My How the Summer Flies By!

Hi Friends! I cannot believe that I have let 3 months slip by without posting a single thing! I am terribly sorry for my lack of blog motivation this past summer, but with a new season comes a fresh start, so here I am, back in action!

First, I want to give a BIG thank you to all of my readers for all of the positive feedback I have received on my DIY pillowcase tutorial! Thank you for the overwhelming number of comments, likes and shares I have received over the past few months! Your support means everything to me and it’s so great to see you guys following along and making pillowcases of your own! I love to hear about your projects and am always open to answering any questions you may have, so please don’t ever hesitate to drop me a line! It is because of you that I’ve decided to come back to my blog and set a new fall resolution for myself (because resolutions aren’t only for New Years, right?), which is to post at least once a week. As much as I would like to post everyday, ever since I moved and started my new job, I have found I just don’t have as much time as I used to. But if I can reach out to all of you at least once a week, then I think it’s a step in the right direction!

So I’ll start this new post with a quick recap of my summer! I don’t know about all of you, but for me, the summer flew by faster than I would have liked. Even so, it was a great summer, filled with trips to the shore, swims in the ocean, frozen drinks outdoors, concerts and baseball games, strolls along the water, and time spent with good friends…

Frozen margaritas were our kick off to summer Friday hours, I went to my first Yankees game (it was a beautiful night!), and attended the opening reception of “The Art of the Brick” at Discovery Times Square

Michael Kiwanuka and Ben Howard played in Central Park, I stumbled upon a carnival in the middle of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and soaked up as much sun as I could down the shore

I found some awesome new goodies for my apartment, did a little painting of my own, spent a long weekend in LBI with great friends, enjoyed a evening run in Central Park when the weather wasn’t too hot, and took a stroll along the High Line

And what’s the summer without some good books?

Call Me Zelda by, Erika Robuck (in the spirit of The Great Gatsby); A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by, Anthony Marra (my new favorite book – grab a box of tissues!); Beautiful Ruins by, Jess Walter (take me to Italy!)

So there you have it! My summer in a nutshell. What was the highlight of your summer? Are you all ready for fall or are you still trying to make it to the shore one last time and tell yourself that the summer really isn’t over until September 21st (this is clearly what I’m trying to do!)?

DIY Chalkboard Herb Garden

Hey Everyone! I’m so sorry it’s been almost a month since my last post. Time has escaped me yet again. I can’t believe it’s already the middle of May and Memorial Day weekend is upon us. I have been so busy with work, birthdays and weddings, and all of the responsibilities that come with living in an apartment (some more fun than others – does anyone actually enjoy spring cleaning?).

With spring in full bloom, I have been trying to find ways to bring more greenery into my home. I love the way plants bring light and life into smaller indoor spaces and I’ve been inspired by photos like these (found on Pinterest) to transform my apartment into an indoor garden.

Image via http://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/styling-an-indoor-garden/

Image via http://www.sfgirlbybay.com

Image via http://smileandwave.typepad.com

As you may recall, I started off with an ivy plant that I hung from my kitchen ceiling.

Once I saw how that transformed my kitchen into a much warmer and more inviting space, I was hooked on the idea of “more plants, more plants!” So I bought a basil plant, some small cacti, and I have four small pots that are starting to sprout small green stems (I’m not sure what type of plants they are – they were cute favors from my cousin’s wedding).

basil plant

small cacti

small plants from my cousin’s wedding

Once I got all of these little guys in my kitchen, I realized I really wanted more herb plants like my basil. So last weekend, while I was home for Mother’s Day, I went out and bought the following herbs to create my own mini indoor herb garden: parsley, mint, oregano and cilantro. They were just in plastic containers so I decided to repot them into regular ceramic planters. While I was buying these herbs, I had this DIY in the back of my mind that I found on A Beautiful Mess – chalkboard planters.

So once I bought my herbs and pots, I also picked up some chalkboard paint so that I could make my own chalkboard herb garden. It was a really easy project and I love the way the plants look on my kitchen shelf! Here are some photos of the plants, the project and the finished product:

I hope you all are having a wonderful spring!

Wine Tasting in the Lehigh Valley

Hi Everyone! I hope you all have been having a wonderful spring! The temperatures here  aren’t quite as warm as I would like them to be, but the sun is shining and the trees are turning green, so I can’t complain too much.

This past weekend, my girlfriends and I went on a wine tasting tour in the Lehigh Valley. The bus picked us up in Manhattan and drove us to the first vineyard, Vynecrest Winery, in Breinigsville, PA. There, we enjoyed cheese and wine tastings (the cheese was really yummy!) and toured their building a bit. My favorite was a sweet white wine, which is unusual for me because I tend to lean more towards dry reds.

Once we finished at Vyncrest, we drove over to Blue Mountain Vineyards for more wine tastings and a catered lunch. Here, I really loved their white merlot. Again, this wine was on the sweeter side and I usually don’t like sweet wines. I’m wondering if there was just something funny with my taste buds that day, that all the sweet wines tasted better to me than the dry. The best part about this winery though, was the furry friend that was wandering around the tables, saying hello to all of her guests!

Once we were sufficiently wine-happy and our growling stomachs were satisfied with pasta and bread, it was time to move to the third winery, Blair Vineyards. Here, they paired chocolate with their wines and my absolute favorite was a chocolate covered ginger paired with their Gewurztraminer. It was spicy and sweet – a delicious combination. Once the wine tasting was over, we got to spend some time outside enjoying the gorgeous spring day before we headed back to the city.

Jumping for wine!

It was the perfect spring day, spent with good friends and good drinks!

Until next time…

Spring in Hoboken

This weekend, spring was in the air! The trees are in colorful bloom, singing birds were my wake up call, and fresh flowers and new plants made their way into my home!

These yellow sunflowers look beautiful on my kitchen table!

Saturday was the perfect day to walk around town…

I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

DIY Polka-Dot Flour and Sugar Jars

As I continue to settle into my new home, I am discovering little things that I need and things I wish I had, and I am trying to decide which of those things and I should buy and which I should make myself. One thing that has been on my list is a container for sugar. This hasn’t been a pressing need, so I haven’t really gone shopping to look for one. The other day, as I was arranging some fresh tulips in a mason jar-turned-vase, I had an idea for a DIY sugar container – why not use the other mason jars I have to store sugar and flour? So this week, I set to work on a quick DIY project to satisfy my need!

DIY Gold Polka-Dot Flour and Sugar Mason Jars

What You’ll Need:

– Mason Jars with lids

– Gold paint (or any other color you choose)

– small paint brush

Once you have your supplies ready, all you do is paint some polka-dots onto the jars. Super easy! You can paint any design you want, I just liked the look of gold dots.

I let my jars dry overnight and then filled them with flour and sugar the next morning.

I’m not sure where I’m going to keep them, but right now I really like the way they look on my kitchen table with the tulips!

I hope everyone is having a great start to April! The weather this week has been absolutely gorgeous. I hope you all have had some time to enjoy the sun!