Goldilocks and the 4th of July Weekend

Aren't we all in search of "just right!?"

Dr. H and I have no idea what we're doing for July 4th weekend. As a friend kindly pointed out this morning, yes we know that it is 48(ish) hours away, but alas, we have no plans. We had plans, but unfortunately they unexpectedly fell apart, so now we are back to square one, a location we have not accepted lightly.

Last night, Dr. H and I spent over 4 hours scouring the internet and exploring the globe for a 4th of July destination.  Like Ms. Goldilocks, we are willing to try just about anything, but unfortunately everything is "not quite right". Coastal Europe? Too expensive. Vieques, Puerto Rico? Too much travel to get there. Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota? Not enough time to properly plan. Everywhere on the US eastern seaboard? Booked. Solid.

So here we are, about 36 hours from our first scheduled vacation day and still in search of the vacation that will be "just right". Maybe it'll be day trips to hike/beach capped off with evenings in an empty city dining at all the hot spots normally packed with New Yorkers. Maybe it will be the waterpark capital of the world. Maybe it'll be Mexico. Who knows? Whatever we ultimately select, with Dr. H by my side, I'm sure it will be juuuuust right (awww:).

Mother Nature you Mother *bleeeeeeep*-er

Sunshine Spotted (1 hr before it was time to go home)

Greetings friends and lovers from sunny and temperate New York. So sunny in fact, that one would never even guess that it rained here ALL WEEKEND, or wait, I stand corrected, until about 4pm yesterday... just in time for you to pack back into the car, say "adios!" to your beach-weekend accommodations and curse the weather gods for this unfortunate turn of events. 

(#Bitter #AtLeasttheTriptoTargetwasfun?!)

Because holding a grudge never made anything better (other than being a delightful outlet for my twisted, dark emotions...) I thought we should kick off the week by focusing on the END of the week and the upcoming July 4th holiday. I LOVE July 4th because it's summer, sunshine (hopefully!), BBQ, fireworks... do I have to continue?! Here to kick off our holiday week are some essentials of the red white and blue variety. Enjoy!

This is one of those crafts that's going to get you a LOT of oohs, ahhhs and "how do you have the times!?" but in truth, it's super easy and adorable to look at. Paper cones, cupcake liners and star stickers are the essential items needed to make these adorable patriotic treat cones... plus of course your favorite surprise sweets. Full tutorial HERE.

Is there anything as American as apple pie? (I would argue, yes, absolutely... ever heard of hamburgers and, hello!? George Washington!? I digress...) For those looking to stick with tradition and pie however, click HERE to learn how to make those cute lil pies on a stick and other adorable yet classy 4th themed items.

Like all good Americans, I love potatoes and mayonnaise, so it should come as no surprise that I'm endorsing preparation of a decadent potato salad to accompany your burgers and dogs. THIS bacon ranch recipe looks pretty freakin bananas, but here's the whole darn Pinterest "potato salad" search result because how on earth was I supposed to select just one!?

Since looking adorable is an essential part of your July 4th festivities (and overnight shipping puts the world of patriotic fashion just a click away!) here and here are some great suggestions for getting all chic, red, white and bluey!

I pledge allegiance to the patriotic sangria. Anyone else want to cheers to that!?

Hump Day Distractions

Parenting Goals

How is it only Wednesday?! This is the week that will not pass us by. Seriously. Get over the hump with me by clicking through your daily dose of distractions now.

* Super cute morse code bead bracelets that might be perfect when combined with wine at your next girls night!

* Did you know that the candy they have in other country's is different than what we have here!? I just started an international candy exchange with a cousin in Australia and I would argue that their Cadbury beats our Hershey's any day (though my Reeses-loving cuz would probably disagree!)

* Currently looking for an excuse to make this AMAZING flamingo chandelier (RIP Don Featherstone).

* Loving this subtly sassy manicure trend.

* Some neato tidbits about how our memories work (and how Pixar's adorable new flick "Inside Out" gets it pretty right!)

* Pool floats you probably need, like now.

* For all those times when you wished you could hit "unsend" on that email...

* Some seriously crazy and amazing lip art!!!

Hear it, Read it, Make it, Love it!

On the lookout for summer goodness!

It has been ages since I threw one of these your way and I have several Hear it, Read it, Make it, Love it items worthy of a share. Perfect for summer and of course Merry Meri approved, let the listening, reading, making and loving good times roll!! (And to check out previous Hear it, Read it, Make it, Love it posts, click HERE).

* Hear It

Leon the Great!

