Dinner + Friends

My friends Persis and Ryan just moved into the cutest apartment this month and last night they invited me over for dinner. Ryan made an awesome crab salad (way better than your boring ol' tuna), Persis roasted potatoes and I brought the wine. I love doing dinners with friends on weeknights, makes the week go by so much faster.

Congrats on the beautiful new space, guys! xo.

Tuesday Daydreaming

Photo via Johan + Francoise.

This is where I want to be right now.

Man About Town

My roommate just introduced me to this little video for the men's lifestyle site, Man About Town and I'm totally smitten. It features the Spanish freestyle skater, Kilian Martin (dreamboat!), music by Ricky Nelson and the creative art direction of Atelier Franck Durand. And after seeing it, all I can say is, I wish all skate videos looked this good.

This weekend...

We celebrated our Mom on the sunny roof deck with baked eggs, turkey bacon + french toast...

And lounged around the house with Willow. :) How was your weekend? Happy Monday! xo

Have a Dreamy Weekend!

Photo via The Kitchn.

Alright, I know you must still be recuperating from celebrating Cinco de Mayo last night, but don't forget it's Kentucky Derby weekend and Mother's Day! We probably won't be doing anything for the Derby, but we are definitely celebrating our mama on Sunday. Once again, we'll head over to Claudia and Alex's amazing rooftop for a delicious all-day feast. Because my mom loves arugula so much, I think I'll make this yummy looking strawberry-arugula salad with ricotta. Doesn't it look refreshing and tasty!

And now, some fun links for your weekend.

More excellent Mother's Day brunch recipes.

Great Mother's Day gift ideas.

Cute whale prints.

Seal meets girl and falls in love.

If you're in NY this weekend, check this out!

Most adorable little lovebirds.

See? I am not the only one into funky nail art.

This is a video I worked on some time ago for the very cool band, Bottle Up & Go.

And in case you missed it, Karina's video for Alexandra Grecco.

Happy Mother's Day to all the lovely mothers out there! Enjoy your weekend. ♥

Good morning, Sunshine...

(via Aubrey Road)

(Ms. Willow finally goes to sleep)

I'm slightly sleep-deprived this morning so thought I'd say hello in my haze. This weekend Alex + I are dog sitting for some dear friends of ours. But the poor doggie, Willow, was missing her parents so much last night that she stayed up whimpering, keeping us awake. (Alex walked her at 2am to calm her nerves!) Poor thing. Luckily, she's mellowed out a bit this morning. That's her above finally snoozing. :) xo

Happy Hour: Cinco de Mayo

Today is Cinco de Mayo! Any fun plans for happy hour tonight?

Since it is a Mexican holiday and all, I thought today would be a good day to share with you some fun recipes I received from an event last week. The event planner, Cathy Riva and Sauza Tequila invited me to a "Ladies Who Brunch" party and it was awesome. The event was held at Meet at the Apartment, a very cool meeting and event space in Soho. It has beautiful decor, the kind that makes you want to redecorate your whole apartment. And as soon as I walked in, I was greeted with delicious little colorful macaroons that had our name tags on them. Adorable! Cathy also created custom cocktails for the event and considering what today is, I might make these for myself and my lady friends tonight.

Cadillac Rio Margarita

Ingredients:

2 parts Sauza® Blue Silver Tequila

1 part JDK & Sons™ O3 Premium Orange Liqueur

1 part lime juice

½ part agave nectar

Directions:

Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled margarita glass. Garnish with an orange on the rim.

The Mama Rita (Totally making these on Sunday for Mother's Day brunch!)

Ingredients:

1 ½ parts Sauza® Silver Tequila

½-part Cabernet Sauvignon

1 part DeKuyper Triple Sec

1 part Agave Nectar

1 part Fresh Lime juice

Directions:

Pour all ingredients over ice in mixing glass. Shake and strain into a martini glass and garnish with a lime slice.

Photos via Sauza Tequila.

PS: I am linking up with Jillian from Cornflake Dreams today for a Cinco de Mayo Blog Crawl. Visit her for more celebration ideas! xo.

The Rainbow Trend

Photo via Hip Hip Hooray!

Photo via O Chickadee.

Photo via Omnomicon.

Photo via Hip Hip Hooray!

I think Claudia may have gotten this rainbow trend into my head because all this week, I have been stumbling upon very cool rainbow themed ideas. I am hoping to have a party soon just so I can make some of these fun and colorful things myself. A Rainbow Memorial Day BBQ anyone?

