Occasionally she dreams of Italy . . .

The little card inside my new Kate Spade bag had this cute quote:

"Occasionally she dreams of Italy. She dreams of cheese shops, persnickety fiats, and very fine leather goods."

And have you seen the Kate Spade personalized stationery available through Crane & Co.? I am in love with this letterpress elephant calling card. I have a small collection of elephants - figurines and jewelry - started by my grandmother. These calling cards would be a perfect, though pricey, addition. Trunks up are a must as it signifies good luck!

Fun and Eco-Friendly

I am off to work this morning with my brand-new stainless steel water bottle. I've been looking for a fun looking one for a while and finally came across this one at the Container Store last week. I've taken a photo of it with my lunch bag:

My new water bottle is by Reduce and their website offers a great set of 5 water bottles in a storage tray called "Water Week" for only $20 (+ $5.99 shipping with promo code: waterweek). They come in all different colors and the idea is that you fill them up and wash them just once a week and take one each day. Definitely convenient and a very good price I think!

And aren't these pink and green bottles the cutest?

Shopping!

I had a great time this afternoon shopping and chatting with a few Boston-area readers of the J Crew Aficionada blog. Despite the madhouse that was the J Crew store this afternoon, we had fun trying on a few different items and browsing the store together. We talked with a personal shopper there and we're going to set up a time in May for an appointment to see the newest arrivals. The personal shopper said she could open the store early for us at 10am on a Sunday, so we'll have 2 full hours to browse the store free of crowds!

Here's a slightly blurry photo we asked a sales associate to snap of us. She probably thought we were a little cuckoo wanting a photo inside the store!

From left to right: M, A (of Love It!), J (of J'Adore these Stores), and me :)

I bought two belts that were on sale. Although I've promised myself that I will return one - I just couldn't decide in the store!

After looking at them at home against my clothes, I've decided to keep the yellow one because it matches perfectly with a yellow J Crew skirt I have from last summer. I love the pink though too!

Good Morning

Despite the rain, I'm headed out in a few minutes into Boston for a meet-up with some local readers of the J Crew Aficionada blog organized by JTS at J'adore these Stores. We're meeting for some coffee/brunch and then, of course, hitting J Crew at Copley Place for some shopping.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and that some parts of the country are enjoying some "Sunshine Sunday" weather today :)

More Free Magazines!

I received another free magazine offer today for Metropolitan Home - click here. You just fill out your name and mailing address and identify what industry you work in . . . and that's it! They, of course, want you to sign up for other free, but more boring magazines, geared towards your profession but you can just leave those boxed unchecked! This is the same way I got my free Elle subscription. Happy reading :)

A Little Treat

Yesterday, I was up and out early to the outlets and Ikea with my mother for a bit of shopping. I was in search of a new pair of casual pants as I'm starting a short-term job on Monday (it may last for 6 months, but I'm praying I'll find a permanent job much sooner!). The dress code is business casual and as my last job was more business "dressy" - i.e. heels and skirtsuits or pantsuits - I don't quite have 5 days worth of more casual pants to wear with ballets flats and loafers. I'll be sitting at a computer all day, so comfort is a must. Although J Crew failed me (they only had very, very casual chinos in a relaxed fit that just didn't work on me), I found a pair at Banana Republic.

I also stopped into the Kate Spade outlet and picked out this treat for myself:


It was marked down to $99 and the entire store was an extra 30% off! You definitely can't go wrong with a nice, leather handbag for $70!

They did have the Tarrytown Small Maeda which I've been dreaming about for quite some time (see this post from January); but it was still close to full price so I couldn't indulge.

After being out and about all day, I quickly stopped home to change and then headed into Boston to attend a women's alumni networking event for my law school. The event was held at a hotel and the food was absolutely delicious - passed hors d'oeurves and a small pasta bar of ziti, lobster ravioli!, and tortellini. I enjoyed catching up with some classmates that I hadn't seen in a while, although as seems to be my experience with networking events, there was more chatting amongst friends going on than actual networking. As a person very much in need of a permanent job, I was hoping to make a connection or two . . . but oh well. At least the food was good :)

Free Magazines!

Shoppers Advantage is sponsoring a free subscription offer for Elle magazine. My friend L tipped me off to this offer last month and sure enough, today I received my first issue. Click here.

And . . . Time Inc. is currently testing a new personalized magazine called Mine. They are offering a 5 issue subscription (digital or print) for free. The magazine is a personalized combination of eight magazines published by Time Inc. including Real Simple, In Style, Food & Wine, and Travel & Leisure. Click here.

