Chatham Ivy t shirts

Chatham Ivy was started by two sisters in Chatham, Massachusetts in honor of their old school prep dad. Kim runs the business side and Katie provides the creative spark. Together they have created a line of limited edition t-shirts with beautiful original watercolors and graphic designs for men, women and children. There are three t shirt collections: wicked tees, destination tees, and coastal tees. The tees range from $16-28 each.

Here are the whimsical nautical designs in the coastal tee collection:

Chatham light | Catch of the day | Sunday drive | Rock lobster

The destination tees: Cape Cod, Newport, and Maine

Cape Cod | Newport | Maine

Here are some of the designs from the wicked tee collection:

Tartan tee

Sunfish tee

Landcruiser tee

Woody wagon

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The Lottery

I have always been fascinated by utopias/dystopias and even took a literature class in high school on both. We read books like 1984 and Brave New World and then watched movies including Blade Runner, A Clockwork Orange, and The Handmaid's Tale. The class ended with a field trip to one of the more famous utopias: DISNEYLAND!

I knew as soon as I saw the preview that I would want to watch The Lottery. The Lottery takes place in 2025. There is a global fertility crisis and it has been five years since the last child was born. After years of research a fertility specialist, Dr. Lennon, is able to fertilize 100 embryos. Unfortunately the director of the U.S. Fertility Commission, Darius Hayes, takes control of the lab and informs the President of this breakthrough. A national lottery is held to determine which women will carry the prized embryos to term. The Lottery airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on Lifetime.

Source

I was able to participate in a conference call with actors Athena Karkanis (chief of staff Vanessa Keller) and Yul Vázquez (President Thomas Westwood).

On being a villain Yul said, "No, I think people, at least for me, are behaving in the way that I see fit at this particular time with, you know, with the information that I have... The answer for me is no." Athena agreed, saying, "Yes, I would agree. I think the writers have done a really good job of not writing people who are clearly good or clearly bad because real people aren't clearly good and clearly bad. And – I mean even Darius who's sort of seems like the bad guy, his motivations are -- he thinks he's doing the best thing for the country and for the human race which is facing extinction. So, I think everybody is kind of just doing what they think is best even if that sometimes means that someone is going to lose or someone is going to get hurt. But it's sort of, you know, you kind of weight out the pros and cons, and sometimes you have to make those choices as you do in life."

Source

On the fact that infertility is a growing issue for many Athena said, "It really is a thing that a lot of women are dealing with. And I think more so these days because people are – women are waiting longer. Women are pursuing careers and waiting longer to have children. And just culturally, I think we've sort of...growing up slower. And...that is also a theme in – of women who had pursued careers and then suddenly this infertility crisis hit and they had no idea that would happen, sort of thought that it would always be there for them. I mean it's certainly more realistic than zombies. But, you know, everyone loves zombies, so yes. I mean I think it's a thing that a lot more people can certainly relate to. But it's also interesting in this time when we're also sort of facing and dealing with issues of overpopulation to kind of think of this, you know. What an interesting way to see our extinction, but suddenly we're just – nobody new is being born and, you know, we're sort of the last."

Source

The Lottery airs tonight, Sunday at 10 p.m., on Lifetime

Coastal Living Showhouse: Second Floor Rooftop Decks

See the rest of the Coastal Living Showhouse Coronado Island here: First floor introduction | First floor bedrooms | Backyard/porch/pool | Kitchen, Living room, Dining area | Family room

This is the space that the family/game room opens up to. There is also access from the living/dining room area.

Over by where that guy is walking there is a fancy BBQ, sink, and mini fridge

Fire pit

Go up a few stairs and you reach the very top of the house. This spot, facing the ocean, is quiet and private. Look at that view!

There is a bar cart and another sink and mini fridge so you can stay up here for hours!

How cute is the whale weathervane

Toggle Home Nautical Monograms

Toggle Home specializes in luxury bespoke monograms and custom designs. The Toggle Home designers work closely with each customer to help them develop their own unique designs for items. You can shop their website (choose the item, thread color, monogram style) or you can email Toggle Home at togglehome@gmail.com to work with a designer on a custom monogram. Shop homegoods, clothing, baby/kids, accessories, and linen.

Here are some of the nautical designs Toggle Home has done recently:

Some of the MANY monogram options from Toggle Home

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Coastal Living Showhouse: Family/Game Room

See the rest of the Coastal Living Showhouse Coronado Island here: First floor introduction | First floor bedrooms | Backyard/porch/pool | Kitchen, Living room, Dining area

I absolutely loved this room. Give me foosball and nautical decor and I am in heaven! This room is off the kitchen (there's a short hallway with a bathroom) and opens onto the front deck/balcony.

Fall TV! The most wonderful time of the year!

