Happy Almost Long Weekend!

Blythe-

Lovin' those shades, and that pup! Lori... keep us posted, I want pics!

To be perfectly honest... I got nothing. Totally uninspired on this fine Thursday morning. Below is what has piqued my interest of late, though. Hope you enjoy too...

Have you seen these new bobby pins? I first saw them at Lizard's place on Saturday in Louisville and then was reminded about them by WhoWhatWear yesterday. They look so cool and now that my hair is getting a little longer maybe I can use them! Am I super late to the game on this one?

Check out this featurette about the new Transformers movie. The movie doesn't appeal to me, but this little video is awesome. Makes my palms sweat. We saw these base jumpers on 60 Minutes a few months ago. Wicked.

via

The Louisville Zoo has a new polar bear cub! She's an orphan from Alaska. What a cutie! Oh, and she has a twitter account. Obvi.

Did you see this redhead on Cuppa?  Did you ever end up going for the red lip look? I don't know why she even bothered to ask about tan vs. fair. We've known the answer to that question for a looooong time!

Garance Dore

Last night, after Jeff made this delicious meal (slow-roasted pork, spinach and sweet potatoes) which had lots of veggies, was simple and SUPER delish...

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...we happened to catch the season premier of Royal Pains. Man, I love this show. It's perfect and light for summer when my TiVo is empty except for screaming women from New Jersey. You can catch the first episode here.

That's all I got. Literally. Happy almost weekend!

xo,

Phone-A-Friend: Lori's Shades

Hello!

It's time for our next installment of Phone-A-Friend!  Lori is Blythe's long time friend (16 years and counting) and is someone both of us look to for advice! So when she wrote to us regarding sunglasses, our first thought was to call Lori for help. Oops. That isn't going to work! Anyway, here's her cute email:

LADIES!

My pressing issue is... SUNGLASSES. Here's the deal... as a lady with sensitive eyes and a love for accessories - I constantly stress about/purchase cheap shades.

Here are my issues:
1) I can never choose just ONE pair to go with my wardrobe and I literally almost always wear a pair (even in a full overcast/light mist day) because I'm a squinter and am obsessed with the increasing wrinkles in my life. So if I were to commit to a pair - do I go gold rims? black? brown? fun? trendy? How does one choose? and stick to the choice?

2) I always go cheap with shades because I am cheap, plus I tend to sit on/stuff in my purse/drop/etc. pairs and they break and scratch them. Also - if you never spend a lot you never feel bad about buying another $5 pair to add variety... Plus I feel like an expensive pair is like a couch and you've made this giant investment and can never change them (or at least not for years). Side note: I once spent $50 on a pair and loved them, so much so I dove into a lake with them on and they were lost forever.... so I remain gun shy.

3) I'm increasingly concerned about my eyes and protecting them as I age (gasp!). I've read a few articles about the importance of getting UV protectant shades and polarization (both of which add mucho cost from what I've seen). So I'm feeling like it might be time to grow up or at least act like it and get a nice/safe pair or two and get hard cases and care for them and be legit.

4)  I can never use those "find the right shades for your face shape magazine articles" because I don't know what my face shape is... am I the only one? So instead I like to drag people around with me and give me the ok (aka someone whose style I trust - you two!)

Thoughts???

xo

To our blue-eyed beauty L-Love we say: GO BIG OR GO HOME! Our vote is to get one really nice fancy pair and then to get a couple of cheap, trendy pairs to wear this summer and jump into the lake with.  The fact is, you are 100% responsible enough to own a pricey pair! Blythe's eye doctor told her that a good pair of sunglasses is as important as a good pair of eyeglasses. Yikes. Under this game plan, here are our pics:

1. Via Ray-Ban, 2. Via Sunglass Hut, 3. Via Tom's

Right this second its all about over-sized cat eye, and circular sunglasses. We love both, but for the pricey pair, better to think classic, right? Classic in our book means: Aviators, Wayfarer or Prada Bug/Jackie O/Audrey. Ray-Ban is the way to go if you want Aviators, there is no denying it. But what about Tom's for Wayfarers? It might ease the pain of the cost to know that they are donating a pair when you purchase yours.  Ok, so on to the next...

Top Image Via Shots From the Bell Tower (Thanks, JG!),  1. Via Nordstrom, 2. Via Urban Outfitters, 3. Via Nordstrom

All of these pairs are $10.00 and the Nordstrom's have 100% UV protection. There are a gazillion. different. places. to find cheap pairs out there, but we have been shopping in the Nordstrom juniors department for accessories for YEARS! We highly recommend it.

