well suited

On this chilly Friday...anticipating spring-like temps tomorrow I am daydreaming of swimsuits. I know, I know...it's barely 50 degrees as I type this but every year I'm sent swirling trying to find the perfect suit as the season unfolds and all the good ones are gone...picked over, like when you sat on the edge of the pool...on the concrete...that would pick your suit faster than you could dip a toe! So this year, I've decided that I'll get an early start. For the Toddler...I've found the cutest vintage-esque suit that incorporates my love of nautical stripes! Also, I'm a big fan of Janie and Jack which is where the Toddler's swimsuit and cap from last year (see "thinking inside the box" post) came from so I decided to check out their selection for this year and wasn't disappointed. Can't wait to get that little suit and cap of stripes, buttons and bows on her! As for me...I'm considering a high waisted number...vintage-esque appeal and might even entertain a one-piece as it's easier to deal with the...less than perfect areas and the Toddler's tromping but for now I haven't found one I'm loving. Finally, for the Husband...the pickiest one of the bunch. He'll probably don his same blue and yellow stripe, marlin embroidered trunks from last year because, as the conversation usually goes, "they still fit" and "I don't understand why you have to have a new swimsuit every year". But alas, I grew up in a home where shopping for your swimsuit each year was as significant as picking your wedding dress! Trying on...pulling...tugging until the we found just the perfect one that none of my friends were sure to have on Spring Break! And so, as tomorrow's temperatures climb into the mid-60's I'll be stowed away in a dressing room somewhere...debating...deciding...pulling and tugging. And I'll be a little sad to slip back into my Bean Boots and puffer coat as rain and colder temps are predicted to return by Sunday; however, my heart will be warmed knowing I have assembled the perfect beach attire! For me: Hotel Bondi gnome print high waisted bikini - Hotel Bondi crochet print high waisted bikini For the Toddler - Janie and Jack striped swimsuit and cap

Available here...

http://www.hotelbondiswim.com/

http://www.janieandjack.com/

a perfect "match"

If you read one thing today...well, two things...as you are here and presumably reading this...but after reading this, please, please, please check out Matchbook Magazine! It's an online glossy that launched yesterday and is dedicated to style, or as they say...a field guide to a charmed life. It covers everything from uber cute Maryjane flats to up and coming designers, apartment dressings, travel and boy stuff too! So inspiring and exciting with...as Jordan Ferney from Oh Happy Day (one of my fav blogs) puts it "...a very quirky Kate Spade-ish vibe going on". And so, I have flipped every virtual page and can say that I'm in love and...just in time for valentine's day! Which got me thinking...it's perfect for all you iPad peeps...zoom-able, linkable, lovable! And so, sweet Husband...I think I'm ready for MY iPad and...just in time for valentine's day! Right?? Read it here... http://matchbookmag.com/ p.s. swoon!

cold case

So, here it is mid-winter...in my mind anyway, and I am obsessed with coats. Maybe it's because I've been sick the entire month of January. That's right...24 days and counting. Maybe the feverish, achiness, and sniffling has me longing for anything that will keep me warm...but I find myself gravitating toward coats like never before. And, with that said...I am assembling quite a collection. There's the quilted Burberry jacket...the L.L.Bean Adirondack Barn Coat...the car length puffer...the Saints fleece...the Kors pea coat, and that's just the overcoats. The jackets...suit and sundry alike are stacking up as well. Maybe it's my age...maybe I'm finding that if a classic cut coat/jacket is added to any outfit there's a certain heir of put-together-ness...sophistication...style. I like to think so anyway. Some days with the Toddler I find it difficult to put together a cover worthy outfit...and as I type this in my skinny black pants, denim shirt and riding boots...my hair is a mess, makeup askew yet the long puffer coat was like a Band-aid on my sad...sickly appearance as I ventured out in my, er...antibiotic laced state...into the cold to return a coat and exchange another. I admit, 3 coats since December is excessive (read...perfect). But there I was questioning myself...how could I return such a lovely blanket-esque coat with just the right amount of effortless cape-like appeal? Well, I couldn't justify it...a three-quarter length sleeved coat is...well, confusing...not to mention the hood, ugh...I just couldn't figure it out. It was a little bit Ivy League meets...street style and as I swiped my credit card for the return I missed it already. And so, months from now I'll spot someone with it on and wish I had made the effort...but, again...in my haze of sore throat and forced adventure I decided the Husband would be thrilled with my decisiveness. Pressing on...wiping my eyes (remember...I'm sick, although there may or may not have been a tear shed during the aforementioned return) it was time to exchange the second coat in hand. I had purchased it a week or so ago with the Husband and his approval of it's good looks. However, I ended up with the wrong size and so today...I made my way to the counter with the correct size...exchanged...and brimming with excitement to wear this classic as soon as I'm feeling better. With everything said...I've decided that a mid-length classic trench quite possibly may be the only coat you will ever need. And while deciding upon this look I can say that I am happy to be able to share in the history of such a classic. From Audrey (Hepburn...of course) to Alexa (Chung) I am delighted to dash out in my khaki belted mid-length trench...hair a mess, makeup askew...but forgiven by the belted cuffs...elegant back pleat... and funnel neck of my new trench that is, well...anything but new. below: Audrey "entrenched" in Breakfast at Tiffany's... left: Alexa Chung... the nouveau classique!

