♥ life, lately.

birthdays, black friday, and babies, babies, babies

and very little time for blogging. 

hope your life is just as blessed!

xo

♥ 'tis the season for soup.

hello dolls! it has been way too long.

i wish i could tell you i was doing something constructive

with my free time, but with the waning daylight hours,

the craziness of retail life, and taking care of the cutest baby 

on earth, i have been doing not much else.

one thing i did manage to do was cook a yummy soup,

perfect for cold nights like the ones we have been having

here in boston, as of late.

here's the recipe, if you care to try it!

vegetarian tuscan kale and white bean soup

ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 cup diced yellow onion

4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped

(1) 32 oz box of vegetable broth

4 cups of chopped kale

(1) 4.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

(2) 4.5 oz cans of cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

directions:

1) in a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat

2) add onion and cook 3 minutes

3) add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer

4) add broth, kale, tomatoes and carrots and cover

5) cook 5 minutes or until kale is tender

6) add beans and heat thoroughly

7) enjoy!!

♥ "social media"

I must check Facebook

a hundred thousand times

a day.

At least.

Searching.

Hunting.

Investigating.

Uncovering clues to a mystery

that eludes me.

Poking.

Prodding.

Endlessly reloading.

Click.

Click.

Click.

It's got to be there.

Somewhere.

The top ten reasons men

finally decide to settle down.

The key to losing belly fat.

Foods that help your yoga practice.

Digging.

Scanning.

Reloading.

The world is made for you.

Designed by your desires.

You're more than loved.

You're liked.

Breathing digital air.

Becoming one with the digital

demigods in thought

and prayer.

Digital prayer.

Digital devotion.

Realtime digital creation.

Celebrity mugshots.

Which New England town are you?

50 life hacks that'll save you money.

No two newsfeeds are the same.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Digging.

Digging.

Digging.

My brain cells merging

into ads.

Dreaming.

Drifting.

Yearning.

Searching for salvation

in a comment box.

* another great poem from my talented friend, adam, 

whose facebook i love to steal poetry from :)

♥ baby needs a new pair of shoes.

after going bare foot the whole summer, it is about time mr. henry got a new pair of shoes.
so, you can imagine my excitement when i was contacted by uncommon goods and offered
my choice of baby booties from their remarkable website.

if you have never heard of uncommon goods, this brooklyn-based internet boutique
carries hand-made, often up-cycled or re-cycled products that range from home decor to
personalized gifts and everything in between. each piece is so unique and "uncommon" that
one would think you traveled somewhere special to find such different objects, when in
reality, it was only your fingers that did the traveling
(down a little road called the information super highway, that is ;)
 

with the holidays coming up, this is going to be the first site i hit!!
fabulous quality + handmade loveliness = a no brainer.
check out some of their fun stocking stuffers here.

their gifts under $25 (here) are just about the most creative goods i have ever seen
rounded up in one affordable space and their gifts under $50 (here) make me
laugh at the thought of going to the mall to shop for presents.

                                    i mean really, can you even stand the cuteness? i can't.

♥ the art of losing isn't hard to master.

for as long as i can remember, my sunday afternoons

 looked something like this:

my mom, aunt, grandmother and uncles hanging out in the kitchen,

gossiping and drinking coffee while my sisters, brother and visiting

cousins ran around playing all sorts of games, occasionally throwing a

paper airplane into the room asking one of the "adults" to take us

shopping, or to serve as a judge in a dance competition, 

or audience to one of our many plays.

days like those were once so typical, so predictable, so reliably 

regular that i never realized how special they were until i

grew up and lost many of the beloved family members 

that made those times so much fun.

this weekend, my favorite uncle passed away,

leaving a big hole in our hearts that could only be filled

with his loving presence, his terrific sense of humor, and his 

delicious cooking. my unckie made even the most ordinary of days 

into something extraordinary, and i am so sad that henry will

not get to know just how "great" his great uncle was.

"there is little to remember of anyone- an anecdote, a conversation at table.

but every memory is turned over and over again, every word, however chance, 

written in the heart in the hope that memory will fulfill itself, and become flesh,

and the wanderers will find a way home, and the perished, whose lack we

always feel, will step through the door finally and stroke our hair with 

dreaming, habitual fondness, not having meant to keep 

us waiting so long." 

~marilynne robinson, housekeeping

“normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. let me learn from you, love you, 

bless you before you depart. let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.

 let me hold you while  i may, for it may not always be so. one day i shall dig my nails into the earth,

 or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, 

more than all the world, your return.” 

~ mary jean irion

♥ something wicked this way comes.

while i am not sure if i will be dressing up for halloween this year,

we already have two costume options for henry :)

if i had it my way, i would wear something easy--yet freaking fabulous 

like one of these headpieces from miss g designs. aren't they over the top

in the best way?? and they're completely vegan! love!

ps. why do they have to be sold out for halloween?  :(

♥ step up.

i went through my shoe collection the other day and had a major realization:

i used to be a drag queen! all of my shoes are way too tall and not conducive 

to life in retail/life with a baby. if i had it my way, all of my shoes would

be comfortable enough to wear all day long AND be decorated with

big, girly bows, like these beauties from model/designer,

 aminah abdul jillil.

♥ scenes from the weekend!

we haven't been away all year (yikes!)

this past weekend, we went to new hampshire for a wedding,

and soaked up every last minute of free time together with our friends.

the foliage was gorgeous, and nick took henry for his first swim!

what have you been up to?

♥ have an adventurous weekend!

the weather is supposed to be glorious this weekend-

get out there and enjoy!!

\

♥ a little bit of luxe.

this week the new LUXE by banded collection made its internet debut,

and it couldn't be lovelier. not only are these headbands super comfortable,

but now the added element of beading and flowers add a little bit of glamour

to your overall look. ooh la la love!!

ps. banded x me.

♥ taking the plunge.

a week after my best friend, carolyn, took the plunge-

she visited the pool of her wedding photographer, grace taylor,

and took a different type of plunge-in her wedding dress!

after learning that grace also specialized in underwater photography, 

carolyn made the decision to take some photos in her gorgeous gown.

according to the bathing bride, "it was a fun way to wear and play in my dress again!"

don't you love how the pictures turned out? 

it's like her dress was meant to be underwater!

♥ i'm bringing "bootie" back.

it may not officially be fall until next week- but it's officially freezing outside,

which means bye bye sandals, hello booties!!

i have been looking for the perfect pair to wear to work.

here are some that have caught my eye on shopbop lately:

mm6 maison martin margiela

jeffrey campbell

splendid

l.a.m.b

madewell

rebecca minkoff

ps. got an iphone? download the shopbop app and get $25 off 

your next purchase of $100 or more! click here for the deets!

pps. watch meghan trainor bring (the other) booty back on jimmy fallon :)