Celebrate Every Day

Our Version of Boston Strong

by Rae

I am so sorry for the lack of Celebration posts this past month. To be completely honest, between the Boston bombings and a few additional family struggles, it has been a much tougher month and 1/2 then we could have ever expected.

In fact, I rewrote this particular post 3 times. First I planned to write about how amazing Patriots Day is in Boston and on Monday, April 15th I arrived at my normal volunteer location at mile 25 snapping photos for my next blog post. Within a few hours, everything changed. My blog post quickly transformed and after 2 other drafts, I decided to start from scratch. So here we go…

After much thought and consideration, I decided a Pearson themed “Boston Strong” post was in order. This post more than any other has reminded me of how important it is to embrace everyday and appreciate life’s blessings.

BOSTON STRONG (Pearson Style)

B is for Beacon Street – Our home along the marathon route. We live only a mile and 1/2 from the finish line and we feel incredibly lucky to live in this beautiful neighborhood.

Photos above: Our block on Beacon this winter & Sadie and I cheering on the runners at Mile 25

O is for the Atlantic Ocean – aka The Boston Harbor, Cape Ann & Cape Cod. It is just fun living so close to the water.

Photo Above: Deep Sea Fishing in Gloucester, enjoying a swim on the Vineyard and taking in the sunset in Rockport

S is for Seafood – Mussels at the Island Creek Oyster House, Lobster Ravioli in the North End, or anything on the menu at Atlantic Fish Company or Legals. Yum!

Photo Above: Lobsters in Rockport and the amazing Oyster Bar at Kevin & Emily’s wedding in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard

T is for The Head of the Charles – One of our favorite weekends in the fall. We have the opportunity to host and cheer on Kristian’s alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh Rowing team. GO PITT CREW!

Pictures Above: U of Pitt Rowing Team (& us) in 2011 and Kristian, Kevin, Gilad (all Pitt crew alums) and I cheering on the team this fall.

O is for American HistOry – Boston is filled with historical gems to visit. Our favorite…the Adams estate in Quincy.

Picture Above: Kendra and I at the John & Abigail Adams estate

CommuNity – I continue to be impressed…bostonians young and old are passionate about giving back, volunteering and making a positive impact on their community.

Picture Above: The Pearsons & Fellow Walkers at the Jimmy Fund Walk 2010 & The Dougherty/Sobol Family Team at the PMC

S is for Sports Mania – the Red Sox, the Pats, the Bruins, the Celtics and the Revolution. Boston keeps us on our toes and we are always ready for the next season.

Picture Above: Hanging at Fenway and Vince and Kristian looking tough at a Patriot’s holiday party

T is for Theatre culture – If you are ever in town, don’t leave before checking out the Boston Pops, a musical downtown or Blue Man Group. If you visit in the summer grab your picnic supplies and catch Shakespeare in the Park on the Common.

Picture Above: Blue Man Group and Kristian, Sadie and I at the Shakespeare in the Park 2012

R is for our Love for Really Good Beers – Sam Adams, Harpoon and Ipswich to name a few.

Picture Above: Harting & Kristian at the Sam Adams Brewery Tour and enjoying a beer before catching the ferry for the vineyard.

N is for Nighttime Shenanigans – Cocktails at City Bar, Beers at the Bleacher Bar, Martini’s at the Living Room, 80′s night at 6B, Scotch tastings at the Omni or a night at the Donkey Show…you name the location, it definitely turns into fun shenanigans.

G is for Good friends & Great memories…thank you Boston!

For the Love of Sports Giving with Grace Jubilee

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BarkBox

by Holly

Now, it’s no surprise I love my dogs. It’s also no surprise that I love to spoil my dogs. They deserve it! I know I’m a bit biased, but they are absolutely awesome and you will never make me believe that they don’t actually appreciate it. So last month, I was trolling around the Internet, seamlessly going from one web page to the next without much thought. All of the sudden, I don’t remember how, I ended up at barkbox.com. There isn’t too much to the website, but I found it cute nonetheless. From the website, I simply found out once a month you are sent a BarkBox filled with toys and treats and all kinds of specialty dog stuff for your favorite pooches. Also, 10% of the sale goes to local shelters and charities. I decided to sign up for a month because I was really interested and wanted to see what it was really about. So I signed up and then had to wait 3 weeks because they ship the boxes out the 15th of every month. I have to say, I was super excited. My excitement rivaled the pups excitement when they received it yesterday ( it got to my house a day after it was shipped! I received the package before I received the shipment notification via email!) There is not much I like more than showering my favorite fur balls with treats and toys. I was definitely pleasantly surprised. The contents of the box were absolutely worth the 1 month subscription cost. One of the bones they sent in this months box alone was at least $10. The fact that it actually was worth it, a portion of what you spend helps animals in need, and the cool factor of being able to say, ” my dogs get mail!” is really all I need to stay signed up for a while!

