~I'm really excited because on Saturday I will be participating in the NYC Revlon BCA Run/Walk through Central Park! I'll be walking with my mom, my roommate, her mom and dad plus a whole bunch of other friends! It was probably a bad idea to skip my training session with Levi on Tuesday so I'm really going to have to prep in our session on Friday! Wish me luck! -erica
~All this gross rain is giving me a sinus headache and makes me want to hide under the covers all day. On the other hand, it’s also getting me that much more excited for my upcoming vacation to Mexico!! Words cannot express how much I’m looking forward to six days of doing absolutely nothing. I am also a big fan of the “eat whatever you want” vacation method, especially when it means mounds of quesadillas and salty margaritas. Which is why I look forward to having Levi kick my butt for the next 3 weeks…so I can prematurely undo the damage! -alexis
~As a continuation of my last blog, I have been looking into tennis lessons and actually bought a new racket over the weekend. I played at the outdoor courts near my house and have a very sore right arm, and slight tan, to show for it. My next task is to set up my first lesson so that I’m not hitting the ball like I would a baseball. I’m really not as uncoordinated as I looked! -heather r
~I am so excited because me and 12 of my sorority sisters from college are going to Atlantic City for the weekend! As I'm sure you know coordinating dinner for 4 friends can sometimes be impossible so the fact that 13 of us are going is practically a miracle. Nothing's better then a weekend of going out, gambling and Gamma Girls...now let's just hope some of us win! -maria
~So yesterday I celebrated my 24th Birthday! The tarte girls celebrated with me and we enjoyed a lovely dessert of fruit salad and whipped cream (yum!). I also received my coveted Tory Burch Ballet Flats that I've been craving!! They are lime green and SO CUTE. I can't wait for the weather to get a little nicer so I can wear them! Next year I'm craving a pony! :-) -erica
~Heather’s wedding was so much fun! First and foremost, the bride looked beautiful—a true Barbie. The weather turned out being perfect and the ceremony left a few of us tartelettes teary-eyed. All of the food was delicious. From the mini cheese raviolis and the beef medallions to the mini cream puffs, let’s not even discuss how much I devoured! After filling my belly, it was on to the dance floor where we tore it up (there may even exist a video of Alexis & me working our moves). What a great way to kick-off the wedding season for me—I have at least 1 a month now! -candace
~I can’t believe it’s finally time for Heather’s wedding (especially because it means mine was already 6 months ago!). Even though I got the privilege of seeing her in her dress already (at her fitting), I’m excited to see her walk down the aisle! Then I will be in withdrawal for 2 weeks while my officemate is in Hawaii. In the meantime, the rest of us tartelettes are scrambling to find cute little jackets and wraps to go over our dresses because no one was anticipating the 40-something degree weather. So much for my strapless dress & bare legs! -alexis
~Tomorrow will officially be one month before I leave for my 16 day expedition around Europe with my boyfriend. We’ll fly in to Rome, make our way towards Florence, then on to Venice. After a few relaxing days in Italy, the overnight train will take us to beautiful Paris where we will spend 2 lovely nights. After we’ve soaked up all that Paris has to offer, we’ll board another overnighter and head to Barcelona, and finally to Madrid where we will spend 3 nights relaxing before we fly back home. Yes, just thinking about it makes me feel more at ease. I think I can safely say that in all the vacations I have ever taken, I have never needed one more than I do now. -julia
~With spring upon us and summer fast approaching, it’s time for me to change my dark brown locks to a fun and flirty dark blonde. I won’t be going platinum or anything, although I have always wondered what it would be like…just some highlights and low lights to go with my new tan! The celebs hair that I’m going after is Drew Barrymore’s new ‘do, and I’ll have it just in time for Heather P’s wedding this weekend too! -heather r
~It been a week since I've come back from Miami and my sunkissed glow is fading fast! Luckily Maureen introduced to Comondynes self-tanning wipes form QVC awhile ago. Now I'm totally addicted to them! They really give me a natural tan that's not too orange or fake looking. I even asked my Mom for a new supply for my Birthday! -erica
~Any Season 6 American Idol fans out there? Me too! Seriously, what’s going on this season? Please, don’t vote for the worst anymore!! Every week I just wait for Sanjaya to get the boot. It’s painful to watch. My top 2 picks: Blake (I really want him to win!) and Melinda Dolittle (she never disappoints). I’m keeping my fingers crossed for my boy, Blake! -candace
~I’m very excited that it’s almost Easter because that means this weekend is time for one of my favorite activities…egg dying! Usually we just go the more traditional route (this pic is of the eggs Phil and I did last year) but my sister just sent me this link that explains how to do these super fancy eggs…they almost look wooden, don’t they? I’m a little spastic, but that’s a perk of marrying a graphic designer…I know he would be totally into trying this! If we do and it comes out good, I’ll post the outcome. Stay tuned… -alexis
