A sunny weekend

What a gorgeous weekend this has been!  Both yesterday and today have been so sunny and warm.  After the bone-chilling winter we had, it's such an amazing feeling to step outside without a coat and feel perfectly comfortable.

I laid low on Saturday since I was still feeling under the weather, but sticking around the house gave me the opportunity to do a bit of organizing and catch up on some projects.  I got a head start on spring cleaning by doing a serious re-organization of our kitchen.  We've already started receiving some wedding gifts, and I wanted to clear out some old and unused stuff to make room for the new!  

Today, we took advantage of the nice weather by visiting a nearby farmers market.

I loved browsing the beautiful jams, fragrant herbs, and homemade soaps.  Jason saw me admiring some Avocado Mango soaps (made with all natural ingredients) and treated me to a bar!  I can't wait to try it out.

We followed up the farmers market with a nice, long walk/run through one of our favorite parks.  Now I'm relaxing with a mug of tea and catching up on my favorite blogs.  

What did you lovelies do this weekend?  I'd love to hear about it!

xo,

Sweet vintage cake stand, by Olivia

I was so excited when Olivia contacted me to let me know I'd won her cake stand giveaway! Olivia makes the most beautiful vintage cake stands from unique plates that she finds at antique and thrift stores. It was so hard to choose just one. I finally decided on the Isabella cake stand. Isn't she a beauty?

I'm finding that it's perfect for storing the jewelry and other odds and ends that seem to collect on our dining room table. (I take off my jewelry at random times and can never seem to put it back in my jewelry box.)

Thank you Olivia! I love it so much!

P.S. Be sure to check out Olivia's lovely shop and her equally lovely blog where she muses about her daily adventures in baking, exploring her town, and other inspirations. I promise you'll be as smitten as I am!

Wishing you a relaxing weekend

Happy Friday! What's everyone up to this weekend?

We were planning to take advantage of the nice weather by going hiking at a nearby park, but I'm feeling a bit under the weather so we will have to play it by ear. Good thing we recently signed up for Netflix (we're a bit behind the curve), so I've got some fun films to keep me entertained if I'm couch-ridden. First on the docket is King Corn, which I've heard is really fascinating.

I hope you all have a relaxing weekend! And take care of yourselves - it seems like there's lots of nasty germs going around. Vitamin C, echinacea, lots of fluids, rest, repeat!

Image via The Pulp Girls.

The NEO-traditionalist Manifesto

I recently stumbled upon the loveliest blog. The NEO-traditionalist is penned by Kate, whose interests include "reading biographies, scouring rummage sales, listening to NPR's This American Life, eating banana cupcakes, quoting Diana Vreeland, and dreaming up whimsical names for her future children." Clearly, we were meant to be best friends, don't you think?

I totally swooned over her Neo-traditionalist Manifesto, which Kate kindly gave me permission to share with you all.

We believe...

We believe in being glass-half-full sorts of girls.

We believe that often times, granny is chic.

We believe in peddling vintage Schwinns with flower baskets.

We believe in poetry, picnics, and piñatas.

We believe one is never too old to keep a diary, the secrets only grow more scandalous.

We believe in arranging fresh flowers unruly like an English garden.

We believe in adventure and traveling the globe, be it to Marrakech or Malibu.

We believe in mixing lucite with oriental rugs. Thrift store finds with heirlooms.

We believe in handwritten thank you notes, better late than never.

We believe in needlepoint, letterpress, decoupage and forgiving Martha Stewart.

We believe in piggy banks and cookie jars.

We believe in book clubs full of Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Austen and Woolf.

We believe station wagons are hopelessly chic.

We believe in recycling our Grandmothers’ names. Eloise, Jackie, Faye…

We believe in collecting: stamps, shells, books, big glittering diamonds…

We believe in marrying the boy that writes us the best love letters.

We believe in highly competitive board games—Chess, Scrabble, Chutes & Ladders.

We believe in spontaneous road trips and charming, chintzy bed & breakfasts.

We believe there’s something to fortune cookies, wishbones and 4 leaf clovers.

We believe in classics, shaken and stirred.

Love, love, love. Definitely hop on over and check out Kate's blog and her adorable vintage Etsy shop!

Image via Kate's Etsy shop.

VivaTerra

Ever since I spotted VivaTerra over at the Department of the Interior, I have been smitten with its fresh and casual style. From kitchenware to women's clothing to home décor, the vibe is bright and sunny, and the styling evokes images of slow weekends in the country - ancient stone fireplaces, homemade chocolate chip cookies, wildflowers and long walks down overgrown, winding lanes. Flipping through the catalog always makes me want a creaky old farmhouse to decorate. (Something like this would do the trick.)

