Grey Layers

of style and of substance

The millennial fairy tale

I’ve recently done a little poll on who think’s couples should cohabitate before marriage or after. Nearly half of 20-somethings agreed with the statement, “You would only marry someone if he or she agreed to live together with you first, so that you could find out whether you really get along.” About two-thirds said they believed that moving in together before marriage was a good way to avoid divorce.  Answers varied, many said : “Before marriage honestly because you gotta make sure you wanna live with that person comfortably and be able to deal with how they are at home and not just how they are hanging out and on dates. Their morning routines, how they deal with bills etc. and how you accept all this. ” “I say before marriage. I don’t necessarily want a blinding contract to do what I want. ” “I think you should move in before. It would be aweful to move in with somebody and actually discover you don’t like to live with them. ” ” Before. Work out any issues and then get married.” “You dont buy a car unless you’ve test driven it.” “Couples should definitely move in before marriage. You’ll definitely find out what to expect after marriage through this. You can always learn from the “trial period” and cash in your ” Get out of jail” free card before it’s too late.” ” You should do a 30 day trial to see if you both are compatible.” But that belief is contradicted by experience. Couples who cohabit before marriage (and especially before an engagement or an otherwise clear commitment) tend to be less satisfied with their marriages — and more likely to divorce — than couples who do not. These negative outcomes are called the cohabitation effect.This sums up many of our generations beliefs. Combined with practical reasoning of ” One rent, one bill “, it makes sense financially. Like a business deal, you want to make sure your partner is just as financially able and that you can depend on him or her to be there to balance out the needs to steady both your lives. I have also gathered those answers who believe otherwise: ” If you truly love a person enough to want to get married, then the flaws in the way they live shouldn’t be much of a bother since everyone has flaws and marriage is…

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Little Black Dressed

Mondays are usually date nights but he surprised me with an early one this week! Picked me up from work and just really dragged me to Gypsy Warrior and had me changed and ready for the rest of the day! The ladies at GW had me draped in a little black blouse. The piece was a timeless classic, fail-safe basic. I couldn’t have agreed more  than the LBD type blouse. It’s the sexy staple, the standby showstopper ~ the sort of thing we all need. With tiny touches of gold and bright shaded tones, there’s really no way you can go wrong with a LBD. [Jeanne] wears black drape blouse/dress from Gypsy Warrior, grey high waisted shorts from Gyspy warrior, gold soft oxfords from Chinese Laundry, Watch by Michael Kors, Lunchbox Tote from TownHouse Shops, Scarf by Balenciaga. xo,JG

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About a Boy

Today was sort of unexpected and unplanned. What better way to start your day than at a park early in the morning before every tourist in New York City comes out to play? People watching makes everything interesting. It’s incredibly easy to tell the natives from the visitors aka selfie taking / group shots/ frolickers.  Weighing my options of either running around SoHo or flower shopping, I ended up going to an Organic Cafe. Soho has so many cafes, sometimes it’s hard to know where to go that’s truly authentic. One of our favorite places in the  neighborhood to nip in to is The Smile. A few blocks from Soho, hidden away downstairs on stylish Bond Street, it’s very easy to miss.  That’s of course exactly why it’s cool.  Attracting creative types from the neighborhood, film and fashion people, it’s very much a groovy local hangout for coffee or a laid back yummy casual bite. The space is super rustic and woody but the staff is anything but.   Owned by a hip, bearded and flannel shirted New Yorker, Carlos Quirarte who conceived the Ernest Cut & Sewn brand and worked at Freemans, he brings a staff of gorgeous groovy staff who add to the overall artsy cool ambience of the place. Inspired by the Downtown feel and 70 degree weather the city offered, couldn’t help but  walk out with these new boyfriend jeans from Levis via Urban Outfitters, and vintage men’s oxfords  from Cole Haan. Nothing puts my worries to perspective calms my soul, or ignites my imagination quite like wearing white. I love this baggy slouched  Ivory top from Town House Shops.    [Jeanne] wears Vintage Levi’s Boyfriend Jeans, Townhouse Shops Caged Blouse in Ivory, Beige Clutch from God Bless America, Vintage Men’s Oxfords from Cole Haan.   xo,JG

