It’s Time to Wear White

Growing up back East, Memorial Day always set the tone for summer.  You could finally wear white after Memorial Day, you changed your winter bedding from winter to spring, and you moved your summer clothes up from the basement and put your winter clothes away (usually in a cedar chest) until after Labor Day.  It gave you permission to transition. In California every day is summer, here people where white all year round.  It took me five or six years to give in to wearing white after Memorial Day however, I still follow the rule when I am in Connecticut or Boston.  What are your thoughts on wearing white?  Do you think the rule should still apply or do you think it’s regional? 

Where ever you are in the country, I hope you have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend and let us not forget what this holiday is all about. 

For those that have gone before us, I honor you and all that you have done for “US”. 

May you rest in peace.

Sex And The City

Tomorrow night, I’m going out with the girls.  We’re all meeting for Happy Hour and then off to the 8 PM show.  I watched Sex and the City the first year it started.  To me, it’s still the BEST year ever, in terms of the show.  I remember it was 1998 and I saw a little write up about it in one of the magazines.  At this time, it had not been heavily marketed as this was a new concept for HBO.   I tuned in because the title caught my attention and I love Sarah Jessica Parker.  Needless to say, I was hooked.  The second year HBO heavily marketed the show and gave the characters more defined personalities.  It became an overnight hit. It gave women another reason to get together, drink cosmos, and shop for expensive shoes.  Not that we need one!  Of course, we all love how Carrie ended up with Mr. Big.  As far as I’m concerned, he’s the only one for her. 

The came along the much anticipated  Sex and The City movie.  I loved Big and then hated Big and then of course, LOVED BIG!  The scene when they were laying in the closet in their penthouse with her shoes.  UGH!  So sweet!  Then coming out of city hall and opening the door and having all her friends there!  I was like, “AH! I love you Big!”   We all want to live with the fantasy that Carrie and Big will live happily ever after, but we are talking about Hollywood.  I’m sure for Sex and the City 2, we’ll be on a roller coaster and have a few bumps in the road with old lovers coming back into the mix, and the much anticipated (Carrie / Mr. Big) will they ~ won’t they be together drama.

I’m looking forward to sipping martinis with the girls and then making our way to the theater where we’ll  be laughing, crying and pining over the fabulous clothes and shoes.  For two and 1/2 hours we’ll transported until the credits roll, our bubble will pop and then we will be back to reality.

Something we all have in common with Sex and the City, especially when it involves girls getting together. See for yourself! 

You start like this!

Then Drink This!

Start to Act Like This!

End up Like This!

I have fabulous friends in my life and feel very blessed.  I’ve always said I  would rather have a small group of girlfriends then a whole lot of acquaintances.  The women in my life are fabulous, strong, powerful, their mom’s, business women, successful, smart, and beautiful.  I have a little Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte in all of them. They accept me for me, call me on my crap, and are always there for me when I need them. 

Go see Sex and the City 2 with your girlfriends and let your inner girl out!  We all need it once in a while.  Especially moms!

Affordable Art on Etsy

Yesterday I had typed this entire blog and was in the middle of copying something when my computer froze up and I lost the entire blog post. I was so frustrated, I had to step away and here I am again today trying to duplicate what I had almost completed Saturday.

I spent yesterday morning on Etsy looking for some art for my downstairs bathroom.  It has burgundy color walls with white wainscoting with maroon and white vintage tile.  I was looking for a sizeable painting or unique print for one wall, however, I wanted a beach theme.  As I was looking for something to match my bathroom, I came across some fun art that I thought might interest those that live near the beach or simply enjoy the ocean.

For those of you who don’t know about Etsy, it’s the Ebay for creative and talented individuals.  They carry art work, handmade jewelry and pottery, handbags, vintage items, etc.  You have to be patient because it doesn’t let you view 50 or 100 items per page and for me this can be frustrating.  However, don’t let that deter you from shopping.  It’s a great place to find a unique gift.  Here’s some of the fun things I found yesterday.

Black Baroque has fabulous art (see below).  She has long collected vintage books like most women collect shoes.  She uses antique illustrations from one book, with an antique page from another book to create unique works of art.  What I love about her site is she shows you how the art would look in a room setting.  I have taken a few examples to show you below.  She has all types of subjects such as:  shells, flowers, peacocks, elephants, food, etc.  Whatever, your fancy is, she has it.  I love these for a single picture, groupings of three, four, six, etc.  My favorite, the peacock below.

