A Spring Walk

Last weekend I took advantage of the beautiful Memorial Day weather and walked around Lake Waban in Wellesley, MA. There are many, many rhodendron bushes along the walk - at one point you walk down a narrow path with bushes 12 feet high on both sides - not all were in bloom yet, but it was still very pretty and sooo relaxing.

About 1/2 of the lake is bordered by Wellesley College and much of the remainder is part of the 1852 Hunnewell estate and a few other private properties (luckily, there are open gates throughout the path and the public is welcome). The topiary garden pictured is part of the Hunnewell estate - it is still privately owned by the same family with all land designated conservation land and includes a pinetum of hundreds of species of evergreens that were collected throughout the world. The topiaries are truly massive, it must be no small feat to keep them perfectly pruned!

(For my fall photos of the lake walk click here.)

Q and A Time!

Other bloggers have asked readers to post questions they'd like to ask and I always enjoy reading each blogger's responses. So, I thought I'd do the same. Ask away in comments or via email!

p.s. I now have limited blog access during the day, so I apologize if I haven't been commenting on others' posts as often. I am reading though! I wish Google Reader had a way to "star" posts to remember for later like Gmail does.

Pink Inspiration

Too much pink? I think I'd like just the bedding with the quilted headboard wall - the purple rug and pink wall and curtains go too far for me. Maybe a cream colored wall and dark wood floors instead? What do you think?

(Image from Metropolitan Home's latest book - Glamour: Making it Modern)

Thank you!!!!

I hope you all have had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! I have another busy week ahead, so I'm glad it's only a four-day week!

Please excuse my tardiness in saying a great big thank you to my Florida blogging friends for thinking of me! MissBliss who writes Chocolate Shoes and Coffee from Miami and The Pink Tutu, who writes from Orlando, both tagged me with the Queen of Awe-summm award. Thank you ladies!!



p.s. Pink Tutu is currently hosting an A. Tierney bangle bracelet giveaway, so run on over and enter by Tuesday night!

Thanks! Shopping Mission Accomplished!

A very BIG thanks to those of you who offered your hairdryer suggestions in my last post!! Very much appreciated! I actually took the advice of Black Labs and Lilly and started my search at TJ Maxx where I found a Babyliss Pro 2000 watt hairdryer for only $24.99! They had a few in pink, red, and purple (of course I got pink!) so I think the fact that they were in odd colors rather than standard black was why they were in TJ Maxx and marked down. And so far it seems to work really well - it's definitely much stronger than my old dryer.

I've been finding TJ Maxx to be a goldmine of great bargains lately. I also got Befine Lip Serum that usually sells for $19.99 for $3.99. This gloss makes your lips feel incredibly soft and is made with chamomile and beets. All Befine products are plant and/or mineral-based and free of allergens and fragances; perfect for people with super sensitive skin like me. AND I was suprised to find out that it's a local company based just outside Boston in Newton, MA!

My serum actually came packaged in a portable tube the size of a standard lipgloss,
I couldn't find a picture of that version online.

Dryer?

My hairdryer went kaput this week. Any readers out there have a good recommendation for a new one? I have very thick hair that takes forever to dry, so I'm looking for a fast, powerful one.

P.S. I'm blogging from my Blackberry this morning,so please excuse me if this post looks strange!

P.P.S. Enjoy the first official weekend of summer! I'm headed to a Red Sox game after work tonight!

Shopping Fun

In case you haven't noticed, I love to shop! Whether I'm just browsing or on a search for something special, I find shopping incredibly relaxing and stress-reducing. So, of course, I had to squeeze in at least a little shopping during my New York City trip last weekend. First, while walking down the street, two gorgeous turquoise and light blue wraps sold by a street vendor caught my eye for only $5. I also made a quick stop at the Alexia Crawford Sample Sale. Alexia Crawford is a wholesale jewelry and accessories company that you've probably never heard of, but I had purchased some fun jewelry at a sample sale of theirs a few years ago. I got two pairs of earrings, a bracelet, and a few necklaces for my mother - all of which were $7 and under. I love having fun costume jewelry to mix in with my handmade pieces and more special jewelry.

After many trips to Manhattan, I've come to the determination that I could NEVER live there because if I did, I would be completely BROKE - there are just way too many shopping options there!!

Fun in NYC

The bachelorette festivities for my friend this past weekend started with drinks and silly presents in the bride's suite at the Tribeca Grand Hotel on Saturday night. I had never been there before, but upon pulling up in the cab I immediately remarked to my friend that it reminded me of the hotel where Hugh Grant's character lived in the movie Two Weeks Notice - sure enough I was right! (you probably know by now that I am a big cheesy movie fan!!) The hotel had a beautiful atrium-style lounge area which apparently serves delicious brunch.


For dinner we headed to Morimoto in the Meatpacking District. I give this restaurant a so-so review. The modern décor was visually stunning, especially the wall made entirely of over 17,000 plastic bottles, the food was delicious for the most part although I am by no means a sushi expert as I stuck with a fully-cooked shrimp tempura maki as my meal, and the Iron Chef Morimoto himself was actually cooking in the kitchen throughout the night and stopped at our table, but the service was incredibly slow. Despite having a reservation, we still waited over an hour to be seated and quite a long time to receive our food.

