Philly here I come!

Bye bye, Boston!

I'm off to Philadelphia to see one of my BEST and OLDEST friends, Erin.

Last time I was there I officially fell in love with french bulldogs. 

Can't wait to see what Philly has in store for me this time! Catch ya on the flipside, Beantown.

4th of July festivities!

My dearest readers,

I am SO sorry for being M.I.A. the past week. I've been busy attending bachelorette parties and playing at the beach. Here are some beautiful 4th of July photos so you can see what I've been up to!

Love,

Melanie

Can you handle those sunset colors? What a gorgeous weekend. Missing the beach already!

Celebrity sighting

Woke up this morning to meet Kaitlin and Bethenny for brunch at Cafe Cluny in the West Village. As Alix and I got on the subway, I said... "We are going to see someone famous today. I just FEEL it." I swear!

Fast forward to thirty minutes later...

I was trying to decide between Brioche French Toast and the Breakfast Club Sandwich...

Went with the french toast (duh)...

Oh the fluffiness!

...when none other than Amy Poehler walks in and sits at the table next to us! The Amy Poehler from SNL, and Parks and Recreation, and this hysterical skit. I so, so wanted to take a picture but she looked so cute and pregnant and normal that I felt badly interrupting her brunch. I hope a picture of her seat at the cafe will do?

What a trip! I <3 NY.

Nantucket Daffodil Weekend

On Friday I made my very first trip to Nantucket! I went to babysit for Daffodil Weekend, which I looooved. Flowers EVERYWHERE!

Saturday was totally gorgeous, and we went to the beach to collect shells, then in to town to watch the parades.



First we watched the antique car parade.

Then, my favorite parade ever - dogs!

There was even a french bulldog!! Adorable :)

Unfortunately, on Sunday it rained. 

But, we made the best of it with a trip to the Whaling Museum!

Call me a nerd, but whales are kinda cool? This one is only a baby - not even fully grown!

Cute kids, nice weather, a trip to the beach, a french bulldog in a daffodil costume - all in all a great weekend on Nantucket!

Happy Birthday, Crotty!

Despite the robbery scandal, I headed to NYC this past Saturday to celebrate Miss Crotty's birthday and catch up with some Cornell friends!

There were cupcakes, courtesy of Francesca...

Barefoot Contessa Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting - yum!

...Mini macs (unfortunately sans photo) a la Katie Post. Sooooooo yum yum yummy. Recipe here.

And lots of birthday fun!

Everyone in black, so New Yorker!

Happy Birthday, Katherine!

Busy Bee!

It has been a whole WEEK since I've posted! Between busy days at school, a work party, and a quick trip to Raleigh, I feel like I haven't had a second to breathe! But I do have lots of things to update on.

First things first...

Thursday to Friday I went to a conference in Raleigh, NC with my fellow teacher, Kate. The conference was about green and natural play and living within urban environments. It was really interesting and I learned a lot, especially about the importance of making nature and green spaces accessible to everyone. One of the speakers showed us examples of European cities that are trying to reduce their ecological footprint and go entirely "green". It convinced me that I need to live in Copenhagen - 40% of the population rides their bike to work! 

 Though the conference was fun, I honestly had more fun exploring the children's museum where the it was held - Marbles!

There was a farming section:

"Under the sea"

AWESOME oversized Legos that my kids would love:

And an adorable book nook where we discovered this little porker doing some light reading:

 

 

Hellooo, cuteness! I want my walls to look like this!

It was nice to get out of Boston for a day or so, and I think we brought the sunshine and warm weather back with us...!

I NEED to go to Europe

Number one thing I regret from college: not going abroad.

These past few weeks, I keep having dreams about Europe: frolicking through Italy, packing for a trip to France, running through the airport in Spain. Then, I started reading Under the Tuscan Sun, which makes me want to quit my job, jet off to Tuscany, plant an olive farm, and live off of wine and cheese for the rest of my life. Now, maybe its because I have Europe on the brain, but I noticed this house by my school and couldn't help but think...is this a sign?

Tell me this house doesn't sliiightly resemble a rustic Tuscan villa.

In the middle of Boston.

I need to find a way!

The sights...

 

The history...

The FOOD!

 

These pictures are from our family trip to Italy in the summer of 2007. Take me back!!!