Veronica Corningstone in vintage Diane Von Furstenberg

If you don’t know the story about Diane Von Furstenberg and the history of the wrap dress, you should. The short story is that DVF introduced the look in the early 70s, and the look rocketed into popularity. The trend was revitalized in the 90s and has been a go-to for the fashionable since. The DVF wrap dress is so iconic, it has its own place in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

That said, it’s fair to say that if I was stranded on a desert island and had only item of clothing to choose, I would channel Diane (and Veronica Corningstone) and choose a wrap dress. A wrap dress cures all! It fits like the dress was custom-made for your body, regardless of body type. It forgives that extra piece of dessert you had last night. Or, it helps show off a sassy 10-pound weight loss like nobody’s business.

The wrap dress has a v-neckline flatters everyone. It balances the pear and apple-shaped gals, while giving ruler-figures a waistline boost. It can be dressed up with jewelry and fantastic heels for a polished look, or dressed down with flat sandals or ballet flats for an easy, casual look. And did I mention that it’s comfortable? DVF’s original wrap dress, as well as the many lookalikes, are typically made from a fashion knit jersey fabric that moves with the body.

Simply put, it’s classic however you style it. The good news is that wrap dresses are made by many designers, in many different fabrics and many different price points, so it’s a look that truly can fit everyone.

Feel like a princess in this stunning blue wrap dress that looks similar to the one Kate Middleton wears (minus the prince, of course…)

Go from day to night in this gorgeous striped DVF dress and never miss a beat.

The black wrap dress is one item that ALL women should have in their closet.

This vintage St. Laurent Rive Gauche stunner would be amazing for a special night out or event.

And, true to our favorite color of 2012, this Anthropologie wrap dress is a stunner.

If you don’t already own a wrap dress, try one on your next shopping trip and embrace your inner Veronica Corningstone. You’ll thank me for this tidbit of info. (And if you’ve not seen Anchorman, what are you waiting for??)

CLICK HERE TO BUY!

Dr. Singh’s research is all consuming, so it is not a great surprise that her only personal relationships are an office romance (on the sly) with her much older boss, Mr. Fox, and a working friendship with research partner, Anders Eckman. Her relationship with her mother is practically non-existent and her deceased father chose to return to his native country (India) and start a second family over remaining with Singh and her mother. So, you can be sympathetic to the fact that her life is a little shallow and narrow-minded.

Singh’s little world is shaken when Mr. Fox (he will always be Mr. Fox and you will never like him) arrives with a letter stating that Eckman has died while checking on the field work of a company research project headed by Dr. Annick Swenson. Swenson, a former mentor of Singh’s, is studying the Lakashi, an isolated Amazonian tribe whose women seem to bear healthy children well into their seventies. While amazing drug possibilities abound with this project, Swenson has been working for years and keeping results completely under the company radar. Mr. Fox needed something positive for his board members, so Eckman made the trip.

Eckman’s death takes on new dimensions as his wife refuses to believe he is dead because there is no body. Mr. Fox requests that Singh take up where he left off even though the mission is considered very dangerous. Singh’s company has invested big bucks on the project and Mr. Fox has to find a way to make Swenson accountable. Dr. Singh is his next best option so she must go!

Dr. Singh slowly comes out of her shell and becomes Marina Singh as her character blossoms in the tropical heat. She loses her luggage and a little bit of formality in Manaus, Brazil and then loosens up even more as a second suitcase is absconded by the Lakashi natives. It seems that she finds her true self as she sheds the constraints of civilization and learns to live with this amazing tribe of people.

This novel has been criticized for its lack of realism. I am not a fertility researcher and have never traveled deep into the Amazon, so it was not a problem for me. The book is well written, the subject line captivating and the scene that Patchett sets is a terrifyingly beautiful one. She may be guilty of wrapping everything up a little too neatly in the end, but this book is well worth the time and money spent on it. Also, a plus for this sunshine and rainbows reader–a suspenseful plot, but NOT as dark as Bel Canto. Thanks for the recommendation, Janice Wilner!

