A Storybook Shower

Last Saturday I was down in Maryland to celebrate a baby shower for my sister-in-law and future baby nephew!  It was adorably themed as a storybook shower, with many of the food options based on some of our favorite childhood books.  We each also brought a book in place of a card to shower the momma-to-be and start a library collection for her little guy.  I am so excited to meet my nephew, and looking forward to introducing our boys so soon!  Of course, I had to get our last bump-to-bump shot as well.  It’s crazy to think that the next time I see my sister-in-law, we will both be moms!

Happy Bump Day 😉

It’s been a busy week here with long work hours, doctor’s appointments, a dinner date with a friend in town from Detroit, and more.  Hope you are all having a good one as well!

XO,

Gina

Family Reunion

Photo by: Misa*Me Photography

fam·i·ly

/ˈfam(ə)lē/

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Noun: A group consisting of parents and children living together in a household.

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Now, this gigantic group of people above may not all live together in one household…but I certainly consider them all family.

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After at least a 10 year long hiatus, my Italian grandfather’s side of the family got together at the end of June for a family reunion in Davidsonville, MD.  My cousin, Valerie, was kind enough to open her home to 100+ crazy Italianos from all over the U.S.  Some as far as Maine, Iowa, and Washington state.  I expected maybe 40-50 people or so, but to have over 100 just blew my mind.  It proved to me that I was not the only one who saw a larger definition to the word “family.”

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We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day, a pool for the kiddies to enjoy, delicious BBQ, and a lot of fun.  We had a large family tree diagram to trace each bloodline back multiple generations thanks to my Uncle Art.  People brought tons of old photos.  One of my favorite moments was sitting with my Uncle Danny (my Grandpa Frank’s 1st cousin) while we looked through an old photo album of his life from childhood to the present.  He had so many stories of growing up with my Grandfather that really just made my day.  Everyone brought tons of desserts, and many of them were family recipes.  I think I ate more dessert than actual lunch food!  Oops.

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We had such a great time catching up with each other that I really wish so much time hadn’t gone by since our last reunion, and I’m hoping that the next one will be sooner rather than later.

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When I think of family, I think of love, respect, sacrifice, holidays, being there for one another, having a shoulder to cry on, people to laugh with, those to get crazy with, honesty, trust, friendship, acceptance, support and care.  Family shapes who we are as people and changes us for the future.  I realize that not everyone may have this same definition of family depending on their life experiences, but I am so grateful for the amount of love in my family.

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 You can’t choose who is in your family, but you can choose whether or not you want to spend time with them.  The fact that so many people came out for this reunion shows how much we all care about each other even after so much time had gone by.  I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of such a greater whole, and I’m looking forward to when my Little Monkey will be able to join this amazing group of people that I can call my own.

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XO,

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Gina

A Day on the Farm

While on holiday, we spent a day celebrating my mother-in-law’s birthday on the farm.  Her friend owns a beautiful piece of property in Northern Maryland, and invited a crew over for a lovely housewarming at their newly renovated home.  Along with my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law were also in attendance.  It was great to catch up with everyone over delicious home cooked seafood chowder, decadent desserts, and a fantastic walk around the yard with all the goats and chickens.  Thanks to Bill and Ellen for their hospitality.

Today is my first day back at the office in the new year.  It’s strangely quiet so far today.  This morning I was able to make it to the gym, and I actually made it there before it opened.  What, you say?  Yes, this is no joke.  Weird things are happening in 2013.

Hope you all enjoy the end of our short week.

Cheers,

Gina

Happy Hunger Games!

…and may the odds be ever in your favor…

Despite all the Hurricane Sandy madness…I hope everyone has a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hope everyone is staying safe.  We lost power for a couple hours last night, but it’s now back on.  Again, if anyone needs a place to stay or shower or eat, please feel free to come on over to Ditmas Park.

How to recreate Effie Trinket…

Effie has many different looks throughout the movie, The Hunger Games, so I chose to go with the pink/purple/fuchsia color scheme since that screamed the most fun to me.

Hair: Bought a super long curly blonde wig from Ricky’s and pinned it up to create the voluminous look of Effie’s hair.  I then sprayed it with Jerome Russell Strawberry Blonde Highlight Color Temporary Spray, also from Ricky’s.  To complete the look, you’ll need a huge headpiece or flower to place in the middle of the hair.  I actually found this amazing piece in Union Square from a street vendor.  I can’t believe I got so lucky!  Voila!

