lux

in austria, week 2 of our road trip, ben asked if i bought myself a souvenir. as we stocked up on gifts for our parents, friends, et al., it seemed as if i didn't consider myself in the equation. au contraire, mon ami. i bought myself quite possibly the most spectacular treasure that in its own right would represent the entirety of our trip. 

an oversized, crystal lotus-esque flower that in certain angles, reflects a neon bubble-gum pink hue. purchased at a gas station en route to florence from lake como. 

it was the obvious choice. 

after making my selection in the glass display case, the attendant disappeared into the stock room and returned with my precious floral jewel tucked inside a maroon gift box lined with gold satin. only to confirm what i believed: italian luxury!

etsy // OF VANITY

i am now officially an etsy store owner! as of last night, actually. i've filled my store, OF VANITY, with glassware, vases and other beautiful pieces meant for creating the perfect vanity table. as i wrote in my etsy bio:

for as long as i can remember, i've been enamored with makeup and fragrance. and i can't remember a time where i haven't created a distinct space to display all of my favorites. from antique stores in manhattan and vermont to vintage markets in italy and france, i've scoured these shops to put together a collection of treasures.

vanity tables have always fascinated me. a place in your home that channels and inspires beauty. though ever-changing, this a photo of my vanity table right now:

it's certainly morphed over the years, with each apartment i've lived in, but has always taken on a vintage, feminine, floral, pastel-hued form.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/OFVANITY

le euro trip

my boyfriend surprised me for my birthday with pretty much one of the most epic gifts possible. a three-week long road trip. around europe. we left a month after my birthday and returned a few weeks ago. i took many wonderful pictures with my iphone, but my pictures from my disposable cameras are truly my favorites. i brought three of them with me. one, i must mention, was a lovely and thoughtful going-away present from my lovely and thoughtful friend dorie. there is a soft, fuzzy quality about the pictures, and i think that adds to the feeling of our trip. it was such a dream. unfortunately, they do skip around a bit, as i consistently captured moments on my iphone, and not with my disposables. such is such. we started by staying with ben's dad in heidelberg, germany (where he grew up), and drove the loop through switzerland, italy, austria and back up to munich for oktoberfest. stories to follow. a pictures few first!

biking in germany, passing by rows of flowers and fields of horses.

switzerland's finest animals.

here is lake como.

this was our house that we stayed in at lake como, through airbnb.com. we had the entire second floor, complete with two bedrooms and a large living room, kitchen, dining room...and a massive patio.

this was our view from said patio. really. it was heavenly.

a day trip to siena.

our sweet little apartment in florence was down the block from santa croce. we were woken up by the bells each morning. here i am wearing ben's nikes and eating pasta. 

i fell in love with innsbruck. this was by far my favorite destination. the city had such a good vibe. my friend recommended we stay there, and i am so thankful that he did. 

in a tent at oktoberfest. everyone danced on the tables as the band played crowd-favorites such as "i've had the time of my life" and coldplay songs that i can't quite remember the names of. 

ben's wonderful cousin (and her family!) allowed us to stay with them while we were visiting munich. we stayed in their sweet, sweet daughter's play room at the top of the stairs. it was beautiful. here is a picture of the chandelier in the room. 

ciao ciao

our flight leaves at 8:30, we'll be back in october. our road trip // european edition begins!

sugar pills

it was around the new year that my family spent a few days in manhattan. we stayed in a times square hotel, and i don't remember much of what we did, besides going to the nba store where o-town happened to be performing. it was the year 2000. though i do remember going to sephora/times square and my mom let me choose one beauty treat. my pick? a sparkly baby-blue eyeliner from hard candy. i still have it at my parent's house. actually, i have most of old beauty products. they [obviously] haven't been used in years, but i don't have the heart to throw them away. perfumes from bath & body works i bought when i was 12. five hard candy nail polishes, less their chunky rings that fit around the top, from when i was 13. a stila lip gloss quartet that my mom bought me during a trip to saks, age 14. et cetera. so all of this unusable makeup lying around, and a week of lolling around at my parent's house in connecticut, had me making some lemonade out of lemons. or pill cases from empty lip gloss pots from tenth grade. whatever.

i bought these two lip glosses [by sugar cosmetics!] when i was 15. i haven't seen this brand in ages, but at the time, its translucent fuchsia packaging always drew me in. i bought them both at sephora on a trip into the city with my mom, aunt and cousin kate. we went in to see broadway shows [rent! hairspray!] and i remember being absolutely astounded that sephora was open until midnight. new york! the city that never sleeps!
 

anyway, these probably expired nine years ago. so what's a girl to do? scoop out the gloss, give them a good wash and fill them with pills. their twist-off caps made this re-purposing a no-brainer. and it's certainly a more desirable alternative to the typical utilitarian options, no?

glass castle

an afternoon spent in ikea resulted in just two purchases, well three if you count the plate of swedish meatballs ben treated me to mid-way through our trip. a crystal star-shaped dish and a mauve scalloped bowl. a pretty way to display nail polish and lip gloss, no?

see also: mor and mor to sweetly store makeup brushes

twenty six

at 11:52 we were finally finished cooking my pre-birthday dinner. we often eat late meals. tonight's menu featured my favorite at-home dish: bacon, cheddar [heart-shaped] waffles. ben used his gallon jug of maple syrup he bought on our last trip to vermont, i used aunt jemima. even after living in vermont for four years of college, i still couldn't develop a taste for the real thing. the heart wants what the heart wants. at 11:59 i ran from the table into ben's bedroom. i didn't want the stroke of midnight to happen in front of a plate of half-eaten breakfast food. he followed me with a butter lane cupcake with a green candle lit on top. i made my wish, and ben was anxious to give me my present. he said he had been for days. i read the sweet, sweet card and became overwhelmingly excited when my gift was in the form of a toy airplane. we're taking a euro trip! from mid-september into october. we'll be staying with his family in germany and will then drive around switzerland, italy and austria. 

ben woke up at seven. he had a photo shoot in the city. i was to spend the afternoon with wonderful friends and we'd meet for dinner at talde. his roommate sam had to work as well. alone in the apartment, i got out of bed around 11. i walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth. mid-brush, i heard a noise from the living room: a record was playing. the room felt warm and peaceful. it has nice light in the morning that heats up the space. so i poured myself coffee and enjoyed the tunes of andrew bird. it's a semi-automatic player, the arm will move when a user presses play. i figured there must be an alarm incorporated of some sort. no alarm, said ben. that never happened before, said sam.

strange but no explanation needed. it felt good. especially on the start of a birthday morning. 

summer sunset

shades of periwinkle, salmon and gold faded into one another on august 7, seen from prospect park. it was my favorite sunset of the summer. the colors morphed into a dark night sky as we listened to m. ward. we sat on my beach blanket and ate french fries.