Friday Links

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What's cookin', good lookin'? Any fun plans this weekend? I got a lot goin' on...multiple parties and a mountain of to-dos, but I'm also desperately hoping to catch up on sleep. Not sure how it happened (well, yes I am), but I'm at the just-got-hit-by-a-bus stage. This weather isn't helping. Also, our fingers are crossed that the plumber can fix our current apartment issue. It's a long story - but to give you a little insight - we discovered last night that if we turned on the sink faucet, the tub would fill up with water...from the drain...and then it wouldn't go back down the drain. (-.-) Anyhoo, we can't complain because ladies & gents, it's Friiiiiday!

here are a few links for your day ::

a long-sleeved maxi dress.

10 celebs you never knew had a twin.

one bonkers squirrel.

fox-print scarf.

a helpful when-to-wash-it guide.

NYC girl.

P & I are going to try and make this pumpkin turkey chili.

What a beautiful post about a baby's arrival, all in photos.

12 things successful people do differently.

looks like even Da Vinci made rough drafts.

This recipe sounds scrumptious!

cute wall hook - would be easy to DIY!

50 children's books with a positive message.

advice from a couple married for 60 years.

We've been playing this new album around the apartment.

a day designer.

and finally, a good reminder.

until next time,

g

Last Night

We went to dinner with these amazing friends last night at La Taverna in Greenpoint -- which, by the way, has such good food for such crazy cheap prices that it doesn't even seem legal. ($12 bottle of wine? Uh, yes please!) Seriously, it's a must-try. It was one of those meals where catching up over stories somehow led to imitating Bill Hader's SNL "Stefon" skits and cackling so hard we shook.

Reason #47,592 that I love having Patrick here? Sharing nights like this.

until next time,

g

Bits of My Week

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Look who I saw!

Let's take a moment and revisit another time Maya was in the street.

Remember when I linked these? 

Guys, they're even better in person.

(really bright, great texture, and you can't look away!)

Find them here!

I love him.

Can you feel the crisp city air through the screen? 

It smells like roasted chestnuts and bus exhaust.

And it's fabulous.

= needed.

Yup.

...where dreams are made.

Just when I think I'm crazy, I'm reminded where I came from. ;)

until next time,

g

Effort

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"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment; full effort is full victory." 

- Gandhi

"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming." - John R. Wooden

"Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort." - John Ruskin

"If you can't excel with talent, triumph with effort." - Stephen G. Weinbaum

"If people knew how hard I worked to achieve my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful after all." -  Michelangelo

"The greatest oak was once a little nut that held its ground." - Unknown

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all." - Sam Ewing

"I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work." - Pearl S. Buck

"Careers, like rockets, don't always take off on schedule. The key is to keep working the engines." - Gary Sinise

"The highest reward for men's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it." - John Ruskin

"Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted." - David Bly

"An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox." - Lao Tzu

"Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt." - Jose Ortega y Gasset

Let us go and chase what we want.

until next time,

g

In the Kitchen

As you know, cooking has always been a challenge for moi, the little lady. It's even more of a challenge now that I have to feed the giant-with-the-bottomless-stomach that moved in. ("What? A smoothie won't suffice? A cheese sandwich? A peanut butter sandwich? An avocado? Whatdoya mean that's not a real dinner?") I have to give it to him, though - he's been cooking up a storm lately. And I'm not complaining! However, each time we make something we're always saying, "if only we had..." We barely have the basics, folks. As in no pan that has a top. (Hello, hot liquid splatter!) As in none of the dishes actually match. As in zero adult-sized plates. As in we-have-no-counter-space. It's kind of like cooking in one of those Little Tikes kitchen playsets where there are fake buttons, rubber hamburgers, and knives that cut wooden carrots that are adhered with velcro. The thing is, there is no room for any of the supplies we actually need. My dad visited this weekend and asked if he could bring up my grandmother's set of silver flatware, expecting that we would actually use it. Um, our drawer barely fits our 4 forks from Bed Bath & Beyond thankyouverymuch. Perhaps there is a full-size kitchen in my future and perhaps I will learn what one actually does in a full-size kitchen aside from using it as an art room. But for now? I'm having fun watching Patrick cook improvising and imagining what I would buy if there was room. I bet you have room. Have you ever heard of the little San Francisco shop, Pot + Pantry? Lookie here.

(and shop here!)

until next time,

g

Autumn Outfit Inspiration: On the Weekend

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8

until next time,

g

Friday Links

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...and happy last day of summer!

What are you up to this weekend? Doing anything special to welcome the new season? Patrick and I are seeing this movie tonight and then I'm spending some time with my dad! Here a few links I wanted to share:

Let's start with a new Sh*t Girls Say video, shall we?

Visiting NYC? Download your fall 2012 visitor guide here.

gorgeous autumn wreaths.

Choose carefully.

I have a pair of these and I love them.

Patrick, we can no longer complain about how narrow the apartment is. Check this.

romance. (yes, this made me cry.)

Wouldn't this "who wears the cake" game be fun at a wedding?

In NYC? Fan of Suri's Burn Book? Check out the Tumblr Launch Party and meet the writer next Tuesday.

Look at dat face.

