an old house by the sea

two weeks ago one of josh's coworkers was kind enough to invite us to a barbeque at the most charming home i ever have seen. on a little island nestled in some rocks. this house was enchanting.

above are some pictures from that night.

organic modernism

when i was in new york city this april i found this store, organic modernism. they are not paying me to say this, but you have got to check out their website. or check out their brick and mortar locations if you are in the city. if you love design and want to breathe some heart and soul into your home they have what you want. 

this is how they describe their company on their website:

"Organic Modernism (OM) is a furniture company located in 

Brooklyn, New York.

   Many masters of modernism believed that working people 

around the world should be able to afford and enjoy an 

aesthetic quality in their everyday lives. The great 

Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer once said that nothing 

is a design until ordinary people use it.

We share that same vision about design and are dedicated

 to bringing design to the masses."

  

okay, count me in. sign me up.

travelogue. barcelona, spain. part two.

 

happy friday! it has been sweltering. like really humid. like i need to reapply deoderant every half an hour hot. we are leaving for maine next monday for two weeks but i'm going to try to line up some posts so you have something to read while i'm gone. hope you all have a lovely weekend! 

above are some photos from our first morning walk around barcelona and the port and coastal area. enjoy!

design candy

 

 sources: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine

now that it's officially summer as of yesterday it's time for midnight skinny dips,  star gazing, making beaded necklaces with the girls, simple tapas, citrus squeezed on mostly everything, salty hair, and lots and lots of popsicles. 

hope you enjoy today's eye candy.

this weekend

hope you all are enjoying the start to summer!! i have an overwhelming feeling of freedom when summer comes along. i think it's the result of growing up in the mid west and now having the opportunity to go the beach everyday and swim in the salt water, see the horizon, and hike in beautiful settings. it really has made me more relaxed and content in life. i'm not sure if it's living in rhode island or the fact that i'm doing yoga. but, it feels good and i'll take it.(i also should say that i love ohio and i love going back there. my heart aches for it sometimes.)

anyhow, this weekend we took advantage of the free visits the preservation society of newport county was offering. breakfast at corner cafe for father's day and then tours of the breakers. and the isaac bell house.

hope you all are well and thank you for reading my little blog!

to my dad

i'm a little behind with this, but since i wrote the things i love about my mom for mother's day i thought it would be appropriate to write about my dad. we also saw this sign in rockport two summers ago and it cracked me up. here are the things i love about my dad, pete lubs. 

- his integrity. he is the most honest and respectable person i know. 

- the way he starts laughing and can't stop. his face turns red and then he starts scratching  his head. i nearly wet my pants every time it happens. 

- his love for the simple pleasures in life: popcorn, taking walks, fly fishing, morning coffee, topsiders and being in nature. 

- his love of jazz music and english bands. in middle school, he would drive me to school in the morning and i would get exposed to it . wasn't really a fan then, but it subconsciously rubbed off on me and now it's my favorite music. 

- the way he dedicates his time to help people. church committees, meals on wheels, historical society, dunham tavern museum and board member at the metzenbaum center. 

- his discipline with swimming and eating healthy foods. 

- he is a rock. his ability to remain calm and never get nervous. he has traveled to many countries through his job and had to give talks to many people and it never phased him. he is so smart.

- his positive and supportive voice on the phone.

- the way the girls light up when they hear his voice or see him. 

thanks for being the best dad and grandfather!!

(i also wrote about my dad here if you want to check it out)

isabella stewart gardner museum

we left the girls with my brother and sister-in-law on sunday morning and josh and i went on a date to the isabella stewart gardner museum. we held hands and he might have gotten a pinch or two. we got there before they opened so we were able to walk around and see the new addition designed and executed by renzo piano building workshop. i loved the glass connector from the new wing to the historic building.

also, when we lived in belmont, massachusetts i had an infatuation with the isabella stewart gardner museum and art heist that occurred in 1990. stolen the film is a documentary about the heist and i highly recommend it.such a haunting feeling when you walk through the room where vermeer's " the concert" once was displayed. now there is an empty picture frame. 

“Years ago I decided that the greatest need in our Country was Art… So I determined to make it my life work if I could.”  

—Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1917

in the city

our family of four headed up to boston this weekend to stay with matt, my bro and new sister, briana for the first time since they were married in april. we got to use all their sharp knives that cut like a dream, new bamboo cutting boards,  and sleep on fresh new sheets that they got as wedding gifts. we even helped them put a dent in the left over candy from the wedding. they are such a spunky and fun married couple and i'm so happy for them.

on saturday we got up and took the subway into boston and walked around for @ 6 hours. the north end. faneuil hall. beacon hill. newbury street. copley square. my favorite parts were the tapas we had at wagamama. getting to see the store where my brother is manager of retail operations- ball and buck. the almond croissants from cafe vanille in beacon hill. the curiosity/antique/jewelry/home decor store called good. the enormous alliums in the boston public garden. and the girls being able to walk around barefoot in a water fountain park on the greenway.

briana and matt also threw a party on saturday night. they rock it in that department. they always have great music playing, they never stress about getting everything ready, and they make a special drink for the night. the red sangria was my favorite.

hope you all are doing well and getting excited for summa, summa, summa time!

travelogue. barcelona, spain. part one.

here are some more photos from the trip my husband, josh, and i took on our anniversary getaway to spain and france last fall. we took a boatload of photos so i have broken them up into snippets. 

we arrived in barcelona around 4 pm on a friday and returned our rental car. it felt really liberating to ditch the car and know we were going to use our legs and explore the city for the next three days. 

we checked into our hotel, the market hotel, which i found out about through black eiffel's post on barcelona. it worked out great for us. easily accessible and very cool decorating. there was even a restaurant and bar downstairs that had excellent food.

the first night we arrived we just walked around to get a feel for the city. these are some of the pics we took.

and if you want to read more about our trip to spain and france click below.

- itinerary

- segovia, spain aqueducts

- segovia, spain

- bilbao, spain

- san sebastian, spain. here. here and here.

- arles, france. here, here, and here. 

- cassis, france

- aix-en-provence, france

hope you all have a lovely weekend!you deserve it!