I'm Back!

It's been over two weeks since I last posted! No time to dwell on that fact; let's just correct it:

Last week, my parents made a much-anticipated trip to NYC and I spent the whole week with them. It was wonderful. They were kind enough to indulge my DIY obsession, and my apartment has never looked better. Thanks to them, I now have an accent wall in my living room and another in my bedroom (each of these walls has been totally transformed with wallpaper, courtesy of my dad), my wall art is now on the walls instead of in the "project" corner of my apartment, and my favorite wine glasses are suspended from a rack underneath my kitchen cabinets instead of tucked away in the cabinets. I promise to post pictures soon.

In other news, while this blog remains, for the most part, a politics-free zone, I just finished watching President Obama's press conference on health care reform. At some point over the past few days, it dawned on me that the health care debate is one that I should pay attention to -- I finally decided to do a little digging after hearing the term "single-payer health care" for the umpteenth time and being frustrated -- for the umpteenth time -- that I didn't really know what it meant. Now, I am more informed, but also confused. There's no question that as-is, the American health care system is underperforming. And that's unacceptable. I'm anxious to see how the debate plays out.

First Lady Fashion

Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni (Sarkozy) were in Normandy, France today to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of D-Day. The event was, of course, serious and at times somber. While watching MSNBC's coverage of today's event (and with complete understanding of and respect for the gravity of the commemoration), I could not help noticing that Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Bruni (Sarkozy) looked absolutely stunning:

images via Huffington Post

Michelle Obama's Sneakers

US Weekly is conducting a poll to see who among its readers likes the Lanvin sneakers that Michelle Obama wore to the Capitol Food Bank last week. The shoes are funky, yes. But any First Lady who wears these kicks is okay in my book. Plus, her service at the food bank is far more important than the shoes.

Images: New York Daily News

Good Touch, Bad Touch.

First, the Good: I recently purchased the (still relatively) new touch screen Blackberry Storm. Confession: I really wanted an iPhone, but I am a loyal Verizon customer and I refuse to switch to AT&T just for the "it" Phone. None of that matters, though, because the Storm is great. I feel like I've finally stepped into this century! I can't believe how much I can do with this phone (the web browsing is amazing ... even my little blog looks great on the Storm). Plus, today the Blackberry App World launched, complete with tons of fun applications. I have already downloaded a few new, shiny apps (including mobile-friendly versions of Elle and Slate and something called Viigo that comes highly recommended).

Now, the Bad: Evidently, touching the Queen without being invited to do so is bad form. According to several news outlets, First Lady Michelle Obama gently touched the Queen on the back without an invite during a visit to Buckingham Palace today. Outrage ensued.

In other Michelle Obama news, doesn't she look great here, pictured with Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown? The best part? She's wearing J. Crew!

Image: The Times Online (UK)

Michelle Obama on the Cover of The Oprah Magazine ("O")

For the first time ever, Oprah Winfrey does not appear alone on the cover of "O" Magazine. Who's the very special guest on the cover of the April 2009 issue? First Lady Michelle Obama!

Michelle Obama's Official White House Photo

Image via The Huffington Post. Photograph by Joyce N. Boghosian.

First Lady Michelle Obama's official White House photo has been released (above). Isn't she stunning? Much has been made about her frequent donning of the sleeveless shift dress -- many have begun to wonder whether it is "appropriate" for the First Lady to go sleeveless. I, for one, love the sleeveless shift dress. It's a classic! And if you ask me, the First Lady looks modern, fit and totally fabulous.

Michelle Obama in Her Own, Fashionable Words

Michelle Obama, lawyer, mother, wife and First Lady extraordinaire, graces the cover of the March issue of Vogue. View Andre Leon Talley's interview with her, as well as a slideshow of her Vogue photo shoot, here.

So That's Why I Had Trouble Using J.Crew's Website Today

I think that Michelle Obama is absolutely fabulous, and I am so excited about her turn as First Lady of the United States. I respect that she is an Ivy League-educated attorney and the mother of two beautiful girls. I also appreciate that it is more important to focus on her professional and personal accomplishments than to focus on the clothes she wears and the decorating decisions she makes at the White House. So, as much as I love fashion and interior design, I am going to make a conscious effort to honor that focus (but not totally neglect the fashion and design angle, of course!).

With that said, I have just one tiny anecdote. For the past several days, I've attempted to make some "final sale" purchases on the J. Crew website. Without fail, the website has crashed every single time I attempted to make these purchases. It appears that ever since Michelle Obama wore J. Crew gloves to the inauguration festivities last Tuesday (in addition to wearing very stylish J.Crew outfits during several public appearances over the past few months), business at J. Crew has increased 400%. I guess the website wasn't prepared for the increased traffic. Amazing.

Change Has Arrived.

Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday. I'm not sure that I even have the words to describe what an incredible moment in history this is. I was in DC over the weekend (sadly, I had to return to New York for work on Tuesday), and the excitement that swept the nation's capital in the days before the inaugural festivities was unlike anything I have ever experienced. It was contagious, and I'm still on cloud nine. So is my little brother, who braved the DC cold on Tuesday to witness history being made, and who took tons of pictures with my digital camera, and who promises to send me the copies of the pictures, and who promises to return my digital camera to me via priority mail. (Love you, Tommy!)