute I got home that night, I ordered myself two pairs of those sandals in black and nude! You will see a review of them in the post coming up!

5 stars for service

5 Outfits for Work

Like most people we know, we work a 9-5 job in a professional office environment, and there are days we look into our closet and have no idea what to wear.

So we thought it would be helpful to post some ideas for office outfits--one for every day of the work week! We welcome you to share your cute outfit ideas with us, so we can try something different from our closets.

Idea #1: Floral Dress with Simple Cardigan

· Dress: J.Crew (on sale for $56)

· Cardigan: $25 from Century 21 Dept Store

· Shoes: Anthropology (on sale for $80)

· Jewelry: vintage

· Bag: Chloe Paraty

Idea # 2: Simple Dress with Scarf and Belt

· Dress: ? brand ($24 from Century 21 Dept Store)

· Cardigan: Banana Republic ($29 from BR Outlet)

· Belt: Urban Outfitters ($20)

· Scarf: Vintage (from http://www.zacharyssmile.com/)

· Shoes: Circa Joan David (on sale for $70 from Lord & Taylor ) – the most comfortable wedge ever, and it’s cute

· Bracelet: QVC, $48

The Weekend Look (the same outfit, transformed)

Idea #3: Long Cardigan with Mini Skirt

· Skirt: sale for $25 from Loehmann’s

· Tank top: Old Navy (on sale for $7)

· Cardigan: Mango ($49)

· Jewelry: vintage - layering necklaces makes the outfit more dressy and fresh.

· Watch: Fruitz by Philip Stein ($200 at Bloomingdales – 20% off with Friends and Family coupon)

Idea #4: Blouse and Pencil Skirt

· Skirt: BCBG ($49 at BCBG Outlet)

· Silk Blouse: Banana Republic Monogram ($59 after 40% off)

· Cardigan: Banana Republic ($29 at BR outlet)

· Shoes: Costume National ($149 at Century 21)

Bag: Chloe Paraty
· Jewelry: diamonds



Idea #5: Navy Dress with Red Accessories

Dress: Diane Von Furstenberg ($100 at the DVF sample sale 4 years ago; Current sample sale pricing is around $150 per dress)

· Shoes: Via Spiga ($99 from Bloomingdales)

· Earrings: Handmade through a friend

· Lipstick: Nars Cruella

Favorite List - Face Make Up

Welcome to Fabulosity Within Reach!! We decided to start a blog about fashion, make-up, hair, skin care, travel and food. It's all the things we love, and we hope you enjoy our posts and share your thoughts and comments, as well!

For our inaugural post, we would like to share with you our favorite make-up items, which we've established through much trial and error.

Not only are these items effective, they are compact and easy to carry around, which is necessary for working women who are constantly on-the-go.

$38 at Sephora, Beauty.com
The Smashbox Makeup Primer is our favorite primer, as it is very soft, glides onto skin easily, and doesn't feel like another layer of cream on top of moisturizer. It also tones down redness. The only downside is that it's expensive for a primer, and it doesn't last long even though the bottle appears to be big.
$58 at Sephora, Beauty.com or department stores

The By Terry Light Expert foundation comes with a brush, so you don't have to mess up your fingers. It blends very well, and it's light on skin, so you don't feel like you just put on a thick layer of liquid foundation. The best part is that it doesn't drip or leave foundation marks anywhere like bottled foundations do, so it can be taken with you anywhere. This beats all foundations, regarding convenience and cleanliness.


$45 at Sephora
YSL Blush Radiance - This is the perfect blush that will go with any makeup style and any occassion. I just love the color on the cheek. Everyone loves the Nars blush, but this is far better. It's expensive, but you will get good use out of it!

$23 at MAC
We love this Mac Studio Fix pressed powder. It provides great, light coverage and is great to bring anywhere for touch ups. It comes with a nice sponge under the compact, so it keeps clean and you don't need to bring a brush with you anywhere. You can get it discounted at the Estee Lauder Company Store.

$23 at department stores
Bobbi Brown Face Touch Up Stick - This is a great concealer for anything on your face. It works really well for covering up dark circles under the eye. It goes on smoothly and doesn't dry skin. There's a reason why this concealer won a few beauty awards in its category. We found this stick discounted in the Estee Lauder Company Store.

Ways to get discounts on cosmetics:
We try to buy make-up on discount when Sephora has Friends & Family 20% off. Also, Beauty.com frequently has promotions for 20% off, and beauty events at department stores give discounts or free gifts with purchase. We also buy a lot of Mac and Bobbi Brown products at the Estee Lauder Company Store, which is located in midtown and downtown (NYC). We go to the downtown store at 100 Church Street, as we have entry privileges with our work.

Please feel free to share your favorites with us!! Thank you for visiting!