highway 1

Dress: Otte NY; Jacket: Old Navy (old, but contemplating this jacket here for an update); Shoes: Steve Madden; Sunglasses: Celine

You can take the girl out of the West Coast, but you can't take the West Coast out of the girl.

It's true. It really is. As much as I've reflected on the past year (how crazy right -- it's been an entire year since I've moved to New York!), I've undoubtedly loved my time living on the East Coast. The pace, the energy, the people, the cities and of course, the learning experiences it's brought along the way -- definitely worthy of a life update post, which I'm working on at the moment.

But there's something about returning to California, even for just brief weekend visits, that remind me how much I loved my time living there as well. Nostalgia is a funny thing isn't it? It floods back almost all at once at the smallest triggers, a sunset, a song, a long drive home. And you're suddenly remembering former versions of yourself, former afternoons you've spent and the people along the way. Whenever I head back to California, no matter how brief the visit, I try to get my hands on a car -- any car -- to just drive down Highway 1 right before sunset. This past visit I was lucky enough to partner with Sixt Car Rental, who graciously offered this Mercedes GLA you see here. It was the perfect steed to literally drive off into the sunset -- and with the right oldies blasting on the radio, I couldn't help but smile about all the good memories California holds for me and will likely always hold for me.

Photos by Anna-Alexia Basile

This post was in collaboration with Sixt Car Rental. As always, all opinions and styling are my own. Thank you for supporting all This Time Tomorrow collaborations!

postcards from the sea {sailing away with celebrity cruises}

Floral dress: Cynthia Rowley // Wetsuit: Cynthia Rowley (mine and Christine's); White dress: Reformation (from last summer, similar style here); Hat: Hat Attack

There's an interesting thing that happens when you embark on a cruise ship. OK, actually, there's a few interesting things that happen. The first, and probably the most obvious one, is that you immediately become painfully aware of your balance (or lack there of once the ship starts sailing). And the second, you will never really understand what a nautical knot is. Trust me on this. Many of the staff will try to explain it, but your landlocked brain, much like mine, will find it hard to grasp. And the third? At times, you'll find yourself wondering how you could possibly eat another meal, but once that fresh mahi mahi comes out of the kitchen, you forget all your stomach woes.

As for what else happens on a cruise ship? Well, the rest is nothing short of an adventure (which trust me, I had my reservations about at first -- but am now a proud believer). And to borrow from my friend David Foster Wallace's piece on cruise ship sailing (mainly the writing format, not necessarily his sentiments about cruising in general), I'd like to share with you a little slice of our week long experience, sailing through the Caribbean Sea with Celebrity Cruises aboard the Silhouette last month.

Ready? Great!

I can now say that I've done and loved the following...

checking in {langham place}

Pajamas: Marigot, gifted; Dress: Houghton borrowed from Plan de Ville; Boots: Stuart Weitzman; Fur coat: Vintage, gift from my mother

Perhaps it's just me, but there's something about checking into a beautiful hotel that makes me feel like a little girl. In the best way possible, of course. Almost as if it's my excuse to dress up, jump on the bed (at a reasonable hour, naturally) and order room service pancakes (regardless of the hour). Then there's the fact that everyone insists on calling you Ms. Bick that always makes me giggle a bit to myself. Ms. Bick just reminds me of my mom, so I can't help but look over my shoulder to check for her when called it. 

Yes, at the risk of this being the most first world sentence I've ever typed here on This Time Tomorrow, beautiful hotels are my weakness. And getting to stay at them? An absolute dream, one that I don't take for granted. 

This past fashion week, I had the opportunity to check into my new favorite hotel here in the city. Langham Place, located in the heart of Midtown at 5th and 37th. Granted, this downtown girl doesn't make it uptown that often, let alone, midtown, but that's the beauty in staycations, right? It allows us to see a new part of our own backyard, restaurants and shops alike, and of course, skyline views from my 19th floor bedroom didn't disappoint either.

