how to tell if it's real love?

                           

I've read so many good bits lately on love and I find each one of them so sweet, true and a good test...

I completely forget where I read it, but it was a few weeks ago; along the lines of "you love someone when you can re-tell their stories that you aren't part of"

It took me a second to think if I could do it, but once I thought about it, I found myself thinking of all sorts of Stuart's fun childhood stories, teenage love stories, family stories and traveling stories I've learned about him over the past 13 years. 

We soaked in a cozy bubble bath that night and retold each others stories to one another. He remembered so many of mine! And it was so interesting to see how the focus of the story shifted with some else retelling it. 

                                     

And another piece on the love subject, on cupofjo I read this question "what is the name of your first love's first love?"

Do you have any sweet, little tests or challenges on true love?

here's hoping the kids morning soccer is called off in honor of Pippa's wedding so I can stay home instead, drool over pictures, not get dressed and drink excessive amounts of coffee

The kids soccer practice and games weren't called off after all, but that certainly didn't stop me from drooling over pictures...

arriving with her dad, so sweet! 

these hats at British weddings are the real deal. I've been to many a British wedding and everyone still rocks the party hat. I love it! Chic, fancy and fun

more hat flair

I love everything about this picture; kate (obvi), the little pager boys and flower girls, the hushing and the thick rose garland makes me swoon. 

stunning! (and can we talk about my arm envy and her teeny waist?!)

my favorite! 

My grandmother in-law in Wales knows I love the royal family, so I'm half expecting British gossip mag in the mail with great, oversized, glossy photos or at least a Pippa + Kate calendar ;)

valentine paper hearts craft that made my heart melt

i know, i know, i'm about a month late posting a gorgeous, fun, easy and oh so fabulous valentine craft. better late than never though, right?

february is the time of year my cabin fever peaks and my craft ideas are dwindling, but i was determined to find something sweet and easy enough for a eager three year old crafter to be entertained. these paper hearts were the perfect valentine's day craft


you'll need:

- at least 10 sheets of paper
- scissors (or "snizzors" as we call them :)
- needle + thread
- tape

as i'm writing 'what you'll need' i'm realizing you could do a zillion variations of this. we used old maps, paper bags, scrap paper, envelopes and origami paper to make our hearts, but you could all different shades of colors, or do ombre (i might totally try that next!), or book paper sheets, etc. your possibilities are endless!

we used my favorite metallic thread to string them together, although you don't notice the shimmer as much as i was hoping, but you could use clear fishing wire to have them look like the hearts are floating in the air or a colored thread depending on the look you're going for.

and you could also mix it up by using fun washi tape instead of clear scotch tape.

step 1: cut out all of your hearts. we did a bunch of different sizes, but i think it could look really beautiful to have them the same size too.





step 2: i laid all of our hearts in rows as i wanted them to be strung up.






step 3: i single threaded my needle, but put a knot at the end of the string so your hearts don't fall off. i purposefully left a little string on the end of mine too because I'm never sure what i might morph them into in the future. i also had grand ideas of making little tails for each strand, but clearly ran out of time/effort. string your ideal rows of hearts and space them however you want. some of the hearts looked cute almost on top of one another.

step 4: be sure not to get them tangled.



step 5: have your oh-so-fabulous husband help tape them to the very high ceiling in the exact spot where you want them to cascade down and try not to be so picky down to the centimeter where you want them to be

step 6: keep them up for weeks to admire + enjoy your craftiness. we loved our valentine craft so much we kept the hearts up weeks later for cai's christening and they are still up. i'm not completely sure i ever want to take them down.

LOVE! proposal @ cafe mogador

we were out in manhattan yesterday, wandering about, escaping the heat and meeting up with friends in the afternoon. we went out for a beyond delicious dinner at one of my top 3 favorite places in all of NY, cafe mogador. YUM!

as we're sipping our cucumber martinis (also beyond delicious) and reminiscing over our old 5th floor walk-ups with no A/C, the man of a cute couple a table over from us suddenly got down on one knee, the old fashioned way, and proposed. his declaration of love was very quiet, to keep some sort of intimacy of the crowd-filled moment and within seconds the entire restaurant was cheering + clapping. i had goosebumps! it was just so sweet. the girl (said "yes!") was completely taken by surprise and seemed overjoyed.

the couple stayed a bit longer. when they left the restaurant, the entire place filled up with clapping again. they continued along, moseying across east 8th street both with giant smiles.

i couldn't help thinking about the freshly engaged couple; was he stressed before (stuart definitely was) + felt a little wave of relief that she said yes, who would she call first to share the news, where would they think about get married, would they get a bottle of champagne on their way home or go out somewhere after to celebrate some more?

don't you just love hearing about romantic moments? and witnessing it was really wonderful and felt almost magical.

NYC ballet

stuart + nia got me tickets to the NYC ballet for mother's day. we have talked about going for years so it was so lovely to finally go. the performance was absolutely amazing. i still have ballet fever + dreaming of swavroski crystal embellished tutus.

this one is a picture of the actual costume from the performance we saw. so beautiful!

(pictures courtesy of favim.com, oberons grove and patrico melo)

and it makes me want to see this documentary 'first position' even more 

april showers

one of my best girlfriends is getting married. us bridesmaids just threw her a bridal shower last weekend. and i must say, it was practically flawless. and because valerie is one of my best friends i decided to use some of my favorite "party ideas" for her shower.

i wanted to dessert table look to be inviting, beautiful + delicious. for the overall table look this was my inspiration...

and this was the result...

in hindsight we could have used more bud vases of roses. 

for the cake i fell in love with this image ages ago and was determined to use all aspects of it as possible...

here's the bunting (my current obsession)...

and the ombre...

and this one for the trim...

pretty good, no?

and then i spotted this in a martha post a few months back and just loved it. so i switched up the colors for valerie's purple wedding color. it was such a beautiful way to decorate, bring in tons of fun + pops of color and was super fun + super easy. 

*obvi it would have been nice to have the city backdrop and party on a lush rooftop.

(images courtesy of martha stewart weddings)

old loves

recently became addicted to tumblr's old loves

what was your favorite hollywood couple? here are a few couple favorites of mine..

ben affleck + gwyneth paltrow, 1998

jane fonda + roger vadim, 1967

johnny depp + kate moss

sarah jessica parker + robert downy jr., 1985

and i never even knew these two were ever a couple

tupac + jada pinkett

esty betsy pretty please with sugar on top

a few of my favorite etsy finds from my regular routine of hunting for fabulousness

 great necklace!

perfect  for the rest of these fleeting summer days

a pink party dress for a mad men themed party perhaps (ooh 2012 season, will you ever get here?)

crane love

for my baby shower this past autumn each guest made a origami paper crane which was supposed to be made into a cheery + one-of-a-kind mobile. but i'm thinking (especially now that miss nia is past the mobile stage) that something like this vertical garland would be a beautiful, sweet + whimsical way to display the cranes.

*from an exhibit in the asian art museum in CA

love.

immersed in post-royal wedding bliss.

loved pippa's dress

i loved these trees. what a fabulous idea!

sweet moment

the kiss

happily ever after