Sexy Girl With Egyptian Tattoo

Sexy Girl With Egyptian Tattoo

Wednesday Giveaway!

Today's giveaway is from Journelle, my favorite New York lingerie store. They're offering this Julianne Rosalia silk chemise, which would be perfect for seducing your sweetie or just lounging around the house feeling beautiful.

For a chance to win, visit Journelle's website (so many pretty things!), and leave a comment below. A winner will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck!

Update: Evening Sketches is our lucky winner. Thanks for playing.

Dappled forest

A moment of woodsy calm for your Wednesday.

(By Stephanie Congdon Barnes)

Wedding kiss

This gorgeous bride wore a veil over her face throughout the wedding ceremony. At the end, the groom lifted it to kiss her. How lovely and old-fashioned.

(Photo by Jessica Johnston, via OnceWed)

Bling

What a fabulous necklace.

Your Mother IS Watching

I recently had a discussion with some friends (who don’t have children) about the electronic monitoring available now a days on your children. I was a little surprised at their response.

I was explaining to them how I can check my child’s grades daily. I can see what assignments were given and what score was received on each individual paper. I can see if they were absent from class.  I can set it up so that I can be notified via email if my child gets under a certain grade. I can also monitor his lunch account and see what he ate for lunch. Amazing huh!

My friend said, "well isn’t this a little much? To check daily? How does your child feel about this? Isn’t this invasion of privacy"?

So I took a few moments to think over these things, that honestly I have never really thought about and just considered it “the norm”.

Is it really an invasion of privacy? I am the parent/legal guardian, right! So don’t I deserve to be able to monitor my child? I have every right. Don’t I?

So the more I thought about this, it reminded me of what a school counselor once said to me about my daughter, when she was struggling thru school. He said “whose grades are they”? “Yours or Hers”? At that time, I did not agree with him, it actually pissed me off. My thought was what freakin help are YOU!!!
I do believe that parents need to take an active role in their childs life. At the very least to help guide them in areas they are not knowledgeable enough to make their own decisions yet.

I think with my control freak issues and the easy availability of being able to “check in” on your kid, have  allowed things to get a little out of control, on my part.

I have not ever asked my child how this makes him feel. I just thought I was doing the right thing in helping make sure he was on the right track.

I think after this recent revelation I will cut back a little (seriously, do you think I would not monitor at all????) and maybe not ask him daily about homework.

It is after all his life, his future, and he needs to be the one held accountable for his decisions made.

Harsh? Not really. It is something he will need to learn in life anyways, why not now?

Egyptian Tattoo Pictures : Beautiful Art of Tattoo

This egyptian tattoo art could be what you need to make others take notice of you more.

Santorini hotel: Astra Apartments

Dear readers, many of you commented yesterday that you'd love to go to Santorini (rightly so!), so I wanted to pass on a hotel recommendation.

Santorini has quite a few villages, all with their own personalities. Oia is famously picturesque and touristy; Fira is packed with bars and clubs, and the quieter Imerovigli is perched on a cliff top between the two.

We decided to stay in Imerovigli and were so glad we did. The sunsets were breathtaking, and the village was more peaceful and less chaotic that the others. At night, you can walk along a coastal footpath to the Imerovigli Taverna, sit outside overlooking the sea. (Confession: We went to that same taverna four nights in a row, which I know is against Vacation Rules, but we couldn't help it!)

Our hotel was Astra Apartments (which we booked through the amazing site Mr. & Mrs. Smith; it's totally addictive). I would recommend it hands down, a thousand percent. The owners are warm and gracious, the rooms are romantic and modern (with a giant his-and-hers shower!), breakfast is served in your room, and you can sit at the pool with a glass of wine in hand and watch the sunset. Amazing.

Anyway, just wanted to pass that along, in case any of you are planning trips! xoxo

Round glasses

How cute is this girl with her geek-chic glasses, grandma-style handbag, and plaid pants? Thanks also for your sweet comments about my new glasses. I found them at Selima Optique, a great eyeglasses store in Soho. xo
(Top photo by Style Sightings; shop photos by Tong Jiao)

JUST FOR FUN?

Seriously, who came up with that saying? WTF

Cause really, Are “sports” just for fun?

I’m pretty sure the people who actually say its “just for fun”, don’t have a competitive bone in their body.
I’m big on definitions, so here they are.

Just for Fun: Something that provides enjoyment or amusement; to behave in a playful or joking way.

Competitive: Wanting to achieve more than others; wanting to beat others; being aggressive & ambitious.

Now sometimes you can be competitive and have fun, but normally that is only when you are winning. If you’re losing however, you won’t be playful or joking around. LMAO
Or
If you are on an adult coed team and your having a beer or two during the game.
Now that is a good time. I however don’t recommend this for anyone under the age of 21. ; )
Even then if you are a competitive person, you still have a hard time just letting loose and having fun.


I’m sure that most kids started off initially playing “just for fun”. But as they get older, I’d say about 6 years old, is when this change happens. Either you are competitive or you are not.

Anyone who thinks you can mix the two together is just crazy.

What is the reason behind a competitive sport? I know that I have said this before. The biggest reason for playing a competitive sport is to get noticed, in order to get a college scholarship, and the experiences that you just cant get from playing on a “just for fun” team.

