True Happiness - Myth or reality?

I know that it might sound so silly, maybe even childish and immature, but I often wonder what is that can make me really happy. Up to a point that I am conscious about it as it is happening and able to be grateful for it on the spot.

Is this kind of "event" rare as a four leaf clove, as impossible as having enough shoes or as mythical as a pink unicorn?

For all who were wondering the same...I got a story to tell you...which I haven't told anyone, because it is so simple and kind of silly.

Once upon a time, in Astoria - Queens, on a regular work night, nothing extraordinary happened.

He was not a prince, rather a silly & sometimes a little random tall guy with a gap in between his first two teeth and in desperate need of a haircut. I was lying curled up in bed with his hand around me, he was fast asleep. Sleeping together was our thing. He started to snore and I turned around to kick him a bit to stop and I just realized - I was completely happy.

I consciously thought of how happy I was and how precious that moment was & how scary it would be not to be able to ever feel this again, and I hugged his hand around me and I cried. And he snored. I still remember these three years later.

I guess this was the reason I tried to make it work and why I was scared it might never happen with anyone else again.

What made you happy?

"Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

FNO - Fountain of fabulosity!

   Grand opening show of the Fashion Nights Out around the fountain at Lincoln Centar featured an army of 157 models/14 super models strutting down the longest runways they have ever walked on.  This biggest fashion show ever organized in New York.

The army of world best supermodels arrived on a big roofless FNO tourist bus lead by wonderful Gisele, wearing  fall/winter, 2010. collections to remind on trends you can shop for in designer stores worldwide during FNO festivities in 16 countries around the world.

While designers are working heard day and night to complete their collections before the lights go on in fabulous Lincoln centar venue, lets review this fall must have fabulous items!


MINIMALIST CHIC (camel color) / LEATHER T's

MILITARY JACKETS / EFFORTLESS BRAID / NO MAKE UP

ROCKER CHIC

50's CIRCLE SKIRT / PLAID / BIG HAIR /  

NOMADIC BOHEMIANS / LAYERS / BOLD EYEBROWS

 

LONG DRESSES / VELVET / 30's / GLITTER 

Lets go shopping darlings!!! :)


Xoxo,


             La Kat


Photo source: Vogue 

The celebration of fashion!

Hopefully this year I will also be able to attend now already accustomed celebration of fashion announcing the fashion week for upcoming season in most major fashion cities around the world - starting with fashion capital New York City.

 Here are some photos from the set of Fashion nights out PSA.

Enjoy lovelies! :)

                               

                            

Would you like to have this in Croatia? :)

Xoxo,

La Kat

"The key to longevity is to keep doing what you do better than anyone else. We work real hard at that.

 It's about getting your message out to the consumer. 

It's about getting their trust, but also getting them excited, again and again. My clothes.. the clothes we make for the runway.. aren't concepts. 

They go into stores. 

Our stores. 

Thankfully, we have lots of them."

~Ralph Lauren~


Source for pictures: I know what you wore last season

New Yorks fashionfest

So many things happened since past September, yet it feels like it was just yesterday. I still feel the excitment of the fashion buzz surounding the Bryant Park during the last couple of days before the opening night, the adrenalin rush from my  fifth cup of 100 cal Caffe Misto, the shooting pain coming from the tip of my toes after wearing the nude color stilettoes all day and the cold autumn breeze on my bear arms and legs.

This vivid memory evokes two completely different emotions in me. The rush and the energy the streets of the City give you which just make you want to continuously move and never stop - which I loved.  Other is the emptiness and hopeless feeling of never working hard enough and the question of purpose of it all - this feeling came after I realized that even the rush giving New York in all of its fabulousness cannot cure the broken heart.

This year I am able to still be in the center of it all while still on safe emotional distance and no fear of getting hurt. Many of the shows will be broadcasted live through livestraming so go on ladies prepare some fat free cupcakes, invite your girlfriends and give yourself a nice recession friendly gift of luxury and watch NY Fashion Week shows from the best seat possible - your comfy chair at home. Check out the complete schedule of shows live straming here.