Rainbow Design

Maybe because it's so gloomy here in New York today, I am still craving color (see yesterday's post :). Which is why this Japanese building caught my eye. Can you believe it's a bank?

(Via Swissmiss)

Colored Jeans: Yay or Nay?

In today's Yay or Nay survey, I wanted to ask you, peeps... colored jeans: yay or nay? I usually stick to the basic dark denim because it works the best for my body type (leetle Guatemalan legs, big booty from God knows where :), but this past weekend I almost ventured and bought - gasp! Purple jeans! But at the last minute I wimped out, and put them back on the rack. But this sexy new vid (above), for Ksubi Kolors, is really making the case for colored jeans. What do you guys think? Would love to know! See a fun colored jeans slideshow here. xo

Have a Dreamy Weekend!

Sorry, I just could not resist! I'm sure you have all seen Princess Kate's amazing wedding dress, designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, but I was really in awe. This really kickstarted my morning in a great way! And, it was a nice reminder that traditions do still exist. :)

Do any of you have important traditions in your family, big or small, that have withstood the test of time? We don't have too many in our family, but Lisa and I have started the tradition of an annual Dia De Los Muertos party. Hope they'll get bigger and better!

Link time!

Best dressed at the Royal Wedding

J.Crew will be my new wardrobe

The summer air is making me want to go on vacation!

I want to make this!

Good for a giggle.

If you can, watch this documentary on NY Times Style photographer, Bill Cunningham. Touching.

(photo via NY Mag)

Hot clutch

Yo quiero este HOT pink clutch!

(via Honey Kennedy)

Dreamy Dame: Karen O

Photo via YYY.

Photos via Refinery 29.

Photo via The Guardian.

Photo via Daniel Jackson.

Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is one of my all time fave performers. That voice, that hair and those moves! Have you seen them live before? I highly recommend you do if you haven't already. Life changing. Ok, maybe not but they sure make for a FUN night, worthy of capital letters.

Check out the new Santigold song featuring today's Dreamy Dame here. It's the best way to jolt start your Wednesday morning.

Teepee Art

Oh man, these wooden teepees by Aaron Moran are awesome.

(Aaron Moran via Sfgirlbybay)

Urban Sombrero

Do you wear hats, sweet peeps? Last night, while shopping for my Mother-in-law's bday gift, I tried on a fedora, that was next to the cash register. I think they're cute (even if they are "so last season"), but they don't really work for my heart-shaped face. But this one, above, is pretty stylish. What do you guys think about hats? Will you be sporting one this summer?

P.S. See more hats here.

(Photo via NYMag)

Have a dreamy weekend!

Aren't these the prettiest Easter eggs? This weekend I am hosting a lunch for our Mom's birthday/Easter celebration. Our whole family is coming to our tiny studio in Union Square, but if it's nice enough we're going to head up to the roof deck. :) What are you up to?

Hope you all have a lovely, relaxing weekend! And to our fabulous, wonderful, stylish Mom who cooks really well... HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We love you!!!

And now fun links...

Check out Cinema Verite, the original reality show family, which airs tomorrow!

This can't be real!

More pretty Easter eggs

Go, Kate! The future (disobedient) Princess

Mix it up with these Hostess Gift ideas

Hair: to wash or not to wash

Torta Pasqualina recipe!

How peeps are made

Design junkies -- add these docs to your Netflix

Cool Brooklyn Pad tour

(Photo via Family Fun)

The Wild

We're loving the 3rd issue of our friend Gio's new magazine, THE WILD. The stunning issue covers everything from high fashion to world issues. Check it out + pass it on! xo

Espadrilles: Yay or Nay?

I rocked these when I was 14. Now I'm circling them again (at 31!). What do you guys think? Yay or Nay?

Sophisticated Style

This look is inspiring me to want to dress better. ♥

Plastic Tent House

This awesome tent house, built in 1975, uses semitransparent corrugated plastic walls to create the feeling of a giant tent. I wouldn't mind escaping here for a weekend. How about you? :)

(via NYTimes)

Have a dreamy weekend!

Happy Friday! With the warm weather on the horizon, I've been thinking about fun activities to partake in this spring/summer. Outdoor concerts are definitely one of them. And scuba diving lessons are another. Have any of you scuba dived before? Scary, cool or both? What have been some of your favorite places for diving? Would love to hear your thoughts!

