sour and sweet

how's this for life giving you lemons...our flight to paris was cancelled due to volcanic ash...seriously? oui, seriously. so rather than joining the thousands of people at the mercy of an angry geyser of lava, we decided not to try and force this trip right now.

instead, we took those lemons and made margaritas -- we went to mexico!

yet another lesson from the universe that the best laid plans (even those of the seventeen page variety, for example) can disappear in an instant. as my bff bethenny (a margarita maven herself) says, "we plan and god laughs."

but it's also a reminder that the unravelling of a plan can yield another great one.

btw, mazel bethenny!

don't forget to check in each morning for a new post while i'm gone.

photo from exeter township

happy weekend!

happy weekend, my readers, and happy mother's day! i hope you have something wonderful planned for the mother or mother figures in your life.

if you need some last minute shopping ideas, i'd love for you to check out the honey gift files. though many of them require time for shipping, even more of them are able to be bought on the spot in stores. for really last minute shopping, see this post.

if you don't have too much planned, but you want a special but low-key mother's day, how about sitting outside in the lovely spring air with a couple of sofia minis and some magazines to pore over together?

now for some stuff from around the web....

read this wonderfully lovely post by one of my favorite bloggers about the simple but beautiful art of making an impromptu salad. such a perfect combinations of photos and words, this post.

in other favorite bloggers, check out this hilarious yet amazing mustache-themed party (a 'stache bash) that jackie fo threw for her mom - so funny, and yet so dead-on with the details (and you know how i feel about details).

have you heard about vera wangs upcoming line for david's bridal? read about it here. i love that so many high-end designers are creating lower-priced lines for mainstream retailers...exciting!

well lovelies, as you know, there will still be one post each day next week even though i'll be away. i'll be in the city of light, and i'll be soaking up all i can so i can share the best of it with you when i return. i so value having you all to share things with - it's such a comforting way of processing and appreciating my experiences, and your input enriches it even further. thank you, as always, for reading.

top photo from country living, tomato photo from concrete magnolia, paris photo from love collage

bonjour paris!

bonjour mes amis!

well, i have held it in too long and i have to share it with you, my wonderful readers. i am incredibly lucky to be going to paris on saturday for five amazing nights with mitchell, my parents and my siblings and their significant others. it's an incredibly generous gift from my parents in honor of their 35th anniversary, and i couldn't be more excited. in my absence, i plan on having one post scheduled each day and i can't wait to share with you everything i know i'll have to share upon my return.

i have been busy constructing a loose itinerary with a very detailed guidebook for us all to use which combines all the recommendations we've gotten as well as all of frommers' and fodors' wisdom. and i highly recommend rick steves' paris - he has guidebooks for many places, and he's so user-friendly and chock full of great information and tips, and even offers updates on the website.

SO in preparation for our trip, i am going to have one travel-themed post each day this week, in addition to a regular post. i welcome any tips you'd like to share about anything!

photo from thunda funda