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.

(Cinco de Derby) Weekend in Pictures

{friday sunlight}

{an outing to the nyu cafeteria}

{cinco de derby cheese plate}

{derby snacks: cheese & "preppy" cucumber sandwiches}

{the kentucky derby with mint julep margaritas}

{a lovely lingerie shower}

{peonies and panties}

{lilac, finally}

Did you celebrate Cinco de Derby this weekend? I've always wanted to host a Kentucky Derby party, with big hats and mint juleps, but for the past few years it's always fallen on a busy weekend. This year was no different, so I ended up watching it with some friends before we jetted off to a lingerie shower. Since it was Cinco de Mayo, we turned our mint juleps into mint julep margaritas (bourbon + tequila = not for the faint of heart) and had some Texas-style queso. Followed up by a girly lingerie shower, it was sort of the perfect Saturday. 

Lilac

I walked by a lilac tree last night on my way home from and the fragrance perfumed the entire block. Amazing! It reminded me that I need to get my hands on some lilac before spring's gone and it's suddenly summer. So, that's my weekend plan: buy lilacs, enjoy spring. How about you?

A Homemade Pickle Bar

At Renee's bridal shower this weekend, one of my favorite parts was the homemade pickle bar. When Renee and I go out to eat, if there's any sort of pickle on the menu, we'll order it. Even when we first moved to New York and were broker than broke, there was always room in the budget for splitting a pickle platter, a pot of pickles, or fried pickles. So for her bridal shower, I knew there had to be pickles.



I made quick pickles (meaning they don't have to sit around for weeks before they're ready) with my go-to brine recipe. To make it a pickle "bar" I pickled just about every veggie that looked good at the market that day: cucumbers (of course!), carrots, fennel, radishes and onions. I loved them all, but I think the onions and radishes were my favorite. They turned bright pink!

Hot Dog! It's a Bridal Shower

Have I mentioned that it's celebration season around here? I believe I have, because it is. This weekend we celebrated my friend (and work partner!) Renee's upcoming wedding with a bridal shower. She's not much for being the center of attention, so the other hostesses and I tried to create an event that would be fun and relaxed, featuring some of her favorite things. And this girl looooves hot dogs!













































It might not be ok with Emily Post, but since the bride-to-be is an art director, we asked her to design her own shower invite. I love how they turned out! They really set the tone for the shower. Plus, I really think the phrase "hot dog!" should make a comeback. I've been saying it a lot since the shower :)




















































































The day of the shower ended up being too chilly to have it outside, so we moved all of our furniture around and hung red & white striped bunting to make it feel festive. We kept the menu relatively simple: grilled hot dogs with lots of toppings, a pickle bar (more on that tomorrow!), potato chips and a candy bar with some of the bride's favorite candies. Hot dog!



Congrats, Renee! 

{rainy friday}

{sparkly sample sale haul/baby shower cake}

{bridal shower details}

{sunday in central park}

How was your weekend? Mine was busy, with lots of celebrating - a baby shower and a bridal shower in one day (celebration season, I tell ya). More details on the bridal shower to come. It was pretty cute, if I do say so myself.