~So I went to the movies on Saturday and saw (let me be more specific- drooled over) 300. This is by far the absolute best movie I have seen in a long time. I don’t know what it is, but I loved it! Maybe it was the action packed fighting scenes, the great one-liners adding just the right amount of comedic relief, or maybe (and lets be honest- most likely) it was Gerard Butler’s (King Leonidis) amazing body- yes I think that’s it! If you don’t like action, adventure, gore, or mythology, go see it for the ridiculously cut Spartan bodies. Plus, Spartan men apparently always walked around in Speedos- I promise you will not be disappointed. -julia 
~I just came back from the most amazing bachelorette weekend in Miami. If you can imagine it - there were 10 of us soaking up the sun and having a few drinks together. Ok, maybe we had more than a few drinks but who's counting?! ;) It was one of the best weekends I've ever had and I can't thank the girls enough for making it such a great experience!! -heather
~Happy belated St. Patrick’s Day! I was planning to head to home to South Boston for the parade, but the crazy, stormy weather left me here in NYC. My roommate and I decided to throw a little St. Patty’s celebration in our apartment. She made her mom’s homemade Irish soda bread, which was delish! Not to mention we had every other green food you could want: spinach dip, green frosted cupcakes and lime jello! We also made some delicious green bloody mary (food coloring makes all the difference!). To top it all off we had a fun dance party! There was even an Irish jig dance-off. You can’t beat that on a Saturday afternoon! -candace
~I had such a nice (albeit action-packed) weekend…we went to Phil’s brother’s engagement party on Friday night, which was awesome—two Italian families merging always makes for a good party (and the penne alla vodka was pretty good too). Sunday was our nephew’s christening, and we were the godparents! Antonio was the best baby in the church, he didn’t cry once (not even when the water was poured over his head). Of course, seeing us with the baby got everyone asking us when we’re planning on having kids……..but the answer is “not anytime soon,” since our new apartment is about the only “baby” we can handle at the moment! -alexis
~This weekend I went to the Syracuse v. Villanova basketball game in Philly. Despite all of my cheering and name-calling (yes, I tend to be pretty competitive when people get mean), we lost the game 78-75. After the game a bunch of us headed to Atlantic City to try our luck there! To start the night we did a little dancing at Mur Mur and then some gambling at the Borgata. I played the slots (specifically Wheel of Fortune) but ended up empty-handed. Greg, on the other hand, played Roulette and we ended up leaving with some winnings! All in all, it was great weekend, but I’m soooo tired!!! -candace
~Maria and I got to hang out on Saturday and I finally got to see her new dog Rocky! He is so cute and so BIG, I brought him a new squeaky dog toy which he just loved. After playing with Rocky we went to the movies to see "The Number 23" which we both liked and would definitely recommend to anyone that likes thrillers. -erica
~The wedding invitations are officially out! I can't believe the wedding is now 2 months away. It's very exciting but at the same time, it's kind of nerve -racking! Now it's actually coming soon and there is still so much to do! I'm thinking John might have been right when he was lobbying for us to elope! -heather
~If you check out my craving for the month you’ll see that I wanted a home for Trixie and all the other dogs at the New Rochelle Humane Society. Well, my craving came true – Trixie was adopted! Better yet, my parents decided to adopt Kodiak from the shelter this past weekend! He’s the most adorable, huggable, bear of a dog you’ll ever meet and I can’t wait until he comes home. He’s been renamed Rocky by my dad, which I have to say suits him well, but I’ll always think of him as Bear! -maria
~Brrrr…I just got back from Sundance! It was so much fun (and a lot of hard work!). We were part of a gifting suite (The Green House) and we met a lot of cool people (and of course, there were some celeb sightings). While Greg & I were walking down Main Street in our new, warm Moncler jackets we spotted: Anthony Hopkins, Christian Slater, Tara Reid, Nick Cannon, Kyra Sedgwick, Scott Speedman, Jamie Kennedy…..We also picked up some really cool shirts from The Secession. We didn’t get a chance to hit the slopes or catch some movies, but I did get a glimpse of Justin Timberlake! That counts for something! -candace
~So, even though I got back from my honeymoon not that long ago, it just kills me to not have a vacation to look forward to. I decided I had to plan something even if it was a while from now…so this morning I just booked a spontaneous trip to Mexico in May! I’ve heard so many good things about The Royal Hideaway Hotel and it’s an all-inclusive so now we don’t have to worry about anything—we can just show up and eat endless burritos & margaritas. This may be the highlight of Phil’s year since he loves Mexican food more than anything else. Four months to go until we’re luxuriating in the Riviera Maya…yay! -alexis
