Take 3...

So this is what I am going with for now.. I love the extra details on the surround, I may paint over the drawer stripes at some point but for now its adding something extra to the pretty plain room. Not bad for a $10 piece I found on craigslist!

Preppy Perv on a groping spree...

This just happened to pop up on my computer somehow when I was searching on google and I just could not resist sharing with you. 

Check out the whole story here

Ok so now that you have read it let me just go back and ask this, what makes this guy preppy? Did you happen to catch his outfit coming out of the grocery store? Preppy? I should say not, just look at those kicks... However in the story it says that they arrested him wearing khakis and a polo shirt, so I think that is where they are getting the "preppy" monicker from. He looks decent in his suit at court but I think every financier in boston has the same suit and tie. 

What he did is obviously gross and I find it really sad that he has served our country and has now tarnished his reputation with this behavior, but preppy? I think not... 

Campaign Dresser Makeover Part 2

I got a little bored this weekend and decided to try something a little different on the little "campaign dresser" I posted about. I decided to add a little bit of visual interest by adding these gold stripes around the drawers. What do you think? I'm not loving it but then it gave me an idea to possibly add the gold details that are missing for the traditional campaign style? Let me know what you guys think, love it or hate it?

Campaign Furniture

Lately I have been obsessed with interior design. It has always been my passion and I hope someday to turn my love for design and history into a (profitable?) career... Maybe use that $90,000 degree I have. Anyway, so I have really been itching to spruce up my room, yes I live in a rental with two roommates and we have turned our living room into my bedroom, but that doesnt mean we cant make it feel like a home and look fabulous, right? With very little funds I have gradually been trying to do things to switch up the space. I moved all of the furniture around (I'll post pics later) then I moved it around again, then again, then again and I think for now I like how its looking but I wanted to infuse some more style into this small space.
I have fallen in love with campaign furniture and would love to collect a bunch of pieces. I have seen all over the blog world lots of inspiration and lots of bloggers find great campaign pieces on craigslist. So I popped over there to see if I too could score. I found this.

When I spotted those pulls I was in love. I knew with a little cleaning they could gleam. Now as you will see in my after picture this piece does not have the detail pieces as the corners but it does have the holes where they would go... ahh why would someone take these off!  But for only $10 I figured if it is terrible I'll just get rid of it.

I decided to just go ahead and paint it white for now, I was thinking navy because I think it would make the pulls look amazing but I held off because the piece is going by a navy accent wall. So this is how it turned out. I am using it as a TV stand now but liked it as a night stand as well. The drawers are great they are so big! I am thinking I might add a high gloss poly spray to give it a little something extra! 

 

More Preppy Press

Well It looks like the prepsters are getting lots of press lately. Three new additions to the preppy library are slated for release in the coming months. This seems to be the newest addition. Check it out here

More Tag Sale Goodies!

JCrew Beach Cover-up Size M 

This is a medium I would say it fits size 8 possibly 10

$10

Merona Seersucker bermuda shorts size 6 

These are just too small for me now

$10

Merona Seersucker Pants size 6 

Same too small for me now 

$10 

Also relisting this lilypod XS madras shirt 

I would say this will fit a size 2-4 perfectly 

$10

Happy Father's Day

Dads are so special, I will always remember my dad for all the wonderful things he has taught me and for being the best husband and father a family could ask for.
I was so struck my Ted Kennedy Jr's speech at his father funeral that I thought I would share it here. No matter what you might think of teddy, his family loved him and his sons admired him.
 

Are you a preppie, tag sale!

I decided to clean out my closet last night and found so goodies, that I love but just dont fit me so I thought some of you wonderful readers would be interested in them! I have paypal but I am not sure how to set it up on here (if anyone knows, your help would be much appreciated) I will ship everything priority shipping which should be between $5 and $10 and of course I can combine ship. Happy Shopping!

J.Crew Blazer Black with cream trim size 12 

$40 

This is one of my favorite pieces I own. Unfortunately I bought this right before I lost 40 lbs and now it does not fit. 

Lilypod patch madras shirt size XS 

$10

Then there are those pieces that you buy thinking you will be able to fit into them when you do loose weight and that just does not happen. 