This year is the last time New York Fashion Week (2/11 -02/18) is organized in Bryant Parks tent, from next season its new home is going to be Lincoln Center. Due to the way designers are following new technologies (Ex.Alex McQueen started last season) and utilizing new ways of showing their collections, Lincoln Centar is indeed more suitable location.

I am really looking forward to see all of the shows. For fabulous minute to minute coverage be in the front row daily.

At the end I leave you with words of mama Fashion herself:

"Bryant Park became the beacon of what New York fashion stands for - an industry that's fearless, tireless, and always moving forward."

~Anna Wintour~

xoxo,

           Kat

Fashion's night out in NYC

10.09.2009.
For today, Vogue and CFDA have organized international party celebrating style on four continents. It started as a New York thing but it expanded quickly to the rest of the world. More than 700 stores are participating across five boroughs and more than 12 countries around the world have organized their own version of the event.
NYC stores are organizing special shopping events, selling the event T-shirts and staying open until 11pm tonight.Anna Wintour imagined this initiative as a sale on 7th Av. with intention "to seduce people back to the stores and make them excited about shopping".


The recession had a major impact on peoples clothing shopping habits and their confidence; people became more careful and scared of uncertain future. In NYC more than 175,000 people are employed by the fashion industry which generates more than $10 billion in total wages, which is why NYC Major Bloomberg supported this event as vital way to give a boost to NYC economy within this crucial industry for the City area as well as the country and world overall.


Shopping in Barneys the day before the event, I got really excited about seeing the preparation process they did (catering preparations, window changes etc.), this is when the sales lady offered me to buy a Fashion's Night Out T-shirts for $30, of course I got it. Profits from shirt sale are going to the National September 11th Memorial & Museum. There was also a clothing drive "Shop for Good" where people could drop their gently used clothes which will after Sep.12th be donated to NYC AIDS drive.


Many major store chain representatives expressed their excitement about this event and would love to see it become a tradition as an introduction to Fashion Week which will translate the runway craze into retail energy. They said that the focus here is not to make huge sales within this one day, but to excite people about people and bring them back to the stores. Many stores offered finger food and drinks, cosmetic giveaways and award games, many had a celebrity guests and designer make over, runway walk lessons and style tips by famous stylists.


First, opening event happened in Macy's in Queens where Anna Wintour, Major Bloomberg and special celebrity guest Blake Lively from gossip girls, the cast of "Hair" gave performed three songs.Oscar de la Renta was (literary) serenading to his customer at his 5th Av. store, Alexandar Wang, Proenza and Shouler's were selling their wares out of the vintage car trunk in front of their Soho stores, Justin Timberlake had a pop up store for William Rast in Saks 5th Av. Olson twins visited Bergdorf Goodman where other celebrities also appeared, the line to enter the store was around the block at 7pm already.


As for a celebrity seeing I saw Blake Lively right by the back entrance of Bergdorf and Sarah Jessica Parker, as I was coming back from the MET earlier in the day, she was on the set of shooting Sex & the City 2.


I spend most of the day in MET, I was absolutely excited seeing work of Picasso, Monet, Salvador Dali and many others up close! After that, around 3 pm I had a Greek lunch - pita and green tea with mint, I went to Barnes and Nobels to read some fashion magazines and bought a new fashion history book - I really need to stop or I am going to pay another plane ticket for my extra baggage.


At 7 pm I met Ania and Ola and we went to Rugby Ralph Lauren for a Fashion's Night Out, there was a fair number of people there, DJ Matt was spinning, yellow and blue chocolate cupcakes were served and there was a cool instant photo booth with which we had lots of fun, sales people were giving away small Rugby balls and dancing around, and Rugby also issued its own newspapers with style tips and introduced many new peaches and ways of personalizing your Rugby clothes. It was great seeing all of my friends there and seeing new Rugby fall and trans collections can't wait to do some shopping there before I go back home.


