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Just a few fun things I’m coveting right now. And in case you missed it, a few other places I was this week: A Caramelized Conversation & Advice From a Blogger: Changing Your Blog Name. Have a fabulous weekend! xo

1. Cherry Rose Coconut Ice Cream

2. Oh Loeffler Randall…. you kill me.

3. This urban patio has me really re-thinking my fire escape, but probably should just start with some plants…

4. A brilliant technique for dressing up light pink nails.

5. My desire for a dog is at an all time high (shocking… I know). But that face!

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It’s really hard not to play favorites with these NYC Eats posts, but this most recent shoot really took the cake- literally and figuratively. Last week, on one of these glorious sunshine filled days we’ve been having in NYC, Sas and I headed to the Tipsy Parson, a restaurant that serves farm and ocean to table oriented southern cuisine in the West Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. With word that Ty-Lor Boring had stepped in as executive chef just a few months prior, we were dying to see what his spin on traditional southern food would look like. In short, we were in for a massive treat.

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We began with Tipsy’s Simple Green Salad, baby lettuces with soft herbs, apple cider pickled carrots and roasted garlic oil. A sucker for presentation, I’d never seen salad ingredients so artfully displayed! Stunning, right? It was the perfect way to kick off our meal.
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Things got REAL for the main course, where Ty-Lor wowed us with the his halibut and short rib dishes. First of the season halibut is served over fennel and snow peas tossed with a bread and butter pickle vinaigrette and topped with leak frites. That vinaigrette? Life changing. We were sure nothing could top that experience, but when a 14 day in house dry aged prime short rib that had been cooked for 72 hours was placed before us, we had a feeling our life was about to be changed once again. Topped with a smoked cheerwine and served along side quite literally the best onion rings I ever had, we were audibly swooning. Emphasis on the word audible.

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Somewhere between the main courses we sampled Tipsy’s glorious fried pickles dunked in a house made buttermilk ranch. The restaurant’s bar area and front window tables are the perfect spot for a early evening cocktail and light bite. We recommend you pair the Porch Swing Swizzle with those fried pickles. And then when all is said and done you round out the meal with their Black & White Chocolate Rum Cake, made with Rhum J.M. Gold and rich Guittard chocolate. As someone who doesn’t usually order the chocolate cake, I was floored.

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A master at creating simple, stunning dishes with a raw and sensual edge, Ty-Lor has taken traditional southern fare and turned it slightly on its head. He’s taken 22 years of travel (spanning 20 countries and four continents no less), a rich culinary education including stints in Seattle and Paris, and experiences working side by side masters chefs from Michelin star rated restaurants in Denmark to street stalls in Thailand, to meld a cuisine that is truly his own. If you’re in the NYC area, Tipsy is an absolute must! Be sure to arrive hungry, as you definitely won’t want to limit your menu choices for this culinary experience.

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All images captured by Sasithon Photography. Huge thanks to Ty-Lor and Julie of the Tipsy Parson for allowing us to capture all the beauty of their food and restaurant! Check out Tipsy Parson on their website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.

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I recently had a realization. I’m one of those odd people that loves networking. Despite having very strong introvert tendencies (more on that in another post), I love connecting with new people- and perhaps even more so, making fortuitous connections between others. But there’s definitely a certain level of ick factor around the term ‘networking’. It conjures up feeling of inauthenticity and pushiness. But because doing it is such a necessary part of my work, I’ve not only gotten very comfortable with it, but figured out an approach that actually feels good (and inherently leads to more auspicious relationships).

It dawned on me the other day that others might not possess that same familiarity or ease with the practice, so I thought I’d outline my approach. Regardless of your job or career, knowing how to network well is key. Let’s dive in!

1. Let Go of the Fear I think one of the biggest hurdles to reaching out to someone we’d like to network with is often simply our fear that we’re bothering them. Here’s my best piece of advice on that: drop that fear. Now. It won’t get you anywhere. The people that advance are doing so because they ask for help. If we don’t ask for something we won’t get it, and the worst thing someone can say is no. At the same time, if your outreach is structured in the right way (and I’ve outlined that approach below), people will more often than not be flattered. Regardless of their position or field, they’ve most definitely been in your shoes before, and I find because of that, people are usually delighted to help or provide guidance. I’m always flattered when a reader reaches out and wants to meet to learn more about my career. I find it important to take the time to do so, because I’m so incredibly thankful for all the people who have helped me (and still do!) along the way.

2. Consider Your Subject Line Before even getting to the body of your outreach email, it’s key to think about your subject line. I have a few formats that keep this structure simple, but also increase my chances of the person reading my email. If I’m reaching out to someone I’ve never met before but we have a shared connection, I’ll write something like “Connection Through <insert name>.” If it’s someone I met at an event, I’ll write something like “Follow Up to X Event” or “So nice meeting you at X event!” And lastly, if it’s someone I personally know but haven’t seen in a while, I’ll write something like “Hello & Coffee?” Whatever the circumstance, it’s important to think about how you structure the subject line because this most definitely has an impact on whether they’ll read your email or not.

