weekend wonders

it was a beautiful weekend and i ran my ass off. it was wonderful. i did manage to catch some of sunday on the iphone though...spent a few hours with the linder's: donuts, babies and sunshine. ended the evening with a visit to the young men's democratic club on 11th street...yes, it was awesome.

we're running for boston tonight - come and join in if you're in the reading area.

hustlin'

[image via we heart it]

so clearly, you see what i did today - consider it your thursday blog post with some eye candy ;)

let's see how things go with the new layout, i'm still learning/playing but so far i'd say i'm t h r i l l e d! mainly because i get to use my sweet logo melanie linder designed for me a million years ago. and now you can click right through to her shop - over there on the right - scroll down - got it?!

so yay! let's play blog for a few days and see how we do. 

one day

omg. it's our birthday! can't believe it's been a year since i sat down with the loveliest of ladies and we dreamed up bloom where you are. mel and phoebe: you are such bright lights in my life and i am thrilled to be on this bloom journey with you! xoxoxo

we're so excited that we're doing a giant giveaway to celebrate this special occasion. pop on over to our facebook page to get the scoop, and make sure you sip some champagne today to celebrate with us near and far! we'll be having a bite of cake and some bubbly too (stay tuned for pics of course).

inside scoop on saturday

[photo by melanie linder]

oh haiiiii (my new way to say "hey" like the tween i am.don't hate.) hop on over to turtlebunnylove and check out ms. melanie linder's pretty post on our DIY project party and my clay covered face! (it's worth the click just for that!)

weekend wonders

i don't have one word to describe this weekend, just that it was exactly what i needed. each day packed full of things and people i love, countless hours outside, early bed times, amazing food and gratefulness. grateful that it fulfilled me and grateful that i have created a life (and a person) that i love and will fight fiercely for. 

- 50 degrees and footloose friday after work for some trial time, followed by pizza, bourbon and the decendents with the bestie and her hubs. 

- spent saturday shopping, donuting, photoshooting, hanging, drinking, laughing, face-masking, editing and overall hustling with the lovely melanie linder. what. a. blast. oh, and lu got her very first designer duds from heidi merrick :) AND she held her bottle with two hands, boom.

- snow meant white trails on sunday, times two. green carnations for dad on st. patrick's and a "clubhouse" hang out after our afternoon trail romp on mt. penn, complete with irish soda bread.  

tomorrow, tomorrow...

[personal favs i've snapped with my iphone]

...i'll spread the love, tomorrow - it's only a day away! woohoo! we're excited over here for the amazing melanie linder to re-open the spread the love shop. i know she's been working super duper hard to get everything going for you peeps and is ready to roll out the red carpet for her grand re-opening! so stop by tomorrow and spread the love (just in time for our favorite love-fest valentine's day!) to yourself and to all of your special someones and show mama mel how much we missed her!

xoxo

farewell fields and french hens

..until we meet again! it's a bittersweet weekend at the market - melanie is closing her stand, but not closing up shop (don't worry!). she's going to take some well deserved time off and i'll keep you posted as to when she is up and running again, baking amazing goodies that make our tummies and hearts happy. her stand was an amazing catalyst for me, throwing me into the direction of good people, good ideas and good community. it is my hope that the spirit of her stand lives on in all of us touched by her talent, and we carry if forward in all that we do as active, kindred-spirits in berks county.

so last week the girls (plus a new one!) made their usual thursday trip to the market to sample what succulent goodies melanie baked up. of course they were all to die for - we ooohhed and ahhhed over luella how light the cheesecake was, how deliciously dense the walnut and fig cake was, and for moments like these i can never thank melanie enough for doing her thang. she is truly a blessing. rock on sister, we're excited for what's next for you!

lu is two!

[image via mama mel]

..months old that is. is it weird i am posting pics of someone else's baby?! wait, nope, don't care. 
how radical is luella reed linder? she has stolen my heart and she is wearing her jerry garcia onesie from aunt christin; not that it has anything to do with this post...i might just be really flattered and excited, that's all.

here's to you lu! you are the eyes of the world.

girl crush

it was girls night last night with two of my favorite ladies - lots of tacos, laughing and napping (for some). 

head on over to the bloom blog today to see what i dropped off for the newbie parents from the bloom where you are babes.

friday fuel

[buy this pretty pink print from spread the love]

i keep waiting for the waves to stop so i can take a minute to properly update and love all of you readers, but you know what they say...smooth seas never made for a skillful sailor! so i'm going to keep riding the waves and going with the flow and you can all come along with me, sound good?

also, better start thinking about what you're thankful for...(because at our family thanksgiving dinner we make you say it OUT LOUD at the table..yeah, should probably practice that EVERY day).

friday fuel

[image via Spread the Love; it's my favorite, you should spoil yourself and buy it too ]

Off to celebrate Darryl and Whitney tying the knot this weekend in CT! And for the record I can. not. wait. to see my family dance our asses off, and maybe drink too much, and probably laugh so hard I pee in my pants a little. Plus, stay tuned for a little WIW action next week...ohhh suspense!

