june

Dear June,

It's good yet bittersweet that you're leaving us! It has definitely been a trying month, and it continues to be very challenging...but the summer is sweet, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

So...let's start with the most recent. I got a new car! It felt weird driving off in a brand new car, feeling like it wasn't new at all but back to what I had before.  I detest the whole negotiations bit, the haggling is absolutely exhausting! But it was a big accomplishment and step for progress, so I am pretty excited. We took it for a lovely, lazy Sunday drive up the river and found ourselves in a totally new spot - Frenchtown, NJ - where we walked around the main street, popped in the shops, and had lunch. How cute is this town!? American flags everywhere, old industrial buildings, little restaurants and cafes and shops right along the Delaware.

This month I have been working SO hard on the ever-rewarding and time consuming craft of calligraphy! I have two wedding collections that I am working on, which has been so amazing. These brides are lovely and have such great taste in wedding paper and stationery. I am so thankful that they have entrusted me with this project! Through these, I have learned so much about etiquette and all of the ins and out of format, spacing, and keeping up with tradition. I'm learning to hone my skills. The most importance is patience and deliberation. Each black canvas needs to stay blank until all the preparations are made - each item off the checklist, checked twice. Ink? Water? Viscosity? Opaque enough? Spelling? Spacing? Choice of tools? All of this is time consuming, and requires my full concentration and attention all of the time. I love the feeling of accomplishing a full set! I can't wait to see how these two projects turn out!

A few days ago by little bro rang in his 20th birthday! We sneakily threw him a big surprise party at our house, with all of his friends, family, s'mores and a bonfire, yummy BBQ food and of course some good old lawn sports - volleyball is my absolute favorite to play as a team! S loves Spikeball, but we didn't get a chance to play at the party (hello, beach!). My sister planned the whole thing and it went so well.

Next week, I am going here to ring in July 4th and spend some time in the sun and by the sea! I absolutely love the chilly early morning walks, multiple coffee stops (I miss coffee SO much - I can't drink it and work on my calligraphy usually in the same day) and coming and going to get some relief from the sun. I think my favorite aspect of the shore by far is watching all of the boats through their binoculars and watching them come and go. I normally figure out which one is which based on time of day, or color...I am such a nerd! But I love it. So next time you hear from me, it will probably be about the beach!

ciao, xo

rainy weekend

 dress  / tote / umbrella 

Probably one of the worst things about shopping is finding out that you paid full price for something that is now deeply discounted (i.e. this dress is now under $50!). Ouch. Maybe my pain can be your gain! I had this dress in mind for a drizzly weekend stroll through the streets of Princeton, where I had to stop for some errands over the weekend. The campus is filled with such beautiful landscaping and with the trees in full bloom it was hard to resist snapping a few photos in front of all their pink magnificence!  A lot of people were out doing the same thing even through the fine mist and chilly temperatures.

I added a cheap belt (this was from an outfit from F21) to add some structure, but I love this dress without a belt too. It is supposed to be a sheath dress, and while constructed on the top with a ribbed tee fabric, it is drapey and elegant on the bottom. It adds just enough length and is lined on the inside.

 Most rainy days, I don't feel like dressing up - but when I have an awesome umbrella (old school with the wooden hook handle) I feel a little bit more classic Londoner and more inspired to dress the part.

what makes you feel happy on a rainy day? ciao! xo

next stop: montauk

images sourced via pinterest

Okay, so we may not end up in Montauk, but I couldn't resist that title and it's definitely a location we're going to try to hit today as we embark to Long Island! It's a girls weekend that I have been looking forward to for a while. I love spending time with my mom and stumbling upon the most unexpected places. Some things I am hoping to do:

- shoot an outfit post somewhere along a cute main street.
- visit sag harbor, NY
- see the windmills
- whaling museum?
- get some fresh cut lavender or buy some fresh flowers.
- squeeze in a coffee diaries
- tour the theodore roosevelt home at sagamore hill
- see a lighthouse (I don't have a preference to which one) :)

I've got my weekender packed, the car is filled, to-go coffee in my hand. I'm wearing the most nautical chunky sweater I could find to fit in with the seafaring theme. Can't wait to get on the road! Have a great weekend, everyone! ciao, xo

scenes from my weekend

hello! happy monday! 

this weekend has been refreshing. it felt like a steady and slow wintry weekend, even though yesterday was the first day of S P R I N G ! I could not be more excited for flowers, warmth, pastel, wearing stripes and skirts and maybe even sandals. 

there were long walks outside...cold but refreshing!

a restorative yoga class...

some spring cleaning and updating...

and lots of calligraphy practice! 

lately i have been feeling an urge to completely update my room. A trip to HomeGoods this weekend really went a long way!  I got some crates for organization, a jasmine hibiscus candle, a really pretty golden trinket box (above - how pretty?!!!), and a new bed set with a shabby-chic, crisp white flair. I was feeling this spring cleanup urge after walking through my town's Anthropologie (love that place) and completely obsessing over their store's layout, including the decor. I could pretty much set up shop in there and be quite content with that! 

nothing else much going on, except the sleepy snow falling outside now. Even though I can't wait for warmth,  a cozy night in front of the fire is kind of amazing right now. 

ciao! xo 

scenes from my weekend

a. taylor studio print with some inspo from a favorite! 