postmarked

I am a firm believer in "thank-you" notes...handwritten...on nice stationary...and I enjoy sending them. I try to be prompt and quite honestly, was much more timely before the Toddler arrived 2 years ago. While they may not be written the same day or week...I will eventually put pen on a wonderful piece of paper expressing gratitude for whatever the reason may be. With this said...I also enjoy receiving them...I suppose it's my southern upbringing but I think it's only appropriate. My father-in-law writes the best "thank-you" notes ever...so well thought out...so heartfelt...and his penmanship is bar none. For most of our 11 years of marriage...the Husband has had to translate his father's "thank-you's" and letters for me. Imagine the most elaborate...old world script you've ever seen made by a ball point. They are simply stunning and the words on the correspondence card are just as special. I contend that his Ivy League ways are at work here but also I contend that letter writing...thank-you's included...are a lost art. In this click and send, internet world which we live...it's refreshing to receive a piece of real correspondence...something tangible...in the sender's handwriting. When I was young (think high school...think 80's) my boyfriend and I wrote a library's worth of letters. Yes, we saw each other every day...went to the same school...talked on the phone for hours...and yet still wrote letters to each other and mailed them. There were weeks when I got a letter from him in the mail every day. I cherished those letters...partly for their sentiment but mostly for the tangibleness of them. There is nothing more profound than "getting it in writing". You can't refute it...can't change it...unless of course you re-write it or the sentiment changes. With that said...yes, the sentiment did change...we grew apart...grew up...and in college my boyfriend and I went our separate ways. The Husband and I later dated and wrote letters as well as there were times in our courtship that we were in different parts of the world. Again, I would bolt to the mailbox, hoping to find a letter for me...tearing gently at the fine stationary...pouring over the words. Recently my parent's moved and during the move they came across a box of these letters. As I was reading each one as if for the first time again...my sister...who is 11 years younger was amazed...confused..."why would you send letters when you could just call or email or text?" And at that moment...I realized that her generation will never "get" it...they will never understand the excitement of a letter...know the postman's route...the cost of a stamp. As I tried to explain it to her she eventually conceded that it was "neat" to have them and that no one her age ever wrote letters. Sadly, she's right. Phoning, texting, and emailing have become the new norm...yet I still believe in my heart that real "thank-you" notes...letters...are appreciated...admired...and to not send one is, well...in my opinion...formidable. So I say this, get out your pen and paper...write a quick note...write a long note...thank someone for their gift...their time...their friendship...their love. And when you receive that beautiful letter pressed correspondence card in your own post...you'll be thankful for the time that was spent thinking of you...thanking you...appreciating you...loving you!

image credit: Tiffany & Co.

sick as a dog

I have been sick as a dog...quite literally thought I was dying last week and I'm still convalescing. Hopefully I'll be back in action soon and no longer considering penning my own obituary. Until then...my question is this...why "sick as a dog"...why are dogs so much more sick than, say...fish or cats or hamsters? image credit: MssConnie

new year...new friends

I find it amazing how sometimes you can meet people and within minutes you feel like you've know them for a lifetime...or at least long enough to share a drink with...a cab with...and a photo with. This past holiday weekend the Husband and I went to New Orleans...our favorite place in the world...a place we almost called home recently except for the fact that our current home didn't sell. We love the lake, the river, the food, the music, the quarter, uptown...the city...it's suburbs...and most of all...the people. After an amazing Dr. John show at Tip's we ventured out into the unseasonably thick air with our new found best friends to the quarter. The scene that would unfold in the car of...albeit a stranger, will be a lasting memory for a long time..."the six best friends that anyone could ever have" (think the Hangover...yes, it was only three in the movie but...there were six of us Thursday night and one that was quite possibly the REAL Alan). To set the scene...flamenco/Cuban-esque music blaring from a car that...I'll admit I mistook for a rental (big cars are fun)...windows down...night air whipping through...and the loudest...fastest clapping I've ever done in my life. I felt like we were in a scene from a movie...a fun movie. And so, the night flittered on...we shared a table and devoured slices of pizza on St. Peter...bid our new found friends adieu in the wee hours...and just like that it was another day...the brink of a another year. As the new year approached the following day...the Husband and I had one of the best meals in a long time at Cochon Butcher in the warehouse district...followed by a stroll down Magazine...ice cold beer at Le Bon Temps...capped off with dinner at Morton's. There we met more new fast friends...super fun locals...dressed to perfection...capturing the moment in style. And finally...the Husband and I rang in the new year at Napoleon House (next best thing to being in Paris...right?)...fireworks blasting like cannons on the river...rain beginning to fall...and another year enveloping us. And for a moment...we were light as air...troubles behind us...living in the moment and thankful for having spent the cusp of the year with new friends. Here's to you! image credit: yungdude

a little housekeeping

Making a few changes to the blog to mark the new year. Let me know what you think...like the changes?...don't like the new scheme? Not to worry...nothing has really changed but the colors and overall look. Stay tuned for some other possible additions. Got a lot of ideas and hope to bring a few of them to this little blog of mine! Thanks for reading! image credit: welcometorsicom.provisiondata.net