Thanks NYmag.com!

NYmag.com is featuring our Lilly dress in its shop-a-matic "spring trends under $200" edition this week! I've always been a huge NY Magazine lover (as you might remember from reasons to love New York) and am a religious reader. Even so, when I went on their site to steal these images I couldn't stop flipping through the other editions of Shop-a-matic. Such great products! So of course, we're very honored to be chosen. Thanks guys!

Aye.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I love Guinness posters, I love puns, and I love lobstah. Hope you make it to a pub and drink some green beer.

Thanks Sparkleshelf!

Sparkleshelf.com interviewed us for their "10 minutes with..." section. We're flattered they wanted our two cents! You can read the interview here! (see us in the center bottom there??)

Soho House Trunk Show.

Monday night Shannon and I are participating in a Soho House "ladies night shopping event" from 6-9pm. Unfortunately this one is not open to the public, but we still have a few spots left if you're interested in joining us. As the invite says, special discounts and gifts for buyers! Should be fun, so don't hesitate to shoot us an email. Happy Friday!

Seasonal Bread.

I think you know by now that I like the bake. And since Ive shared seasonal recipes thus far, I have a new favorite. My little sister gave up sweets for Lent so I had to get creative when baking for her lacrosse game this past weekend. I turned to 1o1cookbooks (one of my favorite sites) and found this yummy and savory zucchini bread. I was thrilled when it was gobbled up on the tailgate table by the girls in no time, and already have a list in my head of people to bake it for :). This interesting recipe features curry powder - a very unexpected in a zucchini bread, but a delicious surprise, and perfect for early spring; not aggressively summer (think strawberry or rhubarb), but not heavy and wintry. Above is a bowl of walnuts, poppy seeds, and crystallized ginger. I know, sounds like everything but the kitchen sink, but YUM. You can find the recipe here.

Talib Kweli.

It might seem like a very un-Dakota Martin thing to do, but last night I went to Blue Note Jazz in the Village to watch Talib Kweli perform with Hi Tek. I lived across the street From Blue Not for 4 years and never stepped foot inside. I've always wanted to go -- the long lines of obvious music connoisseurs, night after night under the piano awning always intrigued me. And in my eclectic music taste I have always appreciated what I know of Talib (albeit, limited). We I have to say I highly recommend both. Blue note has the old school jazz vibe you expect it too minus a cigarette smoke filled room (thank goodness). Black and mirror panels in a herringbone pattern on the wall, small stage with nothing to hide, and rickety, packed in little tables (so packed I might add, that a neighbors sneeze showered our table and we were unable to finish our glasses of wine :) ).

And Talib is amazingly talented. There was nothing they performed that didn't impress me. A girl named Reese (don't know how to spell it!) performed with them as well, and she had the most GORGEOUS voice I've heard in a very long time. From Philly of course :). My favorite lyric they repeated for a while at the beginning of a song was "if you can talk you can sing, if you can walk you can dance." Words to live by.

National Jean Love.

We've been carried by National Jean Co. for a while now, but we're loving this online attention and assortment. Plus the tops look great on their models with their jeans - a natural fit!

Bye-bye Fantasy Land!

So we have returned from one of the most beautiful places on earth after almost a week of sunshine, laughter, beaches, and one of the most beautiful and unique weddings I have ever seen. Shannon and I sipped Champagne, danced on tables, ate amazing food, and met more wonderful people under one roof than are commonly under four. And if that isn't a testament to who Marla and Terry are (the bride and groom) than I'm not sure what is. Not only can they plan a creative and fun party, but they are a reflection of their friends/family and vice verse; there were all solid, kind, fun people surrounding them. (which as a side note, just added to how honored we were to be invited).

So Shannon and I were lucky enough to produce the bridesmaid dresses for Marla which you can see below. The colors came out fantastically, and the belts were made from the same material as Marla's custom dress (designed by her dear friend Melissa). And to make Marla's and the wedding parties ensembles pop even a little bit more perfectly on this secluded surfing beach set into the cliff of St. Bart's, where the wind was rustling the palms, the sun was setting, and the bongo was beating, was that all of the guests were wearing shades of white. Could not have looked cleaner or more appropriate for the setting. I could go on and on about each night and every detail, but suffice it to say not many weddings will compare. Last winter when our friend Susan was married I put this quote from Eat, Pray, Love on the blog, but I just love it so Im posting it again:

"I keep remembering one of my Guru's teachings about happiness. She says that people universally tend to think about happiness as a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your innate contentment. It's easy to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul to hold tight to its good attainments."

May Terry and Marla keep swimming upward in their happiness forever and may their souls always hold tight to their good attainments. Congratulations guys.