These metallic sandals from Zara are flattering on everyone and can easily be dressed up or down–wear them with jeans as well as skirts and dresses. (Basic metallic tone sandal, $36.00, zara.com).

Late May and early June in most regions of the country are still a little unpredictable weather-wise. This denim shirt from Madewell is the perfect light weight throw-on when a sweater is too much and a long sleeve t-shirt not quite enough. Throw it on over a sundress, roll up the sleeves and wear it with a pair of bright red or white shorts, or double-up on denim and rock it (references to Canadian tuxedos be damned) with your favorite slim fitting jeans. (Western Jean Shirt, in Dessert Willow Wash, $88. madewell.com.).

This vintage cotton t-shirt from J. Crew is as soft as it is flattering. The fit is perfect–just tight enough while still being incredibly comfortable and not at all clingy–we’ve ended up sleeping in ours a time or two… A great layering piece that you’ll want to order in several other colors. (Vintage cotton tee, in heather blueberry, $29.50, jcrew.com.).

We’ve started getting both our prescription and sunglasses from Warby Parker and are huge fans of everything this conscientious company does. We love that the price point is about one-third of what we used to spend at boutiques or department stores on frames and that for every pair of glasses they sell, they donate a pair to someone in need. (Rafferty sunglasses, in Revolver Black, $95, Robinson sunglasses, in Olivewood, $95, warbyparker.com.)

And, of course, a bag to get you (and your new finds) to your destination and back home again. We love the simple shape, the manageable size, and the classic color scheme of this weekend bag from Everlane. (The Weekender, in Grey, $95, everlane.com.)

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It’s no secret that here at Living we thrive on discovering unique and small businesses, and that we’re constantly combing the country to see what makers of all types (crafters, artists, farmers, chefs, restauranteurs…) are up to. Recently, I was given the opportunity to experience a little home away from home right here in New York City with a “Taste of Massachusetts.”

At The Culinary Loft, an events space in Soho, I quickly returned to my New England roots and felt right at home while sampling some of the state’s best seafood and local produce. If you ever head to the Bay State, don’t miss the following:

The first stop on my tasting adventure was The Red Lion Inn of Sturbridge, MA, where Chef Brian Alberg, who’s worked there as head chef  for nine years, served up delicious sweet corn and stinging nettle pancakes with roasted beets, Berle Farm cheese and smoked almonds. “What sets the Red Lion apart,” states Alberg, “is that while it has deep historical roots it also recognizes the importance of being current and relevant in both food and lodging.”

My next tasting stop was Island Creek Oyster Bar, which is located in Duxbury, Massachusetts. When you visit the actual location, you can take a tour of the oyster skiffs with a mollusk expert as a tour guide. Bonus–all visitors leave with fresh oysters. Although I have yet to take the tour, I’ve tasted the oysters, and this stop is definitely on my ‘to do list’ the next time I’m home visiting the family. It’s a must if you’re a seafood fanatic like I am!

After some oysters, the logical stop was to try a few wines from the Travessia Urban Winery, located in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where owner Marco Montez grows his own grapes. I sampled his Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Vidal Blanc, and Pinot Noir, all of which were delicious and paired perfectly with the food. Even if you’re not lucky enough to be heading to Massachusetts anytime soon, you can still order a few bottles (or a case!) of Travessia’s wine here.

Additional sites on the “Taste of Massachusetts” event- Tower Hill Botanical Gardens, Zoar Outdoor, Peabody Essex Museum, Barrington Stage Company, New England Brewery Tours, Bully Boy Distillers, Alden & Harlow

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Start off your weekend with this decadent cinnamon roll, perfect for two.

Shelter Co’s camping service offers luxury tents furnished with real beds, cozy Pendleton blankets, and lounge seating. Count us in!

The perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon: roaming through Orly Genger’s magical rope installation in Madison Square Park.

Give your basic plant pots a makeover with gold leaf and pink paint.

Zelda Fitzgerald-inspired ice cream to go along with our latest book club read.

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Last year, we had a blast at the annual Kutztown Folk Festival and can’t wait to go back this year (June 29 to July 7). We thought we’d pique your interest and share a few of our photos and a video as we ate, danced and shopped our way through this nine-day celebration of the Pennsylvania Dutch way of life. With demonstrations of traditional crafts and folk music, the largest quilt sale in the nation, regional cooking, hay mazes and d.i.y. mural paintings, this festival has something for everyone and is a sweet harkening back to a simpler, slower time.

Click on the video below for a few our favorite moments from last year’s festival.

Shot by Gabriel Rhodes. Video Editing by Judith George.

In addition to the amazing gallery of quilts, don’t forget to check out the other craft and folk art offerings.

