Tag Archives: new york

Fall Adventures

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Like many of you, I can’t believe it’s almost 2013! Fall certainly went by in a flash and now its technically already winter. Things have been pretty busy around here, I just returned from an amazing trip visiting family in New Hampshire/Boston, we found a new apartment and are moving in two weeks, right before taking a trip to New Orleans (poor planning on that one huh?), and all the usual jazz. But amidst the chaos, I wanted to take some time to write a very belated post about a fall excursion we took last month.

With no major trips planned this fall, I wanted to do something seasonal and outdoorsy. Matt mentioned there was a park by his parents’ house, which left me a bit skeptical (the parks near my parents’ house on Long Island are nice, but not exactly fall-excursion worthy, more like company picnic worthy). But my skepticism was pushed aside when we arrived at the Croton Dam, only 40 minutes from NYC and so very beautiful.

Apparently this is where New York City gets its drinking water. There’s something about the waterfalls that makes a whole filtration system- I don’t quite understand how it works but my dear friend Joya who works for the New York City department of water would be happy to explain it to you in great detail. From my own perspective, this is a great place to visit if you’re itching to get out of the city for a day, want to do some light hiking but don’t want to travel too far.

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Thursday Sunsets: Fire Island

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The sun is setting on the work week and while we aren’t quite at the weekend yet, you can feel it on the horizon. And so I bring to you the first weekly installment of Thursday Sunsets, where each week I’ll highlight a beautiful sunset from around the world. But we’ll start off local, with one of my absolute favorite places in the world, and the sunset that inspired this post.

Fire Island, NY:

FEED Guatemala Bag Launch at Lord & Taylor

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Last week, I met Rebecca after work and we headed to Lord & Taylor for an epic moment in Nest history. We attended the launch party of the limited edition FEED Guatemala bags. FEED is an organization that donates a percentage of their sales to help fight child hunger in developing nations. Rebecca met the founders, Ellen and Lauren, at an event we threw at the Ralph Lauren Rugby store last summer, and their friendship evolved into a partnership where the FEED ladies agreed to create a limited edition line of bags that were to be handmade by the artisans Nest works with in Guatemala.

After a year of hard work and collaboration, these bags were finally produced and shipped to Lord & Taylor, where they are now being sold exclusively. Seeing our bags on display at this department store reminded me that it was that very trip to Guatemala in 2008 that transformed my own personal involvement with Nest into what it is today – needless to say, that trip changed my life.

I wear my FEED Guatemala bag every day now, and find any excuse to tell people the story behind it. I’m like a proud mother, gushing over the pattern and handiwork of the bag, and mostly over the label inside that reads, “Handmade by Nest Artisans in Guatemala,” with our logo and website stitched right into it. Yes, maybe I’m a little obsessed, but wouldn’t you be?


SURevolution Dinner Party

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Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend a dinner party at the SURevolution showroom. Founder Marcella Echavarria has travelled all over the world and collected unique jewelry, bags, furniture, kitchenware and other sustainable goods from artisans in South America, Africa, India and more. Everything is handmade, and the beautiful showroom overlooking Little Italy was the perfect setting for our small gathering.

I first saw Tamara, the amazing interior designer who sits on our board, who I hadn’t seen in months. While we caught up, she told me all about a psychic she had been talking to, who had given her an interesting perspective on life, business and love. She mentioned how the psychic could feel the energy about the people around you and could tell just from reading your energy how they relate to you in a positive or negative way. As hesitant as I was to believe any of this, by the end of our conversation she had me taking down the psychic’s number and seriously considering calling her.

Then, we met a woman from Chile who drew portraits based on the psychic energy of a person.

Eventually, I was introduced to Anna, who is throwing a Yoga event next week. Anna is a wellness consultant who got her Yoga studio to agree to donate all proceeds of their upcoming health and wellness event to Nest.

I also met Katharine, who has her own line of beauty products that use Aragon oil from Morocco. She usually travels to Agadir to get the oil for her products, but after I tell her about Tim’s community in Tigmijou and the Aragon oil they produce, I suggest she start buying from them. She’s immediately interested, and I go home and introduce them via email, thrilled to make any excuse to reach out to Tim and feel a connection… to Morocco.

Rebecca makes a speech to all the guests and tells the story of Lolita, the loan recipient from India who fell prey to the loan shark after she broke her leg and couldn’t work to support her family following the death of her husband. Luckily, Nest was able to help her out of this situation and help Lolita create a new life for herself and her family.

As I was trying on some of Marcella’s beautiful gold plated leaf bracelets, I laughed as a woman from Columbia made fun of our board member Ian, joking that he looked just like Juanez, the Columbian pop star. Once again I found myself surrounded by fascinating people, amazing sustainable goods and the satisfaction of knowing we were all gathered together for a good cause.


How My Friends and Family Inspired Me When I Returned From Morocco

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Adjusting back to the U.S. after our amazing journey to Morocco went more smoothly than anticipated. The transition was made easier by the enthusiasm my friends and family showed in listening to me go on and on about my trip, looking through hundreds of photos, and reading the in-depth recaps I posted on this site.

But I couldn’t have expected how much the people around me were about to surprise, overwhelm, shock and inspire me two weeks after my return. Remember that fundraiser we talked about doing for Rachida so she could rebuild her house and her loom that were lost in the fire? Well, that fundraiser went live on our website on May 3rd. I sent around an email to my friends and family, telling them about Rachida and what had happened, and asked them to throw in a little money towards rebuilding if they could.

A little more than 24 hours later, I was astounded by the generosity these people showed. By May 4th, we had raised enough money to rebuild Rachida’s home, and more than half of those funds came from my friends and family – my two amazing roommates and some of my favorite brides-to-be, my incredible mother, and even an old friend in St. Louis. Even a dear friend in danger of losing her job contributed. A few ex boyfriends even kicked in some cash – and donated very generous amounts! You never know who will come through and rally together when you believe in a wonderful cause that has genuinely touched all our lives.

Needless to say, I’m incredibly lucky to surround myself with these people every day, and they’ve certainly made the post-Moroccan transition much more bearable.