The Perfect Gift

I received a very pretty necklace, personalized with my birthstone and initial, from Lauren Nicole Gifts this week. The necklace is available with 12 different Swarovski colors representing each birthstone or a freshwater pearl. I love its delicate quality, it's going to be great to wear dressed down with jeans or dressed up with a cute turquoise top.

Fine Silver Initial Pendant

The necklace came packaged in this very cute tin. So no wrapping required to make this the perfect gift!


The Lauren Nicole website has a number of great personalized items for all sorts of occasions. I love giving someone a present that has that little extra touch of their initial or monogram, it makes it so much more personal. This purse hanger is another one of my favorites:
A purse hanger is an absolute must in a restaurant on a rainy day so that you don't have to hold your handbag in your lap during the entire meal! I've seen purse hangers in boutiques before, but they usually always have just a purse-shaped decoration on top - this is much more unique.

Lauren Nicole Gifts is offering 15% off your entire purchase until Monday at midnight with code: madness. Buy yourself a treat or a pick out an Easter gift for a friend or loved one.

p.s. Check out her blog for a fantastic giveaway running through Thursday. She is giving away a Lilly Pulitzer Puddle Jumper Tote in pretty pink and white!

Christmas in March?

Today was my friend J's bridal shower. Right now, I'm getting ready to sit down and watch "Entourage" on-demand and relax - it was quite a day. There were about 100 guests at the shower, which made for LOTS of gifts to unwrap. The bride's sister/matron-of-honor is superbly organized and planned the whole shower with her mom, but me and the rest of the bridesmaids helped organize the gift opening process. I was assigned with keeping the gift-opening moving: carrying the gifts, making sure the bride and groom always had one to open, and cleaning up torn and dropped wrapping paper. Another bridesmaid made the ribbon and bow bouquet and a third put the opened gifts to the side. We made quite the team!

My mother and I gave the bride and groom these Christmas stockings from Pottery Barn along with a matching Christmas tree skirt and locket-style silver tree ornament - all with their names embroidered or engraved. J is one of my very closet friends (we've known each since we first met in ballet class in third grade!) so I wanted to get something a little different for them to have on their first Christmas as a married couple . . . and I bought the shower gift very early back at the end of December so Christmas was on the brain!

American Wife - my thoughts

As I mentioned before, I've been reading American Wife for my book club. Because a lot of people were interested in the book, I thought I'd follow up with a little review of my thoughts now that I've finished it.

I was actually kind of disappointed with the book. I think the author set out to write a sweeping, epic-type novel, but ended up getting bogged down in too many details (for example, a few gross bathroom-related incidents come to mind!). The book begins when the main character is in elementary school and ends when she is just over 60 and the First Lady - definitely a long timespan and I really like how the author divided up each part into the houses where she lived: the last section entitled 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue of course. There were certainly parts that I liked a lot, but it definitely wasn't one of those books that I couldn't put down.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Next month, my friend M invited me to join in her friend's book club. So I'm starting Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier. I'm looking forward to reading a classic that I haven't had the chance to read before.

LOVE these shoes

Have you seen these new flower sandals by Stephen Bonanno? They come with two different sets of flowers, so they're pretty much 2 pairs of shoes in one! They'd be perfect for a traveler like me who always takes a million pairs of sandals and flip flops to match every outfit :)

Whoops!

At the end of January, one my favorite stationery stores closed and had a fantastic sale on all their greeting cards. Happily, I stocked up in advance on pretty bridal shower and wedding cards and stored them away in my stationery drawer. This morning I opened the drawer to get a card for the shower I'm attending this weekend . . . and found a birthday card I had bought at the sale for my dad. My dad's birthday was at the end of February and I bought him another card, completely forgetting about the one in my drawer. Whoops! Don't you hate when you are so proud of yourself for planning in advance and and then you forget all about it??

Wrapping Ideas?

I am in charge of wrapping a group gift for a wedding shower coming up and am in need of wrapping suggestions! I won't get into detail about the gift's contents on the off chance the bride-to-be stops by the blog, but it's soft items from the bride's registry that I'm putting in a rectangular canvas storage basket. My first thought was to wrap each item in ribbon and wrap the entire basket in clear cellophane. What do you all think? Any other ideas? Not wrap the basket at all? Extra-large gift bag? I need the card to be secure because it will have a gift card.

I have another bridal shower this Saturday. That gift, thankfully, fits in a normal size box! I'm really excited about the gift my mom and I bought for the bride and groom. It's a little unique. I will share it with you on Sunday!