Molly B Tie Back Dress Size 6 

SOLD 

I love this dress I am just too chesty to make it actually work. 

please email me at: areyouapreppie@gmail.com with any questions 

Tar-Jay Finds!

Perusing target this weekend, I noticed these two cuties in the Merona Section. The shorts were only $15 and the dress was $40. I think these totally look so much more expensive than they are! (love that!)

Then fueled by the bargain bug headed over to Old Navy, sure that I could find some other basics. I was right, I scooped up these shorts in this color (marked down to $13, then in purple as well)

and since I am always on the look out for some great khaki pants, I also grabbed these up too, I love the color! 

Happy Memorial Day Everyone! 

Drumroll Please...

Hi All!
Sorry it has been over a month since I last posted. This is our really busy season at work so that paired with a bad cold and a fractured toe have kept me from posting.
Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my last post about dying the TJmaxx find. Well this past sunday I took the plunge (or rather the dress did) and this is how it came out...

Sorry for the blurry picture but I was actually pretty amazed that this really worked! However, the dress turned out a bit more of a charcoal color then a navy blue, its sort of a dull black. Then the thread used for the hem at the bottom must be polyester because that did not take any of the dye, and as you can see the lining didnt either. I am wondering if the color is darker then I was hoping because of the base color of the dress. So now I am toying with the idea of either bleaching the whole dress and starting over OR just re dying it to see if it turns out more navy them blackish? I think I might actually follow the directions this time and cut a piece of the seam and try bleaching that and see how the fabric does. I could always just leave the dress as it is too and just live with the color, I havent even tried it on yet so, I might just end up loving it. 

On another note I am so excited that the official start to summer is almost here! The weather has been amazing so far so I am hoping this will be a great summer season of fun and sun at the beach! 

A Daring Feat!

Recently strolling through TJ Maxx I found the most adorable dress. The line is Taylor and they have some really adorable Tory Burch style dresses at about 1/8th of the price. I already have a great dress by the same brand that I bought last summer that I wear all the time and love. So when I saw this one, it was the exact style I was looking for, for a wedding I am going to this summer. HOWEVER, the color is god awful. It looks like a bad couch fabric from the 1970's it really does nothing for me (I'm not into the jaundice look) So, I got to thinking what if I bought the dress then died it to the color I want. It is a jacquard fabric so I think it would take the dye nicely and worst case scenario it was $40... Has anyone ever done something like this? I told my roommates what I was thinking of doing and they said "Just wait till you wear it and it turns your whole body blue" Do you think that could really happen? I mean when we used to do tie dye shirts the dye never come off one us. I am planning on using the Rit Dye Navy Blue. Some websites have suggested bleaching the garment prior to dying but I am thinking, since I am trying to go darker it might be ok not to bleach. Also I hate how bleach makes fabrics feel. So has anyone ever done something like this? I've only ever done it on t-shirts, but I am thinking it might be worth a try, and wouldnt it be so cool if it worked? Fingers crossed it does! Any and all advice is much appreciated. 

Broken Hearted!

The other day I noticed this adorable little girl wearing the cutest flats I have ever seen. I wondered if they were baby ferragamos but, they looked good, but not THAT good. So kinda put it on the back burner thinking I would never figure out what they were. THEN... flipping threw an old copy of In Style the other day I spied a COACH ad that had my lusted after little flats, right there in front of me.
So of course I hopped on the internet thinking I could easily snag them up, but no such luck. Coach no longer has them on their website and ebay only had one pair, not even anywhere near my size. Ohh well, I'll just have to keep dreaming...

Then as the buzz seems to gain momentum on the much anticipated "True Prep" we are finally given a little press in the form of a NYT article on the book. A lovely quote from wonderful Allie @ Summer Is a Verb.  Then Mr. Maxminimus was kind enough to share a little you tube clip about the book. However, I was a bit perturbed to see what the content might actually be including, to me it looks like it is kind of going against everything the original version stood for. Ohh well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

In a Tizzy for Tipsy

So with all the buzz of the new TOPH- True Prep, and the apparent arrival of spring, I am itching to spend the afternoon in an adirondack chair sipping a Bloody Mary and soaking in a view like this.

