Love, Love, Love

Now, I know I am a little late to the scene when it comes to love, love, loving the Mattie Luxe product line but that doesn't make my admiration (and desire for everything on this website) any less.  The Lucite trays and place-mats are fun, sassy, beautiful, and practical all rolled into one.  Each order is customized with a fun graphic pattern, initial, monogram or name. Wow, there are so many really cool options that it is going to be so hard to choose!

I think I could be very comfortable here....and you?

Images via http://www2.skeppsholmen.se

Have a wonderful weekend!

Day 2 & 3: The Past and the Present

But let’s start with the present – Accepted Student’s Day at my student’s college of choice.  Being the parent of one daughter already in college and the second nearly on her way has provided a perspective that I didn’t have three years ago.  I feel like I’m an old pro at dealing with sending a child off to college.  Thank goodness for that because I was a wreck the first time around. This time though I’m smooth sailing…

 

On Saturday we had the great pleasure of accompanying our daughter at her accepted student’s day.  It gave us another look at the physical surroundings of her university and a greater understanding of the program she has been admitted to.  Such a proud day to be her mom!

And the past – Holy Cross Cathedral & Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.  Two architectural gems that are a must see in Boston.  I could do an entire post on the Gardner Museum (an may just do that sometime) but for now take a gander at this amazing and beautiful place.

Holy Cross Cathedral

 

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum - Boston, MA

So we have now completed day three of our mother-daughter bonding extravaganza and I’m a bit beat but loving every minute.  T-minus four months until she spreads her wings and heads off to college.

Day 1: The Prom Dress

www.rockcastleflorist.com

Ladies, you remember back to your high school prom shopping day’s right?  Remember the stress, pressure, and sometimes tears that went with finding the perfect prom dress.  Maybe your mom joined you on the prom dress hunt and, pulling a frilly, apricot and lime green colored, lace embellished atrocity from the rack proclaimed “oh isn’t this pretty!” And maybe you responded with an exaggerated eye-roll and a snarky comment that loudly proclaimed (and in front of other mother-daughter shoppers) that your mother had the lamest taste EVER! Well, that hell known as prom dress shopping visited my life last week…but fortunately it turned out to be a little piece of heaven for me.

Prom dress shopping is one of those mother-daughter rites of passage that can be a wonderful bonding experience or an ‘I want to dig out my eyes and strangle you at the same time’ experience. Some mom’s have been known to come home from the prom dress shopping drama and not want just a glass of wine to calm their frazzled nerves, but an entire bottle of wine with a straw!  But when it goes well, it can be the most special mother-daughter time, one that offers a preview to the ultimate mother-daughter shopping experience of all time – wedding dress shopping.

Looking back to my own prom dress shopping extravaganza I remember being a giant pill to my mother.  I had a vision in my head about what the perfect dress should look like and there was no changing my mind, no compromise on my part, and the most unpleasant of all attitudes – no consideration for cost. I threw a hissy-fit in the mall when my mom suggested the dress I wanted was too expensive and maybe we should keep looking.  Considering all of my drama you would think that I had picked out something suitable only for the haute couture runways…but no….I picked out this little beauty!

Yup, that’s me circa 1981 with my dapper date – whom, by the way, I bumped into four months ago at an event and nearly dropped on the spot.  But I digress.  The dress!  The atrocious dress! What was I thinking?

Fast forward to April 2012 and find me, now the mom, in the mall with a teenage daughter.  She had a fairly clear idea about what she wanted and, unlike her bratty mother, was considerate of price.  She carefully, thoughtfully, and conscientiously looked through the racks and selected a couple of lovely choices. I have learned to not show too much enthusiasm towards any dress that I like because it is certainly the kiss-of-death so when she came out of the dressing room in dress #1 I stood there with eyes wide open at my beautiful daughter.  She carefully considered the dress and deciding it may not be the one,  asked me to go back into the store to bring her a dress we had both seen earlier and had admired.  She tried it on and we both lit up!  It was beautiful.  It was perfect.  And it was on sale!

BCBGMAXAZRIA

For her there was no lace embellished, gunny-sack inspired, hoop-hiding hideousness.  She had the good taste to select something timeless and classic. 

