I’m depressed. My closest friend moved back to Canada late last night. We hung out until the last possible minute (2:30 am) before she left for the airport, and I was left behind, standing in the street, a sobbing mess. And today I’m dragging around like a zombie. I don’t think anything could put me in a good mood right now.

Not even if I was wearing this Chris Benz dress:

Nor eating this grape and apple pie:

Nor watching Hart of Dixie. Nor buying clothes (which I haven’t done in three months, by the way). Not even winning the lottery would rid me of this melancholy (er, wait, I take that back. If I’m ever going to win the lottery I need to put positive thoughts out in the universe! Right?)!

But seriously. Goodbyes are so hard! I think I’ve had enough of them. The good thing is that, based on experience, I know that I’ll eventually stop hurting and zombifying and fill my time with other things (see above list).

I don’t usually think of myself as a Chinoiserie girl, but I am very inspired by these photos of Shang Palace inside the Shangri-La Paris Hotel. It’s a good reminder that I can love just about anything if the lines are clean and overall design steeped in modernity.

I also love what Alexander Lobrano wrote about Shang Palace on his blog: “There’s simply no place like this in Paris, both in terms of the cooking and almost as importantly, the atmosphere, which so completely replicates the look, feel and tone of upmarket Chinese tables in major Asian cities that a meal here is completely transporting.”

When the Crosby Street Hotel opened in New York City two years ago, I spent a lot of time looking—gazing, really—at their well-appointed rooms online. Designer Kit Kemp’s aesthetic really appeals to me. Everything is perfectly placed and proportioned; there’s an air of whimsy and femininity which is wisely balanced with clean lines and sophistication; plus, she makes a statement with color. And I love a statement with color!

Here’s one of their Crosby suites. I just can’t get over all the beautiful fabrics and textures. It’s layers-upon-layers of wow.

And just like that, fall has arrived! It has been raining all day, and I’m in a cozy sweater and knee-high boots. It seems like a silly reason to be giddy, but I am. It’s finally fall! Woo hoo!

Tonight I’m going out with some girlfriends for hot apple cider, and with all this sweater/boots/cider/rain business, I’m in a seasonal mood more than ever. I made you a visual:

*Runway image from Band of Outsiders’ fall 2011 ready-to-wear collection.

It’s basically what I want to wear, what I want to read, where I want to sit, what I want to drink, and what I want to see from the window. Isn’t it dreamy?

Oh, and speaking of apple cider, when I move back to the U.S. I’m totally hitting up this place:

White Mountain Cider Company
Glen, New Hampshire

“Centered around a restored 1890’s farmhouse, the White Mountain Cider Company in New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Valley not only offers the chance to watch apple cider pressing and sample freshly squeezed juice but also features a contemporary restaurant with New England cuisine and a cocktail bar both helmed by Culinary Institute of America grads Scott and Teresa Stearns.” —Laura Kath

Um, yes please!

What a cute little idea! Kim Stoegbauer of The TomKat Studio designed this autumnal dessert buffet influenced by the happiest of fall flowers, the sunflower. It makes me yearn for two things: 1) fall (do you hear me, never-ending summer?) and 2) the entertaining gene (somehow it skipped me).

Some friends of mine just left for Paris (luckies!) and we had a lot of fun planning their wardrobe itineraries this week. We finalized every outfit down to the earrings and shoes. We even started matching their outfits, so that they’d look good standing next to each other! Neurotic, yes. And totally GENIUS.

Before they left, I handed them a stack of index cards that outlined both their travel itineraries and their wardrobe itineraries. Read on to see what I mean.

The first stack of index cards were the travel itinerary, broken down by day:

The second stack was the wardrobe itinerary, broken down by outfit:

They could spend their airplane time matching up their outfits to each other’s (i.e. “We can’t both wear polka-dots that day!”) and to the day’s activities. They could even switch things around based on the weather forecast, for one. Take a look:

Clearly I’d prefer to be in Paris, but I loved that being part of this got me as close as I can possibly be right now. So have a great time, girls! See you soon!

My newest discovery and latest obsession:

Nutella was always too sweet for me. Carobella, a carob-hazelnut combo spread, is slightly more bitter—and insanely tasty!

After we put the kids to bed tonight, my husband and I pulled homemade blueberry ice cream out of the freezer, topped it with Carobella, and moaned (with far too much zeal) as we polished it off while watching Bar Rescue. Perfect evening.

Today I’m wearing a wrap tee in the most delicious shade of peach you’ve ever seen (thank you, J.Crew Crosstown Tee in Georgia Peach). It’s simple and lovely when paired with cropped black pants, black gladiator sandals, and gold filigree chandelier earrings.

But this color, oh this color…! It makes me want to be somewhere else. Oh, I don’t know, like Lima. Lima, Peru. Like here:

And here:

And definitely here:

*Photographs of Lima by Eve Andersson.

All afternoon I’ve been sipping limonana, one of the greatest summer drinks ever, and it got me thinking. Or, more accurately, daydreaming.

I don’t even have to close my eyes to imagine myself with good friends, lounging on a cushioned wicker sofa, eating hot dogs, drinking limonana, and watching our kids jump about in a lawn sprinkler. We’re enjoying each other so much that we stay through nightfall, Citronella candles flickering in the moonlight.

I should name every outfit for the place I could imagine myself wearing it.

In which case, today I wore Paris. Black sheath dress, soft and drapey gray cardigan, black gladiator sandals. It’s what I imagine myself wearing if I were walking on St. Germain and stopping somewhere marvelous for cheese and chocolate.

I’ve actually been thinking a lot about sheath dresses. I only have one, but if I were ever to adopt a signature look, it would be the sheath. They’re always classic, effortlessly sexy, and insanely flattering.

Time to buy more sheath dresses and make a trip to Paris! Who’s in?