Roses & Rambles

Spring Blooming

Hydrangeas all over my room to welcome the Spring! 

Hello bloggosphere! 

My darlings- I have been away again too long. Its been mighty tough to find time in these past days to get all the things I have to do done, and its given me almost no time for fun and personal things-like Roses & Rambles-and traveling.

Its already nearing the end of February and I have only been to San Francisco so far, though quick trips to New York and Boston loom on the near horizon. 

I have decided to spend this year exploring the states and the close Caribbean, since I have a pretty strong feeling next year will be all about Europe (more on that soon!)

After much soul searching, I have returned to my job at the magazine I worked for previously, and I am starting to believe the big, messy, beautiful world of glossies might just be my calling. A lot of big changes seem to be just around the corner as well and I am very excited to share them all with you when the time is right-though I am a little nervous too!

For now I will spend the next few weeks organizing and planning my wardrobe foray from Winter to Spring (though the weather here has been exceptionally Summer-like and beautiful), until I head over to New York to visit good friends, and then Boston for St. Patricks Day.

I hope you look forward to the upcoming traveling posts, travel bags and iPhone recaps that accompany my journeys!

Thanks for your patience!

xoxo,

Minty Fresh

One of my favorite trends for this Spring is mint! I love mint dresses, mint bikinis, mint nail polish, mint lip gloss, mint everything! This soft basic can give any outfit a sweet pop!

One of my favorite things to do during the spring is color blocking, and mint is the perfect color to incorporate to keep your outfits looking fresh and season appropriate. It can be mixed with literally ANY color! I like to mix mint dresses with jean jackets, mint bikinis with sheer white tees over and tons and tons of sparkly necklaces- mint just has a way of standing out!

Do you love mint as much as I do?

xoxo,

Suede Booties

When planning my seasonal wardrobes I like to focus on key pieces that will take what I already own and make it fresh for the new season. I recently purchased these Suede Booties from Steve Madden in a great soft taupe color that I can pair with bright tops, rolled up jeans and light dresses. 

Here’s to the start of a happy and productive week!

xoxo,

A School-Girl Crush

Spending the week in San Francisco has been really relaxing and inspiring, and I am so excited to spruce up my Spring Wardrobe. 

I recently picked up these SEEbyChloe tassel wedges on Filmore Street in Hayes Valley, and I am in love. I can’t seem to stop myself from planning sweet school-girl outfits! Now if only I could get my hands on this Proenza Schouler satchel bag…

Happy Sunday!

xoxo,

Happy New Year!


Dress: All Saints Spitafields

Hello my lovely little bloggy family! Happy New Year!! It’s 2012- you know the year where all of our goals and dreams will come true?! (more on that later)

I have been naughty the past few weeks with my blog, but here is hoping that my resolution to make up for all that (5 posts in one day!!) and be diligent henceforth will stick!

New Year’s Eve was fun, and I spent the evening with great friends doing the Miami thing- you know South Beach, fancy nightclubs and buckets and buckets of champagne?

Although the club scene isn’t for everyone (I certainly wouldn’t say it is my cup of tea), Miami does have some fabulous ones, and there are some special occasions where they make for a wonderful and celebratory night!

Due to the sparkly nature of the evening I chose to wear something equally as festive!

How did you all ring in the New Year??

xoxo,

New Year’s Resolutions


view from the Eiffel Tower

Since childhood I have loved to sit and make lists about all the things I was going to do in the New Year, and I still love so much about wiping the slate clean and beginning again, or at least feeling like you have a fresh start. 

That said, I have realized that a lot of my resolutions and many of my friend’s and family’s resolutions are full of don’ts, wont’s and promises to do things that aren’t really too fun, and it seems rather like a damper on the whole spirit of New Years.

Last New Year’s I tried a little experiment- to fill my resolutions list with things that I absolutely loved to do and see if they would be easier to keep.

Well, after loading up on resolutions to be more creative, travel more, find more time to read and be more adventurous (I got a red streak in my hair in London, went Parasailing and Cliff Diving!), I found that I had a very pleasant and full 2011 that brought me quite a bit of joy.

Oh and I actually kept some of those resolutions!

So in the hopes that 2012 is just as amazing as its predecessor, these are my resolutions:

1. Be more creative- do fun projects and make my blog what I always dreamed it would be!

2. Travel more- yes I know I say this every year, but there is still so much to see!

3. Do more good deeds for others

4. Be more patient

5. EXERCISE and be HEALTHIER!!!!!!!!!!! (Unfortunately I had to add this-Not the funnest, but still important!)

6. Try to be happy. And eternally thankful. No matter what.

Short, but pretty to the point I think!

It’s okay to throw in a few necessities (yes, please quit smoking, it’s terrible for you!), but don’t forget to strive for a little happy too! Try it, seriously, it’s fun!

Here’s to an amazing 2012! May all of your hopes, goals and dreams come to fruition!

xoxo,

Places I Visited in 2011

Wine Under the Eiffel Tower

When I look back on 2011 (and my resolution to travel more), I am full of exciting and fun memories of all of the places I have been able to see and explore. I honestly didn’t realize how many amazing places I was able to visit outside of Miami until I sat down and wrote them out.