I always give the same spiel when I do this post. I love TV. I love coming home from work and turning on a favorite show. I love having friends over to catch up on Revenge or Pretty Little Liars. DVR=best invention ever! I rarely watch live TV. I think I have actually cut back on my TV watching because I am not turning on the TV and channel surfing. I go immediately to my DVR and catch up on favorite shows. There will be some shows that I stop watching mid-season (because they get canceled or just plain suck!). OR I will have multiple episodes on my DVR until winter hiatus and then catch up when nothing else is on (did this with Once Upon a Time). I do not have time to watch all of these shows every single week! Let me repeat: I do not watch hours and hours of TV every night! (considering I work from 8-6:30 it just wouldn't be possible!). In the past I usually have time for one or two episodes a night. Tops. I am starting kickball this week and then I will start studying for the GRE next month so that will probably mean less TV time during the week. We'll see.

I'll watch the first two episodes of a new show and then decide if I want to continue watching. New shows in BOLD. I am including shows that premiere in September, October, and November here.

Helpful links: TV Line Fall TV Preview | TV Line Fall premiere dates/calendar | E! Watch with Kristin new show rankings

Which new shows are you most excited about????

MONDAY:
Gotham, Fox, 8 P.M.
The Originals, CW, 8 P.M. 
State of Affairs, NBC, 10 P.M. (November)
Castle, ABC, 10 P.M.
NCIS: LA, CBS, 10 P.M. (not happy they moved this one to Monday night at a later time)

TUESDAY:
Selfie, ABC, 8 P.M. (watched the pilot ondemand and I think I'll give it another episode)
Manhattan Love Story, ABC, 8:30 P.M. (Evan from Greek! But I am thinking this will get canceled pretty quickly :(
Marry Me, NBC, 9 P.M. (I am still mad that Happy Endings was canceled. This is the next best thing I hope)
Forever, ABC, 10 P.M.
Awkward, MTV, 10 P.M. 

WEDNESDAY:
Modern Family, ABC, 9 P.M. 
Law and Order: SVU, NBC, 9 P.M.
Red Band Society, Fox, 9 P.M. (Will probably watch OnDemand)
Nashville, ABC, 10 P.M.
Stalker, CBS, 10 P.M. (this may be too scary. We'll see if I make it through the premiere)

THURSDAY:
Vampire Diaries, CW, 8 P.M. 
Reign, CW, 9 P.M.
Scandal, ABC, 9 P.M.
Gracepoint, Fox, 9 P.M. (I don't think anything can beat the original, BBC's Broadchurch. I probably won't watch if it is truly the exact same show, American version, which is what I am hearing)
A to Z, NBC, 9:30 P.M. (I watched the pilot ondemand and I loved it)
How to Get Away with Murder, ABC, 10 P.M.
Elementary, CBS, 10 P.M. 

SUNDAY:
Once Upon a Time, ABC, 8 P.M. (I have all of last season on DVR. I may not catch up in time so this might get dropped for now)
Revenge, ABC, 10 P.M.

Country Club Prep Giveaway WINNER

The winner of the Country Club Prep giveaway is...

Mariam F!

Country Club Prep has a great selection of mens, womens, and kids clothing and accessories. Designers include: Lilly Pulitzer, Southern Proper, Castaway Clothing, Lauren James, Anchored Style, and many more! You can see the full list of brands Country Club Prep carries here

Anchor rain coat, $154 | Anchor tote, $44 | Nautical flag tee, $32

Wine bag, $20 | Shift dress, $78 | Signal flag bowtie, $58 | Tumbler set, $19 | Shorts, $45 | Knot bracelet, $38

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Karyn Burns Summer 2014 Collection (Martha's Vineyard print)

As soon as I saw these prints I knew I had to share! The Brae summer collection includes: ABC’s of the Hamptons, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. These prints are perfect for a vacation/beach house, baby's (nautical) nursery, or anywhere you want to add a little nautical touch!

Karyn sent me the Martha's Vineyard print. I can't believe I still haven't been there! It is at the very top of my list though. I thought the print would be the perfect give for my sister and brother in law. My brother in law's parents have a house in Chilmark and Baby Nautical just got back from his third trip there (yes, I am really jealous!).

My sister got the print framed and it is now hanging in the guest room/baby's room.

I think it goes perfectly with this Chilmark Library print they had in the room already!

Karyn also has ABC college prints: University of Syracuse, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, and Princeton University

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Please note: I was sent the print to review. All opinions are my own.

Exploring the Venice Canals

I didn't have to work Tuesday so I decided to explore the Venice canals. This area has man-made canals that were built in 1905 by developer Abbot Kinney. There is such a mix of houses: new, modern houses and then old, original bungalows. Little Rascals and Valentine's Day both feature scenes shot in this area.

Definitely my favorite!