Of course that is not realistic for me since I will be working all weekend, but a girl can dream, but back to the original topic. So I have been thinking about all of my fav preppy reads lately and realized that my collection is missing one of the cornerstones of prep guides, Tipsy in Madras. As well I was thinking that since my parents own a liquor business it might be a cute gift for them. So I dashed over to amazon to pick up a copy. Wowser, I knew the book was out of print however, I don't ever remember it listed as $60+ especially since the original list price was $14.95, now adjusting for inflation and such, still thats kinda pricey. Man, I should have pounced earlier, I would rather spend that money on actual BOOZE. But I'll have to get my hands on a copy cause I am dying to read it.

Since Miss Tickled Pink and Green has been tantalizing us with her recent home goods tours, I just had to head over to my local one and check out their offerings.

The first thing I spotted was this gorgeous pineapple dispenser. I would love this for a little summer cookout filled with sweet tea. 

With this starfish serving dish for little hors d'oeuvres 

Then they had these adorable nautical pegs, I would love to use these in a beah house bathroom

With the little shelves to match

Also found these little bins that are the same EXACT fabric as the curtains I made for a friend, I had to snag them for her

Then loved this green lacquer box, I dont really need it but I think it would be a nice gift

There are always such great things a homegoods, TJ Maxx & Marshalls that I fantasize about starting a home decor business where you use things almost exclusively from these stores. I remember when I was designing nurseries I always thought it was so absurd that people were spending a fortune for simple things like bins and baskets and little decorative touches when if they just went to a discount store they would find them so much less expensive. Well that was before the recession so I guess it really didnt matter. I still think it would be a fun idea... 

Also wanted to share that I recently received my Lilly agenda, and I LOVE it. It has a great layout and is so colorful it always brightens my day. 

Wake Up Muffy, We're Back!

So time to move on from the somber stuff. I have been itching to write this post since I discovered this new development yesterday! So over a one of my fav blogs Mr. A Tip Down South  hosting a vote on which is better, The Official Preppy Handbook or Take Ivy (Of course, I am urging my readers to head on over an vote for TOPH, not that we want to sway the results, do we?) Now what caught my eye was one of the comments on Mr. Trips blog by Classic Curricular Trad which reads: 

TOPH's Lisa Birnbach is back with "True Prep":

http://knopfdoubleday.com/marketing/bookseller/TruePrepBlad.pdf

Umm what was that? Did I read correctly? Of course I am all over the link like a fat kid at a picnic. It basically is this. Ok so now we have established that this is real and its really gonna happen, on August 10th to be specific, mark the calendar, check! But I'm jonesing for more, so over to trusty google for a search that yields This. Now, that's what Im talkin' bout. An adobe view of the front a back cover as well as some of the goodies on the inside. I am so excited! I have already popped over to Amazon to pre-order my copy, as well as planned to have my copy signed when Ms. Birnbach does her Boston book signing (and a little confession, I've already thought about what I would wear... don't you judge me!)

Hold the ones you love close, even if they are in your closet

I have been a very bad blogger! Work/ life has gotten a little stressful so I haven't had much free time, but its no excuse. This post might is a bit of a downer but I was just talking with my mom and she told me that their neighbor down the streets house was on fire. This is immediately sent chills down my spine.

My senior year of college my friends and I were living pretty good, drinking and partying almost every night having the time of our lives, not really concerned about anything else. Real life was on the horizon but it seemed far enough away that we could enjoy ourselves until it was banging our door down. 

Well we had, a particularly wild weds night which lead into the wee hours of the morning. I awoke for my 8am art history course at about 7:45 on the couch in our living room still wearing the outfit from the night before. So I get up my throat feels as though I spent the night in the sahara dessert and I may well still have been intoxicated. I wearily went into my room and grabbed the first thing I found to wear to class, this ended up being a pair of black sweatpants (the only sweatpants I owned, but at least the relatively nice gap ones) and a navy blue sweatshirt with our college insignia, which to this day I still have no idea where it came from cause it was not mine. Now, just so you know our school was not the, roll out of bed in your PJs and go to class type of campus. We used to joke that when we went to breakfast in the morning it was like going to a fashion show. However, it was 8am and nobody I knew was up as this ungodly hour as only freshman usually had 8am class. So I figured I could get away with it and I would go home sleep it off and get properly dressed from my next class at noon. 