Every so often we are blessed by the rise of a musician whose voice and sound are something golden and "of another era", while simultaneously seeming fresh and new. Leon Bridges is that artist and his debut album, Coming Home, out today, is music to my soul-loving ears. Hailed by many as the next Sam Cooke, Coming Home is the very definition of soulful easy listening, perfect for a relaxing summer night with your honey or a long Sunday drive. At just 25 years old (and being very easy on the eyes!) here's hoping Mr. Bridges is hear to share his gift for many years to come!

* Read It

One More Thing - read this book!

Thanks to a brilliant little comedy called The Office, we all know that BJ Novak can write funny stuff, but his new(ish) book One More Thing, stories and other stories is truly a smile-inducing delight. Novak's collection of short tales is at times laugh out loud funny, thought provoking and thoroughly enjoyable. I'm only half way through the book and I've already re-told (and read aloud) several of the stories and begun pushing the book on friends and family. For a good mood-making summer read, grab One More Thing and enjoy. (ps- Novak's kids book The Book with No Pictures is adorable and a huge hit with my lil niece too!) 

* Make It

I am totally guilty of snapping lots of great Instagram pics and then doing nothing with them after I upload to my feed. Here is a list of 10 ways to actually use your Instagram images, all of which are pretty freaking easy to execute. From a calendar and magnets to prints and books, each of these companies makes uploading and creating straight from your Insta account a breeze and the end results are beautiful products you'll be able to touch, feel and enjoy in real life!

* Love It

If you're are a fellow NYC'er, this map is sure to crack you up. So true.

Happy Summer, Y'all!

Yay!!

Hello friends and happy summer to you! I hope you all had awesome weekends, celebrating Dads and the start of the best season of the year (and that you survived without my Father's Day Guide, a Friday post which I found half written and un-posted in my web browser when I opened the 'ol laptop this morning. Oops:)

I woke up today feeling especially good about the start of a new season and ready to close the books on a wonderful, but hectic spring. And speaking of hectic, did you know I jetted down to Nashville real quick last week!? And though I was there for only 48 hours (about 40 of which were work filled) I did manage to soak in a tiny bit of music city and thought today I'd share some pics/recommendations.

Broadway

Nashville is a small city with a big heart. Even though I am not a country music fan, I am a diehard music fan and music is the soul of Nashville. On my quickie visit I managed to Broadway in downtown Nashville (the Nashville equivalent of Times Square in its touristy factor) and I loved the lights, boots shops and the outstanding live music pouring out of every bar. I suggest strolling the street without an agenda and popping into a few bars just to hear the various performances. Grab a drink (or 2 or 3) or like I did, settle into one with a great BBQ menu for a lively meal!

The original Grand Ol Orpy

With only a tiny bit of time, the Nashville site worth seeing is DEFINITELY the Ryman Auditorium. A historic building, recently renovated, Ryman was the place where Nashville's music scene was born. Though it fell into a period of disrepair (the Opry even abandoned it!) today it thrives as a live music venue and awesome attraction definitely worth touring. 

For those of you with more time to explore, I would suggest checking out these links (HERE, HERE, HERE) for where to go outside downtown for the full Nashville experience (there was so much I didn't get to see!) Nashville is a spread out city without mass transit so I recommend staying downtown, but renting a car and planning to get out and explore. I know I'll be headed back and hopefully y'all will have a chance to check it out someday too!!

Games I don't know how to play.

Missed the boat on this one...

Ed. Note: I could spend this post explaining the all-consuming 3 days of work which prevented me from posting earlier this week, or I could muse about something (hopefully!) more interesting. In my poll of one, I voted for the latter...

In life, there are certain games I feel like everyone knows how to play. As a kid you learn Tic Tac Toe and Candy Land. If you're my age, you probably learned solitaire on the computer. You got older and someone showed you checkers, then black jack and a whole host of other "classics" followed. But what happens when you get to be a certain age and you somehow never learned!? I, for example, have no idea how to play chess, am clueless about poker and even though I think I know the rules of sudoku, I've never actually tried playing it. 

And the worst thing is that I'm pretty sure it's too late. Nobody wants to teach a (nearly!) 31 year old how to play poker and I think I have to wait until I'm 65+ (and also studying bridge!?) to try again for chess (though I already have visions of fellow seniors laughing me off the chess board!) Oh well, I guess these are simply games I don't know how to play!

Puppy love. Cubed.

Apparently, in Japan a dog grooming craze is sweeping the nation and winning votes at Tokyo dog shows... 