Amidst the craziness that is fashion week, it was so nice to come back to this (not so) little refuge high above the city, each night. Langham Place boasts some of the largest rooms in the city, and upon walking into mine, I was blown away. (Let's just say, several of my West Village studios could have fit in there.) After a day of trekking around the city, bundled up in layers and not so functional shoes, I rested easy knowing that a nice long bath soak, a fuzzy robe and a bottle of wine were waiting for me. Oh, and putting a little Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald on was the cherry on top each evening.

As far as hotel amenities go, I loved that I didn't have to look far for great food (another first world priority, I know). Most evenings I ducked into their downstairs lobby bar and lounge, Measure, for a hearty bite and night cap and on one certain special Valentine's Day evening, I might have popped upstairs to their Michelin-star rated restaurant, Ai Fiori, for a delicious six-course meal for two.

Huge thanks again to the folks at Langham Place for hosting me. You certainly made this fashion week attendee feel right at home in Midtown and I hope to join you again soon!

This post was in collaboration with Langham Place. As always, all opinions and styling are my own. Thank you for supporting all This Time Tomorrow collaborations!

Photos by Lydia Hudgens

mexican siesta with jw marriott

Swimsuit: Cynthia Rowley here and here; Dress: Suno (from a previous season, more Suno here); Heels: Steve Madden; Sunglasses: Celine

This probably goes without saying at this point, but I can't resist a good Mexican siesta every once and a while. Case in point? Just this past year alone, I've visited Cabo in May as well as August, experiencing completely different parts of the area and local flare both times. And as luck would have it, just this past week, I hopped back for more, this time for the grand unveiling of the JW Marriott, which opened it's doors earlier this season.

Click through to see more photos and read more about my experience across the border...

live your adventure {part 4: the comeback kids}

Part Four: The Comeback Kids

The scene: Much like any adventure you don't want to end, think of this as the comeback for our heroes. The part in which, much like perhaps most parents would do, they want you to sit and flip through their film prints and watch a little home video they whipped up. 

So without further adieu, let's dim the lights and roll it...

In case you're just joining our heroes now, here's Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this series.

Photos by Lydia Hudgens // Video editing by Jemaray Pyatt

This post was in collaboration with Eddie Bauer. As always, all opinions and styling are my own. Thank you for supporting all This Time Tomorrow collaborations!

old world/new world

Note before you begin: There are a lot more photos to be seen after the jump, simply click "Read More" below...

There's a quote from Gustave Flaubert (hello, Madame Bovary) that goes a little something like this:

"It always sad to leave a place to which one knows one will never return. Such are the melancolies du voyage: perhaps they are one of the most rewarding things about traveling."

There are few moments when I'm traveling that I get this exact feeling. Granted. while I firmly believe that each trip, big or small, is unique unto itself, I don't necessarily get overcome with a feeling of finality when I visit, say Los Angeles or Seattle. And I'm not starting this post about Israel with this quote to say that I don't think I'll ever return to this pocket of the world. Quite the opposite actually. I know, in my heart of hearts, I will return back to Israel someday. The people, the history and the culture are just too rich, too kind and too fascinating not to. 

No, this quote carries a lot of weight for me because it sums up, quite brilliantly, that feeling when you realize the exact moment you're in, that very second, is so incredibly unlike any other moment you could ever hope to recreate, that it leaves you simultaneously amazed and overjoyed by the fact you get to experience it, and also saddened by how fleeting it all is. It's that half second that you have to humbly appreciate what you're about to experience can only be described as once in a lifetime. They don't come around often. And, considering this is also a very contested part of the world, for a large number of reasons too lengthy to do justice in one blog post by someone who openly admits she is but a novice in these matters, it would be remiss of me to not acknowledge, that these particular moments may not easily present themselves again. Due to ever changing circumstances of the world we live in. But that's life and seize those moments, you must! 

Does any of that make sense? I may be rambling, but perhaps by sharing some of these exact moments I had in Israel, I can better illustrate what I mean. Simple click "Read More" below to hear about the moments that have changed me for forever (10 to be exact!)...