So I suffer through my class and hurry back home, ready for a mid morning nap. 

I walked in the house and my roommate was awake, which was completely out of the norm. Her first class of the day was at noon so there was certainly no need to be up a 9am especially considering the night we had. As was normal for us we start into a convo about the night before laughing hilariously about how I ended up on the couch (that's a story for another day).  As we are talking, the fire alarm in our apartment goes off, now our school is notorious for fire safety and we were constantly having fire drills (like at 3am, not fun) so considering my state and the fact that it had started snowing out I told my roommate I was not going to stand out there and wait for the firemen to come and tell us it was just a drill. She says, no she is going to go, so I figure ok well if they come in here I dont want to be the only one here and get in trouble for not going out for the drill. So I walk into my room to grab my jacket. 

As I walk into my room the door to our bathroom is open and black smoke is pouring out of it. I scream "Oh My GOD!" and my roommate comes running over and says what the hell is going on? My first though was, oh no somebody left their hair straightener on and we are going to get in so much trouble cause it caused a fire. Then I walked to the doorway and noticed that the smoke was coming from the shower. I wondered why would the shower be on fire? So I whip around and as I do I glance at my desk that has my computer, my wallet and my cell phone on it and I remember thinking I don't need to grab them the firemen will be here any minute and they'll put the fire out. So I keep walking and am still wondering why the shower would be on fire. So I walk into the kitchen and there is a door that connects to the back of our apartment leading out to the garage so for some reason I opened it and saw that the wall connecting to our apartment was on fire and that there were wires sticking out of the wall. I yelled to my roommate oh my god its in the garage, then I remembered that there was a fire extinguisher in the house somewhere so I am running around screaming "where is the fire extinguisher, where is the fire extinguisher?" Then as I am looking in the kitchen for it, the boy that lives next door to us comes in and says "Girls you gotta get out this is for real" I said " I know its in the wall." 

I remember running to the front door and passing my roommate who had her cell phone in her hand and was running in to grab her bag I said " Call 911" I run out the front door but somehow when I got to the driveway she was in font of my and my back was to the housed and as I looked at her face she had a look of pure terror and started screaming, I turned around as a huge fireball ripped through our apartment and engulfed everything in flames. 

That's when I lost it and began screaming "where is the (expletive) fire department?" The kids that lived upstairs from us came running out and everyone was asking if there were anymore people inside. We all assured everyone that there was nobody left in our apartments. Then the fire department arrived and ran to the front of our apartment. I started yelling to them "Its in the garage, its in the garage" Then run to the outside door that connects to the garage and as the fireman opens the door there is a huge explosion and something comes flying through the roof (we came to find out it was the heater for the building, and that when he opened the door it created a back draft) 

I dont know how long I stood there for but I was frozen in my spot I could not move I just watched as the flames grew and ripped through the building, they always say you never know how powerful a fire can be and that day I understood.  It quickly became very clear this fire was completely out of control. The firemen were yelling that they needed to call all the fire departments in the area and that everyone needed to get out of all the surrounding buildings. One of the firemen walked up to me (I later was told he was the chief) and he said "you have to get out of here this is really bad and the building will come down any minute" I looked right in front of me and realized the only thing I had left was my beloved Land Rover Discovery, Nigel. 

I said to him, please can you save my car, he said we are trying but its gonna be hard, you gotta get out of here though. So I walked up the hill and found that everyone who lived in our building (which was an old carriage house) was there and the scene was overwhelmingly heartbreaking. Everyone was crying, and completely devastated. I burst into tears because right at that moment I realized everything was gone, all I had were the clothes on my back. I crumbled, I asked my roommate if I could use her cell phone, and walked outside to call my parents. Its was only like 6:30am in california and I didnt want to scare them but I left a message hysterically crying that said " I'm ok but our house is burning down" My dad called me right back and said "Everything will be ok, as long as you are ok and everyone is out, its all replaceable" I was sobbing "But daddy they said the house is going to fall down and Nigel is parked right in the front, it was destroy it" he said " None of that matters, its just a car there are more out there, it will be fine" I said " I know daddy but, you know how much I love Nigel, and right now he is the only think I have left" (as you can tell I was totally obsessed with this car) he said " Don't worry about it, you are ok and your friends are ok, that's all that matters." I said "You're right, I love you. thank you" just then all our friends who lived off campus were walking up the porch and they hugged me and said "We cant believe this happened to you" I was numb I didnt know what to say, my knees went weak and I just sat on the steps and cried.  

