At least I am ahead.

As soon as I saw my friend Robin today she quickly asked if I had read the article in New York Magazine highlighting some of the top ugly shoes in history. She knew I would find this particularly interesting being that the Salt Water sandal, my favorite summer shoe, of which I own three pairs, has been predicted as the "ugly shoe" of 2008. Comforting.

Oh "thank you" fall

Dear Fall,

I wanted to write you this post to thank you for being my very favorite season, especially here in New York.

Thank you for this lovely golden landscape that kept me distracted from my lack of ability to run around the park this morning, after taking a month hiatus. Thank you also for the crisp air that kept my face a light shade of pink rather than a sweaty bright red.

Thank you for growing such a great variety of crisp delicious apples. They are a fall staple around our house.

Thank you for giving me the excuse to finally wear jackets, scarves, and tights.

And oh thank you for the fashion. Thank you for providing impulse seattle with such beautiful clothing. Thank you for being the inspiration behind the richness in fabric, colors, and texture I so enjoy to wear.  Thank you for helping me "break the bank" each time you come around.

But what I don't thank you for is the season that follows you, it's my least favorite. But I guess you can't help that.

Love,
Alysha

Meet my replacements

About every four years I replace my boots. This can get tricky because boot trends seem to change each year. Pointy toe, round toe, pirate boot, wedge boot, skinny heel, stacked heel......this could get very dangerous for me. So every fall I make the decision to either stick with my current boots or invest in a new pair for the next 3-4 years, knowing that I need to pick a pair, or two, that will carry me through the trends.

So here they are, my replacements.

These are almost like the pair I wore to death last winter. They are more of my every day boot, jeans tucked in, sweatshirt, comfortable,  don't have to think about  it, you know, a winter staple.

And these are my drool worthy boots. I am hoping to get a lot of wear out of them over my lifetime. But I can imagine just staring at them all day instead. This is my favorite color for any shoe, I like to call it cognac. I always recommend having a sandal, heel, flat boot, and even heeled boot in cognac. It goes with everything and its just so pretty.

Am I crazy?

I really want these.  Maybe it's the color. I love how cognac mixes with greys so beautifully for fall. Or maybe it's that these are a nice alternative to the over the top heeled bootie trend this year, or that they are a cuter version of the Brooklyn clog I see everywhere. Whatever the reason, I heart them and I can see them incorporating well into my fall wardrobe. Although I am sure I will never actually get to own them. I can dream though, and I do a great job of doing that.

They are by Rachel Comey, courtesy of Impulse Seattle which has some of the best selection of my favorite and other emerging designers. Check it out if you haven't. If anything it's great for inspiration.

Did I mention?

That I have some of the most creative and talented friends ever? No really I do. Brooke (designer), Abby (designer), Katie (seamstress), to name a few.

And Amy is no exception. She makes beautiful jewelry. She has great taste (I usually want what she has), and translates it to simple yet beautiful earrings. Lucky for me, she shared her wisdom with me and taught me how to make my own. The earrings are her designs, but made by (mostly), me.

And this necklace. Not what I was initially looking for, but I love it!

We started our endeavor last week by going into the bead/jewelry district in the city. The selections are almost overwhelming. But I found almost everything I was looking for, minus a pendant for a long necklace I want to make. When I take advantage of everything that is at my disposal, I really love NY!