Have an amazing weekend.

What are you doing this weekend? We have a long-lost friend from England visiting tonight, and I'm also going to get a foot massage! Just as a little treat:) (Have you ever gotten one?) Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and here are a few great links from around the web...

Cable guys? Thumbs up.

This wedding story is heartbreaking and affirming.

Funny inventions from Holland.

My favorite advice.

YES!!! A new Pigeon book. Already ordered.

Loving the color mint.

Little nappers.

A few cool plants.

The Bachelor drawings made me laugh out loud.

New sunnies for the summer.

Frogs I kissed and liked.

A very strong 12-year-old.

After this post, I realized I need this new app.

Parents and parents-to-be: Go to mOmma's facebook page to get a free product sample. Just enter the promo code CUPOFJO.

Finally, a song to kick off your weekend. xoxo

(Photo of Maui by Royce Bair)

Mad Men love

Who's psyched for Sunday?!! Will you be watching? Above is a hilarious video montage of Don Draper saying "What" and being awesome. (Watch it, you'll laugh out loud.)

Plus, a few posts to get you in the mood:
* Cool behind-the-scenes photos.
* Mad Men for kids.
* A guide to (the many) Mad Men romances.
* Jon Hamm and Elizabeth Moss chat about the Don/Peggy dynamic.
* Don Draper disapproves.
* How to drink like a Mad Man.
* An interview with Mad Men's "prop master."
* Three Mad Men cocktails.
* The ultimate Mad Men playlist.
* A Jon Hamm interview with Playboy (because we really do read Playboy for the articles:)

(Thanks to Shoko for scouting help)

Thursday giveaway!

Today's giveaway is from Curator, a beautiful line of clothing designed and produced in San Francisco. Their breezy dresses and cotton tops would be lovely to wear year-round. Today they're giving one lucky reader a $250 gift certificate to spend at their shop. What would you choose? (I'd go for this chambray dress and some beautiful soaps!)

For a chance to win, please visit Curator (and check out their Pinterest page, if you'd like) and leave a comment below. A winner will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck! Update: Marie S. is our lucky winner. Thanks for playing.

Bonus for all readers; Get 15% off all clothing using the code CUPOFJO, for the next week.

Vintage ads

Oh my goodness, these vintage ads are jawdropping. (One ad actually says, "Men are better than women!") Can you believe these are from just a few decades ago? Our grandparents might have considered them normal!

More below...
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Do you pee in front of your significant other?

Ok, we've talked about enough intimate stuff on Cup of Jo that I think I'll just go for it today and ask the big question: Do you pee in front of your significant other? My answer...
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Wednesday giveaway!

Today's giveaway is from Mill & Bird, a hand-stitched leather bag shop based in North Carolina. The designer Krissy Anderson makes easy bags you can wear everyday and keep forever, and she strives to showcase the natural beauty of leather. Today she's offering one lucky reader her Amy Messenger Bag, made with soft moccasin leather with a drawstring closure and crossbody strap.

For a chance to win, please visit Mill & Bird and leave a comment below. A winner will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck! Update: Angharad is our winner. Thanks for playing.

Bonus for all readers: Krissy is offering 25% off everything in her shop through March 31st.

Emo Girl Beauitful Eyes

Cute Emo Girl Picture

Austin advice?

We're going to Austin!!! Our friends just moved there, so we're heading down for a weekend trip at the end of the month. (We figured we sneak in the trip before Toby turns two and we have to buy him plane seat.)

Everyone I know raves about Austin, and we can't wait to see it. Most of all, I'm excited to swim in Barton Springs, the 1,000-foot-long spring-fed natural pool. It looks incredible! (This monthly full-moon party would be a trip:)

Have you been to Austin? Do you live there? We'd be psyched for any recommendations! xoxo

P.S. Ten tips for traveling with a baby, and our guide to NYC.

(Photos by Budget Travel, MagazineUSA, Emily and Jack Archer)

The Best Banana Bread You'll Ever Have (with Bourbon and Chocolate Chunks)

My mom used to make banana bread when we were growing up. We'd smell it in the kitchen, and I'd request tastes right when it came out of the oven, when the bananas were soft, mushy and a little too hot. The memory alone makes me homesick for Michigan! Well, luckily, the fabulous Joy the Baker has agreed to share her #1 banana bread recipe with us today, and (record scratch) it includes bourbon and chocolate chunks. As she says, it's "bonkers delicious." Here's the recipe...
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How to make travel WAY easier

Can you imagine boarding a flight with just a wallet and your favorite book? Before you leave for vacation, LugLess will pick up your suitcases from your house and deliver them right to your destination.

