Month: September 2015

Barn wedding weekend & Great LLBean Story

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Today I definitely had a case of the Mondays ha. I had an amazing weekend as a bridesmaid for one of my best friend’s weddings. She got married at her family’s horse farm. She came in to the ceremony next to the family’s beautiful antique farm house on a carriage pulled by a chestnut morgan with her father and met her groom under a trellis in front of a beautiful old oak tree. Her child, aka her horse, was in a paddock nearby for pics afterward, absolutely stunning. The reception was down in the cross country field under a tent. The decorations and lighting were magnificent. The food was delicious and we drank Veuve Cliquot out of the bottle and our favorite Barefoot chardonnay while we danced all night long. It was truly a magical night and I was so happy to be a part of it. Work this morning was a harsh reality after living in a fairytale all weekend 🙂

This morning I heard a great story about one of my favorite companies, LLBean. Leon Gorman passed away on September 3rd. I was actually up in Freeport that weekend! Leon was the grandson of the founder L.L. Bean and served as CEO from 1967-2001. He was on the board as chairman after that until 2013, and then served as chairman emeritus until he passed away at 80 years old. By all accounts, he was an amazing man and is credited with much of the success LLBean now has. The flagship store in Freeport is open 24 hours/day and closed on Sunday for 4 hours so that everyone could go to Leon Gorman’s memorial service. The doors don’t even have locks so they draped a rope through the handles of the doors. The flagship store only closed 2 other times, when JFK was assassinated, and when L.L. Bean himself passed away. I just thought it was so nice that the company realized that celebrating Leon’s life was more important than any sale they would make that morning. Truly, I have often thought I would love to work for LLBean when I retire, because its such a great company.

You can read the story about the store closing here: LLBean remembers Leon Gorman

Here are some pics of the amazing wedding 🙂

Veuve cliquot for the head table, so good
Veuve cliquot for the head table, so good
The centerpieces were beautiful fresh flowers in horse show trophy cups. Metallic sandals were the bridesmaid shoe of choice- here are some of our Jack Rogers taking a break while we danced!
The centerpieces were beautiful fresh flowers in horse show trophy cups. Metallic sandals were the bridesmaid shoe of choice- here are some of our Jack Rogers taking a break while we danced!
My fiancé sent this as a snapchat, ha, too funny, but honestly, the tent was stunning.
My fiancé sent this as a snapchat, ha, too funny, but honestly, the tent was stunning.

It was truly a magical weekend with all my best friends from the barn, so nice to see so many of the riders dressed up and dancing together. I hope you all had lovely weekends too! Its starting to get cooler and darker earlier, we have to soak up whats left of the nice weather here in New England!

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Where was I on 9/11/2001….

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I was a senior in high school, sitting in AP calc when the first plane hit the World Trade Center towers. My classroom was connected to a computer lab, so a couple students immediately went in to see if they could find any information out. We turned on our TVs in the classroom. At the time, I remember all of us thinking it was an explosion of some sort. Then the second plane hit, and we all watched in horror as we realized what had happened. A plane….hit…..the WTC….The rest of the day was spent maybe doing a little work, talking a lot with each other and our teachers, and keeping those TVs on. Details of the events were revealed, each one more shocking, like water spilling over the edge of a tub already full. So wait, the first explosion was also a plane? And this was done on purpose!?

I didn’t know anyone directly affected by the 9/11 attacks. Being from the Boston area, you would hear that about people distant to you…maybe someone that your friend went to school with’s uncle was there but was ok. I think my mother’s second cousin lived in the area but was out of state that week.

As I think about my students today, they were babies when the 9/11 attacks happened! A few of my students have parents in the national guard/reserves that may have been deployed as a result of these attacks, but they really have no memory of the event. The events of that day had such an impact on all of us. It’s another JFK assassination moment, or the death of John Lennon. My mother and father both remember exactly where they were when those two events occurred. We are waiting for our interactive boards and new projectors to be put up, which is a bummer because I would love to show one of the many amazing documentaries about 9/11. There is much sadness surrounding that day, but when I think about that day now, I am moved by all the stories about the first responders and civilians that helped so many. If I could watch something today, it would be the documentary from ESPN on Welles Crowther. He was a BC graduate and lacrosse player who worked in the WTC as a trader. He saved a dozen people that we know of and was remembered by those he saved as having a red bandanna over his nose/mouth. That bandanna was given to him by his father when he was 6. He passed away when the tower collapsed but is remembered as a hero for what he did that day.

I hope that everyone has a few moments today to reflect, remind ourselves what kind of person we all want to be. Compassion for our fellow human beings doesn’t cost a thing, but is somehow worth more than anything you could buy.

c/o Mon

Prep Craze: Jack Rogers/Palm Beach Sandals/Alternatives

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Today I splurged on a pair of Palm Beach Sandals for my wedding day. I bought the monogrammed Aubrey in white on white with my new monogram in platinum stitching. PBSandals is in the midst of their $25 off sale til the 12th though, so I think I made a good choice getting them now 🙂

What are Jack Rogers and Palm Beach Sandals you ask? Well, a long time ago, a very influential woman we all call Jackie O went to the island of Capri and bought herself some sandals. She liked them so much she came back to the US and brought them to her personal cobbler in Palm Beach, FL. I believe his name was Stephen Bonanno. Some people that really grew up wearing them called them Bonannos. From here the Palm Beach Sandal was born. I read somewhere that Jackie O and her friend Lilly Pulitzer only bought their sandals directly from the factory in Palm Beach.

