sweetlifee.

have y'all heard about this hysterical site, catalog living? i just discovered it, and honestly have been in a fit of giggles ever since. it's "a look into the exciting lives of the people who live in your catalogs." it's just too much.

so far, this is my favorite:

"oh that? that's my wish plant. it's where i clip pictures of people who i want dead."

shabbychicccc.

i am completely obsessed with rachel ashwell. i mean, honestly. i love her. how can you not when her philosophy is, "for me, the secret to living well is to surround myself with beautiful things that are practical and deliciously comfortable."

rachel, if you are, for any reason, reading this silly little blog, will you hire me? will you love me like i love you? can we make beautiful white spaces together with fresh flowers, sparkley chandeliers, beds that look like clouds, and little wellies leaning against exposed brick walls? please say yes.

mamaaaa

my mom was in town this weekend, she just left this morning, and i was so sad to see her go. seeing her is always the very best thing. it's strange to think that i'll never live in the same house as my mom. that for the rest of our lives we'll be visiting each other in our respective cities. it's wild. i can't be so grown up yet.

adulthood aside, it was a girls weekend fit for real queens. manicures and pedicures uptown followed by hours spent lost at the met. a day in brooklyn at the flea where we bought so many books we could hardly catch the train home. a night under the stars in bryant park watching monty python. all the while eating so much sushi, i swear we might get mercury poisoning.

as she bordered her plane today at lga, i got the sweetest bbm (i know! carol ann is so hip!) saying, "i'm such a lucky mom." lady could not be more wrong, i'm such a lucky daughter.

ps. when i was a little girl my mom used to make me drink chocolate milk every night at dinner. i absolutely hated it, maybe one day i'll thank her for my strong bones, (never broken one once!) but not anytime soon. i still hate that stuff.

hey dono, you're rad.

world, meet dono, she is almost even beyond rad. my little sister in tridelt, the two of us are an unstoppable duo. little buddy just jumped ship to africa for an adventure and my heart is already aching. for the next 6 months i'll have to fend for myself when i need a partner in crime to dance it out when i'm feeling sad or to eat my body weight in zack's frozen yogurt.

she keeps sending little daily updates about her explorations, (she has already done so much, from climbing cliffs to crossing waterfalls!) and i'm feeling so so proud.

so, dono, i think you're really rad. i couldn't ask for a better person to slap me around when i need to hear sense but also to hold my hand when i'm really needing it. we'll be saving your seat at family dinner until january. i already can't wait.

ps. i love this photo of us. my face is so purposefully awkward, but that embrace could not be any more loving. come home safe bug.

modernnnnloveee.

the other day i was flipping through an old copy of elle and stumbled across this sweet interview with mark duplass and katie aselton. it was a whole bit, young new york couples who are madly in love, but their particular interview was the most memorable. i think you'll see why.

elle: how did you meet?

ka: in a car.

md: on the way to ....

ka: a new year's party. he had just gone through a break up. and i put back the pieces.

md: she glued me.

elle: what is love?

md: i feel like the essence of love is, "do you like the way the other person smells? if you do, you'll get through anything.

elle: what does katie smell like?

md: katie, you smell like, um ... god, i was just about to say something incredibly corny. but it's true. you smell like home.

adlerrrmanifesto

isn't this dual-sided vase hysterical? it's brand new by jonathan adler and called "williamsburg." i've always thought jonathan adler was way hip, but when i walked by his greenwich ave. store the other day and saw his manifesto, i knew that we would could really be bffls.

here were some of my favorite parts:

we believe your home should make you happy.

we believe in being underdressed or overdressed always.

we believe celebrities should pay full price.

we believe colors can't clash.

we believe in irreverent luxury.

keep on believing johnny. i'm right there with you. and know, if you and simon ever need to fill an empty seat at a dinner party i'm so there.

ps. you've all seen simon and jonathan's rad palace in the new book by todd selby, right? if not. check it out. now.

heatwaveee.

ways i've survived the newyorkheatwave 2k10 with no air conditioning:

1. spending time with my greatest friends over a long weekend away where we ate way too much chips and salsa at my favorite mexican restaurant in the entire world. (i've been eating there since i was 4!)

2. taking the ferry to governor's island for some stoop stealing in the old historic district and having a mr. softee (or three...) at picnic point while looking out at the statue of liberty.

3. taking advantage of g.t.'s central air and watching mad men marathons and documentaries on the history channel.

4. discovering that trader joe's has the most amazing mint chip ice cream in the entire world and then eating it by the quart.

5. becoming weirdly obsessed with these goofy things called, silly bandz that i think are meant for 7 year olds yet i can't stop wearing.

6. constantly reminding myself that even if its hot and sticky, life has never ever been sweeter.

stoooop

how perfect is this house? one of my favorite things to do is walk around the west village on a nice summer night and scope out brownstones. last night was perfect night for stoop scoping.

sometimes, i'll even borrow other people's stoops to eat gelato or have a quick sandwich and pretend it's my very own stoop.

maybe one day, but for now, i love this sweet flower covered row house in london. you can't see it, but i bet it has the very best stoop of them all.

independeeeence.

hope that everyone had the most amazing fourth of july. i spent it with friends in the district. it was filled with lots of dancing, cheesing in front of the memorials, and the very best butterscotch ice cream i'd ever had while watching not one, not two, but THREE different fire works shows.

happy birthday america.

carolinaonmymindddd.

g.t. and i wondered into billy reid on bond street this afternoon, and, let me tell you, that southern gent not only knows how to cut a shirt, he also knows how to design a store. it was the perfect worn in prep that ralph lauren over does.

nothing was too much, but nothing was understated, just like the south itself. i honestly could have spent all day there watching g.t. try on linen shirts while i read garden & gun magazine.

made me itch for a glass of sweet tea and the carolina sky.

momsarethebesttt.

growing up my family has always said, "rabbits, rabbits, rabbits" on the first of every month. my dad told it was a british tradition, but while living in london, no one else had ever heard of it. whatever it is, it's a tradition i love.

so, this morning, when i woke up to a sweet e-mail from carol ann wishing me "rabbits, rabbits, rabbits" for july it left the biggest smile on my face. no matter how old you are, mom's are the very very best.

ps. i know, i know, zebras and rabbits are apples and oranges, but this picture is too much.

chalkedddout.

how much do you want to live in this bedroom? i saw it here this morning, and instantly fell in love. reminds me of the tom's architecture wall in 500 days of summer, but better, because instead of imposing buildings, we've got dainty chandeliers and frames to inspire.

dream on sistaaa.