blue ribbon beauties.

{shop the blue ribbon beauties: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7}

{county fair image source}

Back home in Indiana, the last Wednesday of July always falls during the county fair. 

For most of you city folk, the county fair is just a place to people watch and eat fried food. 

{I will admit that I definitely partake in both when I attend, don't worry.} For me, 

the county fair represents a little slice of Americana that will forever be a part of me. 

Why you ask? I participated in 4H for 12 years! The fair was the big "shindig' where we 

showed off all the hard work we put into our projects any given summer. I did a lot of 

projects which sound goofy in retrospect {hello gift wrapping!}, but I will say that many of 

the skills I learned in 4H are still with me today. Not only did I learn how to manage my time, 

I discovered my passion for photography, design, and creative writing and really cultivated my

craftiness. It may sound like something country bumpkins do, but 4H really is pretty fabulous :)

{little old me posing with my photography project in my pre-{av} days at my final state fair as a 4Her in 2004}

Today's post was most definitely inspired by the blue ribbons being handed out back 

in Jackson County, Indiana this week :) {and you know I love that rich cobalt hue!}

So...tell me:

Which of those blue ribbon beauties is your favorite?

What experience from your youth helped shape you?

Have a fantastic Wednesday! xoxo {av}

P.S. Endless thanks to those of you who have entered the lovely bfrend giveaway! 

Don't forget you can up your chances by creating a Friday's Fancies post this week :)

P.P.S. If you're in New England and you're not signed up for rendez-vous: new england,

you better get registered! Lots of fabulous ladies are already on the list!

nyc, part two.

We've made it to Wednesday, which also means Christmas is three short days away! I have to say, your overwhelming response to yesterday's post blew my mind. A few of you asked what camera I used...and I have to admit: it was Hipstamatic app from my iPhone. I've been lusting over a Nikon D90 for months now, though I've been wanting a DSLR for years. Until then, I make due with what I have ;)

So, I won't withhold the second batch of photos from you any longer...

From the Union Square Holiday Market, {ch} and I continued the walk south toward her apartment in SoHo. We found our way onto Mercer Street, where we made a few stops--the first of which was at Nespresso. The husband may have been back in Rhode Island, but I knew one way to bring the pleasures of NYC back to him...by picking up a few more Nespresso capsules for his Nespresso Cube.

Nespresso could be compared to the coffee lover's candy store. The colorful capsules line the walls, making even the non-coffee drinker, like me, reconsider my dislike ever so slightly. Though the machines may not be in everyone's budget, the capsules of goodness cost $5 for a sleeve of ten, which is much more reasonable than the boxes of K Cups you find at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Those little capsules definitely pack a punch! 

The other treat at Nespresso were the holiday displays by Manish Arora, which packed their own sparkly punch. I've never seen so many sequins in all the right places!

 

From reading many of your blogs, I'm sure all of you will appreciate our next stop...the ever fabulous Kate Spade. The next photo now graces the "lock screen" of my iPhone. I love it--almost as much as I love Kate Spade.

I've been in many a Kate Spade stores in my day, but something was downright dreamy about this particular store. Maybe it was the extra dose of holiday sparkle {see a theme here?}, but our 15 minutes in Kate Spade brought so many smiles to my face. 

First, I ran into a bag I featured in one of my first posts: the head in the sand Melinda in a fabulous cobalt blue. I had yet to see it in person--and Kate did not disappoint. The embossed texture and the vibrant color were enough to continue my dream of owning this bag... 

In the last 6 weeks, I cannot count the number of times I've encountered these dazzlers in the blogosphere....they're definitely gorgeous in person.

I also spotted a few of the "Book of the Month" clutches, as spotted by Deanna over at Mellow Fever. Though I didn't spot The Great Gatsby, I did spot these two great reads!

After our time in Kate Spade heaven, {ch} and I hopped on over to her apartment and changed before meeting {ah} at Morandi, another tasty spot in the West Village. Morandi is a cozy Italian "trattoria" with a good dose of charm. We noshed on some yummy Burrata e pachini {burrata cheese with vine-ripened cherry tomatoes..with just the right amount of balsamic on the side} and sipped a great Italian red.

Dinner was even better...I had the pasta special--triangular penne with white wine, roasted garlic, rock shrimp, and a number of other yummy ingredients. Let's just say that I very rarely finish a plate of pasta--but I managed to eat every last morsel. {ch} and {ah} also enjoyed their entrees down to the last bite. To cap off the meal, I ordered a two scoops of sorbet: one of coconut and another of concord grape. All in all, Morandi was the perfect spot for us to continue our impromtu girls' weekend.

Though I don't have any photos from later in the night, we hopped from the West Village to the Lower East Side to check out the Hotel on Rivington, where we met up with one of my dearest high school friends, {hp} and a few of her closest college friends. The bar scene was exactly what you'd imagine in a swanky NYC hotspot. It was so fun to catch up and enjoy the scenery too! We called it a night after a fantastic evening and headed back toward SoHo to catch a few winks.

The next morning, {ch}, {ah}, and I continued the fun at The Standard Grill in the Meatpacking District. The restaurant is attached to the Standard Hotel, which is right on the highline.

The fun, clean atmosphere served as the perfect brunch spot. Each table had a different set of these magnetic doggie salt and pepper shakers. Funny enough, the menu even offered The Standard's patrons the opportunity to walk their dogs, Salt and Pepper, for $25. Not such a cheap thrill, but we all thought it was rather hilarious.

