Finkelstein's Center's awkwardly adorable creatures

Is it weird for an adult to want to buy stuffed animals? Not if they're as cute as Michelle Jewell's "Finks." I recently interviewed the artist for Charleston magazine. My favorite quote:

"No one questions the amount of stuffed sloths you own when you’re a toy maker. If I quit, I would just be weird again."

Read the story here and check out her Etsy shop here.

Bottled Cocktails: Three Places in Boston to Find Them

I find myself writing about cocktails a lot lately and drinking none of them, since I'm on a semi-strict post-vacation diet. It's a bit torturous, really.

Anyway, this is my first contribution to GM's Drive the District blog. It's all about bottled cocktails, a trend that's catching on in Boston ever-so-slowly. Read it here.

Can you afford this cocktail?

Photo via Boston Magazine

I've been a fan of Paste for years, so it was a thrill to get one of my stories published in the magazine this month. I wrote an article about crazy expensive cocktails that was inspired by a $100 drink at Boston bar Wink & Nod.

“Every single person who bought it said it was the best cocktail they’d ever had,” Wink & Nod GM Curtis McMillan says. “I want to make sure that when a person buys this cocktail, they don’t feel like they got gypped. I want them to feel like there’s a reason that they paid $100 for it.”

Read the full story here!

lizzy c.

I've been doing a bit of freelance work for Lizzy C Photography, a company based in Melbourne, Australia. Lizzy is an amazing photographer and she's so fun to work with. Through the wonders of the internet, I've been assisting her with blogging, editing, and social media, and I've really enjoyed it so far. Be sure to check out her website!

barn wedding.

Today I pitched a few stories to a Virginia wedding magazine, and they accepted all of them! I have three to work on in the next few months, and I think I'll start with one about barn weddings. I just love the contrast of a glamorous, sparkling reception inside a weathered, rustic barn in the middle of nowhere. If I ever have reason to host a big ol' party again, I'm gonna do it in a barn.

Images via Pinterest.

What do you say? Would you get married in a barn or would you rather leave them to the horses?

breathe brides.

This summer I wrote some of my first freelance articles, and two of them were published in Breathe Magazine's wedding issue this month. After four years of working as a journalist, I've gotten used to seeing my name in print every week in the paper, but it's fun to see it somewhere new — and to get paid for it.

Breathe is targeted toward active, health-conscious women, and I had so much fun writing about buying local for your wedding as well as going the DIY route. I interviewed some inspiring planners and brides like Alice, above, who had local blueberry jam favors, a table full of homemade pies, and an arch made out of a cattle feeder and grapevines. As glad as I am to have my own wedding behind me, there's a part of me that really misses all of the planning, and I hope to continue writing for wedding mags in the future.