~While I'm craving a perfect dinner date I should follow that up with the perfect dessert! What could be better than going to NYC’s famed Serendipity for The Grand Opulence Sundae? I know. It sounds crazy $1,000 for an ice cream sundae? But, The Golden Opulence Sundae is the "World's most expensive sundae", and was created to celebrate Serendipity's 50th Anniversay last year. Made with 5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23K edible gold leaf, the sundae is drizzled with the world's most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porceleana, and covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate. The masterpiece is suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold dragets, truffles and Marzipan Cherries. It is topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, an exclusive dessert caviar that's sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac. The sundae is served in a Baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon!-jasen
~This weekend Greg and I decided to add a little culture to our lives…so, we headed to the MET!! The Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde exhibit was amazing! It ended on Sunday, so we were just in time to check out all of the fun paintings! I’d have to say besides being obsessed with everything Egyptian (it dates back to a Mummy I saw in 4th grade at the Museum of Science), I really enjoyed the Nan Kempner: American Chic exhibit!! The clothes are just beautiful…there’s a reason she was the most renowned members of the Best-Dressed List’s Hall of Fame! There were so many Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino and Chanel pieces! If you’re a fashionista, I urge you to check it out!! -candace
~On Wednesday night we had our annual tarte holiday party hosted by Maureen. It was an amazing time as always, this year we had a wine & cheese tasting theme with a cheese expert. Alexis (cheese-aholic) was in heaven and showed off all her amazing cheese knowledge and everyone else learned a lot and enjoyed themselves. Maureen and her husband Scott cooked an amazing dinner that everyone couldn't stop raving about, followed by desserts galore! We really need to make this party a monthly event instead of just once a year.-erica
~We’re celebrating here at tarte—seal the deal (our lip sealant & supergloss duo) won a Redbook MVP Beauty Award!! This morning Maureen and I attended the magazine’s Third Annual MVP Beauty Awards breakfast at the Bryant Park Grill in NYC. It was so pretty and festive (and the food was delish)! Not to mention, there were so many fun beauty, skincare and haircare companies that were honored! From Dr. Brandt to Oscar Blandi, there were a lot of beauty gurus in the house! If you check out the December issue of the mag you can see all of the winners!-candace
~This past Friday the tarte team had the amazing oppurtunity to be a part of a Habitat for Humanity build. Along with a donation we decided to actually go and help out. We joined the QVC beauty team up in Coatsville, PA where Habitat was is in the process of rebuilding a community and creating some amazing homes for very deserving families! There was a lot of painting, sanding, hammering and Maureen was even hanging drywall! We had a great day and hopefully we'll continue to be apart of this great cause. -erica 
~I am beyond excited—I just found out that I got into an intensive perfume workshop next week! This workshop is only held twice a year at one of the major perfume houses—a master perfumer comes over from Europe to teach intensive, full-day courses about the history of perfume, study of raw materials, study of synthetic materials, etc. It’s basically my dream come true. I am sort of a perpetual student-slash-geek at heart, so I’m already preparing to get a nice shiny new notebook & pen. Seriously cannot wait!! -alexis
~If you haven’t yet, I urge you to go see The Departed. This is seriously the best movie I’ve seen this year. I walked out of the movie theatre and all I could utter to my boyfriend was, “wow, this movie is seriously winning some awards…” I mean there are so many good reasons. First and foremost, it’s set in South Boston (wicked, cas, paking) with Boston-native actors (Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, etc) —it’s like Good Will Hunting all over again, but with a lot more blood and gory. The acting is phenomenal and the guys are pretty hot, too! It’s by far my favorite movie! -candace
~Lex is always telling me about this quaint bed & breakfast in Saratoga Springs so I decided to book a nice little getaway weekend for Rich & I. We’re going December 22nd for a 2 night stay and I have a couple of fun outings planned for us – snowmobiling, massages and horseback riding to name a few. I’m totally excited for horseback riding more then anything – the guide said the horses would be wearing bells for Christmas! hehe -maria
~Heather, Maria, and I had a fun Saturday night out on the Upper East Side. Heather's friends organized a bar crawl to a bunch of different bars around the area. Needless to say we all had a great time and maybe we'll do it again soon. I vote to stay in one place like the Brooklyn Brewery and taste all their beers, but then again it wouldn't really be much of a bar crawl! -erica