Since I am hoping to make this blog partly about traveling and all the wonderful things that come with my #1 favorite hobby (yes, more than shopping!), I decided to share my list and some of my favorite pictures along the way.

Here are the places I’ve been this year:

1. Paris, France

2. Nice, France

3. London, England

4. Stratford, England

5. Holyhead, Wales

6. Amsterdam, Holland

7. Dublin, Ireland

8. Barcelona, Spain

9. Luzern, Switzerland

10. Cinque Terre, Italy

11. Pisa, Italy

12. Florence, Italy

13. Bonne, France

14. Malahide, Ireland

15. Brussels, Belgium

16. San Francisco, California

17. New York, New York

18. Cancun, Mexico

19. Gainesville, Florida

20. Orlando, Florida

21. Hutchinson Island, Florida

22. and last but very not least: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyllllantysiliogogogoch, Wales (no I am not kidding, and yes it is stamped on my passport)

oops! I forgot Nassau, Bahamas!-so that makes 23!

To see more pictures, click below!

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Holiday Spirit: Movie Faves!

ok so this one is hilarious, full of my favorite English actors and so fun!

So as usual I have my go-to favorites for snuggling up on the couch with the family during this holiday season!

Some a repeats from other seasons, but thats okay! Good movies are good movies!

a special family favorite- my grandfather’s #1 and subsequently the rest of ours :)


Ok so this one was my favorite as a kid…I know they remade it but nothing is better than the original- so funny and sweet!

I can’t help it- I love this movie!!! Probably the only 


I may start watching this on Thanksgiving, but it doesn’t mean I stop! This is the ultimate classic and really puts me in the holiday spirit.


Yes- a re-use from Halloween, but I mean it is about Christmas too! Also- It’s great!

This is one of Jim Carrey’s best roles if you ask me! Such an awesome twist on a holiday tale.


This one is really nostalgic for me. This is one of those classics that I think everyone has a childhood memory about- and its beautiful.

Happy Holidays!!!

xoxo,

Christmas Spirit: Holiday Songs

Although Fall is my favorite holiday, I still love all that Winter brings!

This season is going to be very special for our family and I am really looking forward to spending as much time with them as possible. 

As I am sure is 100% apparent now, I am a holiday enthusiast and have already begun lighting Christmas tree candles and drinking egg nog. 

Once again the holiday deserves a special playlist and Christmas comes with an especially good one!

Here are some Favorites to snuggle up by the fire to (or a DVD of some fire in Miami):

1. Santa Baby- Madonna

2. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas- Michael Buble

3. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer- Jack Johnson

4. White Christmas- Bing Crosby

5. It must’ve been ol’ Santa Claus- Harry Connick Junior

6. Jingle Bell Rock- Bobby Helms

7. Let it Snow- Dean Martin & Frank Sinatra

8. Making Christmas- Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack

9. Carol of the Bells- John Williams

10. WInter Wonderland- Jason Mraz

xoxo,

DIY Project: Media Armoire

I have recently begun helping a girlfriend of mine decorate her fabulous new apartment on the beach and it has given me an awesome opportunity to do some fun DIY projects!

In order to save some money and stretch her home decor budget, we decided to get down and dirty and refinish a great piece of furniture to fit in with our current design plan!

When we originally found this piece we instantly fell in love with its curvy lines and feminine feel, but the brown/shabby chic look definitely wasn’t what we were looking for so we decided to choose a soft blue hue instead.

Repainting furniture is a relatively easy process when you follow a few steps: #1 when choosing paint make SURE that you know whether the original paint was oil or water based because OIL AND WATER DONT MIX! You definitely don’t want to find yourself in a peeling paint nightmare and a seriously tough sanding job ahead of you (trust me I learned this the hard way)!

#2 Begin by taking off all the hardware that you really don’t want any paint to get on.

#3 Give the piece a good sanding. I used an electric sander for the big areas and some elbow grease for the small areas (like around hinges and in corners) You don’t need to strip the original paint off (although it will come off in some places) but it’s a good time to get rid of any cracked paint, rough areas, and peeling paint.

#4 Wipe the piece off!!! Make sure you remove all lingering dust- I used a high pressure air compressor to blow any debris away and a wash cloth dipped in mineral spirits to rub it down and make it ready for paint.

#5 Paint- you can start with a primer, but since our piece was white to begin with, and the paint we chose came with a primer built in we skipped this step. I used a sprayer to spray this piece because I wanted a smooth finish with no brush lines.

#6 Let it dry- I let this piece dry for two days after the two coats I gave it (a day in between the coats- with a light sanding between these coats as well) and I used the opportunity to repaint the hardware by spraying it with a silver spray in a can (two coats as well!).

#7 Put your hardware back on and enjoy it! (I used a drill to make some holes in the back for wires, but that is totally up to you)

Happy DIY-ing!

xoxo,