Nostalgia...

Sigh......

Please bring back those chunky smackers, please!

image via ebay

Urban garden find

Love stumbling on little urban gardens like this one.
More than anything, I love the sign.

Shamballa bracelets

I walked into a jewelry store the other day to get my watch fixed and the jeweler instantly put this gorgeous bracelet on my wrist. Smooth move since my husband and kids were following in behind me and I probably looked like I was in need of a little bling.

It wasn't this exact bracelet, but similar, and I learned that they are called Shamballa bracelets. According to wikipedia, Shamballa is, "a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in inner Asia." Apparently the cost of the bracelet is mythical as well. The goodie in this photo is in the 10k range. The one on my wrist was around $1200. These stunners will probably not be taking my wrists to any hidden kingdom soon, but one can dream.

J. Crew Goodies

One day in July, my husband said, "I can't believe you haven't been all over the fedora trend this summer." I was surprised myself considering my love of hats. A few days later I was in J.Crew and swiped the last straw one off the shelf. Have been loving it the rest of the summer (my 2yr old loves it too).





I spied my fall version of this fedora at J.Crew
and you can trust that I won't be late this time.
It's already in the bag!



Reminds me of the SNL skit spoofing The Mellow Show with Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz and his fedora, etc. Hilarious!

The Romantics

Will The Romantics be this decade's version of Beautiful Girls? I hope so!

The Romantics



Erin at http://www.elementsofstyleblog.com/ has all the photos from the J. Crew photo shoot of the cast in full J. Crew wardrobe. They can also be found at jcrew.com, of course.

I figure there are about six summer weekends left, assuming that September cooperates. And there's always the hope of Indian summer days in October.

We are going to make the most of every last weekend and continue checking items off our summer left and maybe even repeat a few.

Happy Friday!

Someone gave me these jumbo smarties the other day! They are a little bigger than a quarter. My sweet tooth can really get the best of me, and it did, as I ate the entire roll in about 5 seconds. Tonight, I stumbled upon Dylan's Candy Bar online store. It's owned by Dylan Lauren (as in Ralph Lauren's daughter). It's pretty much a dream. Check out their nostalgic section. Jujubes, Candy Cigarettes (I used to puff on those things Sandra Dee style and step on them with my keds slash wanna be stilettos), Chuckles...gotta love old school candy. Gotta love candy.

Cold cream

I've secured a spot for my moisturizer and eye cream right next to the mustard and hot sauce. And this is where they will live now. At the beginning of the summer, I read that you should keep facial moisturizers in the refrigerator and that applying them cold can help with puffiness. Of course, I've read this before but never really cared enough to walk the extra steps from my bathroom to kitchen every morning. But with age come wisdom (and wrinkles), so I thought it couldn't hurt to give it a try. I don't know if this it really helps with anything but it sure does feel like it does, especially on a 90 degree day.

Scents I would like to bottle...

• Fresh cut grass
• The flowery scent of a 1yr old baby girl
  
• Air right before it rains
• Mid-summer August - You know, the smell of heat, trees, grass, everything that reminds me of back to school time, jr high football and cheerleading practice, and that last glimpse of summer
  
• Newborn baby
• My beach bag

What would you bottle?

Billy Boy's Blueberry Barn

We went picking over the weekend. Always a fun treat for the kids to eat berries right off the bushes. One for the pail and two for the mouth.

We can't get enough of these sweet little berries. They are like mini blueberry pies.

My two year old was literally shoving them in by the handfuls.
























Mmmmm....the real pie.

Cardigan Shmardigan

Cardigan Smardigan, right? I don't even want to think about Fall yet, but the weather is cooling down a bit this week, kids are wearing backpacks, and, at some point, I will have to face the fact that summer is tapering.

Light cardigans are perfect for cool nights and these Matty M styles make it easy. I bought my first Matty M cardigan at Nordstrom last winter. Love the cut, adore the stripes and wear it all the time!



Bought this in grey in the Spring. Didn't even realize it was the same brand at first. It has a hidden zipper that allows the material do some cool draping..in fact, you can wear it several ways.


Both were under $100.

I don't know who Matty M is, but he's definitely my bestie.

Drinks well with others

A glass of wine and trashy summer tv go hand in hand! This summer has been a perfect opportunity for me to try some of the inexpensive wines offered at Trader Joe's. Green Fin white table wine was very enjoyable and drinkable and all for a whopping $3.99. And if it's just me and my tv, that's all I need. When I went to get more, they were out and said that it's been going out the door by the case.

Oh, did I mention it's made from organic grapes! Happy sipping.

Stroller Cam (lovebugs)

Captured on Canon Drive...
4yr old photographer













Aren't they cute...he had just leaned in for a little kiss right before this photo was taken!










Signature shoe shot!

Another Goodie...

Happiness! Found this on my doorstep last week. Just in time for my weekend at the beach. I think I got over 100 pages in last weekend and for me, these last few years, that is an achievement! My two year old even took a nap at the beach and I actually go to lounge and read! Read and lounge.

Chapter 9, my bed, and a glass of vino awaits tonight!

Goodie

I was in a boutique the other day and saw one of these Aunt Sadie's candles. It reminded me of an Aunt Sadie's beach scented candle that I had in my east village apt in nyc...about 8 years ago. The candle was pink with a black and white photograph of two women at the beach in their swimming costumes.

Funny how a scent can bring it all back....wouldn't it be dreamy if this scent could bring me back to a park bench in front of the fountain in Luxembourg Gardens.

Country roads...take me home!

What is it about summer that draws me to the country? Being a true hayseed at heart, summer is the smell of fresh cut grass, eating corn on the cob, and running free. I love when I can get a glimpse of the epitome of summer! Like when we came across this farm stand on the way to the Hesston Steam Engine Museum in Hesston, In. The sign simply read Veggies and that was all I needed to turn around in the next gravel driveway. There's no one at the stand...it's a weigh your own and put your money in the coffee can way of doing business. It's based on trust and that's a beautiful thing!

Destination: Procrastination

pro·cras·ti·nate

–verb (used without object)

1.

to defer action; delay: to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost.

–verb (used with object)

2.

to put off till another day or time; defer; delay.

ya gotta regatta

Loving these regatta flag bracelets by Two's Company. Haven't found them on the internet yet, but I found them here!

Salud!

Nothing like a girls getaway weekend to rejuvenate the soul!
Here's to you girls and all the girlfriends out there.
xoxo

Day Trip: Red Arrow Highway, Michigan

A few weekends ago, we woke up to thunderstorms at the beach and decided to pack up for the day and get in the car and drive! Destination: St. Joseph, Michigan. Only about a 45 minute drive along Red Arrow Highway. The goodies you can find along this old strip that follows the southwestern Michigan lakeshore are delightful.


We started with a stop at The Whistle Stop! An adorable little gourmet coffee stop with a deli, bakery and yummy treats for the beach. Throw in some shelves with delux hand soaps, lotions, candles, and you have all perfect options to take to your lakehouse hostess. They even have their own Intelligentsia coffee blend. With coffees and chocolate croissants in hand, we were on our way.



Driving into downtown St. Jo, we are greeted by a new best friend on every corner. Part of the town's yearly public art display by different artists, Hot Diggity Dog, is the theme this year! Each dog is sponsored by a local business. We then ventured over to The Curious Kids Museum, followed by a ride on their brand new carousel.


The sun came out on our drive into Tabor Hill Vineyards...we needed to get in some extra driving to extend the nap for the sleepers in the backseat. A nice quiet drive through vineyards and farms. Beautiful....

A quick detour to Jenny's roadside stand. Eight varieties of zucchinis and cucumbers were a dollar! I love buying directly from the farmer. Jenny even gave me a salad recipe to incorporate the pickles we purchased.


Sawyer Garden Center is not what your would expect! It has EVERYTHING! From organic lip gloss to wine to patio furniture to jewelry to Crocs, to candles, to toys, to wonderful gourmet food samples...I could definitely get lost in this place for an afternoon...Sawyer Garden Center

And that's a pure Michigan day trip!