1.29.2010

Have a great weekend!


Photo via Kelly McCaleb

Happy Friday everyone! How cute is the picture above? I couldn't resist posting it. In (a reach of) an effort to make it make sense with this post, let's just say that adorable baby is really excited for the weekend, shall we? :)

So speaking of the weekend, do you have any good plans for it? Any of you (in Maryland) doing the Polar Bear Plunge on Saturday? If you haven't signed up yet, but still want to, it's not too late. Just click on the link in the previous sentence and you can register online, or pay tomorrow on-site. We've done it the past two years with groups of friends and it's been a blast, though this year the group has dwindled (due to: a bike race, pregnancy, a head cold, a roommate's birthday party, and various other reasons), so we're not sure if we're going to make it or not. I know either way we'll be celebrating the great effort and all the money raised for charity by cheers-ing to the Plungers past and present.

I'm signing off for the weekend, but I'll be back on Monday with fresh new posts. Hope to see you back here then!

Fire it up...simply.



No need for knick-knacks cluttering up your mantle when you have a fireplace this beautiful. Those gorgeous pink hydrangeas and clean white details are all you need for this fireplace to feel pitch-perfect. It helps that the inset mantel is so lovely, too. Isn't this home heater somehow just right, for either a snowy winter or a breezy beachhouse?

Photo from Metropolitan Home, as originally seen on this is glamorous.

I might go clear some stuff off our mantel now...

Split down the middle


Card originally seen on Pretty Pretty Paper.

Having worked in legal marketing for several years, I saw tons and tons of boilerplate, boring business cards for various types of attorneys. No one loves a divorce or a divorce laywer, but I love that this Mr. Mahon is making things more...practical. A little sense of humor can't hurt things, right? Just split the card down the middle and you're both armed with info. Kinda wrong; kinda funny.

Grown-up girls' get-together: sleepover party


Photo found on Fairy Tale Diaries tumblr site

Morning, everyone! Sorry for the slightly late start today, but I've got cozying up under covers and just hanging around on the brain and am therefore moving a bit slowly. With that all being said, when the very cool Anne Sage from The City Sage posted about having a "grown-up sleepover" a few days ago, it struck a chord and I've been thinking about it ever since. Especially with these gets-dark-early-and-is-perpetually-cold nights of what seems like an everlasting winter (we still have, like, at least two more months of winter to go! ack!), I feel as though a night in, hanging out with my girlfriends, would be a perfect Friday or Saturday night.

As Anne suggested, "Makeovers and movies, 'Truth or Dare' and Ouija boards, snacks and sleeping bags...these were the things that made being a little girl awesome, and can't we all use more awesome in our lives?"

Photo from Martha Stewart Kids

So girls, who wants to come over some weekend and have a sleepover at my house? I'm sure B will be happy to have a boys night and return the next day, and we could hang out by the fireplace, drink milkshakes (spiked or not) and eat popcorn, paint our nails and play MASH. And yes, S, you can wear your onesie.

We'll need tons and tons of pillows and blankets. How about these beauties?:

Cozy comforter (and so pretty!) from Rubie Green


We could even set up a tent in the middle of the living room! This one is from Cath Kidston, as photographed by Marcus Nilsson for Country Living.

Of course some cute PJs are in order.

These silky pants from Victoria's Secret are surprisingly non-slutty.

I'll provide the DVDs of cheesy chick flicks, plus the fireplace, snacks and drinks, you all come armed with a pillow, PJs and maybe some MadLibs. Then next morning we can either go to yoga or go out for brunch and continue on our weekends refreshed. (Sorry girls: I love a good party, but I'm no chef, so you will not be waking up to freshly made Belgian waffles.) Sound good?

1.28.2010

We all live in a yellow (Tea Sub)marine




With winter here (and with my extreme hatred of the slightest bit of cold kicked into high gear), my tea consumption goes from zero to nightly. This Tea Sub is the sunniest looking tea infuser I've ever seen - so fun and functional! Designed by Ototo, it submerges your tea leaves to the bottom of the mug, creating the perfect infusion for your brew.

Wouldn't it be fun to drink your tea from the Tea Sub while reading with these?

As originally seen on Swiss Miss.

Tibi-tibi-bo-bibi-banana-fana...print dresses!

I saw this dress from Tibi in a magazine this month and then again on the interwebs and it stuck with me. I love the colorful dahlia print, plus the flattering cut - can't go wrong with a ruched sweetheart neckline, fitted waistband and flouncy skirt!


