Remember that time...?

On a walk this glorious afternoon, we played a game where we boiled everything down into two camps: "That sucked" or "That was awesome." It would be fun to respond at work with only those two responses and see how long it took for someone to catch on.

Please note: there are some great variations, like "It was awesome until it sucked." For instance, my coworker told the story of how he once made out with a 'hot chick' on a dock but soon she realized she was 'too hot' for him and then it sucked.

We also play the "Remember that time..." game a lot among my group of friends, I think because it heightens a sense of bond between those who remember.

So let's try some, shall we? Be warned, you'll start to categorize everything.

Remember that time...
You burnt your tongue? That sucked.
You graduated? That was awesome.
The person who was mean to you in grade school got fat? Awesome.
TheFacebook first launched? Awesome, too.
Half the company got laid-off? Twice? Yea, that sucked.
When you lose one earring? That more than sucks. It's the worst.
Everybody moves away after college graduation? It sucked and nobody warned you.
You went driving with the music up and the windows down? That was particularly awesome. Somebody brought Airheads in for a grade school birthday? Awesome delicious. (Perfect example, because now, airheads suck.)
She told you you are 'too nice?' That's a no-win. Sucks for everybody.

Try it. The game's pretty universal and hours of entertainment. Leave me your best one in the comments. I'm keeping a running list so I can throw some more at you later.

*Ferris Wheels: Awesome until you realize they suck.

Well, that was fast!

Each Christmas, my family flies away from the cold and takes a tropical vacation. We opted to bow out of family obligations some years ago when the logistics (read: a divorce) made it too complicated to juggle. Also, family celebrations=family drama and honestly, who has the energy? [It seems like your grown child has wet his pants again and is now rolling on the rug. Care to address it?]

But, because my dad has ADHD, the decisions don't come easy. For instance, we had decided last year around May that we should go to Hawaii. Tickets were not booked until OCTOBER because my father just wouldn't commit.

So imagine my surprise after my Anguilla post when we started to talk vacations. I figured it would be tons of miserable conversations about where we should hole up and not talk to strangers. It is LESS than one week later and we are booked! In Barbados. Way to go, Mom and Barb!

Sapphire Beach, here I come. Suitcase stow-aways welcome!

Shall we?

Thanks Wikipedia! {It looks like a backwards Maine to me}

Fun Fact: Wikipedia (I know, I know) states that Barbados is the 3rd most developed country in the western hemisphere after US and Canada. Is this believable? I don't know? I guess, I mean they do play cricket there.

Wallpapered Secrets

When I was little, I had a fascinating habit of demanding I visit every possible bathroom in any location. I would just go and take a little visit to the loo to scope out the scene. We would go on vacation in Michigan or Georgia or Bonaire and my parents would tease that I had seen every bathroom possible.

I don't know why, perhaps it was an early fascination with design--you can do some interesting stuff in washrooms.

My mom sent this photo of a bathroom wallpapered in old telegrams and letters. I find it very intriguing. I fear I would get lost in a telegram and spend too. stop. much. stop. time in the ladies reading!


Though I've outgrown the habit, I would definitely sneak away to this ladies room and do a little light reading.

Holy Stress, Batman.

So between the exchange of roommates, a launching website and the rest of a life, I'm feeling a little frazzled. Here's what I'm surrounded by:

Is this a website launch or a breakup? Could be either.

Here's where I'd rather be:

Eze, French Tourist Trap. Loved it.

Ireland, Bray to Graystones Cliff Walk

Corfu

Madrid

Kilarney Gardens

Venice

Burano

Let's Go Somewhere

Itching for a vacay, aren't you? Well, I am.

Since almost all hotel properties try to be the same, it's time to branch out for other adventures. Airbnb.com is a place to list extra spaces (anything from couches to castles) and rent them by the night. They compiled 40 of their coolest spaces and it is worth a peek.

My family likes to travel to tropical, deserted locations and then find the quietest corner on the island to inhabit. This is to ensure you'll speak with no one but family for 10 days. (And I, secretly, like it until day 9). Obviously, you think I'm kidding. No, no. I'm not. In 2001, we rented a large boat and floated and scuba-ed our way through the Virgin Islands. Had our trip not been derailed by a tropical storm, we would have successfully not killed each other on a 90 foot boat. Huge win!

In honor of my family's desire to be secluded, I present this acceptable property: Rum Punch Villa in Anguilla.







There are other options, like a full size plane (perhaps a bit claustrophobic?), a castle which looks like a regular house on the inside, a Greek windmill (eek!), a yacht and more.

Longest, Most Exciting Day of the Year

First things first. Happy Summer!

To note:
Allegra is licensed! A big congratulations to Allegra! I'm proud of you! Mom, proud of you too!


Here's how I feel about it:

(I know I look 11, but this was taken after a long day of bus dancing on Saturday.)

Next: What a weekend! This is the dreaded week where I lose my little Rach-face, my constant companion and travel buddy since January 2006. Yikes. Here is one final Boston family photo and one final 'Cheers!', capturing years of friendship and memories. Rachel, I love you and will miss you.



Arestia had such a good weekend that she pooped out on Saturday afternoon. We had a very full weekend.


Relish the summer sun.

Green Dream

This room, obviously featured in this month's Lonny, has me all green with envy. (Such a shitty pun, I'm sorry, I had to take it). There is so much flavor in this room. It looks like a great place to spend a day. A real haven.