As we lingered with the elegant image reflecting back at us in the mirror I realized that mother’s don’t accompany their daughter’s on this important shopping adventure simply to exhort their dress selection opinions (although that can sometimes be the case).  We are there to witness the coming of age of the most important female in the world to us.  Witnessing the prom dress selection process is nearly as important to us as witnessing their first baby steps.  After all, in some ways it is their first steps…into adulthood.  And, maybe most importantly it is a step closer to being more than just a daughter, but a friend as well.  

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Did you enjoy reading this post?  If so, please share it with your friends. Thanks so much!  xo

Finally Friday…

I’m exhausted.  No really…exhausted.  The kind of feel-it-in-your-bones exhaustion that comes from trying to keep up with 18 year old teenage girls.  “Why in the world would you try to do that” you ask? Because being a mom of a soon-to-be college student makes one realized that time with her will be dramatically limited in just a few short months, and taking whatever time I can get with her now is of the highest priority. 

So with that in mind I spent the last five days with my daughter and two of her girlfriends exploring Boston and reflecting on the value of the mother-daughter relationship.  Next week I will blog about our adventures and will share some images from the places we visited, some laughs that inevitably came from spending time with my silly daughter and her friends, and some tears that were shed as we ended the week mourning the loss of a beloved mother/wife/daughter/sister/friend in our community.  

But for now I will wish you a happy Friday and a wonderful weekend full of love and family.

Beautiful Image of the Day

Simple, clean, fresh & bright.  Most definitely a beautiful image and place to call home.

(Image Source)

Charlestown

If you read my earlier post, Avolli Anew, you know that there have been some changes in my life over the past few months.  Some were good, some not so good, but none were really bad (thank goodness).  One of the really good changes that I did not mention earlier is that we will be moving to Boston sometime in the next few months.  There are a few major details that need to get worked out first but while I am waiting for that to happen I have been researching where we might want to live. 

It has been a long time since I have had to consider real estate and I have found it extremely exciting to think about.  Do we want urban or suburban?  Do we want house or condo? Do we want big or small?  How many bedrooms do ‘empty nesters’ need?  These are all fun propositions that, for the most part, don’t have simple answers.

The one question that was simple to answer was urban vs. suburban.  We decided that we absolutely want an urban experience.  We want to be able to open the door and walk to great restaurants, the theater, shopping, and museums.  Since we don’t need to worry about school systems, yards for swing sets, or streets suitable for tricycles anymore, we knew it was time to redefine how we live our lives. With that issue settled, the next question is which urban neighborhood is just right for us? 

On Wednesday I took a small step towards learning more about one of the notable communities in the Boston area:  Charlestown. Charlestown is an historic community that is famous for the battle of Bunker Hill, the USS Constitution, and most recently it was the setting for Ben Affleck’s 2010 film, The Town.

As I enjoyed a self-directed walking tour, I snapped a few pictures that capture some of the best of this beautiful community.

  

This next image is a 'two-fer'.  The Bunker Hill Monument is in the background and a Freedom Trail monument is in the foreground.

Here are some images of the many beautiful doors that welcome people home...

This next image is of the building that was used in the movie The Town (we are huge fans in our house).  This entire block faces the Bunker Hill Monument park and I would go crazy to live in one of the units.  They are beautiful, well maintained and have an amazing view of the obelisk.

Remember the scene in The Town when Doug MacRay (played by Ben Affleck) pulls up outside his girlfriends house and finds a funeral arrangement hanging on the gate?  Well, here is the gate...

To make my day even better, I met a nice young woman out walking her dog along the Bunker Hill Monument Park.  But it wasn't just any dog...it was a Bernese Mountain Dog.  If you've followed my blog in the past you"ll know that I am a freak about BMD's.  His name was Charlie.  He was 7 months old and was as sweet as they come.  Seeing Charlie out for a walk gave me pause to wonder if it was a sign.  You know, one of those divine interventions that tell you that you're either doing the right thing or the wrong thing.    If it was a sign then it was definitely telling me that I'm doing the right thing...however, it may not be the right place.  You see, as beautiful as Charlestown is, I think it may not be the right place for us.  Time will tell...more exploring to do.  

I'll keep you posted. 