Then the fireman from earlier walked up and said " I heard you saw the fire" I said "Yes, its in the wall" He had a blueprint of the house and said "show me where, its a mess in there and we can't make out where anything is" I looked at the blueprint and because I was an architectural history major I had studied tons of these in class and I said to him "This is wrong, it doesn't show the hallway where the wall is" so from there I spent some time talking with the firefighters and explaining to them how the house was layed out. Then the same firefighter came back and said "I'm gonna get your car for you but we can't break the window and put it into gear because Land Rovers, wont let you do that" He said "Do you know where the keys to the car are" I said "They are on the coffee table right as you walk into the apartment, but dont go, its too dangerous." He said "Don't worry, if its, that close to the door they might be able to get it" 

At this point I was just standing on the hill watching the house burn in the snow, I remember looking around as pretty much the whole school was out there watching this unfold. I remember thinking, I just want to go home, I just want to go to bed. But I didnt have a home anymore, I didn't have a bed, right now all I had was the clothes on my back. I walked back into the house and said to my roommates, we gotta get out of here, I can't take it anymore. Our friends that were their said "We'll take you to our house, you guys can relax and calm down" So we went and calls were pouring in and people were coming over to comfort us. I will never forget though, one of my good friends coming over to the house and grabbing me in a big hug and saying "Oh my god, all your beautiful clothes, you loved your clothes." Its hit me, my clothes, my identity, gone. 

Now, in hindsight I know that I am not my clothes and they don't make me who I  am, but I was known for being the preppy girl. That's how people would describe me, "Do you know TWA?" "I'm not sure what does she look like?" "Oh she is the super preppy girl, collar always popped." "Ahh yes, I know exactly who that is" Literally, that is how I was described. And I had worked so hard to find some of my really unique things, and some of them had been passed down to me or given to me a extravagant presents, they were part of me. 

That night though when I went to bed, I hugged my roommate/ best friend and said "I'm glad you're still here" she said "Me too, we hurt now but its just stuff, we'll get through it, and we have each other" There is nothing I wouldn't give in order to make sure we are all ok, and if that was the price we had to pay to make sure we all made it out safe, it was a small price to pay. 

This is the front of the house, the entire first floor was our apartment

This was our front door 

This was our living room, you cant even tell that there was a TV, couch and table there. The room in front of it was BRL's where we were sitting when the alarm went off. The entire second floor collapsed into it. 

This was the kitchen, you can see that the door to the garage is still open from when I went into the garage, the wall behind it is where the fire started. 

I literally lost everything I owned that day. All my clothes, all my pictures, all my work from college, my birth certificate all my baby pictures, everything. My parents had just decided that they were moving to South Carolina and wanted me to hold onto all my important stuff so it didnt get lost in the move. 

So much for that.

However, remember how that firefighter told me he would get my car out for me. He went into the fire and hacked my car keys off the coffee table with his Ax. So I did get Nigel back, which in the end is a pretty happy ending. 

I will be sure to return back to more fun posts, tomorrow. 

Olymipc Gold- Sartorial Edition

The olympics have finally completed and while I must say I didnt watch much of it, I did follow a few of the stories. I also happened to catch the men's hockey gold medal game yesterday, just as they went into overtime. Now, if the men's canadian hockey team didnt beat the americans on home ice, I dont think they would have been allowed back home, so well done boys.

