Boots, Boots and Boots!

I love boots and I love that everyone here seems to wear and enjoy boots as much as  I do.  In my eyes, its one of the best fashion trends of Fall and Winter.  Last Fall I snagged this gorgeous pair of Coach black flat boots from a Nordstrom Rack in San Jose, Ca while visiting my parents.

 

This is a classic look that I feel will last more than a few years, especially because of the quality of the leather.  I was already wearing a tan pair of Steve Madden boots but they did not survive the season here!!  They had water stains and a hole was beginning to from at the point :-(  I knew I needed a new pair of tan colored boots and when I came across these I could not resist,

 

Its difficult to wish for Spring when you have boots like this to wear!  Coach truely delivers when it comes to leather flat boots.  The looks are classic, the quality is very nice and the cost is acceptable.  I think I am all set for a few years:-)

Pacific Northwest

I know it has been awhile since my last post.  I am actually on the other side of the continent now - living in Issaquah, Washington, a suburb of Bellevue (city sister of Seattle).  I love it here, the gloom has yet to affect me:-)  I have really come to enjoy the scenic views of the Cascade Mountains, this time of year the tips are covered in snow and on the commute home on a clear day it is so gorgeous
:-)  I still can't decide what is more a beautiful, a view of the beach or  a view of the mountains.


Picture from: http://www.123rf.com/photo_8678988_i-90-bridge-seattle-mercer-island-highway-cars-snowy-cascade-mountains-bellevue-washington-state-pac.html

Birch Box!

A few weeks ago I read an interesting article about several women, all in their 20’s who have successfully started their own businesses.  One company, called Birch Box , is a membership site where you pay $10 a month and receive a  box of high-end beauty samples.  The items you receive are based on your profile and what you are most interested in.  I received my first Birch Box the other day, and was so excited to open it.

How cute is the packaging?!

I received the following samples:

• Kerastase Shampoo, Conditioner and Shine Serum
• Color Club Nail Polish in a lovely Coral shade
• Algenist Regenerative Anti-Aging Moisturizer (just need to say that for a sample size, there is a lot in here!)
• Sara McNamara Miracle Skin Transformer (Body Lotion)

My profile consisted of me being mostly interested in anti-aging serums and hair products to treat dry ends. I also specified that I was interested in both classic & trendy make-up looks.

Overall, I think the monthly samples are a great way to try new products.  If you want to buy any of the products in a full size, you can do so through the Birch Box website.

Summer Weather

This weekend it was absolutely gorgeous!  Friday I took a half day from work so I could attend my younger sister's college graduation.  My parents also had flown in from California so it was great to all be together.  Saturday, I met up with my Mom in Andover where we walked around the town and then later met up with my Dad and had lunch together. 

The weather was 75 and sunny and with our luck there was a craft fair going on in the Andover Commons. My Mom bought me a beautiful hand painted olive oil cruet.

I returned home and started preparing foods for Sunday's Mother's Day dinner. While chopping all the ingredients that go into the Russian Potato Salad (a favorite in the family!), I had the windows open and enjoyed the warm breeze.

Now it is dark and rainy :-| Can't wait for the true summer weather to return!

Designer Shoe Giveaway:

Fashion Blogger Erika Marie of Fashion Chalet is giving away a pair of Alexander Wang sandals! Click here for your chance to win!
http://www.fashionchalet.net/2012/04/giveaway-alexander-wang-safari-sandals.html

Happy Saint Valentine's Day ♥

I am feeling quite in the mood for Valentine’s Day this year. Seeing people wearing red, men and women holding bouquets of flowers, I even have my pink heart earrings on.



"She bath'd with roses red, and violets blew,
And all the sweetest flowres, that in the forrest grew." - The Faerie Queene (1590)

Fall Footwear

Just a quick fashion related post -

I love fall for multiple reasons: crisp temperatures, cozy clothes for lounging at home, Halloween, beautifully colored leaves, My Birthday, Thanksgiving, sweaters and layers and of course finding new boots.

This year I was not sure what type of boot I wanted for myself, I thought I wanted a tan pair of "riding boots" but on my legs, I didn't like how they were too wide around my calf, they just didn't look right. I already have a pair of black suede knee-hight flat boots so for now, I am using these - although I feel I really do need a brown boot in my wardrobe. I also decided I needed a good "fall" shoe that I could wear with my work pieces during the week and still pair with my more casual clothes for the weekends. I loved these from Marc by Marc Jacobs, but thought they were quite pricey for my budget.

Selling for $295.00 at The Tannery.

I liked the look of this Mary Jane "wedge" because I knew they would look great with either pants or skirts/dresses, and above all, they are comfortable! Everyone knows how much more comfortable wedges are compared to regular pumps. While looking in Macy's last week, I saw
these gorgeous suede Mary Jane wedges by Ellen Tracy,



How similar do they look to the Marc by Marc Jacobs style? I ended up getting these Ellen Tracy wedges in tan for a mere $67:-) I thought the tan would look perfect when worn with the different colored corduroy pants I own. These shoes even look great with black skinny jeans:-)

Every Friday Just about Midnight            All my Problems seem to disappear



"Friends" - Band of Skulls

Wild Storms

Yesterday morning it was warm and sunny, but by late afternoon, it was dark, cloudy and severe weather warnings were issued throughout Massachusetts. These warnings consisted of: Flash Flood Warning, Severe Thunder Storm Warning and a Tornado Watch Warning (!!) Thankfully, there were no tornadoes in the Boston area, but we did have some crazy thunderstorms with heavy rain. Although we do frequently have thunderstorms in the summer, I have never seen so many lightning strikes in such a short period of time.

In Watertown, MA (a town outside Boston), between 6:00-7:30pm, we saw lots of cumulonimbus mamma clouds.



After 7:30 it almost looked like it was clearing up, but by 8:00 you could see the dark storm clouds rolling in. The rain started by 9:00 and the thunder and lightning was insane. With my phone I captured a video and was able to pull a freeze frame from it,

By 10:00pm, all was clear!

Afternoon Sun

On Friday, as soon as I got home, I sat out on my front porch. It was so nice to soak up the late afternoon sun. It was certainly a HOT weekend, high 80's and pretty humid.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Lately, Boston has been having great weather, high 70's/low 80's and sunny. The weather looks perfect for this (long) weekend. Today my work is closing early, at 2:30, I can't wait to get my weekend started; kicking off the summer.

This summer I look forward to spending lots of time on our front porch, as its our first summer having access to a porch. I've already done some decorating with these flowers that I planted;

Currently we have some red and blue folding chairs on the porch, but I would love to have this hand-made unique swing out there! I entered to win it via the Free People Blog website. I hope I win!!

 (swing photo from: http://blog.freepeople.com/)

Sunday Afternoon

This weekend, the sun was out and about (today its back to raining!) Yesterday was my first day of not smoking, it's really tough! I was on a mission to keep myself occupied, so I went for a walk around my neighborhood.

Rain, Rain, Rain

Boston has had so much rain all week. The nice thing is that we now have colors you would expect to see in a rainforest.

*Doodles*

Just a doodle:

Austin, TX

This weekend I visited Austin, Texas. It was my first trip to the midwest and I did not know what to expect. I had a great time, Austin is such a cool city with a unique character, live music, good food, friendly people. The weather was gorgeous too! I look forward to going back, someday.

Surroundings

Walking to the bus stop in the morning

Lunch Break

Spring!

Over the weekend, one of my best friend's from college visited me. On Friday I took the day off from work and we walked around Downtown, spent most of our time on Newbury Street.

'Tis the Season

Last year I decided I wanted to make and decorate a gingerbread house. Unfortunately I decided too late, and could not find any in stores, unless I wanted to pay $40 for a fancy one from Williams & Sonoma. This year, I got mine early, from Market Basket for $7.99. The house pieces, frosting/glue and candies were all in the kit, you just needed to assemble the house and decorate it! Things were not theat simple, I could not keep the roof together and ended up running out of the glue/frosting. I even tried to use crazy glue for the candy, but that didn't work well sticking to a cookie. At least my cats were entertained with fallen candies...

Unpacking & Coldness**

Almost two weeks ago, I've moved to a new location, I literally moved from one "town" to another "town":-) I love my new town, it is very cultural, and offers many ethnic food shops which I absolutely love. Upon moving and while unpacking, I've come to the conclusion that I have too many clothes! (*Insert applause from my husband since I have finnaly realized this*!!) Luckily, the new apartment has come with two closets ("wow!") which is better than our previous one closet apartment. Now, we each have our own closet! (*insert applause from myself*) However, I honestly do have too many clothes, and too many scarves!!





The apartment we moved into is a rennovated house built in 1910, I can't help but wonder if the door knobs are authentic, they are so pretty.



Thank you Martha Stewart, for helping an unorganized girl get organized!http://www.homedepot.com/Martha-Stewart-Living/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xh3Z4tg/R-202104737/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053



**Titled "Unpacking & Coldness" because I've been doing a lot of unpacking and todays forecast read "28 degrees, feels like 12 degrees"!!

How do you guys stay organized? I still have so many sheets and towels with no place to store them, I am thinking of purchasing some decorative boxes to store them in; (source: homedecormaker)

I was at my parents and had to take some pictures around their yard. ..





Keeping a look-out on the garden-