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Friday, May 31, 2013

Quote of the Day 5.31.13

Day 2 of the cleanse and I haven't keeled over from lack of coffee (or booze...). Heading home to Greenwich this weekend and I plan on laying by the pool, starting my summer reading and popping into a barre method class or two anddd playing with the pups! Might even go in the pool. Might even dunk my head in! Actually, probably not....hehe. Have a great weekend everyone! xo



Thursday, May 30, 2013

Artist of the Day: Basquiat

Jean-Michel Basqiat was an American artist that was heavily influenced by graffiti and mixed abstract with figures to create collaged paintings. Basquiat was inspired by social issues and liked to paint contrasting themes like wealth vs. poverty. He came to fame in the early 80's and was big on the New York art scene until he died. When I was in high school, Basquiat was a huge inspiration of mine and I even did my whole senior year art portfolio using graffiti/mixed media a la Basquiat.  He died in 1986 of an overdose but his legacy lives on in his paintings.I'm sort of obsessed with his color choices and combos and his use of layering is pretty incredible. Below are some of my favorite pieces of his. I adore the fifth one down but how can you really pick a favorite??











*All art created by Jean-Michel Basquiat

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Look of the Day 5.29

I love dressing up shorts in the summer time and tweed gives shorts an extra flare and seems a little fancier. I love this oversized white blazer and by switching the t-shirt with a fancier top and adding some heels, you can go from day to night in a snap. What are your favorite summer pieces in your wardrobe?



*Image from Refinedstyle.tumblr.com - notes by me

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Tuesday Treats

Hi everyone! Hope you all had an amazing long weekend. I was starting to get nervous on Saturday that the whole weekend was going to be a wash but Sunday and Monday were gorgeous and I even got sunburned. Yesterday we picked up our new puppy, Olive, and she is absolutely adorable.


 Me with the pup before Memorial Day bbq

Riley with Olive right when we picked her up

Pixie seeing what Olive is all about. Olive is actually Pixie's niece!

If you're like me and ate a bit too much this weekend (and during the month of May), it's time to get back on track for June. Starting Saturday, and for this rest of the month, I am going gluten-free. I have a feeling it will be a bit harder this time around considering it's summer and I love a cold beer and all the BBQ fixin's but I am determined to get back to not eating everything in sight. I went gluten-free for lent, which is six weeks, and lost seven pounds and felt great. 

I have a few friends who did the Clean Program by Dr. Junger, that Gwyneth is a fan of but 21 days of 2 shakes a day and one small salad is way too restrictive for the most social months of the year (for me, at least...). I like the ideas behind the clean program (no coffee, alcohol, gluten, dairy, meat, processed food, etc.) so I went on the website to see if there were any other options. The Clean Program has a one week "refresh" cleanse that I'm hoping to try to get me on the right track for the summer. Refresh is a week long and you have a shake for breakfast and other healthy foods for lunch and dinner. You can have eggs, fish and grass-fed beef (hugeeee for me) but still no coffee, alcohol, gluten, dairy, etc. I think coffee may be the hardest to kick but I'm excited to feel great and it's just a week.. how hard could it be..??



In honor of my last 3 and a half days of eating whatever, I leave you with some pictures that will certainly tempt me for the next month!











*Images from sweetsugarbean.com, foodiecrush.com, mybakingaddiction.com, simplydelicious.co.za, vanilla.com, sugarintherain.tumblr.com, marthastewart.com


Friday, May 24, 2013

Memorial Weekend

I couldn't be more excited for a three day weekend even though the weather is going to be bad. This week has draggggged on and a little break, no matter how short, is always welcome. Riley is still in town and my parents are picking up the puppy on Monday so we will probably spend the weekend in Greenwich - very low key. My parents are in the process of buying a new property, which I'm dying to tell you all about, so I definitely want to drive him over to see that! I also still haven't seen The Great Gatsby, which I'm dyingg to see, and I may even have to pop in to The Hangover 3. Hope everyone has a great weekend!