Wear loose pants! The food is divine–you won’t want to miss the sarsaparilla and birch beer, handmade pretzels, fresh squeezed lemonade, grilled local sausages, kettle-fried potato chips, and homemade pie and strawberry shortcake!

If you’ve never had bread baked in a 19th century oven, you may want to grab a loaf or two.

It’s a great place to browse for antiques and shop for gifts (or a keepsake for yourself)–pick up a jar of local honey, a hand-stitched bonnet, or the quilt that will become the next family heirloom.

Carve out time to take in the music and clap along while watching traditional square dancing.

See you next year!

Photographs by Gabriela Herman

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Mary MacGill in her studio in San Francisco.

Mary MacGill, founder and creator of Mary MacGill Jewelry, has created an inspired line made from 14K gold-filled wire and semi-precious stones and pearls. MacGill’s ties to nature, specifically her coastal New England roots, are reflected in the colors (soft blues, greens and grays), lines, and textures (hand-hammered metal and highly polished stones) of her extraordinary pieces.

In order to get the unique texture, MacGill hammers all wire by hand, using a metal block for support.

MacGill on her inspirations: “I was first introduced to jewelry making through a dear family friend, the late Kazuko Oshima, a jeweler who sold her work at Barney’s. Kazuko really took me under her wing when I was very young (14!) and opened the world of gems to me. Like so many, I am in awe of nature and find so much of my work and tendencies are informed by it. I grew up on Block Island in the summers and the ocean, grasses, and open sky are very important to me (I gravitate towards oceanic color palettes 9 times out of 10). I also find so much inspiration in fine art–growing up the daughter of an art dealer and a photographer, I have been surrounded by artwork my entire life and always refer back to my roots for inspiration. Some of my favorites include Matisse (especially for his line quality), Irving Penn’s still lifes, and Calder’s jewelry.”

Bangles and "Kazuko" Cuff, made with gold-filled wire and gemstones. (from left to right): Bangles: Grey Pearl, Black Pearl, Green Beryl, and Aquamarine.The "Kazuko" Cuff: Baroque Pearls, Tourmalated Quartz, Moss Aquarmarine, Cloud Aquamarine, and Labradorite.

Earrings (from top to bottom) Lepidochrocite Hoops, Lemon Citrine Drop Earrings, Aquamarine "Kazuko" Earrings, Aquamarine Pebble Hoops, and Cloud Aquamarine Drop Earrings.

You can see more of Mary’s earrings in the American Gems Story in the March issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Paisley Gem Drop Earrings (from top to bottom)Carnerlian, Chrysoprase, Aquarmarine Pebble, Cloud Aquamarine, Lemon Citrine, Fire Opal, Prasiolite, Aquamarine Pebble, Chrysoprase, and Cloud Aquamarine.

14K gold-filled Bangles (from left to right) Lapis, Green Aventurine, Chrysoprase, Ruby, and Nevada Turquoise.

MacGill exhibits online and at trunk shows, click here to learn more about MacGill and to see more of her stunning work.

All Photos © Mary MacGill.

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From the publisher:

When beautiful, reckless Southern belle Zelda Sayre meets F. Scott Fitzgerald at a country club dance in 1918, she is seventeen years old and he is a young army lieutenant stationed in Alabama. Before long, the “ungettable” Zelda has fallen for him despite his unsuitability: Scott isn’t wealthy or prominent or even a Southerner, and keeps insisting, absurdly, that his writing will bring him both fortune and fame. Her father is deeply unimpressed. But after Scott sells his first novel,This Side of Paradise, to Scribner’s, Zelda optimistically boards a train north, to marry him in the vestry of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and take the rest as it comes.

Everything seems new and possible. Troubles, at first, seem to fade like morning mist. But not even Jay Gatsby’s parties go on forever. Who is Zelda, other than the wife of a famous—sometimes infamous—husband? How can she forge her own identity while fighting her demons and Scott’s, too?

Check back throughout May and June for updates and, as always, don’t forget to let us know if you’re reading along!

Paulie Dibner is the assistant managing editor of Martha Stewart Living. She has perfected her oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookie, but is on the hunt for a puff-pastry recipe to knock her socks off. Follow her on Instagram @matinauxsaules.

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Just as the grillerati claim there are no good BBQ spots in NYC, it’s even more incontrovertible to state there are no cheap Korean BBQ joints. By their nature, like steakhouses, Korean BBQ restaurants are expensive. They deal in premium cuts of cloven hoofed animals peddled to ravished customers, bleary eyed from shoju and beer, and when you’re dealing with predominantly raw meat a certain base line level of quality is not only expected but hygienically necessary.

