Last Saturday I was invited to tour Winterberry Gardens in Southington, Connecticut. Since Christian and I are currently in the process of creating a vegetable/herb garden in our backyard I asked if he could come along as well. This was Christian’s first time attending an event with me, and it was right up his alley. Earlier that morning (6am, UGH!) we headed to the Hartford Regional Market with my aunt to check out their selection and then we headed off to Winterberry Gardens!
We were greeted by a wonderful member of the staff for some fruit, pastries and drinks, then it was time for the tour! The space is huge with both outdoor and covered sections. They have everything you need for a home garden from the plants and trees to mulch and stone for patios. They even have a flower wall that you can use as an Instagram backdrop!
Winterberry are also making an effort to lower their carbon footprint. They are growing more and more of their plants on-site to reduce transportation to the consumers. When it comes to watering they use special hoses that give the plants exactly how much water they need instead of a staff member who can accidentally over water.
In addition to providing plants, Winterberry also offers their services as landscape designers if you don't want to do the work yourself! From general plantings and patios to outdoor kitchens and water features they can help with anything you need! Their list of services doesn't end there, check them out for lighting, irrigation and lawn maintenance as well!
This event was a great way to see what’s available and learn from the experts at Winterberry! We almost bought a blueberry bush but they advised us to buy 2 so they grow better and that’s not in the budget just yet since we want to focus more on veggies first! Christian was also asking all sorts of questions on what type of soil to use and how to create our beds. Once we're done with the process I'll try to get a post done on how we (he) did it.
Winterberry Gardens provided us with a $50 gift card after our tour to thank us for visiting. Christian and I decided to forgo buying practical things with it and instead picked out some fun plants for our front yard - plus an adorable hedgehog succulent planter. We were gifted a couple gardenias and picked up some shadow dancers, cardinal flowers, catmint, and firewitch cheddar pinks! I went for pretty shaped flowers and bright colors.
Here's what I wore!
Cardigan: Banana Republic Italian Cashmere-Blend Boyfriend Cardigan, Top: Winter Kate 'Rune' (Hautelook), High Waisted Jeans: J Brand 'Maria' High Rise in Supreme (Gilt Groupe), Rain Boots: dav 'Moto Gunmetal' (and here), Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue)
More photos from the day:
We were greeted by a wonderful member of the staff for some fruit, pastries and drinks, then it was time for the tour! The space is huge with both outdoor and covered sections. They have everything you need for a home garden from the plants and trees to mulch and stone for patios. They even have a flower wall that you can use as an Instagram backdrop!
Winterberry are also making an effort to lower their carbon footprint. They are growing more and more of their plants on-site to reduce transportation to the consumers. When it comes to watering they use special hoses that give the plants exactly how much water they need instead of a staff member who can accidentally over water.
In addition to providing plants, Winterberry also offers their services as landscape designers if you don't want to do the work yourself! From general plantings and patios to outdoor kitchens and water features they can help with anything you need! Their list of services doesn't end there, check them out for lighting, irrigation and lawn maintenance as well!
This event was a great way to see what’s available and learn from the experts at Winterberry! We almost bought a blueberry bush but they advised us to buy 2 so they grow better and that’s not in the budget just yet since we want to focus more on veggies first! Christian was also asking all sorts of questions on what type of soil to use and how to create our beds. Once we're done with the process I'll try to get a post done on how we (he) did it.
Winterberry Gardens provided us with a $50 gift card after our tour to thank us for visiting. Christian and I decided to forgo buying practical things with it and instead picked out some fun plants for our front yard - plus an adorable hedgehog succulent planter. We were gifted a couple gardenias and picked up some shadow dancers, cardinal flowers, catmint, and firewitch cheddar pinks! I went for pretty shaped flowers and bright colors.
Here's what I wore!
Cardigan: Banana Republic Italian Cashmere-Blend Boyfriend Cardigan, Top: Winter Kate 'Rune' (Hautelook), High Waisted Jeans: J Brand 'Maria' High Rise in Supreme (Gilt Groupe), Rain Boots: dav 'Moto Gunmetal' (and here), Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue)
More photos from the day:
It's so hard to dress for Spring when we've had rain or colder weather almost every day. I've been trying to inject a bit of Spring with colors or prints since I can't wear less clothing. In this case I wore my cherry blossom print pants with a cozy cashmere sweater.