Here's what's going on lately!

• in the mood for flowers. obviously, can you tell? It's been slowly warming up here and the beautiful pink magnolia tree - the most majestic in the springtime - has its buds! (!!!!!!!!). I can't wait for it. So in the meantime I planted my own seeds, and they sprouted in under a week! I am a novice when it comes to this, so I'm not sure if that's normal...but I am pumped. My seedlings include some poppies (which aren't going to transplant well, but I don't care), stock, zinnia, and ranunculus.

• coffee diaries of epic proportions coming soon! it was so fantastic and inspiring! I turned a blog friend into a real friend, yay!

• the great outdoors. well, I didn't walk through it - but we drove up through the mountains this weekend and the landscape and scenery were breathtaking. getting some cool mountain air in the lungs is always a good thing. and how about that covered bridge? I love my car's gps system for surprising us with that one along the route.

• falling off the healthy wagon...lately my weeks have been up and down. sometimes, i eat healthy in my head but don't actually do it. does that make sense? {actually, even I don't understand that!?} What i think I mean is that I intend to eat well, especially during the week, but then sometimes the hangriness sets in and it's very hard to control! I have been SO good lately about eating practices, and working out, but I hurt my knee and haven't run for a few days. so mentally, i feel like I have fallen off the wagon. Need to get back on (and stop eating chips and salsa). 

• watched this movie and it's so so delightful.

• springing forward for daylight savings hurts. 

• there is something to be said about old fashioned, slow paced visits. whether it is coffee meet-ups, spontaneous get-togethers, or dinners with old friends, building those kinds of relationships - over laughs, stories, memories, old photos - is the paramount happiness. I had so many of those this weekend with old and new friends, and it is something special. Being in a rush is overrated.

Have a great week! ciao, xo

soft details

br necklace / primark sweater / br jeans / tote (old) / shoes (similar)

The first semblances of spring are what make me the absolute happiest. All I want to do is buy loads of tulips, eat Reese eggs, do some major spring de-cluttering, and of course wear feminine and light clothes that are perfect for warmer days. The first day it hits 60 degrees is the unofficial kickoff of spring in my head! This past Sunday was the day, and we made some time for a midmorning smoothie stop to get in some greens with our breakfast. There's an awesome smoothie place nearby and I always go for a berry smoothie made with greens and almond milk. 

For our smoothie outing, I decided to break in my new flats (called ghillies) with my favorite new ankle-length jeans. I love the heavy amounts of detail down by the ankles in this outfit - the cuffs from the jeans have an awesome dip-dye look which I love. I never buy jeans, and I just had to have these for spring.  The shoes are also really detailed, with the laces that go up the leg underneath the cuffs of my jeans. I honestly feel like I am hopping on such an obvious trend bandwagon here, but these were only $19 and I feel like that is a perfect amount to spend on a pair of shoes that a) I probably won't wear often and b) won't be in style forever. To lighten things up, I wore a really comfortable sweater from Primark (new obsession) with a pretty lace detail that ups the femininity of the whole outfit. There's a lot of stuff going on with this outfit, but it pretty much sums up springtime weekending to me.

What you can't see in the outfit is my new fitbit charge hr! S got it for me for Valentine's Day and I honestly LOVE it. I cannot believe how motivated it makes me to keep moving throughout the day. Today alone I had over 14,000 steps! I have been feeling great, which, to me, is the best advantage. It keeps me way more disciplined than I used to be without it, especially when it comes to food logging and making sure I drink enough water. I just feel healthy, light, and consistent with my habits.

ciao! xo

p.s. follow my new creative outlet, @ataylorstudio! 

gettysburg

Today marks the 152nd anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.

 Last weekend my mom and I took a whirlwind, last-minute trip to Gettysburg, a place that neither of us had been before. For a sleepy Pennsylvania town, it is brimming with relevant history and is absolutely one of my favorite experiences in a while. It really was an investment to go, as a historian, and as a stakeholder in history education. It was powerful to see the sprawling, hilly fields of Gettysburg and contemplate what it may have looked like all those years ago. It was a somber but meaningful visit, especially as I am becoming more and more interested in the Civil War. Short weekend trips like this can teach you so much, and make you appreciate your country. It was really good timing, as today marks the anniversary of Lincoln's famous address; it was also the weekend after Veteran's Day which really made me think not only about our country, but the people who quietly gave what they could to serve to make our country great. In light of recent events I am even more grateful for this.

Not sure if I should be posting this, because technically we broke a rule...but my favorite part of the trip was going onto the fields at night. Not to hunt for ghosts, but to take pictures of the stars. The milky way was fantastic. Streams of stars lit the sky. Little bright balls of white developed the longer you kept your eye on them. The starlight picture above was taken at the site of one of the hospitals at Gettysburg, near Cemetery Ridge.

Even without the history, Gettysburg is a delightful town. All the locals that I spoke to love living there. It is quiet, simple, and well maintained. The town has a certain dignity along with its charm. We found some cute cafes and restaurants on the main street, Chambersburg Street, including this place and this place. 

I can't sufficiently express what I got out of this trip. I loved every second of it and can't wait to visit again.

ciao! xo