Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Beach totes

A must have for the beach!

Rebecca Minkoff
Endless Love Straw & Leather Tote Bag

Tory Burch
Ella Straw & Patent Leather Tote Bag


embroided canvas
beau-coup



Rebecca Minkoff
Raffia & Leather Boyfriend Beach Tote




(I love this tote but can't seem to find it)

                                                                           

     

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Pretty pics

 Hi lovely ladies,
I was at a beautiful home this weekend and took some pics.  I hope you enjoy them!












Saturday, May 26, 2012

Have a nice holiday weekend!






It's the official beginning of summer!  I want to again thank Ann S. Mindicino for her wonderful post on Memorial Day Weekend!  Have a fun, safe weekend whatever you do. ........and a song to welcome summer.............

Friday, May 25, 2012

I have always loved Memorial Day Weekend

by Ann S. Mindicino

Walking past a grave with a "happy birthday" balloon on it, soldiers with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, or "Old Guard," check Section 60 to make sure each grave has a flag in honor of Memorial Day, during the annual "Flags-In" at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., on Thursday, May 24, 2012. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, Associated Press / AP
I have always loved Memorial Day Weekend. It represented the beginning of summer.  The long weekend was always lucky for me. I met my first boyfriend on Memorial Day Weekend. I moved in with my now husband of 33 years on Memorial Day Weekend.
I never thought much about the meaning of this holiday. I started looking for activities for the upcoming weekend and I learned how much more significant this holiday is beyond the barbeques, fireworks and opening of beaches.
I never knew it was first started as Decoration Day after the civil war and was originally designated as a tribute to Civil War veterans who lost their lives. They were honored by decorating their graves, hence the original name, Decoration Day. Many years later the holiday was deemed to include a tribute to those who died in service to our country in all wars and even beyond to a time to remember all significant people who have passed and thus became known as Memorial Day.
Did you know that in Arlington Cemetery current soldiers place a flag on every grave on the Friday before the official holiday celebrated as a federal holiday the last Monday in May? That day may have been chosen because by then flowers in bloom could decorate the graves of those who died for our country. There are tributes and festivities similar to the one in DC all over the country. It’s nice to know the tradition and memories of the “real” holiday are still celebrated and often in the traditional way going back to the Civil War days.

A flag is seen at the temporary marker for a mass grave in Section 60, an area largely used for those who died while serving in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AFP/Getty Images / 2012 Brendan Smialowski

So, take a moment. Hang a flag. Write a soldier serving overseas now. Remember what it means to you to be an American and rejoice in it. Remember freedom isn’t free. Throughout history we have paid dire prices for it.
I worry that in this post 9/11 world our freedom has been threatened and therefore, compromised. We need to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. I am disillusioned but not defeated. We baby boomers changed the world. However it did not become what we envisioned in our generation and we may have little hope for the future. It’s a process and a destination and we’re still just beginning. This is a good holiday to remember why our ancestors came here and how we can become the country we grew up knowing was the best place to live. I want to know this again in my lifetime.
Thank you to all the brave men and women who gave their lives through centuries to preserve our country so that we can hold our heads high and always be proud to say we are Americans and be proud and privileged to call this great country our own.
Then go to the beach, the parades, see the fireworks and celebrate the season but take a moment and tell your children and grandchildren why this holiday is so significant.
I found this on Pinterest from a blog: puertabella.blogspot.com. There’s lots of ways to put the red, white and blue in your holiday festivities. This is just one of many. Enjoy the weekend and welcome to summer!



p.s.  Thank you Ann for this beautiful post!

What Is Your Morning Routine?

Do you get out of bed at the crack of dawn or do you linger?  I'm a lingerer and don't like that I am.  But I'm not a good sleeper so I rest some more in the morning.  Or do you just sleep later?  Whether we have to go to work or are lucky enough to have days of leisure we probably all have some kind of routine in the morning.  The three things that I have to do to get my day started are.......1. put up coffee......2. take a shower......3. put in my contact lenses.....4. let my dog out in the yard (can't walk him....he is a beast!)  If I don't do those things first then nothing else seems to get done.  And then it will take me even longer to get out of the house.  (oh and of course brush my teeth....which I do twice in the a.m.)
What is the first thing that you do in the morning?  Do you have a favorite show that you watch?  Do you exercise as soon as you get up?  (if you do I think you're awesome!)  Do you meditate?  Do you have an order to your morning routine or do you just wing it???