September Vogue is out, Fashion's night out is over, designers are carefully optimistic...Mercedes Benz Fashion Week has oficially started.


xoxo from New York :)


~Kat~

Love is calling

Now...how often do we use our phone? It’s like our life line right? Yesterday I forgot my cell at home and figured it out far to late to go back and get it, I was rushing to the meeting and while driving to work looked for it to check my emails and it was nowhere to be found...Shit! I thought!

I started panicking and hyperventilating as if I would die in a matter of seconds if I don’t find it. I was so freaked out my hands started shaking.Next, I started to think how big of a mess I am in life...so missing that one little object which makes me easily accessible to all who needs me 24-7 was making me so depressed , that I have started to question my very existence and life’s purpose?!

Naturally...within next 30 minutes I calmed down...took a several deep breathes and realized what an awfully big and thick wall I built and now I am hiding behind it, the wall of my work and the wall of busyness. Did I really think that if I don’t pick up my phone that the huge multinational gigantic company would just go bankrupt and disappear...damn I really must be very "important".

Seriously, think about it...what is that you do that it is soooo important that human kind would just not be the same if you would stop doing it? Don’t we all sometimes get consumed into our work and "importance" and "seriousness" of it that we actually forget to live and just work, we became machines, didn’t we?

Romantic and bohemian that I am, I got consumed into thinking about the emotional mess I am in right now....or better say, emptiness. I became iron lady, a stone heart.

If considering the metaphor of making a phone call, what do we do when love calls?

At first, I used to be the one calling The Love. The Love did not pick up, somebody else took his place, he was not who I fell in love more than a year ago now. I tried to call The Love many times again; the one who answeres is usually angry and rude. He is not The Love I used to know, I do not recognize my Love's voice any longer. The Love I used to know was warm and funny. He used to haul in the middle of the street, gave me great hugs, laugh at my morning confusion, listened well, played word games, he loved my cooking and did this weird and cute move (for which he thought it was dancing), my Love loved me, I called him my hunk, he said I was his lady.

I loved that Love. His number is no longer in service.

Now, the Loves are calling from couple of different numbers, I am afraid to answer and say Hello. This Loves are different and unfamiliar loves. The Love that is calling me is not my Love. I used to keep looking at a phone while ringing, it was some weird number, I closed my eyes, hoping that when I open them I am going to recognize my Love's number.

Noup, it stayed the same, it just kept ringing. I used to do that a lot when I was a little girl, when I was angry at somebody I used to close my eyes real tight and hope the person would disappear...it did not work than either, and it doesn't work now. It happened only once when I kept my eyes closed really long at my mum, that she went to answer the door bell and I thought the magic happened and she disappeared, imagine my disappointment when she walked back into my room minutes later.

Anyways...I picked up the phone after all but I didn’t say a word. This New Love said he wants to be my Love....he is ok with the fact that I am quite and listening only...not quit ready to speak...his voice is unfamiliar and it doesn’t give me butterflies, it doesn’t make me warm inside....his voice is kind, he doesn’t promise that he will heel me, but he is ready to try and he keeps on talking to me...every time I hang up, he calls back...he cares.

Should I speak up and say a word, let him try to be my Love, my new Love? Or should I just tell him he dialed a wrong number?

Am I going to recognise the voice of the Love that is My Love ever again or will I keep picking up without saying a word?

~Kat~

Big Apple for Xmass

Finally it is here! Since early this summer I have patiently counting the hours, crossing out the days and ripping out the month pages on my fancy Paris calendar and finally there it came –the December! The picture on the page was of the Eiffel tower with a young couple kissing right under it and snow all around them…all over the part of the page where the days are marked I wrote: "2 weeks with Ante! Yaaaay! (with little hearts all around it)"ouhh I can't even tell you how eager I was for the 20th of December to finally come!

