Last weekend my big brother got married in the best little beach town. We sang, we danced, we frosted cake and we clinked Cliquot. I got to see my whole family at once and dance with my dad sweetheart style. All of my best friends made it up for the occasion, and together we filled our beach house with belly laughs and bacon breath. It was the perfect exclamation point on a truly memorable summer.
Eighth photo by Michael Collins.
Yesterday the ladies and I had an exciting Monet-filled day. First, we headed to Musée l’Orangerie to see his famous waterlily panoramas- just as beautiful as I remembered! Standing in the pristine, oval-shaped gallery, surrounded by swirling brush strokes in moody purples, greens and blues is truly spectacular. The perfect precursor to visiting the artist’s home in Giverny…
So we did just that. Hopped a train to the quaint little town just 45 minutes outside Paris and strolled through Monet’s colorful jardins, bustling with honey bees hard at work. These gardens are so vastly different from those of Paris; While Le Jardin du Luxembourg, Versailles, and the Tuileries are perfectly symmetrical and manicured beyond belief, Monet’s gardens are much more wild, flowing freely into the pathways and climbing up onto trellises. This is my kind of garden.
Although Monet’s little pink house with its all-yellow dining room, blue-and-white-tiled kitchen and breathtaking views of the french countryside is probably the cutest thing in France, it’s the waterlily pond that really completes this little sanctuary in Giverny. Walking along the small green footbridges and looking out at the blooming waterlilies just after seeing the original paintings is nothing short of magical. If you are ever in Paris, please please please do yourself a favor and make a day trip to Giverny. You will thoroughly enjoy it, I promise.
A postcard from my abroad boyfriend offering a peek at my June home, freshly bloomed rhododendrons decorating my front lawn, the early stages of packing OCD-style (color coordination is key!), residual birthday flowers from the roommie’s 21st hanging out in the dining room, and some new studded “smoking slippers” I scored at Nordstrom Rack to fool people into thinking I splurged. Just wanted to take a minute to notice little things around my home in Providence before I ship on out for a month!
Happy Tuesday, all!
The sun is out, the birds are chirping, we’re “springing forward” on Sunday, and I have a serious case of Spring Fever! The Hope Street Farmer’s Market, Prospect Park benches and Blackstone Boulevard are all calling my name. Now if only the temperature outside would get on board…
I love that FBP is starting Spring off right, with one of the freshest shows (in my opinion) that we’ve produced in quite some time. Seriously guys, if you are anywhere in the New England area this weekend, missing this show is not an option.
Most of my apartment walls are dotted with large, framed, ballet-themed prints; Some are vintage, some are graphic, and some had former lives advertising documentaries at the Cable Car Cinema. My ballet art collection arose partly because tutus and pointe shoes make for a gorgeous poster, partly because I really (really really) enjoy ballet documentaries, and partly because it takes a truly special piece of art to stand out in my eyes (sidenote: my mom also happens to have a keen eye for exceptional vintage ballet prints- never hurts!). When I’m looking for new wall art, I often find myself noting “these landscapes and still lifes are gorgeous, but none of them are me!” However, when I spotted these amazing framed flower constructions, my first thought was I want to cover my walls in these! Dutch artist Anne Ten Donkelaar uses dried and pressed wildflowers, stems, butterfly wings, tiny pins and paper cutouts to create whimsical, free form masterpieces, worthy of the focal-wall-spot in any room.
Are you guys getting tired of my sunset pictures of Shorts Sands beach yet? I really hope not. Because this is one view I will never get sick of. My favorite kind of weekend begins with a day at the beach (preferably with a delicious NY state peach), is followed by lounging by the pool and pie and thumbprint cookie baking, and rounds off with a quick trip to the most relaxing little town in New England. York Beach. It’s quaint, it’s cute, it’s beachy, warm, happy, calm…there’s seafood and happy hour and fresh tomato and mozzarella salads…there are boat rides and movie nights and long walks to the lighthouse…it’s my favorite place to fall asleep at night and I can’t help but smile when the first thing I see in the morning is the Atlantic Ocean. It’s safe to say this location will have a special little place in my heart for the rest of my life. I mean who wouldn’t love a place where the basil plants are nearly the size of small trees?!
This particular weekend happened to be my dad’s 55th birthday (happy birthday, wabs!), which of course required desserts of many varieties, singing, family, presents, and even fireworks! (Okay, maybe they weren’t exactly for his birthday, but they happen to light them off of a barge in the middle of the water, directly outside our house! The rocking chairs on our porch could not be better seats.)
We also took the little boat tour from Perkin’s Cove, Ogunquit into York, past our house and around the Nubble Lighthouse. Safe to say my mom and I definitely got a little seasick, but visiting the adorable Perkin’s Cove made it all worthwhile. I thought the “Buoys” and “Gulls” bathroom signs were too funny not to document.
I hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as me! And if you’re anywhere near New England and ever have the chance to visit York Beach, I (obviously) highly recommend you do.
The birthday boy himself, on our Perkin’s Cove boatride…always posing!
Today, Tegan and I hoofed it to the Hope Street Farmer’s Market (this is becoming a Saturday morning tradition), where we picked up some gigantor tomatoes, an assortment of pretty wild flowers, and some RI fresh applesauce. We tasted the local artisan cheeses and Providence granola, listen to this week’s musical selection (a blue grass band comprised of cool ex-hippies) and got our fill of people-watching. Already excited for next weekend!
In case you’ve been stressing out about the state of my post-surgery-self, worry no more! Although being sequestered to the couch with crutches and high voltage drugs as my only method of transportation is far from fun, there are several perks of being crippled worth mentioning…
ice cream (prescribed by my doctor I swear!…kinda); fresh fruit with chobani greek yogurt and honey, a glorious salad of grilled shrimp, romaine, tomatoes, mozzarella, peppers, and broccoli; aaand a bright little bouquet comprising some of my favorite flowers (peonies)- all made possible by the world’s best nurse: my mom! Of course I’m hoping for a very speedy recovery, but in the mean time, life could be much worse.
I decided to take full advantage of all these gorgeous post-swan lake flowers by snapping a few photos…how lucky am I to be living in a garden?
So, it’s almost 70 degrees out and rising here in Providence and I could not be more thrilled, shocked, confused, excited, and relaxed. Since “spring” weather in New England usually incudes a generous amount of rain and clouds with the occasional pop of sunshine that allows us to unload the peacoats and boots, this June-like sunshine seems like a wonderful mistake. The trees are budding (some blooming!), the birds are chirping, and as I mentioned earlier the sun is most definitely shining! On that note, I’m off to the beach to soak up some Vitamin D…Happy Thursday!
xo
Setting The Barre 
