Thank You!

Park Avenue Princess has tagged me with the One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks so much! Park Avenue Princess posts the best photos, especially of Charlotte from Sex and the City - she continually changes her blog header - you must stop by her blog and say hello!

O Summer Where Art Thou?

Some shopping is on my agenda for this week: one of my favorite comfy sandals for walking decided to break on Saturday - so a new pair of sandals is a must. I also need a new work-appropriate skirt or dress for my new job. Yesterday, I stopped in J Crew, Lord and Taylor, and Nordstrom, but had no success in the search for a new skirt or dress. J Crew has always been one of my go-to stores for work clothes, but their summer styles are soooo vacation-casusal right now.

I would also really like to buy this:

Lilly Pulitzer Cota Tankini

But it seems the weather here in Massachusetts is telling me I'd be better off buying this instead:

LL Bean Coastal Macintosh

Today was gloomy and misty - yuck! Friday and Saturday were better, with warmer temperatures and more sun, but it seems as though summer refuses to officially arrive to stay. I would really love a nice 85 degree beach day!

Matinee Time

As I am currently on a bit of a vacation until my new job starts in two weeks, on Wednesday my mom and I enjoyed a late morning movie. We went to see The Proposal - which I really liked. Who goes to see a chick flick at 11:30am you may ask? Well, there were about three gray-haired ladies with canes in the front row, a 50-something man reading the newspaper, a few 40-something women who seemed to be enjoying a girls' day out, and an elderly gentleman who told us that if we didn't like The Proposal we should just go next door and see Up as he had the 3D glasses if we'd like to have them. Quite an assortment!

The Proposal, though set in Alaska, was largely filmed in Massachusetts in the Rockport and Gloucester area. It was very funny to see Rockport harbor with what appeared to be digitally added snow-capped mountains in the background!!

Right now it is actually sunny for only the 2nd time in more than a week - so I must get outside ASAP and enjoy some much needed sunshine! Happy Friday.

Favorite Gift Finds

To look for wedding gifts for my friends' weddings - last weekend and another on July 11th - my first stop was one of my favorite stores in Boston for gifts: Koo de Kir. Tucked away on a side street just off of Charles Street in Beacon Hill (for you Boston readers, it's around the corner from J.McLaughlin), it is a good find for a unique, off-registry wedding gift or a special anniversary or birthday gift. What's especially great is that the store has lots of neutral items so you never have to worry about your gift clashing with the bride and groom's color pallette.

Here are some of my favorites (they are all available on the shop's website)!

Lotus flower nesting bowls - I love these because not only are they meaningful, representing good fortune and new beginnings in many cultures, but practical too, as they are dishwasher and microwave safe:


Graham champagne flute - gorgeous mouth-blown flutes that take up to three people to make. A set of 2 with a bottle of champagne to be opened on the happy couple's first anniversary would be a fun gift:



Elephant placecard holders - wish the recipient good luck as an elephant with its tusk up represents good fortune. A nice gift idea not only for a wedding but also as a housewarming gift:


Juliska platters - this beautiful cream-colored serveware can go right from the freezer to a 450 degree oven:


Periton Candlestick - you can never go wrong with elegant glass candlesticks as a wedding gift in my opinion:

Wedding Photo Recap

My friend's wedding this past weekend was great! Very fun and very exhausting! Luckily, the weather held and we escaped any rain. Here are a few photos from the day.

The cake (always very important!):

The tables - some tables had tall flower
arrangements like this one and others had
short ones. I love the gold chairs, don't
you? So classic!

Me in my dress in my room before the
wedding - believe it or not, I had
actually had my hair all curled at the hairdresser
not 2 hours earlier! It did not hold very well, so my
hair was not at its best:

A friend and I at the rooftop cocktail hour. The view of
Boston was beautiful despite the cloudy day. My friend is wearing
one of my handmade necklaces too :)

A slightly blurry view of the bride's veil. It was
very stunning with all ruffles of fabric along the edges and
was the perfect stylish compliment to her more simple
wedding dress. For dancing at the reception, the
bride exchanged her veil for a fun white feathery
hair clip!