Work was stressful, I traveled some, had a lot of deadlines but I did everything fast thinking, if I hurry up, the days would go by faster as well. The anticipation was growing, I slept through weekends, the number of my weekly visits to the gym at least tripled, I waxed my legs and endured excruciating pain, did my nails, went tanning regularly and was completely packed a week ahead of time, all wishing to finally, finally spend some long waited and definitely much deserved time with my boyfriend. Two whole weeks, I thought! Days and nights- just a two of us! Yaaaay, heaven!


It is so weird how until you loose this privilege, of spending every night in the bed with the person you love, you are not even aware of what you are missing....until it is gone.


So, on the day of the flight I was particularly wired, and I didn’t even had coffee. I was scared of how am I going to feel when I see him, eager to kiss him all over, wondering if he will think I changed…a lot of things went through my head. Luckily, both of my flights were on time and other that somebody's freaking luggage falling from the damn overhead compartment on my head and cutting me right by my eye, everything else was fine. Can you believe that they said I cant even sue anybody for that?! But seriously, I was bleeding and the rude stewardess said there is nobody for me to sue! I said, "Come on! At least let me sue the airline!" Anyways, no scare, so I guess it is whatever.


All in all, I had a lot of fun on my two weeks vacation, it was challenging and all considering the whole situation, with my boyfriends mum being with us and all of my questions I had going there remained unanswered. Especially the big one, how long this whole long distance thing will last…but I did realize that I am the one who is able to decide on that as well, so I do have power as well, and I also got to know my boyfriend better in different situations. We fought and discussed our open ended discussion in circles, I cried and felt mislead, I felt as if he has been playing with me this whole time, we had fun and lought, in fact, spending time with him this past two weeks I laugh more than even before, he made me laugh so hard I cried, we both did.

We played games walking to movies and he hauled like a wolf walking down the street, while I was jumping around and dancing around him. It felt amazing waking up next to him every morning, and we kept our routine of me frantically half a sleep smacking all three alarm clocks and him grabbing my hands trying to stop me and hugging me to go back to sleep.


We are a great couple, him and I, we both work hard, have the same aspirations for the future (dog Duje, kids and all) and are equally afraid of getting hurt, but the good thing is that we also still both believe, and trust we will make it through all of this and make all of our dreams eventually come true.


He is truly caring, honest, respectful and getting more relaxed with me as time goes by, so this time being away from one another hasn’t damaged us as much as I expected it would. I still love him, even more than ever, I certainly admire his persistence and motivation, have more understanding for his needs, but I also trust he will make a right decision once the time for him comes to. I to might decide to take a different route, but one thing I know for sure, this man is worth of waiting for, and if we for some reason do not work out as a couple, I would always want him to stay a part of my life, because he does complete me, he makes me happy every second I spend with him and I do hope for a chance to give it a try on a real life with him.


Leaving NY I felt my soul detaching from my body on that airport and my heart going right with it, running after him and grabbing his hand, while my body continued with tears rolling down my face through the check in, and into the plain. It was hard, it still is, but we will make it.


Happy and better New 2009.Year to you all!




Xoxo,


Kat

Fresh Post

It was a while since I have written a fresh post, since than I have landed a new grown up and responsible job position. Position is very promising in terms of career growth and pay. Great! So what’s missing?

Well, New York is missing that is what. Here I don’t mean a City. When I say New York is missing than I mean: glam, posh people, Rugby crew, rush, Skim Peppermint Mocha, Ante and I on a boat ride around Manhattan or in the bed being lazy on Sunday afternoon in Astoria. Ahhh….

Once again I am faced with the long distance curse, it is going on and on and on….will it ever end? I sure hope so. I am in “Dangerously in Love” mood and my friends Armina and Anita are suggesting thinking “Me, Myself and I”…and I am trying to find a balance.

