So Sad

I just read on Sweet Soft Southern Thrill's blog that Domino will be publishing its last issue in March! This 3-yr old magazine has quickly become one of my true favorites as it is the first home decor magazine that I've felt I can truly relate to style-wise (and price-wise!).

. . . And I just renewed my subscription for 2 years! I wonder if they'll issue refunds?

I will need to find a good magazine replacement ASAP!

p.s. The above photo is another one from designer Mary McDonald's guesthouse in Hollywood. I featured one of her other rooms last month. While it's a bit too much navy, navy, everywhere - walls, floors, and furniture - I love the color palette with pops of pink (it adds a hint of girlyness without being too much).

Pink Maple Puppy!

Pink Maple Puppy sent a photo of herself at the kennel this weekend playing in the snow while the family was in New York! Isn't this cute?

p.s. Don't forget to enter the giveaway in yesterday's post!

WINTER GIVEAWAY!

I am long overdue for another giveaway, here are the details:

Leave a comment in this post by Tuesday, February 3rd with your favorite pair of earrings from the 8 pictured below. Each earring can be made with Solid Sterling Silver or 14K Gold-Plate. For close-ups and detailed descriptions of each earring, you can visit my Etsy shop where all the earrings featured are for sale. If you are not a blogger, please be sure to leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you are a winner (if you prefer not to make your email public, just email me at pinkmapledesign@gmail.com).

Once you have officially entered the giveaway by commenting in this post, you can earn up to 3 more entries:

(1) Followers: if you are already a follower, you get one extra entry! If you become a follower, you'll also get one extra entry!

(2) Earn 1 extra entry by commenting in any of of my other posts between today and next Tuesday!

(3) Mention the giveaway on your own blog and earn 1 extra entry (Just be sure to tell me in a comment!)

--The winner will be announced Wednesday, February 4th.--

NYC Recap Part 2 - The Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is almost always a must-see when I visit New York. I snapped some photos of some of my very favorite pieces in the Met collection.

First, my absolute favorite room in the Met, The Temple of Dendur. The museum devotes an entire gallery, with majestic windows overlooking Central Park and a reflecting pool, to the temple, which dates back to 15 B.C. (I would love to attend a fancy event here. The party set here in Maid in Manhattan is my favorite in the movie. You've probably realized by now that I am a cheesy movie fan!)



I also love these beautiful windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany.



Stately mid-19th century furniture:


This 1859 oil painting by American landscape artist, Frederic Edwin Church, is simply massive. Interesting fact - The painting's premiere attracted 12,000 New Yorkers who each paid 25 cents to view the painting in a specially lit gallery. That's me next to the painting - to give you a sense of scale I am 5'8" so this painting is HUGE!


John Singer Sargent is one of my favorite artists. His portraits are always so elegant and stunning. This portrait of the Wyndham sisters was painted in 1899 at their home in London.


Finally, wouldn't you just love to step right into this 1867 Monet painting?








p.s. More photos from my weekend tomorrow (I went a bit crazy with my camera!) along with a giveaway!!

NYC Part I - Adventures in Shopping

I had a great weekend in New York City and have so many photos to share! As I write this post, I've just gobbled down a chocolate cupcake that I brought back from Magnolia Bakery. For me, no trip to New York is complete without returning with Magnolia Bakery cupcakes and a dozen H&H Bagels!

Our first stop after checking into our hotel (the Omni Berkshire Place on 52nd St and Madison - one of my favorite hotels to stay at in the city) was the J Crew Sample Sale. The sale was hosted by SSS Sample Sales, located on W 36th St. We arrived at the sale at 1pm and there was a huge line outside! We waited about 15 minutes. There were two reporters outside interviewing a little girl about the Obama girls wearing J Crew. They had her hold up a cute little Crewcuts skirt she had bought at the sale and were taking photos, the little girl seemed pretty excited about the whole thing! So that was entertaining for us as we waited!

They seemed to be controlling the crowds very well as although it was busy when we got inside, it was definitely not a madhouse. Everything was somewhat organized on different racks and they were continually restocking (although there were no jewelry or accessories).

They had some absolutely gorgeous J Crew collection jackets and beaded dresses. Some items were true samples with special tags and no sizes. Other items seemed to be just regular clothes in all sizes, possibly overstock that was never shipped out. There were multiple racks of cashmere t's and sweaters for $50 and beach dresses. Some things were definitely more of a "bargain" than others. I fell in love with a beautiful pink and gold dress in a jacquard pattern, but it was way too big and looked hard to alter because of the complicated pattern. I did get these though:




A navy blue pinstripe pantsuit for $100.