 

 

Cassia Beck is from Brighton, U.K. (see below) who enjoys all things vintage.  She takes her camera everywhere and enjoys flaws and blurs in her work.  She believes these imperfections create the atmosphere behind her photos.  She also has a blog http://cassiab.blogspot.com/  with incrediable photos.  What I love the most about her work is the soft color palette, which tends to be my personal style.  The four pictures below are postcards.  I love all of them, but especially the row of garages or buildings.  I use postcards often as art.  I buy an oversized mat and frame so the picture/postcard really pops and stands out.  These four would look great in a group setting.

 

These are four separate pictures that I put together from her collection.  I envision these in a little girls room. 

Magic Marking Art (see below) is an artist and mom of two teenagers.  She is also a teacher of art as well out of her home studio.  She paints mostly on canvas but also on wood.  Take a look at her wood paintings in her shop Magic Marking Art.  They are unique and would make a great display on a table or leaning against a wall.  These two below were the ones I was considering for my bathroom.  I prefer the top one because of it’s softer color palette.  If I end up buying it, I will take a picture and show you how it looks in the bathroom.

 

For those of you who like beach and surf scenes, I love the ones below.  They would look great as a series or individually.

 

 

These bicycles (see below) caught my attention by Den 10 Studio.  See what she says about her work.  I think this about sums up how I felt about this picture.

“I am creating art prints that I define as “art for the youthful spirit.” Art that inspires a fresh and optimistic attitude, and reminds us to savor the things that make us happy. There is something about the simplicity of an object that reminds us of a moment in time that we enjoyed. This art was created with those moments in mind...the little moments that refresh the soul.”

Living at the beach we are pleasantly reminded of the feeling of being a kid.  In Manhattan Beach people ride all types of bikes ~ sometimes colorful, sometimes rusty, sometimes double, people with dogs in baskets, kids in tow, but everyone is smiling and the best part ~ it’s all ages.  It’s that blissful feeling of riding along the strand with the wind in your face makes you feel like a kid.  Like Den 10 Studio says, “it’s refreshing the soul”. 

Bragging Bags can customize these photos (see below) to say whatever you want.  If your a guy (likely they are not reading this) ~ what a great way to propose. Girls pass on to your brothers or guy friends.  OMG!  Wouldn’t this make the most romantic proposal if it said, “Will you marry me?”  There are so many great gift ideas that you could do with these photos.  It’s the perfect gift for Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Wedding, anniversary or use as a save the date for a wedding or simply let someone know your thinking of them.  If your looking for a creative gift, this is it!

 

I spotted these and I had to post them for my New England friends.  Laura Trevey's lobster and crab’s are perfect for that beach house in New England.  Plus, it makes me miss Maine lobster and crabbing as a kid.  How cute would these be framed in a living room or a kitchen.

You know I love to show you all my great Bargains. I’ve been looking for reasonable vintage beach paintings on Ebay and Etsy.  Here’s a cute little picture (I use cute little a lot) I scored on Ebay a few weeks ago for $17.00 including shipping. It was a vintage signed oil painting that was so charming, I had to have it.  It’s only about 8” x 5”, but it’s darling.   Most of the ones I tend to gravitate towards are not in my price range, but just like a flea market occasionally you come across a great bargain.

Hope you find what your looking for!

Happy Mothers Day!

I wanted to wish my mom a Happy Mother’s Day!!!  Once again my card is late ~ sorry mom. Lately, my schedule is such, it makes it hard to keep up on personal affairs.  My mother is funny person – she used to embarrass me as a kid.  Between my family and friends we have some fond memories of my mom.  As kids, we  would come to a traffic light and she would see broken glass in the middle of the street and actually get out of the car (yes, she kept a broom in the car).  She would march to the trunk and whip out the boom and start sweeping up glass in the middle of the street. It didn’t matter if there were other cars around, she thought it was her civic duty.   It was so embarrassing, my sister and I would hide in the back seat.   We would be like, “No mom! Not again…this is so embarrassing!”

For my birthdays, my mom would make me work for my gift.  It started with a note by my bed ~ a full treasure hunt  ~ each note taking me to a different place in the house ~ telling me where I had to go and where I had to look.  She would make me go to the attic, down to the basement, in cabinets, dryer, etc. finally one year the final note took me to the freezer in the ice tray, where, I found a little box all wrapped up.  It was a pair of earrings.  I thought it was cheesy at the time, but secretly I loved it. She always made everything an adventure and made us work for it.   My best friend and I in high school had our birthdays' in December.  Sue was the 29th and I was the 30th.  We were the youngest in our class, but we always celebrated our birthday’s together.  Sue and I would always celebrate at a local restaurant, Oliver’s Tavern and leave it to my mom, to always called ahead to ensure they had a cake for us (with staff singing happy birthday).  Some years she would make an appearance by singing happy birthday.   I would always say to Sue, “Oh! I hope they don’t come out singing (we knew my mom)!”. 