(Flower photo from marthastewart.com)

DIY Time: Ribbon Key Fobs

The painkillers and antibiotics have finally kicked in and my toothache is starting to feel a bit better. Thank you for the well-wishes. My advice to all is to call the dentist the moment you feel a tooth start to hurt - otherwise it will be killing you over the weekend and you will be kicking yourself that you did not call the dentist Friday afternoon! I also really wish some very smart entrepreneur would open up a walk-in dental clinic that's open 24 hours!

I wanted to share with you the results of my latest Craft Day with my friend M; we both made 2 ribbon key fobs:


I got all the supplies and directions from J Caroline Creative. J Caroline has the prettiest ribbons and so many choices! It is a very simple project - you should definitely try it! Get detailed directions on the J Caroline website (click here). You use Heat n' Bond to attach the ribbon to the plain cotton webbing with an iron. The directions also say to stitch the sides of the ribbon down, but the ribbon seemed very secure with the Heat n' Bond and neither M nor I are expert sewers so we skipped that step.

p.s. I have been thinking of starting a Picasa web gallery of all my DIY projects. If you've made (or make in the future) any of the DIY projects I post about - please take photos and email them to me and I'll include them in the gallery!

Be Back Soon

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past few days. I have been suffering from a horrible toothache, which was finally diagnosed by my dentist today as a gum infection caused by something irritating my gum. So, I've been feeling like the walking dead since Saturday night.

I made the ribbon keyfobs I mentioned a while ago on Saturday afternoon and they came out great; I'll be back with a post on that as soon as these painkillers kick in!

Lovely Bloggers

Thank you so much to Jane of In the Waiting Line for passing along the Kreative Blogger award to me! The rules for this award ask me to name 7 things I love and then pass it along to 7 bloggers that I love.

My Love-List:
1) My family - mom, dad, and Pink Maple Puppy!
2) J Crew - this should be self-explanatory considering how often I mention J Crew!
3) The Boston Red Sox - hooray for spring and the return of baseball!
4) Disney World - my favorite spot to vacation.
5) Romantic Comedies - give me a light-hearted movie with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks and I'm one happy person!
6) The Confessions of a Shopaholic series - even if you didn't care for the movie, you must try the books!
7) Making things - from jewelry to headbands to mini-home decor projects, I love a good DIY project!

7 Lovely Bloggers - all you ladies are great and have no doubt received this award before:
1) Hopsy of Monograms and Manicures - for being a fantastic representative of the Lilly-loving blogworld on Martha Stewart.
2) Landlocked Mermaid - for always writing such heartfelt posts.
3) The Pink Tutu - because she lives in the Orlando area and can go to my favorite vacation spot whenever she wants!
4) Piper Jacqueline of Steak and Cakes - because her posts always make me laugh.
5) Dugout Daisy - because she shares my love of baseball.
6) Cricket of Pearl's Are a Girl's Best Friend - for always featuring great fashions and shopping picks.
7) Jane of In the Waiting Line - I'm sending this award right back to you (of course you don't have to list 7 more things you love - just my way of saying thanks)!

What did I do with my Lilly napkins?

Here is a peek at one of the things I've been working on with my Lilly Pulitzer napkins (see this post): I transformed my LL Bean beach bag into a Lilly Beach bag that will coordinate perfectly with my Lilly swimsuit! Next I'll be working on transforming two other bags into totes for Lilly-lovers to put in my Etsy shop.

p.s. Thank you all for the good luck wishes for my interview. I think it went well so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be called back for a second interview.

Good Luck Outfit

I have a job interview tomorrow for a job that I think I would really, really like! I'm trying not to get too nervous/excited over it, as it's only a first interview and who knows how many people they are interviewing. But for good luck, I'm wearing my new navy pinstriped suit from the J Crew sample sale, with my bargain TJ Maxx shoes, white dress shirt, and tiffany silver ball earrings.


p.s. I can't believe these shoes are still $79.99 on the J Crew site and they were in TJ Maxx for $19.99!

Lilly Contest

FYI: you can enter to win the fabulous gift bag they gave away on the Martha Stewart Lilly Pulitzer show today, click here or visit the Lilly website's main page for the link.

Design Wednesday: Freshen Up for Spring (Part 2)

This week's theme is freshening up your bathroom for spring. One thing I love most about staying in a hotel are the thick white linens (always clean and freshly folded!) in the bathroom and the lovely little hotel shampoos, conditioners, and lotions. So, why not bring that hotel feel home with new bath towels or a shower curtain, a new scent, and a spa robe?