PBSandals are the original, made in the US, made only of leather with a nice thick footbed. They come with either a small stacked heel OR a wedge. Jack Rogers makes a very similar version, some synthetic materials, made in China, and the footbed is thinner. They are of comparable price ($110-$150ish), BUT Jack Rogers are sold in Nordstroms, CountryClubPrep.com, Zappos.com, and they have branched out into other footwear styles as well. Jack Rogers is extremely popular among bloggers like KellyintheCity, Carly’s TheCollegePrep, and the crew from KJP (Kiel James Patrick). Vineyard Vines and Sail to Sable models also appear to be wearing them. The hashtags, #lovemyjacks (22k posts) and #jackrogers (51k posts) far outnumber #palmbeachsandals (2.5k posts) or #pbsandals (100 posts). Why? They are similar in price but Palm Beach Sandals are much nicer in my opinion.

There are alternatives to these- so many actually! Palm Beach certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on leather whipstitching.

Here is one for $39.99 from Nautica that can be found at Famous Footwear Nautica La Plata Sandals

Here are some for $89.95 from Soft Surroundings Palm Beach Sandals

A good one if you like tan for $17.99 from LuLus Tan Whipstitch Sandals

Nice ones from Nieman Marcus on sale $39.50 Gabriel Whipstitch

These ones from Target are sold out, good deal though Merona Enid Whipstitch

Bottom line, if you see your favorite preppy instagrammers wearing Jack Rogers and you want to join in on the fun, know that there are options. Another world all together is Etsy. People hand paint these sandals in all prints, Lilly prints are very popular on them. Those are usually in the $50 range. Read reviews, some people with wider feet have struggled with this style of sandal. Some people don’t like the piece of leather with the three holes on the heel that the some of the Rogers and PB sandals have. It’s the end of summer so a lot of sandals are on sale, buy them now for your spring/summer occasions to get the savings!

Below is my little collection from over the years! I threw my Lilly McKims in because those are nice too for $88. I splurged for my wedding shoes, but trust, in the future I will checking out some of those more affordable options, got to save those pennies!

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Clockwise: Jack Rogers Georgica Jellies, Jack Rogers Hamptons in silver, Lilly Pulitzer McKims, Palm Beach Sandals in navy with white, Palm Beach Sandals in platinum with gold

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Thoughts on the novel, The Knockoff!

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While I was sitting out in my campsite early Monday morning with beautiful Casco Bay (I’m obsessed, I know) in front of me, I finished “The Knockoff” by Lucy Sykes & Jo Piazza. I know I am a little late to the party, but this book is worth celebrating! The basis, without giving too much away, is a story of a magazine editor in chief, maybe a more kind, down to earth version of Anna Wintour, that comes back to work after beating breast cancer, to find that her fashion magazine is joining the digital age, and her Techb*tch former assistant is now at the helm. It’s a tale of the struggle between adapting to the new without losing what was good about the old. I absolutely devoured it.

Being a teacher, I see this daily. Older teachers who began their careers in the late 70s and 80s are forced everyday to confront and accept or hide from technology. Our lesson plans, professional development, licensure, schedules, evaluation tools, and all important memos are digital. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard someone say, “What? I didn’t know about that? Oh, it was in an email?” Half the room rolls their eyes, hopefully inwardly, like what have you done all day if you haven’t read your emails, and half the room sympathizes thinking ummmm hello there are more important things to do than read emails, like teach?

The digital age has made teaching “stuff” easier to track and share, but just like Imogen, our editor in chief in “The Knockoff” feels like turning her magazine to just an app has made the content flat instead of rich, I also feel that digitalizing teaching can kill our creativity a bit. I try to find a balance between over organizing in my google forms, lesson plan templates, and online grading with those precious spontaneous teaching moments that you can’t plan for. Those moments make your teaching come alive and become meaningful for a student. With limited time and standardized testing, it is not always easy. I try to remember, our passion is really our craft and putting everything on the internet is just our new version of the craft fair. Its the way we reach our customers/stakeholders. Don’t work against the internet, work with it, and find those understanding coworkers or friends that are somewhere between eyeball rollers and complete sympathizers. You don’t need someone to patronize you or commiserate with, you need encouragement and patient instruction, we all do every once in a while.

My copy of “The Knockoff” was from my town library, it retails for upwards of $13. Buy your ebooks for when you need them, maybe traveling, use your library and save money when you can!!

c/o Mon

LDW2015’s a wrap!

