sullivan's island, south carolina

 

we arrived home yesterday afternoon from a visit to the low country. sullivan's island, south carolina is where josh's brother and his family have a beautiful vacation home. the tropical storm did not rear it's ugly head and we had some fun in the sun. it was truly a relaxing island vacation.

walking to the beach and seeing porpoises diving in and out of the water. the girls playing and giggling with their 4 cousins. collecting sea shells. concocting new drinks (nine fiddy) with the orange/tangerine/lemon citrus fruit they had growing in their yard (we still have not identified the name of it). salt water hair. morning walk on beach at low tide. eating at poe's tavern. going for a boat ride and discovering a little island where we anchored and explored. my nephew fishing there where he caught and released a baby shark and sting ray. the girls getting braver in the pool with their cousins. and no connection to the internet which made for more present living.

i'm unpacking today and finding lots of sand and the lingering salt water smell in clothes. i might not even wash them.  i don't want to wash away that vacation feel.

if you are in the mood to laugh

hope you all have a nice relaxing long weekend. we are heading to sullivan's island in south carolina to visit josh's family. i hope his family still loves me after seeing my whiter than white pastey winter yankee legs. guess i need to invest in some self tanner, but didn't get a chance this week. oh well! 

here are some links to my favorite comedy skits that always evoke a laugh with a snort because that's how my laugh comes out these days. hope you enjoy!

1. maya rudolph and kristen wig on saturday night live. super showcase. i love it when they crack each other up.

2. the californians skit on saturday night live.

3. kristen wig as the target lady on saturday night live.

4. bronx beat skit on saturday night live with maya rudolph and amy poehler.

5. a history of rap-jimmy fallon, justin timberlake and the roots.

6. peter from the cosby show gets a ride from bill. we have been watching the cosby show with the girls and josh and i end of laughing our heads off. it really is the best show that was ever on television.

7. any comedy clip by brian regan. here is his website. 

what are your favorite comedy clips? would love to hear. 

photo from the 2012 vanity fair oscar party booth.

coggeshall farm. wool and fiber festival.

this is the time of year where there are a couple of festivals or activities on the weekends to choose from in rhode island. it's a great time to live in this area with the option of going to the beach, to the city to experience some culture or going coastal country with the farms and stone fences.

this saturday we headed to coggeshall farm museum in bristol, rhode island.  it's a living history farm set on 46 acres right on a salt marsh. this saturday was the wool and fiber festival. the only one in rhode island. we saw sheep sheering, fiber arts displayed and every type of yarn for sell in such pretty colors. we packed a picnic and had a relaxing day.

what cracked me up was that karoline did not take her eyes off the vintage VW yellow bus. she was mesmerized. much like josh and i were! what a dream car for the summertime in rhode island. strap some surf boards on top with a picnic basket and you are set for a fulfilling romantic summer day.

here is some pretty because i need it like i need a stiff drink

image sources: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven

have you ever been in a car accident? and one that wasn't your fault? and all your brain thinks about after that car accident are all the little details of that day. what happened before. what was crossing your mind when the car accident happened. how helpless and out of control you felt afterwards. well, my friends i consider myself a pretty strong person, but i can't seem to shake this accident from my mind. 

last wednesday morning, while the girls were in school i was driving from a class at the ymca to walmart (yes, i admit it. i sometimes shop there because there is no target on the island. i am ashamed.) an idiot driver (who shall remain nameless, but i know his name from the police report) slammed his truck into the back of my minivan. i was just trying to get from point a to point b. i used my left turn signal and my break light was on. he failed to see both and went soaring right into the back of my car. the back windshield shattered. the back of the car has $7,000 worth of damage and my body did the whiplash movement. 

i had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital and all i could think about was that i just came from my first r.i.p.p.e.d. class at the ymca, which kicked my bootie and i was sweating like a pig. my entire body was still soaking wet from the workout i just had. there were 6 ems men (who were in their uniforms, attentive, cute and very nice) trying to move me from the car to the ambulance and i was thinking those poor guys. they have to smell my awful b.o. and touch my sweaty body because how did i know i was going to get into an accident on the way from the ymca to walmart. of course i would have taken a shower, applied more deodorant and sprayed lavender spritz if i would have known. duh.

anyway, i am fine. thank goodness for yoga. my body bounced back to normal two days after, but my mind has not. i don't like driving anymore. i have anxiety from it. i feel like every car is a huge weapon that is going to collide into me. i'm hoping that this wears off soon or else walking may become my preferred mode of transportation.

so the moral of the story is to never shop at walmart and always take a shower after your sweaty ymca class because you never know if you'll get in a car accident on the way home. hah!

hope you enjoy these pretty images because i sure do need some visual relief from this hoopla. 

museum of art. rhode island school of design.

we decided to head into providence on sunday to check out the risd art museum. and it did not disappoint. do not be deceived by the unassuming and small entrance. there are six buildings to explore and even an outdoor garden.it really is one of providence's hidden gems. we were blown away by the breadth of the art and how well it was maintained.  84,000 objects total. we will be returning soon. i can't believe it took us two years to get here. i love this place!

the museum of art - rhode island school of design website.

weekend

how was your weekend? i hope you were able to indulge in all your favorite things if you are a mama. and i hope your family surrounded you with love and hugs and kisses.

i wasn't lucky enough to be with my mom for mother's day this year because my parents were just in town for my bro's wedding. but, these are some things i love about my mom, pam lubs. 