3. Keep It Brief But Direct After crafting the subject, you need to consider the body of your email. You’re likely emailing someone who receives a lot of email, so keep your message brief and to the point. I generally lead with some light flattery about how I’d love to learn more about their career (do not go over the top here though as it can come across as inauthentic), and then mention I’d love to share more about my current work and discuss ways in which we could potentially collaborate/work together in the future.* It’s important to mention the last bit to really set expectations for the meeting. If someone has zero idea you’re planning on pitching them in some form, it will definitely devalue the quality of the interaction. It will also make you much less likely to even do the pitch!  *Note: Pitching your services may not be appropriate for all interactions, but regardless of the situation, you want to provide the other person with a clear explanation of what you do and what they can do to best assist you. 

4. Make It Convenient When setting up the meeting you want to make it as convenient as possible for the person. Suggest several ways to connect (coffee, lunch, breakfast, in their offices, etc), and make it clear you’re happy to come to their neighborhood.

5. Determine Your Desired Outcome If you’re clear on what your desired outcome for a meeting is, it’s about one hundred times more likely you’ll achieve that outcome. In fact, often if I walk out of a meeting feeling like it could have gone better, I can usually pinpoint my feelings back to not fully fleshing out my desired outcome. Your desired outcome can be a whole host of things- a proposal, a second meeting, an introduction to a more appropriate contact, and so on. Whatever it is, getting really clear about it prior to the meeting and loosely mapping out how you’re going to lead the meeting will strongly increase your success rate. They’re also some general questions you should have really solid answers to. Questions like: What exactly do you do? What types of clients do you serve? How are your services structured? Crafting the responses to those answers is  whole other post in and of itself, but goes hand in hand with successfully leading the meeting and achieving your desired outcome.

6. Wrapping Up the Meeting These types of meetings can so often flow from one subject to another and be interspersed with some personal chatter, especially if you have a shared connection. Because of that, I always make a point at the end to rehash our next steps, whether it’s me sending a proposal, them introducing me to another colleague over email, me sending my availability for our next meeting, etc. You should be the person to take the lead on that conversation element.

7. Say Thank You Whatever those next steps are, make a point to say thank you. Like an interview, stick to sending something that day. I generally send thank yous via email, but occasionally if the response doesn’t require day of communication, will send a hand written note.

That about sums it up. I hope that was helpful! Question:  Would you guys enjoy more posts like this? I’d so love your feedback. And if you’re yearning for more of this style of content, I’ve got a post on The Well today that shares the method by which I changed my blog’s name as well as an interview about my career on Caramelized. Thanks to both for having me!

Image in graphic by Sutejo Tan

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Morning, lovelies! Happy Saturday. Popping in this morning from the country. I hopped on a train last night and headed upstate to celebrate Easter with my family and spend a few days out of the subway and (hopefully) away from my computer. What are you guys up to? On a completely different note, I went to get my nails done one night this week at a new salon, and the manicurist told me my nails were so damaged, I should refrain from color for three weeks. I was a little horrified, but so thankful she actually said something! Has a manicurist ever told you that? I’ve been sporting a glossy nail strengthener and actually really loving it. It’s also made my cuticles look much better.

Anyway… keeping it brief here today as I’m really trying to stick to my guns on that limited computer time thing! Here are a few fun links from around the web, and I’ll see you back here on Monday. xx

I made Cheddar Chive Popovers for Jacquelyn while she was in Mexico!

4 Tips to Find Meaningful Work

A judgemental map of NYC.

Rubber Band Easter Eggs

Savory French Toast? Swoon!

Edgy sneakers for summer.

Can’t wait to try Coco in Greenpoint.

A sneak peak into a new NYC Eats post coming next week…

“Not until we are lost do we begin to find ourselves.”

2 Clever Products That Will Make You Look Like Yourself (but Better)

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

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Ok so it may have dipped down into lower temps on the East Coast over the past few days, but the sun is still consistently shining, making me crave a solid spring look. In light of that, I’ve rounded up the eight items on most frequent rotation in my wardrobe across April and May:

1. I tend to stray towards overall neutral looks, so  like to infuse my outfit with a pop of color with accessories. This scarf is the perfect example, and also serves the dual purpose of keeping me warm when the sun goes down.

2. My love for baseball hats is somewhat ironic since I have absolutely zero interest in baseball (or sports in general), but I love the look of them! J.Crew makes some of the best.

3. I loooove my white Chuck Taylors- perfect for giving a relaxed yet chic vibe to any outfit. I tend to buy a new pair each season to keep them as fresh looking as possible.

4. I fell in love with the look of this Gentleman’s Folio as a clutch from Kat’s brilliant post. Now that many of my work meetings are later in the day (thanks to more sunlight), it’s such a great piece for transitioning from work to play mode.

5. I firmly believe every girl should have a solid pair of aviators- not just for spring, but any season. Instant cool girl vibe.

6. A breezy linen tee with a slightly swingy fit.

7. In the warmer months I tend to shy away from lipstick and simply sport a coat of gloss. I love this shimmering coral  shade from Dior, and this particular brand of gloss glides on better than any other brand I’ve tried!

8. The most amazing boyfriend jeans out there (I swear!). And the best part? They’re 25% off on Shopbop’s friends and family sale through tonight!

What’s on your spring wardrobe list?