Happy Weekend!

Lovelies, the weekend is here! What do you have planned? Anything fabulous? Speaking of fabulous, I'm expecting my weekend to be just that, mainly because of these two words: French Acrobats!!! The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (or PIFA, as we locals refer to it) will be wrapping up this weekend with flying, flipping Frenchmen. And despite the possibility of clowns, which terrify me greatly, I am most excited. Bonus- free show by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.Woot! Did I also mention there will be crepes? Oui oui, a tres fabulous weekend is indeed on tap. Hope yours is equally so.

xo

Going To The Chapel

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably noticed a whiff of Royal Wedding Fever in the air. Perhaps you've even got a touch of it. I know I have- Sister has already set the DVR, and I will be joining her on the couch tomorrow, beer in hand, tiara on my head, to "ooh" and "ahh" and point and laugh at all of the festivities.

It seems it's far-reaching fingers have even gotten a grip on Etsy, because, while doing my daily perusal of all things fabulous and crafty this morning, I couldn't help but notice a sharp rise in the number of Union Jacks and screenprinted Westminster Abbeys cropping up in shops. There were so many delightful finds, that I just had to pop in with a bonus post (!) to share them all with you.

 

Tote, plate, and mugs all from The House That Lars Built



Tea towel from Claudia G. Pearson



Cupcake Toppers from Selina Lake
Apron from Vintage Stitch



Cake stand from Esther Coombs

What about you? Have you set the alarm, or the DVR? Will you be there, or will you be in bed, covers over head, lamenting that you will not be princess, after all? Or perhaps you will just be going merrily about your day, all "Royal what? Wedding who?". Regardless, a pip pip and a cheerio to you, Dear Readers.

xo










You Can Leave Your Hat On

You know my favorite thing about a Royal Wedding? The hats. Most definitely the hats.





Hats by yellowfield7



Hat by  Arturo Rios

Sigh. I wish my head were more suited to actually wearing hats, and not just admiring them.

Wishing you a well-topped day, sweeties!

xo

Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)

If at first you don't succeed, stomp your feet, curse, and throw things. Then tell the offending project that you hate it, and never want to see its face again, before storming off in a huff. Return just long enough to remove (almost) all traces of the evil doer from your workspace, growling and grumbling the whole time.

After a day or so, the stomping has receded, and the growling and grumblings have been replaced by mutterings and pouts. Around the fourth or fifth day, you realize that the little project isn't nearly so offending, and even has a redeeming quality or two. By the sixth day, high hopes have been restored, and you try, try again.

Wishing you successful attempts, Dear Readers.

xo

Go

Three years ago, when Santigold still went by the name Santogold and released her first, self-titled album, I was instantly smitten. With each listen, I became even more so. And the listens were plentiful- I listened in the car and on the train, I listened when I ran, I listened while I worked and while I lazed around in the sun. I listened with the volume turned up to 11, all through the summer and well into the colder months. So when I heard a brand new Santigold song yesterday, I absolutely squealed with glee. Summer of 2011, you officially have a soundtrack.

Just Breezin' Along With The Breeze

Happy Monday, my Dear Readers! Did you have a marvelous, jelly bean filled weekend?

Today, the chill and rain that has been literally saturating the northeast has (temporarily) cleared out of the Philadelphia area, leaving the outside world looking positively technicolor! The sun is shining in the most brilliantly blue sky, dotted occasionally with a fluffy white cotton cloud. All of the rain has left the grass a gorgeous green, and the blossoming flowers are all so perfectly pink! It's all so fabulously crisp and clear and breezy, it made me think of these amazing  photographs by the uber-talented Jamie Beck.

Don't those images just make you swoon?

Wishing you an easy, breezy week!

xo

Happy Weekend

{Photo From Life Magazine}

Hello darlings, and welcome to the end of another week. The past seven days have been an absolute whirlwind, from a wedding in the heaviest rains I have ever seen, to the birth of nephew number two and all of the joy that came with that. But before things begin to return to a new sort of normal, there are eggs to be hidden, presents to be wrapped, and cupcakes to be baked, for nephew number one turns two on Sunday.
I hope your weekend is full of sunshine and sweet treats!
xo

Duck, Duck, GOOSE

Look who recently flew into my mailbox, all the way from Portugal (and the loving hands of the very talented Virginia Otten, who has the most adorable little Etsy shop!):

Isn't he just so sweet, with his stripes and his little goose feet? He had only a brief stay with me, while we waited for his rightful owner to be born. I'm sure the two of them will have many big adventures.

Wishing you a delightfully adventurous day, sweeties!

xo
{ps- a very big and heartfelt thank you for all of your sweet comments about the New Boy. I promise to read each and every lovely word aloud to him!}

The New Kid

Hello friends. I'd like for you all to meet my sweet sweet nephew. The New Boy was born last night, and weighed in at a very healthy nine pounds. Everyone is doing wonderfully and are all so very happy. I'm going to spend the next couple of days staring at this little chubber. See you in a few :)

xoxo

Happy Weekend

Hello hello, sweetie darlings! I'm not quite sure how it happened, but it seems the weekend is here again. What do you have planned for it? Anything fun? Mine is full of weddings and waiting for baby (there's something about spring and new beginnings...). Whatever the weekend holds in store for you, I hope it's absolutely marvelous!

xo

An Update...

While my sister very much enjoyed her spicy brownies, and reading all of your comments last night, there's still no baby. I think her putting hot sauce on everything has made the kid immune. So we're still waiting on that, but I'll keep you posted ;)

Now...about the recipe. I guess I just like you guys all so much that I'm willing to spill my top secret secrets to you, lucky ducks! (A top secret secret that I found by googling "spicy Mexican brownies," and clicking on the first of many links.) And the secret is this: prepare your most tried and true brownie recipe, or box mix, (I'm rather partial to this) and add 3/4 tsp chipotle powder and 1 tsp cinnamon. These bad boys are hot stuff, lemme tell you! You'll probably be wanting to wash them down with a margarita or two.

Go forth and bake, my lovelies! I'd love to hear how they turn out!

xo

Some Like It Hot

The other day, my very pregnant sister called and informed me that the baby told her he'd come out if I made her some brownies. "Oh yeah?" I said. "Yeah." Ever so loving, sisterly back and forthing ensued. Around the time I finally cracked, she informed me that she wanted them spicy. "Spicy?" I said. "Spicy." And how, exactly, did she propose I go about this? She proposed thusly: "You're Betty Flipping Crocker. Figure it out." So figure it out I did.

The ball's in your court, Sister. I delivered the brownies. See what you can do about delivering that Boy.

(Have a spicy day, darlings! xo)

You Say You Want A Revolution

Jamie's back! And he's brought his fruits, his veggies, and his whole foods with him. I love this guy, and I really admire what he's doing here. As an American, I do find it a bit disturbing that it took a foreigner stepping in to really get this revolution started. But I can think of no one more equipped to do it. He's a noble foreigner with a great passion for making us a healthier nation. (A nation, might I add, that is made up of some of the world's most diversified farmable lands, and still eats predominantly imported and processed foods. Grrr..)

I'm on board with you and your revolution, Jamie. Let's stick it to the man! Go get 'em, tiger ;)

Spring, Released

Oh, hey, Spring! How nice of you to show up! I was begining to worry you wouldn't make it. I feared that perhaps I had offended you when I declared my love of Old Man Winter and his Cold and Snowy ways.

I'm glad you're here, Spring. It seems we never really get to spend very much time together. No sooner have you arrived, then you're off again, leaving me to sweat it out with Summer and his Dog Days. But you're here now, and you've brought with you the blossoms and the birds and the warm sunny air.

Ah, Spring, sometimes I wish I could just hold on to you forever.

Hoping your week is off to a warm and sunny start, sweets!

xo

Happy Weekend!

Audrey Hepburn by Philippe Halsman

Hip hip hooray, my dears, the weekend is here! Go forth and make it wonderful. And thank you all so much for sharing a bit of your week with me. You've all made me jump for joy :) See you Monday.

xo

A Very Very Very Fine House



I love these wearable little houses:



Home Necklace by Emma Shirley




Cinque Terre Necklace and French Maison Necklace by ARTISANE Europe



Wherever you wear them, you're never too far from home.

xo

Punky's Dilemma

The other morning, I got up, put an English Muffin in the toaster, and, nothing. It wouldn't toast. I moved it from counter to counter, outlet to outlet, nothing doing. It seemed the toaster had toasted its last piece of toast. Bummer. It was a good toaster, with a special Pop Tart setting that, most of the time, kept the Pop Tarts from bursting into flames. And I really wanted that muffin.

I was left faced with a dilemma. I enjoy the instant gratification provided by a toaster, so there was little breakfast fare on offer that didn't require toasting. I'm not a morning person, and I don't cook, so actually making breakfast was out of the question. That left cold cereal, which is normally relegated to a pre-yoga or late night snack. It'd have to do.

Now, the obvious thought, "gonna have to get a new toaster", never crossed my mind. Nope. Instead I was wondering what to eat for breakfast the next day. So I made granola. One tasty base, limitless breakfast options. No toaster required.

xo

Mix Tape Monday- Volume 1

Hello, my lovelies! And welcome to a new week. Perhaps you remember, and perhaps you're just hearing, but way back in January, I made a list of things that I would like to make this year. One of those things was mix tapes. I mentioned this to a friend of mine, who replied with a raised eyebrow and a snide remark about whether I planned on building a time machine to take me back to a time when I actually owned a tape player. Good point.

Whatever you want to call it, I have made for you today a mix of melodies to delight your ears. And I want to make you more. I'm declaring the first Monday of each month Mix Tape Mondays. (It's at this point that I should mention that I am as equally proficient in Big Plans as I am in No Follow Through. But I like this. And I like you. So, I think there's gonna be follow through here.) So, have a listen, tap a toe, or get up and perform a little full-on boogie if you feel so inclined. Happy listening :)
xo

Opa!

I want to go here:

And I want to wear these:

And this:

It's the weekend. Dream big, my lovelies.

xo

{Images of the swoon-worthy Sea Captain's House and Spa, Santorini from Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Lovely adornments all from Anthropologie}