Have a wonderful weekend.

What are your plans for the weekend? It's going to be hot! We're heading to our friend's cabin in Connecticut. I'm looking forward to wading in the river, grilling outside and sitting very still. Also, I can't believe we're going to have another one of these in a month or less! Crazy. Hope you have a good one, and here are a few fun links from around the web...

Is it better to walk or run?

A new animal print.

The real couple behind Before Sunrise.

Made me laugh.

Adorable Father's Day gift.

Cheer up your desk!

10 celebrity photobombs.

Trying out this nail polish this weekend.

Three easy updos for the summer.

Ron Mueck's new hyperrealistic sculptures.

Apparently, lots of people made out during the hurricane.

This book looks hilarious.

A tumblr all about Obama eating snocones.

Could three words change the way severely ill patients and their loved ones think about death?

Plus, three posts you may have missed:
* Hidden mothers.
* How to boil an egg.
* Romantic getaway outfit.

(Photo of the Amalfi Coast by Randy & Pippa, via Lark & Linen)

Toby's straw hat

The other day, Toby and I were walking back from a music class when it started raining. We ducked into a J.Crew store and went to the kids area to see if there were any toys to play with. Instead, he immediately spotted this straw hat. I took him over to the three-way mirror, and he was beside himself with how cool he was. It was the first time he has taken any interest in his clothes at all (usually he just wants to stay in his pajamas).
Needless to say, he is now the proud owner of said hat:)

P.S. Do your eyes light up when you see your child? And the adorable reason kids cover their eyes when hiding.

San Francisco home tour

Blogger Liz Stanley lives in San Francisco with her husband, their five-year-old son and a baby on the way. They have such a fun and playful home, where you can bowl in the hallway and paint crocodiles in the bedroom. Take a peek inside...
Read More >

Wake alarm

When you're bleary eyed in the morning, it's so annoying to fiddle with buttons on your phone, don't you think? Well, Wake is an iPhone alarm clock app that is totally intuitive: You just slap it to snooze, and you flip it to turn it off. Thumbs up.
P.S. The funniest app for peeing during movies.

(Photo of sleepy Lucy by ©Bob Rosinsky, with permission. Alarm via Swissmiss)

The Kings of Summer

Have you seen the trailer for The Kings of Summer? It's a comedy about three teenage friends who decide to run away from their stressful parents and spend the summer building a house in the woods and living off the land. It has been compared to the 1986 movie Stand By Me, which was so great, and it got rave reviews at Sundance. The movie opens in New York and LA tomorrow, then a bunch of other cities on June 7th. Do you want to see it?

P.S. 10 entertaining movies, and the seven types of women in romantic comedies.

6 tricks for photographing goofy kids

Poof! Kids reach a certain age and suddenly don't want to be photographed. They hide from the camera, they sulk, they goof around when you tell them to smile. But! My photographer friend Alpha has figured out ways to get her adorable (and spirited!) niece to interact with the camera. As part of a three-part photography series sponsored by Canon, Alpha agreed to share six handy tips for photographing older children...Read More >

Summer book recommendations?

Can I ask you guys for a specific type of book recommendation? Our new baby is due in about a month (eeps!), and one thing I'm really looking forward to is rocking him or her while reading a good book. When Toby was a newborn, I remember having those little pockets of reading time, and it was so lovely. (Including a few times in the middle of the night; I'd click on the light, breastfeed him and read magazine articles from 4-5 in the morning:) But, since I'll most likely be sleep-deprived, I'm trying to find books that are light and easy to read but still well-written. Like smart beach reading.

If you're looking for the same thing, books that fall into this category that I've enjoyed in the past include: Blink, Heat, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Bossypants, Operating Instructions, Mindy's hilarious book and Ghost World.

Do you have any summer reading recommendations? I'd love to hear...Thank you!!!

(Photos of people reading on the subway by Ourit Ben-Haim for her brilliant blog, from last summer)

The Best (Cheesy) Biscuits You'll Ever Have

Do you prefer sweet or savory breakfasts? I'd always choose savory: peppery eggs, fried potatoes and a warm, buttery biscuit. Well, Adrianna of A Cozy Kitchen has agreed to share her incredible recipe for biscuits, including chives and sharp cheddar. Who'd like one this morning? Here goes...Read More >

Summer uniform: Which would you pick?

