dear target,

if you keep this up, i may no longer have a need for j.crew.

that will never be true. but seriously, i have been getting some great things from the merona collection in the last few months. their sheath dresses were my savior on those hot june days in the classroom, and at $40 a pop, i've a well-stocked closet.

in other news, kevin and i decided to do a processed-food detox this week, which means we're eating not quite raw, but more whole (unprocessed) foods. so far today i've only had a few baby carrots, which means i'm off to the market!

i scream.

i wouldn't mess with her ice cream, if i were you. today is national ice cream day. enjoy!

all photos from magnum via slate

great heights.

i have been feeling inexplicably low this week, so here are some highs from the last two weekends to remind myself of the positives.

1) our first vacation together, riding a rooftop ferris wheel overlooking st. louis!

city museum

2) sky-high dinner for mom's fiftieth.

the ridiculously ostentatious signature room

more outdoor spaces

both from apartment therapy.

summer...

is HERE.

after a lazy recovery weekend of reading on the couch interspersed with all-day naps, i'm ready to get back to life. i am already anxiously looking to september and missing my kids, but i am so relieved to be a normal, non-stressed person again.

new plants in the fireplace:


tomorrow, massive cleanup (a whole school year's worth of mess).

domestic vacations.

photography from the domestic vacations collection by julie blackmon

as absolutely insane as my twenties have been thusfar, i feel like this decade is the calm before the storm... i can't wait for porches, lemonade, sprinklers, and even more insanity.

can you hear the ice cream man?

gaga at lolla, 2007

summer is coming... today i got these:

two scoops of coconut ice cream & a perfect pink manicure.


last weekend i scored these pink depression glass treasures...


which i can't wait to dust off for a summery pancake breakfast, à la

pancake breakfast via design*sponge

...but i'll have to make it through the school year first.