My Little Hideaway Place

Since moving from NYC, I must say that I get a bit nostalgic of the classy lounges and bars I used to visit often. In the small city in Germany I live now, I find there are more “charming” places many centuries old and I do not find more modern elegance. This hotel Der Oschbergof is my little happy place to visit and to appreciate the new elements of German interior architecture and the lovely Golf and walking grounds.

Although it is a fancier hotel where some dress up, I decided to make a blend of an outfit to match the more casual feeling of German culture and the dressier side of this hotel. I wore bell bottom denim with an Alice and Olivia Bodysuit underneath my criss-crossed sweater. I like to add elements of basic and unusual shapes together. Since the weather is getting a bit chillier here, I wore my espadrilles that I got in a German boutique and carried my Louis Voutton Alma Bag.

Inside the hotel there is a cigar lounge which seems a bit masculine but certainly my kind of taste every so often, and took off my sweater to enjoy the warmth of the fire. Autumn brings versatility in your outfits and so I find it fun to dress for outside and inside. Cheers =)

xoxo,

Catherine Wanders

Finding Balance in Wu Long Karst, China

I will get back to posting outfit pictures once I do some more catching up on my summer travels. But Wu Long Karst, China is definitely an impressive place with 3 natural bridges of rock overshadowing the beautiful center building in the midst of it all. All of these photos are not edited. The building was made in 600 AD and looked to be in wonderful condition. The golden throne is actually inside one of the buildings and is open for the public to take a photo with it for a small fee. It seems a bit weird how commercialized such sacred places are in China. Especially since this area has had a couple famous movies filmed, one was the 2014 Transformers movie and then also some Kung Fu film in Chinese.

I was wearing my Asics shoes for comfort since there was a lot of walking, and a pair of Rag and Bone denim shorts which still let me do my yoga move in the middle of a stream in between the different natural bridges. The entire place was so scenic that people were taking photos of every single part of the walk.

This was an extremely remote area in China and so I feel very lucky to have experienced this. I am a fan of visiting the lesser known and the more known places of the world, it is all exciting and new to me.

Lake Maggiore in Stresa, Italy

Amazing view from the terrace

A couple levels down from the terrace and you see a little lake beach and gorgeous mountains

The pool had glittering stones in the bottom and gave extra beauty to the hotel

The dinner view with sunset ❤

My Dinner Date =)

Even when raining the terrace is beautiful

Grabbing a bite in a neighboring Italian neighborhood on Lake Maggiore

After traveling over the Swiss Alps and going through some winding streets, we found ourselves in Lake Maggiore in Stresa Italy. We stayed at Hotel Splended, a sweet hotel right on the water and walking distance to a little lake town with cafes, restaurants, bars and shops. The view was so beautiful, I found myself in shock every time I looked at it.

I honestly prefer to go in pools, so I spent a nice day relaxing poolside with refreshing Aperol Spritz cocktails and dipping in the cool water whenever I felt I had enough sun. Later in the evenings we would either walk to find restaurants along the water or stay at the restaurant at the hotel. My favorite was the restaurant at the hotel because of the magnificent view and service. It was an extremely romantic place for Champagne, Italian eats and great company.

When walking around the shops and promenade it was easiest to wear little sundresses and at night time flowy tops and shorts with heels to cool down in the summer air. I will definitely recommend to visit this romantic area.

A Wedding in Hawaii

 

I have been anticipating my cousin’s wedding for quite some time, especially since it was in Kauai, Hawaii! It is such a beautiful island, just like my beautiful cousin Seiko! The reception was on a gorgeous piece of land that had the beach in the background and the party on the trim grass overlooking the paradise. There was definitely some difficulty in understanding exactly what someone wears to a wedding in a tropical place, especially if you are not sure if it is in the sand or not! Luckily, heels was an okay decision and so I wore my seasonal favorite from Via Spiga purchased at Bloomingdales, and then I somehow found this dress while shopping in SoHo right before leaving for my trip. I love it because I knew I could not wear white or black, but I definitely was not in the mood for a print, so nude all the way! The delicate sequins in the front also wrapped around the straps to the back, a nice detail that had me say “Yes to the Dress!”

Nude and Neutrals for Summer

I have been loving neutral tones, and this BCBG Maxazria top seems to be just the right combination of texture and color to match these suede-like H&M drawstring shorts. One of my favorite companies is BCBG Maxazria because I believe they have amazing taste and continuously have beautiful selections with the seasons, which always keeps me excited for more. Here I am in my room with my painting I made of a more psychadelic female in contrast to the white door and nude walls and simple makeup. I love this as a summer look!

Colored in Coral

I decided to dress in color and it was funny because everyone on the Upper East Side seemed to be wearing the gray-scale and completely casual. Sometimes it is not so bad to stand out, and wearing this ModCloth.com dress was a bold move of mine. If you are going to wear color you better be prepared to wear it with confidence. That I did as I sipped my delightful champagne and ate at the outdoor seating of a french restaurant.

Visiting Georgetown, Washington, DC.

Visiting my mother last weekend was not all green grass and trees, but in fact some really adorable cultural places as well as new restaurants, buildings and more. One of my favorite areas near where my mother just moved is Georgetown, Washington, DC. These photos do not exactly capture the adorable little streets but I was certainly happy to be walking around in my new Zara cow heide cheetah heels (I am obsessed with cheetah print!) and my Carol J navy leather handbag and my Forever21 dress which shrunk in the wash, haha oops!

Visiting my Mother in Maryland

Very rarely am I in a suburban town where all there is to venture to by foot is the park across the street. I love pairing sneakers with dresses and so I threw on one of my mother’s dresses and paired them with my Nike sneakers, or rather “tennies”. I have been living in a concrete jungle for 5 years and it does feel nice for my mind and body to be somewhere more quaint. Inside her house we leave the windows open and beautiful chirps from birdies are everywhere, and the sound of wind whistling by. I am happy to take this time in Maryland near Washington DC to have mother-daughter time in a place that is peaceful. I am happy she just moved here.

Restaurant “Orsay” is Lovely I must Say

About an avenue or so near central park somewhere in the upper east 70’s streets is this delightful french restaurant Orsay. I happened to be wandering around buying time until a meeting a couple hours later, so I got my nails done and headed into this place. It was a sunny day out and I was wearing the perfect amount of covering for my arms and of course a playful short length in my dress. I love how the colors go from light to dark, making it an easy dress to match other pieces to, such as my MIA snakeskin shoes and my 3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli Medium Satchel which I got while I was in the Hamptons last summer. Cheers to this beautiful weather and trying out new places!

When In Vegas

So it was my first time ever in Vegas, and I was told by my friends to bring a summery wardrobe with me, so that I did. Here you see me in a tight Wow Couture dress, a line of dresses which primarily focuses on bandage style, and of course my Christian Louboutin “Miss Benin 160” Knotted toe Pump to spice up the outfit even more. I admit, I was certainly trying to push the boundaries and I certainly got myself a handful of stairs walking through one of the casinos. I figured I would just play the part of the fun-loving party girl during my trip.