Sunday Best v.18

Today was so beautiful, full of blossom-covered trees, warm sunlight and cool breezes. This time of year makes me pine for one of my favorite days of my life, spent at the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC the same day as the kite festival. If ever you have the chance to go, seize the moment! You won't regret it.

• Yes, that Nicholas Sparks movie looks familiar.
• You, too, could take beautiful pictures of food.
• For a paper lover like me, this is an amazing cake topper.
• Fancy schmancy garters.
• C'mon Dad! Let your son be a single lady!

Anemones, Dahlias, Ranunculus Oh My!

Wedding planning is moving right along, but not getting any easier. If I've learned anything in this process, it's that second-guessing yourself is unavoidable. You think you want one thing, and then your heart swoons for something else.

Of all things, I think choosing flowers for my bouquet will be hardest! I love flowers, and I'm very picky. I don't much care for traditional roses, I don't really think daisies are very "me," and I HATE that fussy greenery florists always seem to toss in.

At first, I thought I would carry a bouquet of red anemones (the flower on the bottom right in my inspiration picture there). Then I found out they are insanely out of season in October; that said, I can still have some incorporated into my bouquet, but for a pretty penny.

I also always thought I'd want a colorful bouquet, but I've been really attracted to ivory bouquets lately. As for my bridesmaids, I always thought I'd want them to call a bouquet of fall colors, but lately I've been fantasizing about a mix of pale pinks, peaches, reds and plums.

So, for now, I'm planning on taking this inspiration sheet to a florist and seeing what suggestions he or she might have. It includes

• First row: Bouquet of anemones; gorgeous bouquet by Saipua.
• Second row: Dark red ranunculus; beautiful dahlias; champagne-colored callas.
• Third row: Pale pink English roses; calla lilies; ivory dinner plate dahlia; and red anemone.

What do you guys think? Colored flowers or white for me? A pretty mix? What should my bridesmaids carry?

LOST in Translation V.10

LOST OMG OMG LOST OMG OMG LOST!!!

I'm not going to lie. I definitely have to watch last night's episode again because I was writing an article while it was on and couldn't properly pay attention (re: take notes like an obsessive crazy person).

But let's go over some big a-Ha! moments:

• It's no coincidence that Desmond is one of the only (if not the only) people who has been able to time-trip without dying or going completely insane. He clearly has abilities others simply do not possess.
• Is it a coincidence Desmond fell in love with Penny? It seems that their love was always part of the Island's plan. Or maybe not...Eloise certainly was trying to prevent it. For that matter, who is Penny's mother? Have we ever seen or heard of her?
• I LOVED the Sideways world for Desmond; I loved the similarities and winks at previous storylines (sharing scotch with Widmore; running at the stadium; jumping into the water at the docks where he beat the crap out of Ben).
• MOST IMPORTANTLY: We finally have acknowledgement that the Sideways brains are connected to the brains of the Island people. They aren't past lives, but simultaneous lives...and they're about to connect. I loved that Charlie (oh, my favorite!) was the first to acknowledge that he could feel it. I also loved that, as always, Eloise is trying to keep Desmond on his path and as always, it never works. And my heart swooned when I saw Faraday, another fave.

We're still left with some questions.

What the hell was that thing that blasted Desmond into the great unknown? It looked like a set for a Britney Spears video in the late '90s (and he frankly looks like he's dancing in that shot at the top of this post).

What's Desmond's actual role? How can he harness what he now knows to save the island? Is it possible all of the castaways could connect with their Sideways selves in Widmore's microwave?

What is Desmond going to do with Sayid and the rest of Flocke's flock?

And last but never ever least, where do we see this all going? My biggest fear is that it will crumble into anticlimactic mumbo-jumbo like the final book in the Twilight series. If it turns out Desmond can protect everyone with electromagnetic mind bubbles, I will be pissed!

Wedding Inspiration: My Grandparents!

I got a scanner this weekend and it completely took over my life! But the great thing is, I can now share my favorite wedding I've ever seen: my grandparent's.

I'm not totally sure about the year, though I'd estimate about 1958 or 1959. The bridesmaids wore blue, with matching veils. I've always loved how very formal and classic this wedding is, and how adorable my grandparents are.

This is my favorite wedding photo of the batch, and maybe of anyone, ever. I hope I can maybe replicate it, but I don't think that's even possible, because this is just that classic.

In other news, today is my one-year blogiversary!! Hopefully I can pull together a fun post to commemorate such an event later tonight. Thank you for reading, friends!

Sunday Best V.17

That's me, probably around Easter 1993 or so. You can take a girl out of ballet classes, but you can't take ballet classes out of the girl! I hope you all have a lovely Easter!

• Things you might not need, but will want: dressed-up kitty litter boxes!
• The funniest collection of Photoshopped wedding photos you will ever see.
• I really want a pair of these sneakers honoring 100 years of Keds.
• In case you missed it, the Peeps Show is amazing this year.
• Finally! A handy venn diagram to tell if you're a nerd, dork or a geek.
• A very whimsical Save the Date.
• Would one of you help me build this photobooth?
• Typewriter-inspired stationary.
• If you like music videos with dancing, this is a must-see! (Thanks, Ryan Burke!)

