My stamp of approval

Yes, I was a skeptic... a curmudgeon, even, perhaps... I was not interested... I was not going to watch. But I was up early and I turned on the television. Just in time it seemed, as Kate and her father were entering Westminster Abbey. And then I became less snark and more sap. She was beautiful... stunning... classic and modern. I realized, just then, that this marriage symbolized not just the unity of two people, not just their future, but really, their marriage represented the future of an entire country. This marriage represents the hopes and dreams of not just two young people, but of an entire nation... and beyond.

So I give the royal wedding, Kate and William, my stamp of approval...
But I ask, please take your shoes off before joining me!

Image via Stamprugs.com

XOXO Have a delightful weekend... Keep Celebrating!
Chin Chin and Cheerio!

Cheers to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

Cheers!
XOXO

The Official Royal Wedding Programme

Before I post the programme... I want to stop for a moment and pay my respect to, and send my prayers to the victims and families and all whom have been deeply touched by the tornadoes in the south, specifically to those in the Birmingham area. Our thoughts, prayers and well wishes are with you. XOXO

I have not been following Kate and Wills for months... I have not been caught up in all the Wedding Hullabaloo. However, when I came across the official programme I thought I should share it with you... it might be a fun thing for you all to see!

I know it's hard to read! There's also information on Westminster and the Foundation benefiting from the sales of this programme. To view the programme properly please click here.

No, I will not be waking at 4:00 am to view the nuptials, but my interest is piqued, so I may turn on the news to watch the recaps...

Perhaps I'll trade my morning coffee for some Pimms and Champagne to celebrate!

Cheers!

XOXO

For young girls everywhere...

Life is wonderful.
Life is tough.
Life is filled with challenges.
Life is filled with rewards.

When the challenges seem too much, do not give up. Sit down and take a break if you must, but meet that challenge head-on. You will be glad you did. You'll find your reward, it will seem sweeter when it is earned rather than handed to you on a silver platter.

Stand up straight and be tall.
Stand up and be strong.
Hold your head up high.
Hold your chin up.

Don't sell yourself short.
Don't let others push or pull you down.
By that same token, don't listen to your own self doubt, but listen to the positive voices of your friends who will stand by you no matter what... Who know you are beautiful and strong and capable.
Never ever forget that.
You are beautiful and capable and strong.
You can do and be anything.
This is the truth.

Life is a gift.
Appreciate all that it has to offer.
Stop and smell the flowers.
They are pretty. They will make you feel pretty.

Life is hard.
Be prepared to jump over the hurdles or crawl into the ditches.
Nothing comes easy.
Have a good support team in place.
Remember you can do this.

The roads are bumpy but filled with gifts.
Don't be afraid of the bumps or you will never get to the gifts.

You are beautiful.
You are smart.
You are funny.
You are strong.
You will get more beautiful with age.
You will get smarter with age.
You will get funnier with age.
Listen to your elders.
Listen to you mother. She (usually) is right.
No one has all the answers but life is about getting to them.

Never sell yourself short.
You are one in a million and worth every dollar.
You are irreplaceable.

The harder you work, the harder you can play.
Never settle. If you are unsure, then move on.
One day you will be sure.
I know.
Trust me.
I have been there.
I am older and wiser, smarter and funnier and
More beautiful than I was.
I am stronger than I was. Much stronger.
I have learned to appreciate all the good.
I have learned to accept the bad.
And to move on and turn it into good.
I have learned to carry my head high and walk tall.

I have learned that a smile is my best asset
My smile is my umbrella.
It's also my best accessory.
Smile and be proud of all you have done so far.
Keep smiling, it will get you far.

And yet, do not be afraid to cry.
Do not be afraid to be afraid.
A good cry will help you.
A good cry feels good.
Fear will make you stronger.
Just don't let it paralyze you.

If you can't run,
Then skip
Or walk.
We all get to our destination eventually.
We just choose different ways of getting there.

Take a chance.
You'll never know if you don't try.
You'll miss out on a lot.
And if you fail? So what.
Brush yourself off and try again.
Do not give up.
Ever.
Make mistakes.
Mistakes are good.
They make us smarter.
They make us stronger.
Usually, they end up making us happier.

Life is wonderful but it is not easier.
And it gets harder as you get older.
But remember this:
No matter what, in the end, your mother is always there for you.

all images in this piece via Pinterest

Magnificent Monday!

Image, courtesy Laurel Lee Photography via Flickr

You all know how I adore Mondays... Magnificent Mondays! 

I love everything Mondays stand for... they represent new opportunities, chances, hopes and dreams.
A new week begins and we can start all over if we want to, or pick up where we left off.
Star a new project, create a new To Do list... set your sights on something big.
Dream. Reach. Achieve. You can do it. I can do it. We all can do it!

