I've moved!

Hey guys - I decided to rename my blog and move it over to Wordpress. From now on that's where it will be - check it out!!

http://melssweetlife.com/

Happiness

A few reasons that I'm smiling on this lovely Sunday morning:

1. I still can't get over this seriously amazing sandwich/work of art that one of the kids brought for lunch on Friday. As a former sandwich artist (whattup Subway!), I know just how much talent this must have required. Behold:

2a&b. I made two fantastic purchases in Harvard Square yesterday.

2a: This awesome print of monuments in Paris. It's actually wrapping paper, but I plan to frame it!

2b: A Charley Harper coloring book!!!!!! Call me a child, call me a preschool teacher, but I am beyond excited to start coloring in my "own" Charley Harper (*favorite artist alert*) masterpieces. Next stop: CVS for a 64-pack of crayons with a sharpener in the back (do they still make those??).

3. T-minus 3 days until I move into my new adorable apartment with Domenica and Fina. There will be baking, and lots of it :)

Hope everyone is having a sunny and funny weekend!

Wildlife Wednesday: Lobster Edition

For this week's edition of Wildlife Wednesday, I give you.... lobsters! As you know, Mike and I dined on some delicious lobster on our Newburyport excursion this past weekend. Though it may seem a little yuck to share a WW that revolves around EATING the wildlife, I assure you... these pictures are too great to pass up.
*Warning: some lobster advocates may find this offensive. Please accept my sincere apologies.

It all began at Michael's Harborside (recommended by the locals as a great seafood joint).

Mike ordered his wildlife whole,

while I opted for a roll.*

Digging in!

Mike loved his wildlife so much he decided to wear a bib of it.

Yaaaay!

Then, I dared him to eat an eyeball. I know, G-r-o-s-s.

Wah.

Why are you making me do this.

Taste-testing!

Ooof.

The aftermath.

I want my mom!

In case the lobster advocates are feeling sad and/or enraged, here are some additional wildlife photos to brighten your Wednesday.

*Unintentional poem.

Rain, rain, GO AWAY!

Is this rain getting to anyone else? I checked the weather this morning and was NOT pleased to see this image:

 of Tropical Storm I-Make-It-Rain-Sideways sitting over Boston as hour after hour clicked by on the radar map. Literally just sitting there dumping rain on us. To make matters worse, the next few days look like this:

YUCK-o!

This has resulted in me being in my jammies and in bed by 8PM.* Which has luckily resulted in me being able to play on the internet and stumble upon these happy, sunny pictures to share with you. 

From Emily

Cuteoverload.com

Can't WAIT to see this!

*Fingers crossed* Here comes the sun!

*Duh, I go to bed at 8PM on my own free will, because I am a grandma.

The best cupcake I've ever had.

I'm about to tell you about the best cupcake I've ever tasted in my 23 years on earth. This a big statement for me, and I hope you all understand the gravity of this proclamation. As someone who eats an absurd amount of cupcakes, to place one single cupcake at the top of the list is a bold move. But trust me when I say....

this is the best cupcake I've ever had.

It all began with this sign stopped me dead in my tracks.

I L-O-V-E stuffed cupcakes. In my opinion, the only way to make a cupcake better is to stuff it with more frosting.

The epic cupcake was born in Pralines Bakeshop, which recently tried out for Food Network's Cupcake Wars. So you know they've gotta be good.

There were six or seven stuffed cupcake flavors, but I forgot them all when I heard the first two ingredients of my epic cupcake: homemade caramel and sea salt. 

Sold.

We deemed it most appropriate to enjoy our sea salt cupcake by the... ocean.

Are you ready for this???

Chocolate buttercream. Homemade caramel sauce. Sea salt. Chocolate ganache drizzles. Praline crumbles.

All atop a vanilla cupcake stuffed with buttercream and more AH-MAZ-ING caramel sauce.

I can't talk about it anymore. 

Thank you for coming in to my life, perfect epic cupcake. 

Newburyport

This Saturday Mike and I headed to Newburyport, MA to do a little exploring, get in some beach time, and celebrate my upcoming golden birthday. As was predicted, I fell head over heels in love with the area. Adorable shops? Check. Funky antique stores? Check. Beaches, stuffed cupcakes, old New England houses? Check, check, check!!

The day started off with a BANG when we stopped at Trader Joe's to grab some picnic supplies, and I found these:

Um, helllloooo! Another s'more item to add to my growing repertoire :)

After a zippy drive up 95, we arrived in town and immediately began posing with some local gems.

Unicorn street, obvi.

Then we did some antique hunting.

Love.

L-o-v-e.

And I picked up this totes cute vintage chair to replace the current one at my desk!

We headed to the beach for a picnic and PRESENTS!

Mike gave me these gorgeous earrings that I've been wanting for 100 years. I am one lucky girl!

Finally, we stopped at Michael's Harborside for a yummy lobster dinner.

What a great day! 

Wildlife Wednesday: Penguin Edition

As I have a deep obsession with taking and posting photos of flowers and cute animals, I have decided to institute "Wildlife Wednesdays". This is essentially just a made-up excuse to take and post even more flower and adorable animal photos. Just call it "research". WW commences... now.

This frog is maybe notso cute or flowery but it fits with the theme so we're gonna go with it. Ribbit!

And now for the penguins! I recently took a quick trip (i.e. what is the attention span of a three-year-old) to the New England Aquarium and snapped a few pics of these truly adorbs penguin friends. If you're wondering if it gets any cuter and/or cooler than these guys - it doesn't.

Have you guys seen the penguin power ad campaign from the aquarium? I think it is pure genius. Exhibits A, B, C, and especially, D:

These make my day. All day, every day. My birthday is in 5 days. I would like a penguin, please!