rovensky park on a foggy saturday

hope you had a wonderful weekend! rovensky park off of bellevue avenue in newport, ri is where we frolicked on saturday. the fog was still gently hovering over newport and the sun was filtering through in some spots. it made for a romantic trip to the park. the girls love that park. they can run around for hours and feel free.  josh is a landscape architect and loves checking out the trees at different stages of blooming. and i love feeling like a kid playing tag and hide-in-seek. it's a happy place for us.

i like

some eye candy as we head into the weekend. hope your weekend is as lovely as you are. cheers!

image sources:

1. scarf from printed village via what do i wear?

2. image via style for living.

3. those ornamental grasses are fabulous. design from blasen landscape architects via remodelista. photo by marion brenner.

4. 'frame light' in brass by julian mayor. 

5. amalia stripes pillow from anthropologie. that fringe rocks!

6. abstract painting by sally king benedict. check out more of her beautiful work here.

98 days until the london summer olympics

do you get as jazzed as i do about the summer olympics? all the stories about the athletes, their backgrounds, and how they got to this awesome point in their lives is so interesting to me. my favorite thing to watch are the sprints. i ran the 100 meter dash, 200 meter and 4 X 100 meter relay in high school so i get butterflies in my stomach when i see the athletes line up at the starting blocks. and not to mention it's in london this year. it's going to be so much fun to see will and kate and london all decked out.

during the last olympics i was on bed rest in the hospital waiting for karoline and rory to be born. it couldn't have been a better time because i just sat on my nest and watched the olympics all day long for 2 weeks straight. all the nurses and doctors would come down to my room to get the results. ha! 


these beautifully simplistic graphics are by alan clarke graphics. they were proposals designed to work with the transport for london branding. here is the actual 2012 olympic logo. 


images from alan clarke graphics.
 

spring break

it's the girls spring break from school this week. it turns out that we didn't need to travel to the south to experience flip flops, riding around with the windows wide open, licking ice cream cones while wearing barely anything. it was 80 degrees yesterday (a good thing unless you have allergies and you feel like you are in a fog and your brain is working at 50%).

so the girls and i took a little field trip to sachuest point national wildlife refuge. we searched tidepools and lifted up seaweed to look for animals (my dad would be so proud). we found the tiniest crab i ever did see. the girls threw rocks in the water and i took lots of pictures. they were brave and i am happy that they aren't phased by climbing on the rocks and touching the sea creatures. they are getting older and more independent. and i couldn't be happier.

girls weekend in new york city

i'm really lucky. in 12 days i'm getting a sister. her name is briana and she is marrying my brother matt. i'm so happy for them. but i'm a little selfish in the fact that i will be able to call a really stylish, caring, energetic, confident and smart person (oh, and she knows how to haggle like a champ); my sister.

this weekend four women celebrated briana with a trip to new york city before she gets married. lots of girl time. walking. laughing. shopping, drinking wine. dancing. getting design inspiration from art galleries, furniture stores and boutiques. on saturday we walked around for 9 hours straight. of course there were a lot of stops for lattes, green juice, cookies the size of our head, french food and new york pizza. 

this was fun, this girls weekend. i think all women deserve a weekend like this. escaping and indulging in the good stuff. and then returning to their lives feeling refreshed, inspired and content. 

used book store finds

used book stores are one of my favorite indulgences. if i'm able to escape the everyday grind, a consignment store, used book store or antique shop are high up on my list of things to do. these are some recent finds from d kelley fine used books in newport, rhode island. i could spend hours in that shop. the thrill of the hunt makes me feel tingly all over. ha.

room service modern furniture

some clean and modern furniture designs from room service. i love mixing antiques and flea market finds with modern furniture. it's all about ecletic mix.

see more furniture at room service's website.

newport folk festival 2012

i am buying my tickets today for the 2012 newport folk festival. we have never been because the girls have been too young, but this is the year! ben sollee, who i posted about here is performing along with some other stellar acts. after having kids i have to admit that i don't keep a close watch on music. npr and black eiffel's music mondays are my link to new musicians. so i am excited to hear some new music in an outdoor atmosphere right by the ocean this summer. 

photo by ryan mastro.

more info. about the newport folk festival.

inspiring interiors

hope you enjoy these stylish and sophisticated interiors. i love rooms that have one or more things that you wouldn't expect. that interesting feature is what makes them so special. something that screams that the designer or home owner doesn't follow the rules. someone that is different. someone that you would like to meet. at least that's how i feel about people that have a different perspective. the weirder it is, the more i like it. 

photo sources:

one, two, three, four, five, six.

easter's past

some scenes from easters in the past at our home. bunnies, and eggs, and bonnets oh my! what are you doing for easter this year? do you have any traditions or do you change it up every year? i would love to hear how your family celebrates...

travelogue: cassis, france.

cassis, france was our next stop on our spain/france trip last fall. it sits right on the mediterranean  sea, 12 miles east of marseille. there is just something special about experiencing the french culture right on this beautiful sparkling body of water in this quaint village. cassis wine (white or rose) and the cliffs and the sheltered inlets called calanques are what this town is known for.

we enjoyed the following things while we were here for one night:

1. packing a picnic with cassis wine, crusty bread, local cheese, and figs and sitting right on the beach and watching the sunset. 

2. the farmer's market on friday morning filled with local goodness from the provence region in france. it's all about the food, friends.

3. we did not have time to take a boat tour because we were busy sitting on our behinds, drinking wine and eating local food, but everyone said it was worth it to see the rugged coastline and the calanques.

4. this was one of our most laid back stops on our trip. we really enjoyed taking in all the beauty and sitting at a cafe and watching the boats come in and out of port.

around the house

some images from this weekend. the girls had a dinner and art show at their preschool on friday night. it was lovely to see them so excited about their work. and i found out a little fun fact while i was there that creativity is at its peak in the early childhood years. no wonder i am amazed by my girls on a daily basis with the artwork they create, their ability to entertain themselves with make believe stories, and how they find happiness from living in the moment instead of being attached to electronic devices and superficial things (like i do).

we also got caught up in the moment making hand shadow puppets. the lighting was just right in the corner of our home and the girls loved it. 

and i really lucked out at our public library this weekend. found these 3 fabulous books that i have been wanting to get my hands on for awhile. 

1. chihuly garden installations

2. bringing up bebe: one american mother discovers the wisdom of french parenting. by, pamela druckerman. 

3.  food rules: an eater's manual by michael pollan, illustrations by maira kalman.