for the gentlemen.

i don't know about you, but i am always at a loss
when it comes to finding the perfect gift for the men in my life.
an oxford. a bottle of cologne. various workout gear. 
they are all so typical. & so tired.
so, what else can a girl get for her men?


i was thrilled to stumble upon 
this impossibly manly boston shop.
well, hello, sir jack's.
the quintessential gentlemen's outfitter.


dapper polo chic shakes hands with the great outdoorsman.
catering to the most discerning of tastes, sir jack exudes class.
casual attire. formal wear. grooming. office & estate decor. 
gadgets. one-of-a-kind vintage pieces. & luxurious accessories.

guys goods, right?!

i just about died when i saw all of the great gift options for men.

gifts that are totally unique & clever.

gifts that men will be thrilled to receive.

like this ultra-cool badger brush.

makes lathering up so much more manly.

or engraved fly fishing stationery.

makes writing thank you notes so much more macho.

this authentic vintage leather head's football

would be the perfect accoutrement for any gentleman's office. 

quite possibly my fave of all sir jack's choices.

genuine ox horn whiskey tumblers.

every man would look devilishly handsome drinking out of these. 

i truly spent way too much time scouring the sir jack's site.

there is such a great assortment of gift ideas for any man in your life. 

{oh, and just a reminder. father's day is quickly approaching}

whether your man is a well quaffed fashion plate.

one who indulges in an old fashioned strait shave.

or a rugged camping sort of man.

who relishes in hunting. fishing. & the like.

sir jack's has you covered.

so, here is to you, gentlemen.

you make our lives so wonderfully adventurous.

{images courtesy of sir jacks. miss moss}

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chic flats.

just snagged these impossibly chic flats.

dvf sure knows what she is doing.

perfect walking shoes for italy, don't you think?!

cuffed shorts. a black tank. gold jewels.

the makings for a simple & stylish outfit.

you, too, can don these beauties. check them out here.

xoxo.

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the messy bun.

alright, lovelies.

if you know me at all, you know that my hair is perpetually in a bun.

for years & years i have worn my hair in a bun of some sort.

sometimes it is a polished top-knot. other times it is a low side bun.

and i do believe that i have just mastered the messy bun.

oh you know,

the perfectly tousled. perfectly textured.

perfectly purposeful mess of a bun.

contrary to one's thought at a first glance,

there is much that goes in to mastering the messy bun.

and while my littlest brother may or may not have asked me yesterday

"when was the last time you washed your hair?!"

i happen to think that my messy bun looks

 impossibly messy chic. in the best sort of way.

{he clearly does not appreciate the messy look as much as i do}

so. these are my steps to creating the perfect messy bun.

after washing. put your fave volumizing products into your roots.

i fancy aveda volumizing tonic & the foam uplifter.

blow dry your hair upside down to create a good pump up.

put velcro rollers all over the top part of your head.

spritz with hair spray.

heat with blow dryer.

& then allow to cool completely.

remove rollers & flip head upside down.

gently tousel hair around.

flip head back up and loosely pull hair back into a pony.

you may do a high. low. side. or center pony.

whatever you prefer.

pull the pony tight.

this will naturally create some textured pieces.

here is the essential step.

you will feel totally funny doing this. but it is so worth it.

using both hands, slip your fingers into the hair on the top & front sections.

when they are in their good, rub your hands back and forth quickly.

pretend you are giving yourself a great head massage.

you will surely feel as if you are messing your hair up terribly.

but just trust me.

this creates the perfect messy look.

do this as little or as much as you like.

the rougher you are, the most mess you acquire.

the rest is a breeze.

using bobby pins, secure the bun you desire.

lastly,

pull little whispies down around your face and at the neckline.

this will create the completely touseled. just-swooped-up-my-hair kinda look.

voila!

you know have the perfectly messy bun.