Oh! Also, how cool is it that I sent them a picture of the pups with their box and about 20 minutes later I got an emailed response from an actual human!!

If you are interested in giving it a try, go ahead and use this link to get $5 off!

Thanks for reading, have a happy day

Puppies & Sparkles

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Happy Easter!

by Holly

Jubilee

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Spring is Springing

by Holly

Hello!

Aside from the fact that as I’m writing this it is pouring down rain AND thundering, I have got spring on my mind! We just had the most gorgeous weekend ever here in Pennsylvania, and it has gotten me so excited for spring. I was really digging’ the winter weather, bummed that there really wasn’t any snow…but I’m ready to leave that all behind! Since the weather was so amazing, it really had me thinking of ways to bring the spring indoors, since it’s still a tad bit cold to throw the windows open and sit on the porch. As I was at work, I was browsing through our florals and saw we had this neat little vase with a flower in it. At the bottom of the vase was some stones and some resin to look like water.

I loved it and I even thought about purchasing it until I started thinking that I could definitely make it. So, thats what I did.

So Pete and I went to Lowes and tried to find something that would give us the look of water at the bottom of the vase. We found this stuff called Super Gloss, which was an epoxy resin. I think it was about $23. I wanted to use mason jars as my vases, and if you recall, I purchased a ton of them for $1 last year at an auction we went to. I knew they would come in handy! The next thing I needed were some rocks, which I had plenty of in the house for various candles and lanterns, and then I needed flowers. Luckily (or not so luckily, sometimes) I work right next to a Michaels. It just so happens this week, Michaels was having a sale of florals. All florals were 50% off, awesome.

On Sunday, I decided to make 2 vases full of sunflowers. The resin epoxy I used said to mix equal parts of the bottles that came with it. I did a cup of each and stirred it for about 6 minutes. Then I got my jars set up, with the rocks in the bottom, and started to pour the mixture into a funnel, over the rocks. I personally used the bigger rocks and wanted some of them to poke out through the top. Since I used to large mason jars, I put about a cup of the mixture in each jar. Then I added my flowers. There really is no time frame in the instructions for a project like this. It says for a table to dry would take 72 hours. So I have not really messed with the jars too much, but i can tell you I tried to move a flower before and it would not budge. I’m going to give it a few more days and then bend the flowers the way I want them.

Here is the finished product from Saturday:

Once Monday came, I still had a lot of the epoxy resin stuff left (unmixed.) I decided that I had no other use for it so I should just make more of these. So I went and bought more flowers (see! Michaels is TROUBLE.) I went back into the attic to get more jars. This time I also decided to use an old cheap vase I had lying around as well.

This time, I used smaller stones in the smaller mason jars. Before when I added the epoxy I wanted the larger rocks poking out, this time since I used smaller stones I wanted the stones to be completely submerged so it really looks like there was water above them.

Then, I just repeated the steps from the day before and 10 minutes later I had 4 more pretty vases!

All of these projects cost around $45. The epoxy itself cost as much as just one of these already made at work (and the one at work was only about 6 inches high.) What is great about this project is it can be as cheap or expensive as you want it. For me, I had half of the materials already. As far as rocks go, you don’t even have to buy them…just go outside and get them if you want! And as far as what to put them flowers in, you can literally use anything. Everyone had old vases lying around, but you can also use old jars from your refrigerator before you recycle them!

This is probably the easiest project I have done in a while, and they look so awesome and real when they are done. I definitely encourage you to bring a little spring in the house despite this lingering dreary weather, you will be glad you did!

Home Sweet Home

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A Dougherty Kind of Romance

by Rae

This past labor day, Kristian and I had the pleasure of celebrating the union of one of our favorite Boston couples….Miss Bethany Sobol (one of my VERY best friends from College) and Mr. Joseph Dougherty. I was Maid of Honor and wow….what an honor it was to be a part of their wedding story from start to finish.

