i got sunshine...

 

anna bond of rifle paper co. is one of my favorite stationery designers ever. i'm so sad that one of her wood recipe card boxes isn't in my budget, and if i ever get married, i totally want her to design my wedding invitations. even cooler? anna lives and works in the same town where i grew up: winter park! she's opening a store there soon, too. yay. 

anyway, yellow is my favorite color, hands-down, so it's no wonder that i love these custom wedding invitations anna designed. aren't they pretty? just a little sunshine for your thursday. 

p.s. i feel weird typing this when it's not even halloween yet, but anna's holiday cards are up in her shop now, too.

p.p.s. this post is taking a left turn now, but are you dressing up for halloween? i am sadly costumeless, have a party to go to on friday, and am in need of last-minute ideas that don't involve the black cat ears i've worn for the last three years.

loving: macha jewelry rings.

totally loving this ring from macha jewelry -- i'd wear this bauble in a heartbeat. based in london by way of ireland, all macha jewelry is handcrafted and attempts to "fuse british heritage and rock 'n' roll androgyny." pretty cool, right? and, even better, totally pairable with jeans or a ballgown.

the weekend + committing to...

 

 

for me, the weekend was a quiet one. i slept in both days, which was glorious, and managed to catch up with two groups of my favorite friends: one on friday night at one of my favorite sarasota seafood spots, and another on saturday night at an outdoor café downtown, where a live band was playing under the huge harvest moon. book club was cancelled that night, and i have to admit that i was really happy about the change in plans – i mean, is there anything better than good friends, good food, and good wine on a beautiful fall evening?

sunday brought with it total sloth mode (i wish i had the same motivation to paint my bedroom that jane had to paint hers) and several hours spent on the couch with a book and a movie playing in the background. that being said, i did manage to clean up my rather messy apartment and ended the evening taking a beach walk with a friend (see photo above), having dinner on the front porch of her pretty new house on siesta key, and reading my book into the wee hours of the morning.

yay.

now, it’s a new week and time or a new “committing to…” i know that sometimes these commitments get repetitive, but as much as i think it’s important to commit to something new each week, i also think it’s important to keep coming back to old ones, or ongoing ones, as well – feels kind of like a mental check-up. anyway, here are my goals for the week:

+ sharing how i (really) feel. speaking my mind, especially in an uncomfortable situation, is something that i need to do more frequently. often (and unfortunately), my reaction to things is to automatically apologize for them – even when i didn’t do or say anything that warrants an “i’m sorry.” i really, really need to work on this, and i’m fairly certain it’s symptomatic of a whole bigger self-worth thing – a conversation i need to have with myself soon, too.

+ starting my next book. i love reading and i love that i’m doing a lot more of it lately. need to keep up the momentum.

+ taking my clothes to the consignment shop. seriously, how long have i been talking about this?! it’s time to just do it. (and while i’m at it, i need to take my other clothes to goodwill.)

+ jogging at least three days this week. (i.will.do.this.)

+ taking some pictures of pretty sarasota scenery to share with you all. i’ve found myself taking pretty routes home lately and admiring all the lovely houses, from little bungalows to seaside mansions. i think you’ll like them just as much as i do.

and you, lovely readers? what are your goals – or even just your looking-forward-tos – this week? please share – it’s so great to read about them (em has started her own “committing to…” feature on her lovely blog, and stephanie often shares her weekly goals, too – so inspiring!)

see you back here tomorrow. xoxo

photo by me

what are you doing this weekend?

happy, happy, happy friday, friends! another week is behind us and the last week of october is almost upon us -- can you believe it? i'm starting to get excited for halloween and for the holidays: thanksgiving and christmas, of course, but also my grandmother's 95th birthday on november first, which feels like it should be a holiday, you know? (more on grandma -- my mom's mom, who lives in florida, too -- another time. i am so lucky to have both my grandmothers still living.)

how do your weekends look? i'm meeting up with some girlfriends for dinner and conversation tonight, and then tomorrow is my first book club meeting, and i'm looking forward to meeting all of the girls who plan on attending. i also want to continue the feels-like-it's-taking-forever bedroom clean/purge and get a run/walk in both days -- i went running last night (really running) for the first time in months and pushed myself, and while it was hard, the amazing high i got during and after made it all worthwhile. so, yay for that.

tell me what you're up to, and i'll see you back here on monday! xoxo

photo: anne hathaway, photographed by mario testino for vogue's november issue. i love this. also, after reading adam green's profile of her, i love anne.

hereafter.

oh, man: i love this stunning photo that anabela took with an intense burning passion. when i look at it, i feel so many emotions: strength, vulnerability, awe, longing, helplessness, power. and in this really strange way, i also feel like it's kind of indicative of my life right now. is that weird to say? i'm not sure; i'm going on feeling right now.

i do know that i like being put in my place by nature every so often. and i feel like standing on those cliffs, with that water crashing around me, would -- at least for a few moments -- take me away from everything i think i know.

xoxo

l'amour.

oh, them? they're just possibly the chicest wedding guests ever. now coveting perfectly wavy hair, bangs, glasses (...which i actually do need to start wearing, eek), a frilly clutch, and that french je ne sais quoi.

city love.

vogue just started a new web-only series called apt with lsd that gives readers a sneak peek into the homes of the magazine's favorite models, actors, stylists, and artists. and if the first home on the list -- the two-bedroom gramercy park apartment of model coco rocha and her husband, james conran -- is any indication, the series promises to be pretty fabulous. i love the luxurious feel of rocha and conran's little abode, and the fun details they've added that keep things interesting (andy warhol's candlesticks, anyone?).

photographs by claiborne swanson frank.

the weekend (and end of last week) + committing to...

happy monday, friends! i caught a gross cold sometime in the middle of last week, and, just when i thought i was getting better, i started feeling worse. so the last couple of days have consisted of tons of tea, vitamin c, zinc, kleenex, and time on the couch with oscar-cat and my favorite, softest blanket -- hence the silence around here.

i needed the down time, though. and in fact, while laying around at home, i managed to come up with bagfuls of clothes i want to donate/consign (my closet is breathing a sigh of relief), write down a list of books i'm dying to read this fall (nicole krauss' great house is at the tip-top of this list), and whip up my version of molly's father's amazing french toast. oh, and i made the most random and awesome mix cd ever. i can't wait to listen to it in my car on the way to work.

how were your weekends? are you looking forward to the upcoming week? can you believe it's officially mid-october, and that every day we're creeping closer to november? (eek!)

anyway, here are my commitments to next seven days. share yours with me, too, will you?

+ completely recover from my cold, and continue to try and eat healthily and get a full night's sleep. my cold, i think, was exacerbated by a pretty sleepless week (work stress, some other personal things), which was just...not good. i feel bad for anyone who came in contact with me on thursday, let's just say that. so, yes: eat and sleep well.

+ start and finish the book the girls in my book club picked out (i've never been in a book club, and i'm a huge literature snob, so i'm wondering how it's all going to go, but i am looking forward to meeting new people and talking about words. nothing better than that.)

+ clean out my bedroom really, really well and keep the rest of the house clean. in my sickness it got kind of, um, messy.

+ spend as much time outside as humanly possible. fall in florida is gorgeous; we're looking at highs in the low 80s and lows in the 50s, with super-low humidity -- it's the kind of weather that makes you happy to be alive.

see you back here tomorrow! xoxo

image via here

loving: scout and catalogue.

totally loving the dreamy photography and styling of scout and catalogue's pretty pieces, which -- according to their mission statement -- are "heavily influenced by the bohemian beach culture of mexico." what a lovely thought as we head into the thick of fall.

color theory.

stacey just finished decorating her southern california apartment, and i just love what she's done with it. so bright and cheerful. also a reminder that i need to find a rug for my own living room, pronto.

photographs by vogo image.

the weekend + committing to...

happy monday, friends! how have your weekends been? mine was, quite literally, sweet -- from the homemade oreos i baked (see photo above) to the time i spent with friends. my college friend k. was in town (taking the GRE lit subject test -- yikes), so we spent most of saturday together, eating the aforementioned cookies, drinking tea, exchanging clothes, and catching up.

then, sunday, i slept in, read the new lonny (yay), and found the perfect fall blazer while on a little shopping trip with my friend k. even though i probably won't get to wear it very often until december, i've been on the hunt for something like this for awhile now -- plus, seeing katherine heigl's covetable wardrobe in the super-fluffy-but-still-cute life as we know it on friday augmented my desire to find it. and on a random thrift-store stop, i did. yay! you really can't go wrong for $4.99. (a little dry-cleaning action and it'll be totally good to go.) it was a good two days.

how were your weekends? did you do anything exciting? are you looking forward to a brand new week?

and speaking of a new week, here are my commitments to this one:

+ standing up for myself. not compromising.
+ continuing my cooking and baking spree (because it's so much fun).
+ appreciating the little things -- like a monday night spent on the couch with my cat.
+ continuing to be open to the possibility of something big. i'll write more about this soon.

and you? what are your goals for the next few days? tell me, and i'll see you back here soon!

photo above of my delicious cookies.

what are you doing this weekend?

happy, happy, happy friday, friends! it's been an insanely beautiful week here in sarasota, and i am so excited to have saturday and sunday off to get outside, enjoy this amazing weather, and spend time with my friends. tonight some of us are going to see a movie, and saturday i'm going to catch up with a college gal pal and then watch the gator game. sunday -- well, sunday i may take a stab at these (thanks to emily's post). clearly, i'm in baking mode.

i've been feeling pretty good about life in general this week, in spite of that random food poisoning on tuesday. i've done a good job cutting out diet soda and unhealthy food (with the exception of those pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies, but i made those from scratch so i know exactly what's in them), and my mood has been bright and chipper. i think it's the weather, honestly. fall is my favorite season, hands-down (even though i may say that spring is my favorite and march and summer is my favorite in june and winter is my favorite in december, autumn is my one true love).

so this weekend, i'm going to celebrate the season. what are you up to? tell me, and i'll see you back here on monday (or maybe even sunday!).

photo by ricor 

they call it pumpkin love.

