Morning Sun

I love weekends because it means I don't have to get up early, I can lounge in my bed as long as I want, and I get to enjoy a slow morning at home having breakfast in the morning sunlight. On a normal work day I rush around getting ready without a second to spare, and don't eat breakfast until I get to work, so a relaxing morning at home is always a welcome change. Taking my time to start the day on a positive note is always a good first step to an enjoyable day. 

I haven't done a tour of my Astoria apartment yet, but I wanted to share this pretty corner where I like to sit at breakfast sometimes. This old wooden folding table was painted a crisp white with golden faux handles to go with our apartment decor, including the gold framed mirror hanging just above it. It looks so pretty in the clear morning sunlight. As you may notice taking a look around my blog, I certainly love color... and my decor aesthetic usually involves clean white surfaces with pops of bright color and accents of gold. Even my dishes tend to be colorful and fun!

This weekend I enjoyed a bowl full of berries and a soothing tea while my coffee steeped in the french press. The only thing missing? Some pancakes to fill up my plate... :) 

Mug and dish towel: anthropologie.

xoxo, CC

Dream Closet

I have always enjoyed the styling and color coordinating that goes into home decor, which is very similar to fashion in those ways, and my recent job has me thinking about interior design on the daily. Sometimes I like to daydream about how I would decorate my future home, going through specific rooms in my mind and looking through Pinterest boards for inspiration. Of course I have always dreamed of having a walk in closet, and right now Arhaus has me imagining about how my dream closet would look fully decorated. In my imagination it would be a large walk in with plenty of hanging and shelf space for storing all my clothes and shoes, plus room for a little decor too.

My taste tends to be for bright white spaces peppered with fun colors, like hot pinks or pale blues, and always accents of gold. My ideal dressing room would have lots of light, plentiful mirrors, and a few comfy seats. I've always wanted to have a nice way to store and display my shoes, so a glass front shoe shelf or pretty shoe storage racks would be essential. I like to think of my favorite shoes as works of art that should be displayed and not hidden away in boxes! I love the idea of incorporating pretty pairs of heels into the decor, or lining them up on glass-encased shelves. 

I am a huge advocate for natural light, so I think even a walk in closet should have a window allowing light into the space. So many closets are dim and windowless, which makes it hard to get dressed and see how your outfits and colors will really look in daylight! Of course lighting fixtures are essential in the room too, so a fun geometric chandelier from Arhaus in a gold finish to match the decor is the perfect touch. My style tends to be bold and girly with distinct lines and plenty of color, so this fun angular chandelier fits right in. Colorfully framed mirrors and a bright pink chair would also be ideal in this fun, feminine space and would help me feel inspired as I put together outfits every day.

My current set up (see a peek here) is an exposed clothing rack in my bedroom, which doesn't have nearly the amount of space I would like, so dreaming of a big walk in closet is only natural. I like to keep my current closet rack color coordinated since it looks so much more appealing and organized that way, and helps my room to look clean and crisp. I would continue this color coordination even in a full walk in, since it creates such an organized look, and I'm sure we all know how cluttered closets can get!
Have you thought of how you would design your dream closet? It's so fun to "window shop" online and create inspiration boards that outline your dream!

xoxo, CC

Finding Mexico in NYC

Over the weekend I discovered the cutest taco restaurant... the decor and natural lighting make you feel like you're truly on vacation and not in the middle of chilly New York. Anyone who knows me knows I love Mexican food more than just about anything else (with Thai being a close second) and Tacombi served up delicious fresh tacos out of a VW minibus parked in the middle of the restaurant space, along with delectable guacamole and strong margaritas. When you first walk in, the VW bus is the first thing you notice --it's not every restaurant that has a vehicle parked in the middle of their space, retrofitted as a kitchen none the less. Then the casual bright decor sinks in, the metal tables, cement floor, painted walls and white tiled bar lined with bright juice dispensers and real pineapples... I fell in love instantly. 

