Citrus Summer Soiree, oh my!

Summer is here and in perfect timing for my sister's bridal shower. There is nothing I love more than a summer garden party. Pulling out the sundress, some espadrilles, a little mint lemonade, sounds good to me! Here is some eye candy, my favorite summer soiree inspiration right now.  I can't stop dreaming about citrus, a colorful compliment to the fresh, green garden party. More summer event inspiration here and here.

Will be sharing the shower invites this week I created, and a little guide of how to make them :) 

weekend warriors

Working for that weekend!

 Nothing better than a well-deserved, Saturday.

Do you know the feeling? We hung out in LA this weekend. Saturday morning, I met my mom and sisters downtown in the fabric district to check off some of my sister's wedding to-do list. After a brunch at Bottega Louie (pretty much impossible to head downtown without a Louie stop), we then just hung out in Redondo, had friends over, and laid low with the perfect June weather. Can't beat it!

June, Gloom?

I'm not feeling the June gloom over here!  Bring on the florals and sunny pops.

 I'm loving this fresh, summer look for June.

take me to toronto

Hey there, TO!

Distillery District (newly dubbed as one of my favorite spots in the city).

Just in time for the green to spring.

Venue Scouting. Toronto had so many cool spaces to choose from. A city that whole-heartedly loves and appreciates great design (my kind of place)! 

Scarpetta for dinner at the Thompson Hotel. Homemade spaghetti, bring it on. 

Can't leave a city before getting my beautiful house-hunting fix. Toronto, I was impressed. Look at these dreamy old-brick homes! A girl can dream.

 48 hours in Toronto. Take me there! Canada has always been such a mystery to me, I have been once before when I was working for Guess? Inc. and we sponsored the Toronto Film Festival. Although, I was working the entire time and more entranced with the film culture and all that was happening in the midst of the festival. This time, I was able to see Toronto's back roads. My kind of travel, finding the gems, hidden spots and going a bit off the beaten track.

I rented a car, and one of our PR representatives from NY came with me to scout locations for a launch party we are throwing in July. We had a few recommendations here and there, but we really did our own research and cruised around by exploring the city to find the perfect place. We wanted not only the space to be right, but the neighborhood, the feeling, and the overall vibe to catch the essence of our message and of course the brand. The trip was a success, in fact we were blown away at all the incredible spaces the city had to offer. Like I said, a city that really values design and authenticity. Between location hunting and several editor appointments, we managed to get lost in a few beautiful local neighborhoods. Rosedale was one. Geeze, I'm still swooning over those charming brick homes and mile long yards. I could honestly go all day.

We couldn't leave Toronto, without an early morning trip to check out Niagara. I mean, you cant go to Ontario and not see that monstrous beauty. Wow! More on the stunning and horrifying falls in my next post...

Hope your weekend was lovely. Welcome to June!

 xo

I have got the fever

The peony fever!

The month of May gets me every time. Especially at Trader Joe's when you can get a bouquet of them for $6.99. I'm on my third batch, soaking up this last week of May in peony heaven.

Girlfriend Weekend - Los Angeles

It's a long over due post, in fact I have a couple post back logged that I'm ready to share this week. First things first, girlfriend weekend. Our 3rd annual college girlfriends get-together happened last weekend. I had the honor of hosting this year's at our place in LA. It really was too hard to show them all my favorite spots in one weekend, yet we tried to jam as much in as possible. 

Below is a little bit of the ground we covered...

Our first night all together, we headed to Gjelina in Venice for our opening ceremonies to the weekend

Malibu Country Mart - Cafe Habana for Lunch (one of my favorites from living in New York) It's all about the cuban corn!

Waited out the traffic to head downtown to Bottega Louie for a late breakfast. Munching on colorful macarons and sweet beignets

Brentwood Country Mart - Of course had to show them Sugar Paper

The Eveleigh in West Hollywood for dinner, a secret garden in the middle of sunset avenue. Charming outdoor patio with farm fresh food. 

Sprinkles Ice-cream in Beverly Hills

Stacie and Nicole's families came to meet them in California at the end of weekend, to prolong their stay and head to Disneyland, of course. 

Sunday in Manhattan Beach. The girls grabbed dinner at MB Post, while I caught up at home with Joel. Such a trooper, clearing out the house for 7 girls. Leaving one bathroom, he didn't seem to hesitate to crash elsewhere :) 

I love how playing tour guide makes you see your own city with new eyes, and has you appreciating where you live. Sometimes I get into these moods where I really miss New York. Although, I just need a weekend like this one to remember how exceptional my town is, all it has to offer. (Despite the hours of traffic on end) I love that Los Angeles, has a neighborhood for everyone. Different pockets of flavor. Whether you are heading the beach in Malibu, flea market in pasadena, concert downtown, bike ride in venice, dinner in santa monica. It's a city you can get it all, including unreal weather (that we take for granted).  So when you're college bests come to town, its really the icing on the cake. 

Hawaii: Family

Can we do a rewind? Heaven on earth. One of my favorite seaside spots. The perfect place to shut off work, and just play in paradise. Hawaii is this never never land that just makes you feel like a kid again. No where to be, just hopping on mo-peds and jumping off cliffs. 

It was so nice to help us mainlanders get out of the routine and grind, and get some sun pumped into us and live the laid-back life (even for a week). Much needed, for everyone. We did plenty of beach and pool lounging, and also hit up some of the iconic Oahu spots; Waimea (jumped the rock at dusk), mo-peds to Lanikai, sushi in Waikiki, pool time at the Royal Hawaiian, surfing the North shore, kayaking at Halewai (pet dozens of sea turtles) hiked to Maunawili Falls, shave ice from Matsumato's and picked up dozens of Portuguese donuts from Leonard's. Maholooo!

So, it's a really monumental time in my family's dynamic. There are no babies or kids yet, and we are all pretty much adults now. Between 5 kids, spaced 15 years apart, it's a pretty big deal that my parents have actually planned activities that everyone finally agrees on. I am so happy Joel has joined the crazy, loud and opinionated pack and fits right in. He really is the perfect addition, spontaneous enough to keep up and easy-going enough to go with the flow. I'm so lucky to have him. I love that our family is starting to grow, with Joel, Riley now being engaged and Shannon bringing in her boyfriend. Our 7 quickly turned to 10...fast! I say bring it on, the more the merrier!