Friday Five

This week flew by and I could not be happier. I have a packed schedule this weekend - volunteering at the MoMA, BBQ with friends and family and celebrating my sister-in-law's birthday with brunch. So to kick off the weekend, here are my favorites for this week. Have a great weekend and enjoy the sun!

1. Trina Turk for Banana Republic: California native, Trina Turk, has brought her signature Palm Springs style to Banana Republic with a line of colorful clothing and accessories. The items in this line are adorable and perfect for summer. Filled with punch colors, these pieces will add a bit of glamour to your summer wardrobe without the usual hefty price associated with Turk's designs. Oh and the bracelets practically beg to be stacked!!

Shop the collection here

2. Cindy Sherman at the Museum of Modern Art: Cindy Sherman is a genius and a pioneer for women in photography. This is the last weekend to catch her retrospective at the MoMA and I highly recommend going to see it. The show spans her career from her early series of  Untitled Film Stills to her present work. This show is truly a must see for photography lovers.

3. Big Apple BBQ Block Party: For the 9th year, Madison Square Park is hosting the Big Apple BBQ Block Party, featuring amazing BBQ food from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Rack & Soul and more. Admission is free and plates of food are only $8 each. The Party starts on Saturday, June 9 and lasts until Sunday.

For more information click here

4. Monet's Garden at the New York Botanical Gardens: Claude Monet was an avid gardener and his love for gardening was evident in his paintings. Monet even hinted that flowers might have been the reason he became a painter. From now until October, the New York Botanical Gardens will have on display rare artifacts from Monet's life, as well as paintings, one of which has never been exhibited in the United States before. Photographs of Monet's garden at Giverny are also on exhibit. The Conservatory features gorgeous plants, including Monet's beloved waterlilies.

For more information click here

5. Watermelon Sangria: I am known (well in my family) for making an awesome red wine sangria. This recipe calls for white wine and watermelons. It is the perfect summer drink for BBQs, summer parties or anytime you want something refreshing. I plan on making a batch this weekend.

Friday Five

Happy Friday everyone. This weekend is the unofficial start to Summer. I am so looking forward to all the fun things NYC has to offer me this Summer. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Please remember what Memorial Day is actually about - not just BBQs and the beach, but the men and women who served our country. Here are my Friday favorites!

1. DisneyBound: DisneyBound is by far my favorite tumblr site to visit. The amazing Leslie Kay puts together adorable and fashionable outfits based on Disney characters, rides, experiences and movies. Leslie takes requests (she even put together an outfit for me for my birthday at Alice's Tea Cup) and manages to make dressing up like your favorite Disney character something every adult should do.

2. Pixar Movie Weekend: This weekend, AMC theaters will have 4 amazing Pixar movies in theaters once again. Wall-E, Up, Toy Story 3 and Ratatouille, will screen in select movie theaters nationwide. Wall-E is by far my favorite Pixar movie (possibly my favorite movie ever) and I never got to see it in theaters. This is a great time to experience it. While everyone will be clamoring for Men in Black 3, I get Wall-E on the big screen. Check out the AMC site. Most places are offering the Pixar fils for $6 a ticket.

3. R2 Fish School Training Kit: The R2 Fish School is a complete training kit that claims to include everything you need to teach your fish tricks. Does it work? I have no idea. Is it awesome? A fish that can do tricks - yes it is awesome! The videos on the site shoe fish doing some incredible things, so I might have to check this out. My beta fish, Barnabus, spends his days in the mouth of a ceramic shark. This is much more interesting.

4. Polaroid Z340: The Polaroid Z340 is a digital camera with instant printing capability - think  your cell phone camera merged with a 1980s polaroid. Digital images are instantly printed into 3"x4" photos. They can be printed with or without borders - that adorable white polaroid border can be omitted if you so choose. The rechargeable battery lasts thru 25 photos (a little low if you ask me, but this is still a great idea).

5. Fleet Week: From now until May 30, New York will be celebrating Fleet Week with plenty of events to honor the men and women of the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. This year there will be aerial demonstrations, a parade of ships and plenty of adorable men (and women) in uniform.

Art Lessons

I have been home sick for the last few days, so I have spent most of my time sleeping or searching the Internet for cool stuff. This morning, I found the COOLEST of things - the work of Alexandra Valenti. Alexandra Valenti is a photographer and artist. Her images seem almost like vintage snapshots from a trip to the dessert in the late 1960s. Valenti is from Berkley, made her way to New York and now lives in Texas and it is obvious that these locations have influenced her work.

The black and white images and the contrasting bright painted shapes make for such engaging images. They are serious and happy, serene and vibrant at the same time. The images are simple, but the added colors make them so interesting to view. Valenti's images remind me of the gorgeous, laid back attitude of the West Coast. They are one part hippie and one part magical, which makes a lot of sense considering that she has photographed ad campaigns for Free People.