Rio

"I am travelin' on"

I love this song and couldn't pass up posting the acoustic version of Hey Marseilles' Rio. (But check out the peppier original too).

The barefoot performing reminds me of summer. When is it July?

White (Sand) Christmas

I was super lucky to go to Barbados over Christmas with my family, aunt and husband. We had a great time relaxing on the white sandy beaches, diving, eating, golfing, swimming, drinking, boating, playing volleyball and the other usual vacation activities.

Here are some shots of the trip:

super tiny boat. delicious

family portrait!

even the flowers were darling

tough life

well, we are related, huh?

beautiful scenery

rainbow

SUBMARINE

Best Ever Present

I came home from Barbados to find that some Christmas elves had left me quite a serious surprise. This project was a super-top secret labor of love and it's easily the most thoughtful gift I've ever received.

Before and after's on this bad boy when I get my hands on them. 

But doesn't it look familiar? It's based on a dresser that makes me swoon that I posted here.

Couples 1st Christmas

Not a great picture, but a heartwarming weekend.

OMG!!

This is Kate Spade's creative Deb Lloyd's Brooklyn home. And I would DIE to have this living room.

Oops..

When I look through the rooms I find inspirational or dream about living it, one thing is clear: I prefer spaces designed for a woman. Besides rustic, hearty furniture, the spaces I conjure for my future are absolutely feminine. 

I blame the women in my life. My Aunt Barb lived for many years in a perfect, girly apartment, complete with a dressing room in Chicago! It was tres Sex & the City. And my Mom got away with murder. Ask her about the first bedroom wallpaper in our house--it was large baskets of flowers on a light gray background. My Dad finally put his foot down (actually, I have no idea how it happened, but I imagine he came one day and said he could simply no longer sleep in a room full of flowers) and now, they have a soothing, magical dark green wallpaper which completely transformed the ambiance.

Anyways, he who lives with me will either have his work cut or he'll enjoy some pretty nooks. Poor guy. 

A lovely desk to call home

Hellooooo, mirror!

Ugh! The purple dresser!

 *Images courtesy of Rue, Pink Wallpaper, A Life more Fabulous, Lonny

1 trick pony

In case you thought I was just a one trick pony with the horse photos (HA!), here's a picture of baby Allegra with a baby Clydesdale supplied by my fabulous Aunt Barb of Chicago. 

See, the equestrianism runs in the family!

Picture(s) of the week

These images captured my heart this week. One, a photo from our annual Thanksgiving potluck dinner by my friend Ally of A Seaman's Catch of yours truly and my man-friend. The 2nd, a picture of our namesake from the new, breathtaking Art of the America's wing at the MFA. The final is a horse I met in New Hampshire. He was really, really big.

Happy Tuesday kiddos.

 

Hey, hey! Happy Birthday

Dearest Partner in Crime,

Happiest of birthdays as you begin your 2nd quarter century! I'm honored to live here with you and experience adventures with you. We have quite a ball!

Here's to another great year, filled with exciting travels and adventures: Paris, blogs, Newport Folk Festival, and more and more and more.

Excited to play tonight!

Thanksgiving

What a Thanksgiving! For the first time ever, I stayed put. My family flew into Connecticut to visit with my brothers before driving to Mass. My parents were such good sports, being carted from location to location. They had a great big weekend of meeting in-laws, friends and boyfriends. But, we had an excellent time!

There was one fairly memorable moment: we were sitting in the living room of my sister's in-laws, just having a post-lunch discussion when all of a sudden there was a tremendous explosion sound. The noise was unbelievable and fairly hard to describe, but think gun-shot loud. So, everybody jumped up to make sure no one was hurt and figure out the mystery of exactly what had happened. 

After a quick examination, we found the culprit. A broad tip hawk was chasing prey and forgot to take a gander in front of him and he crashed directly into the picture window above the kitchen sink. The window shattered, sending glass and all the windowsill decorations flying. 

We got the window taped up, but everybody was a bit jumpy around loud noises after that. 

Here are some holiday pictures:

love of my life!

Wow. Phew.

Ok, I have to tell you how hard it's been switching jobs. It's not that I don't like it, because I do. But it was one hell of a transition. Just look at my blog. It's been completely neglected for the entire month of November and I'm not terribly proud of myself. But, I try to not be too hard on myself, and something had to give. I've been spending all my working hours trying to get into the swing of work and keeping up with my friendships (and even there, if I don't live with you, we probably haven't seen too much of each other in the last 6 weeks) and some things got lost in the shuffle. 

But, I'm back and I'm trying to get back in the swing of things, because I've missed this so!

Tell me a Story

I bet magic has happened here.  There were secrets told, lovers met, people sat and quietly listened. Do you think place really exists? It's beautiful, no? So ethereal. The snow helps. 

Tell me a story about it. Tell me a secret.

The Bleecker Collection

These children for Gap Kid's Bleecker Collection are infinitely more stylish than I'll ever be. And they're 6. It alarms me.

I apologize for the shitty quality.

Tired Puppy, er, Pumpkin

This pumpkin gets how I feel. Week 1 officially complete. Trying to resume life as we know it. 

Ok, it's not really that dramatic.

New England Adventures: Sharon Springs, NY

Not too many weekends ago, I ventured with some girlfriend's to rustic Sharon Springs, NY to see the Beekman Mansion where the lovely gents Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent live on their mansion/farm. We went after reading Josh's about the Beekman in book club. While we were there, we successfully spotted Josh, who made me swoon, Farmer John and Doug, proprietor of the American Hotel. 

We also went apple picking, sight-seeing, and we dined at the Black Cat Cafe. 

Pictures below.

American Hotel Porch

Decorative fall gourds

Welcome to the American!

Halloween House!

The trees looked fiery

i love the colors in this picture

Arestia in fall lighting

Fallen Apples

Sharon Apple Crate

10/10/10

Sorry I've been neglecting you little blog. I promise to be better. For now, this picture is all. It was a really fun wedding! Congrats again to Meghan and Jason!

ZOMG!! ELEPHANTS!!!

Ringling Brothers circus is in town! And every year, they park the circus train and make the animals hoof it to the performance center. They call this a parade and we all get to watch these big fellows lumber towards their destination. 

Excuse me mom, this is apparently a thing that happens annually and everyone knows about it. HMMM....Why did we never go watch the elephant parade?!?!?! I'm certain I'm not as well adjusted as my peers because I was lacking this exposure to elephants.

While I have your attention, my college roommate told me this heartbreaking tale from a PBS special in which 2 elephants had been best friends in the circus. One fell ill and was sent to an animal sanctuary to live out the rest of his days free from labor. Many years later, a new elephant was brought to the sanctuary and put in the adjoining pen. Well, you know, elephants never forget. So they got to elephant-talking, realized who the other was, and bent then pen bars to touch each other. Staffers found them in the morning holding trunks. I die for this story.

They're coming!

Two elephants...I mean, circus fattie!

Trunk to tail!!

LOOK at his mane!

Trend Spotting: Cakes

Forgive me, I've had weddings on the brain after attending a lovely ceremony this Columbus Day (10/10/10).

Daily Candy promoted DC-based cake artist magician Maggie Austin in Monday's email. And then later that day, I saw another example of this off-centered stacked cake. All of sudden this stacked cake is appearing everywhere. I totally get it. It's smart, whimsical, different, and eye-catching. 

Maggie Austin Black Pearl

From Stylemepretty

While we are gushing about cakes, take a peek at some of the other beautiful specimens Maggie put together. 

Maggie Austin Anemone & Roses

Maggie Austin Rose Frill

If love isn't your thing today, there are some equally as fantastic divorce cakes as well.