Saturday, September 29, 2012

North Carolina Vacation By the Numbers

10: Purple Painted Toes that endeared me to Tallman's nephew... purple may be for girls according to the rigidly enforced gender stereotypes of the south.... but Little Luke likes purple, so my toes made me a new friend

9: Pecan bars I ate. (I brought pecan bars as a hostess gift and ended up eating a whole bunch myself!)

8: Number of times Tallman swore loudly he would never fly US airways again after a nearly disastrous, definitely uncomfortable, very long and sweaty trip back from NC on Monday

7: People in one house for the weekend, Talman and I, his sister and brother in law and baby, and Tallman's parents. Surprisingly not overly crowded, and great to see his sister her husband after not seeing them for a year.

6: Walks taken on the beach (two Friday, two Saturday, two Sunday, and Two Monday)

5: Number of times Tallman complained that I tan quickly (he just burns) even with sunscreen on.

4: Books I read over the weekend: The Pigeon Pie Mystery, Twilight, The Beekeepers Apprentice, and Seating Arrangements (is that one book a day, oh silly me!)

3: Number of times I went into the ocean, like all the way, dunked my head under and frolicked in the waves. I love playing in the water! I'm so glad the weather was nice enough for us to go in!

2: Pictures posted to instagram of beach scenes, obviously trying to make friends at home jealous :p

1: Day where I saw the sun rise and set over the ocean, it was a beautiful day :) and a wonderful vacation


On Monday we'll return to our regularly scheduled program and fall funtimes!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Vacation!

Tallman and I have gone to North Carolina for a long weekend.
Beach
Hope you have a great one! You won't be hearing from me for a while :)

I'll be busy eating barbeque, watching college football and taking long walks on the beach.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Kate the Great

I just want to say that I think Kate Middleton-- I mean Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge-- is fantastic. She is adjusting to her job, which is also her life, with aplomb and style. She is definitely my style guide.
From Pinterest
She seems like a nice, normal person, who has a high pressure, international job in charity, government, and fashion.
From Pinterest

From Pinterest
From Pinterest
From Pinterest
Hip Hip Hooray for the Duchess of Cambridge!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Take a right on Somerville then go West on Elm...

Hahaha little joke in the title there, the other week while looking for something to get Tallman's mom as a hostess gift I stumbled upon some things as West Elm that want... ooops.
Bikoux Dots Pillow Cover
Manzanita Candelabra
These don't go in my house at all... but I still like them... is there a place for things like that? Is that why people have second homes?
Coral Reef Silk Pillow
Owl Lamp
Funny Story: You know those plastic owls people put on their houses and barns to scare away mice or squirrels or something? There was one at my parents house when I was a toddler, and I used to carry it around with me, my parents had to wash it and just accept that instead of a soft teddy bear I wanted to carry around a plastic owl that was nearly the same size as me.

I was an odd kid.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Happy New Year!

Happy Rosh Hashanah!
Chicken with raisins


Any holiday that involves eating apples and honey is a good day. 
Also I hope God will not judge me for being completely ruled by my stomach.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Wrapping up in a robe

Pretty cozy lounge wear is tricky. You want it to be comfortable, but usually you also want it to be a little sexy. Holes are ok, as long as its a pattern in lace, and not in your sweatpants-- sort of thing.

For truly cold days I have a cashmere bathrobe that is heavenly and even though its from an ex I wouldn't get rid of it without a replacement already in my possession. If you live anywhere where it gets chilly, I highly recommend a cashmere robe.

But for those other times, when you just need to cover up and look cute, a silk or cotton robe comes in handy.
I haven't had a cotton robe since I was in high school, and I remember it being quite ratty and not very practical.
White Cotton Robe
This robe looks like the very definition of practical, if you're wearing nothing underneath it would be very sexy, if you're wearing some pj's that are too skimpy for open blinds on the first floor this would cover you up, but if you spilled maple syrup on it at breakfast it would be totally washable.
Lady Godiva Robe
This robe from Eberjey is even more practical, since its cheaper, and comes in other colors. Though it says its not machine washable :(
Kimono Style Silk Robe
Now as you might've guessed from my love of the cashmere robe, I like soft comfy things, and screw practical, if I can be luxuriously comfortable! And that is where silk comes into play :)
Victoria's Secret Kimono
Or fake silk
Bella Bella Silk Robe
or heinously expensive silk.

What do you wear for a robe? Silk? Cotton? Cashmere? Jersey? Nothing ;)

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Sofa Search

You may recall that back in April Tallman and I bought a new mattress. We bought it at Jordan's Furniture, and they were having a promotion at the time, that for anything bought during a certain period, if the RedSox hit a Jordan's Furniture baseball on a sign at Fenway then you got your purchase for free (it used to be swept the world series, but then they did that and it wasn't great for Jordans). Well the RedSox haven't hit it yet. And they probably won't. BUT to sweeten the deal back in April Jordan's said that even if they didn't hit it, after the post season customer's will be mailed a coupon for 30% of the cost of their purchase.

