Independence Day- Give Away!

As a celebration for the holiday,

As a celebration for the gift we have being Americans,

and because your beach tote is starting to look a beat down...

I'm proud to announce the:

Aspiring Kennedy July Giveaway

for a

TALLU-LAH TOTE BAG!

{How cute is this? Seriously. It's so cute, it hurts my feelings.}

I carry this same bag every day to work-

yes, I really do love it!

The overly talented (and pretty!)

Danielle Spinetta of Tallu-lah

is giving one lucky Aspiring Kennedy reader

this super-cool, hipster-glam, tote bag.

{And I am adding some surprise goodies to the bag upon shipping.}

Entry one:

1. Be a follower of Aspiring Kennedy

and leave a comment below

Entry two:

2. Leave Danielle a comment on her blog

(and leave a second comment here so I know!)

Entry three:

3. Add Aspiring Kennedy to your blog roll

(leave a third comment...)

Entry four:

4. Follow me or Danielle on twitter

(leave a fourth & fifth comment...)

Please remember to leave an entry for each thing you do!

I will select a winner on July 7th at random...

So Splendid & So Patriotic

Do you read Hello Splendor?

Oh, you really should.

Beth Dotolo does such a great job pulling together

a great modern community of bloggers.

I loved getting to talk about my plans

for July 4th on her blog yesterday...

mainly because

I LOVE THE FOURTH OF JULY!

Though my plans are for Palm Beach this year,

I typically always celebrate this amazing holiday

in the same ways.

Making desserts that are red, white, or blue.

{baked goods are part of my patriotic duty}

Driving out to the country to shoot fireworks

{and laying around on the grass to watch the stars

when the fireworks are gone and laughing for hours}

And what would this Aspirational Kennedy's

Indpendence Day

be without a boat ride around the cape?

What are your plans for this July 4th?

*image 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Dream a little dream for me...

As we get closer to moving to England,

my imagination is getting wilder & wilder.

I have visions of Vespas...

Prada pipedreams...

and a faith for a fanciful flat...

Even if I can't afford to "trade up"

for the nicer versions-

I still wouldn't trade what we are doing

for anything!

10 Things I {Know} About You...

Friday is here,

and I am cruising into the weekend!

Can I get an Amen?

I was awarded

The Beautiful Blogger Award

by sweet Vanessa of Hey Lady Grey.

{One of my daily-must-reads}

The Beautiful Blogger Award works like this:

I post 10 facts about me... and then I get to pass the award onto

five other fabulous bloggers.

So it's like a present for me... and from me.

{I like this!}

10 Things You May Not Know About Me

...and probably could've have lived without ever knowing....

1. I have the thickest hair of anyone I've ever met.

My braids looks like jumbo Rapunzel braids...

and I have no idea what to do with it.

2. I look exactly like my little sister, Meredith,

and pretty dang similar to my sister, Brooke.

3. I'm extremely sarcastic, and love to tease people.

However, actually hurting someone's feelings makes me sick to my stomach.

4. I love the Sound of Music.

A lot.

A whole, whole lot.

5. I have really extravagant standards,

but am completely cheap.

6. I love cobblers, struedels, and crisps!

7. I scrape the cheese off pizza.

Something about the texture has me convinced

that I will choke & die.

8. My neice Maggie has spina bifida...

oh, and she's the cutest & smartest baby girl in the world.

9. I majored in Marketing & work in Luxury Markets...

but minored in Missions and dream of living a life somewhere serving others.

10. I got married to my husband 8 months & 1 day after we started dating.

We were (and still are) pretty crazy about each other.

Now the fun part-

Here is who I am giving this gift to today:

1. Jaime at La vie... J'aime

2. Beth at Hello, Splendor

3. Trish at Pink Preppy Lilly Lover

4. Michelle at Studio Surface

5. Cara at Lilac & Grey

Go see what these lovely ladies have to say.

I know you won't be disappointed!

*photos are my own. Isn't our christmas card from a few years ago cute? Love it!

Lens Craft

Good photography, to me,

is when someone is talented enough

to familiarize me with a random scene.

For instance,

this pleasant diner in West Virgina.

with the most delicious waffles.

{that I never tasted...}

Or that one night on the roof

when we drank the entire bottle of wine

{on top of a building I've never seen...}

Who cares if you didn't get the job?

You're still gorgeous & talented.

{well, I could know for sure if we actually knew each other}

That's why I love Victoria Wall's photography.

Her pictures set the scene for a story,

and I get to be cast in the plot.

I love finding new photographers.

Who are your favorites?

*photography by Victoria Wall. The uber talent Brooklyn Betty who never ceases to impress me with her ability to live on cheeseburgers & stay effortlessly thin.

Her Royal Highness, Victoria/ Me

I had someone tell me that I looked like

Princess Victoria of Sweden this week.

I said thank you.

While I'm not sure if I agree or not...

upon some research,

I did decide that her ring bearers

looked pretty darn cute

in their nautical attire.

*Image Source

Did I Miss a Page?

What girl didn't love the Notebook?

{None, I dare say.}

This is a movie I played

on a loop in college.

All I wanted to do

was watch Noah & Allie

fall in love.

Over & Over & Over.

In fact, I would call myself

somewhat of a Notebook expert.

Which makes me wonder:

why does this picture confuse me so much?

Did I miss something?

*photo source 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5

Willy, Charlie, & the rest of the gang...

Willy Wonka kind of scared me as a kid.

Well, Gene Wilder actually scared me.

I had such separate feelings towards the movie & the book.