The decor and the natural light streaming in through several skylights make the space feel truly authentic as though you have been transported somewhere tropical. Everything about it feels bright and fresh with vintage undertones and a laid back vibe. Notice the checkers and backgammon game boards printed of several of the table tops! And the strings on lights! I felt right at home and have to say I certainly plan on heading back soon! They have three locations throughout NYC so I plan on visiting the others as well -- as long as they have bright colorful decor along with the delicious food I'm sure I'll love them just as much!

I've been wanting to share more blog posts like this on places I've tried and liked in NYC, what do you think, should I add a blog series on restaurants and places to try? Let me know if that's something you'd like to see more of! 

Tacombi, 267 Elizabeth St. New York, NY 10012.

xoxo, CC

The Two Best Apps for A Beautiful Instagram

Instagram is the "it" social platform these days, especially for bloggers and influencers since it is wonderfully engaging, easy to use, and easy to gain followers and extend your social reach. Even if you just use it for fun, it's always nice to have a thoughtful, curated feed of photos that really pop! In the past year I myself have come to rely heavily on Instagram as an extension of my blog and a way to gain exposure. There are several other apps and tools which I have have found super helpful in creating the best visually engaging Instagram feed, and I wanted to share my two favorites with you!

UNUM: I have come to rely heavily on this app, and it's hard to remember life without it! UNUM is an extremely helpful app for organizing the photos you plan on posting to your Instagram and seeing how they will all look together before you post them. It is super useful for maintaining a color scheme and making sure you are spacing out your outfit shots vs. close ups, food, and scenery shots. I love that I can plan my posts ahead of time and play around with where I want each photo to go and what order they look best in. You can also edit your photos right in the app, have captions ready to go with each image, and even see stats on which hashtags are getting the most results, and what times of day your posts get the most interaction. The only downside is that this app is for iPhone only (sorry everyone else!!). 

Lightroom: Can you believe the mobile app is totally free to download on your phone?! How amazing is that. I have wanted to download Lightroom onto my computer for ages, but the application is fairly expensive, so I was thrilled when I found out the iPhone app is free! It is extremely helpful with editing photos for my Instagram page -- in particular I love that you can adjust each color in a photo individually. I had previously become frustrated when I wanted to to saturate certain colors in a photo without saturating all of them (for instance saturate the foreground outfit colors but not the leafy green background!), and Lightroom enables this! After using several basic photo editing apps, Lightroom is a dream with the features it offers. It has become my go-to for editing color in my images, and I sometimes will even send photos from my computer over to my phone so I can edit the colors!

Now you know my secrets! Between UNUM and Lightroom I feel like I have been able to massively upgrade the quality of my Instagram photos and feed. Of course, taking good pics is an essential foundation to creating an visually appealing page (and I can't say that all my pics are perfect, but I give it a shot!), but having some helping hands in the process certainly can't hurt!
I also recently started using a follower-tracking app which shows you which of your followers are not following you back, who has unfollowed you, etc. and this info is super helpful if you are trying to boost your following and understand follow patterns. Between these few apps I feel like I have a much better approach to creating a beautiful Instagram feed with photos that represent my life and the things I love!

Check out my Insta @charlotteclaraxo!

What are your favorite apps? I'd love to hear in the comments!

xoxo, CC

Kate Spade Home Pop-Up Store in NYC

Last week I mentioned that I made a trip downtown to see the kate spade home pop-up store! It was incredible, so I wanted to share some photos for anyone who is curious. The store is set up to look like you are stepping into an apartment, with two living room spaces, a dining area, kitchen, and bedroom each set up as though they were someone's home. I fell absolutely in love with everything in the store, every corner was thoughtfully decorated with clever touches creating the most inviting space.

The displays were so detailed with with cute little surprises in every room and fun touches to make it look like the space is actually lived in, such as a pair of shoes that look like they've just been kicked off, or a pen laid just so across a notebook as if someone had been there writing. There were even trays of real candy and macarons, and glasses filled with faux ice cubes and a straw to create the illusion that they are in use. These details really make you feel right at home and envision how the pieces would fit into your home. I wanted every piece of it... major home decor inspiration! Some of my favorite pieces are the floral rug and blue couch combo above, the polka dot dining chairs, and the owl printed throw pillow and matching curtains. What catches your eye?


