A Sunday Soundtrack

1. Sibylle Baier- Tonight

2. Bon Iver- The Wolves (Act I & II)

3. Feist- Brandy Alexander

4. Belle & Sebastian- Seeing Other People

5. Wilco- You Are My Face

6. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals- The Hardest Part

7. Amos Lee- Skipping Stone

8. Elvis Perkins- Doomsday

9. The Flaming Lips- In the Morning of the Magicians

10. Liz Longley- Annabelle

11. My Morning Jacket- Oh! Sweet Nothin'

12. Radiohead- Faust Arp

13. Yo La Tengo- Our Way to Fall

14. Yael Naim- Lonely

15. Willy Mason- Where the Humans Eat

16. Tom Waits- Way Down in the Hole (87)

17. The Beta Band- She's the One

18. Grizzly Bear- While You Wait for Others

19. Beirut- Nantes

20. Tom Petty- Square One

{Feist::Brandy Alexander}

Download this mix on iTunes!

Books & Blouses

When Boston hits 89 degrees like it did yesterday, there's one thing on my mind...a pretty beach house. Unfortunately, the closest I can get to an escape right now is through a book or a trip to Anthropologie. Which is why today's topic matches lovely, breezy blouses with some exciting must-reads. So while the weather heats up and we're wishing to be beachside, just join me on the sofa with some iced tea, crisp embroidery, and The Selby!

 

Books from top: The Selby; $35.00, Annie Liebovitz At Work; $40.00, Treasure Island; $20.00, The Picture of Dorian Gray; $20.00, Emily Post's Etiquette; $39.99

Anthropologie blouses from top: Banderole Tank; $98.00, Floating Fronds Blouse; $98.00, Fissured Shell; $98.00, To The Sun Blouse; $78.00, Anthurium Blouse; $88.00

The Wine Riot

Ok so I know I've been talking champagne and orange juice, but another thing you should know is that somehow, by age 22, I have managed to establish myself a full-blown wine snob. I blame my mother. She's so picky about her wine that if she opens up a well-reviewed, nicely priced Malbec and discovers "it doesn't sit right on her palette" it will move right next to our stove, only to be used in meat reductions. I never meant to turn out this way. In fact, I used to drink wine out of a box! "Blasphemy," my mother would snub.

In my high taste of the grape, I'm excited to announce a very special event in Boston on April 16th & 17th. The Wine Riot, hosted by Second Glass, is an expo-style wine tasting bringing old and new winos to sample over 250 wines from around the world! The riot will take place at Cyclorama in trendy South End. On Friday, April 16, check out "Night of the Bubbles" from 7-11pm, exploring sparkling wine, champagne, cava, prosecco, and more. Since you had so much fun on Friday, you'll want to come back on Saturday, April 17, for two doses of the riot at 1-5pm and 7-11pm. Grab your tickets at www.thewineriot.com/tickets.

The event features crash course seminars with wine experts, tasty food pairings from local eats, a live DJ, a photobooth (to beam your red-stained teeth), the Gold Sparkler Lounge, free schwag, and more. The best part if you go, you might catch my mother feeding the experts some advice. So if you're a wine-snob like me or maybe just a wannabe, this is where we should meet. See you there!

Check out this DIY wine bottle light!

Easter Menu

So Easter has come and gone, but the memory still remains in my mind...and maybe a bit on my hips. It was a whirlwind effort in the kitchen between Mama Dee, Grown Up Lady Me, and I, as we chopped, seasoned, sauteed, and deglazed (something new I learned). I am proud to say, it was a succulent success.

Here's what we had!

Appetizers:

Baked brie in a brown sugar pecan glaze served with pears

Cabot Cheese, Crackers, and Kalamata Olive board

Shrimp Cocktail

Salad:

Mandarin Orange, Grapefruit, and Red Onion, served over Romaine in a citrus dressing

Meat:

Beef Tenderloin with a sour cream, peppercorn, horseradish sauce

Fish:

Pretzel Crusted Cod with an Apricot-Dijon Sauce, see recipe here

Sides:

Steamed Asparagus

Rosemary Roasted Red Potatoes

Rye and Ciabatta Dinner Rolls

Dessert:

Blackberry Vanilla Cupcakes (at last!), see recipe here

And of course, a chocolate-filled Easter basket!

