hello friends!  i'm reporting live from the other side of my birthday, a quick trip to dc, and my visit to nyc.  here's a quick post to get us all caught up before i leave again tomorrow for a wedding at bald head island.  next week i'll be back, and let's make a point to spend some more time together, yes?

so let's see.
we continued to celebrate my birth right up until my dc departure with donkey cupcakes and dog sized benches



we continued the party in DC, where my sweet cousin liz had a cupcake display ready to go


lots of pretty moments as we wandered the streets, people watching and real estate stalking





we strolled through the zoo and i met these guys






meeting animals makes me feel real enthusiastic.


then it was off to nyc for blogfest, nickfest, chipfest and ribbonfest.  the four days flew by, but we've got yards and yards of ribbon (we couldn't stop buying it!) and a big shell obelisk to show for it.



the kips bay decorator showhouse had some lovely bits.  we also did the elle decor modern showhouse, which was also pretty, but so damn packed it was all i could do to snarf down cheese straws, much less take a photo.





blogfest hosted an excellent breakfast on the top floor of the hearst building where we listened to newell turner, daryl carter, timothy whealon, miles redd and lots of other inspiring industry leaders talk about the ins and outs of being a fancy decorator.


what a view

a tour of the kravet office in nyc yielded this fantastic fabric find, which i'll use as soon as i can (afford it).

how pretty is that birdyness?

and our undercover shopping in the city resulted in a few other great finds for furbish projects



we dined at peels where the cheese dip, cocktails and people watching are unparalleled


and at nighttime there was a lot of this, then i danced on sofas until it was time to go back to our hotel and indulge in a 66 degree thermostat (brian meares would stroke out if he knew i put it that low!) and a duvet that's not covered in cat hair.


and now, back at home to unpack and repack, welcomed by this fat thing, gardenias blooming bedside and all of my t-shirts nicely folded (is there anything better in the world?)




signing off for now.  here's how i occupy myself during all the travels.  it's coming along.