flowers and my old friend john

Would you just look at these beautiful paper flowers by Livia Cetti at The Green Vase? Two of my favorite stores, John Derian and Anthropologie, are her clients, and while I've seen "more realistic" faux blooms made of silk, I think these are fun and whimsical.

Images via The Green Vase

I especially love the poppies and can't wait to see some of these designs when I visit the John Derian store in Provincetown next week. I'll be heading there with my mother on Tuesday, and other than poking around the many haunts of this sweet, old Cape Cod town, the John Derian store is our main destination. A friend recently visited the shop and said it is teeny tiny, but if it's anything like I imagine, I'm sure I'll still be able to spend hours exploring its many treasures.

I am so accident-prone, I'll really have to be careful in here.

 Images via Architecht Design (TM)

The store is only a short bike ride form John's 18th century home, once owned by a ship captain. Talk about a dream home tour. I wonder if he'll be around when we are there next week. I dream of having another chance to meet one of my creative idols!

Image via The Boston Globe

Here are some interior photos of his home. So much pattern, texture and muted color. Wouldn't you just love to cozy up to that fireplace on a winter's night? It's doubtful that this relic of a home is winterized, however I've read that John uses it year-round.

I can't tell if this is a twin or full bed, but I don't think I'd have any trouble sleeping cozily in it. That is, if the creaking of the old walls and floors wouldn't keep me awake.

John lounging on his porch. What a genius. I'd love to live in his world for just a day.

 Images via shelterpop

As we all brace for Irene here in New England, I pray that everybody makes it safely through the weekend. I take heart thinking of how many storms John's home has weathered. 

Have a safe weekend, wherever you are.

reflecting

In less than a week, I'm moving away from my home of almost four years in Beacon Hill. Other than the house where I was raised, this the longest I've ever lived anywhere. As I sit surrounded by half-packed boxes, empty walls, glowing in a quiet light coming through my curtains, I'm reminded of dozens, maybe hundreds, of the reasons I love this neighborhood. Leaving it gives me so much sadness, but I hope some day my path will bring me back to this special place. These are the things I will miss most:

+ Rouvalis Flowers' sidewalk displays
+ Living steps away from the river
+ Light posts wrapped in garlands during Christmas
+ John and Paul at The Sevens Ale House
+ Entertaining on my roof against views of Boston and Cambridge
+ Springtime window boxes
+ Figs Oliver Pizza with extra sauce and arugula
+ My neighbors (even the unfriendly ones)
+ Riding Blanca along the Charles
+ Walking to the Kendall Square Cinema
+ My big, deep bath tub
+ Passing friends on the street
+ My favorite shops, Good and Koo de Kir
+ The mail slot on the bottom of my door
+ Dominic at Beacon Hill Wine & Spirits
+ Mike the homeless man who calls me "Mama" and always asks for a green tea outside Starbucks
+ The way my fireplace smells when it's warm outside
+ The sound of chopping from the kitchen at Lala Rokh
+ Sun filtering in through my bathroom window
+ Shopping for my niece and nephews at The Red Wagon
+ The staff at Cafe Vanille
+ Total calm in the middle of the city

funny pens

For as long as I can remember I've had a weird fetish for good, juicy pens. I've been known to take them from restaurants and hotels and hospitals, but I'm proud to say I've only once been caught in the act. This is a favorite that I've had for years. 

 How very cute of them to try to discourage patrons from taking their pens (good effort).

So I had to laugh when I saw these pens on the Paper Source website. Even I would have to think twice about taking any of these. Too bad they're out of stock!

breaking a sweat for my hardwood floors

It hit 80 degrees in Boston the other day, so I did what any normal person would do, I opened all of my windows, rolled up my 8' x 10' seagrass rug, and slipped it into a big plastic bag. And I did this ALONE. To call it a challenge is an understatement. At one point I was standing up with one foot on either end of the rolled rug, desperately trying to keep it from loosening up. Moments later, I sat in the middle of the rug (yes, straddling it), while I shimmied the plastic bag down the rolled rug in small sections. If you know me, yes, this is the part where I laughed out loud at how utterly ridiculous this whole idea was (and probably looked).

It would have been nice to have a crew like this to help me....

But I lack patience and didn't have anyone to call, and I really wanted to reveal my beautiful hardwood floors. I have had the same rug down for over three years and it was just starting to feel tired. My hard work paid off.

I got a lovely little workout...
(do yourself a favor and don't click on this photo)

And my living room looks fresh and quite a bit bigger now that I don't have a rug filling most of the space. 

 

The only thing missing is this Moroccan pouf that I'm planning to pick up at Target on Sunday when they reveal their collection of Calypso St. Barth's apparel and housewares.

 I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

splurge or steal

Gilt is selling this great pair of Missoni flats today for a *mere* $249. Can't breathe.

While nothing could ever compare to the original, Aldo has come close with a very comfortable-looking alternative which you can get online right now for a mere $34.95!!! (or for $29.98 in the purple color). 

I saw these in person a week ago but had to run out of the store to take a phone call. Good thing, because I probably would have bought them at full price.

And while you're on the Aldo site, take a look at some of the other great styles they have for summer. Maybe it's just me? but I think these are some cute, affordable flats! 

 

The only other thing needed to pull off this look is a nice, deep tan.