This navy blue lace jacket with a pale blue lining for $60.






And this spring jacket (also in navy blue - I guess I was in a navy mood on Saturday!) for $40.





This jacket was an actual sample, marked as such in marker inside.

My mom also picked up capris in green and yellow for only $20!

Saturday's theme was definitely "bargain hunting" as after the sample sale, we stopped in some nearby wholesale/retail shops on Broadway that were literally stuffed to the ceilings with costume jewelry and accessories. I got these two bracelets for only $3.50 each. I have a white enamel and silver bracelet I bought there last spring and it has held up well.

I also went to one of my favorite bead shops to replenish my basic beading supplies, like sterling earring hooks and other materials. While there I found beautiful Swarovski crystal starfish charms that I can't wait to incorporate into new spring necklaces.

And finally, I couldn't resist buying 2 new headbands!

Coming tomorrow, NYC Part II - Museum Time!

Free Shipping in Etsy Shop

Treat yourself or a friend to something PINK for Valentine's Day! I'm offering free U.S. shipping in the Pink Maple Etsy shop now through February 14th!

p.s. I had a fantastic time in NYC this past weekend. Part one of my weekend recap - my adventures at the J Crew sample sale - is coming later today :)

Off for the Weekend . . .

A few of the places I'll be going this weekend:

(1) The American Museum of Natural History

(2) The Metropolitan Museum of Art

(3) The J Crew Sample Sale!

(4) Henri Bendel

I'll be back with a full recap on Monday!

Thank You!

The Pink Tutu was nice enough to present me with two awards recently! Thank you so much Pink Tutu (I am sorry I am just now getting around to posting about them.)! She lives in sunny Orlando, Florida and I am so jealous of her close proximity to one of my favorite vacations spots: Disney World :)

I just noticed that I've reached 20 followers! This is a small milestone I know, but very exciting for me nonetheless. So, I would like to take this opportunity to pass the Friendship Award along to my followers - thank you so much for reading!

Book Club Update

My first book club meeting was last night and I had a great time! There were about 15 of us of widely varying ages and we started the evening by enjoying dinner at Burtons Grill in Boston (I had a delicious wild mushroom and artichoke risotto with truffle oil). Then, once sufficiently stuffed with food, we talked about the book!

As I mentioned before (see my 1/16 post), we discussed Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. Each chapter in the book talks about a different kind of "outlier" - a person or group of persons that achieved great success - and posits that each such person had certain hidden advantages that allowed them to reach their potential. It wasn't exactly a riveting page-turner, but was fascinating nonetheless (like the fact that most professional hockey players were born in January or February - seems random doesn't it?).

The group decided that we would alternate between fiction and non-fiction books. So, our next book will be American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld.



This is the Amazon.com description of the novel:

A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice Lindgren has no idea that she will one day end up in the White House, married to the president. In her small Wisconsin hometown, she learns the virtues of politeness, but a tragic accident when she is seventeen shatters her identity and changes the trajectory of her life. More than a decade later, when the charismatic son of a powerful Republican family sweeps her off her feet, she is surprised to find herself admitted into a world of privilege. And when her husband unexpectedly becomes governor and then president, she discovers that she is married to a man she both loves and fundamentally disagrees with–and that her private beliefs increasingly run against her public persona. As her husband’s presidency enters its second term, Alice must confront contradictions years in the making and face questions nearly impossible to answer.

I've read Prep, also by Ms. Sittenfeld, and it was a great book so I'm really looking forward to reading American Wife.

Democracy in Action

I woke up this morning and turned on the television to see hundreds of thousands of people lining the Washington Mall and the streets of Washington, DC. I was struck by the fact that all these people, young and old, from around the country were braving the cold not to celebrate a football team's Super Bowl victory or to see a rock concert, as is so often the reason for large gatherings of crowds, but to witness democracy in action.

The 20th Amendment to the Constitution provides that the president's term ends on January 20th at noon and that at that time the president's successor's term begins. Article II of the Constitution prescribes a short, simple oath. And with that the transfer of power is complete. It is a peaceful and profound transition that is uniquely American.

Today there were plenty of cheers and tears and pomp and circumstance. Tomorrow, however, is a new day and our new president and vice-president will go to work. I wish them well.

