off to the ballpark

there may be four inches of snow on the ground today, 

but we are off to the city and a tour of fenway park 

in honor of the start of baseball season and mr prep's birthday!

it's so hard to decide what to get guys as gifts, 

so i thought this would just be 

a fun time for the family and a nice memory.

we'll start our adventure here

have a fun dinner in boston's north end

wear our new shirts

(yes, everyone gets one)

and go here

hope it warms up so we can 

snap a fun, fenway, family photo!

happy weekend!

monogrammed melamine

look what i found!

how adorable are these monogrammed melamine plates and bowls?

they're available from one of my favorite monogrammed sites:

http://www.morgan-company.com

and would make the cutest bridal shower or college graduation gift!

available in a number of color combos and patterns (pink and green, too!)

family tree project

i have always been intrigued by my family history and just last night helped a long-lost cousin complete my mother's father's family tree....

we found so much information and are so exited!

my great-great grandmother and her sons in illinois taken about 1930

we can trace our family back to the 1600s in england, 

with immigration to virginia 

and have found we have some danish and irish blood, too!

my great-great grandfather (right) as part of wild bill hickock's wild west show

there was wealth, poverty, entertainers, a murder, orphans, scandal, prison....

everything you could possibly think of 

(as i'm sure most families have if you trace them back far enough!)

the old pictures intrigue me the most,

as does one story about a little girl named sunshine 

sunshine, renamed josephine, and her husband about 1940

sunshine was my great-grandfather's half sister 

and following her mother and father's deaths 

(they were both very young when they died) 

she was given up for adoption and her name was changed.

just this very week, my mother's aunt found out she was living AROUND.THE.CORNER. from sunshine's daughter, 

and has been for over 20 years! 

They are FIRST COUSINS! 

my grandfather (right) with his brother and their pet goat in 1932

this has truly been an amazing experience 

and has made me want to find out even more about my other branches!

do you know who YOU are?!?

silk scarf bags

as i continue my hunt for the perfect spring handbag

(tory, kate, lilly can you hear me?!?)

i did pick up a fun transitional one over the weekend

old navy silk scarf bag, $16.50

inspired by

swash zebra silk scarf bag @ barneys new york, $495

the pink prep has been bargain hunting!!

3 white dresses

it may still be freezing here in new england, 

but i am in a little-white-dress-sort-of-mood

and tried on a few lovelies yesterday...

and did a little cost comparison 

between *gasp* old navy and lilly!

shiffi shift, $34.50, old navy

lela shift, $328, lilly pulitzer

embroidered sundress, $34.50, old navy

wilma eyelet, $278, lilly pulitzer

eyelet shift, $29.50, old navy

one glam damme: a tribute

elizabeth rosamond taylor

february 27, 1932 - march 23, 2011

a classic beauty who became an icon

and will forever be one of hollywood's 

most intriguing, glamorous, larger-than-life stars

rest peacefully

3 ladies and a gentleman

i'd like to thank vera, lilly, ann and ralph 

for helping me put together my look today.

simply vera wang silk top

lilly pulitzer white 3/4-length sleeve tee

ann taylor stretchy belt

ralph lauren pinstripe pants and heels

sometimes you just need a little help from your friends!
who are YOUR go-to, dress-you-up friends?