Red, White and Blue-spiration

This is probably going to be the first of many similar posts about the upcoming holiday, as it is one of my favorites. What could be better than outdoor day drinking, grilling, celebrating our freedom, fireworks - and of course, one of my favorite color palettes!

When I got this week's Revel email (if you don't know Revel, you absolutely HAVE to check it out and sign up!), I completely bypassed the feature moodboard (it was ombre pink, so you know this is serious) in hopes that there would be some July 4 eye candy. I was right - and it did NOT disappoint.

I mean, uh-maze. I wish I had a backyard SO badly to throw a festive, patriotic soiree this year (damn city living), but I will have to settle with some sparklers on my deck, accompanied by the "red, white and blue salsa" comprised of blueberries, strawberries, jicama and a little jalapeno and cilantro - YUM.

What are your plans for the fourth?

Unintentional...

So, that was a bit of a surprise hiatus, huh?

It was honestly unintentional, but I have been SO overwhelmed by the process of planning a surprise birthday celebration for the boy that I completely lost touch with almost everything else in my life - from working out to blogging, and even showering when I needed to (gross, I know).

I never realized how difficult it can be to coordinate plans across multiple groups of friends, and to do it without the help of someone close to you - and without them finding out. In the end, I miraculously pulled it off; he was shocked, excited, and incredibly appreciative, and that's all I could even ask for - but, save a few unfortunate events, I had a really good time myself. For most of my life I was a fairly antisocial kind of girl and was always the invitee, not the invitOR, and in a lot of ways, this past weekend helped me prove something to myself, as selfish as it might sound.

Here's a quick glimpse of what I've been up to...

Friday night surprise in Faneuil Hall.

 Dinner at the Tequila Table at Papagayo on Saturday - SO good.

 Girls pic at sunset.

 Awkward family photo with Wally on Sunday.

 A gorgeous Sunday funday at Fenway with a few good friends.

So...excuse me while I go detox for the rest of the summer. But no more hiatuses, of course. I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

It's All Happening.

After losing the apartment of our dreams two weeks ago, the boyf and I have officially leased our first apartment and are moving in together in September!

I am still somehwhat in denial about the hugeness of all of this, but the one thing that's immediately on my mind (and admittedly has been for a few months now) is how we're going to combine all of our things and create a space that's really our own - all while still being able to pay rent.

I am lucky enough to have a guy that lets me run with my tastes, and in the case of interior decor, he has tentatively given me the green light to put our home together. Though I would never purchase anything without getting his opinion (he has to live with it too!) - I've already started looking for pieces that will work with what we have, but give our things a (much needed) dash of styling.

My number one is investing in a new, nice rug. The rugs we both have are both extremely high pile, and after just one year, mine is eternally dirty and needs to go, stat. My sectional is a fairly deep mocha shade, so I'm trying to stay away from dark colors, and definitely opting for a dhurrie or flat woven for our new place.

Too dark for a deep brown couch?

I totally love this, but I know it would show every spec of dirt..and the boyf is not the cleanest of boys. Sigh.

I love this pattern and the hint of cream/yellow...

Or do I want to go full-on yellow (or another color) for a pop against the brown? Too risky?

Or do I save the money and DIY a sisal rug? I've been dreaming of this since I first saw Mandi's segment on the Nate Show...

 

I know it's early and I'm getting ahead of myself with so many options (all via OneKingsLane) - but I can't contain my excitement! Which would you pick?

Camel Craze

Words can not explain how much joy the Kate Spade promo email brought me this morning.

I'm not even going to go into how I had just scalded my entire chest and legs with piping hot coffee prior to seeing this, because it put me on cloud nine regardless of the circumstances.

Apparently a lot of people have camel love recently. BUT, I am of a long, deep-seeded camel love.

You see, the camel is the mascot of my alma mater, Connecticut College. And while I have definitely gotten my fair share of grief over the years for having such a "lame" mascot,  I have always been proud of our quirky little guy. 

Cute, right?

Side note: tragically, the school has recently rebranded the little guy to make us look more tough and athletic.

Not so cute, definitely terrifying.

So, Kate Spade's lil cuties are just making my month. I can't wait to stock up on a few (okay, a lot) of these camel loves:

A little camel sparked on the ears never hurt noboday!

Under my arm for a special occasion? Why not.

On my apartment keys? Adorable.

Or some school pride on my phone?

I just can't get enough.

Any other crazy camel ladies out there? 

J.Crew Addiction Chronicles: New Summer Arrivals

Let me start off by making a really lame excuse, and then justifying it.

I have been MIA this week, admittedly. Work has been completely insane after being really slow for months, and I was NOT prepared for it. On top of that, I am now planning 2 surprise birthday parties for my boyfriend for the next two consecutive weekends (one family, one with friends) and the amount of emails flying around are making me dizzy. Then, to top it off, we are trying to find an apartment (to move in together, whee!) for September 1st when our leases are up (along with 80% of the rest of Boston). The stress of finding a place you love, losing it, and then frantically scouring Craigslist and emailing 100s of real estate agents is entirely exhausting.

