Stuart Weitzman

It's been a while since I've had some shoe love on here. Hence, these lovelies...

Stuart Weitzman Pomposo pumps

the Bestini

I love fruity martinis, so am always making up concoctions in my martini shaker. I don't know if it's already an established drink, but in college I came up with this mix, which soon became my favorite:

1-2 parts cosmo mix
1 part peach schnapps
1 part vodka
1 part Triple Sec

There was no rhyme or reason to what went in the shaker, I just thought these would taste good together. Its fruity, delicious, and pink, and therefore became a quick favorite, so much so that my roomates dubbed it "the Bestini."

lovely

I'd much rather do my work at this lovely secretary desk...


refurbished secretary from Material Girls

XXI treats

A new XXI store just opened in my neighborhood, so I took a few minutes to check it out while running errands last night. It's gigantic! The biggest Forever 21 store I've ever seen. There are racks and racks of clothing as far as the eye can see...and then you go up the escalators to the second level and there's even more! Needless to say, I was super excited, if not a little overwhelmed!

They had a huge accessories section, where I found a whole table of really cute mini journals and notebooks, as well as other cute little gift items. And all for like $5 bucks each.




I'll definitely be going back when I can spend more time (and money) there. It would take me a whole day to get through it all!

Oberammergau

Talk about keeping a promise!

In 1633, the people of the small Bavarian village of Oberammergau made a promise to God that if He were to save them from the deadly throes of the Black Plague, they would re-enact the story of the Passion of Jesus Christ every ten years.


The first play was performed on Pentecost in 1634, and after being spared further devastation from the Plague--and attributing it to their vow--the people of Oberammergau have been performing the Passion Play every ten years since.

Christ and John, from the Passion Play 1900

It's not just a little play put on in the town theater. It's a massive theatrical production that takes four years of planning and preparations. And it's not just a few faithful villagers holding on to that old promise....it's literally the entire town! Over 2000 Oberammergau-ans halt their daily lives from May to September every ten years. It's organized by a specially elected Passion Play comission. It's held in a massive amphitheater that holds 5200 spectators. There is even a "Hair Decree" put into effect a year before the first performance, requesting all men taking part in the play to stop shaving and let their head and facial hair grow.


It's become a famous event, attracting tourists the world-over. Tickets go on sale two full years before the play starts. It's a big deal.

The last play was in 2000. My family had just moved to Germany, but we missed being able to go see the play. Being so close and missing such an opportunity made me even more determined to see it the next time, in 2010. Well, it's getting closer to 2010, and I still plan to travel to Germany to attend the Passion Play. It's become one of the checkboxes on my "Things To Do In My Lifetime" list.


I hear it's a pretty long and arduous production, sitting in uncomfortable wooden seats almost the whole day. But with the history behind the Passion Play and the straight up passion the people of Oberammergau put into it--I can't help but be eagerly excited to see such a cultural feat.


images from here, Wikipedia, and Google Images.

weekend glamour

I'm headed out for the weekend to celebrate my college roommate's wedding! Au-revoir!


image from JuneBug Weddings Fashion Report

SOTA Dzine

I stumbled across SOTA Dzine at some point last year, and instantly fell in love with their work. They take amazing photographs! We're talking jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, unique, romantic, beautiful, fun, incredible photographs.




Their wedding photography is what really captured my eye (and heart), but they also do portraits and editorial shoots. I also found they've done photo shoots and design work for my church!





To my delight, I just discovered that they now have a blog! Overexposedblog.com Now I can routinely keep up with all of their fantastic work!

all photos from SOTA Dzine

Amalfi coast

My new issue of CondeNast Traveler arrived a few days back, and after glimpsing at the cover, I instantly turned to the feature on Italy's Amalfi Coast.

I have always wanted to visit here, so of course I devoured the article and ogled over the magnificent photos. It's a beautiful location.






And this is me, happily--and stylishly--enjoying lemon gelato while shopping in Capri. (hey, a girl can dream!)

sassy sangria

Not just sangria...but Strawberry-PEACH Sangria!!


Strawberry-Peach Sangria
From Bon Appétit magazine

Ingredients

1 750-ml bottle dry white wine
1 1/2 cups Essensia (orange Muscat, a sweet dessert wine)
1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup peach liqueur
3 peaches, each cut into 12 slices
1 large orange, cut crosswise into 6 slices
1 large lemon, cut crosswise into 6 slices
1/4 cup strawberry syrup (optional)*
3 to 4 cups ice cubes

Directions

1. Mix white wine, Essensia, strawberries, peach liqueur, peaches, orange slices, lemon slices, and strawberry syrup in large pitcher, smashing citrus slices slightly.
2. Let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours or chill up to 4 hours. Serve sangria over ice.

via YumSugar

oh Christian...

My fave celebrity crush--the hottness that is Christian Bale--has been arrested!! On family assault charges!! nooooooooo! I had so much love for you Christian, why did you have to act up and tarnish your reputation??

Snippet & Ink

I went to a wedding this past weekend and am attending yet another this coming weekend. With all this wedding frenzy in the air, I thought I'd share my most favorite source of wedding inspiration: Snippet & Ink.

I adore Snippet & Ink. It was one of the first blogs I ever came across last year and I have been faithfully reading ever since. Each day, Kathryn posts a new wedding inspiration board, and oh my gosh, are they gorgeous!




I love weddings, and I love beautiful photography, and these inspirations boards meld the two together perfectly to create fabulous works of art. A feast for the eyes, it's fun to see the multitude of moods and themes that a wedding can take on.













Hop on over to Snippet & Ink for hours of gorgeous inspiration. Even if you aren't planning a wedding, these boards are still fun to look at and the ideas and color schemes can be applied to other events and parties.

people on the Metro

There are some interesting breeds that you run across at the Metro.
This morning's offerings:

A well-dressed, distinguished looking man in a sharp, expensive suit with shiny tasseled shoes and a luxurious leather briefcase standing opposite me on the train. I glance at the cover of the book he is reading....


The highlight of this morning's commute was my sighting of the irate boss from The Incredibles!! I kid you not, I passed a man who was the exact human replica of the animated version, right down to the scowl on his face. His comb-over was even worse...


Oh Metro...

cake wrecks

This site is my new favorite blog. Cake Wrecks. Check it out. The commentary is hilarious; thoroughly entertaining and guaranteed to induce laughter.


Who knew cakes could be so awful? or amusing?