Bon Voyage, Arrivederci, See You Soon

Sorry it's been crickets around here guys. I got slammed with a bunch of work that I need to wrap up for before my trip but I didn't want to leave two weeks without a proper goodbye. I'm sure that I'll come back with a ton of photos to share, thanks to Jaime and the great little Lumix I snagged form her for a sweet deal.

P.S. Check out this napkin holder a friend emailed me this morning. Does she know my style or what? A perfect little find in my inbox the morning before I step on my sailboat to paradise.

P.P.S. By the time I return from my trip it will be the middle of September so in my head it will be already be fall. That means we get to chat about all the best things like, boots and sweaters and pumpkin cheesecake. Can't wait!

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Vodka Break - DIYing

Do yourself a favor and watch this video. You'll be happy you did.

Disclaimer - It may not be the best idea to watch this video within earshot of your boss. In any other situation I find it completely appropriate.

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Cool California Style on the Streets of Paris

Rachel McAdams's character in Midnight in Paris is not exactly what you would consider likeable. She fills that obnoxious American role who is immune to the charm of Paris and couldn't possibly see what is so romantic about strolling rain soaked Parisian streets. What is charming about her character is her wardrobe. It feels very American (in a good way, unlike her attitude), it's laid back California mixed with classic accessories. She wears a lot of belted shirt dresses, classic leather handbags (often Chanel), and awesome wedges. I wish I could have found more photos of her shoes unfortunately they were cut out of a lot of shots. I especially love the long white t-shirt belted with jeans and topped with a Chanel tweed jacket. This could easily become my uniform, that is if I could actually afford that jacket.

It looks like I'm not the only one enamored with her character's style. While searching for movie stills I came across a few blogger who have created fashion collections based on the movie. Each graphic below is linked to the original blog posts so you can visit them to get the product details.

P.S. I almost forgot to mention that I really enjoyed this movie. It's very tongue in cheek and it does require some suspension of reality to appreciate but as long as you go into the theater with that knowledge I think you'll really like it. Just try not to get as distracted by Rachel McAdams shoes as I did :)

Photo Credits: Top - Sony Pictures Classics; Middle - Wit & Whistle; Bottom - Maria on Point

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Today I Love - Carolyn Suzuki

I'm crushing hard on the Carolyn Suzuki's charming greeting card illustrations and pattern design.

You can purchase Carolyn's greeting cards on her ecommerce site, launched in May '11, or at retailers in California, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia and the United Kingdom.

portfolio - ecommerce site - blog - twitter

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Friday Etsy Favorites - Moth House

My Friday Etsy Favorites posts are usually compiled from a bunch of shops that I discover throughout the week. Sometimes there's a theme, sometimes the items are not related to each other at all - just a collection of handmade & vintage pieces that I love. Today's post is different. Last night I sat down to put this post together, logged into etsy, came across this unique jewelry shop from Boston, MA and decided it good enough to stand on it's own.

The Moth House shop creates limited edition jewelry handmade from a mix of vintage and new materials. Editions are as large as possible, but once a design has sold out, it can rarely be made again. This makes each piece special. Prices range from $40 - $75 which is really affordable for a unique jewelry piece.

Related Posts:

Friday Etsy Favorites - July 1, 2011

Friday Etsy Favorites - New Jersey Style

Friday Etsy Favorites - April 8, 2011

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Delightful Deal - The Perfect Carry-On

Asos as an excellent clearance sale going on right now. I just ordered this canvas shopper, it is going to be a perfect carry on for my trip. It's big enough to fit a laptop, book, a sweater, and much more. You should also order this color block tote because it's awesome and only $12. I am a tote whore and not allowed to buy anymore.

Related Post:

Delightful Deal Alert - A&G Merch

Delightful Deal Alert - Wisteria

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J.K. Paradise

I'm extremely excited for my up coming trip, not too surprising right? It's 25 days and counting until we leave so to pass the time until then I've been researching things to see and do at each of our ports of call. One of my new favorite research tools - twitter. My twitter friends/followers are awesome and never fail to give the best advice. Our first stop is Capri and who better to recommend somewhere fabulous to do than a fabulous gal - Cassandra. She recommending checking out the J.K. Place Hotel for drinks and I am definitely following her advice. Jaw meet floor:

I may never want to leave.

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The Perfect Sofa

I always imagined that the next house we own would have a pretty sitting/living room that you see when you enter the home and a family room hidden away where we can hide the big tv and, let's be honest, our mess. I saw our grown up space furnished with a worn brown leather chesterfield sofa, our current karlstad sectional would be perfect for the family room.

And then I spotted this sofa in the most recent Flor catalog:

It's leathery perfection with simple modern lines but still has the same button tufting along the back cushions which is what I love about the chesterfield. And that color, delicious. I find it funny how my style can swing from one extreme to another.

This last photo has nothing to do with post, I included it because I love those carpet tiles. They give the look of those overdyed remnant oriental rugs that are so popular right now but they are much cheaper. An 8'x10' rug is only about $450. Also, I love those chairs against the brick wall.

Photo Credits: Flor Catalog

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Recent Garden Harvest

My garden has been slow to produce. Yesterday it yielded to gourd shaped pickling cucumbers and one very pretty jalapeno pepper. Did you know that when pickles grow they start out with sharp little spikes all over them? I do now, ouch.

Related Posts:
Uninvited Garden Guests

From the Garden

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#Stripemania Blogroll

Holly is the best. She took a fun little idea of having bloggers post photos of themselves in their favorite stripey ensemble and turned it into a visual blogroll with 285 blogs.

A little added bonus - she posted my photo along side these lovely ladies on her blog Friday evening. It was a nice surprise to wake up to Saturday morning. See holly's original post here. The blogroll can be found on this pinterest board.

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Just a Minor Change of Plans

So, you know that living room redecorating project that I have been yammering on about? It has been put on hold but for a very good reason. I will be spending my money on this vacation instead and it is going to be totally worth it.

In one month I will be headed to Italy, Croatia, and Montenegro with Nick, my two brothers, and a bunch of their friends. I'm crawling out of my skin I'm so excited!

Do you have any exciting summer/fall travel plans? I would love to hear about them.

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Seaside Sailing

I planned a weekend sailing excursion with my family to celebrate my mom's birthday. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon at the shore.

We packed a lunch and spent several hours sailing Barnegat Bay.

Isn't the bay gorgeous?!


How did you spend your weekend? I hope it was a lovely as mine.

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