Wisteria

One of my favorite TV shows is Giuliana and Bill on the Style Network.  They seem like such a fun couple and they are much more down to earth and funny than I ever expected!

In one of the recent episodes, they were moving into their new house and a ton of big boxes from Wisteria got delivered.  This made me curious to check out what Wisteria is all about....

Wisteria is an eclectic collection of home and garden accessories from around the world.  After going to its site, I was also pleasantly surprised to see it was started by a young married couple who have grown it over time. 

Here are some of the goodies I found while exploring the Wisteria website:

{All items from www.wisteria.com}



Great Summer Dinner!

PRG and I went down to CT this past weekend to celebrate my Grandmother's 88th birthday which was so much fun.  I know I'm biased, but I really think she's the coolest 88 year old out there!  Even though it was great hanging out with the fam, I was looking forward to coming home to our little apartment on Sunday in order to get my life organized after a few very busy travel weeks at work.  It was such a treat to wake up yesterday without a plan other than to enjoy a leisurely day of doing whatever we wanted.  We ended up going for a hike around Walden Pond in Concord and then swimming and lounging by our pool, and the weather couldn't have been better.

After a lovely day of unwinding, PRG cooked up quite the dinner.  I swear it consisted of all of my favorite things on one plate!  Grilled teriyaki chicken, cucumber dill salad, corn/heirloom tomato/avocado/onion salad, and feta/watermelon/mint/balsamic salad topped off with a bottle of rose.  A perfectly fresh and not-too-heavy dinner for a hot summer night.  Recipes are below!



{Cucumber water is so refreshing in the summer}



{Yum!}



{My watermelon salad didn't have any feta on it because I'm allergic to dairy - I probably should have taken a picture of PRG's plate instead.  Oh well!}




Cucumber Dill Salad:
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
1/2 tsp. sugar
Freshly ground pepper
3 cucumbers, thinly sliced
Fresh dill sprig

Feta/Watermelon/Mint/Balsamic Salad:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds seedless watermelon, rind removed, fruit sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf mint
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)


I'm loving that it's a short work week.  Enjoy the 4 day week everyone!

Beautiful wedding in Madison, CT

This past weekend PRG and I went to SM and BG's wedding at the Madison Beach Club in Madison, CT and it was so much fun!  It was a Saturday full of unbelievable weather, beautiful flowers, thoughtful details, awesome music (a bagpiper and then a 9 piece band!), a stunning bride and a very happy groom.  Can't get better than that!

Here are some photos from their wedding, enjoy!

Talbots isn't just for my mom anymore...

I went into Talbots recently, one of my mother's longtime favorite clothing stores, to get her a drape cardigan because she always compliments me on my sweaters like this and I thought she deserved one too!  ....and I was shocked by how "hip" Talbots has become!  Since when have I walked into a Talbots and liked half the store for myself?  Never before!  I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.  So much so that I not only bought the drape cardigan for my mom but also a few things for myself (whoops)!

{some items from their spring collection}

{here are the 2 striped items I bought for myself (obviously I won't be wearing them together!) as well as the sweater I bought for my mom}

And apparently I'm not the only one to take notice of their transformation.  I went to their site and found these:

• A video about Talbots' Tradition Transformation and
• Talbots Chief Creative Officer Michael Smaldone talking about Talbots' Ageless Woman Philosophy

PRG and I are heading to dinner at Bacco in the North End to help our friend MF "carbo load" before the 100 mile bike race she's doing tomorrow.  Mmmmm looking at their website is making me hungry.  Then, tomorrow, we're off to a wedding down in Madison, CT.  Can't wait to help celebrate with SM and BG! 

Happy weekend everyone!

Our Wedding Album Has Arrived!

It's hard to believe almost 8 months has already passed since PRG and I tied the knot!  We received our wedding album a couple of months ago and I've had a lot of fun looking through it and remembering how special and loved we both felt throughout our wedding weekend among all of our family and friends.  It was such a treat to have all our loved ones in one place!

So, in the spirit of our album's arrival, here are some photos that bring me back to our wedding day: 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

PRG and I are off to the Cape.  We are staying in Chatham for part of the weekend and, since we haven't been there before, my friend LJ made this amazing map for me!  She printed out a map showing all of the shops on Main Street in Chatham and gave me tips and pointers on what they each carry and which ones are her favorites!  This is so up my alley and was so thoughtful of her!  Thanks LJ! 

Have a GREAT long weekend, everyone!

{On the lawn at the Chatham Bars Inn - where we're having dinner on Saturday night}



{Chatham shopping map}

Our New Striped Chair!

Our new reupholstered chair has finally arrived!  Some of you might remember my previous "Statement Chair" post in which I mentioned the new chair PRG and I received from his mom after his grandmother passed away, and how she offered to have it reupholstered for us as a gift.  It was so generous of her, and I know it will be a special keepsake we will enjoy for many years to come.  After going through countless fabric books, we selected a neutral and versatile beige/off-white striped fabric so it will be able to fit into any room, no matter where we may live down the road.

Here is our new chair in our living room.  I really wish we were able to paint the walls to add some pizazz but, oh well, I guess that's one of the things you have to sacrifice in a rented apartment.  I put a few of our different throw pillows on our new chair so we could get a sense of which one we liked the best.  Which one is your favorite?

And, even though you can't see it, we have this light blue Bogart Flat Weave rug from Garnet Hill in our living room which extends to the foot of our new chair.  Because of this, the coral throw pillow is my favorite...it's funny how I always seem to come back to my favorite color combo, coral and blue!