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Beauty Inside and Out : Bath Recipes

I know most of us are mostly swamped with work/ school / kids/ family and what have you, that you forget to get away. I mean, the Bahamas sounds amazing but what if you can’t be there right now? Getting away means MENTALLY getting away. Clearing your mind by doing something small for yourself, something that you love doing , makes the biggest difference. We come back more refreshed and ready to conquer whatever duties we have to get done. A lot of people go out to bars and drink, go out and rage. That’s great! Personally, I’ve grown out of it. After raging so much last year, being all about EDM and house, all about spending rounds of Patron and not remembering what happened the night before, I’ve grown up. I’m over it. Yup, I’m a grandma and I’m proud. I have converted to Netflix. On my days off I love cooking and staying home. I have this weird love for grocery shopping and picking out what to eat for the week. Don’t laugh but It’s insanely therapeutic. On top of that, I’ve started looking into how to stay just a little bit more healthy. Through eating more organic fruits and vegetables, cooking my boyfriend’s paleo meal for the week, doing more squats and taking care of my skin more, I’ve seen that it’s lifted my mood and have gotten me more balanced as a person. The biggest addicting therapeutic regimen I’ve gotten so hooked on lately have been baths. Okay, So enough ranting about how much of a converted grandmother I have become, wife life ehem. Just kidding. I’m really here to share my bath regimen. So many of us concentrate on only one part of our skin – our face while neglecting the other 90% of the organ. Our skin is known to be the largest organ. If we take care of everything else, why not take care of this one too! 1.  Lemon Soak  After a hard day of work, what could be better than coming home and taking a warm detoxing bath? A lemon slice bath does exactly that. The actual benefits of the bath are: Warming up and relaxing the muscles. Lemon pulls harmful toxins out of your body through your skin. Uplifting your spirits through the scent of the bath. Evening your body’s skin tone. That’s right, this bath will improve your mental health, physical…

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“If monday had a face, I would punch it. In the face. With a chair. “

99.9 % of people including myself once a month perhaps would spit this sentence out. Change it up and exude great vibes on the day hated most by everyone throughout the week. Why not be the one happy monday – loving person , right?   1. Take a detour on the way to your job. If it’s one thing I dread it’s the hike from my train to my job. Taking a different way, made such a huge difference for me today. For some reason, the walk was swifter than the usual.  Take time to feed your eyes, your insights and senses before diving into a load of work . I’ve never seen Washington Square park so timid and pretty before. The city just planted tulips all over the front arches and underneath the Cherry Blossoms. It made me forget about how bad Mondays usually are.  2.  Armed with coffee in one hand, and the willingness to be wrong in another. I stopped by a cute bakery at the corner of the park on my way to work and grabbed a cup before heading out. To the people who can function without caffeine, I applaud you. 3. Exuding good vibes through complementing other people, and writing those thank you letters/ congratulation letters that you’ve been procrastinating on is a great thing on Mondays. Being a source of a smile, a good day or even just a lifted mood is an amazing way to go through your day. Making someone’s day is a guaranteed way to make yours. Finished writing my thank you letters and congratulation letters. Y’all know who you are , and if you don’t, you’ll be surprised. Give the day good energy. Dont wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work. A beautiful day begins with a beautiful mindset. When you wake up, take a second to think about what a priviledge it is to simply be alive and healthy. The moment we start acting like life is a blessing, I assure you it will start to feel like one. xo,JG

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About GreyLayers

GreyLayers is style partnered with substance. Meshing both together in harmony creates depth-filled style, travel and living. Jeanne Grey created GreyLayers to influence the everyday and awaken passion within others through the layers that make her who she is.

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