{images courtesy of pinterest. joanna goddard. unknown}

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summer chic.

for as much as i love glam get-ups & frilly fashions,

my summertime uniform is all about simplicity.

crisp. casual. & chic. in the most effortless way.

my go-to look for the hot florida summer months

is a chambray button down & white denim.

don't you just love the coolness of this combo?

it practically screams summer chic.

i have found that j.crew carries my fave chambray tops.

they are perfectly lightweight & come in different color variations.

plus, they even look cute slightly rumpled.

which makes for an easy throw-on-and-go outfit.

when it comes to the bottoms, style as you fancy.

cuffed shorts & espadrilles for a breezy daytime look.

white linen pants & flat sandals for a lounge-chic statement.

skinny cropped pants & wedges for a dinner date.

you see, the options are endless.

every girl should have a chambray top in her summer wardrobe.

it is the definition of summer chic. 

{images courtesy of j.crew}

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little fancy pants.

dying over these shoes. and these pants.

so impossibly chic.

"a woman with good shoes is never ugly."

coco chanel.

{image unknown}

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the beach cottage.

my family owns the sweetest little beach cottage.

its tucked away on a quiet strip of sand.

on a tiny lot. surrounded by mounds of sea oats.

this darling little cottage has been in our family for years.

my grandmother bought it back in the 1970s.

back when the beach was barely peppered with homes.

and to this day, we still appreciate the old florida charm 

that was built into our little beach cottage. 

there she is.

standing proud in all her flat-roofed glory.

a true gem. overflowing with character.

and while big, beautiful beach homes are being built beside her.

we will forever love our teeny. tiny. le petit auberge. 

isn't she just the cutest cottage you ever have seen?

endless summers have been spent in this little cottage.

i can remember being too hot & sunburnt to sleep at night.

so we would put our pillowcases in the freezer to make them extra chilly.

and taking showers in the outdoor shower before coming in for the day.

and many game nights. with bunches of kids running around.

and bocce ball on the beach. and card games. and cookouts.

and waking up to the oceans waves. 

this little. teeny. cottage.

is filled with great big memories of great big love.

like this special night.

the night my lovie proposed to me.

that all took place at our beach cottage. 

lovie knows how special it is to me & my family.

so he knew it would make for the perfect engagement night.

this weekend was our six month wedding anniversary.

and this week is the anniversary of our engagement night.

so, we found it most appropriate to go spend some time at the cottage.

we packed a picnic dinner.

and donned our sunset soiree styles.

{these beachy shoes are a steal at nordstroms}

and set out for a relaxing night at the beach.

it was the perfect way to celebrate this special week.

and well, just to celebrate this special life.

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six months.

six months ago today

i married my little lovie.

the Lord graciously gave me such a precious man 

to spend the rest of my life loving.

and i could not be anymore grateful for him.

{you will fall in love with him, too, after you read this love note}

so, naturally we decided to celebrate six months of love

in the most glamorous way we could possibly think of. 

packing boxes. moving furniture. wrapping crystal.

eating too much pizza. with too much grease. with extra toppings.

drinking non-diet sodas & eating junky treats.

getting into bed early to rent a movie after a tiring day of moving.

but you know what?

i wouldn't have it any other way.

just the two of us together. all day long. 

plus, you should have seen my lovies big muscles lifting all the boxes.

he is such a hunk, if i do say so myself. 

anyhoo.

here are the highlights of our special day.

loving the color coordinated packing.

i knew i loved black and white, but woah.

black and white boxes. black and white frames. etc.

worlds. best. pizza. a la gigi's.

sweet side note. 

my parents have been eating there since they started dating at 18 years old.

they would get gigi's pizza every sunday night. 

and still do. 

new fave drink.

joia all natural soda.

they have different flavors, but this one is divine.

grapefruit. chamomile. & cardamom.

and i just have to say.

one of my dear friends introduced me to these little guys.

and i have very mixed emotions about it.

blueberry yogurt covered pretzels are amazing.

but i cannot stop craving them now. 

i have developed a definite love-hate relationship with them.

well, we are crawling into our jammies & hopping into bed. 

love movie nights with my lovie. 