Finally the windows are open this morning! Although it is overcast now, with rain due to start sometime this morning, the sun was briefly out. The fresh air is so lovely and delightful! Outside I can hear the bids, crickets and peepers. They are all singing to me ever so melodically. My mood is bright. The branches in a distance are starting to turn their emerald green, shedding the bare, dark bark of the wintertime. The magnolia tree outside my bedroom window has given birth to tiny pink buds. If only the sun was out this day would be perfect!

I hope your Monday is magnificent and magical too!

XOXO

Happy Easter

Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful Easter... with lots and lots of chocolate, of course!

courtesy Country Living

via Pinterest

image Courtesy Martha Stewart

Designer threads, treads and wheels...

Spring is finally in the air! While it's still cool in Connecticut, the sun is up early, the birds are singing melodically, the tiny buds on our trees are starting to bloom, little flowers are starting to sprout and I've already broken out my white jeans.

It's perfect bike-riding weather and I live in a perfect bike-riding town! It's too bad I'm in between bicycles these days... Perhaps we should go on a virtual bicycle shopping spree! Perhaps we should pretend that money is not important or relevant here. After all, this is my little fantasy... which of these fancy-fabulous wheels would I pick?

Fendi Bicycle

Gucci Bicycle

Kate Spade Bicycle

Chanel Bicycle

detail from Hermes Bicycle

Lilly Pulitzer Bicycle

Ok, some of those are a little ostentatious even for me. Hands down I pick the green Kate Spade bike! I think it needs a little basket in the front...

There we go... a nice Nantucket basket for the front... In it I would leave room for a bottle of water, and some fresh flowers, lettuce and other goodies from our delightful farm down the road...

That's more like it! Still, something is missing...

Oh yes. This is much better! N'est ce pas?

But I think Fifi Flowers has the best idea!

Cheers and Happy Riding everyone! Anyone care to join me? Alice, you can ride the pink one next time you are in my neck of the woods. I'll bring the baguette and the bubbly!

XOXO

Throwing in the fashion towel...

While I have never been a slave to fashion, I have respected and, for the most part followed the rules. But fashion, like the times, has changed. I have a sense of style... it is my own sense of style. I like classic items that will last through the years... I like to buy something that will be worn for years to come and will never fade to the back of my closet. I also like a touch of whimsy. Fun color and fun accessories are a perfect compliment to any classic outfit. I got much of my style (both decorating and dress) from my grandmother, La Jolie Grandmere. Seeing as she was such an influence in my life, naturally her style would rub off on me. But I have taken her sense of fashion and made it my own. I am not my grandmother. And while she was a woman often years ahead of her time, I have a more modern take on things... I like to show a playful side at times and an edgy side at times.

For as long as I have dressed myself I have known that one does not wear white before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. Tired of these never-ending grey skies and the endless sea of black pants/boots/sweaters/jackets I decided months ago to put a little Spring in my step. I've been wearing bright and cheerful for some time now. My biggest leap of faith was taken this morning. Fed up with absolutely everything in my closet, I could no longer ignore the crisp, white jeans calling my name, beckoning to be worn. I pulled them from the shelf. They were happy to be in my hand and I was happy to hold them. I slipped them on, one leg at a time... they fit like a glove... they looked good. They looked happy. I felt happy! And despite the endless sea of grey in the horizon from my window, my bright, white jeans are like a ray of sunshine.

I could have put on a black or navy or charcoal colored sweater. This would have toned them down slightly. I could have donned a pair of black riding boots. But I didn't. Instead I pulled an old JmcLaughlin sweater from my drawer. It's pink cashmere with about a dozen rows of tiny pearls sewn into the collar, resembling a large necklace. This is my happy sweater. These are my happy jeans. Perhaps my outfit is better suited for a stroll along Palm Beach's Worth Avenue, but I'm in Connecticut. And that's just how it is. Perhaps the sun will come out later. Perhaps not. I slip into my orange Burberry quilted barn jacket, old orange JCrew flats, grab my keys and skip out the door.

I wear many hats... er, wings!

The Tooth Fairy paid The Entertaining House an early visit last night. One day last week my Entertaining Kid told me that his tooth was loose. Being just five and a half and having just read Silverlicious no fewer than a half dozen times, I raised my eyebrow in doubt. After all, don't all five year old kids want loose teeth?

I asked Alexander to come over and show me. Lo and behold the tiny little tooth up front, on the bottom was loose indeed! My baby is growing up. This is a bittersweet moment for me. Too much is happening in my life now. As much as I want to fast forward certain aspects of my life, I also want to hit the rewind button. (Luckily we have thousands upon thousands of family photos which yield similar results.)  As hard as it has been to have Alexander so much younger than the other two (ages 10 and 12) it has been a blessing. His youth has given me one last chance to see the world from his young eyes -- to experience wonder and awe when new experiences come his way. There is nothing so wonderful as seeing the world around you from the perspective of your young children. I'm holding on to his babyhood for dear life. Clearly it has slipped away and his young years are slipping through my fingers second by second. It tears at my heart. It really does.

