The Carousel

The carousel in the park is open and we finally had the chance to hop on it this weekend. Growing up I was obsessed with carousels. Well anything horses really. At the age of 5 when my parents took our family to Disney World all I wanted to do was ride the carousel over and over. I was secretly relieved when I was deemed to small to do on Space Mountain and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride scared the crap out of me so much my father could barely keep me in the car, but the carousel was the best. I have a feeling we will be visiting this a lot this summer…for…ummmm the baby, right.

P.S. I of course raced for the zebra one. Got to get the prettiest horsy.

Shot with my iPhone

Playing Tourist

We played tourist in our own city this weekend.  We walked around Beacon Hill, we picnicked in the Commons, and we rode the famous Sawn Boats in the Boston Public Garden.  The whole city seemed alive and kickin.  It was the perfect warm Spring weekend.

If you visit Boston, I highly recommend taking a ride on the old Swan Boats.  The whole experience harkens back to an age when one would simple promenade around the garden and take a ride.  The worn wooden benches have layer upon layer of lacquer and the aged iron still gleams.  It is a little step back in time.  And the price isn’t outrageous.

  

   

To Everything There Is a Season

Spring is FINALLY peeking it’s flower buds here in Boston, services are being held for the MIT police officer, the two young women and the young boy who were killed in the Boston Marathon bombings of last week, and the city seems to be healing.  I heard a quote on the radio the other day that really got me thinking.  After you have something like a bomb got off in your hometown, you realize “everytime a bomb goes off somewhere it is someone’s hometown.”  We do not live with daily scares as cities like Baghdad, Kandahar, Jerusalem or even New York do, but it was my hometown this time.  Last weekend we needed a mental and physical change of scenery so we went down to the beautiful coastal town of Duxbury, MA to stay with some friends, run in the grass and play with their crazy yellow labs, Olivia and George.

Photos with my iPhone

As we took a walk on the beach we saw some people clamming, right off the neighborhood.  How cool is that?

Uniform Dressing

While I love, love, love fashion there are many mornings I miss the no brainer aspect of all my years growing up wearing a uniform to school.  As I was switching my closet over from winter to spring clothes, I realized I still do have a “uniform.”  One look at my Pinterest board on fashion confirms my taste.  A silk shirt, skinny pants and ballet flats are my crazy day “go-to” outfit, but I also realized my uniform needed a little tweaking and inspiration.  (Tweaking that did not require a shopping spree.)  There is the saying, we wear 20% or our wardrobe 80% of the time, which begs the question: how do I incorporate some of those loved but not super worn items?  To help me answer that question, I pulled some of my spring favorites from my Pinterest board.   I swear I have some variation of everything pictured.  Here is my (ideal) spring uniform:

 

Quiet Please

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to attend the Masters in beautiful Augusta, Georgia.  The sun was shining, every flower was in bloom, every bird was singing and the grass was what can only be called “Maters’ Green.”  It was gorgeous.  I also had an extremely unique experience in this day and age…I was technology free for the day.  No cell phone, no camera, no electronic devices at all are allowed within the gates at Augusta National Golf Club, so we had to leave our devices behind.  Which begs to ask the question…if you can’t Instagram or Tweet it, did it really happen?  I have no photographic proof I was at the Masters on Saturday.  Nothing.  We did pick up some hats and shirts with iconic Masters logo of the yellow silhouette of the United States with the golf flag located in the spot of Augusta, GA, but that is it.  It sounds so silly, but it was such a strange feeling at the beginning of the day.  Many times I would see a beautiful view or Maters’ sign I wanted to Instagram, reach for my phone and realize it wasn’t an option.  Even stranger were those times when I was just standing around, waiting in line at the bathroom, in between golfers, or walking form spot to spot and instinctually reached for my phone, just to kill time.  Low and behold I actually had to look at my surroundings; talk to the person next to me, or just be alone with my thoughts.  It was enormously freeing.  I found myself more relaxed and more present in the moment than I can last remember.  It was the best stress relief.  So I have decided to spend at least one hour a day technology free.  That means no laptop, no peaking at my cell phone and no camera at my hip.  Ideally I will not even have them on hand.  They will be tucked away safe at my house and I will be with my daughter, my husband, myself.  Truly with them.

Photo from Masters.com

Ducks in a row

I went to pull some photographs to post from all my recent travels and projects and I kind of just blanked.  I mean, I have a plethora of images and stories (not pinatas) to share but as I went to sit down today….nothing.  I think it may have in part to do with I basically took last week off for Easter and travels and yesterday we closed on a house!!!!! Ahhhhh.  Oh and we are touring and applying to preschools, and our poor sweet babysitter has been in and out of the hospital (everything is okay), but it has been quite a week.  So I am chalk full of ideas, but as I go to create a post I just fizzle.  But rewind back to the house…yeah, we bought a house.  I have not mentioned it much for fear of jinxing the deal, but for the past few months we have been negotiating a deal on a beautiful, giant, 150 year old house…in Chestnut Hill.  Yes, I will be trading in my Beacon Hill digs for another “hill” in Boston.  While technically the new house is in the city of Newton we are just 5 miles form our current home, and will be increasing our living space 5 times as much.  With all this, also comes a big renovation.  The house is gorgeous with great bones, but unfortunately has not been updated since the 80′s.  It needs a ton of TLC, a sledge hammer in some places, moving of a stairwell, removing of a stairwell, and a lots of paint.  I am so excited at the opportunity to design and make a house perfect for my family, but the excitement is tempered with fear and anxiety.  The time, the coordination, the cost…I just have to keep telling myself it will be awesome.  And it will.  It will just take some time…which I totally have loads of, right?  Haha

Missing blogger…

So many travels in which to catch you up, laundry to do, projects to check in with and photos to download.  An amazing post tomorrow I promise!!!!

xoxo

Sneak Peek…this gorgeous horse my friend rode on our beach ride.  That’s right…I got to ride a horse on a private beach.  Bliss.

Morning has broken

I cannot tell you how happy I am to see the sun starting to rise this morning. With my poor husband sick with a fever sweating through pajamas and sheets and bébé throwing up twice it was a long long night. But there is something about the daylight that makes it better. Big sigh and off to move the laundry along.

I also came access this lovely and much needed poem from one of my favorite writer/bloggers Lindsey Mead.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/lindsey-mead-russell/everyday-life-is-practice-and-poem_b_2468005.html

Snap shots

Today I have another installment of little iPhone/Instagram snapshots into my life, courtesy of a busy week, a laptop STILL at the Apple hospital (although I just got an e-mail saying I could pick it up) and life in general.  Hope you are all having a great week and staying warm.  xoxo

 

Lost without my laptop

Only when I am without, do I realize how tech dependent I am. My laptop is on the fritz and has been admitted to the Apple hospital. I have also been in and out of the studio (where my desk top lives) so I have been attempting to work/post/live via iPhone and iPad alone. Even with all the features of the iPhone and iPad, I am still super reliant on an actual computer. I am hoping to be fully operational soon, but for now I am sending this post via my iPhone.

To brighten your day, here are the lovely orange and yellow tulips that are brighten up my kitchen this week. (As already disclaimed, photo from my iPhone)

On a slightly related note, I am thinking of streamlining my work/life and upgrading to a 13″ MacBook Pro retina and just use a monitor in the studio…thoughts.