you in?

San Francisco, CA

i would like to be on this boat... dozing, totally decked out in sailing gear, (whatever that may be...i'm thinking metallic sperry's, long shorts, and the perfect sweater) book sprawled across my lap.

what do you think? if i came up to you with tickets and a towel would you drop everything and come with me? 

reflection

new words to live by. or at least food for thought. 

no one said this life thing was going to be easy, but it is definitely interesting isn't it? gotta love life affirmation in installation art. it kinda makes art ever awesome-r. 

this is the stuff that keeps art relevant. keeps it modern. makes it my sort of thing. 

(via cup of jo)

let the fight continue. 

laugh till you cry

want a photobooth at your next event? CLICK HERE!

it's been a really heavy week. full of decisions and hard conversations. the kind that leaves you on your knees at night. in the midst of it all, i worked a special event at the museum. not only did totally enjoyi running into an old high school friend, but playing in the photo booth with my co-workers was a highlight to not just the night, but my week. the perfect medicine. 

it's ordinary people, being extraordinarily kind that is the human spirit. 

have you laughed today?

nobody's princess

most girls dream about being a princess, and unless your name is currently kate, the princess title is something left to the fairy tales. yet, we all still dream. 

right?

i was at dinner with my sister tonight and we got started talking about disney, princesses, and real life. we were talking about being a real princess and what would mean, and how girls today strive for the "fairy tale." and really, the conversation lead to each of us saying that in no life would we want to be a princess. not the disney version, the windsor version, or the my-boyfriend-treats-me-like-his-princess kind. 

maybe it's because we are 21st century girls. maybe it's because our mom was a single parent a lot of time was our dad was away on deployment. maybe it's because my sister and i love mulan versus cinderella. we want more than anything else to be an equal. intellectually, emotionally. relationships work best when entered in by two complete people, not someone needed completion...right?

so we don't want to be no one's princess, but that doesn't mean we don't want a gentleman. we want the guy to open the door for dinner and then not order for us. i am just really against being adored versus being loved. 

this begs the question...where do you draw the line between the fairy tale and real life? a gentleman versus a prince? chivalry versus equality? is the 21st century girl asking for the best of both worlds and is that even possible?

(but even i would totally dig the castle. holler)

ok, so that is way more than one question. but what do you think?

too cute!

the happy couple

bike parade!

formal reception

how precious are these two? i was totally engrossed in this wedding from the first time i fell upon it over on oh happy day and i just had to repost. here's the deal. they had a truly lovely wedding day, with all kinds of personal touches. one of my favorite is the bike parade. after the ceremony the couple had rented bikes outside. the guests were instructed to decorate their bikes and themselves for the bike parade throughout LA...i mean how fabulous is that? they went on for a picnic lunch in the park and dessert at a famous ice cream sandwich shop. then they all went to a clearing for toasts. the grand finale was a formal reception with mini golf. 

i mean, seriously, how adorable is this?

to check out all their photos head on over to martha stewart. it just gets better! cheers to their wonderful photographer, rachel thurston.

and a big congrats to the cutie pie couple. 

would you be willing to go on a bike parade for your friends?

to japan, with love

as the news from japan continues to hit american media outlets, i can't help but realize how lucky i am. my mom and i decided to hit redbox, stop at starbucks, and ended up singing to taylor swift on the way home. one of those lovely moments. 

embrace your lovely moments and think about making a donation to those who could use a lovely moment of their own. 

evergreen soul will be silent tomorrow because sometimes words are just not enough. 

want it!

don't you just adore this top? the lovely emersonmade has a new line of silk prints and this one is definitely one of my favorites (perhaps it is because i am kinda obsessing over the impending royal wedding). i love the print and the ruffle neckline. it just beams spring and femininity. i mean who doesn't need a little spring in their step this season?

over(it)all

how cute are these two? i was fishing around a cup of jo  the other day and found these two cutie pies. and guess what?! it's their wedding day! (shut the front door moment, right?) how wonderful. white overalls as a wedding outfit. such undeniable (and admirable) spunk! check out their whole story and more pictures.

so this got me thinking. can overalls, those comfy and cozy pants from yesteryear, be brought back in a chic and modern way? can i look this good and pulled together...or will they look like i was in 5th grade? because let me tell you, that would so not be a good thing. (at that time i had two pairs. denim and khaki. true story)

turns out i'm not the only one thinking of the old school favorites. i found some great advice for buying and wearing. like most things, fit is key ladies! think of overalls as part of a bigger look and outfit, that may help. the picture above is great because the overalls aren't the only focal point (check out the super classic striped shirt and the adorable shoes!). and i love the idea of the look as a challenge. something to make its wearer unique. 

of course high fashion has its leaders. i like this more casual look. otherwise we get into jumpers and there is something much more flashback about overalls. 

what do you think? should the overalls make a comeback? do you dare wear them?