The ceremony and reception were hosted at the breathtaking Lyman Estate in Waltham, Massachusetts and proved to be a weekend filled of love, laughter and an abundance of joy for all who attended. Here are some highlights and photos I wanted to share with you.

*A special thank you to Lisa Rigby Photography for the use of her amazing photographs.

Rehearsal Dinner on the Charles River

This unique and truly Boston themed dinner, took guests on a sunset cruise down the Charles River. Family, friends and bridal party members took turns toasting to the beautiful couple, while guests sipped cocktails and enjoyed the view of the city skyline. It was a perfect way to kick-off the wedding festivities!

The Bride

Carrying a bouquet of beautiful white roses, Bethany wore a stunning Paloma Blanca gown and one of the biggest bridal smiles I have ever seen. She took everyone’s breath away, when her parents, Betty & Jason, walked her down the aisle.

The Estate

From the greenhouse to the historical library room and galleries, the Lyman estate offered the perfect setting for a Victorian garden themed affair. As you can see from below photographs, the tented reception provided guests the opportunity to take full advantage of their surroundings.

Thoughtful Pops of Color

The Bride and Groom utilized charming combinations of plum, yellow, pink and orange to highlight the estate’s natural beauty. The bridesmaids wore stylish, one shoulder dresses from Wtoo (see below). The plum colored dresses and the groomsmen’s lavendar ties were complimented by the the bright, two toned orange roses carried by the bridesmaids.

For those of you who read my Victorian Garden post about designing the wedding day place card table, now you can see the final results. Madison Flowers provided me with extra stems and I was able to design and execute a romantically themed place card and gift card table as s special gift to the Bride & Groom. What do you think?

Stationary

The Dougherty’s communicated their elegant and warm wedding style with the help of their event stationary. From the Save the Date to the programs they did a wonderful job at tying it all together cohesively. My favorite element….the adorable tree icon with their initial’s carved into the tree trunk.

Congratulations Beth & Joe! Thank you for making Kristian and me a special part of you wedding day. The memories will always have a special place in my heart.

With Dougherty Love & Celebration,

Rae

Wedding Vendors Featured in this blog post:

Photographer – Lisa Rigby Photography
Save the Dates & Programs - GoGoSnap on Etsy
Invitation – PaperSource
Florist – Madison Floral
Charles River Boat Company

Jubilee Something Blue

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A Toast to the Oscars

by Rae

It’s almost time to Toast to the Oscars! Here are some ideas on unique ways to celebrate the Academy Awards this weekend.

The Official Countdown

Friday night make it a movie marathon night! Cuddle up with your hubby, your friends or your puppy and rent all the rentable nominated films before Sunday’s award shows. Popcorn is definitely in order!
Check out the Oscar Buzz online
Join the conversation @Oscars2013
Download the Oscar app
Dig out those sparkly accessories and your long gloves!
Get inspired on Pinterest…short on time, check out the Oscar Party board I started last week. It even includes a great Ballot template I found on chicparty.com. Speaking of Ballots……

Ballots, Polling, Quizzes & More

Photo ballots are always a winner. All you need is google images, a color printer and tape. My office had a lot of fun with the ballets I posted at work.

Movie Connection Game – Get inspiration from the New York Times diagram that highlights nominee’s hollywood connections…aka how everyone is connected through Steven Spielberg & Robert DeNiro. During the show try to connect nominees, through their performances in movies. For example – Connect Amy Adams to George Clooney? Here we go….

Amy Adams was in Doubt with Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman was in The Talented Mr. Ripley with Matt Damon

Matt Damon was in Ocean’s Eleven with George Clooney!

Oscar Worthy Food

If you don’t have the budget Oscar party menu to cater your fancy Oscar affair, considering asking everyone to bring a dish that celebrates ANY of the movies nominated. The possibilities are endless. Last year the “it” food item at our Oscar gathering was chocolate mud pie inspired by The Help. Kristian and I cooked up some pigs in a blanket in honor of Money ball.
In search of inspiration from this year’s nominee’s check out numerous movie themed articles online with recipe ideas. My favorite menu was created by blogger, Natalie on her southern hostess blog entitled The Soho. She has created an impressive and truly creative Oscar Themed brunch. Check it out.

I will be honest, being from PA, I think Kristian and I will opt for Philly Cheesesteak Sliders. Our inspiration….Silver Lining’s Playbook of course!

