wedding dress

As my friend Martha says, monograms are a staple of East Coast prep. I like a good, well placed monogram. The questions is where is the line to monogram overload?


Shower curtains are toeing the line.

Pillows? I think they are fine.

Personally, I like monogrammed totes.

I think it is safe to say monogrammed valances is past that line.

So what do you think, how much is too much?
via fabulous k, project shannon, js monograms, 3bs, daily cup of couture,

I love these iPhone cases from Pencil Shavings. When I become fancy and get an iPhone, I want one of these to top it off...

Remember the days where the Razr and Chocolate were the phones to get? When phones that had a camera were the bees knees? I have to get a new phone since we are switching mobile carriers, I was really hoping for Razr or Chocolate type phone. You know, the kind that calls and texts? Those days are gone.

Verizon and AT&T stores don't even put non-smartphones out on the floor anymore. They have all been thrown in a bucket and sent to the back room. And those dinosaurs you find in the bucket? They resemble my very first cell phone, bulky and gray. No more sleek and colorful phones. I am forced to enter the app seeking ranks of my generation. Though I will put it off until the iPhone 5 comes out, so take that Verizon!

R.I.P. regular cell phones.

Here are some random bits of color I have found over the web...

I love this statement necklace, I think it definitely qualifies as a splash of color.

The only thing I really like in this room is the green island.

This yellow dresser is gorgeous, I think my little sister would love something like that.

Last but not least, the blue wall...

via Etsy and House Beautiful

I love these yellow, white and green flowers. My little sister is using this color combination for her wedding so I have been pouring over different bouquets for inspiration.

I love this illustration by Ruth Sanderson. I did a guest post about her books on my big sister's blog A Window to the World.

I love the pop of yellow in this blue room.

And I love this old post on My Happy Little Life on the cycles of infertility. I can totally relate. I am all done with my current Doctor and researching and preparing to visit other doctor's around the US. Hopefully I can find one I feel more comfortable with. I have also been reading books and articles on infertility, they have me pondering a diet change to a more wholesome diet. By wholesome I mean more whole grains, fruits and veggies and less meat. I want to try to switch to organic meat at least, I figure I already have problems with the hormones in my body and the hormones they have me give my body, do I really need the hormones from my meat? I think this will take some more research. Anyway, over the next year I am going to see a couple different doctors and clinics to find one that I feel good about before we start IVF.

photos via house beautiful, ruth sanderson, christine olson photography

I finally found it! My sister was given one of these years ago, it is similar to a pumice stone but it is sand paper that you use to help cracked heals. It is the best. My feet have been dying this winter so I started searching amazon and found one. My feet can't wait for it to arrive, it really is the best for cracked heels.

I saw an article on Yahoo! on a subway station in NYC that is no longer used but they have changed the routes so you can at least see it now. It is gorgeous, I wish I would have known about this three months ago...

I love this World Cup image.

I read about Lauren Bush (niece of George W., granddaughter of George I) today and how she designs and sells these FEED bags.

They are pretty awesome, you can use them as a book bag, grocery bag etc. Included in the cost of the bag is a donation to help feed and educate poor children around the world.

I realize that this is a different type of post than what you usually see here. What can I say, it's who I am. I have engaged in a facebook debate today, something I generally try to avoid as they can get ugly fast (this one hasn't, yet). It irks me when the feminist movement is belittled and women's rights are brushed aside as irrelevant.

I am proud of the feminist movement and proud to call myself a feminist. I believe that I should be eligible to the same pay scale as a man, I believe that I should have the right to vote, and yes I do believe that I should have the right to choose whether I want to work or stay at home with children. These are the building blocks that the feminist movement is built on and I am thankful for the women who pushed the social envelope to give me these rights, it couldn't have been easy.

It seems as though keeping your own chickens (as in building a chicken coop and raising chickens) is a growing trend. Off the top of my head I can think of at least five people who keep (or will soon be keeping) their own chickens: examples here and here. There is a whole "homesteader" movement that I have been completely oblivious to. I like the idea of growing my own vegetables, herbs and and possible even canning, but chickens? It may have something to do with being a bird hater- really, I hate them. I fell down a flight of concrete stairs once in an attempt to avoid a bird.

Here is my question for all of you, to coop or not to coop?

I love that Ashley Judd loves her team (Kentucky) so much. Apparently she goes to ALL of their games.

via a cup of joe
I saw this post on A Cup of Joe about this couple's small wedding (38 people) and it got me to wondering. If I were to do my wedding over again would I do a large or small wedding? We had a large wedding (500 invites counts as large, right?) and I loved it. I loved everything about it, all our family, friends and neighbors all in my parent's gorgeous back yard and everyone dancing. It was fantastic. On the flip side, there is something to be said about an intimate wedding, you get to spend more time talking to the guests and you don't have to stand in line for hours saying hello to everyone. So my question for you is big or small?

I am not a huge perfume fan. I don't like the musky smell of most of them. I found my favorite in high school and I have stuck to it, it is way cheap too. While visiting my sister over the holidays I sampled one of her perfumes, ironically her least favorite. It grew on me. Juicy Couture by Juicy Couture. Not an original name but it smells good.

photo found here
I have never liked eating grapefruit straight. I like grapefruit based drinks (think Fresca) but grapefruit juice and grapefruit in general have always been on my dislike list. I used half a grapefruit last night while making more cranberry sauce (I love cranberry sauce on my turkey sandwiches, so much better!) I used half a grapefruit. I had half left over and decided to give it another go, I doused it sugar and dug it. Grapefruit and I have made up.

P.S. the Cranberry sauce salad was a hit! I added about 1/4 cup of sugar to the dressing though.

Over Thanksgiving weekend my sisters and I will be having a serious tea party with my four year old niece. Feather boas are encouraged. For our high tea we will be making cucumber sandwiches. This recipe looks like a good place to start, minus the mint (I have allergic reactions to mint, I prefer my lips and eyes to remain unswollen). I think I may substitute parsley for the mint.

I was telling some people that I associate snowflakes with blue because when you draw a snowflake you use blue! They had never heard of anything so strange. So I ask you, if you were to draw a snowflake what color would you use?

Victory in England

in Minneapolis

and in the South Pacific

My favorite veteran, my Grandpa. He still tilts his hat like the soldier in the picture above.

Thank you to our veterans. Happy Veteran's Day.

Did you know that this was used originally as a British campaign slogan asking citizens to "keep calm" during World War 2?