Photo Overload and Other Updates

Ever misplace your camera adapter for over two months (eeeek!)? Good, me neither! Here are some extremely overdue photos from the holidays and my trip home. 

Downtown Salem, Massachusetts.

Freshly roasted coffee beans ready to be ground. I can almost smell them just from looking at this picture!

Raisin-studded brioche from Seven Stars sliced for French toast.

Thistle + tulips from the Thanksgiving table.

Orange + dark chocolate chip scones sliced and ready to go into the oven. These made a great take-home favor at a Christmas get together with friends.

Our Christmas tree that we tagged and cut down from a local tree farm. I miss the holiday decorations!

My favorite vintage ornament from the 1950s that was gifted to my by my grandma.

Santa's suit + matching sparkly nails.

Newest s'more obsession from Brooklyn's S'more Bakery.

My family's hand-stitched stockings lined up on the mantle.

Colorful wrapping paper + glittery ornaments.

The best ombré birthday cake ever (made by Tiane's talented sorority sister). 

Fun joint birthday celebration with Tiane and Alex.

The decadent oreo in a blanket cookie from Bakeshop.

Spiky NYE decorations on my mom's table.

Lighter-than-air homemade doughnuts for brunch on New Year's Day.

Colorful tassel garland hanging over my Washington, DC poster in the guest room.

So that's what's been going around in these parts over the past few months. I can't believe Christmas has come and gone once again and I'm another year older. I actually forget how old I am sometimes now. If that's what happens when you're officially 'old' then I'm there! I have been hard at work on my 30 before 30 list. There are some simple things I'd like to accomplish (ahem, getting the courage to chop my hair) and of course some loftier goals (like take a trip outside of the country and brush up on my French skills). I think 2013 came so fast that I haven't had enough time to fully process all that went on in 2012. I'm still working on reflecting on last year's resolutions and building from there. I hope you all had a great end to the year and that 2013 is starting out strong for you!  

Plants and Other Projects

There have been lots of DIYs happening around here. I feel like with summer right around the corner, the porch has been the focal point of my efforts. I started by sprucing it up with a cute iron table and teal chairs set and planted a few pots of fresh herbs. So far, I've managed not to kill basil, mint, and cilantro. They're actually bright green, thriving, and fully edible! I also have a strong affinity for succulents, and have been pinning away creative ideas for terrariums and little displays with them. Over the weekend, I took a cue from the Beautiful Mess blog (so many cute ideas over there!) and prettied up some plain old terra cotta pots for my new succulents. It was a super quick and budget-friendly way to add some fun decor to the porch. Plus, I'm happy to report that M and I have enjoyed dinner al fresco three times this past week. See, there are so many benefits to revamping the porch! Now I'm on the hunt for some fun paper lanterns or little strings of lights for nighttime ambiance.

What have you been up to?

DIY terra cotta pot painting on the porch

acrylic paint + foam craft brush + miniature terra cotta pots

first, add a coat of white paint as a base

then, paint the rest (or part) of the pot a different color; allow to dry completely

fill the pot with some pebbles at the bottom, then top with soil and succulents

the pale yellow pot is my fav!

citrus fruit for fresh squeezed margaritas

bright orange ranunculus from the farmer's market

I love how perfectly symmetrical they were when they began to bloom!

juicy watermelon that went into a salad with feta cheese and mint

leisurely Sunday brunch at the Armsby

trying a bright lipstick for the first time-Spellbound by Cover Girl

House Guests and Antler Accents

We had a house full of guests a few weeks ago when my mom, aunt, and sister visited Providence for a long weekend. It was so nice to have some of my family come into town and gave me the opportunity to show them some favorite shops and restaurants around Providence. The highlights were a great sushi dinner in Waterplace Park, vintage shopping Downcity, brunch at Nick's on Broadway, and having friends over for a nice home cooked meal on Saturday night. Although it was a quick trip, we still managed to squeeze lots of fun and laughs into a short amount of time. My mom and aunt even helped me hang up the antlers that my dad hand-painted for the apartment. I can't wait for them to come back!


tuna sashimi


red dragon roll


yellowtail + jalapeno sashimi


trio of antique antlers hand-painted by my dad

Mood: Inspired

Do you have a mood/inspiration board somewhere in your home? It's something that I've been wanting to put up for a long time now, but just haven't gotten around to actually doing. I'm thinking that this might finally be the year. I always find myself saving scraps of mementos (movie stubs, matchbooks) and tearing striking photos out of magazines. I think it would be helpful to recognize themes in things that I find appealing, whether it be design, fashion, or even certain colors.

If you have an inspiration board, how do you use it and how often do you change it?

all images found via Pinterest

Clever Ceilings

I've noticed that more and more restaurants and shops are taking advantage of their ceiling space for decorating and displays. I particularly loved this idea from the Golden West Cafe in Baltimore that I visited today. They covered the girls' bathroom in little white lights and parasols, giving it a funky and colorful vibe. Wouldn't this look great in a den or entry way of a home?

Halloween Cheer

It's starting to get spooky around here!

Hometown Pride

I love these DC throw pillows by Uptown Artworks! I'm definitely thinking of getting a couple, especially since they mention Georgetown and Ben's Chili Bowl, two iconic places within the District. Check out their website to see if your city or town is represented!

Flutter By

Neiman Marcus always has the most unique and over-the-top window displays and installments. Check out these pretty iridescent butterflies hanging from the ceiling above the escalators. There were thousands of them. I felt like I was in Alice in Wonderland or somewhere magical (and far, far outside of Boston).

Day Twenty-One: Another Moment, In Great Detail

One of the best parts about Christmastime at my grandparents' house was always the decorating. Every year they threw a huge tree-trimming party and invited lots of friends and family to enjoy hanging ornaments on the tree while drinking cider and listening to Christmas carols. As much as I enjoyed those parties (and got away with eating too many sugar cookies), it was the set up that I enjoyed even more. My Pop-Pop collected old electric trains and we would spend all morning going into the crawl space under the basement stairs and pulling out the boxes of metal track and each individually wrapped train car. The combination of smells from the sweet pine sap of the tree and cold metal from the tracks is still a vivid memory for me. It was so satisfying to lay out the track and fit each piece together perfectly until it went all the way around the base of our tree. I can remember laying on the cold hardwood floor and being covered with prickly needles that had already fallen.

We had to make sure the wheels of each car were lined up with the grooves in the track so they would glide along smoothly and the cars all hooked together in order, starting with the engine and ending with my favorite, the caboose. The most exciting part of all was, of course, getting to slowly turn the dial for the first time and waiting in anticipation to see whether or not the train would lurch forward-it usually did. I would set it as fast as it could go, until the little toy people would topple over and fall off. I still try to tinker with the train set every few years when I'm home for Christmas and I still get just as much enjoyment out of watching it circle the track under our Christmas tree. It brings back so many great memories, which is one of the best things about this time of year.

Vintage Springs

This is quite possibly the most amazing kitchen I've ever seen. It's proof that you don't need state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances to have an aesthetically pleasing look. My favorite part is definitely the vintage truck springs converted into stools. I love the amount of light that comes in through the picture window and the cabinets are made from old fences. Check out more unique (and small) kitchens featured here today.