preppy bangles

I just saw these adorable bracelets on Henri Bendel's website and had to share.

Too cute, right??! And not too pricey either! I'm contemplating getting the pink and green ones of course!

P.S. I'll post my pictures from St. Maarten soon!

Vacation Part 1: Anguilla

I cannot tell you how much I heart Anguilla. The people are friendly, the beaches are pristine, the weather is perfect, and the restaurants are amazing. The only thing that would make it better is if there was more shopping! I think it's the best island in the Carribean (although that's a pretty uninformed opinion since I've only been to one other island!) because it is so peaceful and quiet. There is tourism, but it does not disrupt the island or infringe on its charm. Anguilla doesn't have the huge resort complexes that other islands have. Instead, it has small (and large) villas that dot the numerous beaches. Cruise ships do not dock in Anguilla as it is not a destination with a lot "to do" ... but we still love it! Here are a few of my favorite moments of the trip:

Mead's Bay - right outside the condo

Cute straw hat chandelier in The Straw Hat, one of my favorite restaurants and where we at dinner on our first night.

I'm basically obsessed with this chandelier at Cap Juluca, one of the more famous resorts on the island. I love it's laid-back Middle Eastern meets Carribean theme. We had drinks at Maunday's there one night and then came back another night for more drinks and for dancing.

The beach at Long Bay. Anguilla has many beaches and we tried to see as many as possible. I let my boyfriend handle the map and the driving, most of which was down dirt roads. Practically every beach we went to was deserted and so peaceful and beautiful. This beach, on Long Bay, is right near Oliver's, another one of my fave Anguillian restaurants (it's all about food for me!). The owner, Oliver, is a wonderful woman who recognized us from last year and immediately came up to us and hugged us when we came in! She's from Massachusetts just like me, but she came on vacation to Anguilla and decided not to leave! Oh how I wish that were my life!!

Me, on the beach. Note the long sleeves - I got a horrible sunburn on the second day and tried to cover my shoulders as much as possible afterwards.

There are so many brightly colored houses in Anguilla.

My boyfriend and I after dinner at The Barrel Stay, another great restaurant. We had so much fun and it was so wonderful to spend an entire week with him! I was bummed to leave Anguilla after the five days, but also excited to go on to St. Maarten for the rest of our trip!! Stay tuned!

P.S. If you're thinking about taking a trip to the Carribean, I whole-heartedly recommend Anguilla. You won't find the whole all-inclusive thing, but there are so many wonderful restaurants, beautiful beaches, water sports, beach bars, etc. You won't be disappointed!

Back to reality

Hi everyone! I'm back from vacation. I had a wonderful time and took lots of pictures. I'll have to post some of them soon! Stuff has piled up for me at work so I'm in a frenzy trying to catch up on everything. I'm also a pretty big Debbie Downer when it comes to getting back to work and everyday life after a vacation, so I've been pretty bummed these past few days. I'm sure it will pass quickly... I have a concert on Saturday, apartment-hunting on Sunday (I'm hoping to move this summer!), and dress shopping for a wedding next Saturday that I need to do! Hopefully that will cheer me up!

Hope you all had a great week! xoxo

Counting Down...

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful day! I've been on a cleaning spree - I hate coming home to a messy place, so I'm cleaning everything like a mad woman. Then, when I come back from vacation, I will come back to a clean apartment! I'm getting more and more excited to leave on Tuesday! I went shopping yesterday for some last minute things and already have a plan to sneak the extra clothes I bought into my bf's suitcase... I will definitely not have room in mine! ;)

I've been looking through some of my pictures of vacation last year and wanted to share some with you!

This is Shoal's Bay, one of the more popular beaches in Anguilla. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. You can buy drinks, go snorkeling, grab some lunch, get a massage, or just lay out.

Driving down to Cap Juluca, a resort in Anguilla. We had drinks at Maunday's Club there one night (soo preppy) and then walked around another day. This year, I'm looking forward to having dinner at Pimm's, one of the restaurants there.

Entrance to Pimm's. I love the ginger jars!

I'm looking forward to St. Maarten too! The island is divided into two sides - the French side (Saint Martin) and the Dutch side (Sint Maarten). Our resort is on the Dutch side so we spent most of our time there last year, but we really want to see the beachs on the French side this year.

Staircase down to the beach (Cupecoy Beach) at the resort.

Thanks for looking! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

Destination: Paradise!

In just 3 short days (who am I kidding - the days are gonna seem SO long! Especially Monday!), I will be off to the Carribean. My boyfriend and I are headed to Anguilla and then St. Maarten...

...we'll arrive in the afternoon at Princess Juliana airport on the Dutch side of St. Maarten...

The planes fly right over Maho Beach - it was cool (OK, and a little scary) to see this as we landed last year, but even cooler watching the planes land from the beach bar! The bar has a chalkboard that lists the arrivals/departures and little speakers where you can hear the pilots and the control center talking to each other. My bf is getting his pilot's license so this is right up his alley and we must have watched the planes for an hour. And people lay out on the beach! We sat there for a few minutes, but I got too scared so we moved before a plane flew over!

Then we'll take a taxi to the French side of St. Maarten and hop on the ferry to Anguilla. Note to self: bring dramamine. I got horribly sick on the ferry ride last year. I had NEVER gotten sea sick before!

...after the 20 minute ferry ride, we'll arrive in Anguilla where our rental car will be waiting. We'll hop in (side note - Anguillan rental cars do not lock. We kept trying to lock the car and it would unlock every time we shut the doors. The island is supposed to be very safe!) and drive to the condo on Mead's Bay!

