TGI-Bracketing Busting Time

How graceful does the Greatest look? Seen here
Yes, I picked Georgetown and thought that my bracket was done last week. And it most likely is. My only saving grace is that I seemed to pick some of the other major upsets and winners of the tournament. So here's hoping! Have a great weekend. Go FGCU?

Brow Down

How do you guys feel about these super dark dark eyebrows? There is something that really attacks me to them but do you have to be on a red carpet to pull them off? And even if I wanted to rock them, how would I tap into my internal Bobbi Brown to create them? Let me know what you think.

Ms. Alba seen here

These bad boys seen on Aremo

Seen here

My latest blog crush

Through word of mouth, links and a lot of Pinterest, I have come across so many amazing websites and blogs. But recently I have been completely captivated by Spoon Fork Bacon. Write by two women (one is a photographer, one is a food stylist) Spoon Form Bacon is really packed with great recipes and equally great looking food. Here are a few things that are on my to make list for the upcoming spring. YUM!

Oh PS. They have a really great looking book called Tiny Food Party. Adding it to my want list fo-sho.

Sparkling Apple Sangria. You make me want to throw a party!

Mini Lobster Rolls. Oh hell yes

Scallop and Uni Crudo. For those fancy nights at home.

I want to go to there

A bunch of friends and I are heading on a long weekend bachelorette party this summer and starting to think about where we want to go. The idea is someplace low key, outdoorsy, where we can all chill and hang out.

Enter The Graham and Co. This oh so cool yes reasonable hotel sits in the Catskills of New York (right by Frost Valley for you campers). The offer free bikes, movies and bonfires on the lawn and such cool designed rooms that I probably won't want to leave. And there is a pool.  Now exit The Graham & Co since they don't have availability for when we want. But fear not, just like Wayne, it will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine. How badass does this place look?



All images from the Graham & Co website.

The jerk store.. and other missed opportunties

The always gorgeous Marion Cotillard without and with makeup seen on Babble
Paul came home last night after being away for the past week. Pashy and I were so excited to see him that one of us even peed a little on the floor...I will let you guess which one. When Paul got home it was around 6:30 and I was wearing yoga pants, my new blue sweatshirt and absolutely no makeup. I had also showered about 45 minutes beforehand and was trying to rock french hair which meant in was in the fairly unattractive damp phase. I think what I am trying to say is, I have looked better. At the time, I didn't think much of it, Paul even told me I looked cute and we were just happy to be all back under on roof.

Much later on I began to think. How cool would it have been if when Paul came home, I actually looked my best? Nothing fancy but nice makeup, cuter outfit, hair-did. How pumped would he have been to see that? This isn't about me being into completely pleasing my man but more about our partnership and how to keep it fresh and fun. The only problem is that I didn't think of this until after the fact (hence the above Seinfeld reference).  But it is something for me to hold on to for the future.

How you every surprised your loved one with looking different? Wearing something completely unexpected (this can be PG)! Is this too personal?

TGIF, for sure

I don't know about you but I am ready for the weekend. I am so happy that daylight savings are making leaving the office a daylight activity but it is making waking up SO MUCH HARDER. And not just for me, Pashy was sleeping so soundly this morning that I had to literally carry him to the door to get him on board with going for a walk. I don't understand how he never seems to have to go to the bathroom. Since Paul is still away, I am on Pashy duty all weekend so I will be sticking around the hood, most likely trying on jeans, hoping to get to my morning Barre Burn classes and watching a few games of basketball. Harvard, thank you for screwing up my bracket. What about you guys, any good plans for the weekend?

Since this somehow become unofficial shopping week here, I thought I might share these with you all. I pinned them a few weeks ago and they totally blew up. As of now, 324 people have repined and 101 people have liked them. They are cute but I never would have guessed that many people would be into them. What do you think?


Kate Spade Earring at Nordstrom

Non-Buyers Remorse

The ones that got away....from my own shopping cart.

