sip sip.

Let's face it: I have Memorial Day weekend brain. The problem? I still have two work days before the long weekend even begins! {cv} and I will be making our annual Memorial Day weekend pilgrimage with best friends, {ao} and {ch}, out to the beautiful Cape Cod, where a weekend of fun awaits.

One of the many things I love about our stays at {ch}'s Cape house is the time we have to relax and enjoy what we create--be it a fun summer shandy or an authentic lobster roll. Here are a few "sips" {which can be enjoyed with or without alcohol!} that I'd love to try this time around...

{from top to bottom} left column: strawberry basil margarita + watermelon margarita + raspberry beer cocktail 

right column: frozen lemonade with coconut rum + coconut water champagne fruit punch + lime sorbet margarita

Drinks like these are best enjoyed in fun glasses, like the ones in the round-up below! {I truly don't think I'll ever have enough Tervis tumblers!} Once we're finally in that house of ours, you better believe I'll be purchasing a few mason jars and some of these pretties to use with our guests :)

find them here: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8

Don't these just look heavenly? I sure think so! I hope you're also gearing up for a fun round of Memorial Day Friday's Fancies tomorrow! I'm looking forward to some last minute outfit inspiration before we hit the road for the Cape ;) As always, enjoy your Thursday--and I'll see y'all tomorrow!

pretty pretty.

Hello, hello! I noticed a sweet trend on my pinterest lately--a number of colorful popsicles! I don't profess to be the best cook {I'm working on it!}, but I love to bake. Regardless, I've decided I must tackle the perfect popsicle this summer. Not only do they look gorgeous, they would be a definite party pleaser...

{left column: top + bottom | right column: top + middle + bottom}

Here's my question: I know there are legit popsicle makers, but do I really need one of those? Or can I accomplish it with more rudimentary tools like Dixie cups? I want to have pretty pretty popsicles, like the ones in the photos above, without screwing it up ten times to perfect the art ;) Any advice would be very much appreciated, friends. I trust you all for this advice!

Per usual on Thursdays, I am beyond excited for tomorrow's Friday's Fancies. I hope you have your outfits ready for this weekend's festivities, be it a Cinco de Mayo celebration or the Kentucky Derby! If you want to join in, click here to read all about it.

P.S. If you haven't registered for my second Blogger Blitz DC, hop on it--the guest list is just shy of half full in only 24 hours! So excited to see so many wonderful ladies already on the guest list :)

weekend of celebration.

No, it isn't his birthday--but {cv} took an important test yesterday and reached his goal! 

{A big thank you to all of you who sent prayers via twitter!} This may help to explain the radio silence on my end, for which I apologize. We've been having too much fun celebrating this weekend. 

I hope you'll forgive me. 

Gus celebrated with us!

After all that celebration, I crashed hard last night--not because of alcohol but because of exhaustion.  I wasn't even the one who took a four hour test! Talk about embarrassing. {cv} took photo evidence. I didn't know about these photos until this morning. Good times.

In any case, we're jumping on a train to Boston to catch the St. Patrick's Day parade in Southie, which I hear is quite the experience. I promise a return to normal posting tomorrow!

Until then, enjoy your Sunday! I know {cv} and I will be :)

xoxo {av}

sunny sunday.

Hope you enjoyed the guest post from Christine at bun&borough! 

{She's posting today for the Oscars blog crawl too!}

I'm galavanting in New Orleans with my girlfriends today,

so this post will be short and sweet.

{via}

My little American Studies self is sending my love to the presidents 

for the day of respite on the horizon...

I hope you all have a great {and relaxing!} Sunday...get excited for a another 

fabulous guest post from Deanna at Mellow Fever on tomorrow!

xoxo {av}

girls weekend playlist.

So honored to have Christine from bun&borough give us a girls weekend playlist! She has long been one of my favorite bloggers...full of inspiration on my favorite topics, like fashion, running, and life post college!  I don't even want to tell you this {because I want to win!}, but she's having a PHENOM giveaway right now...which you must check out! 

I can't thank Christine enough for this incredible playlist--

or her friendship! She definitely nailed this post!

Enjoy friends! xoxo {av}


P.S. I'm totally overwhelmed by the Friday's Fancies posts! Great job, ladies! 
Don't forget to check out Kristen's Oscars post today!

{via}

Hi everyone! My name is Christine and it's very nice to meet you. When Alison sent me the kindest e-mail last weekend asking me to guest post while she was away in lovely New Orleans with her girlfriends, I just had to say yes! We decided I'd post the Ultimate Girls Weekend Playlist. I can honestly say that my girls and I have rocked out to all of these songs... whether it's in the car with the windows down, on the way to the beach, in the apartment, at the karaoke bar. This playlist reminds me of the past year... celebrating our last semester of college, actually going through the whole bittersweet graduation thing, moving away from home and into the city, beginning jobs, surviving post-grad life, etcetera. There have been so many wonderful memories. I love my girls. I hope you can enjoy these songs with your friends too!