Exploring Boston

I am looking forward to the next few days! We are exploring Boston and attending our daughter's 'accepted students day' event at her soon-to-be-university.  We couldn't be more excited and proud to say 'We're with HER'.

Boston is a small big city. It is big enough to get lost in yet small enough to walk to many of the most popular and interesting venues.  It is has fashion forward moments while still possessing Yankee practicality through and through. The weather is supposed to be in the 70's and I can't wait to take it all in.  Here is what I think I'll be wearing...

Exploring Boston by swedantique featuring super skinny jeans

James perse t shirt, $129
Jersey knit cardigan, £18
Hudson Jeans super skinny jeans
Tory burch shoes, $227
Rebecca Minkoff leather tote bag, $595
Gold diamond ring, $99
Gorjana 18k earrings, $95
Oroton bracelet, 35 AUD
Persol sunglasses, $310

Free...Free...Free

Have you noticed how gluten free, dairy free, fat free, sugar free, free…free…free diets are everywhere now.  It is amazing how many people from all age groups and geographic areas are requesting, either out of necessity or choice, to have a diet that is ‘free’ of something. 

Last summer one of my daughters needed to make the switch to a non-inflammatory diet that involved removing all gluten, dairy, and non-hydrogenated oils from her diet.  Shortly after, my other daughter (who is a vegetarian) was diagnosed with lactose intolerance.  Going gluten, dairy, non-hydrogenated oil free was a huge personal commitment on daughter #1’s part, and going dairy free was an absolute necessity on daughter #2’s part.  For me, it was a big adjustment when it came to food shopping and meal planning.  I’ve learned to read all the microscopic print on food labels (necessitating the use of ‘readers’ on a much more regular basis than my pride would like) and to watch carefully for items containing all forms of oil.  Do you realize how hard it is to find foods that do not contain gluten, dairy, and oil?!  It’s a needle in a haystack exercise that we do on a regular basis.

Fortunately the growing population demanding gluten free foods has resulted in some very good options.  We have some fan favorites in our house (King Arthur makes a fabulous bread mix that we all can eat and enjoy) and a wonderful bakery has opened up in our community that is absolutely fabulous.

This past weekend we had our family together for Easter and I wanted to make sure everyone was fed well, was happy and satisfied.  To accomplish this requires planning ahead and allowing time for baking and shopping at specialty shops.   Our all-time favorite place is Bam Bam Bakery in the Old Port.  They make the best of everything.  So I decided to make it easy on myself and buy what I could and make what I couldn't.  We were not disappointed.  Their bread is perfect for sandwiches, breakfast toast, Panini’s and I’ve even made croutons and little hors d’oeuvre toasts out of it.  It is quite multi-purpose and yummy to boot!  But really the choir singing, light-from-the-heavens moment comes when you taste their sweets.  Just to-die-for.  We’ve tried the many grocery store mixes and on-line recipes before but they are hit or miss and Bam Bam is always a full on bulls-eye.

  

(Images via: www.bambambakery.com)

When I do do the cooking at home, we have a few family favorites that have proven to be both easy and tasty.  In the sweets department, ‘Oh Henry’ bars are fantastic.  They are chewing and chocolaty and sooo yummy.

Find a great recipe for Oh Henry bars here

In the side dish department, quinoa is at the top of the list.  It is quick, high in protein, and tastes sooo good.  For added flavor I always cook it with “No-Chicken Chicken broth” to accommodate the non-meat eater in the family.  We like to add sautéed veggies and spices as well.  Toss in some cooked shrimp and it is a full-on meal.

The ever growing options in the gluten-free pasta department have made life a whole lot easier too.  On a night that we want something quick and easy we just throw the noodles in a pot of boiling water, add a delicious and easy homemade red sauce and we are good-to-go.  Here is my recipe for our family’s favorite red sauce:

28oz can whole tomatoes (undrained)
15oz can tomato sauce
1 tbl. olive oil (olive oil is an acceptable oil thank goodness!)
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tbl. parsley flakes
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2tsp. salt

Sauté the garlic in the olive oil.  Add the whole tomatoes and break up into small pieces.  Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. 

The aroma and the flavor is amazing.  Enjoy!


Wanna go gluten free?  Here are some great cook books to try out: