I SPY: La Café Flores, Zagreb.

Last night I decided I shall for once, for once, relax during the weekend and do something for myself - just something - anything really. So I did. 
          
As one of my new years resolution was to get reacquainted and reintroduced with my hometown - Zagreb, as a young adult who traveled a lot, lived overseas "got to know the world" and finally came back home - semi-matured. I decided to be proactive and I started working on it. This way I can for once check off something on my new years resolution list (FYI - going to the gym daily is still on, keep your fingers crossed for me to continue and I shall be the tight butt bomb this summer on the beach - unless mum's evilly good cooking prevails). 
      
Once my iPhone "used to think its cool, now annoying" melody rang - Wakeeeee upppppp!!!Why wontttt youuuu waaaaake upppp!!! I jumped out of the bed, opened the window to see that it is super sunny outside and the huge amount of snow that fell during last few days is finally melting. 
I called a friend and we decided to hit the Zagreb's Saturday morning "wanna be seen and photographed in my best clothes" rush hour, and explore the city to find a café we haven't been in yet. First I went to get the British Vogue's  March edition with fabulous Alexa Chung on the cover wearing all Ralph Lauren Spring 2010 RTW ( notice the fabulous beaded denim jeans bellow).

 We walked around a bit, he got his "Sports Daily" to sink in all the info he needed to know before the handball game at the evening. We finally walked in one of the small side streets to find the Institute Parfumeur Flores in all of its grace - it is an niche perfume shop founded by Mr. Teo Cabanel, they hold the finest and most luxuries custom made perfumes - royalty favorites. Within, there is a small café as well, with wonderful warm and soft pastries and coffee with cream in a heart shape ( I totally fell for that).
The most beautiful part you can see bellow my dears....

Thats right darlings...these are not Bergdorf Goodman Christmas edition windows your are looking at, in the NYC. Ouu noooo, these are windows of the Café de Flores - in the tiny street in Zagreb. 

Here you can buy the most elite French perfumes or scented candles and have a warm home brewed coffee with cream in a heart shape and soft fresh cookie on a side, served by a cute waiter, all in an artistic and luxurious yet small and intimate environment while you are reading a March edition of British Vogue in a good company. Ahh...splendid Saturday morning....

 Whats up New York? You better step it up!

Xoxo,

           Kat 

RIP Lee

Today is a sad, sad day for the fashion industry. Alexander McQueen has killed himself. A little while ago his mother has died who he has been very close with, he had a very hard time managing the depression and finally he has sadly decided to take his own life.


Please see my favorite magnificant pieces from his last Resort 2010. collection bellow.
It will be so wird watching his collection for Fall without seeing him running out at the end :(


Alex,


you will be gratelly missed, your heritage remains.

"I think the idea of mixing luxury and mass-market fashion is very modern — wearing head-to-toe designer has become a bit passé. It’s a new era in fashion — there are no rules. It’s all about the individual and personal style, wearing high-end, low-end, classic labels, and up-and-coming designers all together. "

~Alexander McQueen ~

Xoxo,


           Kat

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

La fashion showroom café

                                

Yesterday morning I have taken my weekend routine of sipping coffee with my girls to "Kvart" café  where once a month special event called "Moda sa šlagom"/"Fashion with cream" is organized in a form of a small designer showroom sale.

The café owner is also the event organizer and her good fashion sense is noticable from the moment you enter the café.The interior is very pleasant with bookshelf and vintage homey "by the fireplace" feel, each table was served with a jar of home made gingerbread and chocolate chip cookies and the overal atmosphere reminded me of the TV show Friends café.

The visitors were encouraged to visit the showroom sale days with handed out stamp cards. Each time you visit the Kvart café during showroom sale you get one stamp, with six collected stamps you get the designer gift!

Four different designers have showed their pieces, my top picks were:

RAJF! - these three ladies have started to make head bands for fun and have participated in the Cosmopolitan & Naomi contest, one of the journalist have named them "Alice in the Wonderland trio". I have ordered a " Minny mouse" bow head band, which I totally fell in love with.

          

Emica - I have had a chance to chat shortly with this young lady. She makes unique leather purses, key chains, belts and other leather accessories. I got a brown leather Lady Gaga inspired robot purse chain on the spot and was really impressed with Emica's purses as the stitching and interior of them were really well made, she chooses a good quality leather which is used in auto industry for car seats and creates fashion forward pieces in terms of design. The best of all is that after all said above the purse prices are still a steal!

 

Right now I am thinking about ordering a leather Birkin looking nude color purse from Emica for spring, one that I can carry all of my books, work stuff, cosmetics, water bottle, extra pantyhose, phones, apple, screwdriver and other miscelleneous objects one can find in a girls purse in.

P.S.The picture of my Gaga purse chain to be added shortly :)

See you all at next "Moda sa šlagom" showroom sale!!!

Xoxo,

Kat

"In difficult times fashion is always outrageous."

Elsa Schiaparelli

Anybody like nobody

Shame on you if you fool me once, shame on me if you fool me twice.

I really believed that once I put myself out there, explore my options and have some fun, I will forgive and forget, move on and be happier. Now, I have mostly forgotten, there are options, but I got disappointed in so many ways.


 Let me explain, since I fell in love with Mr. Perfect - the love of my life, who during last year and a half or so became more of a "guy who is not realizing that he lost me forever" - Mr. Only a Banker.




I have finally given into the other guys, who I ignored for the past couple of years because I was Ouu so in love with Mr. Only a Banker now. There were three guys who I gave some attention - so I decided to do a sort of a research, date them all for a while to see who will try the hardest and eventually maybe even make me believe in love again. Boy was I wrong.


There was a Mr. Cool Guy. At first I liked this guy the most because he seemed smart, with good head on his shoulders, athletic and good looking, he cared about his friends and family a lot and seemed to be a gentleman which totally won me over. I have started to genuinely care about him, but than once we got to know each other better - he slowly revealed his primitive side. He was only interested in one thing, he seemed intimidated with my independence and his ego started to hurt. ELIMINATED.

 Next, there is Mr. Athlete. Mr. Athlete is a special of the three. It all started very casually and friendly. I have never taken him seriously as he is traveling a lot, could not trust anything he said because he gave the impression that women are objects for him and that he picks/buys them like I would pair of shoes - but with much less consideration, focusing only on visual appeal. However, as I got to know him better, I realized this is just a mask he is wearing to protect himself from being used. He is very talented and artistic in more than just his sport. He is very fun to be around, down to earth and emotional, although he is trying to play it cool. One huge thing that goes against him is that he is not trying to get to know me at all other than physically, he is not reliable, and I have started to miss him and care for him to much. PENDING ELIMINATION.


The last but not the least is Mr. Nice Guy. He is the one who I was curious about the most as we both got out of bad relationships and we both were and are scared to get emotional. Mr. Nice Guy is good looking, ambitious with what he does and very calm, really genuinely a nice guy. There was a lot of chemistry between us at first. Than I was indecisive between the three. I felt like he is also multiple dating, so it kind of watered down. We started to see each other more often now so we will see, lately he has shown me a lot of his qualities but there are still some doubts in my head as I am still unclear of what is exactly that I want. TBD.

 I realize that I might be looking for a lot, but I really believe that there is ONE guy who is ambitious, good looking, creative and confident enough not be intimidated by my independence and who will except me as I am - with all my drama, everything I do and don't do, my passions and my fears.


Because dating just anybody is like dating nobody and I want HIM to be somebody.


Xoxo,
          ~Kat~

" Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the common place, the slaves of the ordinary."

~Cecil Beaton~

Life ain't no fairytale

         I was talking to a number of my female friends recently and there is a common thread in the way they talk about relationships, man and their expectations - its caution. It seems that in our age (mid twenties) we get hit with cultural expectations of finishing college, starting to work and becoming a wife and a mother. Our own expectations of having a career of our dreams, staying good looking and skinny, to continue to have careless fun as we did during college all while transitioning in the grown ups world where we are responsible for our actions and the consequences of them. While we were growing up our mothers have read us stories about often poor women being saved from evil and troubles by a handsome young rich man on a white horse who liked her because she is so young and pretty with a rosy cheeks, cooking, cleaning but being bullied by a jealous women, step sisters or an evil witch. Seriously???

             How do we expect young man and women to be prepared for a real life, heartbreak and disappointments when we are programming young women from an early age that the only way to live happily ever after is to marry a rich man and have no ambition, and putting a pressure on young boys that the only way for them to marry a good looking and kind women is to earn/inherit a lot of money and save her from all the evils. Let’s be real.

    Why don't they make children books to teach kids to respect people and treat them equally no matter how rich they are, what’s their religion or color of their skin. Create Barbie who is a single mother, successful business women and has children or Ken who is gay, black or a Muslim???

      Why don't we teach the kids not to bully others in school because they are poor, fat or have a lisp??? Being programmed with all the fairytales and protected from the reality in young age did us no good. Today when lies and cheating in relationship and marriage is more of a rule that exception it is crucial that we are prepared. Men in mid twenties often crack under pressure and lack the maturity and women seem to get so disappointed by numerous heartbreaks that they start acting like men do or on the other hand they overwhelm a man with care and attention so much that they dedicate all their time to the relationship only - which results in a pressure for a man who looks for his way out, scared of commitment and of not fulfilling her expectations.


Most of my girlfriends are in the phase I mentioned first - we act like man do now, maintaining a superficial relationship, dropping them before it becomes too serious in a fear of a heartbreak.


Their must be a better way...more balanced middle...or are we still just kissing frogs and our prince is yet to come?


Xoxo,
               Kat

In 2010. I will......

   Sometimes relationships are like those organic granolas you have for healthy breakfast the first week of the execution of your New Years resolution when you are still running at 6 am, sleeping your full 8 hours, carrying bottled water around at work, eating funny packaged organic food which before you could hardly even pronounce and religiously counting how many times a day you poop.

This is all while you are still motivated and well spirited about it all and believing in it, and before the actual muscle and joint pain from not stretching and over exhausting your body after living like a mess for past how many months? – and eventually quitting and going back to bad old habits.

Why so negative? It doesn’t need to be necessarily.
The similarity of it is that we do NOT need to go back to old destructive habits, nor we need to enter the relationships that our hunch is telling us will not finish well. This is like adding spoiled milk to those already wood chips tasting organic granolas.
We still get involved in such relationships, which are doomed to fail, because it is the easy way out of “bad, avoid by all cost - singleness”.

On the other hand, it every so often happens that one is in a good quality relationship promising to end with “happily ever after” tale – and is so blind and ungrateful, maybe scared of not fulfilling the expectations until one looses it all for good and than realizes it years to late, although there are some who lack self reflection so much that they never see any own miss-outs at all and blame it all on “holly destiny”. My dears, this is equal to bing eating after working your but off in the gym – self destructive and stupid.


Casualty of above often takes up another approach to dating and relationships.

It is called: Oh so disappointed with all man “stay cool bitch” approach. This approach brings you man salivating all over your Manolos ladies, but it doesn’t allow you to be yourself – although all this acting might bring you Oscar if you are in entertainment business ;) We do it because we want to stay in the loop and feel man’s attention (many man – plural), but are not ready to get much physical, emotional and “relationshipish” so we just drop them while they are still hot and still working hard to prove themselves worthy of your time.

This is all while healing and rebounding heavily – and anticipating that one “real man” who will provide you with comfort, protection, honesty and safe emotional haven we are all longing to have in a man. Just like we are all striving to keep that New Years resolution just a bit longer than last year at least!

“One step at a time…there’s no need to rush its like learning to fly or falling in love…”

Xoxo,

~ Kat