New in the Pink Maple Etsy Shop

Blue Tulip Going Out of Business

One of my favorite stationery and gift shops, Blue Tulip, is going out of business. There's about 30 Blue Tulip stores according to the sales associate I talked to - unfortunately, I can't tell you where because their website is shut down. But if you happen to know of one in your area, I advise you to get there ASAP. Everything in the store is 40-75% off, including gorgeous Kate Spade, Crane & Co., and Vera Wang stationery, photo albums, and cards. I just stopped in on Friday and purchased a whole bunch of cards for upcoming bridal showers and weddings at 50% off.

The Weekend Update - More Snow

As I write, big, puffy snowflakes are falling from the sky and all is white outside. More snow. Plans today to go out to lunch have been canceled. I now plan on spending the day warm and indoors. This afternoon I'll plop myself down in front of the tv to watch the pre-inauguration concert on HBO this afternoon.

Luckily, snow did not get in the way of my other weekend plans. Friday night I went to see Bride Wars - it was very cute and funny. Any brides out there who are stressing over their own weddings should see this movie, as nothing could compare to the craziness surrounding the weddings in this movie! Although the movie is set in New York City, a lot of the interiors were shot in the Boston area. It was fun for me to pick out various places that I recognized and had been to. The wedding in the movie's opening scenes was shot at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. I was working in Salem last spring when they were shooting and saw all the trailers and equipment during my lunch break (no star sightings though!). I have also been to a wine tasting at the bar/restaurant that Anne Hathaway's and Kate Hudson's characters go to near the beginning of the movie. The familiar settings definitely improved the movie's fun factor for me!

Yesterday, my friend M and I made cards. We took a cardmaking class at The Paper Source in the fall (see my Oct. 20th post) and had so much fun we wanted to make more. The "happy birthday" and "best wishes" messages are on little letterpress flat cards from The Paper Source. Letterpress really adds a little something special to a card. They come in a pack of 20, I will try to find them online and edit this post later. (Edited: I can't find them on The Paper Source site, they must only sell them in the store.)

I was thinking of summer when I made this card:

Book Club

I just joined a book club run by my local college alumnae group. The first meeting is next week on Tuesday and the book to be discussed is Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. Up until 10 minutes ago I thought the meeting was next Thursday. Therefore, I thought I had 2 more days than I actually do to finish reading the book!


I've read 3 chapters out of 9. Although the book isn't my usual type; I usually tend towards light chick lit, travel memoirs, classics, and an occasional biography, it's very interesting. No problem to read 6 more, right?! Hopefully . . .

Suggestions Needed! NYC & Monograms

Calling all blogger friends, I'm looking for suggestion/answers for 2 different questions:

(1) As I've previously mentioned I'm going to New York City next weekend. I need ideas for good places to eat lunch - a nice, New York-y restaurant for a delicious sandwich. A far as location, I'm looking for restaurants on the Upper West Side as we're going to the Museum of Natural History. My two eating possibilities for that area so far are Cafe Lalo (a favorite of mine which I've been to 3 or 4 times) and Barney Greengrass, which I've heard good things about. I'm also looking for a nice lunch place in midtown possibly not far from our hotel which is at Madison and 52nd St.

Normally, I take trips to NYC with just my mom or a friend so we'll just wander and eventually happen upon a nice place to eat, but this trip I'll be with my mom and dad and my dear father is NOT one for wandering and will literally walk into the first place he sees. The last trip he joined us on a few years ago we ended up eating lunch at Cosi. Of course, there's nothing wrong with Cosi sandwiches and salads, but there is one in Boston and I could therefore eat there any old day!

So, if any of you readers have any ideas - I'd LOVE to hear them!

(2) Kate of Nautical by Nature and Kappa Prep of Monograms and Manicures have given me the idea to buy a new Herve Chapelier bag and have it monogrammed. This wouldn't replace the birthday handbag I've been pondering over for a while, but would just be a little treat as I can't resist a bargain. If there are any Masachusetts readers out there, can you suggest any good monogramming places in the Boston area or North Shore? Thanks in advance :)

p.s. It is currently 16 degrees in Boston and it's supposed to snow another 2-3 inches this afternoon. The frigid temps, ice, and snow have meant that I've been living in my warm, snowy suede boots (rotating between my black and brown pair) this past month with skinny jeans tucked in. I'm getting together for drinks tonight with two good friends from college: C and J and will be meeting J's fiance for the first time (This J is not to be confused with my two other friends J and J who I've mentioned on my blog before and are also getting married this year! I guess this is the year for people whose names begin with "J" to get married!) I am determined to wear leather boots with heels tonight, however, as I'm just so sick of my suede boots. I'm only walking a few feet outside to my car and then parking in a garage in Boston. Wish me luck!

