Guinness Cupcakes!

Hi Everyone, Its Lauren!

Its been about 2 months since we've all been together to blog! I was without a computer for the summer, Meg was in Florida working at a camp, and Taylor was workin' at the car wash.  Since were all back at school for our senior year, I figured I would kick off the new blog year with a baking post!

This past weekend was the first real weekend at school so I felt the need to whip up something special. With the help from my housemates, I got the idea of making Guinness Cupcakes with Baileys Frosting! They turned out amazing and were super fun to make! The Guinness made the chocolate of the cupcakes a little bitter, while the Baileys in the frosting added a nice coffee flavor.  They were the perfect addition to our long weekend.

 Guinness Cupcakes  (thanks to food.com!)

"All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!" 

- Lucy from Charlie Brown

sad can't catch me or call me baby now.

Hey everyone, Taylor again!

I told you last time I've been having a relatively boring summer full of work, work, and more work. This is definitely still true, but some exciting things have happened and lifted my summer spirits. One: I found out I'm going on vacation to Cape Cod at the end of the summer. Two: Matt Nathanson's new album, "Modern Love" came out last week and it is awesome sauce. Three: I'm spending five sure-to-be glorious-since-they-are-work-free days at Cazenovia Lake for the 4th of July with my excellent family. So, all is good. Here's some photos of me pretending its still Fall. (RIP my favorite season).

Dress: Camden Market (London) / Shorts: Forever21

Belt: Forever21 / Flannel: Primark (London) / Shoes: Guess

"if the sun don't light and the night won't turn,

we'll get a room at the end of the world.

and we'll rewrite all the wrongs we've learned

safe in our room at the end of the world."

-matt nathanson, room @ the end of the world

Bagpipes, Castles, & Golf

From Ireland, I took a tiny plane over to Edinburgh, Scotland.  Before going on this trip, I didn't know much about Scotland or have too much of an interest of going.  But after only a few days there, it turned out to be my favorite place visited in Europe!  The architecture was some of the most amazing I have ever seen! I loved being able to just walk around all day and see beautiful sights.

While in Scotland I visited the Edinburgh Castle, went to St. Andrews, and visited galleries.

Just like in my Ireland post, I'm going to pick 5 pictures to try and some up the wonderfulness of Scotland!

View from the Edinburgh Castle

St. Andrew's Golf Course

Quinn, Tom, Ryan, Steve, Me: Outside the National Gallery

 Street near my hotel: absolutely loved all of the cobblestone!

View of the Castle from a garden below

Thanks again for reading!

My England post will be up in about a week!

Rain Rain Go Away

Hi! It's Lauren, and I'm back from Europe!

I was away for 2 weeks, but it felt like I was there for months! It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  I was able to meet so many new people, and see sites that otherwise I may have never seen.  My travels included Ireland, Scotland, and England.  I think the best way to post is one from each place.  So, this post will focus on Ireland.

I was in Ireland for a week, more specifically Dublin.  I was surprised to see how small the city was.  We walked EVERYWHERE, and by the end I felt like I had been there forever because of how well I could get around.  While I was there I saw national museums, Trinity College, The Guinness Factory, The Jameson Factory, Newgrange, and Howth.  Along with these beautiful sights, I also saw lots of rain!  But being in Ireland, I expected this.
Since I was in Ireland for a business class, I also got to go to the Dublin Institute of Technology for three lectures.  Although school during the summer is never fun, it was interesting to listen to another country's perspectives on business.

I'm going to try and pick my top 5 favorite pictures from Ireland, but trust me there are hundreds more that I would love to show!

Cider with my roommate Lauren at Doyle's

Trinity College: amazing architecture!

The Cliffs at Howth: beautiful until an insane rain storm hit

Gravity Bar at the Guinness Factory (too disgusting to actually drink)

Newgrange: perfect example of true Irish country-side

Thanks for reading!  Please check back for my posts on Scotland and England!

I want to speak the unspoken. I want to face everything in our world that’s broken.

Hi everyone... Taylor here!

I'm officially holding down the blog fort while my counterparts are off on fabulous adventures. Meg spent a few weeks in Hawaii "studying" on a short term abroad program and now she is off "working" in Florida at a summer camp. Lauren has also jetted off to "study" in Scotland, Ireland, and England for a few weeks. I am obviously supremely jealous as I miss London in ridiculous amounts and am spending my summer working one of those jobs you mention as the worst job you ever had when you become famous and get interviewed. Despite this minor 45 hour a week set back I got to do some fun thrifting a few weeks ago! Sorry for the mildly shabby photos... my normal camera is out of commission. Here's the finds:

 T-shirt sweater with cool lace up and feather details on the back. Very excited about this one!

I don't know how this could ever look cool in a photograph, but I promise it is awesome and 80slicious.

Funky canvas / Random material boot action. Oh yeah.

Yes... the inside is decked out with cow print. 

Completely necessary treasure chest? Check. 

"I don’t know much, but I do know this: 

I know that heaven is full of music 

And I know that God listens to my heart beat on his iPod. 

It reminds him that we still got work to do."

-Rudy Francisco

Summer Breeze

Hi Everyone! It's Lauren!

dress: American Eagle; cardigan: Forever 21; bag: Anthropologie

Last night night, John and I went into Piermont.  It's this cute little town on the water with lots of shops and restaurants.