those of you who have been reading this blog for awhile know about my love of baking. there are very few pastry projects i'll turn down (unless they include dried fruit -- seriously), and i love trying new recipes. i also love giving baked goods to others -- for me, that's the best part.

since fall is in the air this week, i decided to whip up something autumnal, and chose these pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies after reading about them on naomi's blog. i love pumpkin-flavored anything (and make a mean pumpkin spice cake, pumpkin cupcakes, and pasta with pumpkin sauce), and i love chocolate chip cookies even more (see here), so the recipe seemed like the perfect marriage of the two. and it was -- these cookies are soft and very cakelike, with just the right balance of pumpkin and spices and chocolate. that said, i did double the amount of chocolate chips the recipe called for, but that's just me.

what are you baking this fall?

loving: dace.

oh my gosh. i am loving the photos of dace's fall collection. the mood of them is so fantastic -- dreamy and romantic and a little dark and mysterious. lovely.

nothing and everything.

this post is coming a little later than usual, but i ate something bad for lunch yesterday and subsequently threw it all up (sorry) last night after work, which left little time for writing a blog post -- let alone going for a nice long jog or making myself a yummy dinner with the windows open. stupid lunch.

anyway, that to say that i'm typing this post now with my tiny porch door thrown open and a sliver of pale-pink, sunset-tinged sky peeking through the tree leaves, and that, in this moment, all is right with the world. sometimes it really is the little things.

i hope you all had a happy october tuesday.

p.s. even though my lunch made me sick yesterday, i still just love this photo of this sweet restaurant. via here.

the weekend + committing to...

this past weekend was one of those where i rediscovered my love for sarasota, my city on the gulf. after an early night on friday, it began with an all-day bachelorette party at the ritz-carlton beach club on saturday (pool time and pina coladas -- does it get any better?), followed by a two-hour sunset cruise on the famous le barge and then a fantastic cuban dinner at columbia (can we say pompano stuffed with shrimp, crabmeat and artichokes and baked in parchment paper?). that's my friend t. and me on the cruise in the first photo above; it was about 70 degrees outside and an amazingly beautiful and fun night.

after a haircut on sunday morning, i ended up having lunch alone at a little downtown cafe called savory street. i'm normally not one to eat by myself -- for me, meals are a social thing and if i have to have them solo, i like to have a book or magazine with me. but instead of getting my caprese sandwich to go, i settled down in a seat by the window with the cafe's copy of the new york times (print media, i will always love you) and my food and enjoyed every minute. (it didn't hurt that the cafe's staff was incredibly friendly and accommodating. also, isn't the savory street's, um, street super-cute? it's photo number two above.)

then my friend k. called and invited me to her sister-in-law's grandmother's condo on longboat key for a swim in the gulf of mexico and a barbecue. there's really nothing i enjoy more than swimming in the ocean, and doing that and then sitting down for more delicious food and a clear view of the setting sun was bliss (see: photo three).

i really, really needed this weekend. and even though i'm rolling my eyes at the idea of having to jump back into the work week as i type this, i came away from it feeling refreshed and with a brand-new list of things i'm excited to be committing to -- such as:

+ food detox. i am an emotional eater, this i know. and i've been miss crankypants for the past couple of weeks (this i know, and this you know, too). those facts, coupled with all the eating and drinking i did this weekend, leave me needing to eat super clean for the next few weeks. that means no diet soda, no candy, and no french fries -- for a little while, at least.

+ signing up for a 5k! i realized how much i love-love-love being outside at this time of year this weekend, so why not sign up for a race?

+ mapping out my (personal, financial, professional) goals for the rest of the year, and starting to think about (gulp) what i want for 2011.

and you? tell me, and tell me how your weekends were, too! xoxo

photos by me.

what are you doing this weekend?

i’m not joking, you guys, when i say this week has been one of the longest ever. i took a half day off from work on tuesday, thinking, among other things, that it would make the rest of the week fly by, but i feel like it actually made time go by slower. i spent all day wednesday thinking it was thursday, and now i’m spending all day friday waiting for 6 p.m. everything is fine; i just really want the weekend.

and speaking of, what are your plans for the next few days? i actually have an action-packed saturday -- one of my close friends is getting married in a month, so we’re having a bachelorette day complete with pool time, pedicures, a sunset cruise, and dinner and drinks. i’m excited, both to spend time with my friends and to have an entire day of fun.

and other than that, i’m still doing a lot of thinking about next steps, which has spilled over into the non-professional aspects of my life, as well. i’m working on setting up a website for the side projects i'd like to take on, and i’m trying really really hard to be a little more assertive and open to the possibility of new people and new experiences. i’m an extremely outgoing person after you get to know me, but a little shy upon first meeting, especially if it’s for social reasons and not work ones. plus – and this is going to sound pretty pathetic, even though I know it’s something we all experience – i often question my own self-worth. so it’s time to work on that.

i also have some consulting work i need to finish, and i want to make time for a run, too, especially since the weather’s getting so much nicer.

tell me your plans, and i’ll see you back here monday! xoxo

p.s. happy october! pretty fall image via mary ruffle.