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a c'est si bon look.

like every other girl in this great big sparkly world,

i am so in love with blair of atlantic-pacific.

the girl has got style like it is nobodys business.

i have followed her blog for a good while now,

and she always provides such great styling inspiration.

always completely put together. always chic. always adorable.

not only does blair have such a great eye for fashion,

but she is also as sweet as pie.

i have loved getting to chat with her a small bit via blogs & email.

i just had to share this one look that she just featured,

as it is totally. completely. and absolutely. 

a c'est si bon kinda look.

i would wear this outfit everyday if i could. 

black. white. striped. chic.

my go-to look.

seriously? those shoes!

i would give anything for this jacket.

it has my name written all over it.

that bow.

oh. my. cuteness.

blair actually took this bow from an old headband.

i happen to think that is a brilliant idea.

and what c'est si bon kinda outfit is complete

without an armful, or two, of bangles and baubles?

don't you agree?

this outfit just screams c'est si bon! c'est si bon!

thank you, sweet blair. i am loving this look.

so, lovelies. if you do not already follow blair, you must start.

atlantic-pacific will quickly become your go-to for street chic inspiration.

{all images are courtesy of atlantic-pacific blog}

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french icon.

marion cottilard is one of my french icons.

she posseses a certain je nais se quoi.

she is classically beautiful. terribly talented. and just lovely.

le magnifique marion.

{images courtesy of hollandse. unknown. pinterest}



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sugar paper.

i have such a huge treat for all you, my lovelies.

if you are anything like me.

a lover of stationery. hand written correspondence. & love notes.

you will be so thrilled to open this little visual gift.

it is so pretty it should be wrapped in a big bow.

meet my new friends jamie & chelsea.

the brilliant ladies behind my obsession

sugar paper.

not only does sugar paper have the sweetest & most lovable name.

but i am quite certain this little papery is the 

most charming. most smitten-worthy. most darling one of them all.

being connoisseurs of correspondence,

james & chels believe that stationery makes life-lasting impressions.

so after falling in love with the simplicity & nostalgia of letterpress printing,

they created sugar paper.

they have created papers that are dripping with sugary-sweet-goodness.

i mean, like, cotton candy. whipped cream. rock candy. sweet.

sweet. sweet. as sweet as sweet can be. sweet.

like this.

please take note of the details.

the edges of this announcement are stunningly beautiful.

and the letterpress script is too beautiful for words.

there are hardly words to express my love for this stationery.

the scalloped edges. the cursive letterpress. the saturated pink envelope.

if there ever were a perfect stationery for this girl...

this would surely be it.

i adore the vintage & nostalgic feel of this set.

the craft brown paper. the script. perfection.

oh, it is love.

again, attention to the detail.

i am dying over the gold trimmed edges.

love. love. love. 

gold letterpress is always a wonderful idea.

how impossibly precious is this set of personalized stationery?

the edges. the polka dots. the pale color palette. 

i am smitten over these sweeties.

i have always loved letterpress.

it is just so classically timeless. crisp. & beautiful.

i was so thrilled to stumble upon sugar baby because these girls

truly adore. and appreciate. the entire letterpress process. 

each and every piece of paper. each and every envelope.

is hand-fed into an antique press. 

one. by. one.

this gives such great character & individuality to each paper.

a depth that modern machinery simply cannot recreate.

the girls at sugar paper graciously sent some papers to play around with.

and this is my fave of all the goodies.

i love this for so many reasons.

the black & white stripes. the gold. the font. 

ok, so truly, are you not just dying over sugar paper?

i simply cannot get enough of them. 

you surely must hop on over to their site to shop around.

you will be blown away at the cuteness that is sugar paper. 

thanks, jamie & chelsea.

you made this hand-written-letter-lovin-girl so happy.

{c'est si bon was not compensated for this post. sugar paper did send product to review. opinions are my own}

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a lady of grace.

my grandmother is such a lady of grace.

a classic beauty.

with a kind heart. and a loving disposition.

growing up, she was a true gadabout.

a seeker of all things amusing.

an adventurer in every capacity. a risk taker at great levels.

she lived life to the fullest. and has written stories to prove it.

a violinist in the florida orchestra. and an accomplished artist.

a world traveler. and the recipient of her master's degree.

a nurse. a wife. a mother. and a grandmother.

her life is colored with curiousity. artfulness. and intelligence.

she is quite a remarkable lady.

i hope to live a life equally as seasoned as my grandma gail has.

she continues to live life to its fullest.

and savors every minute.

oh, and she throws in a heaping amount of witty humor, too.

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