LOST in Translation V.9

DISCLAIMER: I wrote this days ago, but Blogger was acting up and it never posted, despite repeated attempts. So here it is, many moons late!

Forgive me, I've been a bit busy this week and kept forgetting to recap LOST. That might be because that was such a very forgettable episode, was it not?

Seriously.

Here's the gist of what I walked away with from Tuesday's episode:

• No matter how deep their love might be, Jin and Sun's union has always and will always be shaky. When Keamy told Jin, "Some people just aren't meant to be together," I remembered how throughout their relationship, they've never existed without a barrier. At one point or another, Jin's poor standing, Sun's affair, Jin's inability to speak English, Sun's meddling father, time and space have all stood in the way of their love. The fact it happened all over again in the Sideways world was sad, but perhaps that's their fate.
• My boss mentioned something I'd forgotten: Jacob touched both Jin and Sun at their wedding. We know that Jacob's touch is no joke; Richard confirmed it.
• My friend Andi thinks it means their DAUGHTER is the Kwon candidate. Intriguing idea, especially when you consider she's one of the only surviving babies, if not the only baby, conceived on the island.
• The Package: is Desmond. Biggest anticlimax ever, but I was still delighted to see my favorite Brotha.
• Widmore vs. Flocke: Locke says war is coming. Finally!

I love Jin and Sun and again, this was not the Sideways tale I hoped for. But it moved the story along nicely, and confirmed my theory that the Sideways world shows us how fate works. The difference is what you do with it.

My Imaginary Easter Outfit

Sometimes when I have no money or time or get-up-and-go, I like to play virtual dress-up on Polyvore, an awesome, awesome web site with no real purpose other than creating major closet envy.

I was thinking today about how much I used to look forward to getting a new Easter dress, hat, gloves and patent leather shoes. Remember that? That was the best.

This is my fantasy grown-up version:

• Dress: Thakoon, $1,290 at Net-a-Porter.
• Hat: Helene Berman, $162.39 at asos.
• Clutch: Donna Karan, $765 at The Outnet.
• Shoes: Christian Louboutin patent leather, no longer available.
• Gloves: vintage, from Modcloth.

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

So remember when I said I'm not a breakfast person?

I seem to be in active defiance of that lately, because last night, I decided to make breakfast for dinner!

I'm not so great with pancakes, so I decided to take the easy route and use Bisquick, as shown above.

Sean wanted plain pancakes, but I wasn't about to let that happen. I made a batch of chocolate chip pancakes for him, and then added banana to mine!

Man....mushed banana is so hideous. But delicious! Just add mushed banana (more than one, in my opinion; the banana taste was way too subtle) and stir it in with the rest of the batter.

My pancakes aren't pretty, at all, but they were tasty!

Then I fried up some frozen home fries (are you sensing a pattern? Nothing was from scratch!).

And finally, we had some chicken-apple sausage (which was really just okay).

It was so good and I was SO stuffed. Lesson learned: There is such a thing as too many pancakes!

Wine Country Salad

I am really bad at eating healthy, good lunches at work. I tend to eat a mix of leftover chips, Diet Coke, yogurt and breakfast bars.

But last week our office went out to lunch at The Baker's Crust, where I spotted the "Wine Country Salad" on the menu and thought, "Geez, I could make that at home."

It makes for a great lunch, with ingredients you could use in myriad other recipes so you aren't stuck with a bunch of stuff you wouldn't use again. You will need:

• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Mixed Greens
• Crostini (or croutons)
• Goat Cheese
• Candied pecans (optional)
• Raspberry Vinaigrette

I used this (VERY EXPENSIVE) belle chevre goat cheese with Ile de France crackers that could easily become bread crumbs if I don't find myself using them again.

I also used this Olde Cape Cod raspberry vinaigrette, but it was really just okay. Go light with it; I was a little heavy-handed in the pouring.

Smear the chevre on the crackers and place on top of the salad, or use them as accompaniment on the side.

It was a delicious, sophisticated salad with simple ingredients. The goat cheese elevates it to the expensive realm, but I think this would be a great salad to serve at parties or to guests (wine party and cheese party, perhaps?).

Brunch with Pat and Carmel

Last weekend, we were invited to have brunch at Pat and Carmel's new house.

One of the things I love about Pat and Carmel is their complete confidence in decorating their home. Their taste is a cool hybrid of antiques, curiosities, ethnic patterns and pop culture. This is their art wall.

The wall features a mini shrine to Stonewall Jackson for no reason other than "why not?" (Pat and Carmel are Yankees, for the record.)

Chartreuse walls!

I can say with confidence this might have been the best brunch ever. I'm not an eggs girl and I'm over pancakes, so this was a nice spin on brunch.

We had crepes, stacked neatly above.

We had apple-cardamom dinosaur muffins. Woot woot for stegasaurus!

We had fruit salad, care of Arthur.

We had mimosas, care of me.

My brunch choices: nutella-and-strawberries crepe, apple-cardamom muffin, kielbasa slices and fruit salad. Soooo good.