Pearl Embroidered Organic Bath Towels from Pottery Barn:

Jasmine Organic Bath Towels, also from Pottery Barn:

Spa Wrap from Monogram Chick (lots of embroidery options available and a reasonable price):

Aspen Bay Capri Blue Candle and Diffuser in Volcano - this is the scent frequently burning when you walk into an Anthropologie store and I love it! Anthropologie only sells the candles, but Amazon has the diffusers too:

The Ski Report

As I mentioned last week, I had only been skiing once in about 4 years so I was a little apprehensive about hitting the slopes again in North Conway over the weekend. But, armed with my new goggles and helmet, I successively navigated Mount Cranmore without any spills or perilous moments.


On Friday when we were shopping in the outlet village, we came upon a display of old ski lifts. This gondola was in operation at Wildcat Mountain from 1957 to 1999 and was the first lift of its type in the United States:


It is very tiny and rusty and looks like it might just fall apart at any minute . . . and it didn't look much different when I rode it with my dad in 1998. I still distinctly remember asking him: "Is this thing safe??" before getting into it. His response was: "I heard they're tearing this down, it's a part of skiing history - we have to ride it. Also, we have to get to the top of the mountain don't we?" And we did. How the two of us fit inside in all our puffy ski gear I have no idea :)

Outlet Shopping

Over the weekend while in North Conway, New Hampshire I of course had to stop into a few of the outlets and see if there were any bargains to be found!

The J Crew outlet was a little disappointing. They had a number of nice items on clearance, but they weren't offering any extra % off promotion so I felt like I could have found similar items on clearance in the regular stores for the same price. I did find this little navy blue clutch amongst the new spring items:


I had just read in my new Lucky magazine that clutches are très chic for spring so I couldn't resist!

I did find great bargains in the LL Bean outlet. I got this barn jacket for only $12! It is just what I need for the upcoming transition period from winter to spring. I got the coat Friday afternoon and wore it right away on Saturday and Sunday because it was sunny and around 50 degrees. (Of course, back in Massachusetts today it is snowing so I am in my down coat again!)

I also stumbled upon the cutest outlet: Hatley. It's a mostly Canadian chain, but they have 3 US stores in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Florida and a US website. They feature kids and adults casual clothing and gifts with an animal theme. I got myself some pajama pants and shorts at 75% off. The childrens' clothes were the ultimate in cute though. Wouldn't this raincoat and little wellies, with matching umbrella, be a great gift?

Off for a Few Days

I'm headed up to North Conway, New Hampshire tomorrow morning for a little fun in the snow before winter's over. A little outlet shopping and possibly ice skating is on the agenda for Friday and then Saturday my father and I will go skiing. I learned to ski in sixth grade and used to ski very frequently up until a few years ago - last winter was not a good one for my family (illnesses and deaths were the unfortunate theme of fall '07 through winter '08) so we never had the time, and before that there was constant studying on the weekends during law school - all this has added up to the fact that I've only been skiing once in about 4 years. So, I'm a bit nervous to hit the slopes this weekend; hopefully the snow will be good and it will all come back to me. Pulling out my ski equipment also revealed that my trendy, circa 1999/2000 ski equipment is decidedly non-trendy now . . . oh well!

So, I'll be away from the computer for the next few days, but please come back and visit on Monday!

My New Favorite Store

Last week after surveying my local stationery and gift shops and coming up unsuccessful, I sucked it up, paid shipping, and ordered Lilly Pulitzer napkins from the Lilly store in Greenwich, Connecticut. Today, entirely by chance I went to a different salon to get my bangs trimmed because my usual stylist was out sick. On my way out of the salon I noticed a new gift and stationery store: Swoozies (the store location used to be a Blue Tulip - also a stationery and gift shop, which unfortunately went out of business in January). I couldn't resist taking a peek and what do I see shortly after walking in? Two, huge displays of the entire Lilly stationery and entertaining line!

I wanted the napkins for a new project I'm working on for my Etsy store - it's something a little different that I'll share more about later once the prototypes are done! I'm very excited about it though. I've been wanting to make a new product other than jewelry, as the market for handmade jewelry has really been oversaturated lately, expecially with the proliferation of beading supplies at craft stores like Michael's and bead shops. So, we'll see if my newest venture turns out well.

Swoozies had so many cute gift items like totes, pretty napkins, party platters and buckets . . . I'll definitely be making it my go-to destination when I need a little gift for someone.

Design Wednesday: Freshen Up for Spring

With the arrival of March, spring is just around the bend and there is no better time to make some small changes to your home decor to spruce it up for spring. Whether it be a switch to a new duvet cover in the bedroom or new placemats on the kitchen table, the introduction of a new accessory to a room can really make a huge difference and give the room a completely fresh look. I've decided to follow a theme for DIY/Design Wednesdays in March and dedicate each Wednesday to little "spruce-ups" that you can do to make your home (or apartment or dorm room) fresh and bright for the warm weather to come.

