{my favorites from August J Crew}

Here are some of my picks from J Crew's new releases:

The Bubble necklace--I had a feeling they would produce it in pink! LOVE! But, alas, it would probably be too large for me. I am dying to see this on someone else first! Someone please order ASAP!!

Coveted this necklace the first time I saw it on the mannequin in the sneak peek way back when:

Love the bracelet as well:

Love this and looking forward to trying it on IRL:

This top has Blair Waldorf written all over it:

So cute:

I puffy heart this headband!:

Have to try this IRL, but thinking would make a good holiday season pick:

Wonder if these are comfy??:

Have to see where the pockets fall IRL:

I'd size up in this cardi for a snuggly comfy fit:

Again, I'd have to try for fit and comfort:

Ankle length cords--cute with flats and easy to tuck into boots:

Maybe a long pair, too:

Cute casual dress:

{Four Weddings and a Funeral}

Last night we watched one of my favorite movies. It's one of those that I can watch over and over. I just love it and have the soundtrack on my iPod, too. :)

Happy Friday!

{never say never}

Okay, so I will be the first to admit that I have always thought that Twitter sounded like something I'd never do. I thought it sounded like a ridiculous thing to do. Then I made the mistake of going over to check it out 3 nights ago when I was bored and I got sucked in! It's not just blurting out what you're doing in a constant stream of narcissism (okay, well maybe it is)--it also allows for real-time conversations between you and your friends. Much better than waiting for a reply to an e-mail (which drives me crazy because I'm impatient). And on that topic--when you receive an e-mail, do you try to respond the same day? I know that I do. Same with RSVPing to an invitation. I try to do it ASAP because I worry that if I just look at it but don't respond right away, then I'll forget entirely OR later on I'll think that I responded already when I really didn't. I believe it is better to just do it promptly.

Also--with the Twitterfon application for the iPhone it is a constant stream of entertainment!

Do any of you Twitter??

{doubles?}

When I really like something I sometimes feel the need to purchase more than one--or the same item in 2 colors. Does anyone else do this?? I do this a lot with jeans.

Recent duplicate items that arrived from J Crew (already have them in other colors and LOVE):

The Libretto necklace in Dusty Blossom which I ordered with the Ruffled hem dress in Nut. I thought they might look nice paired together:

The question is--do you prefer the necklace long or short? Worn long it acts almost as trim to the neckline of the dress:

This is the shortest that I could tie it up in the back:

On to footwear~~

The Sally pearlized patent ballet flats (I had to go up 1/2 size in these). Beautiful! But unfortunately these are going back because--although the leather seems soft enough--they rub my heels in the back and I know blisters would ensue. Looks like I might have to get the Tory Burch Revas in black/silver instead. I was hoping to be logo-free. Oh, well.

The Marjorie suede ballet flats (very soft & comfy and tts!!). These are keepers:

{guess who I met yesterday??}

Well, what an exciting summer for us over in the Petunia household--meeting longtime blogger friends! On Friday I met our friend M. Lane whose blog The Epic I have been a faithful reader of for over a year! The Epic is a guide to living well with frequent stories about the many cities, hotels, and restaurants to which M. Lane travels. He is an excellent storyteller and writer, so if you've never ventured over to that side of blogland then you really should!

Here are a few pics from our day, although I cannot show you a picture of us because his identity is top secret! He is an extremely lovely person, though, and Lil Petunia and I thouroughly enjoyed meeting him at The Brazilian Court--a fabulous old hotel in Palm Beach--for Brunch.

The Brazilian Court is hidden by lush tropical foliage:

Below--a view of the courtyard:

When the temperatures are not as sultry, it is nice to dine in the courtyard. We chose to be a little more comfortable inside:
Lil P in the courtyard--

{more J Crew review}

Here are some more pics from my visit to J.Crew last weekend--

The corsage tee arrived in new colors. If it weren't such a pain to iron the little petals after every wash I'd be tempted to get this top in every color. It is so flattering that if you haven't bought at least one--you should!!

Love this bright aqua color--just wondering why it wasn't released before now. It is very bright IRL, as is the new bright pink color (Flamingo??), which makes me think Spring/Summer.

I liked the Dark Charcoal color also, although the sheerness of the fabric is more noticeable in this color. Wondering if this would match the Michelle Merino Cardigan in the Dark Charcoal color?

Waiting to see the middle bracelet IRL!:

Also LOVE the necklace below...in fact I like all of the individual pieces in this outfit:

What do you think??