words

HAVING A COKE WITH YOU

is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne
or being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelona
partly because in your orange shirt you look like a better happier St. Sebastian
partly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yoghurt
partly because of the fluorescent orange tulips around the birches
partly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people and statuary
it is hard to believe when I'm with you that there can be anything as still
as solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when right in front of it
in the warm New York 4 o'clock light we are drifting back and forth
between each other like a tree breathing through its spectacles

and the portrait show seems to have no faces in it at all, just paint
you suddenly wonder why in the world anyone ever did them

I look
at you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world
except possibly for the Polish Rider occasionally and anyway it's in the Frick
which thank heavens you haven't gone to yet so we can go together the first time
and the fact that you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurism
just as at home I never think of the Nude Descending a Staircase or
at a rehearsal a single drawing of Leonardo or Michelangelo that used to wow me
and what good does all the research of the Impressionists do them
when they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sank
or for that matter Marino Marini when he didn't pick the rider as carefully
as the horse

it seems they were all cheated of some marvelous experience
which is not going to go wasted on me which is why I am telling you about it

—Frank O'Hara

granted i might have first learned about this poem from a movie, but isn't it just beautiful? it's simplicity makes the biggest statement. 

and the artwork? wonderful! 

fab-u-lous

ahh to be young and Parisian. 

i think i'm going to add "live in paris" to my bucket list. particularly to the do before i'm 30 list. of course, that is if i can look like this while there. 

the trench, the full skirted dress, those fantastic silver heels. 

ahhhhhhh.

and of course, the photo is from the sartorialist...the pandora's box of all design.

diggin' it

find it!

love her (bonjour to the bangs and the red hair!). and totally diggin' the sweater! the stripes are just so perfectly spring. i already have it planned with most of my existing wardrobe, which means that if there is a sale looming this maybe coming home with me immediately.  (i mean picture it...boyfriend jeans, white tank, red flats...holler)

i'm usually not a cropped sweater kinda gal, it's more my mom's thing, but i think in this case, i may just have to make an exception. 

to crop or not to crop, that is the question...thoughts?

beyond the bunny

my mom says that it was an easter sunday when she knew that i would be a christian forever. i was crying. i was eight. 

i am a serious person. not to say that i don't know how to have fun, but in general, i'm a serious person. even as a young girl, i absorbed the gravity of easter rapidly. i seemed to sense early on that easter was way beyond the bunny. and the chocolate. 

now i'm older. and it's ash wednesday. lent has begun. it's my favorite season. it certainly isn't as jolly as christmas, or fun as fourth of july or new year's, but it is just so important.  and i kinda like that. 

now i'll just continue to learn, absorb, and worry about what to wear come easter sunday ;)

ps...i'm giving up chocolate...gasp!

buy it here!

fun times

how cute is this? i can only hope my real (possibly planned) wedding reception turns out this well.

happy tuesday! (have you seen the new glee??)

yes please

anyone else totally swoon when they got the march catalog from anthropologie? between the clothes and the jamaican landscape i was totally in love before i opened to page one. 

this look happens to be one of my favorites. the pants are a perfect touch, don't you think?

ahh, the fashion of spring. certainly adds a little somethin' somethin' to the season...

sweet sounds

it's not that i never joined the adele bandwagon when her first album 19 came out a couple years ago, i just obviously didn't know what i was missing. it wasn't until i got a text message from my brother last week that said i HAD to check out her new album that i was convinced i had to have it.

adele's new album, 21, is fabulous. any addition description would just ruin it. it's honest, fun, truthful, soulful...the list goes on and on.

this track, "i'll be waiting" is number 8 on the album and perhaps my favorite.

anyone else got her cd on constant repeat in the car?

march forth...it's a sentence and a date

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEARY! 

don't you just love birthdays? they are the best. it's a reason for cake, ribbons, and bows. 

so, i celebrate you my dear friend. may all your birthday wishes come true!

photos by NBH. 

sparkle on her feet, twinkle in her eye

source

i was at work today, folding as per usual, when i got a pleasant surprise. on of my coworkers popped by! d is getting married tomorrow and decided that 8:30 the night before was an appropriate time to shop for wedding shoes for her super adorable fiance whose shoes she decided were not quite right. so typical it's perfect. 

she came in so happy. not at all nervous or bridezilla-esque. ready to go in sparkly gold heels (to match the belt of her little black dress of course) there was a spark to her for sure. 

as a couple they were super cute. totally one of those couples that compliment each other's personalities. and i can just sense that they have a lot of fun together. in sixty years they will still be cute and cracking each other (or at least me) up. 

so here's to you two. cheers to a happy life full of fun and unconditional love. 

the sky's the limit. enjoy the ride. 

i love a happy ending!!

if only...

i love the beginning of spring. i mean, not really because the weather is bipolar and people in the virginia beach wear flip-flops way too early. but i ADORE the fashion. the influx of new spring lines. i'm welcoming magazines and website updates. 

when the new j.crew magazine arrived, it was a good day. i really love these pants. i'm not sure i could pull them off. but, i will insist that everyone i know have a pair. the high waist, the ankle length. perfection. 

the shoes aren't bad either. :)

to wear or not to wear?? what do you think?