a lovely living

Monthly Archives for July 2013

July 31, 2013

A room in progress

Since we moved in to our condo in March, I have been slowly working on my son’s room. He shared a room with his baby sister while we were in Hoboken, so I’m enjoying creating a space of his own. I wanted to skip the whole toddler, kiddie bedding because A) I’m not a huge fan of any of it and B) I’d be buying new bedding as soon as he grew out of it in no time at all.

I’ve been piecing it all together and here’s a look at how it’s coming together:

Jacksroom

Potterybarn Kids bed, Serena and Lily bedding, Land of Nod alphabet decals, storage basket and bins, Penny Lane dresser, Target cube storage (more…)

July 30, 2013

A little open back

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Green is one of my favorite colors to wear, from mint to turquoise to hunter green . I have had this sweater for a while now and each time I wear it I forget how much I love it. It’s perfect for summer days with 70 degree temps. It’s light, soft, colorful and playful with an open back…

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July 29, 2013

Whirlwind Weekend

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you had a great weekend! Sometimes our weekends are nice and peaceful and other times they end up jam packed with activities. This was was of those such weekends for us. I’m just now coming up for air and could use a weekend to recoop!

My girlfriend and I took our kids (4 in all) to an amusement park on Friday. Somehow all of the stars aligned for us. The older two were perfectly behaved and got along for the entire afternoon and the younger two were happy as can be and even took naps in their strollers for us (this is always a hit or miss for Madelyn). Jack rode his very first roller coaster and had to keep reminding me that I didn’t need to squeeze the living daylights out of him to keep him safe…oops.

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July 26, 2013

High Five for Friday

Happy friday, friends! What a fun, eventful week we had. It was full of quality time with family and friends which included a lunch with the kids, my mother, grandmother and sister, at a Victorian cafe. As my mom was reviewing her tea etiquette, my daughter was wobbling around doing her best to destroy the cafe in no time flat.

I found a chest of drawers for my son’s room that I was thrilled about. It’s a refurbished antique dresser from Penny Lane in Hollidaysburg, PA. She has some great pieces if you happen to live in the area. I’m quite impatient, so for me to hold off on buying pieces I like in order to wait to come across pieces I love is quite the task for me. In this case, however, I did and it was well worth the wait. I found the perfect refurbished antique dresser that I can’t wait to get into his room. I’m sure my 4 year old is just as excited as I am (sarcasm).

Here’s a look at the rest of my week in photos:

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  1. New chest for my son’s bedroom.
  2. We spent the afternoon with good friends who happen to be photographers. These are the images I ran into in their studio’s kitchen. My babes growing up before my eyes!
  3. I mentioned I’m not yet ready for fall, but JCrew’s fall sneak peak sure has me anxious!
  4. A new read which will hopefully refresh my grammar and punctuation that I’m surely butchering these days.
  5. My prince and princess enjoying their tea hot chocolate. Our English affair to help welcome Prince George :)

What was your favorite moment of the week?

Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth today for High Five for Friday.

See you back here on Monday!

July 25, 2013

Fun with Nails

I’m not one to get nail art on a manicure no matter how hard they push their flowers on me at the salon. Actually, it’s very rare that I even get a manicure done at the salon because they’ll last a whole day and a half on my nails. But when I do them myself, I love a a straight up solid color, typically by Essie.

When I came across ‘set in stones’ by Essie, I was lured in by the sparkles and decided to give it a try in order to spice up my nails. At first I only did my ring finger. So what if we’ve been married nearly seven years, that’s something to celebrate, right?! The next day I decided to go crazy and add some sparkle to both hands. I love the look it created. Fun but not over the top and it would still go with anything I had on. Once that manicure had worn off I tried it with a lighter shade underneath. Either way I enjoyed the added glam on my nails. It’s a great idea to try out for any wedding or special events you may have on your calendar.

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How do you spice up your nails?

July 24, 2013

Trending: Peplum

peplum6I can’t decide if peplum has over-saturated the fashion industry yet or not, but it’s probably close. For whatever reason I haven’t added many peplum pieces to my wardrobe. That’s not to say I don’t think it’s adorable, fun and flattering (ie instantly adds a waist to any body). Here you will find a few of my favorite fashionistas decked out in designer peplum dresses. Regarding trends, I typically like to buy cheap due to the fact that you never know if it’ll be in style come next season. This tank was the perfect addition to my closet.

