5 Things I Hate About You

I have three little pendant lights hanging in my kitchen that were installed by the previous owner that kind of irk me. They are just plain cone shaped pendants from Home Depot, nothing to hate, nothing to like. You see the problem. However, since they were obviously new when we bought the house I couldn’t just wastefully rip them out and replace them just because I don’t LOVE them. So instead I spitefully put them on my mental list of things I hate about our new house. This may sound like I hate my house, but to the contrary, I dearly love it. It’s just there are a few changeable fixtures I don’t care for and have been removing as time and budget allow. Continue reading »

Pale is the New Tan

I’m headed to Nantucket for the weekend which means lots of sun.  But as someone who scores in the 99th percentile of white, I have to be very careful with my skin.  Nothing says very careful quite like SPF 85.  A friend who is under strict orders from her plastic surgeon to avoid all contact with the sun recommended Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock to me.  At only $9.89 it costs a heck of a lot less than it would for me to pay someone to correct the effects of sun damage down the road!  And of course, if a plastic surgeon recommends it and I can afford it I’ll buy it.

PB ♥’s PB & J

Recently, while out walking with Babymouse, I felt I needed to stop for a snack at a local coffee shop.  While there, I was given the hard sell on a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich by the girl behind the counter.  Having never experienced a hard sell for PB&J before, I had to try it.  It was as advertised, the BEST PB&J I have ever had.   Normally I just go for a good molasses sweetened whole wheat bread with extra chunky natural peanut butter and raspberry preserves (not that I am picky about it), but this one really went above and beyond.   I of course went charging back to the counter to get the lowdown on what was in it.  Here are the ingredients:

 Iggies whole wheat bread.   This was no surprise.  Iggies is by far the best bread going.  Not only is it beloved all over New England, I have card carrying foodie friends from far off lands who have given it the stamp of approval.

White chocolate raspberry peanut butter by PB Loco.  Although I claim to hate white chocolate, this is delicious.  This company, which I had never heard of, also makes other exotic peanut butters such as apricot and even curry.  This would be a good way to introduce different tastes to a picky-eating child.

Trappist Preserves red raspberry jam.  I know this brand because it has been my father’s favorite for years.  Which means he has about a thousand jars in his basement, just in case.  It is made by monks who care about us.

Ode to J.Crew

I know that its not quite August yet, but I just couldn’t wait to tell everyone about the new Fall Line. Obviously this is just the beginning of the Fall items we’ll be seeing. For a look at what we have to look forward to, check out the Fall Preview. Fall is my absolute favorite shopping season!

There are four new bridal gowns in the August line. My favorite is the Gracie Gown for $395. The Gracie Gown is also available in black. I wish it was made in more colors. In my opinion, the Crew does not offer enough in the way of floor length bridesmaid dresses. Continue reading »

Psssst ……

If you have been craving cabbage roses you are in luck- there is a huge selection of cutesy poo items on clearance at the Kath Kidston Site right now!

Tee Pee

I love this Maw Bell Child’s Tee Pee Pattern, because I can never buy one of the prefab ones because of an indignant knee jerk “I could make that in two hours!” reaction I often have to overpriced sewn items. But have I made one? Sadly no. To be honest I couldn’t quite envision how to get the fabric affixed to the supports, and that kind of mental roadblock is enough to make me put off a project for years. But I’m sure this pattern will solve that mystery! Best of, I can now make a teepee for BabyMouse in the fabric of my choice, very important. There is also a sleeping bag pattern in the packet. Although as an enthusiastic home sewer I can usually spot the over-the-top projects that have the potential to annoy others, and a homemade sleeping bag seems like one of those. Homemade Tee Pee, totally normal. The Pattern is $8.95 at Reprodepot. I am thinking of one of these fabrics:

Zig Zah stripe, $8.85 per yard at JCaroline Creative. Turquois and Brown with sillouettes of a lot of random things (good for staring at from inside tent), $8.75 from Reprodepot. Yellow Oilcloth, $7.95 per yeard, also from Repodepot.

Input welcome!

A Lotta Links- Come On In And Pull Yourself Up a Chair!

Is everyone ready for the secret word of the day? You know what to do whenever you hear the word of the day, right? Scream real loud!!!! Today’s word of the day is “hippo.” Its the new short form of hypocrite, brought to us by our favorite designer’s assistant, Nick Olsen.