Good News

I received some good news this morning . . . a job offer! If you've been reading my blog for a while, you've probably noticed me mention in passing that I've been looking for a permanent job for quite some time. My first job after law school was a one-year contract position and ended exactly when the economy went bust. I'm very happy because it is exactly the type of non-traditional legal job that I was looking for (no law firms or court appearances for me!). Writing this blog and working on my jewelry has really helped me keep positive over the past months of frustrating job searching, so I thank you so much for reading and making this creative outlet so enjoyable!

I think this happy news calls for a celebration . . . a giveaway perhaps? Stay tuned :)

Wedding Time

Tonight is the rehearsal and dinner for my friend's wedding tomorrow. I decided to wear an old dress that is a favorite (in the spirit of attempting to be budget-conscious I decided getting my hair done for the wedding won over buying a new dress for the rehearsal!). It's a BCBG dress that I've worn before to a wedding and my law school graduation and what I love most about the dress is that it doesn't wrinkle . . . at all. I'll be spending a lot of time in the car today as I pick up out-of-town friends in the city and then drive to the church in a suburb just outside Boston and then back in again, so a wrinkle-free outfit is a must! I also decided to go with my favorite comfortable peep-toe heels. I'm wearing brand-new, tall and strappy sandals tomorrow so I didn't want to start off the weekend with my feet already hurting!


Tomorrow morning I'll be up early to check-in to the Taj Hotel in Boston where the wedding is taking place. It is such a luxury to stay in a hotel a mere 15 minutes from your home, so I'm looking forward to it! Then I'm heading to get my hair done down the street. I hate wearing my all up, so I'm hoping my stylist can just put a little off my face and do some curls. I'm a bit on the nervous side because my regular hairdresser is attending a wedding herself tomorrow so I'm seeing someone new. It seems like this weekend is a very popular one for weddings!

It has been raining steadily here all day and the forecast doesn't look that much better for tomorrow. I am keeping my fingers crossed that there is a least a little dry weather tomorrow as I know my friend really wants to get in some outdoor photos!

Enjoy your weekend!

All Finished!

Here's a photo of the final bridesmaid necklaces I made for my friend's wedding this weekend. The Swarovski twist crystals and pink fireball is off-center in the necklace and hits right around the collarbone. I had a lot of fun making them and trying out different styles to get the right look that the bride wanted - the wedding is on the formal side (black tie optional) and the bridesmaid dresses are floor length so we wanted to create a dressy look that still had a bit of fun to it and wasn't just a simple strand of pearls. To see the coordinating earrings, click here.

TV Time

A friend of mine forwarded me a one month free trial of Netflix. I am very behind on my movie-watching and with little left that's good on regular tv, I decided it was a good time to give Netflix a try. My first two movies arrived today: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Australia. Do you use Netflix, do you like it? The movies were just mailed out yesterday and arrived this morning, so it seems like the turnaround is quick atleast!

As for what little that's left on regular tv: I can't believe tonight is the finale of The Real Housewives of New Jersey! Is it just me or was this a super short season? I'm looking forward to seeing what causes Theresa to overturn the table in preview - looks like it's going to be a true catfight! On another note, I love that Burn Notice is back for a summer season. I've been watching it since it started and love the show's blend of action-adventure and quirky comedy. A new show premiered after Burn Notice recently: Royal Pains and suprisingly, I'm really liking it so far. It's about a doctor who is unfairly fired from a big NYC hospital and ends up, through odd coincidences that only happen on tv, being a concierge on-call doctor for the wealthy residents of the Hamptons. It's a light, easy watch perfect for the summer in my opinion!

Earrings!

These are the finished bridesmaid earrings for my friend's wedding this weekend. The bride and I decided against any pink in the earrings, as we wanted to keep them neutral so everyone will be able to wear them again.

p.s. Thank you all for your very nice comments about the necklaces! I will post a better photo of the finished ones later this week.

A Good Hairdryer is NOT to be underestimated!

I've had my new hairdryer for 3 weeks now and it is fantastic! My Babyliss Pro 200 Watt dryer has been an absolute life-saver, it has cut-down my drying time for my very thick hair and has reduced those annoying frizzies so I save even more time by only using my flatiron for a super quick once-over. If you have been suffering with a sub-par dryer, I highly recommend you run out for an upgrade.

