May Flowers

{ASOS Dress | Marc Fischer Sandals | Zara Bag}

Wore this dress Friday night to dinner at Pierre's and over to a friends house in the Hamptons. Recognizing I'm about 10 years behind,  this is the first item I've ever bought off ASOS and I'm obsessed. Have a feeling there will be many more where that came from...

Weekend Update - 5/29/2012

{beers on the beach at sunset}

Ahh...is there anything better than a 3-day weekend? Although belated, I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to honor and thank the fallen who made the ultimate sacrifice defending all of our freedom. After three full days of 80° sun, I'm back from the Hamptons for a couple days before heading out to Austin Friday for one of my best friend's bachelorette parties. For any of you that have been or live there, any last minute must-do's would be much appreciated. Hope you had a great Memorial Day!

p.s. Pop on over to the lovely Miss Kiley's blog where I shared some of my favorite trends as of recent in a guest post last Friday!

{late afternoon nap with a summer breeze spreading this diptyque paris candle}

{my favorite part of summer...the grill}

{early morning coffee on the back porch}

{vibrant flowers everywhere}

Long Walks on the Beach

Forever 21 Dress (similar here) & Necklace | Madewell and H&M bracelets

I had been doing really good not going to Forever 21 but I had 15 minutes to kill before a dinner last Friday and ended up walking out with this little guy. Crochet, maxi...don't mind if I do. I didn't waste any time and wore it for a long walk on the beach Sunday evening in Glen Cove.

Hi-Low

Necessary Clothing Dress (similar here) | Nine West Heels | H&M belt | Necklace as bracelet (unknown)

I try to stay out of stores like Necessary Clothing because I typically buy a bunch of cheap / unnecessary items and never end up removing the tags. This dress, however, does not fit in that category. I loved the rich coral color and paired it with a turquoise necklace-worn-as-bracelet for a late Spring / early summer look at a party in Soho Saturday night.

Weekend Update - 5/21/2012

{Sunday evening walk along the beach in Glen Cove}

Another 75° / sunny weekend called for cramming as much as possible into the 48 hours I had to work with. Saturday was spent at the Great Googa Mooga food / beer / wine / live music festival in Brooklyn before a party at Desiron gallery in Soho that night. A Sunday afternoon road trip lead to lobster along the water in Long Island and finally Sunday night dinner back in the city at Alta (highly, highly recommend). Hope you had a great weekend!

{wine tasting tents with different sections for red, white, rose and sherry}

{love the serving tables made out of old wine boxes}

{brisket tacos}

{foie gras doughnuts}

{wild boar sloppy joes}

{cute little family fun}

{supermodel servers}

{one last dose of live entertainment in Grand Army Plaza} 

{closing out the weekend with a cold one along the water}

Breezy

H&M Top (similar here) | Zara Skirt (similar here), Bag & Wedges | Forever 21 Necklace

The NY humidity is back and unfortunately looks like it's here to stay therefore cool, breezy outfits that consist of pieces like this skirt (similar here) and top (similar here) are going to be a must for the foreseeable future. I wore this to work on a muggy 80° day yesterday. What are some of your warm weather go-to's?

Just Peachy

H&M Dress (similar here) | Marc Fischer Sandals | Zara Bag (similar here) 

Just a little peach lace dress (similar here) that seemed appropriate for Mother's Day brunch on an 80° degree Sunday. Paired it with camel colored brown accessories (similar bag here) to round out the look.

Weekend Update - 5/14/2012

{homemade strawberry ice cream}

{DIY chalkboard chargers}

{homemade scones & crackers topped with quince and aged cheddar}

{parmesan/spinach/artichoke soufflé & poached salmon}

{fresh berries & shortbread cookies to supplement the ice cream}

{Sunday night al fresco dinner at Cornelia Street Cafe}

Another great weekend has come to an end. The weather really couldn't have been more perfect. Started out with a birthday gathering at The W Hotel Friday, a long walk followed by laying in the park Saturday and closed with an awesome Mother's Day Brunch full with blackberry bellinis, homemade Arnold Palmers and more from the one and only Jennifer Miller (see even managed to out do her self from last year). Rested and recharged and ready for another week. Have a great one!

Perpetually Peplum

H&M Peplum Top | Vince Camuto Pants | Zara Heels & Bag 

If you mash this and this together, what do you get? Today's look. For pete's sake, H&M, please stop making these peplum tops so I quit feeling obligated to buy them. They're just too cute. It's hard to make out in the photos but this one is a very light pink color which paired well with these blue Vince Camuto pants. Who knew they made pants? Really comfortable / cute / reasonably priced pants at that. Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Mulch's Strawberry Jam

Today's post is brought to you by one of my best friends growing up, Vanessa. It seems like only yesterday we were doing photo shoots in our oversized No Fear t-shirts/Umbros and causing trouble in gym class but luckily we grew out of that. Not only is Vanessa an extremely creative and talented young lady but is also a working mother of a precious little girl, Miss Daisy Ann. For Daisy's upcoming First Birthday, Vanessa is hosting a strawberry themed party complete with miniature jars of jam as party favors. She was nice enough to share photos of the process which she simplified from recipes I and II by using grilling tongs instead of buying all the fancy canning supplies and a straw to easily hull strawberries. As you can tell, she's quite handy in the kitchen so hopefully this won't be Vanessa's last appearance. Enjoy!

Happy 1st Birthday, Daisy!