I use my bedroom more as a functional place and don't spend much time in my room for non-sleeping purposes. I don't think that's either good or bad, just the way it is. Growing up, the action was in the kitchen and I hate missing the action. Now, the craziness is in the living room and that's where I do the limited living we do in the apartment. Truth be told, I'm more likely to be socializing with my roommates out of doors than on our couches* which reminds me of this someecard.

*Friday nights excluded.

House Lust

Are you kidding? I was dying over kate spade Co-President Deborah Lloyd's lake house. DYING.

Check out these photos from Lonny's June/July issue.

Glorious gray/pink combo. My total new obsession.

What a killer masculine detail added!

Probably involves a lot of dusting, but it is a delicious powder room.

Yes, mirror, you can come to my house.

Love.Love.Love.

Gosh, it makes my attempt at redecorating my little bedroom so bland! Cheers to never being satisfied!

*All photos courtesy of Lonny.

EXPLORE

If you haven't stopped what you are doing to explore where you could go today, tomorrow or the next day, you are missing out. If I want to go to Austin for $160, it would only take 9 hours.

Kayak's newest feature allows you to set a time table and a price range and view all the places you could go to. Go to kayak.com/explore and PLAY!

I LOVE a good....

...Mirror. And this bad boy sent my heart a-flutter.

Featured in this month's Lonny in a home that Bunny Williams decorated on Sea Island, GA. Ironically, my family and I visited Sea Island every summer for many, many years and it is now BLOWING UP on my blogs with good reason. The decor of the Cloister is pretty stunning; high-end, preppy, well-worn and everything you want your several million dollar beach house to be.

Anyway, this mirror is only $2,800 soooo, I'm expecting it for my birthday. K thanks!

Random Tuesday Musings

Friends.

I met a racist dog this morning. It let me walk right on by but viciously barked at the Asian lady who goes who through the neighborhood's trash every Tuesday morning.

Which begs the question, what IS she looking for? Furthermore, why does the man collect the acorns in the fall? Where is he taking them? Is everyone's neighborhood as odd as mine?

Next, a girl wore just a bra in pilates. Please note we do this horrific maneuvers with our bodies which should NEVER be done uncovered. Unacceptable. Like this:

Hi Eden! That's my hero, girl-crush extraordinaire Eden. That photo was taken by Jill Legrow. More on Eden to come. For now, please know she is awesome and I crawl out of bed 3 times a week to see her. And I'm pretty sure that = love.

Third, it's clear that Pride Week got a lot less family-friendly after the sun set. I learned that from some, um, debris left on the sidewalk. (No pictures on purpose).

Finally, online invitations have really stepped up the design and classiness. Check out some of these beauties from Paperlesspost.com. The details are really beautiful.

Introducing Me: As a Grown-Up

Grown-ups make monthly car payments, right? I joined the club.

Here's Brick, my new ride. I plan to whisper sweet nothings to him and not kick him, like I did the tracker. It has a goofy smile.

*All images courtesy of Mazda.

PS will return to non-car posts now that the saga has come to an end.

New Crush - Weehah! Cards

Have I ever told you I'm my mother's daughter? Oh, you knew? Well, then you may know that my mother has a tendency to pore over and purchase cards (on sale, obvi) where ever we go. She likes bright, bold prints or sweet, quiet cards. The woman has a card for any occasion. Dog ate your homework? The mechanic told you there are unicorns in your engine and your tracker is DEAD? She has a card for all those things (it sounds like 'there's an app for that').

And suddenly, as that seems to be how becoming an adult happens, I, too, can't walk away from a good card. Like stopping to admire other people's flower arrangements, dogs, and tiny humans, I'll stop at any card stand to see what I can't live without. I bought my roommate's birthday card roughly 6 months before her birthday last year.

So, I'm dangerous at SOWA. The South End Open Markets includes all kinds of delights like a vintage market, a farmer's market and a craft market. Cards-aplenty.

I found this little stand, Weehah! cards, and I think they are delightful! Charming! I snatched some up.

Revel in the sweet creativity:

Country Music Weekend 1: TSwizzle at Gilette

On Saturday, my rather adult friends and I joined New England tweens to indulge in a little highschool-Barbieworld-meets-Beiber-fever.

Unexpectedly, the 16-year-old 'heartthrob' crashed my Taylor Swift concert and sent the hearts of 55,000 teenage girls (and their poor, unlucky parents) into overdrive. But not a single resident of 63 Berkeley was too pleased about his appearance. Please see Rachel trying to get into it and Arestia, simply, not:


I did capture a picture of the Beib if you are so inclined.

I must say: It was pretty heartwarming to see all these little girls swooning over this other tween. Heaven help the kid when he gets his first zit. It must have been like seeing the New Kids in '89.

Taylor put on a good show but I was underwhelmed with her performance. (Who am I to judge, right? Yea, but who cares.) It was the last night of her 15 month Fearless tour, so obviously girlfriend is tired. But, at this point, she knows the drill. We are very excited and paid LOTS of money (PLUS Gilette Stadium parking, bastards) to be here. She faked some tears which was unbearably cheesy and she has perfected a vacant deer in headlights look followed by a hair toss that made highschool cheerleading coaches across the stadium clap in ecstasy. Despite my complaints, we had a good time thanks to the majority of a container of box wine [which we shared with an actual mom] and a moderately good outdoor concert.

Good seats, no? Actually we had nosebleeds so we hung out in this standing room only corner all night.

Do you see all those men...in one row!?!

This little munchkin brought her Barbie. It was an elusive thing to capture on film!