When it comes to balance I feel like one thing that would help to achieve it, is to do a detailed clean up in a social department. This means to prioritize and appreciate more my own precious time, and choose whom to give it to. This is how I see it. We all are given one little, short life to live. In this short life we are given a full freedom to use it to the best of our imagination and ability.

Most of us get so absorbed with what is society (family, friends, community, neighbors...) expecting from us to do or who to be, that we are loosing the power of critical thinking and creativity, we stop questioning what is really what we want from our life and who we really want to be. Next, we compromise and accept less than what was originally planned. This, my friends leads to becoming – ordinary. In the fashion lingo: little black dress, red lipstick and pearls = very Coco Chanel, classic but unique, just a black dress = boring and ordinary.

Now, one would ask, what is wrong with being ordinary…living a decent life, accepting the average job, average salary, average apartment, boyfriend or husband and just blend in with the rest of the ordinaries.

The wrong thing is that we can choose to be unique individual, not to compromise, not to take the easy way out, follow our instinct and take risks, to speak our mind and live or lives to the fullest! Of course this second choice comes with gazillion con's (heartbreaks, investment losses, disappointments etc.) but it makes one achieve his/hers full potential!

This way you live your life and are not just an observer standing in your own safe corner and doing your routine tasks, day after day, after day.

Au Revoir New York

Zagreb, Croatia
Rainy, not at all summer like day...
I wonder what is the weather like in New York City...hm...
Ouu well... I'm back here in Croatia, it is my 7Th day back and I am still keeping myself isolated from my friends and most of my family members under the excuse of a terribly contagious cold, which I self diagnosed as a strep throat, so that makes me highly contagious and avoiding people for their own good is indeed a good idea.

Don't get me wrong, my throat really hurts, and I feel awful, but there is also that other thing, this feeling of "unreadiness" to face people and adapt back to the culture I do not live in for a five years now. I am not quit sure if I am scared of not meeting people´s expectation of what I should be after graduating college and living abroad or am I afraid of them judging me for who I become and being jealous .Hmm...

It is time for another glass or Chocolate Mint Baileys. (No I am not an alcoholic, I just had an hour long conversation with "Ouu so lovely" customer service representative from Sprint who informed me of $300 unexpected fees to be paid, by me! Yesterday! Of course, that´s not going to happened, for that money I can get solid sale sandals in Saks.)

OK, I am back. Moving on. I think I am going to meet my home girls for a drink tomorrow and face them bravely and just smile, can´t go wrong with smiling and listening. That is what I am going to do, I am going to just listen and keep my answers short and sweet, nobody disappointed and nobody jealous! Voila!

This past weekend my boyfriend was visiting from London. That totally made my weekend, my week, it made me smile. He is one of those rare people that just know what other person is feeling and has a calming effect without clowning or trying to hard. We spend the whole day in cafes, high school reminiscence sandwich joints and popular city ice cream place.

While we were waiting for a tram on Croatian main square to go back home I could not help but notice that Croatian man carry purses. All of them! All these macho man that act like hooligans during soccer games, strong and protective toward women, never cry, never hurt and never bleed, but, they do daily,get in touch with their feminine side and carry PURSES. No, no, they are not wallet holders, key pouches nor fanny packs, they are PURSES. I mean, there is nothing wrong with a good man-purse. I am sure it makes perfect sense to carry one and that it is very functional and practical, I mean I carry one and love it, but I am also a girl. I just could not but find the irony in the sight of a six foot five man with a purse.

Anybody that knows the reputation of Croatian man as well as their average built must surely see some irony in the fact that they are becoming increasingly metro sexual and refreshingly open with it. This must be progress from "women´s place is in the kitchen" and "women are cooking, cleaning and child bearing machines while man are out hunting for food" kind of views.

Lastly, even though I am perfectly OK and in favor of this new breed of Croatian man that are not afraid to show their feelings and care more about their looks I will not be shopping for a man-purse in early August for Ante´s birthday.

Pusa.
~Kat