Birthdays!

I celebrated my 27th birthday this weekend and it was wonderful. As much as I hated the thought of creeping into my late 20's, my friends and family put in a ton of effort to make my day extra special. I'm truly blessed.

Top memories of the weekend:

Sweet cupcakes.

Spa day at Emerge.

Gift cards to my favorite stores. 1 and 2.

An (extra) chocolate covered fruit arrangement.

Dinner with N at Hamersley's.

Cards upon cards from friends and family near and far.

Drinks at Bokx and pineapple upside down shots.

Flowers from my favorite 2 year old.

Family brunch.

Two Oprah-approved pot pies.

Thanks for all the love!

I've Got the Blues

N and I are going to be doing a little redecorating. Before I moved in, N painted all the walls in our place and decided that the bedroom would be blue. It's a nice paint color, but everything in our room is blue. Not only the walls, but the bedding and curtains are also the same lovely color. We have fabulous furniture and it pretty much just blends into the blue camouflage background. N did a good job of making sure everything matches, but it might be overkill.

Soooo we're updating. New paint and new bedding. Keeping in mind that we have dark mahogany colored furniture, let me know what you think of my paint and bedding picks below!

Benjamin Moore, Manchester Tan

Pottery Barn Sydney Palampore Organic Duvet Cover & Sham

Love? Hate? Let me know what you think!

Perfect Thought for Today

I love this: "Live your dream, and wear your passion." Fabulous!

Via.

Traditions

I grew up going to my Nana's house every Saturday for lunch. Not many people can say they see their extended family as much as I do, and for that I'm thankful and truly blessed. The tradition still lives on and not much has changed over the years.

For lunch Nana serves meatball and sausage sandwiches, along with a few other weekly staples, but even as a non meat eater, there is no better comfort food than her sauce with bread.

Early Saturday morning, Nana makes the sauce and meatballs. I'm talking early. Like before the birds are chirping. No one in their right mind is awake at that hour, so no one has her recipe. I hope to teach my children how to make her sauce one day, so a couple Saturdays ago I dragged myself out of bed (got to her place at 6am) and got the tips and tricks from the master.

It was an amazing experience, one I will remember forever. Here are a few pictures of my early morning with Nana.

Mixing the meatballs

Browning the meatballs

Nana in action

Sauce simmering before Saturday lunch!

Danny and Annie

The video below brought me to tears this morning (fair warning), but I think everyone should be so lucky to have a love like Danny and Annie.

It is a MUST WATCH.

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

A big thank you to Joanna at A Cup of Jo for sharing.

Online Shopping

I'm not much of an online shopper because I simply love going the mall. I like trying things on, feeling the quality of different fabrics and checking out what other people pick up that I might like too.

Jewelry shopping is a totally different story. There is no real need to "try on" jewelry, so that's why I'm all about ordering a few pieces off the site, Stella & Dot. So many beautiful options, but here are a few faves:

The Audrey Cluster Bracelet

Stella Vintage Link Bracelet - Gold

Sofia Pearl Bib Necklace

Belle Fleur Earrings

From the looks of it, it's safe to say I'm on a gold jewelry kick. My birthday is around the corner and I'd love any or all of the above :)

I'm not totally opposed to online shopping because I bought a Michael Kors down coat on Rue La La this morning - when there's a sale, there's a sale!

Photog 101

To learn more about my new camera and how to take artsy pictures that I can post on Facebook (aka show off on Facebook) and share with family and friends, I signed up for a photography class at a local high school. In six sessions, I'm supposed to learn "some technical aspects and some basic photographic compositional methods." By the sounds of it, maybe I should've steered clear of the beyond beginner class.

How much fun is this picture!? Maybe I'll learn to take something like this. I'll be sure to document my progress.

J.Crew Love

So once again, J.Crew has exceeded my expectations. I never check out the shoe selection when I'm in the store because I'm usually overwhelmed by the clothes and jewelry. HOWEVER, today I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the fall shoes (these, these and these) displayed in the front of the store.

