Happy Weekend

It's amazing how quickly a summer schedule can fill up. I looked at my calendar yesterday and realized that there is not a free weekend in sight with the exception of this one. So my plan is to get a stack of magazines, a good book and some new music, sit outside and relax. How nice does that sound?! (of course laundry and cleaning will probably have to be added to that list too, but I've got all weekend to do it so no biggy). Hope you have a relaxing weekend!

Here are some things that caught my eye this week:

Stuff to inspire your style: I am loving the new series on Cup of Jo 'beauty uniform' and especially loving all things Kendra Smoot

Stuff for your feet: Love these shoes for summer.

Stuff to make you smile: President of the Ford Foundation, Darren Walker, went above and beyond to celebrate the Foundations 30 years of partnership with Ballet Hispanico - just watch. (P.S. I think this especially entertaining if you work for a nonprofit - if only all Foundations were this much fun!).

Stuff to help you remember: The extraordinary Maya Angelou passed away this week at the age of 86. With her passing we have lost a beautiful, powerful voice that has forever inspired so many.

Stuff to help keep your suntan: I swear by this stuff.

image from here

Wardrobe: Weekend Brunch

dress, scarf, shoes

state of mind

images from here and here

Apartment Update & Inspiration

It's been awhile since I've posted about my apartment so I just wanted to give a quick update... that basically nothing is happening. GRRR. The plans were sent to the Board for approval and the first plans were rejected - something about the lighting, the door to a bedroom and air conditioning units. Having addressed all those concerns round 2 was submitted last week and now it's back to the waiting game. At this point I'm just hoping the apartment will be livable by the end of summer so I'm not homeless when my lease runs out. I watch HGTV as much as the next girl so I feel like I should be mentally prepared for this, but this is tough... and we haven't even knocked down a wall yet!

In the meantime a few spaces that have kept me inspired...

Image from here

Image from here

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scenes from the weekend

When I was a kid my family (my mom and her six siblings) used to rent a house in West Hampton (aka the ugly step child of the otherwise fancy Hamptons). I was pretty young, but I have some very vivid memories from that house (the horribly embarrassing videos my grandfather took also help - thank goodness nobody has VHS anymore!)... I remember running around in a bathing suit and socks, I remember the family outside at sunset eating fresh clams, I remember running away from my dad as he chased me around the house with Coppertone. We stopped going out there when I was about 6 or 7 and I hadn't been back since.  That is until this summer... Everything about being back out there made me smile. How can you not be happy watching those sunsets?!

Happy (Memorial Day) Weekend

Hooray for a long weekend and the official start of summer! I am beach bound and weather permitting hoping to get out on the water (surf, kayak, paddleboard... anything) for what I'm hoping will be a beautiful weekend! What are your plans for the weekend?

Here are a few ideas to help you gear up for Memorial Day weekend and a few others that caught my eye this week:

Stuff to help us remember: I think this tradition at Arlington cemetery is such a beautiful way to honor our lost soldiers.

Stuff to make you hungry: Fantastic ideas to spruce up your holiday BBQ menu. Apple ginger cranberry cocktail anyone?!

Stuff to help you pack: No matter your plans, here are some super cute outfit ideas for the long weekend.

Stuff for your home: I've always loved the idea of big art. Something that fills a space in a meaningful way. This site has some incredible photographs that can be printed in a variety of sizes.

image from here

State of mind

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Wardrobe: Date Night

I once dated a guy who, after about four months of dating, asked me why I never really dressed up to go out. Ouch. But he had a point. I would throw on wedges with my jeans and button down or a shirt dress with my flats, but that's about as good as it got. Being back in the dating pool, I have kept his comment in the back of my head and tried to figure out a way not to sacrifice comfort when putting in a little extra effort. This outfit is a happy medium - although I would probably not wear it til the second date.

Dress, shoes, earrings

on the road again

When I was a kid, my dad used to take me out to Wisconsin to visit his family and we would drive up to door county, trailer in tow, and camp for the weekend. There was nothing comfortable about it - If I remember right the table actually folded down and became the bed where me and my three cousins slept - but I loved it.

Enter the modern and slightly fancier version of our excursion: You can now rent an Airstream (in LA or Las Vegas), fully stocked, hitched to a GMC Denali and ready to go courtesy of Airstream 2 GO.

A road trip with an Airstream on the west coast would be such a fun vacation with friends!

Lean whichever way you want to, Thanks

I have never really known what to think of Zosia Mamet (aka Shoshana on HBO's Girls). Her character on the show is equal parts un-relatable, annoying and hilarious and she has done a stellar job of not letting the public pry into her personal life so I don't really know enough about who she is to want read what she has to say... until now. Zosia publishes a column every other month in Glamour Magazine and this month the title "No, I Won't Lean In, Thanks" quickly caught my attention.

I have so many issues with Sheryl Sandberg and her Lean In nonsense that you don't even want to get me started, but Zosia managed to articulate my issues better than I ever could. Basically, stop listening to all the chatter, stop feeling like a failure if sitting at the head of the boardroom is not your goal, stop feeling like your dream of owning a coffee shop in Vermont is not enough.

I get that we don't have enough women in high powered positions in this country and I am all for expanding the pathways and opportunities to help women whose dream it is to get there, BUT there are other ways to be successful. Choosing your priorities and building a life that makes you happy should be the goal, not pressuring one another to be the best at everything.