Our destination as discovered by our researcher-in-chief (whose efforts extend no further than posting queries on Chowhound message boards) came about through a desire to find affordable Korean BBQ.  As I mentioned in the paragraph above, this is basically an impossible endeavor. Sure, there are great places throughout the city, but dinner at one of them is guaranteed to set you back at least $80 bucks (unless you fill up on 99 cent pizza slices before hand).

When Mr. Researcher-in-chief came back with BBQ Village as the only fruit of his endeavors, we were skeptical. Besides being located deep in the subway-less reaches of northern Queens, it is also an all you can eat buffet. ‘All you can eat buffet’ is a dubious proposal at best, offering a promise of abundance at the outset and the inevitable guarantee of a guilt ridden bellyache upon completion. Now couple that with DIY grills set up on each table, eight starved and besotted young men, and disaster is just waiting to strike.

All of my suspicions not only turned out to be unfounded, but patently contrary to the events that unfolded. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the lovely staff were used to customers like us (‘starved and besotted’) and calmly guided us through the meal like veteran triage nurses. The restaurant itself was spacious, comfy, and discreet–our conversations, often carried out at a decibel level more suited for a North Sea oil rig than a restaurant, did not receive any disapproving glances from the other patrons. And aside from the occasional placing of raw cuts of meat adjacent to cooked meat on our table top grills (which, to be fair, annoyed no one but me), the dinner proceeded without so much as a hitch.

It’s worth noting that the buffet table that dominates the center of the restaurant needs to be navigated with care. I imagine this advice goes for every all you can buffet, but it is critical to avoid certain selections on offer–head over to the specialties of the house and put all other dishes out of your mind.  For BBQ Village, that meant avoiding the various precooked meat, seafood, vegetables, and noodles and heading directly to the raw meat section where  thin slices of beef brisket and short rib, thick cut pork belly, marinated skirt steaks, and piles of head-on shrimp glistened under the fluorescent lights.

Still unsure of ourselves as we took our seats, over laden plates of protein in our hands, we glanced suspiciously at the conical-hat grills that lay dormant in front of us. As the hostess reached over our shoulders to light the grills, the empty spaces of the table filled up with large bottles of beer, dishes of kimchi, and plates of green lettuce leaves piled high. With a glance around the first one of us took the plunge and before we knew it the sizzling hiss of protein meeting a hot implement competed with the heady smell of grilling meat to dominate our dulled senses. And that’s why Korean BBQ is so darn cool: you cook your own food, you have some agency in the whole endeavor, instead of being a passenger in the normal run-of-the-mill restaurant experience you at least have the illusion of shaping the outcome of your meal.

As for the taste of the food itself? It was delicious. Nothing was needed except for the aforementioned meats, a little kimchi warmed up on the grill, some spicy red sauce, and those large leaves of impossibly green lettuce. A surprisingly healthy meal in retrospect and one that digested very well. If I was pressed for my favorite, it would have to be the marinated skirt steak and the thick cut pork belly. But in reality, the simple succulence of fresh-off-the-grill, highly seasoned meat swaddled in a blanket of crisp lettuce with a little dollop of sour, fermented kimchi is all that needs to be said; take the menus away, we’re cooking for ourselves this evening.

The best thing about all this?  The price after 10 pm reduces to a jaw dropping, cheek palming, $19.99/person.  To repeat: $19.99/person.

157-26 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY 11354 718 321-2770

Calder Quinn is a fearless gastronome exploring New York City one restaurant at a time—he’s also the eldest son of Lucinda Scala Quinn, Living’s executive editorial director of food. Here’s what he has to say about the origins of  Mensday Wednesday: “Being located in New York City gives us the opportunity to sample a wide array of food. After all, there are over 20,000 restaurants here, and in a huge city, built on the contributions of operating to meet everyone’s taste, as disparate as those tastes may be. There are no set requirements as to where we dine, but a sort of tacit set of rules have emerged: Price is important—the final bill should never cause us to wince; “international” cuisine is preferred; and in the event of a debate, BYOB is the trump card.”

Follow Mensday Wednesdays on Twitter @mensdae.

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The building, built in 1895, was once a seminary dormitory, and some of its original Gothic architecture is still intact (think gorgeous antique moldings and fireplace mantels). But don’t mistake the hotel for old-fashioned—there are many decidedly modern amenities, like paperless check-in on iPads and the very first East Coast location of beloved coffeehouse Intelligentsia. Perhaps the best part of the hotel is its location next to the elevated High Line park, perfect for people-watching or an evening stroll after sipping cocktails at the hotel’s café in the front courtyard.

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Most people who’ve tried keratin treatments love them. Then why all the bad press?