For Jane Austen Fans

I've been watching a really cute British mini-series this week: "Lost in Austen." The title character is obsessed with "Pride and Prejudice." One night while reading the book, she discovers a door in her bathroom that is a gateway into the book (yes, sounds a little like "Narnia," but a bathroom isn't as refined as a wardrobe!). She steps through and essentially assumes the role of Elizabeth Bennett, the novel's main character. Although Darcy is played by an actor who, let's face it, cannot compare to Colin Firth, if you are a Jane Austen fan you should definitely check it out.

It's currently airing on Ovation TV - a very random station that not everyone gets. Click here for a video preview (I tried to embed it here, but I kept getting error messages.) It's a 4-hr mini-series, re-airing from the start this Sunday. The mini-series will also be available on DVD in April on amazon.com. I've seen the first two hour-long episodes and I'm looking forward to watching the rest!

Crafting Wednesday: Bubble Magnets

Last year my friend M and I saw these magnets at a craft fair and decided to trying making them ourselves. They are super easy (and quick) to make.

You'll need:
- Mod Podge (or other shiny, waterbased sealer)
- Flat Foam Paintbrush
- Glue Gun
Circular Magnets (I found mine at Michael's)
- Flat Back Glass Marbles that are used in the bottom of vases (I found small ones at Michael's and large ones at Target with the vases)

- Scraps of Pretty Paper (You can buy real scrapbooking paper at the craft store or just use scraps from catalogs and magazines. I found fun and pretty patterns in the J Crew and Paper Source catalogs.)

1. Cut out circular scraps of paper that are slightly smaller than the flat back of marbles.

2. Brush a thin coat of Mod Podge onto the flat back of the marble.

3. Place the paper scrap face down onto the flat back of the marble. Basically, this works just like regular decoupage except backwards as you want to see the right side of paper through the rounded front of the marble.

4. Brush 2 more thin coats onto the back of the paper scrap, waiting a few minutes between each coat.

5. Let dry for at least 45 minutes.

6. Apply a generous amount of hot glue onto the flat back of the marble and apply the magnet, letting the hot glue puddle around the edges of the magnet.

You can do variations on these with smaller flat back marbles:

Or by decoupaging an initial sticker and then a paper scrap in layers:

Have fun crafting!

Searching for the Perfect Handbag

I've been looking for a new handbag for a month or so now. A handbag is supposed to be my birthday gift from my parents, but I've been slow in picking one out (my birthday is on Christmas day, and with the distraction of the holidays, I just never found the time to pick one out!) I am visiting New York City with my family the weekend after next, so I'm probably going to wait until then as I couldn't possibly make my choice without first looking in Bendel's and the real Saks Fifth Avenue. However, I've decided to do some advance "research" online because my father will be with us in NYC and he, being a typical man, has limited patience for shopping! And I'm sure my mother and I will be testing his patience greatly when we drag him to the J Crew sample sale :)

I'm looking for a good-sized, wintery bag. My go-to summer bags are a Kate Spade canvas tote and the small Lonchamp Le Pliage. I love the Kate Spade one because it has a hint of color (but you can still carry it with almost any outfit) and it's large enough to fit my laptop.

So far, these are my favorites:

Longchamp Planetes Tonal Shopper

I've been leaning towards this black on black combo, but I really like the versatility of the basic Longchamp Le Pliage with black and brown and was considering just getting that one size up from my current bag. But it seems odd to have an identical bag in two different sizes - what do you think? Maybe a monogram would make it sufficiently "different"??




Kate Spade Tarrytown Small Maeda

I love this bag! I saw it in Nordstrom yesterday and although you can't really tell from the photo, the handles are long enough to go over your shoulder. The green version is absolutely gorgeous too.

On the subject of shopping, I bought a few super cute things in J Crew yesterday. Unfortunately, I can't share all of them because they were all PINK and, therefore, I got extras for my partner in the swap hosted by Kappa Prep. One thing I can mention is a hot pink passport cover marked down to $6.99 from $29.50!

Dreaming of Warmer Weather

Before I begin: let me make it very clear - it is currently 22 degrees outside and my day began by uncovering 6+ inches of snow from my car. Despite this decidedly wintery environment, I've had visions of spring in my head lately, most likely brought on by J Crew's Resort Collection catalog which arrived in the mail on Friday.

Consequently, when I stopped by DSW for a browse this morning I bypassed the boots and instead purchased these slip-on Ked's sneakers which I will not be able to "slip-on" my sockless feet for months. I just couldn't resist. They were 70% off and, therefore, only $9!!



I am picturing them with these J Crew summerweight Bermudas in bright tulip and a black polo. I know it won't make spring arrive any faster, but a girl can dream right??