I also recently got my conditioner conundrum worked out. I had been using a Philosophy once-per-week deep conditioner, but they stopped making it in favor of a daily conditioner. Then I tried Organix shampoo and conditioner in teatree mint, which made my hair very dry and created lots of static (so much so that my hair stylist even noticed after a fresh wash at the salon). Thumbs down for that product from me! Two weeks ago I finally settled on the magic combo to make my hair soft and frizz-free: Trader Joe's store brand $1.99 shampoo and Aveda Rosemary Mint conditioner alternated with Bumble and Bumble Creme de Coco Masque. I love mixing splurges and steals don't you?



I've been busy this weekend finishing up the bridesmaid jewelry (see Thursday's post), setting up my outfits for wedding activities beginning with a bridesmaid dinner on Thursday, and prepping for a job interview tomorrow morning. (I'm sooo ready for this economy to perk back up already. The legal temping world is absolutely no fun at all . . . )

It's a cloudy and dreary day here in Massachusetts, I hope your Sunday has been sunnier than mine!

Pearls and Crystals Plus 8

After changing into comfy lounge pants and a sweatshirt and enjoying a very yummy breakfast for dinner (an egg sandwich on a croissant with yogurt cheese and tomato - have you ever tried the yogurt cheese from Trader Joe's? You must, it's delicious!), I set to work on the bridesmaid necklaces for my friend's wedding next week. The bride only decided on the necklace style last weekend because she lives in DC and we had to wait until she could see them in person, so I've been working on a tight deadline! Although really, when it comes to jewelry-making, it is the design process - selecting the beads, styling them in the right pattern, choosing the necklace length, etc - that takes the most time and work. The actual process of making the finished piece of jewelry is much easier as long as you know the technique. As of tonight all eight necklaces are strung with just one end of the clasp left to add. The bride is going to decide on an earring choice tomorrow (I presented her with 3 different styles last weekend), so the earrings will be my big weekend project.

Are you ready for Friday? I definitely am, it has felt like a long week! So right now I'm off to relax on the couch and watch Burn Notice . . .

Summer Reading

I've been reading a lot of books from the library lately - I can frequently find new bestsellers at the well-stocked Boston Public Library and getting a book on loan means I can take a chance on a book I may not like so much without shelling out $12+ for a new and shiny copy. But, with summer upon us and the prospect of enjoying a novel on the beach or bringing one on vacation means that any book I'm reading has a chance of getting doused with sand, waterlogged with ocean water, or lost in another state or country! So, I decided to forego the library and buy a few books.

First, yesterday I headed to my local used bookstore and picked up these hopefully interesting reads for a mere $2 each:

French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
The Twins of Tribeca by Rachel Pine

Then I logged onto Amazon.com and added these to my shopping cart:

First, Julie and Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child in anticipation of the movie, Julie and Julia, coming out this summer, which is based on both of these best-selling memoirs. I love almost any film directed by Nora Ephron (You've Got Mail is one of my all-time favorites!) so I can't wait to see it. And then, a new coffee table book: Essentially Lilly: A Guide to Colorful Entertaining. At only $10 on Amazon for a new copy, this is a must!


* Click here to watch the Julie and Julia trailer!

p.s. Sorry, no Design Wednesday post today. I've been thinking about upholstering the headboard of my bed for an updated look, but I have yet to find any good inspirational photos of what I'm thinking of - next week, I promise!

Clutch Perfection?

I've been looking for a white or gold clutch for the wedding I'm in in next weekend. I found a simple, white satin clutch on sale at Macy's for a mere $16 on Sunday - but that doesn't stop me from wanting these two more pricey options!

Lilly Pulitzer Sealed with a Kiss Clutch

J Crew Soiree Clutch

Makeup and More Makeup!

Well, my second attempt at buying some new makeup to wear to the upcoming weddings that I'm a bridesmaid in was a success! I got a great makeup application tutorial at Trish McEvoy at Neiman Marcus - so not only do I have a trio of new eyeshadow colors and lipstick, gloss, etc. - but I also learned the right technique for applying the shadow perfectly!