We think those coral ones would look so awesome with your freckles and think really any shape would look great on you!  But we've heard that a good way to determine your face shape is to print a picture of yourself where you are looking straight at the camera.  Then take a marker and make a thick line around your face to determine the overall shape. You could also do this in a mirror with a dry erase marker if you are feeling extra quirky! Once you've got your face shape identified, check out what kind of sunglasses to buy here!

Hope this helps!
 





PS: In related news and for more ideas...  Deweese recently took the sunglasses plunge!  Check 'em out! She got these in "amber/orange stripe" (purple pair for you, Lori?) and these in "havana"!

What to Eat?

Blythe-

What a shower! Love the Goodnight Moon theme. The decorations are adorable and I can vouch for Melissa's cupcakes, they are delish. It seems like it was a really intimate setting which I love, especially for a baby shower.

Our visit to Louisville was fantastic. We had such a nice and relaxing time! Wish we could have stayed longer.

In other less exciting news, Jeff and I went to the grocery store last night as we  do (Sundays if we're in town, Mondays if we're outta town) and I found myself standing there once again trying to come up with ideas on the fly for delish and creative things to eat. But let's face it, Monday at 7pm isn't exactly my imaginative hour. So we rely on the stand bys.... salad with grilled chicken (healthy? yes...  fun? not so much), fajitas, stir fry etc etc. I have promised myself that next week I'm gonna walk into the grocery store armed with a list and some new recipes to try, but when I flipped through the recipes I've collected, I'm not feeling too inspired. I need some help! Here's what I have so far...

The Sweet Beet

Enlightened Cooking

Enlightened Cooking

Here's the other thing: Jeff has been working out like a crazy person, he's been doing CrossFit since January. So he needs lots of protein (Read: Creatures with 4 legs). While I like love red meat, I'm not sure I need as much of it as him (Read: Yoga twice a week if I'm lucky). So I'm looking for yummy green side dishes that I can eat lots of with a little meat, and he can have on the side of his meat. I'm also looking for dishes that keep well and I can take as leftovers for lunch.

HELP! Suggestions???

xo,

PS... I would like to note that Jeff does 99% of the cooking in our house and it's always delicious. He's a Saint.

PPS... I'm pretty sure RHNJ was in Hudson, NY on the most recent episode. Watch it here. Appropriately titled: Guns and Shopping.

Baby Shower: Goodnight Moon!

Dear Deweese,

How was Louisville? So glad that you had some QT with your family (especially Macaroni). Can't wait to hear all about it. Happy Birthday to your dad! Oh, and as usual, I will add your book recommendation to my list!

As you know, this weekend was Emily's baby shower! Melissa and Emily's mom came up with a great theme: Goodnight Moon, which was Emily's favorite book growing up.  It was a great way to incorporate a literary theme and use bright colors but not too much pink. I highly recommend it for a baby shower for either a baby girl or a baby boy! Check out some of the details of how we put it all together:

In the foyer we had a big welcome sign, a copy of Goodnight Moon, homemade goodie bags by Emily's mom (they were so adorable) with a candy bar and bookmarks based on the invitation for each guest. 

We chose to use sunflowers and decorated (and ate) lots of nostalgic rainbow-colored candy:

And enjoyed delicious lemon cupcakes made by Melissa:

 

 

It was so much fun and now I'm even more excited for the arrival of the baby! 

Love, 

TGIF!

Blythe-
So glad the rain held out and you got to see your gal! I can't believe you can do that every Wednesday. What a treat!

Are you ready for the weekend? Jeff and I are headed to Louisville to celebrate my Dad's birthday, a big one... ending in a zero. We've seen my parents several times since the holidays, but haven't been to Louisville since then. And after 6 months, I get to see their pup Macaroni! I'm so excited! What are you up to?

Since I still have to pack (hehe), I'm gonna keep it short, but I gotta tell you about this book I finished last night. You gotta read Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.  My Mom was reading it in Roma and couldn't put it down. It's pretty epic (think World According to Garp) but I loved every minute. The New York Times didn't love it, and they had some legit criticisms, but I think sometimes reviews don't account for how pleasurable a book can be to read.  The San Francisco Chronicle did love it, you decide. SO... pick it up soon. I highly recommend.

Love,

PS... I picked up this skirt last weekend on sale at Anthro and LOVE it. I wore it with a black silk blouse, brown woven belt and black wedges to work this week. YUM to the E. (If I do say so myself).

Tift Merritt in Madison Square Park

Hi Deweese!

