Olympic Gold

Are you watching the Olympics this week?  We're watching here at home and I love the events in the Summer Olympics.  I especially enjoy watching gymnastics, but also love swimming, dressage, and soccer!

If fashion was an Olympic sport, I would compete to earn the gold for the USA!  Here's my interpretation of the Olympic symbol with my Lilly bangles.  Love!

What are your favorite Olympic sports?  

xoxo

Pink Flamingo

You probably know that I adore the color pink in all shades and tones, but one of my favorite pinks is Flamingo!  From retro lawn ornaments to elegant day dresses, flamingo pink offers a pop of fun color even on a rainy day.

Flamingo lawn ornaments became all the rage in the 1950s and even won a Nobel Prize for art!  Wouldn't this retro look be adorable for a pool area?

Read about the history of the iconic flamingo lawn ornament in Don Featherstone's book, The Original Pink Flamingos:  Splendor on the Grass.  It's a fun, kitschy read and makes a cute addition to a coffee table in a sun room or patio.

Lately, I've become a little bit obsessed with J. Crew's bubble necklace and would love to have one in every color.  Azalea pink is included in the most recent collection of this statement necklace.

Share the flamingo love with a friend with these note cards.  Flamingo + chevron = Fabulous!

Fiestaware is one of my favorite things for the kitchen!  The colors are so pretty and bright.  The newest color in the collection is Flamingo.  I think it would look great with Shamrock Fiestaware, don't you agree?

Even if your decorating tastes are more beige than bold, this classic wool pillow adds whimsy to any decor.

How can you pair flamingo pink?  For a classic and neutral look, pair it with white or ivory.  For a bold look, combine turquoise blue and green with flamingo pink.

Many designers are inspired by flamingos, too.  I love Lilly Pulitzer's flamingo inspired print, Peel and Eat.  Elizabeth McKay's flamingo print from this spring's collection is still on my wish list, too.

What is your favorite flamingo find?

xoxo




Shopping Guide
Lawn Ornaments, Book, J. Crew Bubble Necklace, Chevron Note Cards, Fiestaware, Wool Pillow

Perfect Spiral Curls

Do you love curly hair?  Curlformers are an easy way to create perfect spiral curls quickly without damaging your hair with heat.  My friend Stephanie introduced me to this fantastic solution for perfect curls.  Her four daughters need spiral curls for competitive cheer competitions and my minnies need spiral curls for Irish dance.  After trial and error and a lot of time experimenting with everything including perm rods, rollers, curling irons, and a lot of hair spray and gel, all of the girls dreaded getting their hair done.

But Curlformers are so easy to use!  Finally, we found an easy way to create curls!   You can buy these in packs of 8, but you're going to need several packs, especially if you have thick hair.  I use about 40 for each girl.  

Be sure to get a Curlformer hook if it is not included with your rollers.  Divide your hair into small sections.  Slide the hook through the roller.

Place a small section of hair in the hook, and pull it through the Curlformer.  I started at the nape of the neck and worked my way around Natalia's head and then up to the top.  You can use the Curlformers on wet or dry hair; I prefer the results when the hair dries naturally in the rollers.  I used mousse on the wet hair to help hold the curl.  Here's what the first row looks like.

Alternate different colors of Curlformers and different sizes.  Make sure that all of your hair is tucked into the bottom of the roller so that the curl is even.  Natalia slept in the Curlformers comfortably and was not bothered by them at all!

The next day, I simply removed the rollers and had gorgeous spiral curls that lasted all day!  To remove the Curlformer, pinch the top of the roller to open it and slide out of the hair.  Here's the final result on Natalia just before she presented her dance.  The best part of all is that this is so natural and safe on her hair.  There's no heat and no damage.  I didn't even use hair spray on this and the bouncy curls looked fantastic on stage!

xoxo

Macaron Trinket Box

Last week, a dear friend and I spent the entire morning browsing local boutiques while our children volunteered at our church's Vacation Bible School.  It seemed strange not to be volunteering, since this other mom and I have helped at church for the past 4 years.  But this year, our children are old enough to volunteer and they jumped at the chance to help.  Christie and I decided to take the morning for ourselves.  Believe it or not, I rarely have time to shop leisurely without my children or demands on my time, so this morning was truly a luxury for me.  Such a treat!

As we browsed, I saw many lovely things, but I couldn't resist the green macaroon trinket box from Two's Company.  Macarons are one of my favorite indulgences, so I was thrilled to find this treasure.  