These were my favorite product purchases:

Beauty Booster SPF 15 Gloss in sexy petal - a pale sparkly pink (not the one shown below, click the link to see the color swatch). I love the gloss because not only does it look great over the darker lipstick I bought (sheer lipcolor in Jolie), but it will be an easy-wear, everyday gloss that I can use again and again.



Finish Line Eye - just put a tiny droplet of this on your brush and it converts your eyeshadow into a longlasting, waterproof liner. This turned a decidely not so dark eyeshadow that I can wear regularly into a deep and dramatic liner for the weddings!


After buying quite a bit of products yesterday (I really have NO sales resistance when it comes to makeup), I experienced some delayed buyer's remorse today and decided that the $75 foundation I indulged in was just too much for my budget! So while at the Natick Collection to meet my friend at Au Bon Pain and show her the bridesmaid jewelry (more on that in a later post!), I stopped into Neiman Marcus and returned the foundation. Then, I headed over to Nordstrom and got a more moderately-priced Clinique foundation. I have super-sensitive skin, so I thought Clinique would be a safe choice.

Even Better Makeup SPF 15:


Also, they were offering a great free gift. I love this Trina Turk-designed makeup bag. I actually was about to go buy a new makeup bag this week, so now I won't have to! It's quite big too.

My Neiman Marcus purchase yesterday also came with a free gift, this bag with a few samples:


It is kind of ugly don't you think? Pastel camouflage? . . . And mine was missing some of the samples too because they were almost out of stock. The Clinique gift wins hands-down I think!

What I've been working on . . .

This week I've been putting the finishing touches on the necklace and earring options for the bridesmaid jewelry I'm making for my friend's wedding. I made two necklace options - one with pearls and clear Swarovski crystals and one with an added touch of pink in the form of a rose-colored Swarovski fireball - as well as three earring options, two with a clear and pearl color palette and one with pink and pearls. I'm meeting with my friend tomorrow for her to make the final decision . . .


This afternoon I'm going to make a second attempt to find some new makeup for the wedding. My first attempt at Nordstrom was unsuccessful due to the rather clueless salesperson. Neiman Marcus is offering a free gift with cosmetic purchases so I'll head there and make a stop at Trish McEvoy; I've had great success with her makeup in the past - let's hope I encounter a more up-to-date and talented makeup artist this time! I'm usually pretty good about picking out makeup myself, but when it comes to eyeshadow colors I like having the help of a professional!

NYC PREP

Did anyone else catch the preview special for NYC Prep on Bravo? This show looks to be like a teenage version of the Real Housewives/reality show version of Gossip Girl. One sixteen year old castmember lives with her eighteen year old brother in Manhattan while their parents live in the Hamptons? Can you imagine living alone at sixteen? - crazy! This show is sure to be a trainwreck, guilty pleasure that I won't be able to help but watch!

The preview special re-airs tomorrow a bunch of times and officially premieres in a few weeks.

Design Wednesday: Comfortable and Elegant

Couldn't you just lounge on the lovely day bed in this photo and read Jane Austen? I like the mix of modern and traditional in this room. It looks comfortable, yet ready to for unexpected guests to pop over for an afternoon tea or an evening cocktail. I love poring over decorating magazines, but one thing I've always found hard to see as "practical" are the formal living rooms often featured. I don't see myself as being lucky enough to have the square footage for both a formal living room and an everyday living room anytime in the near future. So, I'm always tearing out magazine pages that strike the balance between that formal "do not touch" feel and the casual family room look.

Polos!

I stopped into J Crew over the weekend and was happy to find that the polos were marked down to $14.99! Polos are a classic standby for me and my stash was looking haggard so I got 2 new ones. They had really cute ones in the outlet earlier this spring (with fun nautical graphics on the back of the collars), but for some reason the outlet polos don't fit me well at all. They are a slightly thinner material than the regular store version and they just hang limply on me.

I was actually in the mall over the weekend to get some new eye makeup and lipstick/gloss to wear for the two weddings I'm in this summer. I didn't have any luck though. I looked in Nordstrom a bit and although the salesperson was helpful - she wanted to match the eyeshadow colors exactly to the two dresses I was wearing without any consideration to what colors would actually look good with my eye color and skin tone. So I wasn't very impressed. I also think the matchy-matchy look is a bit old-fashioned, what do you think?