What made you decide to put your ideas and daily musings on (digital) paper?
Once upon a time there was a silly little girl working at a beat ass job who knew that one day there would be more. Since that beat ass job was sitting behind closed doors with me and a computer and very little IT monitoring, I started a blog. I thought maybe just maybe one day I could get paid for this and have a baby and stay at home. Now I have a baby and stay at home. Let’s hear it for setting your standards low.

If you and G were to attend MotherBoy 2012, what would you wear?
I’m using my latest obsession to answer this question: Pinterest.

That is me.

That is G. He’d have outfit changes, obviously.

Is there still a baby monkey in the cards for you?
From god’s ears to your mouth. Wait. Is that how that saying goes? From your mouth to god’s ears? That sounds mildly sexual to me. God prob doesn’t like ear foreplay. Although that’s one topic which I know very little about. Ask the Christians. Not about the monkey, about the ear stuff. See what happened there? I took a very simple question and just managed to offend 4.5 billion people across the world. And that is MODG.

Do you love Danny Tanner because he was most likely a closet homosexual raising his children with his lover Joey who was banished to the basement or because he was the star of a major morning news show?
Secret answer C. I actually don’t really love Danny Tanner. I love the randomness of Danny Tanner. I love drawing pictures of Danny Tanner. I love envisioning his face in a sky of clouds. I love his long and lean khakis. Ok, maybe I love him.

What has been your greatest “success moment” to date?
Having my son? I know vomit right. Okay, prob not what you were looking for. In terms of internet stuff…When I got the email from a literary agent asking if I would write a book for them. Not because I actually am doing much WITH that, but because it was very validating.

Why do you hate the great state of Oklahoma?
I do? I probably said that when I had my period. I’ve said I’ve hated everything at least once. Also I have my period now and I think I hate it again. Any state that is that far from a water source is questionable at best.

Can my friend (Karin M.)* have a headshot of G from his pageant autographed by him? Because she has already told me she’ll die without it.

*Also- shout out to Daisi B. for being awesome and for her MODG love and for the tip off for this interview and for being Daisi B.

I’m a little obsessed with music and knew if I opened up my eclectic mess of iTunes I could create a playlist for my friends that could keep their workout flowing. This spawned the birth of Beast Mode. The name came from a friend of mine who would tweet that when he was working out. And as a kid I was obsessed with X-Men and Beast happened to be my favorite character so I thought he would be the perfect poster child for this mix…that is until I get a cease and desist. I’ll take my chances though because I want everyone to have as much fun working out as I do.

This is the first volume of Beast Mode. This is a mix of dance, hip hop, dubstep and indie rock. So no matter what music genre you’re into, you are sure to like something. Some of the music is a bit a of throwback to the early 2000s- the glory days of college for me.

Stay tuned for Volume 2 coming in March, and in the meantime, WORK IT!

Grab the mix here.

The title of this book will be a huge clue to the plot for anyone who A) has studied American History, or B) was born prior to November 22, 1963. No one can think of the assassination of President John Kennedy (little John-John saluting the flag on the coffin in the funeral cortege broke just about every heart in America) as anything other than a world-changing event. King has used it as the central point in this book. What if someone could go back and change history? Take out Lee Harvey Oswald before he could make the fatal shot?

High school teacher Jake Epping takes that challenge when he stumbles across a time portal in the back room of a local diner. Sound crazy? Well, if you are reading a novel with a time portal, who’s to say what is a little, well maybe more than a little, off. So accept the time portal and settle in for a trip back to the late 50’s and early 60’s. It will be a bumpy ride and you won’t be meeting the rock-around-the-clock gang. King’s Dallas is an anti-Kennedy racial hot bed that is a dangerous place for inner-city dwellers.

I found Epping to be a little cold and maybe just a little all-knowing. I would also like to think that King (being from Maine) might have a little anti-south sentiment flowing in his veins. However, It is a very well-researched novel and as the actual facts interplay with King’s fictional plot you begin to buy into it and root for Epping.

This is an excellent read- if only for the fact that it makes you think about the “what if” questions that have haunted us for decades.

So, just in time for Valentine’s Day, and truly perfect for any day, check out Catbird. Just be prepared to fall madly, head-over-heels in love.