The trinket box is a lovely place to store earrings, rings, or other small items.  It would even be cute with mints or small candy.

The display for the Macaroon Trinket Boxes is so adorable, too!  If I had an upcoming shower or party, I'd be half tempted to buy the whole box to give as a party favor to guests.  You could put mints inside the box or simply place a note or card in it.  Another fun variation on the party favor theme would be to put fortunes inside the box or numbers for a door prize.  The possibilities are endless!

The macaroon trinket boxes are not readily available in stores or easy to find online.  After quite a bit of searching, I managed to find a link for these cute gifts.  You can buy them online here.

xoxo

Fab, Inexpensive Target Finds

The minnies had a gift card that was practically burning a hole in their little wallets and had been begging me to take them to Target.  As usual, we found some fabulous goodies in the store, especially in the "dollar section."

Target now has an extensive collection of great gifts that are usually found only in boutique or gift stores.  This Solar Queen from Kikkerland waves when the sun's rays touch her!  Hilarious to put in a kitchen window above the sink, don't you think?

My sister loves Russian nesting dolls and has quite a collection.  I thought that these would be cute little Babushkas from Fred would make fabulous gifts for her.  (Hope you're not reading this, SAB!)

The Fortune-Telling Book of Names would make an excellent birthday or baby gift.  I found my name and my minnies' names in the book and the fortunes we found were right on target.  

On every trip to Target, I always check the "dollar section" and usually find at least one thing.  We're planning the minnies' 11th birthday party, so we found a few cute party trays that are a steal at only $2.50 each!

We also found this adorable floral tape measure for only a dollar!  

The girls took forever to choose their goodies.  Why is it that every visit to Target takes several hours??  The  minnies skipped the toy section entirely and headed straight to accessories!  Alexia chose a green patent belt, a flower hair clip, and houndstooth shoe laces.  Natalia chose a purple zebra print scarf similar in shape to my Murfee scarves and some zebra shoe laces.  She's really into zebras right now!  So much fun!

What are some of your favorite finds at Target?  

xoxo

Knot:ical Style

When Beth from Knot:ical contacted me about her gorgeous collection, I knew immediately that it was something that I wanted to share with you.  The Bermuda bracelet arrived in the mail and I was immediately taken with the high quality hardware and craftsmanship of the bracelet. The neatly wrapped bracelet arrived in this pretty gift bag.  

The solid construction and careful wrapping make this bracelet study and long lasting. I love the gold colored thread with just a touch of silver in it.

The nautical clasp and hardware looks like something right off of a sailboat. Oh so nautical!

My friends at Knot:ical have a bracelet in every color combination and style imaginable!  Wear one in your college or sorority colors.  It's a great statement piece and everyone will want to know where you found it. 

Here are some of my favorite pieces from Knot:ical's current collection. 

Marco Island

Sanibel Island

I'm also loving the nautical key fobs!  Wouldn't one of these make an adorable hostess gift when you're visiting friends at the beach? 

You can see more of Knot:ical's designs here or on their Facebook page.  Be sure to check out my Facebook page later today to see how I styled my new Knot:ical bracelet.  Many thanks to Beth for reaching out to me. 

xoxo

New York Birthday Celebration

If you've been reading Maryland Pink and Green for any period of time, you know that traveling is one of my favorite things.  When asked what I want for my birthday, believe it or not, it's hard to think of something that    I want.  A dress or a bag are temporary, but the memories from a trip or an experience will last forever.  

So when I was surprised with a trip to New York for my birthday, I was beyond thrilled.    We took train from Baltimore and had a great trip into Penn Station in New York.  The view of the skyline is amazing, don't you think?

We went to the Top of the Rock to see these spectacular views. It was easy to identify buildings and landmarks with the map that was provided to us.  Although it's a very touristy thing to do, I would highly recommend this, just to see the view.  You could spend quite a long time up on the top decks, admiring the view of the city.

Shopping is another fabulous activity in New York!  You've already read about my visit to Lilly Pulitzer and Elizabeth McKay, but we couldn't stop there!  The minnies wanted some goodies from Dylan's Candy Bar and FAO Schwarz.  I spied the gorgeous William and Catherine Barbie dolls at the iconic toy store and was surprised to see such a pretty display.  These collectible dolls were a very hot item and sold out online as soon as they were released.  

And no trip to New York is complete without a visit to Century 21 or C. Wonder.  But on this trip, there was a new addition to my shopping circuit...Laduree!  The macarons are so delicious and soft.  I had to pick up a box for some friends and a special edition Hello Kitty box for the minnies.  