Love me some Ms. Cline, thanks for sharing! I can't believe they sold the bookcase and yet kept it posted! Whaaa? Craigslist can be SO annoying. It really is a beautiful bookcase, such a good find, but I bet you'll find another one you like even more (and btw, its always on my mind during my daily Housing Works browse). The barrister will be yours. I know it!

In terms of that sofa, heartache is right! Its so beautiful that Abbey Goes Design Scouting even uses it as her blogger header! I really want to check out that Room and Board showroom next time I'm DC. It looks like heaven.

Speaking of heartbreak, lately the rain has been really letting me down. First you and I had to cancel our grand picnic, then the Tift Merritt outdoor concert that I've been SO looking forward to was almost rained out last night!   It POURED but she was actually able to start just 20 minutes late or so once it basically cleared up.  I'm so glad we (Nick and Caroline) stayed! It was a great concert and we had excellent seats, er, blanket space! We just ignored the puddles and listened...

New Yorkers can catch free concerts in Madison Square Park every Wednesday night this summer. I hope to attend more! If Shake Shack isn't your thing (and if not, I want to know who you are, cause that's weird), Hill Country BBQ has a couple of booths set up during the events (Nick's favorite!).  Personally, I popped into Eataly (NYC's own Italy-only Epcot Center!) for for some simple snacks (a baguette, cheese and chocolate)! Not so healthy, but delicious!

Fingers crossed for sunnier days and home decor luck ahead!

Love,
Blythe

PS: The prices at the flea were good! I completely forgot, I was going to share that the fan was $15, the shelf was $20 and the little succulent was $5. Its nice and refreshing after pricier (but gorgeous) Hudson.

Heartbreak and Heartache

Blythe-

The Brooklyn Flea Market looks amazing! And you had some luck! How were the prices?

Lil' Q and I went to a couple 14th Street vintage furniture stores this weekend and had zero luck (but we did have fun!). I get so frustrated with the prices which are so inflated compared to what I could get in Louisville, but alas, I don't live in Louisville.

I ALMOST had a dream piece this weekend, but as is so possible with Craig's List, it fell through at the last minute. The bookcase was featured on Apartment Therapy's DC Scavenger, so I guess I shouldn't be suprised that someone got to it before me. You know I've been wanting a barrister bookcase forever and although this isn't technically barrister, I felt like it fit the bill.

Here's the description:


This oak bookcase or cabinet has two glass doors. It opens to reveal 5 shelves for storing books, etc. The finish and hardware are original. The wood has a soft patina

Measurements:
46"W, 52"H, 13.5"D. Doors: 21.75"W, 46"H

The cabinet is in great condition, the small amount of trim missing above the door opening is the only flaw. It has been in a nonsmoking environment for over 22 years.

Asking $395. Cash only. If you are reading this posting, then the cabinet is still available.


I even got the seller down in price (thank you for the suggestion) but at the last minute, she realized that we were talking about two different bookcases she was selling and the one below had already sold (BUT THE POSTING WAS STILL LISTED!)

Oh well. I'll keep looking for steals and deals on CL. I'm clearly a gutton for punishment.

Lil' Q and I did go to my fave Room + Board this weekend. Oh how I love their showroom. I want SO much. It's outta my price range and too mid-century for Jeff, but mixed with antiques and modern I think he could live. Here's what I LOVE.

I die for that Navy sofa. While I was putting this all together, I had Patsy Cline's Heartaches stuck in my head, so I decided to share that too. Love me some Patsy.

xo,
Deweese

PS: How was your Longest Day of the Year? I sat on a lovely rooftop with LSmith and LClapps for sushi and laughs. DEEElightful!

East River Ferry + Brooklyn Flea

Hi Deweese!

How was your weekend? I saw Bridesmaids (loved it), did some apartment sprucing (not ready for a blog appearance yet, but coming soon!), and on Sunday Nick and I took the brand spankin' new East River Ferry to the Brooklyn Flea. And we've got the photos to prove it! Narrated of course by yours truly...

So, the morning started off slowly. The problem with a free ferry to Brooklyn on opening weekend is that there are long lines and messed up ferry schedules...

Why won't you just take us to Brooklyn?

Despite the line we decided to just stick it out and remember that it was a nice day and after all, we weren't on the subway. And then we finally we made it!

Hello, Gorgeous!

 

Wait. We live THERE?! Still so crazy to us.

The delay was well worth it for the spectacular views and the cool breeze on our face! Also, much to our excitement, the flea market is located directly off the ferry.  Phew. Now that we had finally made it, the first stop was for food...