Doesn't it make you want to buy it immediately and trounce off to a tropical vacay? (And the aforementioned forgiving fit is perfect for giving you room to imbibe a few pina coladas without even looking preggers!)

I knew of Tibi, but didn't really know the line all that well, but it turns out they can rock a print dress like no one's business. Check out these gems I dug up:






I'll take all of them, please (despite the model in the last pic looking annoyed as all get-out).

Love you, new fashion-friend Tibi! Thanks (and darn you at the same time!) for getting me in the summery spirit!

Danke! (and keep 'em coming!)


Photo found on Heart of Light.

A quick thanks to those of you who left comments yesterday after I said I missed hearing from you all (and I love that they were scattered about, and not just on that one post - it made reading them fun!). :) I know you're all really busy with life and working, but please do jot me a note once in a while if you have a moment - all kinds of thoughts accepted here, even the most random.

Hope you all have a fabulous Thursday morning; I'll be back in just a bit with more stuff for you to check out!

xo, r.

Obama's State of the Union Address: we'd all have been drunk

Totally late to the game here. Why didn't I find this fun political drinking game until after the State of the Union Address? This is too funny not to skim through these rules (oh, but please don't get worked into a lather either way - have a sense of humor about this - it's meant to be for fun, not politically charged...).

That being said, I present to you, the State of the Union Address Drinking Game 2010:

Cheers!

(Sorry for the slight blurriness of the rules. Read on anyway, I swear it's amusing.)



Hilarious right? Democrat, Republican, Anarchist, whatever; you've got to at least admit that Nancy Pelosi does a lot of vigorous clapping. :)

Photo of President Obama from the Huffington Post. Drinking game rules found on i suwanee (though I believe they were adapted from the HuffPost article anyway).

1.27.2010

MacBook? Bookbook!




Sadly, I am not an at-home Mac user (it was Mac by day at work, Sony Vaio by night at home for me), but if I had my own MacBook or MacBook Pro, I'd gladly protect it with this hilariously clever and attractive Bookbook laptop case from Twelve South.

Bookbook's cover is made from rigid hardback leather, but the interior is a soft velvet. So you not only look like Vincent Price when toting about your laptop (ascot and smoking jacket not included), but your computer is protected from falls, bumps or would-be thieves. Brilliant design! I know what I'm getting my brother - King of the Mac - for his birthday gift next year!

As originally found on Made By Girl.

Vacation adventure: tip-toe on a waterfall





Victoria Falls (located in Zimbabwe, for those of you who are bad at geography...like me), is approx. 400 feet high and forms the largest sheet of falling water in the world. Yet despite this massive fact, there is an area called Devil's Pool where, in September and December, people can swim right up to the edge of the falls without falling over, thanks to a natural rock wall just below the edge there.

I'm honestly getting a little jittery just looking at these photos, but wouldn't it be so amazing to perch atop the biggest waterfall in the world? This would certainly top my past ventures of skydiving, bungee jumping, Dead Sea floating and glacier hiking (or chilling in my house, which you're more likely to find me doing these days). :)


Originally seen on A Cup of Jo.

Happy little cottage and bloggy check-in

Good morning and happy hump day! How is your week going so far?

I noticed I haven't been getting as many comments as usual lately - and I looove hearing from you all - so I wanted to check in and see what you're thinking. Are you still liking this little blog? Anything you're missing? Anything you want to see in particular? I'd love to post some stuff that makes you all happy, so let me know your thoughts, even if you only have a moment. Pretty please?

In the meantime, on this so-far-sunny Wednesday, how cute is this cheery little house?


Photo from Sanctuary Home

If it has a garden in the backyard, I'm sold!

Hope to hear from you today...sometimes it's lonely out here in the blogosphere... :)

More posts to come today. See you back here soon?

1.26.2010

Business in bamboo

I've been blogging and working on my laptop from my couch lately and it's the worst habit ever. I swear, I feel as though I've developed severe neck cramps and carpal tunnel (not to mention couch-potato butt) out of nowhere.

I need to get back in the habit of working from my desk, which is positioned next to a window and could be quite lovely, were it not for the giant printer taking up the whole thing. Wouldn't this space be the perfect place to get in some writing (or whatever business you're working on)?

Photo from House Beautiful, via 6th Street Design School blog.


Something about all the dove gray and white, with the tiny pop of pink from the flowers, makes it so soft and inviting. And the bamboo chair and zebra curtains make me swoon. Those two elements are by far my favorite part of this photo. I'd switch out the lamp base for something less hotel-ish, but otherwise this scene is so perfect! I think I could really get some work done there...or just be happy looking around at my pretty little desk area.