When did you realize you had such a love for jewelry?
Selling it! I had a store that sold lots of things but jewelry was always the most fun and rewarding. Is anyone grumpy while buying jewelry? (Answer: No.) Also, at the time there weren’t many people selling jewelry in Williamsburg, yet there were a million great designers in the neighborhood, so it seemed like a good fit to start to showcase all the local talent.

What inspired you to take the leap and open such a fabulous store?
My boyfriend (now husband) and I had a rent stabilized apartment and were living cheaply enough that I was able to take a risk. I had saved some money and the right place opened up at the right time. Opening a store is a lot about being in the right place at the right time, plus maybe a bit of cajones. But the truth is: I had NO idea what I was doing. It really took years to firm up a vision.

How do you find such great designers?
Williamsburg was, and still is, flooded with them. I would stop people on the street and ask them about what they were wearing and nine times out of ten, they had made it themselves. Plus I leave no stone unturned in looking for things. My crack team and I open every single email we get, we troll the web, we ask our customers, etc.

What is your favorite fashion era?
I am not loyal to any particular trend or era – I just know what I like when I see it. That said, the Victorians really knew a thing or two about jewelry. They took it SERIOUSLY.

I’m obsessed with the memory rings. What other pieces do you have that would be considered unusual?
The memory ring has really become a signature piece, which makes me really happy. We have been selling them for years but all of a sudden people have gone nuts for them. The Polly Wales rings are a special slice of magic. They aren’t for everyone but their haphazard boldness really gets me going.

What has been your greatest “success moment” to date?
One would have to be getting mentioned by Pat Kiernan. But really the thing that keeps me going is having a happy staff.

Which piece or pieces has been your favorite?
The memory rings win a prize for being so simple yet so sexy. Right now I am having a serious love affair with Conroy & Wilcox.

Let me get right to it. If you are a very intelligent woman who also loves shopping and watching The Bachelor, then this is the book for you. One of the things I absolutely adore about Mindy Kaling is that she is so incredibly smart (she has a degree from Dartmouth!), yet she is still a super fun, conversational, girly girl. Now I’m no Dartmouth graduate, but I do consider myself to be an intelligent girl. I have a Master’s degree after all! However, most people would never know this about me, probably because I prefer to discuss fashion or the latest episode of Kourtney and Kim Take New York, as opposed to my opinions on Dostoevsky’s views on existentialism (which I can totally discuss the crap out of, if I wanted to). In her book, Mindy Kaling represents a type of woman that many can not only relate to, but also admire. She depicts her struggles and triumphs from a poor college graduate to a celebrated and successful writer and actor on a hit comedy show. However, she also discusses boy troubles and how awful it is to feel fat when you try on clothes. She’s just so relatable!

Mindy (my new BFF, probably) discusses the difference between boys and men and why women in their 20s and 30s struggle with telling the difference between the two. For any of you who are currently in this predicament, boys have roommates and stay up until 4am and drink cheap beer with you. Men own homes and go to bed early with you, so he can get up for his respected job. Mindy advises that we should stick to dating men- especially when we are pushing 30.

I know I should have recommended this book when it first came out back in September, but now you can probably get it in paperback which is always a little cheaper. Also, I may or may not have been a little busy finishing up the latest season of Project Runway. I know I shouldn’t have, but I bet Mindy would understand.

This Haute Hippie dress is so perfect for not only a sexy date night, but any night. Throw a cardigan over it with some flats and you have a sassy Saturday afternoon outing outfit!

The other Valentine’s Day staple color is obviously pink, and this BCBG Generation dress from Piperlime is a sure hit. It looks great with all skin tones and will surely put a romantic pep in your step.

Pair this asymmetrical Kimberly Taylor dress from Revolve with some fabulous red (or even orange!) shoes, and you will no doubt be an absolute head turner. This cut is unusual, so you certainly won’t have to worry about showing up with the same look as someone else (gasp!).

If I owned this Alice + Olivia ombre maxi, I would debut it on VDay, but definitely wear it once a week for the rest of my life. It has everything you need- comfort, color, and awesomeness.