Central Park is a gorgeous green paradise in the city.  We took a nice stroll in the park and saw many of the buildings in the park; there's even a castle!

When I saw this bridge, I had to snap a picture! It reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in the movie Enchanted where Edward is singing to Gisele and lands on a bunch of bicycle riders.

A visit to the 9/11 Memorial was a very moving experience.  Although the museum is not open and the ticketing process is still not as smooth as one would expect, I would highly recommend a visit.  Be sure to reserve your tickets in advance of your trip.  We saw dozens of people who were turned at the Welcome Center because tickets for the day were already reserved.  

If New York is fabulous during the day, it really shines at night!  Times Square is buzzing with people and activity at night.  

Everything lights up at night in Times Square!  Even the subway has lights to illuminate the entrance.  

We saw Rock of Ages and loved it!  The Helen Hayes theater is Broadway's smallest theater; a perfect venue for this fabulous show.  I felt like I was part of the show and showed great restraint by not singing along with the anthems of my youth!  

The trip was a fantastic start to my birthday celebration!  

What things are on your favorite New York itinerary?  

xoxo

Tory and Diane at Target

Previous collaborations and pop up shops at Target have been wildly successful.  Shoppers in store camped out in anticipation of the collaboration and online shoppers shut down the Target website for a period of time with the incredible volume of traffic!

Mark your calendars now for December 1 in bold print for the latest (and dare I say, the best) collaboration from Target.  

I have several words for you...

Neiman Marcus


Alice + Olivia


Diane von Furstenberg


Judith Leiber


Tory Burch

Every year, I love to peruse the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book with all of the goodies, from great gifts, to over the top experiences and one of a kind gifts.  So this year, in addition to pouring over the Christmas Book, you can make a wish list with specially curated items from 24 of America's most famous designers.  The best news of all?  The price ranges will be accessible and you can find these items at Target.  Read more about this exciting collaboration and see the list of all of the designers who are part of this special collection.  

I don't know about you, but Tory Burch and Judith Leiber are at the top of my list!

What other designer would you love to see included in the collaboration? 

xoxo



P.S.  If you'd like to read about some of Target's previous collaboration efforts, here's a short list for you.

The Shops at Target
Calypso St. Barth
Liberty of London
Miss Trish of Capri

Elizabeth McKay in New York

On my surprise birthday trip to New York, I had the pleasure of visiting Elizabeth McKay's Lexington Avenue showroom.  The windows of the second floor store are gorgeous and display the season's top picks; don't you love the shiny disco ball?

Since all of my shopping for Elizabeth McKay has been done online or by phone, it was amazing to see the entire summer collection in person. Everything was organized by color and style. The Elizabeth blouse is one of my favorite pieces and is so versatile. As much as I love the prints, it's nice to have a few good solid pieces that are timeless in any preppy wardrobe.  I imagine that Grace Kelly would love to wear Elizabeth McKay as much as I do!

I spent some time trying on different styles and found that the majority of Elizabeth McKay's styles to fit true to size. The cotton sateen and silk tops and tunics are a perfect pop of color for summer.  Vintage bags and jewelry are also a nice surprise at Elizabeth McKay and perfectly complement the clothing.  The white decor of the showroom is elegant and crisp with large white birdcages as a focal point.

The elephant key chains are whimsical and practical!  

Candles are also a nice surprise!

Although I wanted to buy one of everything, I finally decided on the 50's dress in Chevron yellow.  And although I wanted to wear the dress right away, I showed greeeeat restraint and wore this amazing dress to my birthday dinner this weekend.  

Natalia told me that she loved it and that I looked like "one of those beautiful women from the movie The Help."  Since part of Elizabeth McKay's inspiration for these prints came from the movie, I think that Natalia is right!  Natalia is all about dresses that look like part of the wardrobe from that movie!  

Although I can't share all of the juicy details, I can tell you that I saw a preview of the fall collection at Elizabeth McKay and it is amazing.  TDF.  You're going to love it.  

Think more of your favorite styles like the Elizabeth blouse and the Scotland dress in fantastic new prints for fall...black and white elephant print anyone?  There's also an incredible amount of texture in the fall collection with soft silk and faux fur!  With colors ranging from classic neutrals to gorgeous emerald jewel tones, there's a lot that you will need for your wardrobe this fall.  

Shopping Guide:  

The Elizabeth McKay showroom is located at 1020 Lexington Avenue around 73rd street on the Upper East Side of New York City.  

xoxo