1) Good Life :: One Republic | My favorite song ever. Favorite part? We all got our stories, but please tell me what there is to complain about? Love life!

2) Airplanes :: B.O.B. | Ultimate dance-on-couches, dance-on-coffee-tables kind of song. 

3) Best of What's Around :: Dave Matthews Band | Dave's great. This is my favorite one of his.

4) Teenage Dream :: Katy Perry | If you've read my blog before, you probably know my love/serious obsession with this song. Let's face it: when we meet a special guy, we revert to our teenage selves. Have you seen the music video? It's cute.

5) Looking For a Good Time :: Lady Antebellum | Another feel-good song. Reminds me of summer (hurry here soon, please).

6) Bad Romance :: Lady Gaga | I performed this song at karaoke one time. People told me I "killed it." I'm pretty sure it was heinous. Epic song nonetheless.

7) MMMBop :: Hanson | Everyone's middle school favorite, he he. How amazing would it be if they went on tour again?

8) Everyday America :: Sugarland | Sweet song.

9) Dynamite :: Taio Cruz | If this one doesn't make you want to DP with your friends, I don't know what will!

10) Fearless :: Taylor Swift | Aw, Tay-Tay.

11) Good Girls Go Bad :: Cobra Starship | Pump-up song!

12) Ridin' Solo :: Jason DeRulo | Jason DeRulo: can do no wrong.

13) Shark in the Water :: VV Brown | Feel-good song.

14) We Are Who We Are :: Ke$ha | Dee-jay. Turn it up-up-up-up-up-up-up. My thoughts exactly.

15) Just a Dream :: Nelly | Still obsessed with this song.

Thanks for having me over Alison! 

Come visit my blog, bun&borough, for my weekend playlists! xoxox.

sunshine.

We've finallllllllly made it to Hilton Head, after a rather early morning {read--3:45am wakeup!}. It was so wonderful to finally see my parents again! We haven't seen each other since early August, so I'm going to soak up every minute I can with them over the next few days. Two uncles, two aunts, and two cousins--who we haven't seen since the wedding--will also be in attendance, so we have a lot of catching up to do! 

{cv} and I can't wait to kayak the marshes on the island, ride bikes on the beach, and eat some yummy seafood. {Yes, we live in New England, but I grew up on this South Carolina fare on visits to my grandparents, so I'm partial!} 

Apologies that you won't be hearing much from me until January 2nd...I had grand plans of doing a recap of 2010, but maybe I'll do that early in the new year.  Friday's Fancies will also recommence the first week of January ;)

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina - NYE 2008: Photo by {av}

So, lovelies...enjoy the last few days of 2010 and bring in 2011 with a bang {but safely, of course!}. I can't wait to hear about your new year's resolutions--and share mine with you--when I get back to reality. I promise to take lots of pictures. You all better do the same!

I have a great feeling about 2011. If the last two months of 2010 have been any indication, my fantastic, loving followers will surely bring me lots of smiles and encouragement in the next year. For that, I am beyond grateful.

Much love, {av} 

P.S. Many thanks to Ashley from Run With Me for 

some great new ideas for our visit! :)

girls weekend.

I don't think I have any male followers, except maybe my dad or my husband. That being said, I'm safe to assume my readership is female, so I need your help. I think it's safe to assume that all of you understand the absolutely necessity of some quality time with your closest girlfriends...especially when they live hundreds or thousands of miles away.


Long distance relationships are rough, whether they're with significant others or best friends. Rough in the sense that they're not necessarily easy to maintain, not in the sense that they're not worth the investment! You can't jump on some form of transportation and see them within 30 minutes. You really have to make a concerted effort to keep your friends close--either with email chains, phone calls, or even skype dates.

{Image via weheartit} 

More importantly, there need to be visits! Even though I'm married now, it doesn't diminish just how much I value my time with my girlfriends...and thankfully my husband understands that. He encourages it, in fact. This time is especially important before any of us enter any other stages in life {like when we have children} and can't travel as easily.

All this being said, I'm working feverishly to try to pull together a girls weekend this coming President's Day weekend. And I need your help!

{Image via weheartit}

Here are our puzzle pieces: 

-Four of the five of us are spread across the eastern seaboard, the other is in Nevada. 
-We would ideally go some place warm, since February isn't exactly balmy in the Northeast--or Vegas for that matter.
-The city would need to keep us entertained/occupied from Friday night to Monday morning/afternoon.
-Nashville was our last destination--which was a blast!
-We're not high rollers, though we don't want to shack up in a Motel 6 {no offense...I've stayed in plenty in my day!}
-Nightlife isn't crazy important, but it would be a nice bonus...although nights as depicted in the first photo would be perfectly wonderful for me {in our jammies, hanging out, and laughing}.

Ready.

Set.

Go.

Any and all suggestions are welcome. My friends {and I!} thank you :)

xoxo {av}