As a fun side story, {ch} and I sat down before {ah} arrived and I saw the cutest little family at a closeby table. A few minutes later, I started putting the pieces together and realized Philip Seymour Hoffman was sitting with his back to me at that same table with his wife and three children. Thanks to IMDB, I confirmed it! Though we didn't say hello, it was great to have a celebrity sighting ;)

I loved The Standard's menus, which mimicked a newspaper and I also adored my Nutella waffles. I continued the trend from the night before and finished every last bite. 

After brunch, we decided to schlep my suitcase up on the highline--and I'm so glad we did. The views were fantastic and, for a few minutes, I didn't really feel like we were in NYC. I snapped this fun shot below of the DVF space in Meatpacking--with a little glimpse of the Empire State Building in the background.

Following our little jaunt on the highline, I reluctantly said goodbye to {ch} and {ah} so I could make the short walk up to the bus stop. Struggling with my gloves and suitcase, I may or may not have put my iPhone in my mouth for a second--and without knowing it, clouded the camera lens before I snapped this shot. I thought the results were still kind of dreamy.

I passed my 40-hour NYC threshold by a few hours, but my short weekend in the city was just what I needed. The time I spend with my girlfriends is so important to me--and we just don't get enough of it. I'm really looking forward to our girls weekend in February.

I hope my second installment from NYC did not disappoint! I haven't said it enough lately, but your comments and blog love have made the last six weeks so rewarding for me. 

I can't wait to see where the future takes us... 

thank you all so, so much!

More tomorrow! xoxo {av}

friday's fancies #5.

I'm pretty ecstatic it's Friday for a few reasons. First off, I'm hopping on a bus bound for NYC in four hours for a spontaneous weekend with a few of my best girl friends...which is totally needed after a long week. {Yay for girls weekends!} Secondly, my end-of-year vacation begins today :) 


Today's edition of Friday's Fancies must obviously be for a girls night out in NYC...since that's where I'll be in a few short hours. Being from the Midwest, I sometimes feel like a fish out of water when I'm in the City, but below is my attempt at channeling my inner "city girl."

{all images are screenshots from the sites linked below}

1) Ok. I love Vince. I have for years and years, and when I saw this Sequin Crop Silk Tee, I wasn't surprised in the slightest it was made by Vince. It may be from their yet-to-be-shipped resort collection, but who cares?! A girl can dream, right? It's sparkly, fun, and feminine!

2) These $29.50 stunners are from Banana Republic...and, coincidentally, are one of the gifts I gave each of my bridesmaids this past April. I love their vintage feel--but also their price tag.

3) I know for certain this Fendi Belted Peplum Leather Jacket will never hang in my closet. Its pricetag is almost equivalent to a college credit at my alma mater, but it is that fierce, but still girly, leather jacket I've always had my eye on...especially for walking the streets of NYC.

4) I'm a diehard fan of Citizens of Humanity. These Thompson High Rise Skinny Jeans are seriously calling my name and would be perfect for a night out on the town.

5) A little Tory Burch never hurt anyone. I especially love these Tumbled Leather Elle Boots because of their equestrian flair and unexpected shape at the top of the calf. I think they'd be killer with these dark jeans too. 

6) If you've been following my blog for a little while now, you may have discovered my love of cobalt blue. If you're newer to my blog {yay!}, you'll now understand that this MARC by Marc Jacobs Crossbody Bag adds the perfect finishing touch on this "girls night out"fit. In my opinion, that little pop of cobalt rocks.

Thank you again for all the blog love this week...it means more to me than you'll ever know! Seriously.

Happy Weekend!

xoxo {av}

not your average Tuesday.

Today was not a typical Tuesday in my world. I have a load of vacation days to use up before the end of the year, so I took today as a vacation day to prep our Thanksgiving menu, grocery shop, and relax. I had a great run this morning in the 60-degree sunshine, which is totally uncharacteristic of Rhode Island in late November. I even managed to find these very specific "boudoir" cookies at Tony's Colonial Food on Federal Hill to use in my Thanksgiving trifle.

All these little successes aside, I got an email today at 3:23pm that made me smile from ear-to-ear: our wedding is currently the "Real Wedding" on The Bride's Guide on Martha Stewart Weddings. It had been in the works since June, so my jaw dropped when I saw the email that it was finally live.

I even took a screen shot of the homepage to capture our names on the Martha homepage for posterity:

Screenshot of MarthaStewartWeddings.com

When you click the link, here's the first shot you see:

Screenshot of MarthaStewartWeddings.com

After {literally} years of hard work in planning, it is nice to show the world how our wedding day transpired. My husband is truly a saint for putting up with my endless eBay searching, brainstorming, and general craziness. I am so happy that all of my wonderful vendors got some credit where credit is definitely due.

I am ecstatic.  This was certainly not your average Tuesday!  I can't wait to talk more about the wedding...but for now, I'll let the brains at Martha do the talking. See our Real Wedding here!


P.S. This is proof positive that you can make long-distance relationships work :)

have courage.

As I'm sure other posts in this blog will reveal, I die for anything that is cobalt blue. I love cobalt blue so much that it was one of our wedding colors.  I happened upon this small piece of perfection from Kate Spade in this month's Marie Claire.

With a price tag of $425, it is $265 less than another {albeit somewhat cliche} bag on my long-time wishlist.  I cannot help but love finer details, which you can see here:

Have courage?! I really need it right now! Alas, I'll have to continue admiring this gem from afar.  Unless, of course, my hard-working hubby decides to gift it to me this Christmas.  I have a feeling that I should just keep dreaming ;)

[images from katespade.com]