Last summer, my summer uniform was a sweatshirt dress, which I wore on bike rides, to work meetings and out to dinners with Alex. For this summer, here are three more effortless dresses for everyday adventures. Let's go pretend shopping...
A grey tankdress with a slit to the knee.
An afternoon dress for a pop of red (with a cute zip pouch).
A breezy striped shiftdress. (I LOVE this one.)

Just for fun: Which of these summer uniforms would you pick? Which suits your personality best? I love that these dresses are feminine but tomboy-ish at the same time.

P.S. I'd wear them with my trusty wedges, but flat sandals would be cute, too.

Three great NYC bike rides

Ten years ago, when I got my first bike in New York City, I was definitely nervous to ride it around town. Would I spend the whole time dodging cabs and pedestrians? But I was surprised to discovered beautiful routes that feel breezy and bucolic—where you can soar over bridges, pedal under magnolia trees or visit a little red lighthouse. Here's a guide to three amazing rides, sponsored by Poland Spring...Read More >

Simply Bows and Chair Covers Real Wedding: Anna and Stuart and their Christmas wedding!

What are your first names?

Anna & Stuart   

 

 

Where and when did you get engaged?

We got engaged on May 5^th, 2012 in Dundee on the back doorstep of the shared house we met in and got to know each other. There was a whole new group of people living there, so when Stuart proposed, they all had their noses pressed to the window to see what was going on!

What was your wedding date?

December 28^th, 2012.

Where did you get married?

Cults Parish Church, with the reception at Maryculter House Hotel.

Why did you choose your venue?

I (Anna) grew up near Maryculter and always loved the venue. It’s very Scottish and traditional too and Stuart liked the history behind the place. It’s a beautiful setting, on the River Dee so we got some amazing picturesque photographs. The interior of the hotel is very cosy with log fires which was perfect for a chilly winter wedding. 

Did you have a “theme”?

Our theme was really already made for us. Being at Christmas, the church was full of Christmas trees and lights and there was still the Christmas decorations on display at Maryculter, so we had a festive theme going quite easily. 

What was your wedding colour scheme?

We went for warm deep reds for the flowers, bridesmaids’ dresses, wedding stationery and chair bows keep the festive theme going. 

Why did you choose Simply Bows and Chair Covers and what were they like to work with?

Simply Bows and Chair Covers were recommended to me by Lianne McGregor, the owner of Vivi Paperie, who produced our beautiful wedding stationery. Claire from Simply Bows was very professional and did a great job getting all the chairs looking beautiful. It finished off the room perfectly and we didn’t have to worry about anything to do with this – everything was taken care of. It was well worth the money as it completed the festive look we were trying to achieve. 

What sort of dress did you choose and where from?

I had a gorgeous layered lace dress from designer Annasul Y that I found in the amazing Perth bridal boutique Ivory Whites. It was a bit different, but I fell in love with it. I tried a lot of dresses on before this one, but when I tried it on, I just knew I’d found my dress.

What did your bridesmaids wear?

They wore ruby Dessy dresses. I wanted my bridesmaids to be able to pick their own style of dress and I knew that with Dessy they could do that and still be exactly the same colour. It worked out really well. My flower girl, Jessica, had an ivory dress from Dessy, but had a ruby sash around her waist to match the bridesmaids. Jessica’s shoes were dyed ruby by Arabesque in Perth to match the bridesmaids too which worked out really well. 

Who was your photographer?

Kirstie Abbey was our photographer and from start to finish she was brilliant. We got to know her ahead of the day with a pre-wedding photo shoot which was a great way to get used to having our photos taken. We were totally thrilled with our photographs at the end too – they were very natural and fun which is what we wanted.  The images in this blog have kindly been supplied by her.

What “special touches” did you add to your day?

As it was Christmas, we put the children’s favours under the Christmas tree. They were delighted to be getting another present after Christmas day! We gave them our favourite toys from when we were kids - Lego for the boys and Sylvanian families for the girls. Stuart plays the pipes and has piped at loads of our friends and family’s weddings, so it seemed fitting for him to have a blast of them on his own wedding day, so we surprised everyone by Stuart piping his bride into the meal. We also had dancing shoes available for all the ladies so they didn’t have to worry about their shoes nipping their feet.

 

What was your favourite part of the day?

For both of us it was having all our family and friends together like that. It’s not something that happens very often at all, if ever so that was extra special. 

Where did you go on honeymoon?

We went to Barbados, which was something else and really beautiful. We are obsessed with rum punch now!  

What would be your top tip for another bride to be?