Flowers in your hair

I had this incredible picture in my inspiration files and it got me thinking:

Photo by Arthur Elgort for Vogue Living, via decor8's Flickr stream


Not only is that an amazing couch - tufted upholstery? nailhead trim? coral pillow? Burberry throw? Check, check, and check. I die. So good! - but also the little girl is adorable. What really appealed to me most in the photo, though, are those fun flowered caps.

Something about them is so flirty and fun, even though they're totally utilitarian (and so much better than an ugly shower cap that you get for free at a hotel):

Photo Cig Harvey, via M.A. Belle

And I think what I really love about the cute caps is that I equate them with crazy old ladies - the fun crazy, not crazy crazy kind. I hope to one day be like that: old enough not to care if people look at me funny when I go into the grocery store rocking a flowered swim cap, and happy enough with myself after all the years that I'll wear exactly what I want, regardless of whether it's a bit kooky.

A friend and me, 50 years from now? Kim's the more buxom lady on the left, and I'm the paler gal with the turquoise cap (my fave color!) on the right. :)

Would you ever wear a flowered swim/bathing cap? Do you wear what makes you happy, regardless of what other people might think? I know as I hobble out of my 20s, I'm definitely wearing things I want to wear. At least there's something good about getting old!

Sugar Paper recipe box


I like a binder with plastic see-through sleeves for my recipes (that way, I can pull things out of magazines and have the pretty pictures to accompany the recipe, or I can add in scraps from wherever without having to rewrite things onto a tiny card), but if I were feeling more frivolous, I would definitely spring for this beautiful recipe box from Sugar Paper.

It's $96, so I certainly won't be getting it, but it's quite pretty to look at in the meantime, no? Perhaps it would make a lovely (and somewhat extravagant) gift for the cook in your life.



Originally found on A Little Sussy.

1.25.2010

I. Want. In. (alternately titled "bring Jukari to Annapolis!")

Confession: I hate (hate) working out. Not that this is a secret, but it's certainly true. I do looove the aerial dance class I've started up again (after seven months off - ugh!), but doesn't this look so fun too?:

It's called Jukari (it's actually called Jukari Fit to Fly, but let's just stick with Jukari for now), and it's borne out of a collaboration between Reebok and Cirque Du Soleil.

The moves - which include jumping, swinging, leaping and good old conditioning - target the whole body and give you a serious cardiovascular workout as well as muscle toning /building, but the key for me is that it just looks really fun.

These moves look pretty entertaining, and much better than hoofing it on a boring treadmill:


The workout takes place on the "FlySet," which is a steel bar attached by two loops to a rope, which is fixed to the ceiling with a 360 degress swivel, meaning you can not only hang from it, climb on it, but also move with it.

Especially now that the New Year is upon us, and B and I have committed to a beach house in August, I need to get my behind in gear. So if Jukari will make me look like Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Marissa Miller (below), I'm in.


Unfortunately, Jukari is only available in LA and NY right now (and internationally, but I'm not jet-setting these days), so I'm out of luck for now, but hopefully it'll come to little ol' Annapolis sometime soon. Hey, if we have pole dancing classes, aerial dance, and Zumba all over the place, can't we get Jukari too?

Fit to be tied - napkin bow place-setting


If I ever throw a proper dinner party - which could be quite some time from now, since I'm still exhausted from our 20-person wine-tasting party - I might use these cute napkin bows to dress things up. The dishes and setting are lovely to start, but that pop of yellow and fun bow really make the scene. As always, it's a Martha idea, though surprisingly it sounds really easy:

"Spread a dinner napkin out, lying flat. Fold opposite sides in so they meet at the center. Then fold again at the center to form a narrow, ribbon like shape. Next, fold short ends in so they meet at the center. Cinch in the middle with a ribbon in a coordinating color, and glue at back."

Not too bad, and certainly very festive looking.

Originally found on Say Yes to Hoboken.

Sad Friday, new Monday (alternately titled "farewell, Conan!")


We all love Fridays (and I love weekends even more so!), but I just realized that this past Friday was a bittersweet one, as it was Conan O'Brien's last show. I didn't get to see his finale, but evidently he was touching and poignant. Here is a quote from Coco's farewell speech; it sounds like it was lovely:

I know I slip into cynicism pretty easily, so in Conan's honor, starting today, in this new week, I'm going to try to be more cognisant of that and keep it in check a bit more. How about you? Are you a cynic like me? Are you going to miss Conan?