Photo from Coolboom

My photo from Saturday

After dinner, we went to Libation on the Lower East Side for dancing. Definitely a cool and trendy place, but not my personal favorite.

Sunday morning began with a walk to H&H Bagels near my friend's condo on the Upper East Side and a lovely brunch by our hostess and her husband. Then, Sunday afternoon it was back to Boston!

Overall, it was a great weekend. I got to spend time with a few friends that I had not seen in a while and the bride had a great time!

Coming soon!

Weekend recap coming tomorrow, I promise! I had a very fun and exhausting time in New York City. I've just finished a snack of a toasted H&H Bagel that I brought back from the city and my couch is calling me right now: I need to watch the Grey's Anatomy season finale before someone accidentally tells me what happened!

Off to the Big Apple!

The preparations this week: fresh haircut, touch-up of my dark roots a home, pedicure - all a must to keep up with all the perfectly made-up and attired NYC ladies!
The location: my friend's condo on the Upper East Side.
The agenda: shopping, followed by drinks at the hotel where the bride is staying, then dinner at Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto's restaurant: Morimoto, then more drinks!
A definite must: stopping at H&H Bagels and Magnolia Bakery for snacks for the ride home on Sunday!

Enjoy your weekend! I promise to be back to a more frequent posting schedule next week :)

Another Book Recommendation

I picked up another Alexander McCall Smith novel at the library this week: 44 Scotland Street. I'm only about 60 pages in, but one of the reasons I really like the book is the format. It was originally published as a serialized novel in a Scottish newspaper in the tradition of great works like Madame Bovary and a number of books by Charles Dickens. Consequently, it consists of 110 very short chapters - perfect for reading on train. My morning ride is about 15 minutes or so (unless of course the MBTA is being annoying, as it frequently is, and "running with delays" as the train announcers love to say), so sometimes by the time I pick back up where I was in a chapter and remember what's going on in the book, the ride is over . . . with this book, I can easily finish a chapter or 2. I will update on my thoughts once I've finished it!

Flowers Everywhere!

I've always loved flip flops and other styles of sandals with flowers on them. This year there are so many styles to choose from, I can't wait to get a new pair! I think my favorite is the gold Diba pair, but all look so pretty.

Kate Spade:

Born:

Diba:

Clarks:

A good tv show and a busy day

I have a busy day ahead!

- Haircut
- International Gem and Jewelry Show (I bought discounted tickets through Goldstar Events - they offer great discounts on event and show tickets in a number of different cities.)
- Dinner with my mother


Has anyone else been watching the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency on HBO? I highly recommend it! The show is based on the bestselling series of books by Alexander McCall Smith and takes place in Botswana. I've read 2 of the books in the series and hope to read more; the books in particular demonstrate such a love for Africa and its customs - they're very interesting to read. The HBO series is funny and light-hearted, while often very touching at the same time. From the title, you might get the impression that it's a run-of-the-mill crime series, but it's definitely very different than that.

p.s. the HBO show is only a 7-episode series, so if you haven't been watching it's easy to catch up in re-runs or on-demand.

MIA Blogger

Just a note . . . so sorry for the lack of posts recently. Day-to-day life has been keeping me busy! Last night I ran to Swoozies to pick up some bachelorette goodies for a friend's bachelorette in New York City next weekend. They have the most fabulous and fun gifts for almost any occasions and their entertaining items make me want to throw a party ASAP.

I particularly love their handpainted initial wineglasses. These would be a great last-minute Mother's Day gift!



And I really wanted to buy these fun tumblers and drink umbrellas for a summer party on the patio. Hopefully that will happen sometime this summer . . .

A Picture-Perfect Italian Villa

As it's a busy week for me, I present you with the short-cut version of Design Wednesday! Melissa Morris' blog currently features her gorgeous photos of her stay at the Villa Feltrinelli in northern Italy. The hotel is simply stunning, so I encourage you to take a virtual trip to Italy today and take a look! Click here.

p.s. Who watched American Idol last night? What did you think of the duets? I think it's a nice, new and different feature - too bad they didn't start it sooner with more contestants.

Bridesmaid Jewelry - Inspiration Board

As I've mentioned before, I'm working on earring and necklace sets for the bridesmaids for a friend's wedding. We met once and browsed at a bead shop together to get a sense of the direction we're going. I'm hoping to buy the supplies next weekend when the International Gem and Jewelry show is here in Massachusetts, so I made some samples and created an inspiration board of sorts for the bride to take a look at. The bridesmaid dresses are pink and the bride would like white and gold jewelry, possibly with a bit of pink - right now I'm thinking of pearls and a few off-center sparkly accents beads. Here's a peek at some of the samples and inspiration:

Happy May

Seniors hooprolling on May Day: May 1, 1913 at my alma mater:


One of the most long-lasting traditions at my college, hooprolling began as part of May Day, a day of fun and frivolous activities to celebrate spring. Seniors wear their graduation robes and roll wooden hoops in a race - the winner gets the honor of being dumped in the lake (a mini-tradition in itself that started when a Harvard man dressed as a girl won the race in the 30's). Originally, the winner was supposed to be the first in her class to marry, then the first to become a CEO, and currently: the first to achieve success however she defines it. I participated in the race as a senior, but my hooprolling skills were not so great . . .