Sweater: FRAME Ribbed wool & cashmere-blend (Net-a-Porter), Cherry Blossom Print "Ryan" Pant c/o Banana Republic Factory (Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets), Shoes: Vince 'Maxon' in Fig (DSW), Necklace: House of Harlow 'Sunburst' (from Lydia),
Sweater: FRAME Ribbed wool & cashmere-blend (Net-a-Porter), Cherry Blossom Print "Ryan" Pant c/o Banana Republic Factory (Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets), Shoes: Vince 'Maxon' in Fig (DSW), Necklace: House of Harlow 'Sunburst' (from Lydia),
Happy First Day of May! I can't believe we are already 4 months through 2019. These photos are from Easter Sunday. The weather was still a bit dreary but Christian and I stopped at a local historic society to snap these photos with beautiful blossoming trees! A lot of the people on this street got this same type of tree a few years ago so each Spring we are greeted with about a half a mile of beautiful pink flowering trees. You have to love communities coming together to make something so pretty.
Once again I'm wearing my new white blazer. This time I wore it with one of my favorite Target designer collaboration pieces - a Jason Wu for Target floral dress! I wear this almost every Easter because it's so perfect for the holiday. It definitely ranks in the top of my dress collection - quite a feat considering I have some "real" Jason Wu (and Burberry!) dresses in my closet.
Blazer: Massimo Dutti (Roundabout Resale), Dress: Jason Wu for Target floral dress, Sandals: Cole Haan 'Minetta' (Amazon), Necklace: BubuRuby
Once again I'm wearing my new white blazer. This time I wore it with one of my favorite Target designer collaboration pieces - a Jason Wu for Target floral dress! I wear this almost every Easter because it's so perfect for the holiday. It definitely ranks in the top of my dress collection - quite a feat considering I have some "real" Jason Wu (and Burberry!) dresses in my closet.
Blazer: Massimo Dutti (Roundabout Resale), Dress: Jason Wu for Target floral dress, Sandals: Cole Haan 'Minetta' (Amazon), Necklace: BubuRuby
Another month gone. This year is going by so quickly! I made it through April without buying any new clothes, yay! It's getting easier to not buy clothes but I still have moments where I want to drop some cash on a piece. And I am still constantly window shopping, putting things in my cart and then abandoning ship. That's how I get it out of my system. I'm sure I'll buy something new soon to spice up my closet but for now I'm feeling pretty good!
Since I don't have any new clothes to share, it's a perfect day to talk about Paperless Post! Anagram Interactive contacted me last week to see if I'd like to try out the e-card service with some free coins. I have been curious about Paperless Post for a few years but never bit the bullet and tried it. With Mother's Day approaching I decided to check out their selection of cards for Mom. My Mom will be traveling on Mother's Day so this is a great way to get a card to her.
I chose a fun card for 2 coins, then I added a custom background for an additional coin. I was going to pick a nice wooden background but found a fork and knife that matched the theme of the card and had to go with funny over pretty. The total cost of sending my card will be 5 coins including the envelope and envelope liner at 1 coin each. Coins range in price from .10 to .40 depending on how many you buy at once. Buying 25 coins is $10 and buying 1000 is $100. So if you're sending wedding invitations you'll want to buy your coins in bulk. Paperless Post does offer free cards but they don't come with anything extra like envelopes or fancy backdrops.
I sent a test to myself to make sure everything will work properly on Mother's Day so now I'm ready to go! I love how even though they aren't "real" cards they still come in an envelope. It makes it so much more fun for the person receiving the email if there's some suspense of opening an envelope involved. I think I'll also be using this to send birthday cards to friends in the future! So fun and easy and saves the environment since you're not buying a paper card, envelope and shipping it off to someone.
THE (modified) RULES
Clothes:
Total spent in 2019: $86.57
Since I don't have any new clothes to share, it's a perfect day to talk about Paperless Post! Anagram Interactive contacted me last week to see if I'd like to try out the e-card service with some free coins. I have been curious about Paperless Post for a few years but never bit the bullet and tried it. With Mother's Day approaching I decided to check out their selection of cards for Mom. My Mom will be traveling on Mother's Day so this is a great way to get a card to her.
I chose a fun card for 2 coins, then I added a custom background for an additional coin. I was going to pick a nice wooden background but found a fork and knife that matched the theme of the card and had to go with funny over pretty. The total cost of sending my card will be 5 coins including the envelope and envelope liner at 1 coin each. Coins range in price from .10 to .40 depending on how many you buy at once. Buying 25 coins is $10 and buying 1000 is $100. So if you're sending wedding invitations you'll want to buy your coins in bulk. Paperless Post does offer free cards but they don't come with anything extra like envelopes or fancy backdrops.
I sent a test to myself to make sure everything will work properly on Mother's Day so now I'm ready to go! I love how even though they aren't "real" cards they still come in an envelope. It makes it so much more fun for the person receiving the email if there's some suspense of opening an envelope involved. I think I'll also be using this to send birthday cards to friends in the future! So fun and easy and saves the environment since you're not buying a paper card, envelope and shipping it off to someone.
