Happy Birthday, Alissa!

So normally you only get a birthday post if your birthday happens to fall on a weekday, but sometimes exceptions need to be made --- I could not let such an important day pass by unrecognized. 

Alissa Guin Lively turned 30-something on Saturday! 

(I know! Two big birthdays in one week! May is a doozer.)

Even though I don't know her as well or hang out with her as much as I would like, I can say with full confidence that she is a wonderful person with a truly lovely light inside of her. She is a fantastic mom with beautifully-named and -behaved children. An awesome cook whom I have poached multiple recipes from and passed off as my own. A keen-eyed crafter whose creativity always inspires me. (I will be attempting a mobile myself this week!) And OH so much more! 

Hope you had a wonderful day positively bursting with love and fun. 

xoxo, Cathleen 

Amazing Grace

Grace Georgina McNicholas: 

The woman that looks amazing even when she's mugging for the camera, finds beautiful things in the most unlikely of places, brings joy and energy everywhere she goes, loves God and prays for celebrities, and, most importantly (not really), saves me from ALL KINDS of design and fashion mistakes ahead of time but never says a negative word if the mistake is already made.

Grace, we're so glad you were born. Have the happiest of birthdays, dear friend!

-Alissa

Full Disclosure

Have you read this? Very refreshing, and long overdue. 

And in the spirit of full disclosure here's a pic of what my living room looked like last night and looks like most of the time.

And yes, that's a super heroes sheet draped over the chair because my darn dog sleeps on that chair when we're gone even though it's against the rules! Problem is we can't catch him on the chair to discipline him. Oy!

-Grace

Artwork of the Week: Cold on a Beach

Cold on a Beach by Lizzy Stewart

This past holiday weekend, pools across America flung open their gates, peeled back their covers, and welcomed pale swimmers to cannonball into their deep ends. We spent a sunny afternoon at my sister-in-law's pool and despite it being the unofficial start of summer, this drawing completely encapsulates how I looked that day: cold and cross-armed. But it was lovely! Still! Especially watching Graham throw a ball into the freezy water, again and again, after Micky had JUST fished it out. 

You can see more of London-based illustrator Lizzy Stewart's work on her website abouttoday.co.uk

and purchase her art in her online shop here: lizzystewart.bigcartel.com

[Image found via Pinterest on Lizzy's flickr.com]

- Cathleen

Happy Memorial Day

I am used to posting on the second day of the work week and this holiday through me off.  I didn't have something ready so just wanted to throw out a quick Memorial Day clip.
In my mind, Band of Brothers is the best WWII movie (technically it's a show but it's really one long movie) and it is amazing.  I luckily read the book first and when seeing the shows I was blown away with how little they changed the original story.  The casting is outstanding and if you haven't seen it yet you should watch it immediately.
This very short clip is the beginning of my favorite episode (Crossroads).  It is brief but the beginning got me into it immediately and captured the feel of both fear and complete control. This scene perfectly represents Richard Winters. Captain Winters was a bad ass in the show and great man in real life. Happy Memorial Day

-Brian

Getting in the Swim

Today is opening day at our pool and although I won't be getting within an Olympic regulation distance of the water, I have been scoping out suits for a while now. First things first, you know.

Grace tipped me off to this beauty that I've been dreaming about for weeks... 

  

Nanette Lepore

...but then I saw this one at Anthro and I'm torn...

Nanette Lepore

AAAAANNDD... J.Crew's got some winners as usual but this one KILLS me...

J.Crew

...and Johanna posted this one yesterday, so I'm reconsidering...

Mara Hoffman

...and Seafolly has the CUTEST big floral that is just so ironically sweet...

Seafolly

As you can tell, I'm a one-piece kind of girl- no bikinis on this list. My apologies to anyone with a figure that can pull them off. 

Any thoughts? Advise? Suggestions? I'd love some input here because I'm paralyzed by indecision.

Happy Swimmy Weekend, Friends!

-Alissa

On My Travels....

On my most recent trip scavenging around town I picked up this copy of I Spy, A Picture Book of Objects in a Child's Home Environment by Lucille Oleg and Tina Thoburn, pictures by Joe Kaufman. 

Cool right? I'm a sucker for vintage children's books. They're such a great link to the past. It's in great condition and is a copy from 1970. It's currently for sale in my Etsy shop.... snag it before it's gone! 

Happy Thursday Peeps!

-Grace