Makeup

Base: Kryolan Aqua Color Wet MakeUp color 070 for the white / Eyes: MAC Paint Pot in Painterly for base of lids, Make Up For Ever Diamond Shadow No 303 via Sephora all over lid, outside of lid, Make Up For Ever Matte Eyeshadow No 26 Fuchsia via Sephora all over lids to eyebrow and outside, also underneath, Make Up For Ever Matte Eyeshadow No 58 Dark Raspberry via Sephora in eyelid crease, Korres Soft Eyeliner Pencil in Athens Black / Eyelashes: Paperself Peacock (not the original (Deer & Butterfly) from movie because they were sold out, but these were close!) / Cheeks: Make Up Forever Diamond Shadow No 303 (same as above) stroke from eye to cheekbone, Make Up Forever Matte Eyeshadow No 58 (same as above) very lightly on cheekbones / Lips: MAC Lip Liner in Magenta to outline the heart, Lancome Lipstick in Fuchsia Clutch to fill in the heart.

Clothing:  Again, Effie has so many different outfits, and it’s almost impossible to recreate her exact outfits without having a seamstress alongside you or an amazing vintage boutique, so you can get a way with a lot in the clothing department.  I went with this fuchsia peplum top that I found at Forever 21, and I pinned two flowers to it to give it the “Effie volume” which I purchased at H&M.  For the bottom, I wore a simple black pencil skirt (that is so old, I have no idea where I originally purchased it.)  For the shoes, I meant to pack my black booties, which are a signature Effie look, but I forgot them, so I went with these beautiful Betsey Johnson Zingerr pumps instead, which I think Effie would totally be able to pull off.

 The girls and I celebrated Halloween this past Saturday, and I am so thankful they were such an awesome hair and makeup team to help me create this costume!  I have never been more excited about a costume I don’t think!  The girls (Alex & Marisa – also known as Pregnant Snookie & a 50’s Housewife) and I went out to downtown Annapolis on Saturday night and we literally bar hopped to almost every single bar showing off our costumes and trying to see others dressed up as well.  It’s not often that I get this much bonding time with my cousins anymore, so I was really excited to have a little girl’s night.  What a fun time!

Hope you all out there were able to enjoy the holiday as much as we were, and hope the Hurricane didn’t rain on your parade!  Again, stay safe!

Love,

Gina

Milk & Cookie

Here are a few photos from my cousin, Alex’s, bridal shower this past weekend.  Alex and her fiance, Seamus, have been calling each other “Milk & Cookie” for quite some time now, and as you can see, we decided to take that theme and run with it for her shower!  Each of the bridesmaids made a batch of cookies (or in my case brought down cookies from a Brooklyn bakery – a family favorite), and we created a little cookie bar where guests could take home some sweet treats.

The beautiful bride looking stunning in a dress from Forever 21! Rock it girl!

A gift from the in-laws! Also got her a “Gaelic & Garlic” tee. So funny!

Cousin love – Sensational Six!

  It was a great day to see family and shower Alex with love.  Isn’t she just the cutest?!?!  She is going to make such a beautiful bride!

In other news…NYC is a mess.  Insane amount of flooding, power outages, trees down, houses and cars destroyed, subways and tunnels down.  It’s unreal.  I am shocked at how much damage Hurricane Sandy has caused.  I think a lot of us were hoping it would be similar to Irene, but this is way more intense.  My husband and I have been very lucky.  We are doing okay in Brooklyn.  Luckily we are far enough inland that the flooding has not reached us, and we did not lose power.  I am praying for family and friends in the area who were not as lucky. If anyone needs a place to stay and you can get here, you are more than welcome.  Stay safe everyone.

Love,

Gina

Wedding Season Part Deux

Well, here you have it.  This rounds out the last bit of wedding season this fall.  We’ve traveled up and down the East Coast these past few months to celebrate the nuptials of some of our nearest and dearest.

The first adventure took place in Montauk, NY.  At the tip of Long Island, Montauk is a gorgeous beach setting, and couldn’t have been a more perfect spot for this bride and groom.  The entire weekend was lovely from start to finish.  The groom played rugby with my husband at the University of Maryland, so all the college boys were reunited with their beautiful ladies in tow who I very much adore.  We had a blast!

Wedding I – Montauk Yacht Club, NY

Top from StyleMint

The second wedding featured in this post is a wedding of my longest best friend, Katie.  We met when I was 4 and she was 5 as neighbors, and we have been friends ever since.  Not many people can say they have had a non-relative friend for almost their entire life.  We spent numerous years going to school together, and although, we have both moved on and moved out of our childhood homes, we have still managed to remain close.  I am so lucky to have had Katie and her family in my life all of these years, and I’m happy to welcome her new husband to the “neighborhood.”

Wedding II – Sagamore Farm, MD