Now onto more important matters. I must say, I know the world is all a tizzy in how "cool" the USA snowboard teams "anti" uniform was. I personally am horrified. I know that snowboarders are alternative and not the suit donning crowd, but really JEANS for the olympics. We all know my feelings on jeans and while I am sure the competitors loved them, I'm gonna say I was not a fan. What I will give Burton big props on though is the fact that they were able to make the gore-tex jeans, look exactly like real jeans. How about gore-tex GTH pants? I am envisioning little red white and blue USA with the olympic rings on navy pants? Now thats an olympic uniform I can get behind.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
America's Olympic Wins - Lindsey Vonn
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Skate Expectations

Now while Mr. Colbert is not an olympic competitor (or even an assistant sports psychologist) This funny man was stylin' in his Ralph Lauren olympic duds. I especially love the shawl collar cardigan that he wears in his nightly review. I love that Ralph designs for the olympics and I must say, we americans are lookin ' pretty damn good!
USA, USA, USA!

I'm Back!

Well, back from cali. It was so wonderful to see my mummy and my little brother (at over 6ft and 250lbs, not so little anymore). I was lucky enough to make it out weds morn (before the big huge snow storm that was coming.....) and totally stoked that I got a direct flight to SFO. The trip overall was kinda uneventful, it was cool to see our old house and downtown Lost Gatos but more then anything it was kinda depressing. I dont think I'll be going back anytime soon. Anyways, one of my absolute favorite, favorite, favorite things about traveling is that it gives me a block of time when I can just sit back relax and READ. Reading is a guilty pleasure that never gets old. My grandmother instilled in me a love of reading that is like a gift of gold. One of my life goals is to spend a whole summer on the beach, just reading away, just the thought of it sends a wave of excitement through me. So I cherish these rare times when I get to really delve into my reading list full throttle. On this trip I read...

Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan (not the kindle edition, as I hate the idea of the kindle, except for the prolific traveller in which it is a great necessity. Otherwise, it is for the birds, in my humble opinion) 

This story started off a little slow, but I was intrigued by the characters (one is described as a lilly pulitzer wearing southern bell) however, the all girls college lesbian, feminism stuff was a little too much for me. I keep on with it though because I loved that it was written with the point of view of all four girls, so just when you were getting immersed with one, the chapter ended and you were on to the next. THEN it gets REALLY good and you just dont want to put it down. A very strong finish and in turn an awesome read. 

Next up, was Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner (the old fashioned hardcover edition) Now this book was much like so many of the "chick lit" books I have read before but for some reason that even now I dont understand I kept reading it, it was a pretty quick read so I just kept going. Nothing fabulous but it was ok. 

Then I started on a wonderful book that I have had on my list for a long time and was so excited to receive this x-mas from fellow blogger and prep extraordinaire (check out her blog Social Climbers) This book is simply a hilarious and fun read. The main character "Elizabeth" is full of vim and vigor and a sharp wit. I can't wait to finish it. 

Preppy Porn

I believe it was The Trad that coined the phrase, but it certainly applies here. First of all Lax Bro is completely hilarious, secondly that kid is devastatingly handsome! The last video I originally saw on A Duck Gets Dressed and 
rolled on the floor laughing. I wonder if Frank Lapacone is still available? Just Kidding...

Goin' Back To Cali...

So I dont know if I've put it out there but I grew up in Northern CA. I say grew up because I was born in upstate New York and lived there until I was 5 then my dad got a big IBM promotion and we moved to silicone valley. Needless to say I absolutely hated living there, Im not a cali girl whatsoever and to make it worse I went to public school, which first of all the education sucks, the kids are terrifying and they are not on the track to get kids to go to anything more than community college.
I remember coming home from my first day of kindergarten and telling my mom "These kids dont even know where New York is..." So that is why I hightailed it to the east coast the moment I graduated from high school and have remained there every since. My parents dragged me home kicking and screaming every christmas break and by the end of the 6 weeks I felt like I was going to die. However, my little bro (lucky enough to have an amazing private school education... he's a genius so the public school could not handle him) is graduating from college on weds. He told me he will never speak to me again if I do not attend. So for the first time in 5 yrs I am making the trek back. Its a short 3 day trip but will include lots of travel between San Fran and Los Gatos and some other godforsaken town I have never heard of. The one thing I am excited about is going to the fast food places that we dont have on the atlantic seaboard. First stop...