(Quote found on Old Sweet Song)

1.22.2010

Have a great weekend!



Screenprint by Darling Clementine on Etsy - only $45 buckaroos! - as seen on design is mine

Isn't this sailor print so stinkin' cute? I thought it was a fun way to start out the weekend. Yay - it's Friday! It's a dreary, drizzly Friday here, but Friday nonetheless. I just keep repeating to myself that it's supposed to be 51 degrees on Sunday. Perfect for some playoff football! (Forgive me, I'm in a fantasy league for the first time ever and it's been surprisingly fun...especially since I am winning in my league! Thanks, B, for the advisement.)

Any fun plans for you this weekend? Will you be watching football on Sunday? Do you have a favorite team? Or are you so over it by now, since it's been on for over 5 months now(!)?

Hope you have a great one and see you back here Monday!

Jacket+Bookmark

I have a sweet little gift certificate to Barnes & Noble (hello, credit card rewards points, and yes, I'm a big ol' book nerd) that is burning a hole in my pocket. I totally wish B&N sold these adorable book dust jacket/bookmark combos:


Created by graphic designer and illustrator Igor “Rogix” Udushlivy, these "Jacket+Bookmark" sets are hilarious and would certainly make hauling around a beat-up-looking book much more fun.




I love the ones for Africa, Paris and of course Alice.
Those rabbit ears are too cute!

(As originally seen on Swiss Miss, curator of the best stuff!)

More Moore: Julianne's Bulgari ad


I was flipping through a magazine yesterday and came across this ad for Bulgari’s Spring-Summer 2010 jewelry and watch ad campaign. Julianne Moore (or, "is that Amber Waves from Boogie Nights?" as B said) looks so gorgeous in the ad, portraying what Bulgari is calling “Eccentric Charisma” (whatever that means).

But what really got me - other than that I'm featuring another ginger whom I think looks beautiful (what is the world coming to??) - is that the lovely Ms. Moore is 49 years old. 49, people! The woman looks crazy good, and in a way that Photoshop can't fix up alone. Very impressive.

Photo by Mert and Marcus.

Va-Va-vintage Dior redux

By the way, to this post B said, "that looks like a mop." Niiiice.
Vintage-flippin'-Dior and he thinks it looks like something you'd used to wash a kitchen floor.
Boys. :)


Note: To his credit, if you can't see the detail of the beading, and you only see the dishwater color/flowing shape of the skirt, I get where he's coming from, but jeesh. :)

1.21.2010

Non-shmushy Valentine's Day cards

I love a good card (y'all know this by now), but I try to avoid the uber-mush cards come Valentine's Day. So when I saw these cards, I knew they were perfect for me to give B. These ones are particularly appropriate:


This happens on a nightly basis.


So true! B does look handsome with a beard in the winter, but man oh man is that thing a beast.


Ha. I once bought natural PB. It separated within a week; I freaked out and tossed it. Oh well.


Too funny. I think I'm going to send this to my friend S to give to her boyfriend (or vice versa), just because it's so apropos for them.




Sweet.

Do you have your cards picked out yet? If not, all of these (and more) are available on upup's Etsy site.

(Cards originally seen on the adorable 6th Street Design School blog)

Wardrobe obsession: Viviana Volpicella of Vogue Nippon

I saw this photo, taken in Milan, on The Sartorialist recently and lovvved the styles these ladies were rocking (well, really ladies #2 and 3). Lady #2 looks like kind of a snooze until you scroll down to those shoes. Those shoes. Sigh. Lady #3 was my absolute fave - love the gloves! love the cheery scarf! love the bag! and swingy coat! really, love everything! - so I looked her up.


It turns out she's Viviana Volpicella, assistant to Vogue Nippon's Anna Dello Russo, and the most darling Italian woman I've seen - I mean, how many European women do you know who so often rock the cheery colors and a huge, friendly smile?

Case in point:

If I didn't know she was Italian, I would seriously think she was a true-blue Californian.

How stinking cute is she?:

(Not to mention the show-stopping shirt, but I love the fun touch of the heart-shaped glasses.)



Lurrrv the casual, rolled-up jeans with the perfect blazed and hot shoes!



There's that all-black-clad, Euro sensibility I'm used to seeing. Glad she's got a dazzling smile to brighten things up a bit...

So anyway, just thought you might like the pics. (Oh and if you see me copying her look from pic#1 verbatim, let's just pretend you never read this...)

Photos above by The Sartorialist, Tommy Ton and Garance Dore, via Habitually Chic.