Kauai island has one of the best beaches in the USA and I especially fell in love with this "secret" Hideaways beach in Princeville where Ben and I shot this beautiful pink bikini from Zaful. I have been trying to find a swimsuit in a beautiful shade of blush pink all summer and I was so happy that Zaful had this in stock.
Pocahontas has always been one of my favourite Disney princesses and people would often tell me I even look like her. When I received this pretty suede dress from Make Me Chic I immediately thought that it is something modern day Pocahontas would wear to a beach :)
The dress is made from a very soft and pleasant-to-touch suede fabric, and it looks great not only on a beach resort, but in a nightclub too. It was my first experience with the Make Me Chic online store and I am very happy I found another place where I can find sexy dresses and trendy fashion items for affordable prices.
Suede Dress - Make Me Chic (only $22.90!)
Dear readers, I apologise for not updating Pastiche.Today this past week. I am currently on my vacation the beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii and I am predictably busy :)
I will try to keep you updated on Instagram, but I am very excited to finally share my swimwear photoshoots and travel tips on the blog. Ben is a really wonderful and supporting man and even though he doesn't always enjoy taking pictures, he helped out because he knows how important Pastiche.today is to me. I have also been lucky to shoot with Marcus Bloss and I cannot wait to show you what we have created together. So while everyone else is writing about Fashion Week, I am going to show you some awesome beach photographs and write a unique Kauai Travel Guide!
Today I am showing you my photographs in this absolutely stunning swimsuit from ZAFUL. This one-piece is very intricate and beautiful, and is so perfect for honeymooning. I have been so impressed by the quality of Zaful items and their wide range of clothes and swimwear that I just have to share a little list of my favourites from the shop at the end of this post (along with coupon codes!). Girls, I really do highly recommend this online store!
Many of you don't even know that Ben and I actually live in hotels in New York. FULL TIME. For more than 7 months now!
I am no Van der Woodsen, so usually we do not stay in a suite at the Palace Hotel, however living in hotels has been mostly pleasant and a very interesting experience I never expected I would have.
Ben is a loyal Platinum member of SPG and it helps to make all of our stays at their hotels extremely pleasant. We often get upgraded to the best hotel rooms available, I get to have breakfast and snacks every day for free, everyone is there to help with picking up the mail, sending out our laundry or dealing with any requests you could possibly imagine.
At the beginning, back in January, when Ben and I moved in to one of the big suites at the W Hotel in New York, I wasn't really ecstatic about it. Growing up in a big house where the kitchen and dining room are a big part of family gatherings, I felt robbed of the new, little experiences like doing grocery shopping in NYC, cooking for my boyfriend, baking cookies to share with neighbours (do people still do that? I would!) and inviting people over for a board game night with drinks.
Also at that time it was extremely cold in New York and I didn't know a lot of people in the city. I felt extremely lonely and claustrophobic in the big, pristine, clean hotel suite that didn't have anything of my own except for a few clothes and coats I brought with me in one suitcase. I was missing small things like drinking freshly brewed tea, having my little library and ability to wash things whenever I wanted and instead of waiting for Delivery.com to pick our laundry up once a week.
Ben on the other hand was used to this kind of lifestyle as he was living in hotels for more than a year before he met me. He was trying as much as he could to make me feel comfortable and gain a sense of "home".
He would send me flowers while he was at work and order me new books, even though afterwards I didn't know where to find a space for them.
At that time we had to leave our hotels every two weeks to go to Ben's parents' house in Park City, Utah. We would fly over for just a weekend, but every time we had to take ALL our luggage and repack there again. You have no idea how frustrating it was for me if I forgot to pack something and bring it to NYC, or if I didn't realise I would need it (especially if it was something important like a bill, a statement or a document). Also we would often switch from one hotel location to another and it would mess up all my mail and orders.
But a few months after we started living in hotels together, I adapted and started really enjoying our hotel hopping life! I particularly grew fond of SPG's Four Points Hotels.
My favorite one to stay at is Four Points Soho. Their rooms might not be the biggest ones, but they are decently sized for such a great location in Manhattan. The hotel staff are phenomenal and all of them became almost like our little family. I started to love getting breakfast every morning downstairs (Jay is an amazingly nice guy and his service is impeccable) or ordering food straight to the room when I felt I wanted to stay in or watch a movie while eat my regular porridge with latte.
Another perk of living in a hotel? Actually being able to focus on my website, on my relationships with husband and friends, writing, going to photoshoots and reading, and not worrying about cooking, cleaning and washing as in a hotel everything is taken care of!
How many people can say they have experienced full time living in a hotel with all its perks? I know one day Ben and I will get an apartment (might even be really soon!), but for now I am fully appreciating living in the heart of New York, surrounded by Four Points SoHo staff that are willing to help, and just enjoy LIVING. Hotel-hopping life might have it cons, but there is much more to love about it.
There is always something to do in New York at any hour of the day. However, when museum doors close and shops start politely shooing everyone away, many people obligingly go to the nearest take away place, and go either home or back to their hotel, abandoning the exciting wonders of nighttime Manhattan. Wouldn't you want to have a proper night dance with the city?
I decided to give you a little 5-step guide of what to do this September after the sun's last ray disappears somewhere behind 14th Street.
Let's start the evening at a Broadway musical. One of the newest, and already celebrated shows, is Cirque du Soleil PARAMOUR, a magical marriage of a classic musical and amazing Cirque du Soleil performances. Ben and I sawit a few weeks ago and thought that it was overall very aesthetically beautiful. To be honest, it is not the best musical we have ever seen, nor is it the best Cirque du Soleil show we have ever witnessed, but it is certainly a show worth seeing at least once!
Alternatively, you still have time to book the last available tickets for one of the greatest musicals of all time, Les Miserables, which is having its last show on the 4th of September. Book your tickets here before they are gone.
Musicals and plays are rarely shorter than 120 minutes, so chances are you tried to fill yourself up with overpriced pretzels and jellybeans sold during intermission, but you are stillreally hungry. I suggest you have a late night dinner at the amazing Italian restaurant, Marea, which specializes in seafood and has two Michelin stars. Prices are actually quite reasonable for such a high-end, gorgeous restaurant, but book your table in advance!
Nothing is more romantic and surreal than midnight at the top of the Empire State Building. My husband took me there on our third date and it was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Usually crowded, the Empire State Building is quite empty at that late hour, so don't miss your chance to admire a bird's eye view of Manhattan by night.
If you want to party in the top rated nightclubs in New York, sit at VIP tables and have access to exclusive events, contact Blue Circle NY. Just call and tell them whatever your energetic heart desires (from bottle service to partying with celebrities). No need forstanding in that line to Marquee anymore and loosing precious time!
Your night was crazy and fun, but suddenly you realise that your alcohol infused body desperately wants some delicious food. The majority of cafés and restaurants are closed and you promised to yourself to not eat at McDonalds anymore. Luckily, New York has a few great 24/7 places. I recommend Katz’s Delicatessen (205 E Houston St) or Ukrainian eatery, Veselka (144 2nd Ave).
So there is your 5-step guide to an intense NYC night! Do you have any other ideas? Comment or message me on our Facebook page.
