Sometimes people ask me what my hobbies are; if their eyes start to glaze over at the first mention of my blog, I resign myself to the fact that I don't have much else to tell them about. But it's whatever makes you happy that matters.  Happy Friday to all my lovely followers! Here's a reminder that you should be sleeping in. I sure plan on it today, that is, if I get some more posts...

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Last minute holiday preparations of shopping, baking, and drinking have kept me very busy and away from my blog longer than I would care to admit. Finally, I'm back with a few snapshots of our family's Christmas tree and a few of my favorite ornaments. {This year saw the addition of two new French-themed ornaments-- gifted to me by a lovely and thoughtful co-worker!} One of my most favorite textile-themed ornaments...

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Inspired by the likes of Rachel Zoe and the Olsen sisters, I've been on the lookout for a fur vest. Countless thrifting trips went unsuccessful, as I sifted through aisle after isle of puffer down vests, with no a fur vest in sight. Things got so bad that I considered taking the sleeves of a fur jacket I could find, any fur jacket I could find... Suddenly, last weekend, the thrifting gods smiled upon me and offered...

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This year will be my first attempt at a big-girl, real-life Secret Santa gift exchange. The friends over at Moss House decided to celebrate this year by drawing names out of a hat and shopping for alcohol each other. Thanks to the tremendous amount of recipes and craft projects on Pinterest, I'm going to giving the best presents ever. Not that it's a competition or anything... This week's board doesn't exactly fit into our group's budget,...

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Deliciousness: close up I've only just joined Pinterest, but it seems as if I've already written countless posts about how it has changed my life for the better. I've created  a handful of boards divided into specific themes: recipes, workouts, fashion, various craft projects, you name it... but I had yet to actually attempt any project I'd pinned, food or otherwise, until tonight. Sunday night boredom-turned-hunger led me to browse through dessert recipes in search of a...

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There's nothing that I love better than a great textile. Reading about textiles comes in as a close second, and eating Greek yogurt slides into third place. This all explains why I was so jazzed when I opened up an email from my boss this morning, with a link to a book entitled, "Why do you call them Polka Dots?" This 13-page book dates back to 1918 and is available online thanks to the magic that...

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Finding this quote was such a relief to my psyche. Over the past month or so, I've had the same conversation with many a friend {often after a few drinks, mind you} centered around this very idea, and that of choices and relationships. No matter whether your idea of love refers to a person, a job, a hobby or field of study, be sure to choose the perfect fit. Too many people fear leaving behind...

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Happy Saturday! Today marks the two-week point until New Years Eve and my departure to Paris! With so little time left, I'm spending this weekend in Philadelphia with some friends: shopping {but of course}, visiting the museums, and eating my face off. Somehow I got roped into watching the Jets game tomorrow afternoon, so I'm in desperate need of recommendations to sneak off to! Any philly-residents are encouraged to help a blogger out.  xox, ...

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 This might be my favorite Friday Finds post, ever! Not only do I have an insanely great Friday Find, but I've also linked up with the amazing Hannah over at a cup of subtle tea! She was nice enough to host a December holiday-themed link up, where I've posted a a tutorial on making a paper maiche christmas tree! Make sure to check out her blog--she's an amazing and talented crafter with a great eye and inspirational blog...

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The perks of working at the Smithsonian include a killer staff discount and access to hand-picked staff favorites, including this newly-published novel, Mona Lisa in Camelot. As both an art history lover and an insane Jackie Kennedy fan, I was mildly upset that I hadn't heard about this novel sooner. The story centers around one of her lesser-known accomplishments: negotiating the first American tour of the French-owned Mona Lisa.  Those who have been lucky enough to...

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/ 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / My plane ticket to Paris is booked and I leave on the first of January. Crazy. In a semi-organized attempt to ask for travel-related products for Christmas, I've compiled a bunch of things I'll need to survive the mean streets of the 16th arrondissement.  1. Every fashion blogger seems to own one of these YSL arty rings and I'll admit...

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Happy Monday, everyone! The days are getting longer {and colder} which only encourages me to hit the snooze button more times than usual in the morning, and to be frank, I'm okay with being a little late to work! This weekend's errands called for some quality time spent at my local Target where I came across this adorable singing sock monkey. I should have taken him home with me, but I'd already gone over-budget on...

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Here's a glimpse into my NYE ensemble. Sequins & leopard & velvet? Oh my! Stay tuned for more... ...

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I've never been good at coming up with a Christmas list, let me rephrase that: I've never been able to stick to a list I come up with--when I see something I love, I buy it. It's a charming quality I inherited from my mother and it means that my friends and family are constantly struggling to keep up with me/my wallet/my closet. As I've grown older, my tastes have matured and have become more,...

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Late night tumblr-browsing led me to this lovely photo. Cold & dark Sunday nights seem to make everything seem dreadful but instead I'll think of Monday mornings as a fresh start. xox, ...

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This what happens when your wisdom teeth turn into dry sockets and you spend your Tuesday night watching skinny-little-somethings walk down the runway of the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Fage yogurt + InStyle + bananas = the breakfast of champions. ...

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I've been getting such encouraging feedback {and making pinterest friends!} since having joined applevintage's Pinteresting link-up, so I've decided to renew it for a few more weeks of wish-list worthy posts. As always, my Pinterest boards tend to be centered around clothes & jewelry-related, what can I say? Those are my iiiiiinterests. As the weather cools down, I'm realizing how unprepared my closet is to stay cute "{and sparkly} for the coming winter months. Cue...

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This one is from the summer, hence the insane tan we're all rocking. And no, we did not coordinate our jewelry: it just happened to work out that way. I'm the arm on the right, wearing a vintage jade bracelet, bronze & rust-colored wrap bracelet from Madewell and my favorite Jet Set watch in horn by the genius Michael Kors. In the fashion vault of history, MK will go down from his 'Jet Set' line of...

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After a five-day weekend of recovering, eating, and shopping, it's finally time to head back to work. Ugh. Here's a quick peek into my life.  Getting all my wisdom teeth out {and snapping secret photos of my x-ray} required some serious grocery shopping at my favorite Whole Foods. Never one to let me down, the store had upped their cute factor since my last visit. Not only had they begun to decorate their Christmas trees...

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As a child of the '90s, I remember fondly watching re-runs of the Muppet show before bed. Miss Piggy was my always favorite, for good reason. Another thing I like? Jason Segel. So naturally, shit hit the fan when my close friend and fellow J.S. enthusiast found his twitter account had a very excited announcement: So after five minutes of high-pitched screaming and hysteria at Moss House, we snagged our tickets online. {It wasn't that easy, but...

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