 Since this week somehow seemed to be about making purchases, let's talk about a few woulda, coulda, shoula moments. Everyone and their mother has talked about and suffered from buyers remorse. Bad shirts, awful shoes and that one dress that you thought might work and WASN"T returnable. Ugh, we have all been there. But what about things that you have passed u?. When I went on a trip to Guatemala with my friend Barbara, we had to buy another suitcase to bring back all the stuff that we bought. But to this day, I still think about a few pieces that I didn't get. Specifically this ceramic (I think) cactus that I still envision being the perfect friend for our Jade plant. I also once saw tickets to Israel for $330.00 round trip from New York. It has been a typo (they forgot to put a 1 before the 3) and honored those who bought them at this price. Why we didn't snatch those up still mystifies me. What about you guys? Any non-buyers remorse moments for you?

Lego Dance

Happy Thursday! Seen on Swissmiss

Dream Jeans...Updated

Lusting over these jeans at J.Crew
How perfect do these jeans look? I love that they aren't skinny skinny, have some wear to them and look amazing with heels (and probably sneakers too). I can picture myself wearing them in Paris, walking through the flea markets with my perfect French hair and rocking my Hunter jacket. But hold up, these bad boys are $168.00 bucks at J.Crew so that ain't happening. Guess my search will continue for the perfect jeans....any suggestions?

I should make a side note that my most favorite pair of perfect always cute, very flattering jeans are JBrand 910's. They always make me look put together, skinny and they hit at the perfect spot both in rise and length. They are expensive but worth it. Plus I am pretty sure Kate Middleton has a pair. The only problem is that they only come in dark wash. And for this spring, I am really craving a light distressed wash. So please, JBrand, hook a sister up!

Let's keep this party going.

Thoughts on this jacket? I am looking for something that I can wear for spring, will be cute for Paris and isn't too trendy. I know that those military style ones are all over the place now but not sure I have the right look to pull them off. Plus this is on sale. What do you all think?

Seen at Saks

Cool or Not Cool?

What do you think? Wedge sneakers? Over it? Into it?

Sold Out but from Steven Alan

Home Alone

Yesterday morning. Paulie packed up his luggage and headed to sunny California for the week. I love Paulie with all I got but there was a small part of me that was a little excited. First of all, it is just a week. Secondly, since we used to do long distance, we are pretty good at communicating throughout the day. And sometimes, it's fun to change up the routine a little. I can go to the gym at night, watching Kitchen Cousins to my hearts content, have Pasha love me most, and tackle some projects around the house that have been sitting on the back burner like the one below.

A Pretty Cool Life has great projects
 I am constantly looking for a pen or pencil in the kitchen and since we have pretty limited counter space, I am not totally down with taking up valuable real estate. Sure, we have drawers but that requires digging through them to find a pen that works. So when I saw this very easy DIY project on A Pretty Cool Life, I pinned it and kept it in my memory bank. All you need are some cute spice tins which I was able to get at a trade show, magnets, glue and you are set for this cute storage. I picked up the rest of my supplies this weekend and am good to go. Can't wait to show you guys the results. What do you think? Any projects you are working on? Any other Kitchen Cousin fans out there? Are you team Anthony or Jon?

TGI-YAY

This sums up perfect how I feel about it being Friday. Seen on We Become Legend

Grocery Aisle

Last night came back from a grocery trade show at a Connecticut casino. While I didn't win any money (actually lost $15.00 since that was my totally-worth-it entry fee to Bingo), I did walk away with some take away but let me back up a bit.

While I haven't yet read Sheryl Sandbergs new book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, I have been very aware of the buzz it has created. I have thought a lot about my role in the work place, what are some goals and aspirations that I have and would like to set for myself.

So it was with all these thoughts that I went into the trade show on Tuesday morning. And what I realized there is just how few women are in a position of decision making in the grocery world. This is an industry that should be run by women. As a few articles have cited,  roughly 69% of all grocery shopping is done by women. But when I looked around at my buyers, I was shocked to realize how many of them are men. Sure, this isn't always the case and some companies seem to be better than others but if women are deciding what they take home from the store, shouldn't they also be deciding what gets placed on the shelf to begin with? While so much attention is placed on Fortune 500 companies for their lack of women, lets widen the scope a bit and think a little more locally.


* sorry for the slightly different type of post. I will be back to my fun self shortly, just been a weird few weeks!