A small suitcase costs $39 and a large suitcase costs $59, which are amazing prices considering that most airlines charge twenty-five bones to check a bag. Traveling without luggage would make a trip so much easier, especially when you have a wriggly baby in tow.

Having bags sent ahead is something I always assumed was reserved for the Rich & Famous, but this seems totally doable! Thumbs up, LugLess.

First day of spring

Today is the first day of spring. That's all! Celebrate!
(Top photo by The Sartorialist; bottom photos by Downtown From Behind)

Summer sneakers

Bensimon sneakers are the French girls' Converse. I bought my first pair for our honeymoon, and I've worn them every summer ever since. They look cute with jeans, shorts and dresses; and you can slip them on quickly when holding a wriggly baby. Well, Bensimon just released a limited-edition set of pastel colors for spring, made exclusively for Madewell. Aren't they lovely? (P.S. My big-foot size has already sold nut, so hurry if you'd like a pair!)
(Top photo by The Singular; bottom layout by Jennifer Hagler for Cup of Jo)

A NYC weekend

New York City can feel so dark and dreary during the winter (puddles! gray buildings! umbrellas whacking you!) that it's always a restorative breath of fresh air when the sun comes back out. Everyone pours out of their cramped apartments, and the city comes alive. This weekend felt like summer, with blue skies and cool breezes. Hope you had a great one, and here are a few photos we snapped this weekend, if you'd like to see...
On Saturday, we rode bikes across the Brooklyn Bridge (this was the view from my bike seat!)...
We headed to the glorious Brooklyn Bridge Park in Dumbo. You can see the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridges jutting out from each side, and hear the subways rattling noisily across them every ten minutes. (Our friends got married in this park a few years ago, and they had to pause their ceremony whenever the subways clattered overhead:)
We chilled in the grass (and I showed off my newly orange toes:), while Toby ate raisins and gazed at the enormous historic carousel that opened last summer...
So, we decided to buy tickets (the attendants' T-shirts say "Pony Up $2!") and take a spin on the carousel.
As we climbed on, Toby suddenly got freaked out by the horses (he cried at first!) so we sat together on the sleigh. (Note the other freaked out baby sitting behind us:)
Look at the rad backdrops in these photos!
We met up with our friends and headed to a nearby playground to hang out...
Dumbo is such a spectacular neighborhood. (This was just a random view we had when we walked to the deli to buy a snack!)
The next day, we headed to the Transit Museum in Brooklyn Heights, which is chock full of vintage subway cars. Toby's head almost exploded.
Taking photos was tricky because he was so excited and giddy that he literally ran everywhere. Just ran!! A little boy's dream come true:)

Oh, New York, sometimes we forget how great you are in the winter, but then summer comes, and we feel guilty for ever complaining. We love you! xoxo

(Toby's plaid shirt at top by Pearls & Popcorn; overalls by Carters)

Have a great weekend.

What are your plans for the weekend? I'm sooooo sleepy (feeling like this!) that I'll be falling asleep early tonight, but tomorrow we're hoping to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time this year. I'm also thinking of taking up knitting--do any of you knit? Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and here are a few great links from around the web...

I was so flattered and honored to appear in Lonny!

What the what? These are paintings.

Give your IKEA furniture a makeover.

Pin-up girls, before and after.

Now that's a cake.

Look at this amazing print!!!

Good to remember in an argument.

This kitchen shop is beautiful.

Vintage stickers.

Just ordered this shirt for the summer.

Pantone desserts.

Autobiography in five short chapters.

And if anyone's in the market for a nautical print: Max is now selling the ocean print from our bedroom makeover. xoxo

Plus, a song to kick off your weekend. Have a great one.

(Photo of Picasso, via Lost)

RedBall Project

For the past six years, artist Kurt Perschke has squeezed a huge red ball into cracks, gaps and alleys all around the world. The red ball has visited cities like Barcelona, Chicago, Toronto and Sydney, and it's now heading to England for the summer! (Reminds me of this children's story, do you remember it?)

(Via Apartment Therapy)