Lately

If you didn't already know this, Amazon offered Prime members the opportunity to "Pre Order" the September issue of Vogue, which was delivered to me 4 days before it was due to hit newsstands. Along with the opportunity to receive an early copy, the mag was shipped in a "Limited Edition" box. The box was admittedly a bit underwhelming, though neither the contents of the magazine nor its covergirl disappointed. I'm definitely in awe of Beyonce but I wouldn't say that I'm a member of the beyhive. That being said, I really thought she looked amazingggggg in the September issue of Vogue.

Nothing really ignites a fire within me quite like the September issues. As a person that despised the heat of the Summer season (though I'm on board with every other aspect), I really look forward to that first breeze of the Fall season and the September issue for me signals a bit of "Back to School" fever as far as fashion is concerned.

To be 100% transparent, I'm seriously considering purchasing a second copy. 1 will be kept pristine in the box and one will be for pulling inspiration from. I can't decide if this act takes me into full on hoarder mode or not. (Editor's note: I have a magazine "Archive" in our apartment).

I recently had my very first lobster roll (via Luke's Lobsters at Pier 13)-safe to say that I'm 1000% converted. Happily we'll be attending a wedding in Maine in September and my bridesmaid dress is (thankfully) quite stretchy. I'm going to eat all the lobster rolls that I can get my hands on. #allthelobsterrolls

You can view the Food Truck Calendar for Pier 13 here.

   

We also enjoyed waffles from Waffle de Lys. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! 

Congratulations to me, I'm officially a stereotype-I am now a highlighter/bronzer user.  While visiting the new Nars boutique in the mall, I was treated to a mini makeover using the Liquid Gold Face Set and I have to admit that I felt rather fabulous and JLO-like. I was planning to bring it with me to Cancun, but I've been using IRL since I purchased it. eep. 

My obsession with pearls continues. I picked up this very cool, dainty necklace at The Fig last week and I'm so happy that I did, I love it even more every day!

My best friend brought me back milk and dark chocolate covered cranberries from her trip to Nantucket. I would never call myself a "cranberry person" but these are so damn good. They're even better late at night after they've been chilling in the fridge!

I've started to add to my fall wardrobe and as you can see above, I'm really excited to start incorporating colors into my everyday style! #kidding

My new favorite nail polish is Elegantly Wasted by Trust Fund Beauty. Thanks to my best friend for giving it to me! 

Lately

I'm generally not a warm weather person, Fall is my favorite, but I could not be more ready for higher temps. I'm sick of hearing everyone discuss how terrible the weather is, myself included. As a way to console myself, I've been shopping like crazy for spring pieces. What are you guys wanting/buying? 

Tote and Sandals

Camisole (Similar) and Bralette

Blush, Necklace, Cuff, Hair Tie, Lip Liner, and Perfume

Sandals, Scarf, and Nail Polish

Lately

I feel like I've been popping in and out around here, so I thought it might nice to catch up with a few recent details.



I can't get enough of these Baublebar ear jackets, this Daniel Wellington watch, these Frends headphones, and this Azature Nail Polish!

In late November, my friends and I got together to paint our own ceramics and I came home with this 3 part serving tray and espresso set. I wouldn't consider myself very creative, but I had so much fun and loved how my pieces came out!

Check out Doin' Dishes in Montclair, NJ!

I've begun reading How to be Parisian Wherever You Are and so far I love it! It's such a fun and easy read. You can check out my friend Samm's post about it here! You can also follow the book's Instagram here to ensure you're receiving your daily dose of the Parisian fabulousness! Also, this Blueprint coffee concoction is amazinggg! I can't wait to make this part of my routine once the weather warms up!

I've very recently (as in two days ago) become obsessed with introducing organic elements into our house. So, I dragged the husband to Ikea on a Saturday night to pick up some greenery and we landed upon these three babies-they're all boys by the way. Pineapple is the succulent, then Octopus is behind him and Art Garfunkel is to his right. Currently they are clustered on our dining room buffet under a window, I hope they like it there and continue to flourish and provide green pops in our house. 

While on our Saturday night trip to Ikea, I discovered that they now offer gift wrapping and small desk wares, think color coded bags, wrapping paper, ribbon, post-its, and gift tags. All of it is very reminiscent of The Container Store but SO much cheaper. Naturally I nearly blacked out and started grabbing all the gift tags I could. At 99 cents for 10 gift tags, I really feel that I can buy as many as I want (though my husband begs to differ). Regardless, get thee to the nearest Ikea and stock up for all of your birthday and "just because" gift giving needs!

*Very lastly, check out the Coffee Table Jazz playlist on Spotify if you need some easy listening music to work or hang out to!