Cube cut anyone!?

Happy Friday!

You go first.

Love.

Earlier this week, I attended a funeral for a beautiful, 94 year old woman named Fran. The other half of this amazing couple, I sat teary-eyed through touching eulogies, all of which mentioned the triumph of Fran's 64 year marriage to her soulmate, who passed away less than 2 years ago at the age of 99.

Following the funeral, I once again found myself thinking about my own life and my soulmate, Dr. H. It was then that I informed Dr. H that I hoped we would both live long, happy lives together, but that when it came time, I hoped he would die first. Dr. H was taken aback. "So you want me to die? Are you gonna kill me!?!" I laughed and tried to explain. I hoped he would die first to save him the pain and to spare him the struggle. I did not want him to be left behind. I feared he would be too alone... I am the "caregiver" in our relationship and I want to care for him until the end and then I'll somehow find a way to care for just myself. I know I could do it, just like the amazing Fran did. Dr. H said he understood, but he still didn't like it. 

In the end, Dr. H and I decided that we're going to "Notebook it"... because there's just no way for either of us to imagine ever having to live without our soulmate.

Hump Day Distractions

Learn how to make your very own banana potty HERE.

Today's a crazy one so I'm serving up your distractions fast and furious. Enjoy!

* I don't usually like putting sweet stuff in my salad, but holy moly does this look delicious!

* Royally adorable.

* Because nothing bad can come from combining cotton candy and champagne (AmIRight!?)

* Mastering the elusive bang braid!

* As a chronic orchid bloomer-turned-killer, I might have to give this method of encouraging a re-bloom a try.

* I think I'm going to procreate just so I have tiny toes to put in these amazeballs sandals.

* Everything you need to throw a totally adorable popsicle party.

* Who's up for a trip to Hong Kong for pizza and a movie!?

* This would totally have been today's post header image, but even I have a sense of decency..! click HERE for your inappropriate humor image of the day.

Blegh.

Someone please find my charger.

Today I have a massive case of the Mondays, which set in early yesterday when I woke up with a pit in my stomach, already dreading the start of the week, a condition I like to call "the Sundays". I'm doing everything I can to combat the work week blues, including treating myself to these stunnas for the corner of my desk:

Bodega Blooms for the Win!

For the past month, I have spent nearly every spare minute I have with loved ones celebrating graduations, engagements, babies, weddings, bar mitzvahs and plain old friendship. It's been immensely fun and totally exhausting... A glance at my summer calendar leaves me clinging to the few open weekends that remain, once again adopting a "plan to make no plans" because it's gotten to the point where I feel like I'm moving so quickly from one place to the next that I'm not fully enjoying being where I am while I'm there. As a person who rarely says "no" and is always up for an adventure, this is probably one of my greatest struggles... I feel so fortunate to have amazing people to love and occasions to celebrate, but sometimes I need to remind myself to just stop and smell the bodega flowers. Good thing peonies are in season:)

Very punny.

Meats Meeting. HA!

Sometimes what you need in the middle of a busy day, is to stop and smile at the adorable pun illustrations. 

Am I right!?

Bucket List.

Bored Board. HA!

Aquatic Mammal Humor.

Chocolate Bar

Awww Ladybug!

Hump Day Distractions

This is amazing (also, mildly terrifying.)

Hello hello my merry friends and welcome to our first sunny, June, Hump Day! We've had some late-to-the-party April showers (and temperatures) in NYC so far this week, but today the sun returned and I can tell we'll be feeling summery again in no time! I'm also super pumped to share that while I was non-posting on Monday, my beloved sis was becoming Dr. Sis, officially now a DDS!!! Move over Dr. H, there's a new (and possibly more legitimate!?) Dr. in Merry Blog town:) Here to get us through the day and one minute closer to Friday are your web-sourced goodies and distractions. Enjoy!

* This is a gut-wrenchingly beautiful must-read from Sheryl Sandberg on the recent loss of her husband and the importance of choosing Option B.

* I'm ready. Take me to the natural swimming pool.

* You absolutely must check out the exPress-o's amazing series on adoption. Whether you're considering it, resorting to it, never imagined it or have lived it, these stories from adoptive mothers and fathers will open your eyes to the deep truth that parenthood really is about love, not genetics.

* Holy awesome sneakers! (And thanks to Mom for the find:)

* This is the kitchen that my apartment dweller dreams are made of. 

* A playful and easy-to-make antipasto, perfect for your next backyard BBQ.

* Here's a dragon who'll definitely make you smile:)