I’m back from Blogfest and am almost fully recovered; chatting with so many amazing bloggers  and designers can really wear a girl out! But I have lots to share and thought I would start with first part of conference held at Hearst Tower. The opening lunch hosted by House Beautiful was gorgeous — peonies were the unofficial flower of the event, everyone was taking advantage of their short season. And do you see those giant bags on the chairs? These were the swag bags of all swag — magazines for days and my favorite freebie, a copy of the new book, House Beautiful Blue: 360 Ways To Decorate With Blue. I already started to pick through it on my train ride back and it’s beautiful.

Following the delicious welcome lunch and after making lots of new friends (whose blogs I’ll share later in the week) we listened in on a panel discussion with Hearst editors Newell Turner of House Beautiful, Dara Caponigro of Veranda, and Mark Rozzo of Town & Country. All three were incredibly gracious and very open when talking about magazines’ relationship with blogs, they all agreed that there’s a place for both mediums in the space. In fact, they called on bloggers for being the beat editors that find trends and sources in the places that big magazines don’t have the time or staff to cover. My favorite moment of the day was when Newell Turner proclaimed he maintained a no-diva policy at House Beautiful, he doesn’t waste his time on that — which is probably why the magazine has such a down to earth feel to it.

Then we capped off the day with some champagne before we were whisked off to the ELLE Decor Modern Life Concept House … more on that tomorrow!

Before I head out for the weekend I thought I’d share a little craft I pulled together for the Bachelorette party I’m attending. I bought some clear button holders at the craft store, and picked up blingy engagement ring stickers from the scrapbooking section. I made a template for the buttons and cut out each piece of paper and added an “O” sticker. I hope the bride-to-be likes them; I will certainly be wearing one tonight as I order drinks!

PS: You can download the template here!

How gorgeous are these lamps by Robert Abbey? I think they look like giant jewels — the faceted shape is so modern and glamorous. I’m eyeing the aqua one… and the green one… and the pink one…

Lamps sold here.

I had a mini-viewing party with one of my best girls — we woke up and started watching at 5am with a spot of bubbly and then topped off the morning with some official “Royal Wedding Donuts” from Dunkin Donuts. It was so fun to watch! I can’t imagine how amazing it must be to view in London today. I’m a sucker for weddings so I thought it was incredibly romantic, I especially loved the moment when you could read Prince William’s lips mouthing “you look beautiful” to his bride to be. And I loved the dress, it was perfectly timeless. So tell me, did you watch the Royal Wedding this morning? The dress? The kiss? Let me know what you thought!

In preparation for the Royal Wedding, Kate Middleton has had to do a lot of important things like practice her kiss, get approval from the Queen, and keep giant secrets about her dress. I’ve also been furiously preparing by:

It’s a hard job, but someone has to do it! Are you ready for tomorrow??

Though I’m sure you were excited to read this post because you thought I would bestow advice on how to be more like me, it’s another Kate I’m talking about today — Ms Middleton and her fashion sense. She’s no wild-child of style, but she does always look polished and dressed for the occasion.

Kate sticks to her roots with a Barbour jacket, and has been known on occasion to pair hers with some wellies for more casual days in the countryside. But for special occasions she gets a little more wild and dons some pretty wild fascinators in her hair. I think a Ban.Do ostrich pouf would do the trick for copy-Kates. And it’s no surprise the Brit loves her Burberry; she’s been seen wearing her Burberry trench to a handful of events since her engagement announcement. Plus we can’t forget what will forever be an iconic look for Kate: the blue wrap dress. The actual Issa dress sold out in less than a day after Kate wore it, but a million knock-offs are now available so we can all have our royal blue moment.

What do you think of Kate’s style?Images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Let’s be honest here, this little shindig happening on Friday, the royal wedding? People are excited about it, I mean, the girl is marrying prince-charming. But what am I really excited about? The dress. It’s all about the dress. 

I was watching a special on TV this weekend about Princess Diana’s dress and I learned that during the broadcast of her wedding dress makers began sketching and cutting patterns immediately in order to replicate the look. Knock-offs of that famous dress were assembled and for sale in less than 24 hours after the wedding aired!

I know I’ll be waiting on the edge of my seat for the first glimpse of white.

Grace, Carrie, Audrey, Jackie, Priscilla and Carolyn have all worn amazingly iconic wedding day looks. I’m sure Kate can expect the same royal treatment.

Knowing that I’ve been trying to eat healthier, the ever-thoughtful Easter Bunny gave me a basket of herbs this year instead of the usual stash of peeps and candy eggs and jelly beans. Of course there’s still a little bit of chocolate in there… I better eat it before it starts to taste like rosemary, right?

With the holiday on Monday in Boston, it seems like the week has gotten away from me — I’ve barely had a chance to download all of the shots I snapped over last weekend. I enjoyed warmer weather and took an impromptu trip down to New York where I caught a baseball game, shopped, visited with friends and family, and enjoyed a stay at the Thompson Hotel.

I also made a long-awaited trip to Fishs Eddy while in the city. Major sensory overload from all of the amazing glassware and china gave me a buyer’s-freeze; I wanted one of everything and thus didn’t choose anything; another trip back is a must! And just like that, it’s practically the weekend again.

 
 
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