january faves.

apologies for the lack of a creative photo

adobe lightroom has been ordered

and is currently being held hostage

by my wonderful artisitic sister.

i thought i'd share some of my favorite recent purchases.

since i'm bored.

and really excited about them.

my new camelbak has saved me (thanks h!).

before i met my bpa-free friend,

i spilled water ALL over me

on the treadmill.

now i drink confidently.

vera bradley hanging organizer

in "sittin' in a tree" pattern.

vera was so smart to redesign this.

i figured,

at the rate i travel

i ought to be organized.

les recommended this book.

i'm throughly enjoying it thus far.

although it is a little wierd.

moleskine extra small journal

in hot pink (obvi)

(i purchased from barnes & noble).

love these!!!!

i have to confess

i haven't tried this dry shampoo yet

but i was so excited to get it!

i'm currently waiting 'till my hair gets greasier.

ewww.

i got this magazine

from a "cash-in" of my jetblue frequent flier miles.

best (free) investment yet!

i've made 13920 things so far!

hope you're having a good week!

rva shout out!

do you get daily candy?

i found it while living in the dc metro area

and when i moved to richmond

i started getting the

"everywhere" edition.

today

in the everywhere edition's

weekend guide

is a link to

none other than

carytown's boutique

need supply company

it's been one of my favorite little carytown shops

since i was a teen.

nice to see some recognition!

suggestions from the best.

les's christmas list for best friends who love owls and shabby chic finds and that live 795 miles apart:

• le crueset dutch oven
• dishtowels from target here and here.
• Mastering the Art of French Cooking by julia child (les says: which also appears on my christmas list!)
• magazine subscriptions; (les says: i have been enjoying body & soul - a publication of martha stewart; its tagline reminds me of you: balanced living in a busy world)
• anything from anthro (les says: I would highly recommend riding boots---they are much more versatile than cowboy boots anyway.)
• a keurig would also be handy (les says: i am ambivalent about them because they generate more waste than a coffee maker, but it's so convenient and fun and gadgetey!)
• soap of the month club, like this local one from vermont.

holyholymoly.

just got the new anthropologie catalog and i want 
E V E R Y T H I N G.

like: 

credits: candied sweetbriar cardi, longing-for-yellow dress, elevation boots, toasted meringue cuff, clothbound penguin classics: pride & prejudice (my fave).


... now going to go back to drooling since i can barely afford to even own the catalogue. ( ;

i love letterpress.

i saw these books at barnes & noble and i am in love. i know this sounds ridiculous, but they would perfectly match the colors of my bathroom. h would call materialist. i would call me perfectionist. they are $10/each.

always in for a deal!

for those of you who i know love "sample sale" websites like ruelala, gilt group (gilt, giltmen, fuse), ideeli, hautelook, etc, i just found out about another one: swirl, from the people who bring you daily candy!

they are currently taking pre-registrations, and offering the first 100 early members $100 gift cards to swirl! according to the fine print, looks like this contest ends at 11:59 PM on 10/31/09 and winners will be drawn on 11/9/09.

only one catch - you need to be a daily candy subscriber to sign up. so sign up for daily candy everywhere, or wherever you live (dc, nyc, chicago, & more), and start finding out about their deals & finds! if this website is anything like the others, it will be invitation only, so best to get in early, there are usually perks for referring your friends! 

photo shoot.

photo shoot for inserts for our new address cards (below) from paper source in dc. that store is my addiction. the cards should be in the mail shortly... ( ;

can't live without: beauty edition

1) aveda exilir leave-in conditioner (just found out it's discontinued) 2) nivea a kiss of moisture hydrating lip gloss, $3, drugstores 3) trish mcevoy "tubes" lash curling mascara, $28, nordstrom 4) origins a perfect world skin gaurdian, $35, origins stores 5) vivite facial products - i love the exfoliating scrub and night cream; $50 and $80, respectively; medical spas only (in richmond - bella donna) 6) boots almond pistachio & olive exfoliating soap bar, $5, target

vote . . .