Lately-What's in a Weekend

This past week I received an email from PureWow that started by letting me know that an average weekend lasts about 55 hours. Once you subtract time for sleeping and running errands, you end up with about 8 hours to actually enjoy yourself. This sent me into a tail spin-there are many weekends that I leave feeling that I didn't do a thing I wanted or intended to do. On top of that email, I also read this article that details what super successful people do with their weekends. Hint: some plan for "off" time, some meditate and reflect, and some wakeup at 6am to maximize their time (WTF).

After all of this went down, I made a pact with myself that I would really seize this weekend and make sure that it was fun and well rounded and that I went to bed on Sunday night feeling accomplished.

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Friday night, I met my friend Brittany for dinner at PF Market and had the most amazing red snapper, fried calamari, and butternut squash soup-in addition to spending some time with a person that I really adore! (Thanks, Sonya for the recommendation!!)

On Saturday, I woke up to work my usual shift at Powerflow Yoga, which was happily followed by a killer hot yoga class taught by my friend Chris. When I got home, I made guacamole (expect to see the recipe later this week).



Then I cleaned the house, enjoyed some long overdue organizing, did 2 loads of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, and some more annoying but essential household things. OH! I also re-arranged a few drawers in our bedroom and I now find myself with a drawer dedicated to my sunglass collection (I know how bad that sounds).



Finally, we ended  our Saturday night with pancakes topped with bourbon flambe'd bananas and strawberries. I used Catskill Provisions pancake mix and subbed egg and milk with a mashed banana and almond milk-which means that these are healthy pancakes (right?!). BTW, pancakes went down at about 7pm. Somehow I fit a ton of crap into about 6 hours on Saturday and then had the rest of the night to prep this week on the blog and snuggle my pups. I have to say, weekends kind of rock when you decide to really enjoy them.



Sunday was spent with family and friends. Then we went home, ate dinner on the couch while watching cooking shows and then ended our night with these mug cakes.

Lately

So you may have noticed that I've been a bit MIA lately. Most of this can be attributed to craziness at work (we're down a team member and my boss is on me "like white on rice"). Some of this can be attributed to good old fashion laziness, and the rest of it comes from enjoying awesome weekends. 90% of my blog prep happens on Saturday and Sunday and I haven't had much time to do that with all the awesome Autumnal activities I've been engaging in with family and friends.

A few posts ago I detailed my ideal day which consisted of a spa trip, dinner in the city, and french pastries. That day, I decided that I'd do my best to make it a reality-I've been working hard and supporting my husband as he is well into his first semester of grad school, and I just felt like I needed a bit of "me" time (don't I sound like a stressed mother of 3). So, I did what any stressed mother of 3 (imaginary) children would do, I submitted a time off request and booked myself 2.5 hrs at the spa.

The cozy, cocoon-like waiting room at At Ease Day Spa

I visited At Ease Spa, which is a beautiful, intimate little haven in Hillsdale, NJ. Of course, I arrived 10 minutes late which left me stressed instead of completely calm. Also, I simultaneously developed and conquered a fear. Luckily for me, this spa was running a $149 special for a 25 min Apple Cider scrub, a 55 min massage, and a 55 min pumpkin peel facial. I was all about it. I was dying for the facial and massage and the scrub was just icing on the cake. That is until I thought about how I would be scrubbed-which I thought about far too late to back out of the treatment. I was presented with a shower cap, paper g-string, and a hand towel. That was all that separated my pale, dry body from my body scrubber and subsequent masseuse, Jiy. She scrubbed and polished my skin, which was perfectly lovely, but then she had to hose me down like a Camry at the Jiffy Lube (really, I'd like to think I'm a bit nicer than a Camry-perhaps an Audi A5 #DreamCar).

Let's just put it this way, that paper g-string did nothing to hide my "secret garden" (fear met and conquered), but hey, I survived! Regardless, I had a really relaxing few hours where I completely forgot about everything save for breathing and enjoying the moment. After my facial, where my new BFF, Svitlana, extolled the virtues of scrubbing ones skin (and judging me for not doing so at least 3 times a week), I took myself to Lord and Taylor to find a "farm chic" blouse (more on that later this week). Then I came home to bake an apple pie for my husband who then took me to AMano, our favorite restaurant in Ridgewood for authentic Napoli-style pizza (seriously, you must go).

The loafers, clutch, and Cabernet that accompanied my husband and I to Amano

The husband's arugula and sausage pizza (I had the vegetarian, which was to die for!)

All-in-all, life has been pretty great, but I could really use a few more hours in the day. And don't give me that, "you have as many hours as Beyonce" bullshit, because that girl does not do her own laundry, or dust her house.

I spent Sunday with some of my favorite things, a french pastry, a cappuccino, my girl crush-Rosamund Pike, and my best friend!