What a clever and easy tip for serving ice cream to a crowd.

the perfect fall blouse for under $25.

When cab fares went up.

I'm loving Mane Message's new ombre style hair ties.

and how I feel. :)

Have an incredible weekend, folks!

until next time,

g

Sights & Moments

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a few recent

 sights & moments 

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"Brooch the Subject" by essie.

I walked through a Gossip Girl set and saw Chuck Bass' dog.

And then I went to dinner at Rosa Mexicano in Lincoln Square 

and Hoda was sitting outside. She's either whistling or slurping up a noodle.

I had been saving this birthday card for a dear friend I actually 

met on Craig's List (we were roomies for a bit!) for approximately 10 months.

When it's this good, you buy it early. :)

1 WTC.

an afternoon on Governors Island.

the big apple.

He looks like a giant in this picture because he is a giant.

I spent an afternoon with this pretty girl! 

...and then I made a newsworthy discovery.

Graeter's ice cream in NYC!

Ohio fam, if you're reading this, I miss you!

Leaving the office to this means one thing...Obama's here!

This is what happens when you ask Patrick to buy stamps. :)

"Vanity Fairest" by essie.

 (...one of my favorites! It has a slight sheen of glitter in person.)

practicing ma' swirls.

until next time,

g

Gift Idea: Stuffed Animals from Furbish Studio

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Kids can never have too many stuffed animals!

Alvin, the alligator:

Javier, the hippo:

Dante, the donkey:

Leonard, the lion:

Gus, the goat:

Fanella, the flamingo:

Aren't they cuddly?

Okay fine. Fanella might prompt a few nightmares.

...but don't you justwanasqueeze Javier?

Shop here.

until next time,

g

Thoughts of the Day

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until next time,

g

How to Kill a Moth

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"Well...I think he had a heart attack," Patrick gravely claimed after he swatted the broom at the moth. By the way, I bought that broom days before this happened. Guys, it's my very first full-size broom! Alas, my diploma for graduating to adulthood must be lost in the mail.

There are moments such as the one above that make me grin with a pout and shake my head. Out of our lengthy history with ups and downs and all that we've been through, it's these kind of moments that we are sharing for the first time right now. ...Like tackling dirty dishes as a team and debating whether or not hot water really kills germs. (He says it doesn't which is crazy-talk and would nullify everything I know about cleaning.) Or when he doesn't really know what to make of his kooky sentimental girlfriend when I cry over everything from a thank-you note to a sappy commercial to nothing at all. (Men don't understand the crying-just-because phenomenon which is, like, so silly.) Or when I stubbed my toe in the dark on something he put on the floor and screamed obscenities until my thumb accidentally hit the appropriate buttons on my iPhone that made Jason Mraz start singing 93 Million Miles and neither of us had any idea what the heck was going on so we just laughed uncontrollably. Or the myriad of times when I inquire about something's whereabouts like how a new box of tissues "jumped" into the shower. Or, ya know, when I watched as he and the big blue broom followed the tiny brown moth as it fluttered around the apartment. 

And who am I kidding? I'm no angel. In this time of "bonding" we'll call it, there have been plenty of moments where we have peered at the other with a look of, "really?!"

Like this.

I don't know about him - he could be plotting his escape as I type - but as high as my eyebrows jump in disbelief at his antics, I still think he's pretty great. Is that love? Maybe. ;)

Oh, and for the record? The moth regained consciousness from his heart attack and I caught it and squished it in my little hand. In other words, the Hart attacked. (Had to.) And  that, my friends, is how to kill a moth.

until next time,

g

Autumn Outfit Inspiration - At the Office

 [ tank // cardigan // skirt // earrings // necklace // watch // purse // shoes ]

until next time,

g

Weekend Links

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Whatcha up to this weekend? My weekend fun started a little early with an event at Blue Smoke last night. Have you been? The food and cocktails are amazinggg. (I recommend the Porch Swing and the Lynchburg Lemonade!) The rest of my weekend will consist of a birthday celebration, basking in the September sunshine with Patrick, long talks with girlfriends, and turning the work-week kitchen counter into my weekend art desk.

 ------- some links for you! -------

How to get wax out of candle containers so you can reuse them.

Gwyneth Paltrow styles her favorites from J.Crew's fall collection.

I will be downloading these free 12 inky Photoshop brushes over the weekend.

Put one of these in your bachelorette's hotel room.

This print maps all of the foul lines of every major league baseball stadium, letting them run to infinity.

What a perfect bag for fall for under $100! And a cute fall dress for under $50!

One of my most prized possessions is a framed intricate treasure map that my brother drew for me when I was little. (He even took me on a treasure hunt through woods and caves and all!) I was reminded of that as I stumbled upon this boy's incredible birthday party invitations.

Neon 2013 planners.

How to piss off your designer friends.

From what I saw on various fashion blogs during NYFW, the Oscar de la Renta Spring 2013 collection is my favorite. I can't wait to see some adorable celeb wearing that last striped number. It's fabulous!

I was inspired by all of these trays.

monogram etiquette.

I'm pumped to check out this restaurant this weekend for the first time!

I want!

I leave you with this quote.

until next time,

g