...for treat in the washpost express night out best of 2009 for washington metro area HERE.

hip to be green.

just got these super cute green sleeves in the mail from etsy! love them! can't wait to use them for snacks!

lustful monday.

there are so many things on my list of things i would love to own if a) i could afford them and b) i could figure out how to get my grimey little fingers on them. for instance:

garance dore for gap t-shirt. i can only find this on e-bay for, oh, $158. boo.

09 . 09 . 09

"this is the first day of the rest of your life," said sharon, the most wonderful lady ever who sold me my babylock grace sewing machine this morning at all brands sew & vac in the west end(highly recommend this place). i'd been researching for a while (as you should to drop 1/2 a grand on a little machine). they were having an amazing sale, and the sewing machine came with unlimited instruction hours...

SO excited about starting my projects with these:

future outdoor cushions (thanks ewl!)

future bedroom curtains...

...and t-shirt blankets! ( :

the fabric i bought this weekend at u-fab in carytown, a fabric outlet that i mentioned a few days ago.

mint lemonades & normal lives?

i've been at home now (with the exception of a 16 hour day in columbus, ohio on tuesday) all week, and i've been fully taking advantage of all the chores that people with normal jobs have; i.e. laundry, cleaning, taking out the recycling, and best of all, grocery shopping & making dinner at home! believe me, when you travel & eat out for EVERY meal, the last thing you want to do is dress up and go sit in an uncomfortable chair and pay wayy too much for a beer. so last night i made a quick trip to whole foods (and spent way too much for overpriced groceries) and speaking of overpriced, every few months, whole foods puts out a little flyer called the whole deal (the most recent is valid from april 1 - may 31) with coupons and recipes from martha stewart's everyday food mag.

i flipped through, just for ideas for healthy recipes, and ended up cooking a delicious meal. first, obviously i poured myself a drink. santa cruz lemonade (perfect mix of sweet & sour), muddled mint, and a splash of vodka in my most favorite glasses from appalachian spring (my favorite trinket store---they now have an amazing website).


i'm usually hesitant to cook fish in the house (usually opting to grill it outside, or occasionally, broil it in aluminum foil). this recipe calls to "steam" the salmon, which i've never done before. i didn't follow the recipe exactly. i bought one 6-oz salmon fillet with skin (whole foods has a wonderful fish selection, and i'm convinced it's way cheaper than harris teeter, too). i steamed it skin side down with sea salt & ground pepper, a 1/4 cup of water, and a splash of lemon for 7 minutes. then i added lima beans (whatever was in the fridge) and steamed for a few more minutes.


i threw it all together with some pasta & mint. i didn't like the added mint. i would have rather had it with a more lemony sauce, but it wasn't horrible. the salmon was perfectly cooked, and i used it to make a great salad nicoise for work the next day.

(i really love straws)

i love these stacking bowls that my step-mom made for me a few years ago. you can't see them too well in this pic... hopefully i can take some good fotos this weekend while i'm at home. she's really into her pottery and she's amazing. i'd love for her to have a great website, too. trying to get the lil sis to help out with that (hint, hint)!

fair vanity.

as a business traveler, i'm always looking for interesting literature to read on planes & trains. vanity fair, the atlantic monthly, national geographic, and occasionally real simple and readymade are top on my list of periodicals. one of my coworkers last week made fun of me for toting around a half-naked copy of gisele (vanity fair, may 2009). i tried to explain to him that it was quality reading. may's issue not only had a sexy photoshoot of gisele, but articles about rush limbaugh, the new york times family legacy, the bohemian club in the redwood forest, teddy roosevelt's contribution to our national parks (including some ansel adam's photography), the smuggling of the mona lisa, and an excerpt from tarantino's new movie with brad pitt, inglorious bastards (looks awesome).

and it has every fashion magazine's odds&ends (which i oftentimes find myself obsessing over) like:

• jenna lyon's (the creative director for j.crew) obsession with converse low chucks, white only ($45)
• beekman 1802's after the sun bar ($14.95 for a set; they make bug repellent bars too!)