You will never get noticed by a scout if you are playing for a recreational team.

I’m not saying that one is better than the other; it really comes down to what you want for your kid. However, if your kid has a competitive nature, then you should at least give them the chance they deserve.

I can tell you its hard work, having a kid in a competitive sport, but you owe it to your child to be willing to do what you can to help your child be successful.


Isn’t that what it is really about? Your child’s happiness?

Candle wallpaper

On your Own Night

Going back in time. I will never  forget as a kid being forced to not only eat horrible crap for dinner but, if you refused to eat it or clean your plate you didn’t get to leave the dinner table. You could end up sitting there sometimes for hours. Then if you didn’t eat before bedtime, you would go to bed hungry and then it would be brought back out for breakfast the next morning to eat COLD. Yuck!




After a time my sister and I started throwing it under the table (back then we had the dark brown shag carpet) sometimes the cat or dog would eat it, sometimes it would just pile up under the table.


My question is Why? Why does this happen? I know that I am not the only kid this has ever happen to. Is it a power thing? IDK


Over time and having kids of my own. I have tried to learn from my childhood. The rule at our house is that you have to try it at least once, if you don’t like it then we never fix it again. I know some people might say this is crazy letting the kids dictate what kind of meals we have, but I really feel like there are so many other things to battle about and what they eat is not a battle I want to do.


Now your probably thinking that I just let them eat crap. Well, your wrong I don’t.

There are a million healthy things out there to eat. You just have to do the research. So I buy what I know they will eat. We always try new things, and I have them help me in the kitchen.

Then there is no battle.

Here is something that my kids really love. We didn’t start this until they were in middle school. So that they were old enough to do it by themselves.


We have on “your own nights”. You ask, what are “on your own nights”? Well let me tell you, they are the greatest invention ever!!!!


Mostly we have these on the nights we have games. We hardly have time on those nights for bathing, homework , and laundry. So we started “on your own nights”.


“On your own night” is where, everyone gets to pick and fix their own dinner. Woo Hoo!!!!

Of course when we go to the store everyone gets to pick their one special thing. Then that is what they will fix for themselves on the “on your own night".


The kids love it. Plus it helps teach them how to be self sufficient. What a deal!

Honeymoon photos: Greece

My darlings, thank you for being so sweet about our Italy honeymoon photos! Now (ages later), I'd love to share a few of our photos from Greece, if you'd like to see...

We went to Santorini, the Greek island famous for its sunsets. The island was breathtaking, with dramatic cliffs, whitewashed houses, and a sparkling sea as far as the eye could see.

We stayed in the town of Imerovigli, which was quiet and sweet, but we also spent a day exploring the most popular town, Oia, along with lots of other tourists (pictured above).

We saw lots of cute couples taking photos of each other...

...and then we did the same.

As we walked around the cliffside town, we spotted a gorgeous little bay and decided to make our way down to swim.

Our journey to the beach was slowed considerably when Alex kept stopping to take photos of the stunning views...

Since Alex is obsessed with dogs, I laughingly slapped my legs and called for him like my wayward puppy. My plan backfired, since then he wanted to take photos of me doing that.

We finally made it down all the steps and jumped off the craggy rocks into the cold green water. The sea floor felt slimy but the water was refreshing!

Afterward, we had lunch at a little seafood taverna owned by a fisherman. We sat right on the water and ordered a Greek salad, which, in Greece, is simply tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and feta (no lettuce). The tomatoes were bright red and bursting with flavor.

Even though he doesn't have a sweet tooth, Alex fell in love with baklava for dessert. He ended up doing a taste-test, of sorts, throughout Santorini; the winner is pictured above.

Our favorite afternoon was spent, on my friend Allison's recommendation, on a catamaran, sailed by a friendly captain named Ted. We set out on a gorgeous windy day, along with five other couples, three of which were also honeymooners.

Alex joked that the hardest decision you have to make on a honeymoon is what time to switch from coffee to wine. On this sail, we switched over before noon. (When the skipper asked if we'd like a beer, Alex looked at his watch; the skipper laughed, "The time doesn't matter! You're in Greece!")

We sailed by lighthouses and the famous Red Beach. Then we went swimming in the hot springs. I thought Alex looked particularly handsome in this photo.

I'm the palest person ever, so Alex sweetly gave me a giant sunhat for our trip. He also made me apply SPF 90 multiple times a day. I felt like Audrey Hepburn, if she had worn cut-offs.

After we swam, the captain anchored in a cove and served a delicious lunch of grilled calamari, grilled lamb, Greek salad, pasta with olives and tomatoes, and yogurt with cucumber -- all amazing! Everyone ate around a table on the boat, in swimsuits and towels.

Afterward, the captain sailed back to the port, while we lay on nets at the front of the catamaran and napped. This (above) was our view.

We were happy as clams.

Our final day of our honeymoon was spent in Athens, where we caught our flight back to New York. Overall, our honeymoon was a truly magical trip, and we felt so lucky. A huge thankyou to all our wedding guests and friends, who made it possible. And Alex, you are simply the loveliest travel partner -- I didn't think I could love you any more, but somehow, impossibly, I do.

As for you, Greece, we miss you already! xoxo

Update: My glasses are from Selima Optique, my striped tank is from Steven Alan, and my long-sleeved striped shirt is from Anthropologie.