The book was magical.

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory

by Roald Dahl

He was the author of my imagination as a child.

...Danny Champion of the World, Matilda, James & the Giant Peach, The BFG....

I loved his ability to talk to children, explore their dreams, and see adults through their eyes.

The illustrations are so endearing to me-

and something about their quirkiness

assures me that my kids will

undoubtedly have some pieces of this artwork in their nursery...

Did anyone else grow up enchanted by Miss Honey, Danny, or the BFG?

*image source 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The Side of the Law

Jude Law is very pretty.

I have high hopes of soon becoming quite good friends...

Can anyone out there help with an introduction??

Punch me out & dress me up....

Lately I feel a bit like my little friend below.

I'm the same basic girl

but in a state of constant costume change.

Wife.

Friend.

Daughter.

Employee.

Blogger.

Schleppy lady moving out of her house.

As much as the craziness leaves me feeling... well, crazy,

I am thankful for each & every role

I've been cast.

Happy Monday!

It's a new week,

and a new chance to do amazing things

with each of our many facets!

*image source

Here she is....

Ms. Aspiring Kennedy Giveaway Winner....

Congratulations to Helena

at A Diary of Lovely!

Not only does she have a fantastic blog

{that I think we should all read daily!},

but she also now is the lucky winner of

Hello, Splendor's Aspiring Kennedy necklace!!

Helena, email me your address & I will pop this in the post!

aspiringkennedy {at} gmail {dot} com

Thanks for your submissions-

and fear not, I already have the next giveaway in the works!

HAPPY WEEKEND!!

The Strongest Link

I simply can't stop myself

from sharing my excitement with you...

Mr. & Mrs. Aspiring Kennedy are headed to

PORTUGAL!

My husband scored us a great package on

one of our favorite travel sites,

Luxury Link.

The package he bought

{via their groovy auction format}

includes 4 nights in a suite, 1 dinner, massages, golf, and breakfast every morning...

and it was only $704 all in!

I've never been to Portugal before,

but I'm afraid

I may never come home...

*photos courtesy of www.luxurylink.com

Jessie Spano version 2.0

Sex & The City 2

It came.

It saw.

It conquered the box office.

With it's cinematic return

the question,

"Which SATC girl are you?"

keeps arising in conversations.

You know what I've learned?

Most girls claim the whimsical-yet-grounded Carrie.

Some girls find Charlotte's values endearing.

And some girls love Samantha's... unruly nature.

{is that what we would call it?}

But I have yet to hear anyone claim Miranda.

Oh, Miranda.

I fear you've

become

the Jessie Spano

of Sex & The City.

*photos courtesy of wikipedia.com, nypost.com, myfrockshop.com, geeksugar.com

Postcard from Paris... Texas.

This ad campaign

by Sofia Coppola

never ceases

to make me wish

I was in Paris.

Even though I'm in the office today,

I sprayed some Miss Dior Cherie this morning,

and can be found humming

"La Vie en Rose"

at my desk.

*photo from www.dior.com

Hello, Giveaway!

As my friends may have noticed,

I've had some work done on the blog.

In honor of the upped glam factor

that the talented Kelly did:

Let's do a little glam giveaway!

The Aspiring Kennedy Necklace

made by Beth Dotolo

{a.k.a. Ms. Hello, Splendor}

Valued at $64.00

& oh-so-pretty....

Want to win?

All you have to do is:

1. Follow Aspiring Kennedy

2. Follow Hello, Splendor

{make it public- don't be shy!}

Score extra entries by...

1. following me or beth on twitter

2. list me or beth on your blog roll

3. leaving a comment on which piece of jewelry

you like best on Beth's etsy shop.

(**please leave a comment for each**)

Winner will be picked on Friday, June 18th.

Good luck, friends!

*photo by the amazing Kevin Dotolo

Family Facebook...

I like the Kennedys.

Did you know that?

So I had no choice

but to buy

this gorgeous book

by Assouline

on Gilt Groupe...

(for $30!)

I can't wait for it to arrive!

It will be even better than

when my

friend-babysat-Jean-Kennedy's-grandkids...

*photos from Assouline.com

One Hundred Percent!

There are 100 hundred pennies in a dollar.

There are 100 degrees of heat today in Texas.

There are 100 reasons to love Hugh Grant.

(dont judge me...)

And most importantly,

There are 100 posts on

Aspiring Kennedy!

I feel the urge to celebrate.

Thanks for being a part of the

beginning of my journey into blogging!

I so love getting to

be a small part of your world...

You say "Tomato," I say "Yes, Please."

What is about summer time that drives me

to endless meals on the patio?

Perhaps it's the hope that each plate

will be full of homegrown tomatoes

& drenched in sunshine.

Yes, I think that right.

Who among us is blessed with a green thumb?

{I, am not, but I do know where

I can "adopt" these homegrown beauties...}

*photography is by the talented Kate Sears, who can be hired through Sublime Management.

My first love, Italy...

I saw this gorgeous series,

Daydreaming of Italy,

by Sean Patrick Mcardle

and it left me

slightly broken hearted.

Broken hearted for the piece of me

that I'm afraid

I might have grown past.

The bright portion of myself

that laughed her way through adventure,

hopefully anticipated the day ahead,

and jumped boldly into newness.

I'm ready to get back to my old self.

My better self.

My self that I found in Italy.

With so much change on the horizon,

I can't help but anticipate

the newness of the days ahead!

*photos courtesy of Reverie Daydream. A perfect blog & store that I am so happy to have found.