Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Memorial Day weekend in pictures

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{humidity}

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{jumping}

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{girly time}

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{lake norman, nc}

After a 24 hour flight delay I missed a bit of the fun of Memorial Day Weekend, but I still got plenty of time to relax by the lake, chase around energetic cousins and hang out with family. How was your long weekend?

Friday, May 27, 2011

Happy long weekend!

Is it a rule that the week preceding a long weekend has to move extraordinarily slowly? I think it must be, because this week seemed to drag on and on in anticipation. I was anticipating a concert I knew would be great (Glen Hansard performing in the Temple of Dendur at the Met...it was magical) and the flight I'll catch tonight to head down to North Carolina to join the rest of my extended family at a lake house to celebrate my aunt's birthday. I'm a little bummed to be missing a long weekend in the city, but I'm looking forward to grilling, baking in a kitchen that can fit more than two people, and a lengthy visit to Target.

Before I go, I'd like to leave you with a video I've been watching over and over again. It's an exuberant, young Bruce Springsteen playing one of my favorite songs live in 1978. It looks like he's having so much fun. Bruce is about as American as apple pie, right? So this is appropriate for Memorial Day weekend? Regardless, I just love it. Have a great weekend!



Hey, what else can we do now?
except roll down the window
and let the wind blow back your hair

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Summer hair

*Male readers (all two of you) please direct your attention here. We're talking about hair. 

I know it's still technically spring, but with a high of 80 degrees today it (finally) feels like summer in New York City. It has me thinking about summer hair. Specifically updo styles, for those days when it's too hot to wear clothes (but you have to) and the thought of letting your hair touch your neck is unbearable. So I'm excited to try some of these styles from Hair Romance as the humidity settles in.

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nape+twist+pin+hairstyle+collage

Tucked+braid+hairstyle+collage

loose+beehive+bun+hairstyle+hero+web

I'm kind of obsessed with Hair Romance and her 30 Days of Twists & Pins (30 updos in 30 days!). Now, if only she could create a tutorial to give "big" hair to those of us with "little" hair. It's my ultimate hair dream.

Ok, before the girly-vanity post is over, here's one more tutorial: a big, poufy party bun from Reagan of Hairdresser on Fire. Maybe it'll get me a little closer to my big hair dreams.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Weekend in pictures

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{anybody lose a dress?}

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{at United Palace to see Fleet Foxes}

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{good advice}

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{bridal showing bunting}

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{a well-wishes tree}

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{brooklyn heights balconies}

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{the prettiest window box}

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{sunset towards manhattan}

Thursday, May 19, 2011

A pie safe!

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An adorable pie safe, for keeping your pies safe. I would fill it with this, this, and this.

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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Digging

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Did you grow up with a garden? My Dad's garden took up half of our backyard. I remember being amazed when rogue tomato plants would pop up somewhere my dad didn't plan them, or when corn sprouted out of the compost pile (I refused to eat that corn, by the way). So when my roommates and I heard that my friend Kristin's kids were itching to do some gardening, we got some seeds and invited them over.

seeds

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It was so fun having kids over, and to see how excited they were to dig and plant. And thankfully, it was warm enough to splash around a bit afterward to get clean.

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Monday, May 16, 2011

Weekend in pictures

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{pancake breakfast for dinner}

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{every sleepover needs candy}

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{no puffin}

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{brunch}

Friday ended with (appropriately enough) a Friday Night Lights sleepover (the finale was epic, you should really be watching that show) including a Texas-style pancake dinner and my homemade attempt at making Alamo Freezes. The rest of the weekend was dreary and rainy, but made a bit better by a trip to Paper Source and a girly romantic comedy (my friend Kate said it "ended exactly the way I wanted it to!" which, of course, is the mark of a good rom-com). I hope your weekend was lovely!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Here's to Friday

Oh, Friday. I am so glad you are here.

I had a few posts planned for yesterday and today, but Blogger decided to throw a tantrum. That's kind of how this week has been, nothing going as planned. I like having a plan, but for today I think I'll just go with it.

So for now, a bit before quittin' time, I'm leaning into the weekend and listening to this achingly beautiful song on repeat. It's by shamelessly happy Seattle band The Head and The Heart, and their whole album is this amazing.

Favorite part:

Been talkin' 'bout the way things change
And my family lives in a different state
If you don't know what to make of this
Then we will not relate


The Head and The Heart - 'Rivers and Roads' from Ryan McMackin on Vimeo.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Micheladas

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At the engagement party this weekend we set up a make-your-own michelada bar. A michelada is a Mexican beer cocktail that mixes salt, lime, tomato juice, and spices to a Mexican beer over ice. It's really refreshing on a hot day. And it's great for a group because everyone can mix their drink to their liking.

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So no one would be stuck mixing drinks all night, my friend Renee made a cute little how-to sign with step-by-step instructions. It was really funny to watch the michelada table throughout the night as people were intently reading the instructions and mixing their drinks. Some people got really into it!

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There's not really a recipe to follow, it all depends on what you like. Here's the basic gist:

Micheladas

beer
limes
salt
chili powder or cayenne
tomato juice
hot sauce (I like Cholula)
ice

Salt the rim of a glass by running a lime around the rim and then dipping it into a plate of salt (mix chili into the salt if you want). Fill the glass with ice (if beer on ice seems strange to you, use just a few cubes). Fill the glass with beer (I like to use a Mexican light beer like Pacifico, but any light beer or Mexican dark beer will do) leaving about an inch of room. Then, add as much or as little as you'd like of the other ingredients. I like to start with lime, salt and chili. At the party, some people were adding a lot of lime, which was really good. I didn't think I'd like it with tomato juice, but just a splash added a really interesting savory flavor.

Experiment away. Ole!

ps - If you're in New York, here's a round up of some places serving micheladas.

A Seis de Mayo engagement party

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This past weekend I helped host a Seis de Mayo engagement party celebrating the engagement of my friends Tracey & Greg. The theme has more to do with the date the party fell on than anything else, but the bright, festive mood of Cinco de Mayo seemed an appropriate way to celebrate the beginning of their happily ever after.

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We tried to keep the menu simple but festive: chips, homemade salsa and cheese dip, a mexican beer cocktail (more on that later today), sangria, and key lime pies for dessert.

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One of my favorite parts of the party were the pinatas. We made these pinatas and they were,
quite literally, a hit.

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Tracey and Greg even shared their candy with each other. Aw, so sweet.

One last fun thing from the party—the photo "booth." I love how free and silly people get in photo booths, so we created a simple photo area in one area of the party.

Picnik collage

The backdrop, if you can call it that, is a papel picado banner and the couple's initials made with fringey tissue paper. The original idea of the photo booth was to have people dress up like the couple, so I picked up this hilarious curly wig (they have matching curly hair!) as a prop. The pictures turned out so funny, I love them.

Picnik collage

Picnik collage

It was such a fun night. Congrats, Tracey and Greg! Thanks for letting us throw you a fiesta.

Top photo by Bryson Wyatt via Instagram.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Weekend in pictures

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{pinatas and twinkle lights, backyard party}

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{nearly empty sangria, the sign of a good party}

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{party streamers, the next morning}

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{gardening + leftover party confetti}

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{gardening with little friends}

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{jars & cups in the garden, photo by josh kill}

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{our peony plant bloomed! photo by josh kill}

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{big red balloon delivery}

A Cinco de Mayo-themed engagement party on Friday, gardening with little hands on Saturday, and a Sunday devoted to Getting Things Done. All in all, a lovely weekend. How was yours?
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