If you are wearing a really bold dress, blouse, skirt, or pants, then you should consider going classy and nude with your shoes. These J. Crew flats will get you through the night, and carry you through the season as well.

When a simple shoe simply won’t do, these Brian Atwood Pumps will get you where you need to go. With a sky-high heel and shiny color you will feel like Heidi Klum and Adriana Lima had a love child and that child is you.

At under $30, the price is so so very right on these you should probably just go ahead and buy them now. Red goes with almost everything, and I doubt you’ll regret anything about purchasing these Rampage flats. Except maybe not buying two pair.

Another incredible steal is this gorgeous Ferragamo scarf. For this price, you can wear the very best and not feel the least bit guilty. Win!

Dannijo is so amazing there are almost no words. I think the most exciting deal is this trio of bracelets. You get such a great discount for buying all three together!

Catbird NYC is such an adorable little place, and my love for this shop knows no bounds. They have an abundance of dainty and delicate items to choose from, but this Digby & Iona Arrow Necklace is my favorite piece right now, and it’s perfect for the impending holiday.

Did I forget anything? What are your favorite Valentine’s fashions?

I’ve never been shy about my love for a rolled pant on men. Just the casually slouchy look of a sloppily cuffed chino makes a great sweater (or really any shirt) look effortless. And isn’t that the point?

Thus begins the gripping story of The Last Child. At 13 years, Johnny is a small, thin boy on a mission to find his missing twin sister and put his family back together. This is the basic premise of John Hart’s “The Last Child.” Oh, but there is so much more. Can I just say, “WOW!” The book is difficult to put down because you are in the grip of Johnny’s despair and hope pretty much from page one. His mother has chosen drugs to combat the despair; his father abandoned them two weeks into the search; an abusive but rich “friend of the family” has moved in, and most adults involved have given up hope. Not Johnny! He is ditching school and searching for his sister with an old bike and a map of the city. Police Detective Clyde Hunt has also become obsessed with the case (and maybe just a little with Johnny’s beautiful mother) but Johnny doesn’t trust anyone and continues his mission alone. He travels into dark places where no young boy should go and he is relentless in his pursuit. And then another little girl goes missing…

This one I recommend to anyone who enjoys mysteries and thrillers. This is my first John Hart book, but it certainly won’t be my last. WOW!

Inspired by India, the collection includes tops, vests, slip dresses, tunics and maxidresses in colorful, romantic and cultural textiles. Here are a few of my favorites from her recently released lookbook:

The line will hit high-end stores like Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Ron Herman, and online at Shopbop.com starting mid-February.

I’m already feeling boho-chic this Spring!

Ricky Gervais looked handsome, but most importantly was so spot-on with his opening monologue that I was in awe. His jokes were not too crass, and the one moment he went dangerously close to the edge (a series of escalating beaver jokes involving Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster’s sexual orientation) the camera cut to Foster and she was genuinely laughing and enjoying it. It was such a nice moment! I loved the comparison of the Globes to the Oscars- Kim Kardashian to Kate Middleton- and the circular joke that ended with the HFP at the butt of it. Well done, Ricky. Even more than expected. Dare I say, he was even classy? Very tame, and very jovial. I loved it.

Before I really get started, I’m going to admit that after seeing all the post-show fodder I am way wrong about best/worst dressed. Either that, or I’m just super edgy. Let’s go with edgy? It sounds better.

I noticed a lot of people playing it safe. I’m looking at you, Kate Winslet. I mean- of course she was beautiful, but yaaaaaaaawn. I also noticed a lot of black and navy, and a lot of fleshy, pale colors. If this is a trending forecast, I’m going to look either totally washed out or constantly depressed this fashion season.

Here’s my fashion recap, in the order of appearance.

Tina Fey in de la Renta was absolutely stunning. She has ended up on the Worst Dressed lists in the past, but she totally NAILED it. If you aren’t going to go home with a Globe, you might as well look super super hot, right?

Okay- I know I’m going against the grain with this one, but Elle Macpherson looked like an idiot. Is she a beached mermaid? Did she just swim in from 1986? I don’t know. I will say this- she is so hot it’s ridiculous. Just not with that dress on!