What I'm Dreaming Of...

Here are just a few things I've been dreaming about this month...many of them are experiences rather than material things. Let me know what's on your wish list in the comments below!

A ride on a vintage carousel...

...or up in a hot air balloon!

A romantic evening walk with my boyfriend...

Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars

Hi everyone - hope you all had a fabulous weekend! I was really craving lemon yesterday for some reason, so I decided to make oatmeal lemon creme bars. They are pretty healthy for a baked treat and definitely satisfied my lemon craving. :) They were super easy and delicious and the best part is you can eat them for breakfast!

Friday Inspiration: Quotes I Love

Happy Friday - I hope everyone has a nice weekend ahead of them! :)

Style Inspiration: White Lace Dresses

I've always been a girly-girl, so it makes me very happy that lace is back in style and it's super easy to find cute lace dresses in stores! I'm looking to the fashion mavens below for style inspiration on what to wear with white lace dresses. Which look is your favorite?

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DIY Pet Bed

A while back, I decided to make my cat Phoebe her own pet bed to avoid her sleeping on my pillow/head each night, like this:

I mean, she's adorable and all, but waking up with cat hair in my eyes and her claws in my hair isn't exactly ideal. So I do what I always do: take something ugly and cover it up with scrapbook paper to make it pretty!! This DIY project is super simple, takes hardly any time, looks great and makes your pet happy - it's a total win!

My Week in Instagram

Now that Instagram is FINALLY available on the Droid, I've been having a great time snapping photos with my phone. I wanted to share a few things that have made me happy over the past week - what have been the highlights of the last week for you?

Fenway Park - baseball season has officially begun in my neighborhood!

my pair of Louis bags on the cute new Paris bench I bought for my foyer!

Design Inspiration: Dream Beach Retreat

I've always dreamed of owning my own beach house, either in Newburyport or on Martha's Vineyard. When I envision my perfect beach retreat, I imagine a quaint, New England style cottage that's full of seaside charm.  I've been pinning pictures of gorgeous beach homes and I wanted to share the most inspiring images with you. Is it summer yet?

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veranda magazine

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins with Nutella Filling

When I came across this Nutella-filled banana muffin recipe by Bake at 350, I knew I needed to make them for my boyfriend. He's obsessed with Nutella and bananas, but he also loooves chocolate, so I had to throw some chocolate chips into the batter for him!

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Bake at 350's recipes are always insanely awesome, so I didn't do much to change the recipe except for adding in chocolate chips and upping the amount of Nutella for the filled centers. (I knew I had to fill them up as much as possible for my Nutella nut.) Try these out sometime - they sure do make for a delicious breakfast or a great afternoon snack! :)

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Hair Inspiration: Beautiful Buns

I've been looking for a little hair inspiration lately since I'm always wearing my long hair down with loose waves. I thought it would be a great idea to try something new, like an updo! After many many years of wearing buns to ballet class, I've shyed away from pinning my hair up as an adult, but I think it's time to embrace this beautiful look once again! Now, if I could only get my hair to look like these girls, I'd be good to go!

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Friday Inspiration: Quotes I Love

Happy Friday - have a beautiful weekend!

Blogger Love: "Tell Me About Yourself Award"

Hi all! Sorry for not posting yesterday - I was having a minor surgery on my eyelid!  All went well and I'm feeling totally fine today. Don't I look cool with an eyepatch?

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The best part of my day was receiving these beautiful orchids from my managers. It was a total surprise and I absolutely love them!

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The next best part of my day was being nominated for a "Tell Me About Yourself Award" by the lovely Blair Bendel! If you haven't already, please check out her adorable blog - we have very similar taste! :)

My Favorites: Yves Rocher

Have you ever heard of Yves Rocher?  It's a natural and botanical beauty company in France with an affordable line of products that smell great and are healthy for your skin. Luckily, the products are no longer a French secret - there's an entire online store that ships to the US! Best of all, shipping is free for orders over $40 and they include free samples with each order - last time I got a free full sized bottle of shampoo!! I wanted to highlight some of my favorite Yves Rocher products and share my reviews with you today.