Now you can have a better look at what we cooked! Thanks Mom :)

Blog Award: I Love Your Blog

I think this is a very special award! It finally allows me the opportunity to reach out to those Bloggers who fill me with daily inspirations, ideas, and mostly, a sense of camaraderie within this sometimes intimidating blogosphere. Thank you all and just know...

Thanks so much to VictoriaJeanne!

Check out this New Yorker's beautiful blog, These Bittersweet City Streets.

The Rules:

Copy the award and place it on your blog

Nominate  and link to 13 of your most-loved Bloggers

Here are the awards to the darling bloggers:

Jessie

Catie

Karen

Carly

Jessica Danielle

Kristin

Erin

Anne

Elixe

Crystal

Juley

Poppy Talk

Josephine

Here Comes Peter Cottontail!

Connecticut is a sunny 68 degrees and with the double holiday tomorrow, I could not be happier. It is every so often that my big bro, Colin, (also, Grown Up Lady Me's "Mr. Ginger") gets to celebrate his birthday on Easter. What has this meant for the rest of us? More cadburys, more peeps, more cake, more everything, especially potatoes--boy loves his potatoes! The Easter bunny has a big job on this special occasion...

Even when Easter doesn't fall on Colin's birthday, I have always enjoyed this holiday. I love the pastel decorations, the easter egg hunts, the way it brings in Spring so nicely, and how everyone is so pleasant. 

But like most events in my life, Easter comes with its set of memories and traditions that keeps me fond of it, even now that I'm older. 

1. Dying Easter eggs with my Mom

2. A new Easter dress

3. The Spring Daffodil, which can always be found on the CT roadsides

4. Easter baskets

Stuffed with

 And 

5. Peter Cottontail, an oldie but a goodie!

This year comes with some new traditions...I'm the chef! I have already made dessert and they look pretty delicious. I'll see you Monday and let you know how the Easter menu goes!
Have a wonderful Easter!

P.S. Check out this beautiful Easter table setting from Erin at House of Turquoise!

One Shirt, Two Suits

The relentless job search comes with one endearing prospect, new clothes! The dreaded interview, complete with sweaty palms, stammering thoughts, and a killer pencil skirt.

I can't freaking wait.

In a perfect world, I imagine stepping out of my cab, approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled interview time, looking strikingly similar to

{Garance Doré}

I know, you're right...I don't have a job yet, so spending money on cab fare is erroneous. Ok yes and it's Spring, so a wool suite would just look ridiculous. 

After a long day of cover letters, resumes, LinkedIn, and the various other duties in post-grad life, I unwind with my favorite part of personal branding- power outfitting. My next plan of action, is to take these suits and introduce them to my mom in the most professional and persuasive powerpoint I can muster, in hopes that she'll too realize the effect of high-suit investing...and take me shopping.  

The Shirt: 

Donna Karan Cotton-Blend Wrap Shirt

The Suits: 

1. The Katharine Hepburn Effect (think Adam's Rib)

The Power Suit Series 2 by mollybryn featuring Donna Karan tops
Linen-blend Double-brested Blazer by DKNY
Silk Radzmir Cropped Pants by Marc Jacobs
'Carrie' Leather Pump by Guess
Oak Printed Leather Planner by Mulberry
London Ladies Briefcase byAspinal of London
Red Wayfarers by Ray Ban
Chance Perfume by Chanel
Executive T-Clip Ballpoint Pen by Tiffany's
'Feminist Lipstick' by Elizabeth Arden

2. The Black Tie Twist

The Power Suit Series by mollybryn featuring Donna Karan tops
Tison crepe tuxedo jacket by Maje
High waisted shantung silk shorts by Stella McCartney
Black Patent Flats by Cookie7
Park Slope Short Eliza Bag by Kate Spade
Barrie round-frame acetate glasses by Oliver Peoples
Benetint Lip Balm by Benefit
Under-eye brightener by Smashbox
Retractable Gel-Ink Pen by Bic