We love doggies, our four-footed friends who make us smile every day. So with out any delay…the preppy pooches.

The Preppy Princess's pup, Tilly, in her adorable pink and green halter.

Cheryl's pooch Chico is looking snazzy in his preppy sweater from Old Navy.

Daisy keeping watch at the beach.

Miss Penny snoozes in her Crab and Sand Dollar Collar.

Mr. Ranger looking good at the beach.

And the ever preppy Golden Retrievers!

Boomer, Ashley Estill's preppy pup, soaking up the scene in Annapolis.

Mr. Max playing on the rocks.

Pretty Miss Priscilla of Newport Beach

Truman is ready for a night on the town!

For more preppy puppies, check out the Preppy Life’s Top 10 Preppy Dog Names.

Sitting on the beach today, I witnessed an amazing sight, a woman who loved her job. I was seriously in awe. First of all, it was one of my highschool dream jobs, a Surf Patrol lifeguard. These are the lucky lifeguards who watch the surfers all day. Second of all, she was at least 45 years old. I overhead her say that “she loved her job” and you could tell. She exuded joy and happiness all day long. I am so jealous. So cheers to the women out there who actually obtain their dream jobs. May we be all be able to achieve our goals.

The countdown has begun, one day left until Father’s Day. Strangely, I have been very organized the past few days and already purchased a baby blue striped polo from the Under Armour outlet for my Dad. If you are still in the hunt for the perfect Father’s Day gift here are a few ideas.

• Baseball Tickets – a great way to spend some time with your Dad this summer
• A BBQ Basket – steaks, hamburgers, BBQ sauce, whatever – just make sure you keep it refrigerated.
• Polo Shirt – you can never have enough!
• A nice bottle of Scotch
• A Dart Board – for hours of mindless fun
• Franklin + Gower Customized shorts – for the stylish Dad, they are worth the wait
• Golf Balls
• Vineyard Vines Belt – the essence of preppy

I hope you and your family have a very nice Father’s Day!

Franlkin + Gower Custom shorts, for the stylish preppy dad

Summer is here again, and I could not be happier. There is nothing more exciting than the idea of an entire summer stretching ahead of you. The Wonder Dog and I were lucky enough to spend a long weekend at the beaches and I had some time to ponder my summer resolutions.

Here are a few of mine:

• Gratitude, take time each day to appreciate summer and this wonderful warm weather
• Eat as many fresh tomatoes and basil as possible
• Write more blog posts because I really have no excuses not too
• Stop worrying (or at least try)
• Take the Wonder Dog on a few puppy adventures
• And finally to learn more constellations because I love to gaze at the night sky.

I am saddened to see so many of my favorite lacrosse teams, like Delaware, Loyola, and JHU, knocked out so early in the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. Sorry, Regis, I am rooting for Maryland in the semi-finals. I hope they take Notre Dame down! The tournament wraps up Memorial Day weekend, when the final four teams battle it out in Baltimore to win a place in Monday’s championship game. If you can’t make it to the game, you can still check out all of the action on ESPN2.

With the off-season approaching, I hope the coaches check out LacrosseRecruits.com, this web site shows off the skills of some of the area’s hottest lacrosse players. This year they partnered with the ever-preppy Vineyard Vines and created the “2010 LacrosseRecruits.com Summer Circuit” T-shirt. Pink Whales and lacrosse sticks, how can you go wrong? If you are not on the tournament circuit this summer, you can buy one of these fab t-shirts at LacrosseRecruits.com.

Shirt Detail

Wonder Pup loves his Vineyard Vines LacrosseRecruits.com T

Back of the shirt

With Mother’s Day around the corner, I thought it was time to post a few of my favorite spring gift ideas.

Sparkle Toes
I love J. Crew’s metallic mesh flip-flops. I bought a pair last spring and wore them all summer long (and well into the fall). I liked these shoes so much that I couldn’t resist buying another pair this year.

J. Crew flip-flops

Liberty of London
Liberty has voyaged across the Atlantic and is everywhere this spring. I can’t get enough of Target’s Liberty line. From scarves and bikinis, to cute little journals, Target has it all.

Liberty Journals

Bikini Bag
My sister bought these adorable, waterproof bathing suit bags for her brides maids at The Preppy Crab. It is the perfect gift for a destination wedding.

Bikini Bag

March is here, bringing with it the first signs of spring; lacrosse and the wearing of the green. Baltimore welcomes both with out-stretched arms. On any given Saturday, you can find loyal fans rooting on a favorite college lacrosse game. If you can’t make it to the big game, you can typically catch a broadcast of the game on the local television station. As much as I love lacrosse, my favorite March event is St. Patrick’s Day, one of the few days it is socially-acceptable to dress like a leprechaun. Baltimore celebrates St. Patty’s Day in style with a month long celebration of parades, Irish beer, and the Shamrock 5k. Despite the rain, the crowds were out in full-force last weekend, toasting the green. The celebrations culminate on St. Patrick’s Day; the local bars erect huge tents to house Irish music and massive celebrations. So remember to wear green this Wednesday or you may get pinched by a 5’9″ leprechaun ; )

While the rest of the Mid-Atlantic was shoveling out of the blizzard of 2010, my family, boyfriend & I traveled south to Cancun. Set as side what you may think about Mexico, Spring Break, and Montezuma’s Revenge; Cancun is fabulous.  Mexican sunshine, white beaches, friendly people, and all of the seafood you can eat.

Getting there is half the fun:
Originally, we had booked a direct flight on Air Tran for Saturday morning–canceled before the blizzard even hit. Baltimore was blanketed in 26 inches of snow. Just thinking about the icy madness stresses me out, but I stayed calm because I was flying to Mexico on Sunday. When Maryland’s Governor refused to open the local airport; chaos erupted, especially when Air Tran could not book us on another flight. Once the hysteria crested, my snowed-in family banded together forming a communication hub; phones, cell phones, the Internet, we were going to Cancun! We booked the first flight out of DC on Air Mexicana, who boasts of a full-meal and open bar on the plane–it sounded like heaven. After a snowy three hour ride and a night spent in a crowded hotel room, our flight took off on-time and landed in sunny Mexico.

Poolside at the Resort

Ahhh, Mexico!
Green grass, humidity, tropical breezes, and a laid-back attitude, I love Mexico. Thanks to my grandparents and their lovely timeshare, I have been able to spend one blissful week each February soaking up the sun at the Royal Resorts. I am always impressed with the service and facilities at the resort, the employees are friendly and the hotel is immaculate.

The Lagoon

Cuisine:
There are so many great places to eat in Cancun. This year, I dined at my favorite Mexican restaurants and sampled a few new ones. I recommend Mocambo in downtown Cancun and the fish shack, located next to the upscale restaurant, La Habichuela (The Green Bean). I wish I could remember the real name of the restaurant, but it is fantastic; wonderful service, great margaritas, seating on the sand, and very reasonable prices. You know it’s a good restaurant when you spot the locals eating there.

Adios:
After 5 relaxing days, we drank our last margaritas on the beach and said our goodbyes, before rushing to the airport to catch our 6pm flight back to DC and the freezing cold.

Inspired by Rolling Stone’s recent issue profiling the music of the last decade, I have decided to do my own list:  Top Preppy Albums. These albums may not be especially good or even charted well, but they are must-have prep albums from the 00 decade.

• License to Chill: Jimmy Buffet’s first country album featuring songs like “Boats to Build” and “Hey Good Lookin.” You know you secretly downloaded it from i-Tunes
• Risen: O.A.R’s album of breakup music featuring “Untitled” and “Night Shift”
• Vampire Weekend: Played at every preppy party along with the Killers and My Morning Jacket
• The Black Album: Jay-Z, Frat Party Galore!
• Speakerboxxx/The Love Below: Outkast’s double album featuring 2003′s inescapable song “Hey Ya!”
• Stand Up: Dave Matthews Band – the “last” “good” Dave Matthews Band album
• Room for Squares: Preps love John Mayer
• FutureSex/LoveSounds: We love JT!
• Brushfire Fairytales: Jack Johnson’s soundtrack to preppy love, “Bubble Toes”

Thoughts on any albums I left out?

What makes frat boys graduate from beer? The allure of Madmen crossed with the stately enticement of the amber-hued ambrosia named for a country; aka Scotch. Distilled in Scotland for hundreds of years, Scotch is a favorite at east coast cocktail parties. Steeped in tradition, even the bottle reads like the exclusive code befitting of a fraternity: vatted malt, blended, Campbeltown, Islay. If the word “Scotch” is missing from the bottle, it’s not a true Scotch and don’t even think of picking up a bottle of scottish “whiskey,” which is a likely to be distilled in Ireland or the United States.

So, if you are looking for a last minute gift for the man in your life, I recommend stopping by the liquor store and buying a bottle of Scotch.

A few of the preppy Scotches:

• Johnnie Walker Black Label: this blended Scotch even has a guy sporting a kilt on the label
• Dewar’s White Label: another tartan-clad bottle, this famous recipe has been around for over one hundred years
• Bowmore Single Malt: this prestigious Scotch, a favorite with sailors, comes from the second oldest distillery in Scotland
• The Famous Grouse: for the hunter in your life
• Justerini & Brooks: J&B, need I say more?
• Cutty Sark: named for the famous clipper
• The Macallan: a bottle of their vintage Scotch sold for over $50,000
• The Glens: Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Glenkinchie, etc.
• and the list goes on…