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Mascara update!

I know that I previously told you about the amazing mascara that I use.  Well I think that I actually found a better one!  Also by L'Oreal.  It is called Telescopic Explosion.  The color I use is Carbon Black which is really, really black.  But the brush is the key!  It is actually round.  So when you apply the mascara the brush reaches every lash.  It kind of fans your lashes out.  So they appear thicker and longer.  At CVS.  Try it!  Tell me what you think.





Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Baby rooms

Some of us will be becoming grandparents in the near future or maybe already are!  Just wanted to post some really pretty baby rooms that we can show to our children when we put our two cents in when they decorate.  Are you traditional? Would you only pick pink for a girl and blue for a boy?  Or would you go for something very different?



www.designdecoridea.com

www.corearchitect.co.uk

www.homeinteriores.net

hiscafe.net


ucrit.net

www.decorationideas.org
www.homeinfurniture.com
forbabies.tk
davinong.com

http://www.designwagen.com/






Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The ten smallest countries in the world.

Hi lovely ladies,
I found these beautiful images on the web.  I am deciding which of these countries I would like to visit first.  Tuvalu looks so pretty.  The sky looks so amazingly bright.  What about the castle in San Marino? Out of a fairytale!  And the colorful boats in Malta.  This is a hard decision but one I'm probably not going to have to make anytime soon so I will keep deciding.  Ladies would you want to travel to any of these tiny countries?  Which one would you choose?  Have you been to any of them?

Monaco
image by Salvatore.Freni

Grenada
image by Ruth L

Malta
image by bazylek100

San Marino
image by fdecomite

Liechtenstein
image by Hellebardius

Marshall Islands
image by mrlins

Saint Kitts & Nevis
image by NASA Goddard Photo

Maldives
image by YXO

Tuvalu
image by mrlins

Nauru
image by Sadie and Maude's place 

Graduation

Hi lovely ladies,
I haven't written yet this week.  I have had a bad sore throat, headache and cold.  So when I got home from work I just couldn't write.  I'm sneezing like crazy.  Needless to say my co-workers are not happy with my bad cold.  But I didn't start it.  Someone else in the office did and now it's my turn and I guess it will make the rounds.
This past Sunday was my daughter's graduation from grad school.  She received her Masters Degree in Special Education.  She worked so hard for it and I am a proud mom!  Something that I never in a million years could have done.  Graduation is very emotional.  When they played "Pomp and Circumstance" my eyes whelmed up with tears.  My tears were those of joy and sadness.  Joy that my daughter was receiving her degree after years of hard work, student teaching, lesson plans, observations, etc. and sadness that my parents weren't there.  My mom passed away many years ago and my father was not able to be there.  So it was bittersweet.  I wanted them to see this joyous occasion. 
Before the graduates get their degrees they announce all of the Masters that are going to be given out.  It is all very emotional to say the least.  Then after the Masters Degrees the Doctorate Degrees are given out.  As each graduate receives their degrees they are called Doctor for the first time.  Surreal I'm sure to say the least!  What a beautiful ceremony from start to finish! 
We have many trying times in our lives that when we can experience something so sweet it is just so good!!!


p.s.  I will upload pics later.....at the office now.  xoxo

Friday, May 18, 2012

Have a sunny weekend.

New York is supposed to be beautiful this weekend.  Great weather to start walking outdoors and get in some extra exercise.  Start slow!
 Whatever you do have a good one!

Paris train


Can you even imagine a train like this in N.Y.C.?  What a treat it would be!  This new train with images of the Chateau de Versailles' decorations on its ceiling, on the line C of the Regional Express Network is in Paris, France.

Love


song by Miss Li 

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Coffee mugs











Aren't these monogram mugs by Anthropologie so pretty?
I love mugs.  I love to pick out my coffee mug in the morning.  I actually put some thought into which mug that I want to use!  Some are more favorite than others.  Do you have a favorite coffee mug?  
I once read that Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband think about what coffee mug they are going to use the next morning .  It seems that she likes mugs by the company Marimekko.   Read what SJP has to say about coffee.  And she has a line of her own coffee mugs.