• and the bulgari save the children ring ($290, $60 goes to save the children's "rewrite the future" campaign)

they even have a shout out to the dc cherry blossom festival. i'd have taken a picture of it from the magazine, but i threw it at my coworker this morning just to prove i wasn't reading trash. ( :

new fave.

found these amazing scented towelettes from herban essentials at a cute boutique/spa in the charlotte airport. you can buy them separately for $1, or $15 for a pack of 20. my favorite are the lavender-scented yoga towelettes, but i liked the lemon, too! they're now a purse staple.

little shopping spree?

the mexican joint next door is PUMPING loud, annoying music and i think i might jump out my (first floor) window and cry. i had to get out of here. luckily, my hotel is right next to target. i bought a cute pair of cheap flats, and stumbled upon some super cute plastic dinnerware by orla kiely--exactly what i've been looking for!

i got 8 plates, 8 salad bowls, and 2 placemats and i think i may have to go back for more because i just looked it up on target.com and it's all sold out! people on websites everywhere are peeing in their pants over these (true blink philosophy of trends&fads, right?), including dooce!

missing my pets.

does this for real exist? fishbowl book ends? definitely the best find of the day, and it's only 9 am!

look what i found.

i'd just like to point out my three best purchases of the day.

#1: slurpabowls. i have no idea what genious person invented these. i've been looking for transportable bowls for baby v for so long! currently, i'm using a tupperware container, which she inevitably spills anyway.

these are foldable bowls made from 100% recycled paper, and are coated, so you can use them a few times before you discard them in your recycling bin! they hold 2 cups, and come 6 bowls/pack. i found them on sale at the container store for $5/pack. AND, you can just slide them onto your leash, so you have nothing to carry! amazing.

isn't she cute? she's been so well behaved on these days when i've been working from home! today at lunch we went to the dog park in byrd park. i didn't even have to walk her with a leash! ( :

#2: avocado cutter (serving the avocado community since 1991). i found this at the grocery store in the avocado section. don't tell, but it was free, so i guess it doesn't count as a purchase. i think this thing is hilarious. i think it just amazes me that you can patent ANYTHING. someone patented this spoon/knife/thing. i'll admit, it does help with getting that gosh-darn pit out! apparently it also promotes the sales of avocados.

#3: ukrops chicken salad & white house rolls. o.m.g. i miss this almost as much as i miss my youth.

shop 'till you drop!

just got my tax return & already it's burning a hole in my pocket! i just can't help it... with all these cute new things in the window, i just couldn't resist...!

a few of the cute shirts from anthro i picked up yesterday:

i can't help it! even little tanks from the gap get me excited!

jen & i saw this cute purse in the window, shopping in richmond the other day... i WAS in the market, so it was just natch...

now... if i could only get paid to shop ( ;

beauty must-haves.

blondie's post about her newest beauty obsession, trish mcevoy's tube mascara reminded me of all the wonderful beauty products i've recently discovered and can't believe i've been living without! here's a few of my top faves:


i've mentioned before, the amazing twice daily bar ($20) from bioelements--i can't live w/out this! even the sponge is heavenly!

this is the brush i have (from ulta, $13), but really, any round ceramic brush will do. blondie introduced me to the world of straight voluminous hair and i am forever grateful!

dolce&gabbana light blue ($45, 0.8 oz). perfect summer scent. it smells of honeysuckle&granny smith apples. h actually picked this out!

essie's ballet slippers pale pink nail polish ($8). the perfect color.

kiehl's ultimate strength hand salve ($12.50, 2.5 oz). i got this as a free sample with my olive oil shampoo & conditioner (also WONDERFUL), and have been addicted ever since. it's moisturizing w/ absolutely no scent & no greasy residue. i'm obsessed. i don't go anywhere w/out it.

benefit creaseless eyeshadow in birthday suit ($19). it's only downfall is it comes in a heavy glass container, but i've been looking for this color for ages now. i have yet to find the perfect mascara (currently using lorac's lotsa lash, but i don't love it. suggestions?
my old staple, oiudad climate control heat&humidity gel ($22, 8 oz). wonderful light-weight gel for curly hair-this has worked wonders for me with both short & long hair!