{baking cookies}

{the posed photo}

We bake cookies A LOT over here in the Petunia household. There's nothing like a couple of warm cookies and a glass of cold milk after dinner! I even place Lil P's cup of milk in the freezer while the cookies are baking so it gets icy and a teensy bit frozen--she loves this. Tonight it will be Oatmeal Chocolate Chip (my personal favorite).

I wanted to capture the moment and had to go to the other room to get my camera, so I told Lil Petunia "Don't eat the dough while I'm gone!" Guess what she was doing when I returned...

{the real photo!}

{Jenna Lyons in Town & Country}

Jenna Lyons, creative director of J Crew, appears in the August issue of Town & Country wearing the feather skirt. My favorite part of her whole outfit is the shoes--which are not even J Crew. (They are Lanvin.) I don't get this skirt at all. It could possibly be cute if it were black, but I don't like the combination of the brown colors of the feathers--from afar it looks like a furry animal. Hmmm....oh, well. I do love the black tights and the bracelets!

For those who liked the Ankle Stretch Toothpick Jeans in my last post, they arrived in the store in Black, style # 18188, as seen below. Same fit as the Twilight jeans, but the denim is a little bit different. As I was checking out, two of the salesgirls complimented my jeans and asked if I bought them at JC. I was wearing the Twilight jeans again--LOVE those jeans!

{outfit for a casual dinner}

Hubby, Lil Petunia and I went out to dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants tonight. These are the J Crew Toothpick Ankle Jeans in Twilight wash. I am loving these jeans because they are so stretchy and comfy. I had worn them for a couple of hours at this point, so they are already stretched out in this photo. When they first arrive they are quite snug! They fit true to size in my opinion. This black top needed something--it always looked too bare up top and too bottom-heavy on me. It needed something to balance the ruffled ribbons on the bottom, and I think the Libretto necklace was the perfect piece for the job. I actually ended up wearing it tied about two inches higher, so it didn't fall quite that low on the blouse.

{wrong post, wrong blog}

Depeche Mode - "Wrong"
I would love to see Depeche Mode in concert in September. Anybody want to go with me? Heehee--not sure if hubby would go or not. Well, if he saw this video he probably wouldn't want to go. He would say "What kind of music is that??!"

((Let me just say that if you are faint of heart do NOT watch this video--it is a little disturbing.))

If you do watch it, ...don't come running to me when you have nightmares! The first time I saw it a few months ago I think I turned it off before it finished. I eventually watched it again and thought......Oh, I get it now. Reminds me of an episode of Nip/Tuck--which I watched for the first couple of seasons before it became too weird.

Oh, well, shocking video or not, I would still LOVE to see them in concert, but of course by the time I checked there were only nosebleed section seats available. :(

{happy birthday J!!!}

Happy Birthday to my big sister, J!

This is a photo of my sister J, me holding Lil Petunia when she was just a few months old, and my niece, E! I miss this cute baby girl, but she kept me quite busy--can you tell I was a little exhausted? :)

{guess who we met today?!}

....Tickled Pink and Green!

Our lovely blogger friend is vacationing in Palm Beach with her family this week. So, today Lil Petunia and I picked up TP&G and her BigGirl at The Breakers Resort and took them on a little driving tour of Palm Beach. Then the four of us lunched at the old Chuck and Harold's restaurant on Royal Poinciana Way. (It has a new name now, but it will always be "Chuck and Harold's" to me.) We had so much fun meeting them and talking about everything from politics to blogging to shopping! She is just as pretty AND funny in real life as she is on her blog. BigGirl is so beautiful and poised, and we were also able to meet BabyGirl (a doll!) and the Hubby. It was truly a fun day!

The Breakers

Royal Palm Way

Interior Designer Celerie Kemble's quaint shop

Hamburger Heaven was closed!

{happy independence day}

Happy 4th of July!!

{what's in your beach bag?}

Janie Schoenborn, creative advisor for Lilly Pulitzer, shares what's in her beach bag in the latest issue of Coastal Living:

What are your summer essentials??

{vacation pics}

The beach was beautiful!  We spent the entire vacation at the beach with occasional visits to the pool.  My entire family from New Orleans convenes to spend this time together each summer.  I put SPF 70 on our faces and sprayed SPF 50 on our bodies every morning!  I'm still pretty pale but Lil Petunia got quite the savage tan.  This happens every year--it doesn't matter that I reapply her sunscreen several times each day--she just naturally tans.


Oh!  Lil Petunia learned how to surf!  Many of the grandchildren took surfing lessons and had quite a fun time!  Here she is with her instructor who is a professional surfer:


Here is one of my four sisters (& one brother) with her son.  She came home with us for a few days of extra vacation: