i want to live here

i want to walk around barefoot holding a cold drink after going to the beach in this house. i want to lean my hypothetical surfboard against the entrance in this house. and i want to wear a kaftan and sit on that couch and read the girls a story in this house. please excuse me, i'm experiencing just a bit of house envy.

this is the home of dewey and stephanie nicks in carpinteria, california.  i spotted this beauty when josyln taylor pinned the living room  on pinterest (which was originally pinned by rachel jones of black eiffel) which led me to the post in apartment therapy about the home and it's architect, barbara bestor of bestor architecture. and i also found an article in the la times magazine about it here. as well as a home tour on martha stewart right here.

many publications have written about it, and i am thrilled to have seen it. i'm storing these images away. or maybe i should build a vision board, oprah style, around the photos in hopes they come true.

anyway, hope you enjoy taking a peek inside this house as much as i do! 

images from bestor architecture.

moonrise kingdom. rhode island premiere.

for all you local readers, get your tickets to the rhode island premiere of moonrise kingdom from jane pickens theater. on june 21st, jane pickens is having a pre-party at 6:30 pm and then the anticipated screening at 7:30 pm.

moonrise kingdom stars bruce willis, edward norton, bill murray, frances mcdormand, tilda swinton, jason schwartzman, bob balaban. the director is wes anderson. 

the movie was filmed in rhode island in 2011. executive director steven feinberg of the rhode island  film office says the movie presents a  "visually stunning Rhode Island postcard."

here is the link to the preview.  i cannot wait to see this movie. i have been a huge fan of bill murray ever since i saw him in meatballs as a little girl. it looks hilarious and i can't wait to spot the scenes that were filmed right here in newport.

eye candy

here is some design candy for your tuesday morning. we all need a little distraction and visual stimulation. don't we?

sources:

one, two, three, four, five, six

 

sorting, sachuest, strawberries, and sugar

 

does anyone else out there hate cleaning? i'm a stay-at-home mom at this current stage of life and i can't stand it. so ironic isn't it. mrs. meyers lemon verbena counter spray and method lavender wipes don't even sway my hatred. because we were gone last weekend and i was recovering all week from the binge drinking we did over memorial day, our house was in a sad state of affairs. i was almost thankful that it rained buckets on saturday so it forced me to stay inside the house and do exactly what i hate the most-clean. but, once i was 10 minutes into it it really wasn't that bad. i'm such a procrastinator. and i didn't only clean. i purged drawers. organized the girls artwork from this entire first year of preschool and sorted through bowls and galvinized bins of paperwork and memory accumulation. the good thing is i feel like a new woman! all organized and sparkly all over. but, i still would love to indulge in a green cleaning crew every other week or so. 

(and i guess i should add that my husband rocks. i never have to clean alone. he always helps too. with that and parenting the girls. i need to start looking for a killer father's day gift for him)

so after we sorted on saturday and could eat off of our spic and span hardwood floors; the sun appeared on sunday. our 6:15 am wake up call from the girls didn't even phase us because we were excited about all the things we wanted to do on sunday. we headed to sachuest point national wildlife refuge for a hike. and as you can see i got lots of kisses from karoline. 

we also went strawberry picking at quonset view farm (i didn't take any pictures because i had my hands full from all the berries). we got a little carried away with the picking so i had to come up with some recipes stat when we returned home with all the sweet, ripe for eating now, goodness. so we made strawberry frozen yogurt and a strawberry rhubarb crumble. nothing like a little sugar to make twin three-year-olds rowdy enough that the neighbors want to call the cops because of a noise violation (that didn't happen, but i was ready to call the cops to have them take my daughters away:)

anyway, that's what happened this weekend. i'll be eating strawberry rhubarb crumble off my clean floors this week while my girls recover from their sugar high.

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!