Um hello...

I love you, I want you, but I can't afford you. Fingers crossed they go on sale.

Wedding Bliss

This weekend, I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding. Let me just tell you, she was absolutely stunning. So stunning that I cried several times throughout the night because she looked that beautiful (or maybe it was because I had one too many glasses of wine during the cocktail hour, who knows). I have never seen her look so happy and I couldn't have been more thrilled to watch her marry the man of her dreams. From the gorgeous venue to the delicious food - including a make-your-own sundae bar (my personal highlight) - the night was flawless.

Love you, girl friend, he is one lucky guy!

Springstreets

I just came across the most amazing gift for N. I saw it and I had to have it, I mean, he should have it. As most of our friends and family know, we are both huge Springsteen fans. Through Twitter, I learned about New York graphic designer, Dan Cassaro, and his recently released map of New Jersey. This is not just any map of Jersey. On this map, called Springstreets, all the streets, buildings, parks, etc. are named after lyrics from Springsteen songs.

Check it out!

Amazing, huh? I'm going to frame it for N, so one day we can hang it in our future "man cave" in our future house :)

Say Cheese!

Last night, N surprised me with the most beautiful, hi-tech camera I've ever seen. It's a Canon EOS Rebel T1i:

Amazing right? I've been talking about getting a fancy camera FOREVER and taking a photography class. Well, I now have no excuses. Please post comments if you can recommend a really awesome photography class in the Boston area. In the meantime, I'll be snapping shots like a mad woman!

Oh, and did I mention I have the best boyfriend in the whole world!?

Karma

One of my fave girlfriends was wearing the Dogeared Karma necklace when I saw her recently and I knew right away I had to have it. I ordered it that very night. It's a simple, elegant piece that is perfect to wear every day. Believe me, I've been wearing mine every day since it came in the mail!




















I particularly enjoyed the sweet message that came with the necklace:

what goes around comes around...
wear your necklace as a reminder to keep
the circle positive, peaceful and loving

Thank you, Dogeared, I will be back for more!

Delicious Honest Tea

While on a shopping trip to Whole Foods, my mom picked me up a bottle of Honest Mango Acai White Tea to try. I can honestly say, it was the most delicious iced tea I've ever had (pun intended). In a pinch, it's easy to turn to the likes of Arizona or the Lipton mix, but this tea did not have the overpowering sweetness that most iced teas have. How do they do it? Honest boasts that instead of accessorizing with high fructose corn syrup (so last century), they add a pinch of organic cane sugar, mangos and the superfruit acai. Refreshing and super tasty.

Thank you Honest Tea for making my new favorite drink of choice. Cheers!

Bruce and Gaga

Who would've thought - Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga on the same stage!? Check out the amazing performance below.



Let's just say, this made my Friday!

Books Galore

I've been reading up a storm. My mom has become my own personal librarian and sends along the books she thinks I'll enjoy. She's always right :)

I wrote about a couple books that I really loved a few months back, so here are a couple more to add to the list:

Shelter Me by Juliette Fay

Totally up my alley, an easy read that pulls at your heart strings. The book is about a young mother's year of heartbreak, loss and forgiveness...and help that arrives from unexpected sources. Love.it.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I was skeptical right off the bat because the book is considered a "thriller" - not my top choice. The first 100 pages or so were difficult to get through, but I kept reading and it was definitely worth it. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is also the first book of a trilogy, so I'll be starting the second book of the series, The Girl Who Played with Fire, the next chance I get.

Our Story - N&J

Do you remember this awesome Google commercial from the SuperBowl? In honor of N's birthday, I made him a video of our story using Google's SearchStories Video Creator.

Check it out below! It's just a snip-it of how fabulous our story really is :)

I Like Baking

Wednesday is N's birthday, so I decided to bake him a special treat this weekend to celebrate. I read about a Harvard grad student's cupcake recipe site on one of my favorite blogs, A Cup of Jo, so I decided to try the coconut rum cupcakes with coconut cream cheese frosting, given N's love for coconut.