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July 23, 2013

7 New Items for Your Kitchen

Just as I always have an on-going wish-list for fashion, I also keep one for my kitchen. New clothes and accessories inspire my outfits the same way that new tools/gadgets inspire me in the kitchen. At the top of my list remains a KitchenAid mixer. I know this is a hot item on wedding registries, but when my husband and I were registering, he somehow talked me out of adding one due to the fact that we didn’t have much room in our tiny apartment. Seven years later and I can’t tell you how many times he’s heard me request one. My main problem is that I can’t for the life of me decide on a color and I swear each year that goes by, ten new colors are introduced! Ahh well, maybe I’ll narrow it down by Christmas.

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In addition to the mixer, here are other various items I’d love to add to my kitchen:

  1. Steak knives in an array of beautiful colors.
  2. Jadeite cake stand which would make any cake look even more delish.
  3. Farmers market basket to rinse and display fruit in a cute way.
  4. Updated potholders.
  5. Love the idea of this pitcher to infuse your water. Perfect way to enjoy the summer fruits and stay hydrated.
  6. Ohhh, the KitchenAid mixer.
  7. It may be a bad idea, but I’m so tempted to buy this milkshake mixer. It makes my mouth water just looking at it!

What items inspire you in the kitchen?

 

July 22, 2013

Outfit of the day/ JEG Giveaway winner

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It appears that we’re closing in on my favorite part of summer. The season is in full swing, everyone’s a bit sun-kissed, and summer clothes are going on sale making way for the new fall arrivals. As I have mentioned, fall is my favorite season, but I can’t quite focus on jackets and sweaters with this heat surrounding us. For now I will take full advantage of the sales and continue to embrace the airy, cotton apparel. I found this tank dress on Target’s clearance rack recently and quickly threw it in my cart. I even attempted to try it on since I only had one child with me, and yet my daughter still managed to crawl out of the fitting room more than once. Fortunately it was only into the hall and not someone else’s room ;) (more…)

July 19, 2013

High Five for Friday

Happy friday my friends! Another summer week has come and gone and the heat continues to linger. After a week full of rain last week, this week we welcomed the sun, even if it did include temps ranging from 90-100 degrees (It was the first time I saw my car register a 102 temp!). We spent a lot of time near the water or in the AC and very little in between.

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1. Conquering hills during a HOT run this week, but enjoying the beauty all around me.

2. My son is becoming quite the outdoorsman.

3. I upgraded to the iphone 5 this week and so began the hunt for a new case. It’s not so much an issue finding a case, it’s finding the right one. It’s an accessory that you will carry around everyday for the next few years. I know I could buy more than one, but these things get pricey! I finally settled on this one from Jonathan Adler and I’m sure I’ll fall in love with a new one next week ;)

4. Some vintage jewelry was passed on to my mother who graciously passed some pieces on to me. I love being able to play with unique pieces and can’t wait to put them to use.

5. We had this caricature of the kids drawn at the People’s Choice arts festival and it cracks me up. It was so sunny that afternoon and they couldn’t help but squint :)

Have a great weekend everyone and remember, you have until tomorrow night to enter the JEG $50 giveaway. I’ll be announcing the winner on Monday! Enter here.

Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth today for H54F!

July 18, 2013

A peek into the Nursery

I’m not sure why kids have to grow up so fast, but I guess that’s just how it goes. Not long ago, my 13 mo old daughter, Madelyn, was crawling around chewing on teethers and now she’s climbing on tables and stealing her brother’s toys. Before I know it she’ll be ready for a big girl bed, so I figured I would give you a peek into her sweet little nursery before it’s too late.

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We were living in Hoboken, NJ when Madelyn was born and at that time she and Jack were sharing a room. His bedding is blue and green so I wanted to find something for Madelyn that would coordinate well. Although I was in love with a few sets from Serena and Lily, I found this bedding at Pottery Barn which worked perfectly with their room scheme. Now that we are living in PA, the kids are lucky enough to have their own rooms. It has been fun being able to decorate their rooms separately. I’m not sure Jack would have loved a hot pink chandelier hanging on his wall :) (more…)

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