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I have returned from beautiful Winslow Park in Freeport ME! The car is unpacked, I am on my third load of laundry, washing the campfire smoke and saltwater out of everything from this weekend. We had the best weather this year, I don’t want the summer to end!

We did a sport shooting LLBean discovery course on Sunday. I have the bruise to prove that I did use a 20 gauge shotgun for the first time! There’s really nothing they can tell you to prepare for what it feels like to actively try to hold on to something that punches you in the should when you go to use it. I wouldn’t say I am ready to buy my own, but killing that clay pigeon was more fun than I thought it would be! 🙂

When we got out of the course we did check out some of the outlets, and I am proud to report that my only purchases were some amazing Ben and Jerry’s ice cream & $15 bright yellow LLBean shorts for hiking. My favorite things about this weekend were of course priceless. Waking up to the most amazing view of Casco Bay, cycling the crazy hills of Freeport with my fiancé, and kayaking in Casco Bay with friends were worth more than any deals I could have found in the outlets.

I hope you all enjoyed your Labor Day weekends with your friends and families!

View from my campsite @ Winslow Park
View from my campsite @ Winslow Park
Sun setting over Casco Bay
Sun setting over Casco Bay

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Heading to Freeport ME, home of LLBean!

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For the second year in a row, we are camping in Winslow Park in Freeport, ME, right on Casco Bay for Labor Day weekend. It’s an amazing spot- waking up to see the ocean is a gift that I got more often 🙂 Freeport is the home of really great shopping, which will be packed for Labor Day sales and back to school shoppers.

Last year we did a stand up paddle boarding discovery course through LLBean. The courses are very affordable, around $25, and they provide everything you need. This year we are doing sport clay shooting!

I am writing this post to remind myself as well as anyone else out there, just because its on sale and has your favorite brand on the tag doesn’t mean you need it. It will be tough, there’s a J Crew, Patagonia, Vineyard Vines, and of course LLBean in Freeport. We usually hit up the shopping on the same day we do the course at LLBean. A trip to the Ben and Jerry’s there is usually part of the deal too! 😉

Only buy things you NEED and will love and will not go out of style next year, try to get it on sale, and hopefully we won’t feel that buyer’s remorse looking at our bank accounts on Tuesday. Many times, I walk up to the register, and then decide to put a couple things back, and its usually for the best! I am also looking forward to biking, sitting around the fire, catching up with friends, maybe doing some swimming….and those things fit very comfortably in my budget, more than that mint VV shep shirt I have been eyeing!

What’s everyone else up to? Happy Labor Day weekend!!

c/o Mon

Smoothing feathers

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When I showed my fiancé my first post and my about section, he said, “wow, are you sure you aren’t going to ruffle some feathers?”. The reason being that my best friends DO own horses and DO have money from their families. I love them like sisters, they are so down to Earth and generous, I sometimes forget that. My post wasn’t about shaming them though for what they have or what they were born with. Plus, lets be honest, no matter what you have, we are all tempted by what we don’t have.

My post, and really the reason why I am writing this blog is because I need to remind myself, and maybe some of you out there, that NOT having things that you want right now is ok…..maybe even better than ok! Spending money that we should be saving because we alone will be making that downpayment on our first homes in order to look like we inherited Jackie O’s closet does not bring us any closer to having that house in Newport, or boat on the cape. Paying off debts is what makes us free to maybe use some money for something fun like a new Lilly shift or J Crew tweed skirt.

With instagram, tumblr, Facebook, and blogs, it can be easy to think, “I have a job, a good job, I deserve a new Vineyard Vines dress, I work hard”. Admiring #jcreweverything and #buymelilly posts from our friends, can make us feel like we should have those things too. What we actually deserve though is to save our hard earned money to do real things for us, like pay off our cars or pay off student loans. I am writing this blog to constantly remind myself that being smart with my time and money and being with my friends/family is what makes me happy.

Thoughts shared free of charge, sponsored by no one,

c/o Mon

In the beginning…

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I am a New England girl that has a taste for the finer things that has grown frustrated with the price of marked up “preppy” wares and SOME of the blogs that promote those “preppy” wares. I grew up in a suburb in Massachusetts, am from a middle class family. I never wanted for anything but I went to public school, no old family money, and I probably won’t be able to afford a horse until retirement…and while I like classic, timeless apparel, beaches, horseback riding, and a good glass of chards, bills and savings goals should come first. I did crew in hs and college, but have no vintage rowing blazer. I am more J. Crew Factory than J. Crew, and I sell my Lilly dresses on Ebay. I do ride horses, but have paid for every lesson and ride with my own money while living on my own. I love to hike, but own very little Patagonia/The North Face…..because its expensive and I get the same stuff at EMS or LLBean. I spent years now going along with what my favorite instagrammers told me. That dress really is everything! Well…no it isn’t. It’s just one thing that you probably didn’t even pay for 😉 I’m here with you on the quest to have it all, finding the balance between wearing rags to save for that Newport house and buying the entire Vineyard Vines catalog to have collectors come after your credit card debt.