My mom was goof ball.  While on vacation on the Cape with our neighbors, my mom and her best friend Barbara would do Chinese fire drills with us  on the Cape.  For all of you who don’t know what that is, it’s when you get out of your car at a stop light and you run around the car.   On vacation, we (the kids) would play pranks on our moms.  While they were at the beach one day, parked in a crowed parking lot, we toilet papered their car.  They came back from the beach making fun of the toilet papered car until they realized it was their car.  When they arrived home, imagine their amazement when they pulled in the driveway to find their underwear and bras hanging from all the trees.  Of course, we were in high school and thought we were so funny.   That night we could hear our mom’s giggling and plotting their revenge.  I woke up to find peanut butter in my sneakers.  I went to put my shoes the next day and as I slid my shoe on there was a glob of peanut butter, gross!  My mom knew how much I hated peanut butter.  They put cold cream on the toilet so we slid off the toilet when we sat down.  They thought they were hilarious!

Christmas was the same, my mom hates us knowing what we are getting.  Even if it was a gift certificate she would have to disguise it.  One year, I had rocks in my present, to weigh down the box.  I decided to get her back one year and took her own underwear out of her drawer and wrapped her gift certificate in it.  She was so excited saying  how much she needed new underwear, not even realizing it was hers (from her own drawer).  I had her gift certificate hidden inside.  I was laughing so hard, I could hardly breathe. 

Marie Baby (Sue’s nickname) is a funny woman.  She makes us all laugh, she’s thoughtful, her friends love her, and she has made me who I am today. 

Thank you Mom!  Happy Mothers Day!

 

P.S. I also want to wish all my friends who are mom’s a Happy Mother’s Day! Your all amazing, special and beautiful women, I hope you have a special day with or without kids! LOL! 

Bargain of the Day

I was in our local TJ Maxx / Home Goods store the other day and found this gorgeous necklace and bracelet by Lenora Dame.  Our local TJ Maxx has the BEST jewelry if you are looking for affordable pieces.  They tend to have unique pieces and often carry name brands at a fraction of the price. I spotted these pieces and had to have them. The necklace and bracelet reminded me of a vintage pieces you would see at a high end thrift store like Decades or the flea market.  I love anything with pearls, it’s the Connecticut girl in me.  I scored this necklace for $39.99 and the bracelet for $29.99.  Originally $70.00 and $60.00.  Even at full retail, I would have bought it.  It’s my guilty pleasure finding great deals and saving $50.00 just made it sweeter.

Of course, the minute I got home, I googled the designer to learn more about her and her jewelry.  Her studio is located in Chester Country, PA.  I knew there was a reason I liked her designs, I’m from Chester, CT.  Lenora Dame mixes vintage jewelry, flea market finds with new materials.   Her pieces can be found in retailers across the United States as well as Europe and Asia.  Upon further research many celebrities as well as wardrobe designers for hit t.v. shows wear and use her jewelry.    She has three collections bohemian, retro, and romantic. The necklace and bracelet (see below) are the two pieces I purchased.  I loved how they had a flower look to them and the clasp on both the necklace and the bracelet has one of the pearls.  I thought that was a nice detail.

 

I was taken by the various styles and pieces in her collection.  I love finding jewelry that looks chic, classic, and elegant but is affordable.  This alphabet necklace and bracelet is a good conversation piece (see below).  I might have to buy it for myself. 

This bracelet in natural limestone coral is classic and you can wear it year round.  She offers it in coral and turquoise as well.

This mesh flower bibbed necklace is stunning.  I wish I had somewhere to wear it.  Made with Czech glass and pearls.

This rose shelled necklace is gorgeous.  I picture it with an all cream suit – simple divine.  Simple earrings and no other jewelry.

 

This fabric beaded choker would be fun for summer.

She has a number of decoupage bracelets in a variety of fund colors.  Perfect for spring, I especially like these three pink decoupage bangles.

Wouldn’t this make a cute gift for a young girl?

 

Whatever your personal style, there is something for everyone.  They make great signature pieces without breaking the bank.