D, that was the best grilled cheese ever! It could have been that I was starving, but get this: they grilled it in a way to make these super deep ridges that made it almost taste it was made of two mega waffle fries with melted gruyere inside. Uh-huh. Nick loved his sandwich too!

Now, finally, to the task at hand:

Thought you would like the colors and the patterned/fabric mats on these, D!

I really, really wanted (still want) that rug that's hung over the ladder in that last pic. The colors are beautiful. But it was a 4x6 for $250 and at the time I thought it was way too much. But now I'm thinking it was a good deal and I want to run back and get it! Yikes!

One of the things I enjoyed most were all of the little vignettes that the sellers create at the entrance of their booths:

I love home decor vignettes and wish I was better at creating them. Random note: my very first job was in the housewares section of T.J. Maxx (shocking, right?) and I used to occasionally be allowed to style the "endcaps" (aka the shelves at the end of the aisles). I LOVED doing it and would spend WAY too much time on them!

So now on to what we purchased. Can you tell which booths they came from?

Yup, I am pretty much obsessed with my new little aqua fan. What is it about retro aqua things? I have a problem. But look how cute he is!

D, next time you are here and its not downpouring, we are so there. You'll love it!

Love,

Phone-a-Friend: Lizard's Closet Makeover

Liz (aka Lizard), one of Deweese's besties from home emailed us recently for advice on organizing her closet. Oh Lizard, we hear you! Closets can be the bain of any small apartment's existence. And when the closet is messy, it bleeds out into the apartment and the clutter can be consuming.

Here's Liz's note:

Dynamic Design Duo,

I am in need of your help!  If I walk in my closet one more time, my heart may sink to my feet.  Since my apt is fairly small, I am using the closet for storage, as a dressing room, but also probably as an office.  I've attached the images so you can see the basic layout (although the images prob suck as I have no idea where my camera went... probably under a load of clothes in the closet).  I THOUGHT I had streamlined my collections before I moved again.  The 4 car loads to Goodwill told me so.  I'm thinking I could use another good, hearty spring streamline though.  What do you both think?  Did either of you see the closet make-overs in the latest Real Simple?  I loved the red and grey scheme from the first make-over that was for a single gal in a mini apartment like myself.  I'm at a loss. HELP!

xo,
Lizard

And here are the photos:

And this is the aforementioned inspiration from Real Simple:

There are tons of places online that will tell you how to organize your closet. Real Simple has a great list of 35 Ways to Make Over Your Closets. But sometimes lists like these can be overwhelming to us. Let's be honest, our closets are never gonna be featured in a magazine. We just need them to be functional and organized in a way that it's easy to keep them organized. So we've broken down our own list of things that help the chaos stay a little more organized.

The first part of every major closet overhaul for us is PURGE, PURGE, PURGE. As Oprah has told us many times, if you haven't worn it or used it in 6 months (exceptions for heirlooms) get rid of it. You're not gonna use it and it's adding not value to your life, especially sitting in the closet. Watching an episode of Hoarders is a good way to start this process, cause girl, that sh*t is crayzay. After the purge, here are some other tips:

#1: Separate your clothes by category (work, weekend, formal). This allows you to enter your closet knowing what area to look in depending on what you're getting dressed for... and therefore touch the least amount of items (aka cause the least amount of disruption to the organization).

#2: Always put away your out-of-season clothes, even if you have space for them in your closet. No sense in wading through wool sweaters in July. We like those flat containers that fit under the bed. Or, try our favorite Space Bags.

#3: Get good hangers, we like these cheap wood hangers from Ikea. It may seem silly, but it makes the closet FEEL more organized and streamlined.

#4: Color code! Not only is it lovely, but it's easier to find things.

#5: Instead of having your shoes on the floor on a rack, try getting an over-the-door organizer so they are all in front of you, and you don't have to dig around on the floor.

#6: Get some hanging shelves. It's tempting to stack folded items on the top shelf, but it's easy for them to get discombobulated and messy. If your folded items have a place that is easily within reach, they will stay more organized.

#7: Containers! Clear containers are great because you can see what's inside, or you can buy fun colors and label them ala Deweese's pantry.

#8. The loose ends. Belts, bags and scarves are so hard to keep track of in a closet. Having a designated space for accessories can help you find those outfit-making pieces in no time. Deweese and our friend Lori organize purses on a hat stand/coat rack which is a great and pretty way to see everything at once.

via: Ikea, Container Store, Martha

Good luck, Lizard, hope this was helpful~  Can't wait to see the results! Be sure to send updated pics!

Love,