Our first night out in the Hamptons, we met up with our friend Casey at Silas Marder Gallery for the opening of The History of What.

The gallery is located in Bridgehampton on the grounds of a beautiful 18 acre family-owned landscaping and garden business called Marder’s. One of the Marder’s sons Silas, opened his eponymous gallery in 2006 after claiming a former equipment storage barn on the property and converting it into a gallery. I love the way he kept the original barn details, and added interesting fixtures like the overhead lights that he grabbed years ago from a farm in Wisconsin.

The show was eclectic and showed several artists, my favorite being these large scale colorful “found paper” collages by artist John Morse depicting Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, and Theodore Roosevelt.

If you get up close you can see hundreds of pieces of multi-colored torn paper built to render the famous face. It made me want to create my own version.

The upstairs loft of the barn is particularly interesting with its original bare wood beams and view out over the first floor and grounds.

The scultured lawn in front of the gallery is where everyone tends to gather during an opening and is now decorated with furniture designed by Silas.

Throughout the summer, the gallery has an outdoor film series, Films on the Haywall, screening cinema classics. For the schedule, click here. If you’re out in the East end, be sure to check it out the gallery – it’s a must see.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Images via Silas Marder gallery and Luster

♡ Are you following LUSTER on Facebook & Twitter yet? ♡

Share With is one of my favorite shops to stop into when I am in Montauk. It’s a beautifully curated shop owned by former Calypso designer Joelle Klein, with carefully selected clothing, jewelry, artwork, sandals, and skin care that is beachy, eco minded, and always reminds me of the Brittany coast with their collection of Le Minor sailor tees.

Lucky for me there was a trunk show happening on the day I walked in featuring two great companies: Two NY and Tata Harper.

I always love a good caftan, so it was fun to discover Two NY founded by friends Monica & Piola who wanted to combine their talents to create a line of beautiful and functional clothing for mother & child. Using colorful cotton saree fabrics sourced from India and hand made in Brooklyn, their gorgeous line of caftans, tunics, dresses for women is the perfect frock to quickly throw on as a busy mom who still wants to look chic. The color combinations and details in the fabric were dazzling, and I could see how it would be easy to get used to this no-fuss way of dressing for mothers and non-mothers alike.

I am always on the lookout for the latest in natural and non-toxic products, especially when it comes to beauty and skin care. Tata Harper’s all natural skin care line has been on my radar since last fall, and have been wanting to try it, but have been holding back after having a bad experience with one particular natural skin care lines that created breakouts. Tata’s line took 5 years to develop and is made on her farm in Vermont.

Keri from Tata Harper was offering facials during the trunk show, so I jumped at the chance to finally try the line. Well, all I can say is that it blew me away, and I finally got what the hype is all about. Throughout the 8 step process, my skin felt so clean, hydrated, and nourished. Your skin just soaks in the product, and is left dewy and glowing, and you don’t need to apply a lot to see the difference. It’s really impressive that she also manages to keep her all-star anti-aging product, the Rejuvenating Serum, completely natural. I bought the deluxe beauty set to continue trying it before committing to any of the full size bottles, but I have a feeling I am going to want to invest in them permanently! Fig+Sage did a good interview with Tata and reviewed each product in the line if you want to read more here.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Images via Two NY and Beauty Blogging Junkie

It’s been a bit quiet over here at Luster while I’ve been away on vacation. It was long overdue that I really unplug, and step away from the computer…get back to the simple things in life. We had the best time off during our annual trip to Long Island.

A few years ago, after many late nights searching, I found the perfect cottage in Montauk, and we’ve been returning every year at the end of June just before things kick into high gear out there. This year we lucked out and got a larger cottage with a sprawling deck and lots of windows. I loved waking up early to a sun filled room.

Fort Pond Bay is known for its sunsets, so the evenings were gorgeous, too.

Our situation really improved this year when I got a bicycle as an anniversary present from my husband who had his eyes peeled thanks to Jessica at Destined to Design. We have always talked about riding bikes out there but never wanted to bother renting, and having our own meant we could explore new beaches without being restricted by town permit parking stickers.

After days of watching boats along the waterfront, we got the idea to take a sailboat ride. With a little googling, we found Capt. David Ryan from Sailing Montauk who has a 38′ Catalina and does Sunset Sails.

We loved that he only takes 5 people at a time which makes it super private and so relaxing. Our favorite spot was right up front.

The food is another one of our favorite parts of being out there, and the biking really helped off-set all the indulging!

The Hamptons is known for their incredible farm stands that are scattered throughout the area. Newcomer The Juicy Naam has a sweet little juice shack in East Hampton with fruits and veggies for sale.

Even though there are so many high-end establishments, there are still some really great spots to find cheap eats. La Fondita is perfect for simple, take-out Mexican. They have picnic style benches if you want to eat there, or better yet, grab your tacos and head to the beach.

We try to eat as much fresh seafood as possible while we’re there, and two of my favorite picks on the high / low end is the amazing Cioppino dish at Dave’s Grill, and a lobster roll from Lunch.

We were able to extend our week a little and stay with our friends Casey & Tim in East Hampton for a couple of nights. {Thanks guys!} We hope to get back out before the summer ends!

If you make it out to the East End, here are a few more of my favorite spots:

Shopping & Browsing

Share With…{Montauk}

Cynthia Rowley {Montauk}

Steven Alan {East Hampton}

Matta NY {Sag Harbor}

Clic Gallery & Book store {East Hampton}

Silas Marder Gallery {Bridgehampton}

Glen Horowitz {East Hampton}

Harper’s Books {East Hampton}

Maison 24 {Bridgehampton}

Jildor shoes {Southampton}

Eating / Drinks :

Dave’s Grill {Montauk}

Navy Beach drinks/dinner right on a sandy beach {Montauk}

Surf Lodge for drinks {Montauk}

West Lake Chowder House (you’d never know it just by looking, but their sushi is amazing) {Montauk}

Naturally Good {Montauk}

Organic Avenue {Southampton}

Goldberg’s (try the Flagel!) {East Hampton}

Lunch {Amagansett}

La Fondita {Amagansett}

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Just received this newsletter update from Tracy Anderson about a stunning new health-minded store in Sag Harbor called Wellnest. Located in a former ship captain’s house, the building has been redone, keeping all its weathered charm to become a community health resource. They are also stocking juices from Organic Avenue, which in my opinion makes the best fresh juices. Cannot wait to see this in person next time i visit the Hamptons.