Last week I was sitting down at my computer to do some last minute planning for my vintage treasure hunting trip to Brimfield and I realized there aren’t many resources online for folks that haven’t been before and want to know what to expect. I remember the first time I went and I had no idea where to park, where to shop, or what it would be like. So I thought I would share a few of my tips for future Brimfield attendees, as well as some photos from my antiquing at the July show! 
read more
Last week I had the opportunity to get a sneak preview of Chaps new spring line in Boston. They shot their spring campaign right in our backyard, featuring some of the most picturesque spots in Beacon Hill (a perfect backdrop for their preppy looks, we do prep right in Boston!). It was a really fun event — I’m a girl who can get behind mini lobster tacos, champagne, and chit chat about monogrammed collared shirts! One of the fun details at the event was live fashion illustrators sketching our outfits — I wore a super cozy striped sweater from the new line that I will be living in all summer! Check out my outfit illustration by the talented Michelle Barton below: 
read more
I keep scrawling little notes on my to do list to post about a few things I’m loving lately, some of our house updates, and other little tidbits on my mind, so it’s an ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ kind of blog post today.
One of the projects I tackled during my time off over the holidays was sending out my 2nd annual “happy new year” cards. I mailed them out to folks I collaborated with over the course of the year, and some of my favorite ‘cheerleaders’ that have supported me as I’ve worked to grow my business. After a fun photo shoot with the Improper Bostonian, I knew the picture of my pink bar cart had to be involved in the mailer. I worked with Posh + Prep to design the cards and wanted to add in a few little treats, so Julie illustrated two of my favorite #domestikatedishes cocktail recipes — and I tucked festive drink stirrers into the envelope for some cocktail flair. I would love to send one of these cards to every single one of my readers, but since I can’t I thought I would do the next best thing: share the recipe cards here so you can download and use them at home. Hope you enjoy a festive cocktail after making it through your first day back at work after the holidays — cheers! 
read more
Just a few days after we had moved into our new house in October I got an email to participate in one of the most fun photo shoots I’ve worked on to date — a holiday entertaining piece in the Improper Bostonian. We had a tiny window to shoot this holiday DIY feature and by some amazing luck, a group of talented, creative ladies got together with me to help pull it off (with stacks of my unpacked belongings in the nearby background). Below are a few pictures from the shoot (and two more behind-the-scenes pictures from that day); you can read the full article here: Improper Bostonian – Home for the Holidays.
read more
While waiting for this new site to get up and running, I’ve fallen a little bit behind on my content updates! So this post about the Better Home and Gardens Stylemaker event I attended in NYC a few weeks ago is coming delayed, but felt so worth recapping — better late than never, right? BHG invited a group of awesome bloggers together to meet editors and style makers at this amazing event. One of the best sessions I attended was a look behind the scenes at how food stylists work on BHG’s recipe and food spreads. Libbie Summers was one of the food stylists and taught us how to get perfect ‘dollop’ for whipped cream (take the back of a spoon and run it across the surface of the whipped cream about 3 times to create some streaks, and then use the front side of the spoon to scoop the opposite direction to preserve those lines — brilliant!). Another food stylist said he used an old paint stripper in lieu of a kitchen torch to brown up and tighten food after it has been sitting for a while on a shoot — so smart!
It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here! My absolute terrible ability to keep secrets has been crushing me while keeping this project under wraps — I’m so excited to finally be able to share the brand new home for Domestikatedlife online! I worked with the amazing talented team of Erin and Melissa, and they helped bring my vision to life. A few of things that I’m super excited about (and that hopefully help my readers as well!) are lots of new navigation elements. Now you can dig into posts by topic, whether you’re searching for the perfect recipe or looking for entertaining inspiration. There’s also a whole new section that collects all of my posts about events and things to do and see in Boston in one place. I’ll also be pulling some of my favorite seasonal posts out of the archives and featuring them in my ‘editors picks’ section at the bottom of the page. I’m still working out a few kinks, but check back soon for lots of new content, and another big announcement coming soon (hint, hint!).
We’re calling this the ‘summer of boats’ — I kicked off the summer with a tour of Newport harbor, have enjoyed some lovely ferry rides, and this past weekend myself and ten of my best friends used Vimbly to book tickets on the Adirondack III to sail around the Boston Harbor for an afternoon. We were celebrating a very special birthday for my friend Taz, complete with a boat-side cheese plate, mini-cupcakes, and champagne for our ride. It could not have been a more perfect day, or more gorgeous weather, and we even got the best seats on the boat — it felt like our own little private excursion since we all got to sit together in the separate back area of the boat. Our harbor ride reminded me of two things: 1) gosh I love have a cocktail while out on the water, what’s better than that? and 2) we have a lot of fun when we decide to use our weekends to try something new and break out of our normal routines. So, here’s to more fun weekend activities that break the mold (and thanks Vimbly for giving me the opportunity to realize that!). Now, where are we boating to next? 
Please note: Vimbly offered me a complimentary chance to use their site and try out their service. All opinions and images are my own.
Radio silence here usually means things are happening elsewhere for me, and for the past two weeks a lot has been happening. I left my job working on the social media team for Liberty Mutual Insurance — it’s telling that as I write that, it’s actually the first time I’ve ever talked about my ‘day job’ on this site. It was truly sad to leave my amazing, smart, funny, caring co-workers (tears were shed, people! Real tears!). When I’ve been telling people about this departure, the first question I get is “wow, are you blogging full-time now?” 
Nope! For the first time in my life I actually think I’m doing something better than the prospect of blogging full-time — I found a new job that totally aligns with my passions and excites me so much I have been springing out of bed in the morning (a true novelty for a morning-monster like myself). I joined the team at Ellie Kai, an amazing women’s fashion brand that creates made-to-order dresses and clothing in powerful, bold prints. I have my first two weeks on the job under my belt and it’s been an awesome experience and a great learning process. I’m going to be working from home part-time, and traveling down to Cape Cod a few days a week to work out of their corporate offices. Driving (quite far!) to work has been a totally new experience, as has working from home for this social butterfly (please someone stop me if I start talking to my cat). I’ve already had so much fun in just a few short days though — including popping over to Nantucket to help set up one of the summer showrooms. Spending the day working from the wharf in Nantucket was all I needed to experience to know I had hit the jackpot. The very best part of this new role is that I have been feeling really well-balanced — just being able to talk about my job here and on social media feels pretty freeing, and I think the role will offer me a lot more opportunities to cross-pollinate my passions at work with what I love doing here on my site — I feel so very lucky! So that’s that — except to see some more behind-the-scenes over on my Instagram account soon! 
This past weekend I was delighted to partner with one of my favorite brands — Madewell — for a fun spring shopping event. I became a Madewell convert the day I walked into their Natick store and was completely deflated that I couldn’t find denim that fit my body anywhere. One of the lovely stylists helped me try on their denim line until I found not one, but two! perfect pairs of denim; now every pair of jeans in my closet is from Madewell now. While everyone shopped they sipped on mimosas and a rosemary infused lemonade I mixed up. EAT Boutique was also on site hosting a pop-up shop with spring treats, and Maggie of Eat Boutique made some pretty tasty tomato tarts from her new cookbook: Food Gift Love for everyone to enjoy — it was a fun little fete to cap of the weekend!