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
Clothes:
- Autumn Cashmere Landscape Intarsia Cashmere Crew ($240, retail $440, used Christmas + ad money)
- Sandro burgundy double breasted blazer ($36 via Roundabout Resale, retail ~$500)
- Massimo Dutti white wool blazer ($19 via Roundabout Resale, retail $130-$250)
- Rag & Bone 'Jackie' purple leather trimmed wool jacket ($32 via Roundabout Resale, retail $495)
- J.Crew Tissue Turtleneck ($5, retail $30, used gift card)
- J.Crew Ribbed flare-sleeve turtleneck ($8, retail $45, used gift card)
- J.Crew Midrise skinny jean in velvet ($10, retail $80, used gift card)
- Lanvin Studded Suede 'City' Sandals ($60 via The RealReal, $790 retail, used ad money)
- Lanvin Studded Leather 'City' Sandals ($60 via The RealReal, $790 retail, used ad money)
- None Yet
- None Yet
Total spent in 2019: $86.57
As I mentioned last week - and pretty much any holiday - we have 2 different celebrations with each side of the family for holidays so we aren't rushing to two houses on the same day. For Easter my Dad's side of the family came to my parents house on Saturday for a lovely dinner. The weather was pretty gross so I had to take photos inside. Luckily I have a great photographer who can weather any situation ;)
I wore the same jacket for both of my outfits but styled it with different shoes and dresses. For the first day I wore a long sleeve silk dress because I knew it would be the cooler day of the weekend. I opted to not wear tights because I'm sick of having to cover up my legs for cold weather. I like to wear this particular dress with my fun Lanvin pumps. Such a gorgeous color that matches the dress perfectly.
Enjoy Jude's cameo, he's my brother's dog.
Blazer: Massimo Dutti (Roundabout Resale), Dress: Cynthia Steffe 'Naomi' (Lord & Taylor), Heels: Lanvin teal pointed toe pump with clear heel (Roundabout Resale)
I wore the same jacket for both of my outfits but styled it with different shoes and dresses. For the first day I wore a long sleeve silk dress because I knew it would be the cooler day of the weekend. I opted to not wear tights because I'm sick of having to cover up my legs for cold weather. I like to wear this particular dress with my fun Lanvin pumps. Such a gorgeous color that matches the dress perfectly.
Enjoy Jude's cameo, he's my brother's dog.
Blazer: Massimo Dutti (Roundabout Resale), Dress: Cynthia Steffe 'Naomi' (Lord & Taylor), Heels: Lanvin teal pointed toe pump with clear heel (Roundabout Resale)
Slightly behind in posting outfits, the joys of only posting twice a week now that I can only really take photos on the weekend and if I go to my parents for dinner. I wore this at the beginning of the month for a food blogger event at El Toro in Stratford, CT. I always have so much fun with all the food bloggers, we just chat and stuff our faces with tasty food!
I decided to wear my Disney tee from last year's EPCOT Food & Wine Festival for the occasion. I paired it with my suede jacket and ripped jeans to make it a little more funky. And yes, these sandals again. Whenever spring first hits I'm always drawn to wearing these more often than any other shoes because they're so comfortable.
Graphic Tee: EPCOT Food & Wine Festival Passholder Tee, Jacket: Lauren by Ralph Lauren - similar (TJ Maxx), Jeans: Current/Elliott skinny jean in Love Destroyed, Sandals: Malu c/o Marshalls, Sunglasses: Chanel, Wedding Band: Sofia Zakia Altair Ring (Catbird), Engagement Ring: Custom Sofia Zakia Wandering Star Ring, Opal & Sapphire
Here's a look at some of the food if you missed it on my Instagram!
I decided to wear my Disney tee from last year's EPCOT Food & Wine Festival for the occasion. I paired it with my suede jacket and ripped jeans to make it a little more funky. And yes, these sandals again. Whenever spring first hits I'm always drawn to wearing these more often than any other shoes because they're so comfortable.
Graphic Tee: EPCOT Food & Wine Festival Passholder Tee, Jacket: Lauren by Ralph Lauren - similar (TJ Maxx), Jeans: Current/Elliott skinny jean in Love Destroyed, Sandals: Malu c/o Marshalls, Sunglasses: Chanel, Wedding Band: Sofia Zakia Altair Ring (Catbird), Engagement Ring: Custom Sofia Zakia Wandering Star Ring, Opal & Sapphire
Here's a look at some of the food if you missed it on my Instagram!