So enough of the wahhh, poor me business. But you know how you KNOW I was totally overwhelmed? I didn't even look at the J.Crew new arrivals until this morning. Anyone who knows me knows that I dedicate a good hour to combing through them and making a wishlist the SECOND I get the email letting me know they're there - but this time, I just couldn't do it. And even worse, I was too busy and stressed out to care. So there you have it.

Now that I finally have a second to breathe (even though no apartment has been locked down and it's looking more bleak than ever), I can take comfort in my beloved new arrivals.

Amazing colors. So adorbs.

And to preface this wishlist - I went through all of them and opened 30+ tabs right off the bat.

I love a good shimmery open weave - this is so beachy chic.

So the list below took a LOT of self control to edit down to the cream of the crop from this batch.

This is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen - and it's a Tippi so I'm sold.

Clearly, J.Crew is continuing to straight KILL it this year - and yes, I am biased because I have always and will always love them - but after watching the Mickey documentary on CNN it is completely clear that he is behind the new level of amaze. And I hope it never stops.

Loving the harder, square edge of this eyelet tee - and the COLOR! 

Mint silk, 'nuff said.

Swooning over these ikat ruffles!

Polka dot chambray, need I say more?

Minty jewels make me happy.

And..slay me. Just, cant even hand this awesome.

My wallet, on the other hand, is crying in a corner. What are your favorites?

Today's Motto.

Remember to breathe...

Dress Decisions

I'm super into dresses lately.

I realize that's somewhat of a strange thing to say - because really, what's so out of the ordinary about a dress? I'll tell ya.

For me, working in a casual office environment, and more times than not feeling tired and unmotivated when I wake up, I wear jeans and some sort of tee, sweater, blouse, whathaveyou - pretty much every day. It's easy, comfortable, and...easy. Throw on some jewelry and you're good to go.

That said - at least 75% of my recent purchases have been dresses. Who knew they were so easy and comfy? Just one piece and you're done. Maybe I have finally gotten over my fear of forgetting to cross my legs, or maybe I finally decided I don't like having something tight/denim-y wrapped around my legs at all times. The latter being much more likely as I've been eating/drinking like crazy and probably packing on the pounds - but hey, guess what? A dress can fix that.

Enter my dilemma of the moment. #1, I am very, very poor right now. I blame it on my (twin) sisters have a birthday in the same month of my boyfriend and Father's Day (which are coincidentally the same day), and just summer spending in general. #2, as much as I love a good dress, and you can definitely accessorize them for different looks, it really is just one outfit - and I've always been one of those people that obsessively clocks time between wearing certain pieces so that I wait long enough.

So, now that I am head-over-heels in lust for TWO dresses, I clearly can't justify buying both. What's it gonna be?

I mean, it's chevhttp://rstyle.me/huswe7neu6ron. And maxi. And insanely comfortable jersey. 

OR

Adorable, lemon yellow striped skater dress. Super flattering structure on this, and I basically want to eat it. Oh yeah, and it's on sale.

Which would you choose? I'm in dire need of a second (and third, fourth fifth...) opinion!

Weekend Outlook

Friday: GNO at Drink Boston - can't wait for my custom creation (surely based in gin!)

Saturday: (Two) birthday BBQs - sure to be as delectable as this spread, and highly enjoyable with the (finally) promising weather!

Sunday: Sox game with the family clan for my twin sisters' birthdays

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend - we all deserve a break after this week. Am I right? Duh.

Teleport, Don't Walk, to Your Local Lord & Taylor

I somehow failed to realize that Lord & Taylor's Friends & Family sale is going on right now until I happened to walk into the store last night - but boy, am I glad I stumbled upon that little nugget of information before it was too late!

Right now, you can get 25% off almost everything in the store (+ 10% off cosmetics - total rarity). I would highly recommend going into the store if you have one locally because the selection is MUCH better, but you can use the code online. Also - if you hit the store, you can get an additional 30% off of shoes, including these Kate Spade cork cuties I have been lusting after all season (for just $126!).

Two items that have been sitting on my "Budget For:" list for at least 3 months now were eligible for the Friends & Family discount, and since both are almost never available at a discounted price, I had to go for the gold (literally, har har) and scoop up these two staples:

The ever-popular Michael Kors Runway watch for $188 (reg. $250). You can also grab it here

For just $78 (reg. $105)! You can also buy here

So, like I said - amazing. What would you snag from the L&T sale?

Primary Palette

I have found myself favoring simple nautical/patriotic/primary palettes pretty much since the weather got warm (as you may have noticed here, here and here). 

It has been raining a lot in Boston recently, so I've had to pull out my trusty yellow raincoat.

