Weekend Reading & Free Alert

 

Berkeley bungalow house tour. HERE
Don't upgrade you life. HERE

Free yoga classes will be offered every Wednesday from 5:30-6:30pm June thru September at the Druid Hill Farmer's Market. Get more info HERE.

A free gardening class will be offered Sunday June 12 from 2-4pm at Reservoir Hill's Whitlock Community Farm.  Learn more HERE.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Sale Alert: Totswap

Hi neighbors! I just wanted to let you know that there will be a fabulous kids consignment sale in Timonium at the state fairgrounds this weekend. It's called TOTSWAP, and I cannot rave enough about it. I go seasonally to pick up great clothes for Baby Z at low prices. Items are 50% on Sunday, and $1 on Monday.

Sale Alert: $1 or Less Museum Admission

Local museums are offering low-cost tickets this weekend. Learn more about participating institutions HERE. Have a great weekend!

Around Town: The Peabody Library (FREE)

When caught up in life's day-to-day obligations, it can be easy to overlook wonderful amenities right under your nose. I am unfortunately guilty of this, and have been making an effort to consciously explore Baltimore and the myriad of sights it has to offer. During my quest I came across Johns Hopkins University's PEABODY LIBRARY.

The library was created in 1878, via funding from Baltimore philanthropist George Peabody. Peabody wanted to provide the citizens of Baltimore with access to a world-class cathedral of books. The Neo-Grec interior was designed by architect Edmond G. Lind, and is absolutely astonishing! I assure you your jaw will drop if you ever see it in person. 

Here are a few photos I snapped while on my visit. I hope you enjoy!

Around (Another) Town: Frugal in New York City

The other weekend the bungalow clan packed up and headed for a weekend trip to New York City. It's about a 3 hour ride from Baltimore, making it an ideal distance for a short stay. I've found in the past, even for a short trip though,  NYC can be very pricey. So I challenged myself to come up with ways to have frugal fun while there. We all had a great time....so I'm passing along a few budget friendly recommendations to you.

1) Eat at VIETNAAM. The hubs is an ardent lover of pho, so I suggested we give the Upper East Side restaurant VIETNAAM a try. The food and drinks (they have fantastic mocktails!) were absolutely delicious and extremely affordable. We will be back in the future for sure.

2) Visit Central Park. If you are looking for something romantic or family friendly to do, visit Central Park. The park is gorgeous and if you haven't seen it before you'll be thoroughly impressed. Try to catch some jazz in the park while you are there and grab some street food. If you have little ones, there's a nice play area just for toddlers.

3) Go thrifting. New York is a fabulous city filled with artsy, fashion forward, all around well-styled people. This makes for excellent thrifting. My personal favorite favorite place to thrift is HOUSING WORKS. They have multiple stores scattered throughout NYC, and offer a well curated selection of clothing, accessories, and housewares.

I like to visit multiple locations when possible. On this trip I went to four stores. Here are a few of the items I picked up:

There's lots more to do while on a budget in New York, but unfortunately we only had two days to explore, and spent much of our time visiting with friends. I can't wait to come back soon and visit the museums and see what other fun I can drum up. Do you have any recommendations for affordable things to do while in the Big Apple?

Sale Alert: Cheap Tickets to Europe from Baltimore

Hello neighbors! I just wanted to let you all know about a fantastic sale going on for travel to Europe from Baltimore through WOW AIR. You can fly one-way for as low as $99. Yep, $99 that's no typo. Hurry, and check it out while tickets last. The sale also applies to flights out of Boston, for any Boston readers.

Project 333: Fall/Winter 2014 Wardrobe

As promised many weeks ago, here are my selections for PROJECT 333. I was able to narrow my fall/winter wardrobe down to 30 items. If you'll recall the rules of the challenge require you to have no more than 33 items for 3 months, so I've done a pretty good job of narrowing things down. I like that I have  room to purchase a few new (to me) items should the occasion arise. At first, I felt daunted by the task, but in the end it turned out to be not too hard. Plus, I can't tell you how absolutely great it feels to have a manageable wardrobe. I can easily fit all my clothes into two drawers and a small amount of closet space.....yay! From time to time I may update you on how I'm mixing and matching things to keep myself on track. What about you? Have you ever taken on simplifying your wardrobe?

This camel Ralph Lauren shirt is great. I thrifted it for only $6 (original price $295!). They are well made from very high-end cotton, and come in a variety of colors. If you want one you can find them heavily discounted on Ebay HERE.

This Talbots blazer is another $6 thrift find. I like it because it's a very versatile piece.

Anthropologie skirt $12 Ebay.

The two black purses were also great thrift finds at just a few bucks each.

I normally am not a hat person, but I'm trying to dress a little outside my comfort zone. For $3 a hat I figure I can afford to experiment.

I think this cashmere scarf is very pretty, plus it's super warm ($5).

New (to me) leather gloves $2.

"Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it.” ~Yves Saint Laurent

Around Town: The Book Thing (FREE!)

One of my favorite Baltimore institutions hands down is THE BOOK THING. It's a wonderful concept that grew out of the hearts and minds of residents seeking to encourage more reading. The Book Thing is a non-profit that offers free books to all. You read that right, free books to all! It's sort of like a library with no due date. The store runs on the kindness of volunteers and donations made by the public.

Over the past year I've been a frequent patron and donator. I've used it to build an awesome free home library for the baby. Every time I visit I find at least one book or magazine that peeks my interest.

It would be an absolute shame to not check this place out. Be sure to bring your kiddos, they'll love it.

“Books are what you step on to take you to a higher shelf. The higher your stack of books, the higher the shelf you can reach. Want to reach higher? Stack some more books under your feet! Reading is what brings us to new knowledge. It opens new doors. It helps us understand mysteries. It lets us hear from successful people. Reading is what takes us down the road in our journey. Everything you need for a better future and success has already been written.”  ― Jim Rohn

DIY: Organic Facial Scrub

I've had the pleasure of having a facial at one of the finest spas in the world, but let me tell you,  NOTHING and I do mean nothing, beats the simple facial scrub recipe I am about to give you. I'm serious folks....you can thank me later after you try it. It'll leave your skin glowing and feeling silky smooth. As added bonuses the mixture is easy to make, cheap, and organic. So here's what you need to do to make a small batch:

• Mix 1 tbsp of melted coconut oil with 2 tbsps of pink himalayan sea salt (I get this at Homegoods)

Yep, that's it. After applying it to your face and lips rinse with warm water and wipe clean with a dry towel. Sea salt is rather abrasive, so only exfoliate up to once a week. Now go pamper yourselves!

Anniversary Staycation

Typically for our anniversary the hubs and I like to celebrate by staying at a bed and breakfast. This year it occurred to me, "hey, I already have a bed and I know how to make breakfast". In light of this epiphany, I decided to plan a lovely weekend staycation. The rules of the staycation were to have fun and enjoy a large dose of good old quality time. I must say all the undivided attention was heavenly.

I decided to jazz things up a bit around the house by filling it with tons of flowers and lighting my favorite candles.

(TIP: If you want to wake up to a pleasant aroma, place fragrant flowers by your bedside. I like to use garden roses.)

We finally found time to visit CLYBURN ARBORETUM, and Baltimore's much talked about WOODBURY KITCHEN. The ambiance at the restaurant was incredible, as were the deviled eggs.

At the end of our weekend I made sure to whip out some of our favorite wedding pics.

All-in-all we had a great time.  We've got to try this more often!

"Love is.......hanging out together." ~unknown