Zosia, I am officially a fan.

image from here (Note: Zosia's article is not yet available online but you can read it in this month's issue of Glamour)

portable adventure

I'm not really good at sitting on a beach. I get antsy pretty quickly and feel the need to get up and do something rather than just lay there and read. So this summer, in preparation for some time on the water, I've done some investigating and found Oru Kayak. If it sounds sort of familiar, maybe you saw them on Shark Tank. These guys built a collapsable kayak! It's kind of insane. It solves the problem of where to store and how to transport these otherwise large and cumbersome things. They are a little on the pricy side, but I'm loving the idea!

In the trees

I never had a treehouse as a kid so I'm not really sure where this love of them came from, but the idea of essentially spending time up in the trees sounds so amazing! These are definitely not your average treehouses, but instead part of a collection of some of the coolest treehouses ever captured in a new book by Pete Nelson (aka treehouse designer and builder extraordinaire) titled Be In a Treehouse: Design/Construction/Inspiration

Happy Weekend

I hope all of you are gearing up for a relaxing weekend. Mine will pretty much be anything but, BUT I'm actually really excited to be working. The nonprofit I work for will be selecting their next class of Fellows and I get to be part of the process. About 100 amazingly innovative social entrepreneurs will be in NYC pitching their ideas and vying for this coveted Fellowship. I'm so excited to be spending the weekend getting to know this awesome group!

Here are some things that caught my eye this week:

Stuff to get you ready for summer: I can't help it, I love these sunglasses. Maybe it'e because I'm a child of the 80's but really how could you not smile with these bad boys on.

Stuff you help you get/stay healthy: These tips are so simple, but so great to set you up for a week of success.

Stuff to read: So this book isn't exactly a beach read, but it is inspiring. This idea that you can and should have purpose in your job no matter what you do - that purpose is what spurs innovation and drives fulfillment.

Stuff to covet: I want everything in this store!

Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

I love that I live in a world where this is a thing! In honor of this amazing day here is a recipe that combines two of my favorite things - Chocolate chip cookies and S'mores. Seriously, how have I never tried this combination?! Gooey Amazingness.... that's really all there is to say about that.

swing time

I can't decide whether or not this is crazy, but I kind of really want to put a chair swing in my new home. I have had friends look at me like I've lost my mind, but then I stumble on these beautifully done homes that have managed to incorporate one and I have hope that it can be done in a very cool, non-cheesy way. Serena & Lily seems to make the swing of choice so TBD whether this makes it into the final design... I'm leaning towards yes.

Images from here and here

State of Mind

Images from here and here

Wardrobe: Effortless Style

You pretty much can't go wrong with stripes and distressed denim. Comfy, easy and stylish without a lot of effort - the mark of a home run in my book!

Left - Right

My version of the look

tshirt, jeans, shoes, earrings

Design Envy

I'm always totally in awe of those designers that manage to pull a space together that looks equal parts intentional and.. well unintentional I guess. Robert McKinley is one of those guys. He's the man behind the Montauk haunts Ruschmeyer's and Surf Lodge which makes it no surprise that his New York digs reflect that same laid back style. Captured by the awesome Nicole Frazen for TMagazine - you can read the article and some more about Robert's projects here

To ink or not to ink

Anybody see that Wall Street Journal/NBC poll that came out last week saying that in 40% of American households someone has a tattoo? What used to be a sign of rebellion seems to now be just a mark of individuality, but is it even that? I never really thought of myself as a tattoo person, but in the last year or so I've wanted to mark this moment in my life that has been full of change and have something that serves as a reminder of the possibilities you can create for yourself. The catch is that I want to get it where I can see it daily, which eliminates the usual suspects for your hidden gems (i.e. back, shoulder etc). I'm thinking wrist. What do you think? Do you have a tattoo?

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moments from the weekend

It won't stay this way for long, but despite the beautiful weather it's not quite the start of the summer season yet and many of the beaches are still blissfully quiet. This weekend I got to enjoy the sunshine with my dog on an empty beach and decided that it was a little slice of heaven.

hot summer in the city

Summer in NYC stinks... I mean literally stinks. The trash piles up as do the bugs and the pavement gets so hot you could fry and egg. So as we gear up for this time of year I always find myself looking for places to escape.

When I was a kid and my dad used to take me camping on the weekends, we used to head to the Catskills. It wasn't cool back then. At least to my 10 year old sensibilities it just seemed old, run down and kind of dead. But in the last couple of years the Catskills have become hip... Friends I know are purchasing real estate and some seriously cute boutique hotels are cropping up all over the place. Of those The Graham & Co. is about as cute and hip as it gets. Full disclosure I haven't been, but I'm such a huge fan of the basic set up done beautifully. Fresh air doesn't hurt either.

My favorite things

Food: Mussels, beer and fries definitely top my list for the perfect meal.  I can't explain it, but there is something so satisfying about that combination. 

Clothes: Ace & Jig is one of those brands I stumbled upon years ago and could never find again... until recently! All of sudden they are all over the place (steven alan & shopbop). The fabric is comfy, the patterns are cute and it doesn't look like everything else.. so basically this top is going into heavy rotation this summer. 

Shoes: Love. Nude. Shoes. That's all

Furniture: My quest for the perfect furnishings for my new apartment led me to this site. I love just about everything, but this chair is equal parts classic and young so it's going on the list. 

Life: I've mentioned it before, but I am not a fan of all the talk about fearlessness. I think fear is good. The real trick is to be brave in the face of fear.