At first, I was hesitant to top it on an outfit that was entirely red, white and blue.

I had some subconscious rule in my head that the max number of primary colors allowed in an outfit was two.

But I personally warmed up to it immediately once I gave it a go.

Even though I was channeling Crayola just a little bit. Nothing wrong with acting like a kid sometimes!

Jacket: Ellen Tracy (old) | Dress: J.Crew (on sale!) | Bag: Kate Spade (last seen here, fun yellow on sale here) | Shoes: Jack Rogers |  Belt: F21 (old) | Sunnies: Karen Walker | Jewelry:  David Yurman ring & bracelets, Priviledged NYC, J.Crew bangles, vintage coral necklace | Nails: Butter London Teddy Girl and Essie Mint Candy Apple 

Would you rock yellow with your other primaries?

For the Lush in Your Life

I am a self-proclaimed alcohol enthusiast.

I realize how terrible that sounds - and I will be the first to admit that I have a habit of overindulging. But, in this case I mean it in the more classy, grown-up sense of the word. Even in college, I generally preferred the more flavorful and/or interesting drinks to a standard Bud Latte or worse, white zinfandel (we DID, however have white zin Mondays - but it was a special occasion, so it was "okay"). I would almost always opt for a drink that  you could actually taste the alcohol in, rather than using mixers that masked it; but sadly, in college that meant diet cranberry juice instead of diet coke (like I said, classy?).

Fast forward a few years, and I am that girl ordering a drink off the cocktail menu that makes half of the table gag as I'm ordering it. Give me strong, give me spicy, do NOT give me something sugary. I can't tell you how many poorly-made margaritas have given me heartburn in the last 5 years (fresh squeezed lime, tequila, and a drop of orange liqueur ONLY, people). I will only order a drink with rum in it if I'm physically in the Caribbean. I actually prefer my vodka to be topped with soda and a lime over tonic, coke, etc - and not because I'm sacrificing to cut calories (what's the point if you can't taste it?).

Oh, and I LOVE gin. Yeah, I'm one of THOSE weirdos. Also, if there is any sort of jalapeno/habanero/spicy-ish drink on the menu, you bet your ass I'm ordering it.

So I'm not your average female cocktail consumer. A lot of times, nothing on a cocktail menu will do the trick - and I can easily get bored with the standard bottle stuff (except Hendrick's - I know you will never fail me, my one true love...). And so, I decided to start infusing my own liquors.

First up: Cucumber basil vodka.

I totally eyeballed all of this - there's no real science to the measurements that I could find online, so I kinda just went for it.

Literally one of the easiest things I have ever done.

  

Mmm. (PS - apologies for the horrible focus issues - I managed to break the autofocus on my lens like a real winner, and of course have zero money to replace it. Apparently my eye sight is off too since I'm clearly incapable of focusing manually; I promise I wasn't drunk already while taking these!) 

Finished pre-product.

Once the ingredients (chopped up basil leaves and seeded, chopped cucumber) were in, I let this concoction sit in the refrigerator for approximately 3 days before taking it out to test the infusion. I decided it wasn't refreshing enough for my tastes and popped it back in for another day - and the result was perfection, so I strained out the veggies and served up my first glass: on ice with a splash of soda, nothing else (seriously, amazing).

There's something about cucumbers that's just so thirst quenching, even in vodka, and with the temps heating up, it was just what I wanted. The basil is a less-present flavor, but the hint of it makes the flavor a bit more interesting than a standard cucumber vodka (which, in itself, is tough to find at liquor stores - and EXPENSIVE).

Next up: jalapeno cilantro tequila. My mom's margs (and subsequently, my go-to) are incredible, but I need a little excitement. Nothing like a hot pepper to put a kick in your mouth.

Have any of you tried this yet? What would you infuse?

Play THIS, Wear THAT: Summer Picnic

This impeding rain-doom weather has me wishing I could spend more time outside this weekend. But mother nature has other plans for us northerners, so while I am holed up in a dark apartment with my chenille blanket (yes, it's going to be THAT cold), I will be listening to this little ditty on repeat:

And envisioning myself in this:

Purchased last weekend at J.Crew Factory (my gingham collection is becoming a problem.)

With some relaxed denim rolled shorts, and...

Picnic perfection a la Kate Spade

And riding my bike to a little impromptu picnic:

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

via Pinterest (too much fun)

via Pinterest

To eat and drink with the boyf
(via stylemepretty)

We would never do this...but in my dream, I get what I want!
(via stylemepretty)

And eat LOTS...
(via Pinterest)

+ vino, obviously.

via stylemepretty

Preferably, with multiple bottles of my all time favorite:

via SMP (how gorgeous is that bottle? I want to decorate an entire room around it)

Perfect weekend, methinks.

I mean, if TSwift can do it, I can too, right? Right. (I might love her just a little too much.)

Happy weekend! And may yours be filled with sunshine and warmth to make up for us New Englanders...