♥ have a glittering new year!

while tonight is, in fact, new year's eve- it also happens to be 

the 66th birthday my favorite designer on earth-- diane von furstenberg.

 so, in her honor, here are a few sparkling pieces from her site that one 

could wear to celebrate the birth of an idol--

 or the birth of a brand new year.

nothing says, "let's party!" like a comfy ( yet sparkly)  dress.

...or an eye-catching eyelash sequin clutch.

except maybe a golden peplum top.

or a confetti-covered scarf.

but this metallic lips clutch is a quirky reminder to kiss the old year goodbye-

and welcome a new one with a big smooch! ♥

happy 2013, everyone!!!

♥ often on a wet day i begin counting up; what i've read and what i haven't read. ~virginia woolf

with only a few days left of 2012, i think it's fair to say that i failed at

my goal of reading at least 40 books. i made a valiant  effort, but was thwarted

by distractions of all shapes and sizes, and an attention span the size of a thimble.

if i have learned one thing, it's not to make goals you can beat yourself up over

all year long for not making, but rather- enjoy what you're reading at this very moment,

 at whatever pace you like ;)

here is a little list of what i managed to read this year:

1) in praise of slowness, carl honore

2) super sad true lovestory, gary shteyngart

3) the secret history, donna tart

4) the moviegoer,  walker percy

5) the elegance of the hedgehog,  muriel barbery

6) peter pan, jm barrie

7) the umbrella man & other stories, roald dahl

8) i dare you, william danforth

9) you learn by living, eleanor roosevelt

10) in cold blood, truman capote

11) white tiger, aravind adiga

12) sula, toni morrison

13) elements of style, william strunk & eb white

14) on the road, jack kerouac

15) the little prince, antoine de saint-exupery

16) a confederacy of dunces, john kennedy toole

17) written on the body, jeanette winterson

18) tinkers, paul harding

19) the waves, virginia woolf

20) a moveable feast, ernest hemingway

21) lord of the flies, william golding

22) writing down the bones, natalie goldberg

23) flush, virginia woolf

24) the prime of miss jean brodie, muriel spark

25) the sisters brothers, patrick dewitt

26) passion fruit, short stories

27) perfume, patrick suskind

28) breakfast at tiffany's, truman capote

29) life is meals, james & kay salter

30) ordinary people, judith guest

31) 101 things i learned from fashion school, alfredo cabrera

32) 12 secrets of highly successful women, gail mcmeekin

33) classy, derek blasberg

34) the picture of dorian gray, oscar wilde

35) american psycho, bret easton ellis 

my favorites, by far, were # 2, 3, 6, 10, 12, 22 & 29

and i am still struggling to finish # 34 & 35! 

did any book change your life this year? 

i would love a recommendation for 2013 :)

♥ brace yourselves.

how adorable are these hand-painted leather bracelets

from shoe designer, mallory musante? 

i think i need to start a small collection, and at $25 a pop-

i can see a major wrist party in the near future :)

♥ a very married christmas.

remember this summer when i told you about my brother getting engaged?

well, on christmas day, we gathered with tony and shea in her family home,

and in the warm glow of the christmas tree, we watched the two lovebirds recite 

vows to one another, and just as he had for my sister and i last year, my father,

 the justice of the peace (among other things!) made it official.

here are some pictures from the very short and very sweet ceremony.

shea's pug, bina, stood by her side the entire time.

 our family wore red and her's wore green. 

i joked that later we would film an episode of family feud.

 

 

♥ meow-y christmas.

for my birthday, my bff marykate gave me gemma correll's adorable book,

a cat's life, which speaks directly to a cat lover's soul and reminds me

so much of my real life annoying yet amazing little kitty.

 

♥ merry christmas!!!

love, the cutest.

♥ gift wrapped.

this holiday season, i have been wrapping my wrist 

in this hand-made gold bow bracelet. 

i love the way it looks and how it adds a festive tone

to my outfits ;) here are some beauties from kiel james patrick

that i wouldn't mind inviting to my wrist party.

♥ let's dish.

as i came down the stairs of anthropologie this evening, i let out an audible gasp of

 delight as i gazed upon this cozy bedroom display. my favorite part is the wall of dishes,

 (which was probably painstakingly assembled by some underpaid visual interns, but i digress..)

hopefully some day in the not too distant future, i will have more wall space to work

with, walls that i can fill up with holes without worrying about how many i have to

patch up when i leave, and on that blank canvas, i will take all of the miscellaneous

plates i will have gathered by then, and make an artful arrangement.

here is some more interior inspo, care of pinterest, in case you find

yourself with a teeny bit more wallspace than i have:

ps. some of my favorite plates can be found at the etsy shop, beat up creations, 

which uses "orphaned & unloved antique plates and transforms them into 

modern plate portraits." love!!