We brought them over to my parents' house last night for dessert and they were a big hit! Ribs for dinner was a big crowd-pleaser too :)

Much love to the birthday boy xoxo

In Need Of...

Cute, affordable dresses for the weddings, showers and bachelorette parties I have this summer. N and I have 5 weddings coming up - 5 people! I know that will be the norm for the next few years as our friends get married, but it's a lot to take on.

I recently bought this Elie Tahari dress at Marshall's. Do you see the retail price? I bought it for $100. Score! Do you think it's too dark for summer weddings? That was my concern, but for the price, I couldn't pass it up.

I'm now on the hunt for a few more bargains for the wedding season. I'm typically drawn to strapless dresses and I really like this dress from Anthropologie.




What do you think? For $170 it's not much of a steal, but is it worth it? I still have some time to decide and for the spring dresses to go on sale.

Please share links to your favorite dresses and any helpful hints of where to go for a bargain! My wallet will thank you :)

Hola!

March has been a very stressful month for me, but N and I did manage to escape for a few days to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. It was just what the doctor ordered. Below are a couple pictures from our fabulous vacation:

I'm already ready to go back!

I'm A Chocoholic

Fair warning: I'm giving up chocolate for Lent. As my family and close friends know, chocolate is my favorite food group, so this will be a pretty impressive feat. When I get to the final days, I'm probably going to be suffering from serious withdrawals, so steer clear and don't even think about sipping on a delicious hot chocolate in front of me - the smell alone will do me in.

N is giving up his favorite food group too - chips! I'm very proud of him.

To celebrate our accomplishments, we will be treating eachother to some special Easter gifts. N's gift will look something like this:

My gift will be the hot chocolate souffle from La Campania in Waltham, one of my favorite restaurants of all time. I've had the dessert once, but I dream about it often. It is baked to order and requires 35 minutes of cook time. It is served with vanilla bean gelato and hot chocolate ganache. It will be WELL worth the sacrifice!

What are you giving up for Lent?

Photog

I'm jealous of people with fancy cameras. I'm jealous of people who can take artsy pictures (like the one to the left). I really want to be one of those people.

I have a Sony Cyber-shot camera at the moment and I want to be inspired to use it.

I blog every once in awhile and it's rare that people post comments. I'm not sure if anyone even reads my ramblings, but if you do, and if you have any tips or tricks for taking stellar pictures, PLEASE SHARE!

Happy Monday

A special woman forwarded me this quote in an email:

"May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received and pass along the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us."

Happy thoughts for a happy Monday.

365 Days of Bliss

N and I celebrated our first anniversary this weekend! He wined and dined me at the Back Bay's new restaurant, City Table, and we spent the night at the uber classy Lenox Hotel. Both exceeded our expectations.

It was a perfect night away with my favorite guy.

My favorite part of the night: taking our dessert to go and eating in front of the fireplace in our room! Some ladies want champagne and rose petals, but I'd opt for the apple and pear crumble any day.

Special Gifts

Happy New Year!

It's definitely tough to get back into the swing of things today. The last two weeks have been filled with lots of family and friend time. Egg nog drinking, movie watching and eating until I couldn't eat anymore. Perfection.

I also received a slew of fabulous gifts and I am very thankful.

But this year I bought myself the mother of all gifts. A major splurge. I bought a Gucci bag. The thing is beautiful. It should walk and talk given the hit to my bank account, but the minute I touched the leather, I couldn't resist and I broke out the debit card.

And I gave a very special gift. I made a pot roast. Correct, I don't eat meat and I made a pot roast. All for my meat-lovin bf. He died and went to heaven. The smile on his face let me know that the special dinner entree was his favorite Christmas gift of all. It's the little things in our house.

What special gift did you receive/give?