Keratin treatments—salon processes that use protein to smooth hair and reduce frizz for up to three months—have been under scrutiny ever since they hit the U.S. in 2007. Consumers love the results that include hair that doesn’t immediately puff out in hot or wet weather and reduced blow dry time. The concern, however, is that these formaldehyde-emitting, potentially carcinogenic solutions can expose salon workers to noxious fumes and health risks.

Government agencies, like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the FDA, had to step in. For the consumer, however, the risks were minimal, and these services still grace most salon menus but with many new safeguards in place (including better ventilation). Here all the facts:

What exactly are keratin treatments? To start, hair already contains keratin. It’s a protein naturally found in strands, but one that diminishes as we age. This semi-permanent treatment essentially deposits additional keratin onto strands to keep them smooth.

The process: First hair is washed with a clarifying shampoo to eliminate any styling product residue, then blow-dried. The keratin solution is applied to the hair and brushed through. It’ll sit on hair for a good 20 minutes to really saturate the strands, then hair is blow dried yet again followed by some intense straight-ironing. The process can take upwards of one to four hours. Depending on which treatment you try, you may leave the salon with instructions to not wash your hair for 24-72 hours or do anything else than could leave a crimp in it (i.e., No ponytails, hair clips, or pushing it behind your ear). Once you’re allowed to wash as normal again, you’ll want to avoid shampoos with sulfates, which are stripping. The less you shampoo, the longer you’ll experience the effects of this treatment.

The best candidates: Although it’s said to work for all hair types (including colored), if your hair is damaged or too thin to endure chemicals and a 450-degree flat iron, this isn’t the right modality for you.

The formaldehyde-free controversy: The recent brouhaha began with the words “formaldehyde-free.” You see most of these treatments don’t contain any added formaldehyde. But what they do have are chemicals like formalin or methylene glycol which, when heated, become a formaldehyde gas that bonds the conditioners to each strand, keeping strands smooth for months. Once these bonds dissolve and wash away, hair’s natural texture returns.

 The FDA says: “Skin sensitivity can develop after repeated contact with formaldehyde-related ingredients. When formaldehyde is released into the air it can cause serious irritation of your eyes, nose and lungs. It is recommended that you limit your exposure to products that contain formaldehyde-related ingredients to reduce these health risks.”

Report (negative) reactions to such services to your nearest FDA district office or report it online to the FDA’s MedWatch adverse event reporting system.

We tried: Keratin Complex

Cost: Smoothing Therapy Treatment starts at $300

The results: Although Keratin Complex offers an express version that only requires a 24-hour abstention from shampooing, I went whole hog with the traditional treatment which promises longer-lasting results—three months instead of one. The whole process took 2 hours and boy were my strands stick straight when I left the salon; like Cher, circa 1970, straight. I wasn’t allowed to shampoo for the next 72 hours, normally not a big deal but my uber-straight locks were looking pretty limp and lackluster as day two dragged into day three. Plus I couldn’t put it up in a pony as any crimp in the strands could sabotage the whole process. But persevere, I did and once it was all over and my hair was shiny and clean, I was delighted with how much time it shaved off my morning blow-dry, not to mention how smooth it looked. No matter the weather, I could brave the elements confidently.

We Tried: Brazilian Blowout

Cost: $250-$450 on average

The results: Brazilian Blowout changed the game with a keratin treatment that could be immediately washed out. Stylists trained in the treatment can customize results, which was ideal for my frizzy, curly hair. I love my curls, but hate what happens on humid days. When I sat down to give the Brazilian Blowout a try, I asked that I maintain as much shape as possible, but lose the frizz. BB promises pret-a-porter hair; the process took a bit longer, but I left with the ability to put my hair in a ponytail or behind my ears, with none of the restrictions that other treatments impose. My curls reappeared with my first at-home wash; less structured than before, but definitely there and frizz-free! My hour long routine in the mornings has been cut down to 20 minutes, and it’s supposed to last for 3 months. I would have liked to keep my tighter curls, but as they say, you can’t have your cake and eat (all of) it too!

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These amazing paper flowers created by Rebecca Thuss are everything we love about spring, sans the sneeze-inducing pollen.

Who wouldn’t want to vacation at this waterfront gem of a villa in Positano, Italy?

Grown-up lemon-basil Jello . . . yum!

Get organized with these pretty acrylic boxes that you can decorate to suit your style.

This children’s book author knows what Mother’s Day is all about.

Something sweet for someone sweet! Make this single serving apple pie for mom.

Kristen Flanagan is an Associate Editor at Martha Stewart Living. When she’s not spoiling her puppy Millie, she’s finding ways to decorate her tiny one-bedroom apartment. Follow her on Pinterest @kflan85.

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