.. and a hot Latin boyfriend. Oh, Summer, please, please come 'round. 

my new favorite website

Recently, my favorite bartender at my favorite pub wore a t-shirt that read I HEART HEART (the heart was, obviously, an image of a red heart, ie: I LOVE LOVE) Who doesn't? I've been trying fruitlessly to find one for myself, and in one of my recent searches, I found a site that lets you customize your own I HEART paraphernalia. I could spend hours on this site creating hilarious swag for my friends and family.

Like this hat for when my mom and I go to Brimfield:

Hello, instant haggling karma!

 Or this tote bag for my best friend:

Or how about this great bumper sticker for the back of your Subaru:

Or this hoodie for your (smelly) neighbor:

Or these skivvies for the bride-to-be:

For the following few, I'm pretty sure they just downloaded the Department of Labor's website... some of these are funny for no apparent reason. I might just order one for the heck of it. Talk about a great conversation starter.

What or whom do you love, and would you announce it to the world on a shirt/hat/thong/hoodie/bumper sticker if you could?

cheeky spring colors

My mother snipped these beauties from her yard recently.  For a few short days they filled my apartment with such a lovely smell, confirming that spring really has arrived.

Then, as if I needed further proof of how smart the buyers at my favorite lingerie store are, I returned from a trip with these colorful undies.  Whether or not I was aware of the impact the lilacs had had on my subconscious, I would say that these reflect the colors of the season, wouldn't you?

I've got about 20 pairs of these (really), and while they may not last quite as long as their prototype, you really can't beat $20 for 4 pairs of comfy thongs. I can hardly tell the difference, and they come in really great colors and patterns.

Speaking of great finds, here are a few other things I picked up at Target recently that I think are pretty special.

These "greennotes" notebooks are slim and small with a pretty Greek key motif. They come in a pack of three for about $5, and I brought one to work and left another one in my car (where I always seem to be looking for something to write on).

Then, perhaps the best Target score of my life, the $9.99 Liberty of London Violet Fig Jar Candle.

Is this not a gorgeous candle? It only took me a second to recognize the scent, and I mean it when I say that it smells identical to the Jo Malone Wild Fig & Cassis Home Candle that retails for an unreachable $65.

I think I'll take my Target candle! I bought two at the store, then, in a move I must have inherited from my mother, ordered three more online. I now have a nice Violet Fig candle stockpile that should last me quite a while.

week one

It's been a week since I arrived in Austin and I have a lot to say about this city. In short: Austin has terrific music. Music makes people happy. Happy people are nice. Yesterday I caught myself wondering something I've only ever wondered about San Francisco, which is: why would you live anywhere else? I know, that's a loaded question, and to be perfectly honest the fact that I could barely support myself in SF is one of the reasons I probably could never move back there. But life in Austin is so incredibly care-free and fun, it's someplace I hope to visit throughout the rest of my life, and maybe even live at some point.

My corporate apartment is comfortable and only about a 10 minute walk to the office, which is a good thing since I've been spending most of my time there. This job is going to be a challenge but I'm trying to take it one day at a time, one project at a time. The people I'm working with and training have been great so far. I think that we're going to have at least a month of growing pains as we transition project work from our New York, Boston and SF offices to our colleagues in Austin. Many of the people I am training have never worked with clients before, so in addition to the challenge of learning the subject matter of each project, there's a big "client service" learning curve. (sorry for the work lingo...)


The apartment is also a few blocks away from 2nd Street which has some nice boutiques and cafes. It's all brand new, like less than a year old, so it seems a bit contrived, but it's really neat to see things being built and developed in this city. Yesterday my colleague David (who also went to Hamilton with me), was nice enough to pick me up and give me a tour of the city. He's been so good to me and has invited me to go out every night and even watch the Super Bowl with him and his friends today. David has lived in Austin for a few years and shared all sorts of fun facts about the city. One interesting story has to do with Pres. Linden Johnson's wife. Legend has it that, in the last years of her life, Lady Bird Johnson donated massive amounts of money to the city and UT to convince them not to build a skyline. She said she wanted to be able to look down Congress Avenue and have an unobstructed view of the State Capitol. Unfortunately, the moment she died, tall office buildings and condos started flying up, and today every street you walk down is the site of some sort of large construction or development project. Maybe people felt guilty about doing that to the former first lady, so they recently re-named Town Lake "Lady Bird Lake". Hopefully she's got a good view of the Capitol from Heaven.

After driving around the city and seeing some neat neighborhoods, David and I stopped in to a restaurant/bar called Doc's where we ate and drank in the 72 degree sunny weather. I felt like I was in California and couldn't stop smiling. A few other people from GLG met us at Doc's (people in our office here also hang out socially all the time). After drinking outside for 4 hours, we decided to leave and check out some of the cools shops on South Congress. Some of you have heard me talk about Allen's Boots, and maybe some of you have even seen the boots I got there last year. Allen's is an Austin tradition, and a must-see for anyone visiting this city. I think, like me, people aren't even there to shop, but to take in all the rows of colorful boots and leathery smells. Some of these boots are true works of art and can cost as much as $5,000. After Allen's we went to a handful of vintage clothing stores, and I have to say they are some of the best I've ever seen. I definitely plan to spend more time on South Congress as it's a really great part of town.

Today I am going to go for a run along the river/lake (no one can really give me a straight answer as to what this body of water is). But whatever it is, there are trails all along it, not unlike the walking and biking trails along the Charles River or even Chrissy Field. Then it's back to work in the morning and I hope to have more to share throughout the week, or at the very least, next weekend after some new adventures.