Monogrammed throw pillows are one easy and quick change to freshen up a room for spring.

I love this very pretty and simple pillow cover by So Bright Designs on Etsy. (This seller has the cutest appliqued onesies as well, so if you have a baby shower coming up - definitely take a peek at her shop.)

Custom Letter Pillow Cover, $18


Just one of these crisp monogrammed pillows in the center of a bed would create an instantly tailored and summery look:

Solid Piped Boxed Euro Sham, $19.99 (on sale)

These cute and affordable pillow covers from PB Teen are, in my opinion, definitely not just for teens:

Sparkle Medallion Pillow Cover, $19 (on sale)

Bon Bon Ribbon Pillow Cover, $25

And another Etsy gem: Meringue Designs makes this beautiful patchwork pillow cover that would look gorgeous in any girl's room.

Personalized Girly Pillow Cover, $32

Running in Heels

Has anyone else caught the new reality show on Style Network and E: Running in Heels? I just watched the first episode on my DVR last night and I have to say the show looks pretty interesting. It follows 3 interns and a number of staff at Marie Claire magazine. The interns all seem rather nutty (as are most reality show stars!), but I like the fact that the show also showcases the magazine's editor-in-chief, fashion editor, and new fashion director (Nina Garcia from Project Runway). I feel like it's a somewhat more realistic peek into the magazine world than last fall's Fashionista on the CW - which was was a reality show-contest with interns being "fired" each week and fake Glamour magazine sets.

The first episode was centered around Nina Garcia's welcome party during fall Fashion Week. Marie Claire's current issue at the time had Lindsay Lohan on the cover and during the show her publicist refused to let Lindsay walk the red carpet and attend the party unless there was a giant blow-up photo of Lindsay's cover - stars are crazy aren't they???

The show seems to be repeating a lot on Style Network, so definitely try it if you like reality shows and fashion! :)

More Snow

It is yet another snowy day here in Massachusetts. Yesterday, all the snow had almost melted away, sidewalks were clear, and I was back to enjoying my daily 1 to 2 mile walk. Then, overnight here are the piles of snow back again. Doesn't the weather know I am dying to trade my Uggs and flat leather boots for my J Crew driving mocs and Tory Burch revas???

Despite being waylaid by a lot of shoveling this morning, I was still able to check off a number of items on the day's to-do list: the major item being doing my taxes. I was so glad to get those out of the way!

Hope some of you readers in other parts of the country are enjoying a warm and sunny day today!

p.s. I saw He's Just Not that into You over the weekend. It was really cute and I definitely recommend it!

The Letter Game

A Sweet Soft Southern Thrill assigned me the letter "A" in the Letter Game. The rules are simple: name 10 things that you love that begin with your assigned letter. Anyone who'd like to play along, just leave a comment and I'll assign you a letter!

1. Architecture - this is a photo of one of my favorite homes, Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright. My favorite styles of architecture are generally older, before 1900, but Wright is one more modern architect who I love.

2. Art museums - I love almost all museums in general, but especially art museums. I am a member of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and never miss a special exhibit. This is a photo of my mom and I at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York last May.

3. Animal Kingdom Lodge in Walt Disney World - this hotel is truly unique and it's my favorite at Disney World. The resort is surrounded by its own wildlife reserve, so all you have to do is step out onto your room's balcony to see amazing African animals. The 5+ story lobby is breathtaking. I took this photo during a December 2005 trip (hence the massive Christmas tree).


4. The American Adventure in Epcot in Disney World (are you seeing a pattern?) - this very patriotic show combines film and audio-animatronic figures to tell the story of our nation. Some say it's cheesy, but I can't help but get a tear in my eye every time I hear the show's "Golden Dream" theme song (yes, I have admitted before that I am such a sucker for that kind of stuff!).

5. An Affair to Remember - I love classic movies. There is just something about them that more modern films just can't quite match.


6. The American President - for me this movie has it all: romance, hilarious lines and funny scenes (I love when Michael Douglas' President Shepherd jumps out of his limo to try to buy flowers for Annette Bening's character and the florist faints upon seeing him), and one of my favorite movie moments: a great speech.


7. Audrey Hepburn - she is sheer perfection in Sabrina.


8. Anthropologie - this is one of those stores that I just love to browse in. There are always pretty tops, inviting bed linens, fun kitchen accessories . . .

9. Animals - dogs are my favorite!

10. Airports - well, to be quite honest I don't actually love airports. I just love what they mean: the ability to see new and exciting places all over the world.