Happy Friday!

With only three full days left in the jungle, I have now reached the point where I am in in absolute bliss one minute, and the next I'm thinking that if I have to spend another second with my children, I might have to jump in the ocean and not return. You know, your usual vacation with little kids in tow ;)

I wish you all a wonderful (warm) weekend!

Currently.

On Saturday morning, the boys and I left a freezing Boston for some much needed time in the sun at our home-away-from-home. We are spending this week with my Dad, and my husband and his family will be traveling down over the weekend to join us for another full week! Since our arrival, we've been doing little besides building sandcastles, catching waves, drinking out of coconuts, eating more than our share of banana pancakes, and laughing when Grayson says, "ah hola" to everything and everyone. In short, it's been awesome. Here are a few pictures from our week in paradise, if you'd like to see.  

The internet down here is spotty at best, but you can follow me on Instagram or Facebook if you'd like to see more pictures from our trip. I'll do my best to bring back some sunsine with me... one can never have too much of these things. 

A Look Inside.

 If there is a holy grail of online videos, I'm pretty sure this is it. A look inside the home of the incredibly intelligent and fashionable Sarah Jessica Parker. I've probably watched this clip about 5 times now, and I have to say that each time it grows on me more and more. Her abode is not at all what I expected! It is just so funky, warm, eclectic, and lived in. It really is the exact opposite of the over styled, magazine ready, picture perfect homes that we are used to seeing in the monthly glossies and on blogs. It obviously doesn't hurt that the architecture of the house itself is dripping with character. That moulding, and staircase really are the stars in my book! Even though this is pretty much the opposite of my design aesthetic, I feel so inspired by how much personality her space has... and those built in bookshelves, I would die for those bookshelves! I Oh, and she answers 73 questions in the witty and likable way that only she can, but the star of this video is most definitely that house!

)

A home that actually looks like home... I dig it.

My Little Sister is Getting Married!

My little sister is getting married! This is amazing on so many levels, but the highlight for me has to be my duel maid-of-honor/ wedding planner position. You guys, we get to plan a wedding!!!!!!! Mine was so long ago, I can't even remember it, and with the invention of Pinterest, Etsy, and blogs I feel like this is a whole new ball game! So far the bride and groom have decided on a outside wedding, sometime next summer. We (ahem) they are thinking intimate, rustic, simple, and, of course, gorgeous! I honestly could not be more excited for them, and I can promise you, this is going to be one awesome party!!!!! 

Since we knew this was coming, I've been bookmarking ideas for a while now, but now I finally get to share them with all of you! Here is the initial inspiration (in my mind) for their big day. 

 Certainly there is going to be a lot more wedding talk going on around here, and I will most definitely be posting any DIY projects that we come up with! I'm so out of the wedding loop, I would love to know what your favorite wedding blogs and sources are! Please share!

TV Gallery Wall.

We all know there is nothing more that I love in life, than a good gallery wall. On the exact opposite spectrum, is our media wall, which up until last week had only one thing on it... the TV. In most spaces, I don't have any feelings one way or the other about solo television, but in our space (where all the furniture faces that one wall) it was kind of an eye sore. I've gone back and forth over whether on not I should just wallpaper the area, but since I was never 100 percent, I decided against it. After the Carter Kustera prints arrived, which were meant for the guest room, I had a vision of a bright and sunny gallery wall, filled with color pattern. Minutes later, Grayson and I got to work, and after stealing a few pieces from the rest of our house (a print, similar to this one, is actually going to be the large center piece) I finally found a way to camouflage the television and actually lightened the whole room! Now, I'm kind of addicted (shocking I know) and I actually want to add more prints, and take the wall to the ceiling, but these things take time and for the moment I'm just happy that I finally figured out what to do in this space. Behold, my new favorite wall in the house!

Doesn't it bring in so much color? I love it!

When it comes to a good gallery wall,  in my book there is never too much of a good thing. For those of you who agree, here are 6 of my all time favorites. 

Ahhhhhh I'm so inspired! You can bet there will be more where this came from!

Weekend Links.

Happy Sunday! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend! Things feel positively springy around here, which is a welcome change from the norm! Yesterday, the LM and I skied in mid 50 temps, and today we have a chance of finally getting rid of that last bit of snow on the ground. The "lost" hour of sleep, means my crew can finally get in to the routine they much prefer, an hour earlier to bed, and up with the sun... and for us it means and hour less we have to keep them busy today! haha. Of course, it also means we will get home before it's dark out, and for my mindset that is just a game changer!

I hope you all are able to take advantage of the milder temps (you know you are a New Englander when it's 40 feels like you should be laying out!) Here are a few fun links from around the web that caught my eye. xo

For the first time in forever, we are getting a tax refund back and it is taking everything in my power not to buy these. I have to say my thirty year old self would have run out and made the purchase, but my almost thirty five year old self is investing it instead. Making good decisions, yet another side affect of aging. Blah. They sure are beautiful though.