It’s worth being really organised in the run up to the wedding so you can relax and enjoy everything on the day and in the days immediately before. I was hyper organised and was glad in hindsight I’d done that as I had completely chilled out by the day before and was able to just enjoy it. Don’t let yourself be stressed – it’s your day and you should both enjoy it more than anyone else. 

Conversations with a two-year-old

Have you seen this hilarious video? Matthew Clarke, the dad who created the video, says: "If you take the words of a two-year-old and put them in the mouth of a grown man, suddenly the malevolence and intimidation really shine through." Made me laugh.

Hope you're having a good long weekend!

P.S. Toby in conversation, and how to talk to little girls.

Have a beautiful (long) weekend.

What are you up to this weekend? After a nutty week, we are ready to just relax. We also did a huge cleanse of our apartment, where we got rid of a million things. It feels so good to be able to open closets again! Hope you have a great weekend, and here are a few fun links for you...

A song for your weekend.

An A-to-Z guide to the conversations in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.

Margarita popsicles.

These mean tweets made me laugh.

Landscape dinner set.

Love this classic trench. (It would look cute with this striped dress.)

Cool idea for bedroom art.

Popcorn tip.

Sweet mother and daughter.

Not getting sleep is like walking around drunk!

Wow, this movie trailer has a surprising twist.

Magic bookshelf.

A photographer's girlfriend leads him around the world.

And if you're in a TV-watching mood: Arrested Development starts Sunday, and The Bachelorette premieres Monday. Whoot whoot!

(Photo of the Leningrad Ballet Academy)

Summer's here!

After a never-ending winter, New York has finally enjoyed a stretch of balmy weather. Aren't you excited for summer? We went to Washington Square Park the other day and waded in the fountain. The water was sparkling clean (officially) and Toby was in heaven splashing around.
And to top it off, we saw a rainbow:)

Hope you're having a good day. Stay dry in all this rain!

P.S. The full Cup of Jo Guide to NYC.

Lovely dress shop

When Alex and I got hitched, Lovely Bridal Shop didn't yet exist. I wish it had! The bridal boutique is tucked into a West Village townhouse, and you can try on dresses in the airy former bedrooms, complete with antique sofas and fireplaces. Whenever friends ask where they should shop for wedding dresses in New York, I always recommend Lovely.

Well, I was excited to hear that they just launched an online shop—Shop Lovely—with party dresses under $100. Their little white dresses would be beautiful for date nights and fancy parties—or even as short wedding dresses. More below...Read More >

Summer vacation rentals

Are you going on a summer vacation? New York Magazine just featured a round-up of amazing rental properties, including a tiny lakeside cabin, working lighthouse and private island. Which would you choose?

P.S. Five weekend getaways from NYC, and my own travel fantasy.

Do you wax?

We've talked about a bunch of intimate stuff on Cup of Jo, so I figured I'd make a confession...Read More >

Wednesday giveaway

Today's giveaway is from Of a Kind, a Brooklyn-based site run by two amazing women. Each week, they choose an emerging designer with whom they collaborate on a limited edition piece. They sell these lovely pieces (think: bracelets, shirts, stationery) exclusively on their site until they sell out. Today they're giving away this handmade Bianca Rockwell ring, which would make your finger sparkle. Don't you love it?

For a chance to win, please visit Of a Kind's online shop (and consider signing up for their newsletter here) and leave a comment below. A winner will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck! Update: The winner has been emailed. Thanks for playing.

Bonus for all readers: Get 30% off all jewelry from Friday to Monday with the code NOSWEAT.

What's your go-to comfort food? (And a crazy story)

The CRAZIEST thing happened at home yesterday...
Read More >

The Best Kale Caesar Salad You'll Ever Have

Kale is a superfood. Kale is on every restaurant menu. According to a recent New York Times article, kale is hot in New York social circles. (Although this Onion headline made me laugh out loud.) Are you a fan? It's delicious and feels so healthy. Phoebe of Feed Me Phoebe has a killer recipe for a kale caesar salad. Who's in? Here's how to whip one up...Read More >

Summer denim

This spring, I keep spotting beautiful women around Manhattan wearing chambray shirts and dresses. There's something so flattering about denim—it's a little tomboy, while still being feminine. Here are a few pretty pieces...
Clockwise: Shift dress, campground shirt, pinafore, mini wedges and fold-over clutch. Thoughts? Which would you wear?

P.S. These espadrilles are cute, too!

(Top photo by Stockholm Street Style)