FANTASTIC. So free or $$$ to be spent in October!?! Great!

We bought our mattress and  decided to wait until October to buy a new couch... Also Sage kitten had some peeing problems last year and we wanted to give her some time to recover before making a major furniture investment.

Poor Sage.

But October is now rapidly approaching, so its time to start considering the sofa options. Ideally it would be long enough for Tallman to lie down on, but since he is 76inches and our current sofa is only 65 inches (80ish with the arms) its not a prerequisite for happiness.
These are the sofa's I'm thinking of, without Tallman input, (in the end it will, of course be a mutual choice):
Leather Sofa
Cloth Sofa not separate back cushions
Cloth Sofa back cushions
Clearly I like a look free of skirts, and with minimal arm rests. I have been told that most Jordan's couches can be apholstered in a bunch of different fabrics, so that is a whole other bridge to cross once we pick the couch. (I'm thinking a grey beige.) We already have leather chairs in the living room, so a leather couch might just be too much... but we'll see what is the most comfortable option when we sit there :)

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Gel Manicure

I just want to report to you all that I've had a gel manicure, on Wednesday August 29th, and today it is still perfect. In that time I have done a lot of dishes, changed litter boxes, baked bread, made over 30 meals, done laundry, opened cat food cans, and a lot of other things that usually destroy my manicures.

My nails still look great! I might wait until this weekend to go again, and since the color lasts so long I'm definitely going to go with something a little more neutral.

Also, I'll be applying sunscreen to my hands before I go, because I don't want hand cancer.

If you're on the fence about gel manicures, go check it out. (though maybe not if you're prone to picking at your nail polish, I hear that if picked off it can seriously harm your nails).

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Jewelry Box

I want this. Its kinda huge, but I'll have room to grow my collection.

Large Leather Jewelry Box
And its on sale... hmm....

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Hostess Gift for Beach Trip

Tallman's Mom (DD) is very difficult to shop for and she is very generous. Which makes gift giving a little tricky, usually I just bring food-- and probably will do that as well when we go down in a couple weeks-- but I spotted this at West Elm and it is so DD that I couldn't pass it up!

West Elm Fish Plate
FISH! Its cute, its beachy, and its brightly colored. I think she'll like it. I hope she'll like it. Whatever, at least I'm not showing up empty handed, right?

Now should I make little goldfish again? Or should I try something new? Hostess gifts are tricky. Especially for not quite your in laws.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Long Weekend By the Numbers

10: On a scale of 1-10, this weekend was definitely a 10. From the late night groom's roast, to getting trampled in the bouquet toss, to dancing all night long, and a nap, and getting the cats back from Camp Parents, and just all of the funtimes :)

9: Times I said at dinner Friday night "Isn't this worth the drive" while at Food 101 at Mount Holyoke. (It was TOTALLY worth the drive!)

8: Number of compliments I received on my earrings Saturday night. I referred them all to Tallman, since he gets sad that he bought them and I never wear them. (In my defense, they are three inches long and gold leaves, they are not for every day.)

7: Various foods I made on Monday (four lunches for me for the week, today's lunch, today's dinner,  breakfast, Tallman's weekly wheat bread (its the only way to get him to eat a healthy breakfast), pumpkin smoosh, and beans from our csa for freezing).

6: dollars it cost to rent a paddle boat Saturday. Tallman and I had a super fun time paddling about, or rather I had a fun time paddling, Tallman was a liiiittle too big to comfortably get to the pedals... but it was a really good work out for me ;)

5: Glass containers purchased this weekend. One for my tea bags on the counter, one for Olive Oil, one for Canola Oil, and two for soap... I've been meaning to buy these for months!

4: Days off in a row :) :) :) :) SO nice.

3: T-shirts Purchased at the Mount Holyoke Campus Store! It was open! I was really surprised because I'm not sure its been open when I wanted it to be since my sophomore year of college (7 years ago!)

2: Polkas I danced at Steph's wedding! Once with Tallman, and once with the Groom. (I'm pretty sure we all looked like idiots, but idiots having a really great time!)

1: Naps I took this weekend, yeah only one. It was a busy weekend :)

0: Number of pictures of me and the bride OR groom at Steph's wedding. I am kicking myself a little, but not too much because I had such a fantastic time I was just too darn busy to take pictures :) :) 

Congratulations Steph and Phill may your lives together be as awesome as your wedding was, and full of polka-ing :p