With Oscar Love & Celebration,

Rae

9-5 Smiles BASH Culinary Creations Hollywood Season Jubilee

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All About Love

by Holly

Happy Valentines Day!

Valentines Day is probably one of my favorite holidays. It’s not because of all the mushiness or getting gifts from that someone special. I love it because it’s a day all about love. Yes, you should show your loved ones that you love them everyday, but I see nothing wrong with having one day a year to celebrate that. Single? Who cares!! You don’t need to be in a relationship, thats the beauty of it! Show a family member or friend (or pet!) that you are thinking of them. One of the other reason I love Valentines Day so much is there really isn’t any pressure on gift giving. You can have a great Valentines Day on any budget, it can be as simple or extravagant as you want.

Being a little bit on the crafty side, I always make some of the gifts I give. This year I made Valentines for all of my coworkers. Once Pete saw them, I then had to make more for his.

Seriously, these cost less than $10 to make and everyone LOVED them.

Next, I needed some ideas on how to display Pete’s candy. Yes, I could have given it to him in a heart shaped box or the bag that it came in…but to me that takes no thought at all. So I decided, after a little research, I found these neat ideas:

I think I MIGHT have spent about $6 on both of those (candy not included.) Much more visually appealing, in my opinion. Also, I feel like to adds a little sense of whimsy, which is what this entire holiday is about.

Now that I had my human Valentine squared away, my 3 little 4 legged Valentines were next! After recently going around the entire house and collecting all of their toys, I realized this year they would NOT get new toys. Toys add up super fast when you are buying 3 at a time. I then decided that treats would be the next best option (and also SO MUCH CHEAPER!!) I decided to make pink chicken and peanut butter cookies (I’m not sure if I posted that recipe in a previous post…if not I’ll add it in!) I already had a bunch of the ingredients so I think I spent maybe $5 on odds and ends and then another $5 on the heart shaped cookie cutters. The dogs went crazy for them and I’m pretty sure they didn’t realize they didn’t get any presents.

Finally, my last crafty project for the holiday was Valentines Day T-Shirts! I have made shirts other years, but it was usually with Puffy Paint and it was a very meticulous and long process (especially when you add in drying time.) This year I did bleach shirts and spent $6 and that was it.

All you need is bleach, your shirts, cut out the images you want on the shirts. This was a little easier for me since I used my Cricut to do the letters and hearts, so I was thankful for that. All you do is just lay your images down, spray bleach on them, peel the paper up and you are done! I read that you should use contact paper, but I had no problem just using a heavier card stock paper. Both of these shirts took me about 15 minutes to make. Can’t get any better than that!

As you can see, I choose to do a more “hand made” Valentines Day…you can take personalization to a whole new level! I would love to hear some of your ideas for Valentines Day!

Now, I will leave you with this years Valentines Day Puppy Photo Shoot!

(When Wren is done- she is DONE.)

Jubilee

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Homemade Valentines with a Toddler

by Becky

Inspired by my sister’s adorable post A heartfelt snowy sunday, I thought I’d share what my 2-year-old son and I have been working on for this February 14. We have grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends who all love to hear from our little man… and what better way to show them he loves them than with some homemade valentines.

Now for all of you moms and dads out there, you know the challenges of arts and crafts with a 2-year-old. My little guys loves arts and crafts, but our number one challenge is attention span. So I need to come up with fun, interactive, SIMPLE crafts that can be done in 10-15 minutes. So if you are on the lookout for similar types of projects, please give these a try:

HANDPRINT VALENTINES

WHAT YOU NEED:

washable kids paint and paintbrush
white paper
colored/patterned cardstock
scissors/glue

INSTRUCTIONS:

Paint your child’s hand with paint and make handprints
Let dry, then mom/dad cuts out handprint
Give paintbrush to your child and let them paint glue onto the back of each print and push them onto a card

My son and I then decorated the back of each card with ink stamps, markers and stickers. We actually did this over the course of a few days… so he could work at it at his own speed and when he was inspired:) Just one word of warning… for the handprint phase, be sure to set up in an area of your home with easily washable surfaces:)

TISSUE PAPER HEARTS

This next project I got from a website I subscribe to: allfreekidscrafts.com

WHAT YOU NEED:

Red, pink or white card stock
Tissue paper (valentine colors and/or patterns)
Wax Paper
Paintbrush, Glue and Scissors

INSTRUCTIONS:

Prep for Mom/Dad: cut a heart shape out of the card stock and cut tissue paper into 1.5-2″ squarish pieces
Pour glue onto a plate/bowl
Place wax paper under the heart cut-out
Have toddler put tissue paper pieces over the cut-out and use paintbrush to paint glue over the top of the paper
Let dry and slowly peel wax paper away

You can either leave it as is or cut around the heart shape (see examples of both above).

