dogs in swings

brace yo'self.

{via buzzfeed}

notre dame des victoires

last night, hannah and i watched 'catch me if you can' with leo and tom hanks...so entertaining, have you seen?

* * *spoiler alert: when leo is finally arrested, he's caught in the french town of montrichard in a gorgeous city square. after a bit of research, i learned that the scene was actually filmed in quebec city, canada. 

i've never once been to canada but this area by the sea looks so beautiful and old, i must visit!

{thank buddha for google maps}

stamp dispenser

what a cutie desk item!

a pewter stamp dispenser from the good ol' usps for $9.99

prepping for maine

in just a few short weeks, i'm going to spend a week up at my family's house in vinalhaven, maine. i can't wait!

to further get me in the mood...

a beautiful canvas and leather weekender tote from jpeterman

as many blueberry sweets as i can possibly bake and consume

{crisp + pie}

penobscot bay views

bike rides along roads just like this

a lobster roll from the harbor gawker

cold swims in the granite rock quarries

stuffed peppers

my new favorite go-to, easy, healthy, fulfilling and delish recipe is stuffed peppers. 

begin by preheating the oven to 375 degrees.

dice and cook a whole onion for about 5 minutes in a large saucepan with a smidge of oil.

 add 3-4 cloves of garlic and continue cooking a few more minutes.

next, i add one pound of ground turkey and cook thoroughly. sprinkle in salt and pepper to taste. 

i completely love the seeds of change indian simmer sauces and it tastes great in this recipe. add a jar of either the madras or the tikka masala (or really any kind of sauce you choose).

**for a little extra, you can add about 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese and melt it into the mix**

while the turkey + sauce mixture simmers (about 5 minutes), cut the tops off 4 bell peppers and clean the insides. 

with a spoon, pile the mixture evenly into the peppers. sprinkle the tops with grated parmesan for a wonderfully crunchy top.

place the peppers in an oven-safe baking dish (like this or this) and bake for ~25 minutes...until the peppers have softened and the tops looks crunchy and browned. 

have at 'em!

sweet paul magazine

online magazines are the greatest. a gorgeous summer read is sweet paul magazine. sweet paul himself is a prop and photo stylist and writes a wonderful blog, full of recipes, crafts and inspirational photos. 

check out his summer edition of the magazine for the eye candy.

{photos from sweet paul blog}

watermelon jug

perfect for the summer, no?!

hollow out a giant watermelon, screw in one of these:

fill it with your favorite libation and you've got yourself a watermelon keg!

{found at ab chao}

lavender festival

this past very rainy sunday, hannah and i drove out to the lavender festival in the mountains of western nc. 

two hours after we left (a thunder storm and getting seriously lost didn't get us down!), we finally arrived at the very small but very sweet festival. 

the farm has fields of several types of lavender, a fabulous smelling lavender labyrinth, goats + sheep and a small shop of a million lavender products.  

after touring around, we ate a delightful and locally harvested lunch of frittata, beet salad with goat cheese and squash soup.

i now want a lavender farm with goats.  

farmhouse wares

looking for a present, a house warming gift or just a sweet treat for yourself? if simple farm house style is appealing to you, click on over to farmhouse wares, a lovely site with a small but great selection of home and garden items. 

39%!!

{giant buddha of leshan in china}

{petra, jordan}

{teotihuacan, mexico}

this month's real simple says that 39% of polled adults didn't plan to use all their vacation time in 2010. preposterous! now i know there are several reasons that contribute to that staggeringly high number (feeling guilty for taking time off, lack of funds, have "no time") but taking a vacation is vital!

if you haven't taken your allotted time out, plan a trip, even if it's just an easy one, and go.

or want something a little bigger and with a history twist? check out this neat website, historvius.

you can browse by destination or by time period...such a great way to jump start your search for the perfect trip.

photos of buddha, petra and teotihuacan

must see early summer movies

i loooove going to see a movie in the theater...doesn't matter the price...i just love the outing and experience. i saw some good/bad movies (movies you know are not good--often total crap--but totally satisfying and entertaining) that will go unmentioned, but movies of true cinematic value...none. 

it's been a while since i've seen something really great.

however, there are now several movies out that have received really fantastic reviews that i must see this summer (and am not embarrassed to say i have).

they are:

cave of forgotten dreams (in 3d!)

bill cunningham new york 

midnight in paris

click on the links above to watch the trailers

{photos from here, here and here}

**saw bill cunningham new york last night--fantastic!**

craft of the day

{mailbox bike basket}

{silk flower lights}

{diy tray}

{belt buckle frames}

it's no secret i love to craft but i so often need that inspirational something to actually get me in the mood. welcome martha stewart's craft of the day. the majority of these crafts are really neat and make me gush with cuteness! you can sign up here to get the daily emails. i found that i couldn't quite keep up so i created a folder in my gmail just for them. whenever the mood strikes, i head there and look for my next fun project. right now, i'd love to make these flower lights for a warm outdoor evening party and that pretty decorative tray to serve drinks on. 

all photos via martha