The story behind one of our favorite books had me in tears. As if I needed a reason to cry more while reading it.

Makeup secrets you haven't heard before.

Way to fix the loophole Mass!

The most popular baby names by state. Oops, looks like we should be living in the north west!

This article is one of the best I've ever read when it comes to describing life with little kids. It's nice to know it's not just us who counts downy he minutes to bed time!

Talk about summing up everything we have been learning about my husband's condition, and the re-definition of wellness. Sadly, most times you can't really fix it until you find out that it's already broken.

The formula for a feature on the The Sartorialist. Ha!

The muscle T is back!  Also, this dress is adorable!

What a good looking salad! I'm definitely trying it out this week.

... this too!

After months of messing around with it, I finally stole Jude Rea's haircut. I've never had an easier "do"! I love it!

12 Ted talks for a better you.

This show looks awesome! My husband and I are so excited for it to start!

I really like the direction that Anthro is heading. This sofa is insanity. I wish we had a storage space, I would most definitely scoop it up!

I keep seeing the exterior of this gorgeous home everywhere. I am not complaining one bit.

Finally,

Isn't that the truth? Hope you had a good one!

Most Kids are Weird...

 Most kids are weird... mine might just be some of the weirdest. 

When the LM was little(er) he was OBSESSED with collecting things. Not coins, or toys, or actual collectables, but rather, collecting things you can find on the street. It started with these tiny balls that fell out of a bunch of maracas, and got buried on the playground at his school, and ended with a bottle cap/ nip cap collection that currently exceeds 5,000 (at some point you just have to stop counting.) Wherever we would go, the kid would always be looking for, and digging up bottle caps. He would then hand them over, and I would put them in my purse or pocket until we got home. Since this is the city, and most everything is covered in a layer of dirt, I was very happy when he grew out of this phase. He still loves getting them (of course, we had to get everyone he knows to send them to him as well) but now that he's in kindergarten, and assimilating, his weirdness has diminished slightly. 

Well, lucky for us, Gray is willing to step up to the plate with his own weird obsession, which is not only weird but also a little bit creepy. Yay!

A little background first. There are three things in this world that Gray loves more than anything else. The first is his ducky, stuffed cat, and one animal de jour, that NEED to go everywhere with us. Everywhere. The big three cannot be left anywhere that Gray is not. It is very serious business, and I constantly have nightmares that we will lose one of the two originals. I'm pretty sure he would just explode, rather than dealing with the thought of living without them. 

The second thing that makes his world go round are superheroes. Specifically, Batman, Superman, and the Green Lantern. The favorite has to be the Green Lantern. Not only does he talk about them incessantly, but he also HAS to be wearing superhero socks, and undies (over his diaper.)  This is very serious business in his mind, and "_____ is dirty" is not an acceptable answer. 

The final item he loves is tape, and yes, this is where the weirdness comes in. The kid loves tape, and not just taping things, but actually taping his animals. Not just his animals, but his animal's eyes, mouth, and arms. Uh huh. Weird. I'm not going to lie, I can deal with most things, but this one was hard to explain to people, i.e. the teachers at his school? "Oh, don't mind that giant dog, he's just bound and gaged, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Listen, I've seen Dexter, I know how it goes but given that Gracie is the sweetest, kindest, little guy on the planet, he can get away with this, but I have to say, the clear packaging tape was a little "weird."

During a trip to target, I saw something that I knew would blow his little mind, and gave it to Valentine's day. 

Yes, that is superhero duct tape, and yes, he nearly lost it when he saw it. 

Can you guess what he did next?

... and this is what I carry around town with me, each and every day. I have to say, the superhero tape is less creepy than the original, but obviously, this is still a little odd. 

Since I've had kids for almost 7 years now (whhhhaaattt?) I've been around the block enough times to know this is just another phase, but man, explaining this one to strangers is really taking up a lot of my day. Little weirdo ;)

Do your kids have any odd behavior? I know we can't be the only ones out there. I'm actually dying to know where the tape thing came from. I know who won't be telling us... those poor stuffed animals!

Pastel Colored Hair... I'm In!

 Have you guys SEEN what Nicole Richie did to her golden locks? 

GAH! I'm so in to it!!!!!

So chic, so unexpected, so modern. I love everything about it.

Now, I realize there are only two types of people who can pull this look off 1) uber hip celebrities and socialites, and 2) Girls in their teens and twenties. Since I am neither, I most definitely will be sitting this one out, but I have to say, I really can't get enough of it!

For those of you who are cool/ brave/ young enough here is a little more pastel colored hair inspiration that's slightly more subdued for us mere mortals!

You can't say it doesn't make a statement!

P.S. I have to laugh a little, because about 12 years ago when I was dating my husband, I bought one of those color tinted shampoos to try to tone down my too golden hair. After one two many washes my hair turned purple, and we were spending the weekend at my future in-laws! I seriously cried the whole way up. Little did I know, that 12 years later I would be dying over this same color! Damn, that's what you get for being a decade-too-early trendsetter! ;)