If you live in New York City and love kate spade, you have to go see it. The store is only open until May 31st, so hurry!

411 West Broadway
New York, NY

xoxo, CC

Loving Lately: "It's Still Winter" Essentials

I haven't had a lot of time for reading lately, but I love to flip through the Kate Spade All in Good Taste book when I have a few moments to read a few pages and get some inspiration. It makes me want to host a killer dinner party SO bad, but unfortunately that's not in the budget anytime soon. However, the book is full of good advice and makes a great source of inspiration. I'm taking tips from it that I can adapt for the next low-budget party my roommates and I host.

The Naked Basics eyeshadow palette by Urban Decay. I had been on a long search for a good neutral eyeshadow for those days that I don't want to look like I'm wearing a lot of makeup but I still want to smooth out my eyelids and cover up any redness. This palette is just what I was looking for. With a range of shades I can create a great ombre effect if I feel like getting fancy, or just swipe one of the lighter colors across my lids when I'm in a rush. Walk of Shame and Naked 2 are my favorites for a nude look.

Sleep mask - the 40 Blinks sleep mask by Bucky. Need some beauty sleep? Me too. I'm not a city girl by nature so getting used to sleeping with street light coming in through the widows is tough. I love this sleep mask because it is comfortable to wear and provides room for your eyelashes to blink without hitting against the mask. It comes in a few cute prints and is reasonably priced, but the only downside is that you have to order a minimum of two. I use one for everyday and the other for travel, but you could also gift one to a bestie!

Coloring Books. Recently the popularity of  'grown up' coloring books has skyrocketed and it seems like everyone has one! I had to jump on that trend too, because who doesn't love to color? It is a great way to relax at the end of the day (a perfect way to unwind before bed without staring at a screen) or de-stress and let your creativity out. This is the one I have, called "Enchanted Forest"! I love how whimsical the images are, full of castles, critters, fairy homes, and toadstool-dotted landscapes.

Kusmi "Euphoria" Orange Chocolate tea. This tea is DELICIOUS! My mom and I discovered it on a trip to Montreal a few years back and have been looking for it ever since, but it is hard to find! If you're into herbal teas and interesting flavor combinations Kusmi (from Paris) has some really good options. The aroma of this orange chocolate is mouth-watering, and the taste really stands up too. Whenever it's cold in my apartment I like to warm up with a mug of tea, and this one has become one of my go-to's.

Mini wallet. While I love the aesthetic of a big zip wallet, sometimes it can feel like a lot to carry around. Recently I have been all about the convenience of a small folding wallet. It holds everything I need, fits easily in a small cross-body, and provides easy access to my metro card on my daily commute. I have this polkadot one from Kate Spade which seems to be sold out, but these are two similar options to the one I have 1/2.

What are your must-haves this winter? 

Spring Favorites from Kate Spade

Licorice Heel and Dellie Wedge

Spring is right around the corner, and here in New York we can feel it already. Warmer days are already creeping in and even the groundhog says spring is on the way. It's hard to believe, but all the stores are getting in their spring collections already. At work, the racks are filling up with brighter colors and shorter sleeves. 

My favorite spring collection to look forward to (unsurprisingly if you follow me) is my beloved Kate Spade. Not only is their spring line always full of fun bright colors and prints, but their advertisements are adorable too! Ugh, they get me every time. Below is a round up of my favorite products from the line, which I would love to add to my wardrobe! While I am trying (trying) to save money I think one of those phone cases might need to be mine soon--my phone definitely needs a spring update, am I right?

Secret Admirer Heart Balloons Hallie

Cape Stripe Sequin Dress

Emerson Place Jessa

Jeweled Daisy iPhone 6 case and Jeweled Balloon Girl iPhone 6 case

Rose Intarsia Sweater

Initial Notebook and Initial Tumbler

Stripe Everyday Dress

xoxo, CC