We found this delicious place called The Harbour House! It was pub-like food, especially seafood! We both choose yummy seafood dishes.  And lucky for me, my clam chowder came in a bowl plate!

I had never been to The Harbour House before, so when i saw the vintage book border, i had to take a picture!  It was such a nice touch to the great food!

This will be my last post before I leave to go abroad to Europe for 2 weeks on Monday! I can't wait to come back and share my adventures!

"Sitting on the dock of the bay/ Watching the tide roll away/ I'm just sitting on the dock of the bay/ Wasting time" - Otis Redding

home is wherever i'm with you.

Hey all... Taylor here. I'm not usually one to put on a pretty dress and heels when I can throw on my Converse and get my outdoor adventure on. Being home and surrounded by top notch nature, however, made me want to bring both of my worlds together. So, I put on my version of the pretty dress and heels (obviously plaid, obviously black, obviously boots) and took it to my backyard. This all ended with me trying to climb a tree... something that does not mesh well with wedges. P.S. I also when on a thrifting extravaganza today. Can't wait to share my finds. I may have bought a small treasure chest...

Dress: Charlotte Russe / Boots: Maurice's / Socks: Forever21

"We knew we had to leave this town, but we never 

knew when and we never knew how" -Daughtry

You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream for Glace?

Hi Everyone, It’s Lauren!

Now that I’m home from school for the summer, I need to find fun things to do! Tonight, me and John went and got Glace! Now, I’m sure no one has any idea what I’m talking about when I say that, so let me explain: Glace is this ice-cream like treat that has no carbs or sugar. 

Top: Ann Taylor LOFT; Necklace: Laila Rowe

It’s pretty great, but don’t really exist other than in West Nyack, NY at Cone Zone.  Cone Zone is a local ice cream shop that my brother Anthony works at.  Thanks to him I get my yummy Glace at a discount.

When trying to explain this “Glace” to any of my friends they can never seem to quite understand.  It’s not your typical ice cream texture, but it’s not a crushed ice texture either.  As put by Meg, she described it as fresh snow, like real snow you find outside.  She was lucky enough to try it a few weeks back! I still cannot describe it well, but I can tell you that it is delicious!

If you’re ever in West Nyack, stop by and give it a try!  

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

-J.R.R. Tolkien

I've been around the world and i-yi-yi

TAYLOR AGAIN!
Yes, that was a blatant old school Will Smith reference in the title of this post.

No, I am not embarrassed about this.

I finished up my finals yesterday and I am back in my hometown of Litchfield, CT. I've been thinking about unpacking, which translates to I've been staring at all the contents of the boxes in my room. Catching my eye (as usual) is my beat of pair of black high top Converse. My mom has been pressuring me to throw these shoes away for a very long time. Maybe they're not clean enough to be fashionable or even appealing anymore, but they have history. And I see the beauty in a pair of shoes that have traveled the world with me. When I wear my Chucks I'm carrying the best four months of my life with me. Last Spring I spent four months living in London, taking classes, interning, and travelling. My Converse were on my feet for most of these four months and I can't throw that away. I find merit in carrying memories of breath-taking travels and amazing friends with me every place I wear my sneakers. Here's some of the places my Chucks have been:

London, England - taken from the London Eye

Ireland Countryside (as well as Dublin)

Paris, France

Watching football in Hyde Park in London

Venice, Italy

The Colosseum in Rome, Italy

Hiking Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, Scotland (they also went to Loch Ness... no sign of the monster.)

Grizzly Bear concert at the Roundhouse in London (amazing concert by the way!)

Adventure Weekend in Pembrokeshire, Wales (hiking, sea kayaking, and coasteering)

Not all shoes have to be pretty. So... wear them in, get them dirty, put holes in the side
because in the end the memories will be worth it.

"Twenty years from now you will be more
disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the
ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away
from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your
sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain

Sittin On the Dock of the Bay

Shirt: Gifted / Shorts: H&M / Sandals: Gap

 Hello! I'm Meghan, finishing off our first set of individual posts. I'll just give you a brief insight to who I am and what you can expect to see from me! I've been an avid reader of fashion blogs for awhile now and with the help of some friends got the courage to dive in to our own. I'm not going to classify myself in to a style because I find labels to be limiting - I wear what I like which spans from combat boots to heels and everything in between. The majority of what comes out of my mouth is sarcastic or a lame attempt at a joke. When I'm not spouting out wise cracks or witty comments, I'm generally laughing - often with others, sometimes at myself - I think life overall is easier when you can laugh at yourself.

Here's some things that take up my time: fashion, dance & choreography, photography, kids (preferably the fun kind, not the bratty complaining kind), traveling, car singing, volunteering, plays&musicals, reading, comedy, vegetarianism, PostSecret, mildly entertaining television, and foolish dancing.
My iTunes consists mainly of female singers, all ranging from angsty to sappy emotional and overly joyous -so you can skip over me for party music. Which brings me to the title of this post! Driving back home for the summer from school today, I rediscovered a cover of this song by Sara Bareilles (one of my all time favorites; I'm convinced we'll be friends some day) and forgot how much I loved it. If you haven't heard it - I recommend checking it out... even if female singiers aren't your thing.

"We're taught to remember only the signifcant moments, the rights 

of passage. In truth,  the smaller steps that get us to these momentous occasions 

are just as significant. Looking back we see it's not just the high points, but the 

low points that also define who we are -- who we will become" - Everwood