(A Roommate's Wedding) Weekend in Pictures

{the calm before the storm: a peony shower on my laptop}

{pie and cobbler baking}

{cake and pie prep in murph's dreamy kitchen}

{rainy day rehearsal dinner accessories + fleet week}

{day before the wedding picnic in brooklyn bridge park}

{married!}

{reception details}

{the action at the kid table}

{cocktails and cookies}

{the dessert spread}

{laughing + twirling}

{and off they go in search of a cab, followed by a very determined caterer}

Remember when I mentioned that my roommate was moving out to become a Mrs.? Well, this past weekend she did just that. They were married on Monday, so the whole weekend was full of fun wedding build up. From baking (cakes and cobblers, and assisting with three peach pies) to rehearsing to picnicking and catching up with friends who have moved away. The wedding itself was just lovely. With seersucker, vintage doilies, a 40s-style jazz band and a table full of pie, it somehow felt appropriate for Memorial Day, without feeling theme-y at all.

Congrats, Megan & Derek!

Cobblers in the oven photo via Murph Holder, program photo via Katy Rose.

New York Bucket List: NY Aquarium & Coney Island

Thanks to a friend with corporate passes, I got to check off another place on my New York bucket list: The New York Aquarium. A friend had free corporate passes tothe Aquarium so it was the perfect opportunity to check it out.





The aquarium turned out to be rather small (it didn't take us more than an hour and a half to see everything) but it was still fun to see sea lions, weird deep sea creatures, and a giant walrus that gently smashed his huge belly into the glass. If you can avoid it, I wouldn't recommend going on a Sunday—it was super crowded!





The Aquarium is all the way out in Brooklyn, near Coney Island. Coney Island is also on my New York bucket list, so we walked around the boardwalk and got a Nathan's hot dog. I'd love to come back for the Mermaid Parade or to ride the Wonder Wheel next time.

Weekend in Pictures

{brooklyn bridge on the way to ikea}

{tacos & margaritas with the roomies}

{a glowing shopping bag in soho}

{thrifting in williamsburg}

{my new blue table on the subway ride home}

{a quick stop at fish's eddy}

{murph's homemade peach pie for the birthday boy}

{balconies in brooklyn & beers in my purse}

{the brooklyn promenade from below}

{brooklyn backyard birthday party}

Thrifting (doing my best to power through my decorating paralysis), wandering through an Etsy pop-up market and a Fish's Eddy antique sale, rushing to Brooklyn to surprise a birthday boy who will be the groom at this coming weekend's festivities, and a trip to the Aquarium (pictures tomorrow). Phew! A lovely, full, and fun weekend. Hope yours was the same!

Tufted Chairs

The first order of business in overcoming my Decorating Paralysis is getting two new chairs to replace the ones that are moving to Brooklyn. My hope is to score one secondhand (from the street or a thrift store) then paint/reupholster it, and to purchase the other new and not have to do much to it. Here's what I've found in the latter category, from least to most expensive. The one up top is my favorite!








Now comes the hard part...convincing myself I won't find anything else out there that will be cheaper or that I will like better. Paralyzing, I tell you! :)

Chair #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8

Decorating Paralysis

When I moved into my apartment nearly three years ago, I was very very lucky that the living area had already been decorated by my lovely roommates. I was lucky not only because they have excellent taste, but because I suffer from severe Decorating Paralysis. If left to my own devices, I will always live surrounded by things I meant to hang on the wall and decorating projects that I'll surely get to someday. As I've mentioned, it's genetic.



My Decorating Paralysis has flown under the radar for the most part over the last three years because our apartment was already decorated. Unfortunately for me, I think it's about to surface again. As I type this, framed photos are coming off the walls, pretty books are being packed away, and soon furniture will be ushered into a moving van—in short, my roommate is moving out and becoming a wife. And with her goes much of the charming decor of our apartment.

So, this seems like the perfect time to confront my paralysis, don't you think? I'm feeling a bit inspiration-less, so I'll be scouring Pinterest & the like and reporting back over the next week or so. And hopefully, posting pictures in the coming weeks of completed projects. Here's to hoping!

Photos: Dean Kaufman for Dwell, Andrea Savani for Yatzer.

Pandas On A Slide

Not a whole lot to say about this other than: pandas on a slide!! Happy Friday :)

Rainy Day Movies

It's been rainy and gross all day (my shoes are still wet from the walk to work!) and I blissfully have no plans tonight, so I'm excited to stay in and watch a movie. Do you have any rainy day go-to movies? For me, a rainy day movie isn't something high brow or the latest Oscar nom, it has to be something I've seen 100 times (only a slight exaggeration). It's the movie-equivalent of an old sweatshirt. Here are a few of mine.



Of course, When Harry Met Sally. Classic. I love the scene at The Met and, of course, Harry's speech at the end of the movie.





Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette is so moody and dreamy, it's perfect for a rainy night. And how cool would it have been to film a movie at Versailles?!





Next up: Dan in Real Life. Have you seen it? Something about the Rhode Island setting and the big old house full of family makes it feel cozy and comforting. Plus, it really nails teenage angst.



And last, but by no means least, is the Christmas movie I could watch in the middle of July: Love Actually. Colin Firth, Hugh Grant dancing, cute kids, Christmas, London... I've never met anyone who doesn't like this movie.

So, those are my choices for tonight! What would you watch on a rainy night? This is somewhat of a common theme around here, I love a good night in.

Derby Fashion

I'm not totally sure how I feel about Kentucky Derby fashion (are they serious? is it a costume party? a fun tradition?), but it was definitely fun to see the myriad of hat choices on display this past weekend. Americans don't get nearly as many excuses to wear fun headwear as our friends in England, do we?

What do you think? If you participated in the festivities, would you wear a big hat?

Photos by Andrew Kung for New York Magazine.