Now its time to play connect the dots, with our pal Magic Screen! Connect the dots, la la la! Does everyone know that Design Mom and the author of Oh Happy Day! are sisters? While you’re on Oh Happy Day! be sure to check out the amazing new wallpaper in Jordan’s foyer. Design Mom, Gabrielle, is also a founder of Kirtsy where our friend Mary from South End Blend is an editor.

And now its time for Jambi to grant us our wish.  Mekka lekka hi mekka hiney ho. Mekka lekka hi mekka chahny ho!  Today I wish for a wedding registry as wonderful as the registry created by Katherine of Snippet and Ink for Wishpot.  If you’ve never been to Wishpot, its a website that allows you to register for items all over the web and store that registry in one handy spot.  Why didn’t I think of that!

That’s all for today.  Have a great weekend!  And remember, watching The Biggest Loser while eating an entire pint of Ben and Jerry’s is for hippos (but that has never stopped me).  Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

And Now For Something Completely Different

I know it is high summer and all, but soon autumn will be upon us, and when that happens our sundresses from Old Navy are not going to cut it anymore; we are going to need real clothes, the kind that keep you warm and make you look like an adult. Like many who live in New England, fall is my favorite time of year, and a big part of that is all the cozy sweater and coats you get to wear! And the hot cocoa.

One fun place to find fall clothes in the middle of the summer! at a discount! is the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, it always comes around this time of year and is a truly unique sale because it actually discounts the upcoming season’s clothes, as opposed to the dregs of last season (not that I don’t love dregs because I do). The sale prices actually disappear by mid August. They also do a bunch of exclusive cosmetic palettes for the sale. oooo, exclusive makeup palettes. This sale is one of the many reasons we are huge fans of Nordstrom, do check it out.

Here are a couple things I like this year:

The nubbly tweed short sleeved jacket/vest thing is by Beth Bowley. I love everything about this, the shape, the BUTTONS, the fabric and the way it has short sleeves. This seems like a great thing to wear with a black long sleeved turtle neck under and a pencil skirt or something like that. I see I just described exactly the outfit the model is wearing. Anyway, it looks good. Or maybe with those long over the elbow gloves. I have always wanted a pair of those. Anyway this is kind of pricey (189$) and I probably won’t buy it, but if I did I would wear maybe everyday?

Continue reading »

I Wanna Be Like Mike

I tend to be a little obsessive about exercising. Six months out of the year I’m obsessed with not exercising and then Summer rolls around. My sport of choice is running, mostly because its free and requires little equipment or coordination. Right now Nike has a 20% off your purchase of $125 or more (2PFALLA) so it seems like the perfect time to stock up on running clothes (yes, I realize that it was only one short sentence ago when I claimed running was free).

I am in love with the Nike Air Zoom Hot Shot +. The open part in the back looks like it could be uncomfortable, but its not. These are the lightest shoes I’ve ever tried on and are incredibly breathable. I also love that the laces have a toggle. The shoes regularly $99 but are $79.20 after the discount. Continue reading »

Cherrypal

Although its name sounds like an obscure HelloKitty character, the Cherrypal is actually a new, teeny (the size of a paperback) desktop computer (no monitor) that is supposed to be the first green pc in that it only uses 2watts of power by utilizing a “cloud” of applications located in the webosphere, instead of being a big box of clunky technology. 

Belated Warning:  This post has been written by someone who purchases computers based solely on looks and has no idea what she is talking about on this issue.

Anyway, the Cherrypal retails for only $249, which is where we come in, and seems to be a good solution for, say, a kitchen computer that is mainly used to look up recipes, pay bills, read celebrity gossip, etc.   I have an Imac from a few years ago in my kitchen, purchased, again, pretty much only because it is white and attractive, and I can attest that I hardly ever do any serious computing on it that would require anything more than a Cherry Cloud, whatever that is.  I have an ugly pc laptop for my vpn work stuff, because when I try to vpn on my Mac it bursts into flames.

I give the Cherrypal an A for price, size, and potential helpfulness to one’s decor, being so small.  However I am giving a B- for looks, since it is boring black bumpy computer plastic and has a ho hum graphic.  If it were me I would have made it out of a dull gray metal, or maybe yarn.  Or wood panelling!  Since it has no moving parts inside maybe those people who knit coozies for everything could make a coozy for the cherrypal, so it could blend in a little more with the other stuff on your counter.