Laughter and Fro Yo

I spent a fun, laughter-filled evening Friday night with my friends J and L. We all went to high school together, though in 3 different grades, so there is always plenty of hometown gossip to be shared and old stories to be remembered whenever we get together. Additionally, J is getting married this July so there was lots of wedding planning info to be caught up on. A warning from J to all brides: clear labels may seem like a good idea on cream-colored save-the-date envelopes, but they are not. Apparently, the clear labels pick up every fingerprint and make for a frustrating and stressful application.

L hosted us at her apartment and we enjoyed some delicious wine, appetizers, and amazing frozen yogurt. L received a Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker for Christmas. I have to say I was a bit skeptical about homemade frozen yogurt at first, having visions of old-fashioned hand-crank ice cream makers in my head, but it was absolutely delicious and SO simple. We had vanilla fro yo with peanut butter cups. According to L, the recipe called for just vanilla yogurt, milk, and a small amount of vanilla extract, stir it briefly with a whisk, into the Cuisinart maker for 30 min., and voila: a delicious, frozen treat. I'm definitely going to be looking for this when it goes on sale!

Better Late Than Never

A bit late, but these are my 2009 Blog Resolutions:

1. Giveaway! When I originally did one last summer, my intention was to do them on a seasonal basis, but never got around to a fall one. I've had a winter giveaway on my mind for a while, I just have to take photos and post about it.

2. Get back in the habit of doing weekly Design/Crafting Wednesday posts. I missed a lot of those in November and December. I tried to institute this resolution yesterday, albeit a day late with my post below on the fabulously preppy living room.

3. Do regular posts featuring style pairings of Pink Maple items with fashions that catch my eye - like this one. I love blogging about other things so much that I forget that I also intended to use this blog to promote my business (I'm not very good at self-promotion!).

4. Post 5 times a week. My prior goal was 4 times a week and since I've been pretty good about reaching that goal, I'm now going to aim for 5.

p.s. I hope you all have a great weekend! I'm getting together with my good friends L and J tonight to exchange Christmas gifts. I see L and J separately a lot, but it isn't often that all 3 of us get together, so I'm really looking forward to it.

"Audaciously Preppy"

I received the February issue of Domino magazine today and it featured this eye-catching room:

I just had to scan it immediately (see, this is an example of one of those pesky distractions when you are working at home!) and share it with you! I love the contrast of the calming, all-white furniture with the bold and very preppy painted wall. The headline under the room is: "An Audaciously Preppy Den" and is just one gorgeous room of many in designer Mary McDonald's California guesthouse.

p.s. This issue was definitely a keeper - pick it up when you a chance :)

Applause to People who Work from Home

So, at the moment I am between full-time jobs. My wonderful, post-law school job was, unfortunately, only a year long contract which ended right in the middle of our current, awful economy. I haven't mentioned it on my blog before because I like to stay upbeat and also hate to complain - as previously I've been very lucky in the employment realm - from my summer jobs during college, to my first real post-college job, to my part-time jobs during law school - they've all been great and they've all come right after one another with no breaks between. Well, except one that was not so great, but we won't mention that as it was only 2 summer months and I've succeeded in blocking it from my mind :)

Anyway, my point is that right now I am working part-time from home on a research project. It has made me realize how utterly hard it is to motivate oneself to work at home when there are good shows on my DVR to watch, laundry to be put away, photos on my camera to upload, fun blogs to read . . . the list goes on and on. Has anyone worked at home full-time before? How did you or do you do it? Now, maybe if my home office looked like this one from Pottery Barn I would have more motivation?




And with bright sun shining in my windows, instead of snow and sleet?

And now I am off to watch some of the shows on my DVR that have been calling to me all day!

Wallet Woes

When I opened my wallet today I noticed, to my utter and complete distress (okay- maybe exaggerating a bit!), that the inside credit card flap has come undone at the seams! I absolutely ADORE my current wallet, it's brown moc crocodile (not shiny like the one shown) with a pale pink lining, and snaps shut so it looks like a fancy clutch. What I love most about it is that it has two rows of credit card slots, a space for cash, a change purse, and a little extra space to put receipts - most (no, actually all) of the wallets I've seen in the same style only have one row of credit card slots. I've had it for a little over a year now. I guess I've taken all that it can fit for granted and have kept it literally stuffed such that it has essentially "burst" at the seams :(

How to fix it? Maybe glue? Has anyone taken their wallet to a cobbler for repair?

(wallet pictured: Urban Outfitters)