Full disclosure on this one. My son was a little young for this project. Because the tissue paper is so gentle, I had to help him with the brush. But I think in a few months, he’d be able to do this on his own:)

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. Would love to hear what other moms and dads are doing with their little ones for Valentines this year… so please share!

And Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Family Matters

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a heartfelt, snowy sunday

by Rae

Snowflakes filled the air on Sunday, giving Sadie and I the perfect reason to celebrate and visit our neighborhood park after brunch. She loves running in the snow and collecting sticks to bring home and I was looking for the perfect excuse to take photos for our annual 2013 valentine. I am sure you are asking yourself….an annual valentine?

Well it all started last year, when the holiday season came and went and in true Pearson fashion we ran out of time to send warm winter wishes to family and friends…..yikes! I decided then and there it would be fun to be like “Julia Child” and send out valentines.

So with the help of Armory Park, at least a dozen dog treats, much needed hot chocolate and my trusty assistant Tiny Prints….wholla, the Pearson’s valentine came together and provided an afternoon of pure joy.

I had a lot of fun putting together our valentine and for all those readers designing your own, I want to hear all about it! What type of valentines are you creating this February?

With Love & Celebration,

Rae

Jubilee Puppies & Sparkles

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Tis the Hollywood Season

by Rae

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler made us laugh, Jessica’s acceptance speech made me cry and the show reminded both of us of all the movies we must see before the Oscars. I am talking about none other than the 2013 Golden Globes show that aired on ABC on Sunday evening. Why is this event so important, you may ask? Well,it marks the official start of one our favorite seasons, what Becky and I like to call the………“Hollywood Awards Season”!

So stay tuned for our sisterly fashion reviews, Oscar themed polls to host at home or in the office, and tips on planning the ultimate Oscar party.

To kick the season off right, we I have compiled our reviews and voting polls for the 2013 Golden Globes fashion, romance and accessories all featured on the red carpet this week. Make sure to vote for our favorites.

BEST DRESSED LADIES – chic, elegant and confident

Emily Blunt in Michael Kors
Halle Berry in Versace
Jessica Alba in Oscar de la Renta
Naomi Watts in Zac Posen
Kate Hudson in Alexander McQueen
Claire Danes in Versace

BEST DRESSED - Becky’s 2 Cents:)

While I do love the award shows themselves – especially this Golden Globes (Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are, for me, 2 of the funniest women in Hollywood), my favorite part is the red carpet. I can’t wait to see who is wearing what… the good, the bad and the ugly:)

I agree with my sister on most of the best dressed. Halle Berry was my favorite… love that she went with a pattern, a bold and different choice. Any lesser body could not have pulled it off, but Halle looked almost ethereal in it. Next, I have to give kudos to the women in red… red of all shades. Claire Danes was my favorite, followed by the deep red choice of Naomi Watts – loved the cut of this dress in front and back (and the train, which on some dresses can seem pageant like, really worked on this one). I also want to add Jennifer Garner – she is not always my favorite at awards shows, but this dress was so flattering on her. Love the sheen, the pattern and the cut… she looks amazing, and she’s a mom of 3!!!

What do you think?

FASHION POLICE

As for worst dressed, I was not a fan of Lucy Liu’s floral princess dress. I know florals are in… but this pattern just did not work on this dress. Rachel Weisz also made my worst list… it looked like she decided to resurrect her high school homecoming dress. The bow made it look too young for her, and someone needed to hem it correctly… or give her a higher pair of heels! And staying with the theme of sheer… I was also not a fan of J-Lo’s dress. Don’t get me wrong… she is gorgeous and has the body to pull this off. However, we see her gowns like this time and again… maybe it’s time to venture out into new and more refined territory. I thought she stood out in stark contrast to Jennifer G (above)… talented women of similar age, both moms, and, of course, they have Ben in common:) Jennifer G totally won this round!