In the meantime, here are some fun links for your weekend! xo

Spike Jonze presenting Lil Buck + Yo-Yo Mama = awesome

How to shop flea markets like a pro

Give your IKEA Dresser a stylish makeover for $25

Let's all start wearing color shall we?

Cute DIY Surprise Easter Egg Project

Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook... Yum!

Aging with style - heck ya! (via Pistachio)

Haha - Star Wars toast!

New Yorkers... the Tribeca Film Festival arrives next week!

(Photo via The Animal Blog)

Happy Hour: Fancy Jello Shots!

I can't say I'm much of a jello shot kinda gal, but these little works of art are making me reconsider. How fun would these be to serve at your next dinner party. :)

(Via T Magazine)

(Via Martha Stewart)

(Via Jelly Shot Test Kitchen)

Daily dose of cuteness

Our friend Sonia just posted this and I just had to repost. This video is how I feel at work sometimes! It's from a website called Cute Roulette, which posts cute videos from around the web. Bookmarked. :)

How does your garden grow?

Loving these indoor herb-growing kits from Potting Shed Creations. I've always dreamed of having fresh herbs at the ready and now these cute kits, made from recycled wine bottles, may do the trick. I think I will start off with the basil + parsley kits to sprinkle on this pasta. ;)

P.S. See more cool gardening tools here.

P.P.S. Awesome herb-savor mini pods.

(Via Daily Candy)

Into the Woods Wallpaper

I adore this wallpaper, by Areaware. Perfect for a windowless workspace. ♥

Have a Dreamy Weekend!

(photo via Foodie Therapy)

It's finally Friday! This week, unlike last, went by at a glacial pace. One highlight of the week though was walking through Union Square's Greenmarket after lunch. I was so inspired to shop and create some unique dish from scratch using only local ingredients. I think tomorrow morning, I will do my best to wake up semi-early and shop for some good greens at their Williamsburg location.

I have veggie a quiche in mind, like the one pictured. Any other ideas?

And of course, link time!

This comes in handy! How to tell when your bread is baked.

Sobriety in Brooklyn. Yep, that's right.

I have been obsessed with this video this week, by Woodkid. I want to know what you guys think!

Oh, those Russians. Gotta love 'em.

I love Japanese snacks. For their taste and their design. ♥

Please! Take time to watch this short film, I'm Here, directed by Spike Jonze. Only 30 minutes long and...amazing. Let's chat about it next week!

Have a dreamy weekend! xoxo

Daydreaming a Beach Vacation

Okay, so maybe it's because I recently came back from a weekend jaunt to Miami or maybe it's because it's still 45 degrees here, but I am seriously craving some beach time. And although I am on a very small vacation budget, I couldn't help but spend the last hour or so searching for good vacation deals. I know Jetsetter and Voyage Prive are pretty good sites, but when I say small budget, I pretty much mean non-existent.

So then I stumbled upon this promotion from Malibu Rum (a fun summer fave) where they are hiring a Radio Maliboom Boom Correspondent. (Try saying that one a few times fast!) The selected individual gets a "salary" of $15k to travel the country hosting a concert tour. I don't think the bands have been announced yet, but the top three contestants get to go to Barbados for a second round interview. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.

How about you guys? Do you ever enter any contests or promotions like this? I never have but I'm always tempted!

(Photos via The Sandpiper.)

Supper Clubs

One of my favorite things about living in New York is the plethora of foodies here. And when foodies get together, wonderful things happen. Take for instance, this supper club called apt4 food & wine. Every once in awhile, they organize these very elaborate and intimate five course meals in different homes around the city. They only take reservations for six people at a time, so you can either get a group of friends to go, or delight yourself in dining with strangers. (I did the dining with strangers thing a few years with a different supper club and it was so fun. There's something about sharing a really well prepared meal with people over several glasses of wine that make the whole experience so much more than just about the food.)

Although, I have yet to go to one of apt4's dinners, it is always on my radar. And after taking a look at these food photos, I am definitely adding it to my to-do list.

(Photos by Melissa Hom.)

Feed Guatemala

Look at what I bought! I was on a hunt for a new tote with beach season coming our way, and remembered how much I liked the Feed bag and the mission behind the organization. As you may or may know, us DOPT ladies are of Guatemalan descent, so we definitely identify with the culture.

For each FEED Guatemala bag, FEED will donate $10.50 to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to help support UNICEF's nutrition programs in Guatemala.

Stylin' for a good cause! And they have totes for Japan relief too.