And then last night, it seemed so sudden, Alexander was on my bed watching a Handy Manny episode on On Demand. It was about a loose tooth! As he wiggled his own around with his tongue and fingers it popped out. It was not jagged, but smooth white and shiny. A perfect milk tooth! Alexander, after posing for me and the camera, ran to grab a Ziplock bag and asked his sister to write a note to the Tooth Fairy, kindly asking her to please leave the tooth behind.

Alexander's demand was not so much the money, but gold chocolate coins. I was thankful for the advance notice when last week he said that he hoped the Tooth Fairy might leave him some gold coins. Thankful because this is not the time of year where chocolate filled gold coins are easily found.

After much searching the Tooth Fairy was able to find just what she was looking for. She was thrilled that she did not have to disappoint. Mister Tooth Fairy also managed to find some gold coins as well. Those will be saved... just in case!

 Loot!

 He had to sample just one!

 Looks more like Pirate Booty rather than Tooth Fairy loot!

And then dashed out to wake his sister to tell her that he was having a piece of chocolate...
in the morning... before school!!

Spicing things up with a touch of whimsy

Isn't this hysterical!
The Twister bed sheet was actually the brainchild of Ogilvy & Mather, Mexico for Viagra!

XOXO

If you are unsure of your decorating style...

Be sure of this, because, in the end, it's the most important aspect, and truly the only one that counts!

A special shout-out to Phyllis!!!

Oh, I know I have been so bad about blogging lately. My life is simply crazy... crazy I tell you! I met a sweet and wonderful Phyllis at JmcLaughlin yesterday. She came in yesterday, looking for me, I think. She told me that she loved my blog... she and her daughter both read it. I was embarrassed, honored and humbled. I just love to meet my readers... Right Wendy? ;)

Anyhow, I promise to be back and writing... posting... etc very soon!

Love to you all!

XOXO

Sweet Serendipi-tea!

It's raining on the East Coast... A-gain... I really want to cancel the day... call work, call school and call it a Rain Day! We'd stay in our pajamas and hunker down on the couch and watch movies together while sipping tea (Tazo Chai Latte, please!) from these absolutely adorable cups!

Cups by Satinbox available on Amazon

Would you care to join me?
I have some wonderful muffins in the oven!

XOXO

Extreme Bathing... A Sweet Escape, Part II

Last week I told you all that I am a bath girl. Always have been and always will be. The bath, for me, is an escape, if only temporarily, from the stresses and rush of our everyday lives. It is the time of day when I can slow down and redirect my focus... or focus on nothing at all. A nice long soak accompanied with a glass of wine, sometimes a magazine, sometimes a book and sometimes nothing at all... is my much cheaper alternative to therapy!

I chose my favorite bathtubs, my dream tubs - if you will - here last week and thanked designer Jennifer Duchene for my inspiration. In my search for my ultimate bathtub I found some pretty extreme and exotic ones as well. Not exactly what I would want necessarily in my home, I would love to soak in these just for the experience of doing so.

I think I would love to be an extreme bather... perhaps some lovely interior design glossy would love to send me around the world... around the States even - in search of the ultimate soak! Yes?

Until that happens, please join me on my virtual journey to some incredible and some bizarre soaks! Bring your towel, bathrobe and slippers. I've got the wine and the bubbles!

This bath with shower looks amazing and oh to be able to wash my hair while in the tub!

I love the idea of bathing out in nature... the tea cups can be replaced with wine glasses tho!

An amazing view of the Manhattan skyline... Oh how I would soak it all up!

I haven't quite figured this one out... is the floor tilted? Is that stone or carpeting? Still, the jets in the tub are calling my name! Though, small issue here. I see no place for my wine glass!

Interesting, No?

Not for those of us with body image issues... though there is a table set up for my wine... in this case I think I would have a martini... love the television on the wall...

Again, the carafe of water needs to be replaced with one filled with wine... yet everything else about this seems so very inviting

As the French would say... C'est vraiment incroyable!!!

This is not my bathroom so I won't concern myself too much with falling and tripping into the sunken in tub... or the wet tile... (I am quite accident prone as you can gather!)  I would also have placed the tub a little closer to the window...

Fabulous!

 I am not sure I would ever leave! (Where is her towel?)

Ahhh, my great escape!

Wine glasses... Finally! I must bathe here before I die... I simply must!

Tranquil... serene... exactly how a bath should be!

Not sure how I feel about the bed and living area surrounding my bath tub... but I would certainly add this to my must bathe list!

Has a certain je ne zen quoi appeal to it...


I hope you enjoyed the journey!
XOXO