Thursday, May 23, 2013

The Neutral Home

As much as I love prints and colors, there's something to be said about a great neutral palette for the home. Maybe it's because it's almost summer and I'm loving the beachy/laid back look or maybe because neutrals always look crisp and clean but whatever the case, I am loving the look for every room in the house.P.S. how comfy/cute do the bedrooms look??















*Images from acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com, boxwoodclippings.com, casatreschic.blogspot.com, decorpad.com, houzz.com, simplyseleta.com, splendidsas.blogspot.com, nightingale design, homemadeinheaven.blogspot.com, janegreen.com, cocokelley.com, Architectural Digest


Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Summer Reading 2013

I have always been the girl that reads every book the teacher assigns. I'm wasn't a teacher's pet by a long shot but I just devour books. From trashy chick lit (this is the majority of my reading these days - they can't see the cover if you're reading it on a Kindle or iPad...) to NY Times best sellers, I am always searching Amazon for the newest, hottest, latest. When my mom threatened to cancel my Kindle/Amazon account that was automatically getting charged to her credit card, I almost had a stroke. Crisis averted, though, and now I am on the hunt for my Summer reading list. If any of you have suggestions PLEASE send them my way. Below are a few reads that I enjoyed in the last two years and a couple I'm excited to dive into. Nothing better than a book on the beach! Now all we need is the beach weather... 


Gone Girl - Read this before the movie comes out! I was TOTALLY fooled and had myself saying "oh no she didntttttt"


Not Quite Mine - I always search high and low for good chick lit (and by good I mean that I like it and not that it is a "good" book) sometimes light, beach reads are the best. Texas socialite finds a baby on her doorstep and tries to hide it from her family and her ex-secret lover Dean (best friend of her older brother). Sparks fly when Dean starts to figure out what's going on.


Wallbanger - sounds a little sketchy but this book, set in San Francisco, is a light-hearted romance novel that I would be shocked if they didn't adapt it into a screenplay (and it doesn't have anything to do with vampires).


Seating Arrangements - artfully written. amazingly rich descriptions and a good summer book about a summer wedding in Maine.


Bared to You: A Crossfire Novel - Fifty Shades of Grey in NYC where both characters have secrets and, Eva, the main character, is much savvier and more experienced/put together/less naive than Ana from 50SOG. The 4th one is coming out in a week.


Rules of Civility - adored this. any 20 something (and older) woman living in NYC (or who appreciates Manhattan) will enjoy the stark contrast between NYC back then and NYC today and the similarities that still stand. Such a good book.


Room - written in the perspective of a 5 year old boy who was born in captivity (his mother was kidnapped and they have been kept in a room his whole life a la the Cleavland kidnappings) who only knows that the room exists and not the outside world.


In the Garden of Beasts - non fiction that reads as well as fiction about the U.S. ambassador to Germany and his family during Hitler's rise to power. If you like historical fiction or this time period, this book is a must read. Erik Larson is a genius. I literally could not believe the story was true because of the intricate details of the plot. Also loved "Devil in the White City," by him, as well.


Deadly Fear, Deadly Heat, Deadly Lies - one part criminal minds and one part sizzling romance novel series.



Favorite Romance Novel Authors
-Anything by Rachel Gibson (pretty sure I've read almost all of her books - 
(favorites include "a lot like love" and "any man of mine")
-Julie James (attorneys, cops, etc. mostly set in Chicago)
-Cynthia Eden (some are a little too paranormal for me...)
-Toni Aleo (hockey romance novels - what's not to love..)


Books I want to read:
"Brain on Fire" - Susannah Cahalan
"Girls in White Dresses" -Jennifer Close
"The Secret History - Donna Tartt
"What She Saw" - Lucinda Rosenfeld
"The Emperor's Children" -Claire Messud
"Bring up the Bodies" -Hilary Mantel

*Images via Amazon.com and Google.com


 

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