Picture I took right outside the condo on Mead's Bay. The beaches are always super quiet and private.

And then dinner that night will be at The Straw Hat, just a short walk down the beach from where we are staying!

Photo from StrawHat.com. The food is fabulous and the staff is amazing. And you can't beat eating delicious food just steps away from the ocean!

We'll be in Anguilla for 4 days and then we'll be off for another 3 in St. Maarten. Why stay in Anguilla first if we land in St. Maarten? Anguilla is so quiet and peaceful. There is practically nothing to do except lie on the beach. There's very few traces of tourism. We'll veg out for a few days and then head over to St. Maarten where there are casinos, bars, shopping, etc!

Can you tell that I'm super excited??!! Has anyone ever been to either island? I'd highly recommend them... especially Anguilla, it's like no place I've ever been and is perfect for those who prefer places that are not touristy!

Kindred Spirits

Did anyone ever read L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series? I loved those books and movies when I was younger. Did anyone else love them too?? A few years ago, a friend of mine visited Green Gables on Prince Edward Island and I was soo jealous. A visit there is definitely on my to-do list. I came across the Windy Poplars blog (btw, Anne of Windy Poplars was my very favorite book in the series... check it out if you've never read it!) and her Kindred Connection party. I liked the questions a lot, so here I go!

1. If you could describe your desired lifestyle in one word, what would it be?

Light-hearted. As they said in Garden State, if you can't laugh at yourself, life is going to seem a whole lot longer than you'd like. I tend to be a huge worrier, so I need to remind myself to take things a lot more lightly.

2. What style of home is your "House of Dreams"?

An elegant and stately brick Colonial... like this one for sale in my parent's neighborhood. It's probably a little too big to realistically live in!

3. If you could live in a fictional story/movie, which would it be and why?

Maybe Harry Potter or Narnia? That would be fun. Or Great Gatsby's East Egg. Or Gossip Girl!

4. Do you prefer coffee or tea? Favorite kind?

I like both, but I prefer tea. I love iced tea with lots of lemon in the summer. I also love Earl Grey tea and Red Rose tea. This Early Grey with lavender is wonderful.

5. Share the last sweet/romantic thing your hubby did for you.

Well, I don't have a hubby... but I mentioned to my bf the other night that I was really in the mood for a McFlurry and he surprised me with one!

What would your answers be? Or better yet, visit Windy Poplars and join the party!

Shopaholic Giveaway Extravaganza!

The wonderful Shopaholic in Alabama is hosting a week full of giveaways for Mother's Day! Today's giveaway is sponsored by Tea Garden Gifts and is a Lilly Pulitzer Market Bag and matching Luggage tag! Both items are fabulous - the market bag makes grocery shopping (which I typically DREAD) more colorful and the luggage tag makes your bag easier to spot at baggage claim!

Be sure to check out Shopaholic's other posts too - she is so much fun and always has wonderful shopping tips (even if they do often "enable" me to buy things that I think I "need.")!!

Easter Weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! I saw my family, wore my Lilly, ate too much food - all in all a good day! It was nice to attend mass at the church I went to growing up. The church looked beautiful with pretty Easter flowers everywhere. I wish I had snapped a picture, but knew that would be a wee bit rude during the service and there were too many people milling around afterwards. Here's what it looks like normally:

Afterwards, I helped my mom get ready for the rest of my family to arrive. It was great to see my aunt and uncle and cousins from NJ. My cousin lives in Rhode Island now and I'm so lucky to have her close by. She's lived all over the world and the country and am so happy she has settled only 45 minutes away (at least for awhile!). She's like a sister to me and I'm so thankful to have her! Plus, now I get to see her family more because they come to visit her!

My boyfriend also came by for dessert which was great. We've been dating for over two years, but I still get a little nervous every time he spends time with my family. Is that totally weird??? I think I'm the kind of person that naturally tries to compartmentalize everything in my life and keep things separate and mixing parts of my life makes me a little uneasy for some reason. I'm not sure what I think is going to go wrong! Does anyone else feel this way?? I'm learning not to think that way though. I love spending time with his family and I'm trying to enjoy mixing family time and him time just as much. He gets along great with everyone so it was fun. I wish I had pictures, but I was too distracted by the food!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter or Passover weekend!

Spring Fever!

Here in Boston, we've had a lot of "hints" of spring interspersed with state-0f-emergency-worthy rain storms. The weather has been positively lovely for the past two days though and this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous! Spring weather makes me absolutely crazy for spring (and summer!) clothes. Here is what I'm sweating (do people still say that? Yeah... probably not.) right now:

This Lilly dresswould be perfect to wear to work in the summer with a cute cardigan!

How gorgeous is this? This is one of Lilly's new arrivals andI'm seriously debating whether I "need" it for my upcoming trip!

I got the latest Vineyard Vines catalog yesterday and fell in
love with this....

I love the print of this skirt from J. McLaughlin... I don't usually
wear longer skirts though cuz I'm so short!

Ahh.. dare to dream. Dior Patent Bow Espadrille Wedges... I saw these in BRIGHT PINK when I was browsing in Nordstrom with my boyfriend... he saw the $450 price tag and backed away from me slowly with a look that clearly said, "Am I really in a serious committed relationship with someone who thinks that's a reasonable price for shoes?"

The color of this LuLA by Angelica Cota clutch is beautiful!

Thanks for visiting! Happy Friday!