So in honor of wherever you're at in the relationship world a few irresistible goodies I've come across:

I DIED when I found this tumblr...

Reflected when I read this.

And am positive this is the BEST wedding gift ever, of all time, the end. Or, this one. 

Sometimes I can't decide who I love more. Good thing I get to give lots of gifts!

good press.

[the spread the love nursery collection | image via melanie linder]

[phoebe's pure food new logo | image  and design via melanie linder]

[the bloom girls at hello, bluebird | image via melanie linder]

it seems like everything's coming up melanie these days - and for good reason! my uber-talented, sweet as pie, pretty as a peach and fun as all hell miss mel has a lot going on - a birthday, an anniversary a baby, launching bloom with us, doing double dutch and oh yea, her full time gig over at spread the love. obvs, i could go on and on about her for days (and sometimes i do) but i invite you to just take a look at what she's been up to. (um, that logo is to DIE for) and who she is (this will make you love her MORE, if that's even possible). so join me and let's just celebrate the hell out of this little lady because she totally deserves it. here's to your happy month, and year,  my lady bird!

full bloom

Whew! What a wonderful Monday - it was so busy I didn't even have a chance to pop over here and update you lovely people on what's taken root in my life: Bloom Where You Are.

It's been a collaboration of love with two of the most talented and beautiful ladies I know and we are so excited to share a bazillion things we have blooming in our brains and hearts over the coming months (and hopefully years and decades following..am I crazy? Duh.). I'm telling you, these girls are total babes. But there's more where that came from, and we promise to introduce you to all the babes in Berks that Bloom thinks you should know about and love just as much as we do.

So poke around on the site, it's a work in progress, and come meet us this Saturday at our happy little pop-up shop on the porch of Hello, Bluebird (one of said babes you should know). Oh and like us on Facebook! That would be great too!

Here's to blooming where you are.

Fab Friday

Mel's got the biggest and best fab sale ever going on right now. So hop on over and Spread the Love to get your give (or get) on! (PS Christmas is only 108 days away ;)

wedding wall bliss

I was SO beyond excited to give Christina and Christian their wedding gift (I practically made them open it on the spot)! Obviously my loved ones all get a fabulous Melanie Linder wedding banners to commemorate their big day, but this time I changed it up and picked the peacock wedding poster. Oh. My. God. it is beyond fabulous. I went with an over-sized Ribba frame from IKEA to really pack some punch with the print and I could not be happier with the way it turned out.

Neither could Christina and Christian, as you can see above. It's already hanging up in their bedroom! Most certainly a perfect match!

(I apologize for the quality and color of the pictures above, but you can get clear on the colors here)

pretty pickin'

To say the weather lately has been unbearable would be an understatement. Who wants to go stand outside in soupy humidity and pick blueberries, FOR FUN? Exactly; no one. (But yes, let's def run lots of miles, that sounds more reasonable.) Needless to say, our Double Dutch blueberry pickin' date has been cancelled and rearranged quite a few times. And then last night the storm came, the clouds broke and Melanie and I had a good hour, just the two of us, picking the last of the blue crops while enjoying the cool breeze and beautiful sunset (or maybe the just have REALLY great weather in Shoemakersville and we should move there?). Now...what to make with our harvest?

Life's a s'meach!

So, the s'meaches turned out even more spectacular than we ever imagined. The combination of the sweet and spicy was literally to die for and they couldn't have been any easier to make (and messier to eat)! Since there is currently a burn ban around here since it's been so dang hot and dry, we improvised and used the grill which turned out to be the best improv ever because we just made one large batch and baked them over the flames. Thank you Linder's for an incredibly lovely evening relaxing by the pond, stuffing our faces with s'meaches and listening to endless Jerry. xx!

Ladies Who Lunch (and Launch)

Head on over to Melanie Linder's blog for some lunch time eye candy and see what Double Dutch and Phoebe's Pure Food have been cookin' up!

Fab Tuesday

Hello lovelies! Happy Tuesday! Celebrate by hopping over to Melanie Linder's fab.com sale and pick up something special for that special someone or just special you! Remember, wedding season is in full swing - which mean upcoming anniversaries too! Happy shopping!

To Market, To Market.

[stoudt's  french baguette]

[new! rosemary and sea salt biscut (YUM!) | blueberry turnover for dad's birthday | lavender cookie for melanie linder]

[i couldn't resist some stoudt's cheese - to go with the rosemary and sea salt]

[from the amish dairy, on sale, 90 cents, duh.]

This is how we do on Thursdays at Fields and French Hens. Melanie suggests the following tasty dipping sauce to pair with your baguette for the holiday weekend:

{pine nuts, 1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted and chopped, 2 tablespoons rosemary, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Put all ingredients in a food processor and combine. I'm going to dip mine, but feel free to bake yours. Set oven at 400, cut bread in half, sprinkle with mixture, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes or so. Enjoy!}