Child Labor? PS Sorry for the late post


Image from here

As I mentioned earlier, I had a little but of a stressful week in the work department. I think that all will work it's way out but in the meantime I am just putting my head down and plowing through. Last Thursday, I was feeling particularly anxious and Paulie decided to take me out to dinner. We just went to a local sports bar and chilled out. It was exactly what I needed. While we were there, Paul told me about his job at the local grocery store while he was in high school. Each Saturday and Sunday, Paul would wake up at 5AM to work the early shift at Giant. He would stock shelves, carrel carts, bag groceries, sliced deli meat and from what it sounds like, have a lot of fun. Just like in the movies, him and a few random kids, one from his school, two from another formed a special bond, calling themselves "The Core Four" since they worked there the longest. There was a bench where they would take breaks, eating a box of chocolate doughnuts, flirting with the girls who worked check out. I know that work is work. That is it often a source of my anxiety and worries, that I also get a paycheck for being there. But it can also be a place (at least for me) that is completely silly, fun, friendship bonding, and interesting. So I will work my hardest to focus on those aspect. Now if someone would just deliver the chocolate covered doughnuts, I would be set.

I've Got Game

But I need new ones. Hi, my name is Maddy and I am a gamer and I don't care who knows it.  My often times 40 minute subway ride to work goes by quickly with a podcast going and a game going. Rummy and Bejeweled usually take the top spot.  But I am getting ready for a new one. And since it is Friday of a very long week, it seems fair to treat myself to a new one. One problem is that I don't know which one to get. Any thoughts? Do you play games on your phone? Should I post this to a chat room for 14 year old boys? Do chat rooms still exist?


Returning a month from today....



All Images Seen Here

Paris Apartment Booked

While all good things, has been a really stressful week for me. Work has the best of me right now and is keeping me up nights. Thank God PB is a good sleeper and doesn't even notice the glow of the iPad at 3am while I read Sherlock Holmes.
One thing that we did cross of the list was book our apartment in Paris. When we went to Barcelona a few years ago, we took a chance and booked an apartment instead of a hotel. At this point, I am sure I am not telling anyone anything new here but if you have never traveled this way, go for it! It made our lives so easy, keeping snacks and drinks in the fridge and even running a load of laundry so that we left with clean clothes. When it came time to booking out place in Paris, everyone, including our from Genevieve told us to look in the Marais neighborhood. Scrolling through Airbnb, I came across this apartment and just fell in love. When I sent it to Genevieve for her thoughts, she said it was on her favorite street in all of Paris! Needless to say, we booked it right away. What about you guys? Any trips coming up? Have you ever rented a place insterad of staying in a hotel? Here are a few picks of where we are staying.






Scardy Cat

I probobly should have said this in my earlier post. It's a little embarrassing but here goes. I am scared of cats! They are just so delicate seeming and can also scratch you! And remember in the movie Ghost that the cat could sense Sam even though he was a ghost?!? FREAKY! Anyone else know what I am talking about?

Cat Couture

Guys, have you noticed the feline trend that seems to be blowing up everywhere. Cats are where it's at(s) - just go with it for the sake of rhyming. It's suddenly cool to be a cat lady! What do you think? Would you get on this kitty trend? Wanna know something that I often think about? Has Pasha ever met a cat? And does he realize that it is a cat? Wow, anyway, let me know your thoughts. Meow!

Seen on ShopBop

Seen on Brian Lichtenberg (Thanks Sophie!)

Seen on ModCloth

And of course...Grumpy Cat

Thought Catalog



Do you guys know about Thought Catalog? It is a website filled with essays, lists and articles that range in every topic. I have to think that many of the writers and I are the same age since so many of the topics are relate-able but then again, sometimes I think that I am 19 (this is for another post). From this An Open Letter To Seamless Web to The Case for Ina Garten World Domination (How Easy Is That? to What Goes Through My Mind Every Time I Go To Trader Joe's (I guess I like their food related stuff) I just like zoning out sometimes to this site. You should check it out, according to them  "Reading Thought Catalog will probably make you more interesting. You’re going to discover stories, ideas, and voices here that you won’t find in the mainstream media."

Vaca Booked!

Wanna guess where we are going? Here is a hint...



TGIFairway

This morning I was lucky enough to see the grand re-opening of Fairway Market in Red Hook. This Fairway had temporarily closed when due to Sandy the store took in about six feet of water due to Sandy. If you have read this blog, you know this was a big blow to PB's and my routine. But all is not lost and the store has never looked better…as long as I can find where we need to go. Have a great weekend! What are you doing?

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