Jamba Juice, while a healthier choice then the others, this place has the most AMAZING smoothies! I used to live on these in high school and I have been dying for one lately. (Ohh P.S. when I googled jamba juice it came up that there is one on comm ave in Boston. I'll still be going to the one in Lost Gatos but now I know I can get them right here at home) 

Now this is sure to derail any hopes of avoiding weight gain while on this trip but I have not been to a jack in the box in a hella (cali slang word, only used by the nor cal bros) long time so I am excited to get one (hopefully only one) of their awesome (grease laden) tacos and some of the best curly fries I have ever encountered. My friends and I used to spend every fri night hanging out outside of the JITB so its a sentimental stop too. 

Then for some of the most awesome pizza ever Pizza My Heart is a must stop. 

Baby bro also works there so got show them a little support. 

Then the be all end all has to be in-n-out burger. This place is heaven on earth. I would never touch another fast food burger other then these little masterpieces. They have a HUGE following so much so that it is to be expected to wait up to an hour or more to get your order since this place is always jam packed and time of day. I cannot wait! 

I am glad to report that chipotle has finally made its way (most conveniently 5 mins from my house) to the east coast so I no longer have to make sure that it is waiting for me at home when I arrive from the airport in cali. 

Austin Jeffers

One of my absolute favorite parts of my job is that I get to custom design all of the Eliza B flip flops, headbands, belts & keychains that we carry in the store. There are probably 1,000 ribbon and hundreds of fabric choices. I have a huge binder that I love flipping through, coming up with new combinations for each season. Sometimes I cheat a little bit and use the Eliza B website for inspiration or to see if there are any new fabric or ribbon choices. So last week as I was browsing through I noticed that they had a new line (Eliza B is part of the original Leather Man company) called Austin Jeffers which is a line of mens (could work for women as well) leather belts. They have some great styles here.... 

The very popular hoof pick belt

The winchester belt ( I must get this for Dad!) 

They also have a selection of needlepoint belts (retailing at $150) 

nothing overly creative but cool. 

Bean Boots & Life Lessons

The illustrious Bean Boot will always call to mind one of my greatest childhood memories. I was the type of kid that once I decided I wanted to do something (riding a bike, learning to read, rollerblading) I took it on full speed, which undoubtedly ended in heaps of frustration and loads of band-aids. I remember one day getting ready for school and waiting for my mom to tie my shoes, however she was preoccupied with the little hellion know as my younger brother, having an epic fit. Right then and there I decided that having your “mommy” tie your shoes was for babies, and I was no baby. So I rounded up all the shoes in the house and set to the task of trying to tie them. Well I quickly came to find that tying ones shoes is one of those many things in life that when you see someone else doing it, it looks like a piece of cake, but once its in your hands… not so much. I am also left-handed which complicates things further when right-handed people try to teach you how to do something.

 This whole thing really started to tick me off and I started throwing the shoes down the stairs (mom not so keen on that). I went off to my room (by choice of course, not because I was told too) and while I was sitting on my bed, I was so disappointed that I could not tie my shoes, that it was just tearing me up inside. Then, it came to me I would ask the solver of all problems, the fixer of all things broken, the teacher of all essential life skills… my dad.

As soon as daddy came through the door that night I begged him to teach me how to tie my shoes. With perfect patience he sat down on the stairs with me and slipped off his bean boots. I took one and he the other and we sat there as he showed me over and over again how to make the loop, tie it around and pull it through. Every once in a while he would slip in one of his favorite little remarks “ Look I can do it and I’m not even left handed” Thanks dad, you’re hilarious (Not). What I came to later realize was that the bean boot was the key to the whole lesson (which of course he knew) because the laces on them are thinner and they are that wonderful strong woven material so they were much easier for my little hands to manipulate, then simply pull to untie and restart the process. I spent hours sitting on the steps with those boots tying and untying them, then when I perfected it, I demanded that dad let me tie his boots for him every time he put them on.

Bean boots will always remind me of my dad, the consummate outdoorsman, they will always flood me with the feeling of love for him and of all the many things he taught me to do. As I write this I am wearing my bean boots, and even though they don’t have Thinsulate or Gore-Tex and they are a smidge too big, I will always love them because dad sent them to me. In his mind there is no other winter boot worth buying. My first winter in New England on the morning of the first snow storm I opened a package from LL Bean and there they were with a note “Hopefully you still know how to tie these- Love Dad”