Leaving Boston was tough, both personally and logistically: Hurricane Irene canceled flights in and out of Logan Airport Sunday and Monday. Needless to say, the airport was insane Tuesday morning. But thankfully we made it out to Los Angeles without much hassle. The Tall Guy even managed to fit his belongings into three large suitcases - I'd like to see anyone else do that!
To round up our 'lasts' for Mike's departure, we hit up only the best of Boston.
A trip to Neptune Oyster for some serious seafood indulgences:
We had a grilled octopus appetizer at Legal - not as good as when we had it down in the Galapagos but close! And I tried abalone, which actually tasted amazing!
Abalone shells are beautiful - they're usually used as soap dishes
And bar hopping from Figs in Charlestown for tasty apps (the mussels are phenomenal, as are the fried asparagus spears and the bib salad with bacon). Not to mention some ice cold red sangria:
We rounded out the night at Tavern on the Water for the full view of downtown Boston across the water, Dark n Stormies with Gosling's Rum, and their amazing panko chicken fingers and homemade ranch.
View of Downtown
The USS Constitution
Literally - Tavern on the Water
We'll be heading out to Catalina today, more on that later!
Remember when your new teacher for the upcoming school year would send you a list of supplies? And planning your first day outfit was always a big deal - check out how cute the Tall Guy's niece look today for their first day back!
What new item would you sport if it was your first day back to school? I might wear this madras skirt like this one from Nantucket Brand - and I'm definitely packing it to bring a little New England spirit to California.
It's also the first day of classes for students at Lehigh University, but move in day was last week. Remember saying goodbye to your parents and settling in with your roommate? And the dreaded unpacking: I lived in M&M - and true to form - brought too much stuff with me from Ohio.
But for this move tomorrow, we'll be packing sparingly: just Mike's clothes. Thank you again Jet Blue for having the first checked bag fly free!
This Lilly Pulitzer print is fantastic - and way to team up with Gosling's Rum for the pattern! It even has the recipe for a Dark n Stormy drink on there!
And a great score from the Lilly Pulitzer sale this week: a Dark n Stormy skirt! Can't wait to wear this:
Hurricane Jerry 2 oz. Sailor Jerry rum 1 oz. Bols triple sec
2 oz. mango or passion-fruit juice
1 oz. orange juice
1/2 oz. lime juice
Splash of grenadine
Shake. Pour over ice. Garnish with an orange slice if you want to get fancy.
Yesterday I received the iPad the Tall Guy and I ordered for use on my trips back and forth from Boston to LAX over the coming months - can't tell you how happy I am that I scored a Jet BluePass for unlimited travel for the next three months.
As I set up the iPad, I realized that I had not one but three Apple products sitting next to me (computer and iPhone were the other two). It made laugh at how nerdy that probably looked, but it also made me reminisce about my first Apple product: a second generation iPod. This was before those great commercials came out with those catchy songs by The Black Eyed Peas and Jet.
Getting an iPod convinced me that Apple was on to something good. I bought their stock at $15/share back in 2002, and you probably know how that turned out.
Another NY Times analysis shocked me: Steve Jobs's 313 Patents all laid out in a row (check it out for yourself). The guy has undoubtedly changed the way we interact with technology forever.
Apple has done some really amazing things - more than just giving people the ability to play Angry Birds on big screens. I'm sure they're well aware of the many eyes upon them in this next chapter without Steve Jobs.
Finals are over!! That means a few weeks of relaxing: working on a nice end-of-summer tan, catching up on Us Weekly, and spending far too much time in CVS pondering the newest nail polish purchase.
Despite the fact that I can't seem to grow my nails to a respectable length, I still enjoy lathering them with lacquer. I have seen a few noteworthy new products worth a shout out (thank you Fashionista blog for these great finds!).
OPI colors inspired by the Muppets. If Jason Segal ever goes out in drag, I know it'll be with one of these beauties on his finger tips. Colors like 'Meep-Meep-Meep,' 'Warm and Fozzie,' 'Excuse Moi,' and 'The Fresh Frog of Bel Air' will crack a smile of fond remembrance on anyone's face:
Sorry for the delay this morning - I've been patiently awaiting the Lilly Pulitzer Endless Summer Sale to begin at 10am. Here are some items I've been scoping out:
This Shayna Eyelet Dress is a dead ringer for Kate Middleton's Erdum dress she wore when she arrived in Canada:
This Rosemary Eyelet Dress looks just as fabulous as Blake Lively's Tibi dress, and the sale makes the Lilly Pulitzer less than 1/4th of the cost of Blake's dress:
And this Roslyn Skirt uses the same Dark and Stormy pattern on this Gosling's Rum tie (Lilly Pulitzer and Gosling's Rum collaborated on this one - no coincidence!):
This Golf Outing put on by Citizens for Lake Metroparks in Ohio will be featuring raffle prizes from Silk Road Pearls. Too bad they're already sold out of tickets!
For those of you who are nearby, be sure to follow the Lake Metroparks on Facebook and Twitter for upcoming info on the Barnyard BBQ on Oct 1 featuring Silk Road Pearls prizes. This event put on by Lake Metroparks Farmpark will benefit its education fund. For more info please contact Farmpark Admissions at 440-256-2122 or 1-800-366-FARM (3276).
Being a full time student still calls for some serious indulgences, like catching up on articles I star on my Reader.
But I have to admit, this article I found while taking a mental break from homework pretty much sums up my current MBA class schedule of Business Ethics, Entrepreneurship, and Negotiations. The company - called KickStarter - has a pretty great idea: people who need funding for projects can create a video which connects them to various online donors who contribute as much (or as little) as they want.
The catch? It can't be something self serving like 'Buy Jenny a prom dress' and you have to give something back to your backers. It also can't be used as VC funding for a startup company. You have to set a time limit and goal for total funds raised - and if you don't meet it in time, you get nothing.
Here are some of the awesome KickStarter projects up now:
These Freaker beverage koozies are just the trick to keep Dark and Stormies from melting. They've already raised close to $63k!:
But I'm not exactly sending her tube tops - my taste is 30+ years off according to Harper's Bazaar feature 'Fabulous At Every Age' (maybe it's Hellen Murren dazzling looks that draw me towards what women my Mother's age should be wearing). But Tide has been sure to capture the phenomenon with this classy commercial - a mom going out on the town in her daughter's green tank:
Although one of the perks of living with 48 girls in Pi Phi at Lehigh was essentially having an endless closet, I still have the most fun raiding my Mom's closet; there's always a story with each purchase. Even better: a lot of her jewelry was inherited from relatives. A little different than trying on your newest 'going out shirt' for the dance party on the Hill.
Wearing these sentimental pieces is always an indulgence - I can wear something my Grandmothers only donned on special occasions, and I consider that a badge of honor. I'm always delighted when friends or family use my jewelry as their "something borrowed" in weddings. Heather chose my Great Aunt's bracelet to compliment her wedding attire, and Libby wore my Grandmother's ruby and pearl bracelet as hers.
Wedding season has officially come to an end for the year, but I realized that I'll miss helping my Mom coordinate her special occasion looks. For Julie's Ohio reception, she showed me some ideas she had picked out ahead of time and we went through each possibility scrutinizing the details. It was good, but we didn't find that showstopping combination where we both agreed 'That's it.'
Mary and John
Once we came across those turquoise BCBG mules I knew she could kill it. We picked out a lace top of the same color (we got it on a shopping trip together a few years ago) and tried on many different necklaces. We settled on this Silk Road Pearls long white coin necklace.
The Times got it wrong: moms and daughters dressing alike is not the end of the world. It's a sign of closeness, not of a mom's need to 'stay young and hip.' My Mom and I made many noteworthy fashion choices together over the years, from my first earrings and all my prom dresses (not to mention that we were each others braces buddy on alert for any embarrassing food in teeth situations - can you believe my Mom was brave enough to get braces in her 40's?). Buying a trend to appropriate each of us isn't a crime of fashion. But we are careful not to dress alike in public - how lame!
Don't tell me there's no room for this in your purse.
How many times do you go out for a round of errands and end up without enough purse space? I usually stop at the Johnny's Foodmaster on the way home from classes at 9pm and run into this dilemma far too often. I hate bringing home another plastic bag just because I forgot to bring big cloth bags when I went to school at 11am that morning.
Let me introduce another key find by Momma Meade: Envirosaxs. She purchased one for me at The Cleveland Museum of Art, and I'm hooked. They're designs are instantly likeable:
And with so many to choose from, you can't go wrong! These puppies are strong enough to hold Silk Road Pearls when I haul them around bag lady style like I did in my start up days.
You can still enter the Silk Road Pearls Giveaway until 8/14- visit Vineyard Loveknots for details.