The best part? Not only are VivaTerra's goods beautiful, they are also made using eco-friendly and sustainably sourced materials, and many are handcrafted by individual artisans from around the world.

Wouldn't that little owl statuette be cute perched atop a bookshelf?

P.S. About that farmhouse...anyone wanna go halfsies?

From top left: Ceramic Imari Bowls, Misprint Hooks, Peroba Wood Chair, Owl Family, Fresh Olive Bay Wreath, Crinkle Scarf, Andes Handbag, Linen Papillon Pillows, Succulent Cube Set

(All images via VivaTerra)

On wanderlust and traveling (without leaving home)

"Buy the ticket, take the ride."

-Hunter S. Thompson

I've had a serious case of wanderlust these past couple of weeks. Perhaps it's the long and extra-wintry winter we had this year (and the consequent string of days spent tucked away indoors, venturing out only when necessary). It's not so much a desire to travel to any place in particular (though I've got that too.) It's more of a yearning for the spirit of travel. The adventure. The movement.

It's a hankering for the open road and the feeling of being just a little bit lost in an unfamiliar place. A craving for the thrill of the new, the strange, the unusual. The feeling of not knowing exactly where this road will take me, or what's around that corner. The freedom of carrying only a backpack on my back and a map in my hands, liberated from most of my earthly possessions. That child-like wonder at the newness and peculiarity of it all. The pleasant confusion of deciphering a new set of words, flavors, and subway systems. The trail itself, and being unsure of where it leads, but feeling that it's somehow important - critical, even - that I get there. Wherever there might be.

My fiancé and I will be exploring Italy this summer on our honeymoon (just four short months away!), and I've been brainstorming ways to capture the momentum of travel in my everyday life until then. Some ideas:

Visiting new (to me, anyway) museums

Exploring quirky neighborhoods

Trying an unusual recipe

Spending a Saturday hiking a trail we've never hiked before

Striking up a conversation with the barista at the corner coffee shop

Taking a new route, even if it's just to the grocery store or the mall

Thinking about ways to "travel" within my own life has sparked a whole new way of thinking about my day-to-day existence. I've been asking myself: Where can I stretch beyond my comfort zone? How can I get from A to B in a new and different way? Where is there room for growth?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. How do you cope with wanderlust? How do you "travel" within your everyday life?

P.S. Thank you all so much for your supportive comment's on yesterday's post. I've found that setting intentions is another effective way to create movement (to "travel") within my life. If you blogged about your own intentions for March, please share a link - I'd love to read them!

Image via Free Bird.

March intentions

Helloooo March! I don't think I've ever been happier to see you! Even though spring doesn't officially start until later this month, today's relatively mild weather and clear blue skies are hinting at all the things I love about the spring and summer months: running outside, going on hikes through beautiful nearby parks, watching as the earth and its creatures are renewed (flowers in full bloom, birds singing, a bounce in everyone's step), an abundance of fresh produce at local farmers markets, dining al fresco, sipping a glass of chilled white wine on the porch as the sun sets...I can't wait!

I have not been terribly disciplined about setting my monthly intentions (though I have been making progress on my 2010 intentions), so I've decided March is a good month to revive this habit. Here are my intentions for March:

Increase the frequency of my yoga practice - strive for every other day (currently practicing 1-2x/week, but I miss how amazing I feel when I'm practicing 4-5x/week)

Continue to nurture my body with fresh, healthy foods and lots of exercise

Take more pictures! One of my goals for this blog is to incorporate more photos from my own life, but I always forget to take pictures. Starting this month, I intend to take more!

Take steps toward fulfilling another aspect of Tulips & Tea that I have been toying with for awhile (I don't mean to be mysterious about this, but I need to get a couple things in place before I can share...)

Sign up for a just-for-fun type of class at the local community college (we got the catalog in the mail the other day, and I couldn't believe how many fabulous classes they offer - everything from wine tasting to floral arranging to women & entrepreneurship! It'll be tough to pick just one.)

Finalize wedding ceremony details, draft our program, and decide on wine/beer for the reception

What are your intentions for March? What are you most looking forward to during the spring and summer months?

P.S. There are so many interesting and inspiring things popping up in my Google Reader today! Some good reads, in case you missed 'em: Gala Darling's Empty Bellies do not Beget Genius (so right on, as usual [image may be NSFW]), Positively Present's Three Shades of Happiness, and Sarah Von's Manifesta (an excerpt from Eve Ensler's latest book, which Sarah also blogged about here).

Image via Bippity Boppity Boo.