-her respect and caring nature to everyone she talks to. from the toll booth operator to the grocery store check-out person. she treats everyone like they are the president of the united states.

-we appreciate her kind and thoughtful packages filled with holiday goodness. 

-her supportive, positive, and loving  phone conversations that brighten our day. i really should be paying her a therapist's fee some days.

-her fabulous clothing finds for all of us. she used to be a children's wear buyer before i was born and she still has it in her.

-her stylish, thoughtful, and happy expression of life is contagious.  

-her awesome planning and organizational ability. 

-the way she is such a great friend to so many people. 

-the energy and zest she has for life, museums, music and culture. 

we love her so much!

around the house

some images from around the house today. it has been rainy the last couple of days and this morning while i was in yoga class at the ymca clearing my head from everyday worries and clutter; the sun came out. so i picked the girls up and we headed to the playground. we jumped in left over puddles, yelled at the top of our lungs (because there was no one else there) and picked buttercups. we then came home and made chocolate chip cookies. stuffed our face and took a nap. when we woke up the lighting was killer around the house so i took some pictures. hope you enjoy!

two flower girls

karoline and rory were flower girls in my brother, matt's wedding to briana on april 27th. the professional photographers that photographed their epic day were snap photography in rhode island. i thought they really did capture the beauty and happiness of that day for my bro. to see more pics of my family and matt and briana's wedding day you can go to the snap! photography blog.

from this weekend

some scenes from this weekend. 

1. we discovered a new frozen yogurt place in newport! beluga frozen yogurt. dulce de leche was our favorite flavor. 

2. we stumbled upon a parade. the national police parade. there were bands from new york city, bag pipers (my favorite), and clowns. 

3. the nice weather on sunday lured us outside where we stayed pretty much all day.

hope you had a great weekend!

travelogue. aix-en-provence. france.

along our drive from arles to cassis, france in provence we took a pit stop in aix-en-provence. the day we stopped we knew there was going to be a little antique and craft market as well as a food market. so we were so excited to stop for a couple of hours and see the colorful spices, olives and tapenades. we bought a lot of food for the rest of the car ride and basically ate our way to cassis. 

aix-en-provence is known for being a university town with many teaching and research institutes. loved the young vibe from all the students. aix-en-provence is also the birthplace of paul cezanne where he lived and painted.

nate to the rescue

i received the may 2012 house beautiful magazine in the mail the other day and loved how cutie pie, sweetheart, fabulous midwest decorator, nate berkus, redesigned this home office for a couple in a brooklyn brownstone. he did the makeover in one day. to see the before pictures you can go here. that glass chandelier, mirror from the 1920's and round coffee table are my favorites from the room. i love how nate creates such personality in a room by adding accessories and details from travels. also love the organic leather, shag pillows, zebra print stools and the velvet couch. i really see a huge comfortable navy blue velvet couch in my future. 

what's your favorite thing about this room?

to see more pictures from this house beautiful room go here. 

photos by björn wallander for house beautiful.

congratulations to matt + briana

my brother, matt, and his beautiful, stylish, smart and fun briana got married last friday, april 27th in newport, rhode island. i am so happy for them. they really do bring out the best in each other. they radiated love and fun the entire weekend and thus, helped the guests to have a most epic time.

the wedding ceremony was held outside right on the ocean at belle mer in newport. there was a magical blue sky with lots of wind blowing from the heavens on friday. i was my brother's 'best woman' so i stood beside my bro and got to see briana's face during the entire ceremony. she was glowing. her face was lit up with rays of sunshine and she was beaming from the inside out. 

and talk about a spiritual moment. with the wind blowing. standing right by the sea. blue sky above. surrounded by family and friends. and thoughtful words exchanged between a couple that were so in love you could feel it in the air. it really was a special ceremony. being outside during this wedding has to be one of my all time happiest moments in my life. i want to bottle up that feeling. my relative from germany said he even saw a pair of seagulls flying overhead when they were exchanging their vows. wow!

my brother has a huge heart and at the end of the ceremony i saw a tear run down his cheek. he felt it too!

so cheers to matt and briana!i love you so much!

photo from snap! photography.
if you are getting married  you should really think about having these professional photographers snap your special day. check out their website and blog here.