Pivoine Shower Gel - $10. If you've been reading my blog for the past few months, you've probably noticed that peonies are one of my favorite flowers! This body wash really captures the scent of the peony flower and bubbles up nicely on my shower pouf. It leaves my skin soft and lightly scented after my shower - it's perfect for spring!

Design Inspiration: Backyard Pools

With temperatures up in the 80s today in Boston, it feels like summer even though spring just began last month! I'm dreaming of laying outside by one of these gorgeous pools and getting some sun...

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Friday Inspiration: Quotes I Love

Happy Friday everyone! I'm so excited for tomorrow - I'm going to the Bruins playoff game and I cannot wait!! Do you have any fun weekend plans?

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Currently Craving: Arm Candy

Two of my favorite fashion bloggers, Yola Thorp and Chriselle, are always sporting the most gorgeous arm candy.  Their fashionable stacks of bracelets and watches have me seriously craving some new pieces of my own!!

yola thorp

the chriselle factor

Here are some of my top arm candy picks right now... 

Gorjana Graham Leather Studded Bone Triple Wrap Bracelet - $55

Tory Burch Saffiano Double Wrap Logo Stud Bracelet - $95

Chanel Spring Makeup

I recently picked up a few new products from the Chanel counter at Neiman Marcus for the spring! I wanted to share my finds with you and give you my opinion on each product. :)

Chanel Joues Contrast Powder Blush in Rose Bronze 02 - $43. As you may have read in my post on my favorite makeup products, I don't normally wear blush, but I really wanted to try out a pretty pink blush for the spring! This color is a beautiful golden pink and adds a nice natural flush to my cheeks without adding too much color. The powder is super silky and soft and lasts throughout my entire 9 hour workday! My only complaint is that the brush that comes in the compact is too small, so I need to use one of my own makeup brushes to apply.

A Bit of Magic

Amusement parks are magical in my eyes! I still love carousels, flying swings, ferris wheels and teacups. I hope these pictures make you as happy as they make me! :)

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DIY Embellished Bobby Pins

I don't know about you, but I wear bobby pins almost every day. I mainly use them to pin back my side bangs when I don't want them in my face or when I am in between days washing my hair and they don't look quite so nice! :) I decided to jazz up some of my boring bobby pins with some sparkle and charm and I wanted to share the quick and easy DIY process with you.

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Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies

Last night I was determined to make cookies with Cadbury mini eggs inside of them. You can only find them in stores around Easter time, so I figured now was the best time for me to bake them! I went to Shaws and they had a gigantic Easter candy aisle, but there were NO Cadbury mini eggs to be found. WHAT KIND OF GROCERY STORE DOESN'T HAVE CADBURY MINI EGGS AT EASTER TIME?! I asked 3 different employees and none of them could find any mini eggs. I was so sad.

So I had to bake using these imposters instead:

I mean, they're good, but they are NO Cadbury mini eggs!! Bahhhh. I did the best with what I had!

Now, on to the cookies.

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Friday Inspiration: Quotes I Love

Happy Friday everyone! It's been a great week for me and I hope it's been the same for you as well :)

10 Hardcover Books I Need Right Now

Ever since I was a little girl, I've been an avid reader. I used to beg my mum to take me to the library each week so I could pick out a new book and feed the ducks at the pond outside. :) But because my lovely boyfriend bought me a Kindle Fire for Christmas (which I am obsessed with and haven't put down since), I haven't been buying many books lately - I've been downloading them all instead!

There are a few hardcover books I've been eyeing filled with beautiful photos that won't translate quite as well on the Kindle. They're all focused on my favorite things: baking, fashion and Paris! Take a look - you might find that one of these books is just what you've been wishing for!


Les Petits Macarons: Colorful French Confections to Make at Home ~ $11. French macarons are one of the hardest things to bake, but I really want to take some time out on the weekends to teach myself! They're definitely my favorite sweet treat and it's high time I learned how to make them!

Mad About Macarons!: Make Macarons Like the French ~ $10. Another great book with simple instructions on how to make macarons in many different flavors.

Living In Paris (New Edition) ~ $33. This book is filled with beautiful photos of my favorite city: Paris! It's the perfect coffee table book and will transport you to the city of light each time you open the cover. :)