:: let them decorate cake ::

this weekend, i found myself out of the apt quite a bit. LOVE that. especially when eric is so busy with work, it's nice to keep myself busy with some extracurriculars.

it's become quite the habit for my friend lauren and i to find our way to brunch once a weekend. healthy? no. fun and delish? absolutely. this weekend we TRIED to go to Hearty Boys, but it's closed on saturdays {booooooo}, so we headed up to m.henry in andersonville {pretty far north}. we got one sweet and one savory dish and shared them - this is the perfect set-up because i cannot pass-up a sweet offering. i know you're all shocked. plus, they had the best and biggest lattes i've had in a while. andersonville is dotted with ethnic restaurants/bakeries and lots of antique shops. so, we took advantage of our brunch locale and dropped in and out of a few. got pastries at a "panderia" {mexican bakery}, bought a small table and two mirrors at a cute antique shop and was tempted to buy a king cake at a swedish bakery:)

sunday i had a cake decorating class with some friends. oh my, so FUN. we learned all the techniques for piping, frosting and writing. it was just a dream - my fave type of thing:) at the end of class we got to decorate our own cakes and, of course, i couldn't help but use ALL the techniques and colors available:)

my vanilla latte. it was like a bowl of soup.


lauren with our TWO plates of fab food.


the cute yellow table with a cutting board top... here's the extra counter space we need:)


jennie, robyn & i {erin had to leave early} at the cake decorating class.


piping city. i'm the mayor.


other antique store inspiration... it took everything in me not to buy all of this!

:: betty crocker ::

i've got a LOT to learn about being a mom. cooking, baking and household duties take up SO much time. booooor-ing. but, i've started to make a better effort around the house and it's starting to get a bit easier/more enjoyable.

for valentine's day/our six-month wedding anniversary, i made a LOVEly feast for my man {and, selfishly, for myself}. here are the homemade highlights {recipes available for anyone interested}:
* spicy pulled pork
* spicy slaw
* mac 'n cheese
* sugar cookies
* pretzel valentine treats
* chicken noodle soup {this was more for my lunches during the week, but they were rolled into my day 'o cooking}.

eric was blown away by the outcome {i was too} and we're still enjoying the fruits of my labor.

pioneer woman's mac 'n cheese {i added bacon and cayenne pepper}.


cute little valentine treats for work. they are DANGEROUS because you can just pop them one-by-one... but so easy. hugs on pretzel snaps {bake in oven until they look glossy... it's QUICK}, press down on the hug with m&m's {i used peanut butter m&m's}.


this shows the pulled pork and cookies. the spicy pulled pork is pioneer woman's dr. pepper/adobo pulled pork. the cookies were ah-mazing and here's the recipe i used {didn't use the frosting recipe, i like buttercream on sugar cookies}.
http://www.makoodle.com/the-best-soft-sugar-cookie-recipe-ever/

:: KC trip - lizzy's engaged! sally's a mom! ::

much like i miss my fam, i miss my ladies. with so many fun friends in and around kansas city and SO much fabulous news to celebrate - i made a quick jaunt to the land 'o bbq to visit. lizzy recently got engaged to chris and sally just had baby annabelle - what better reasons could i ask for??

first, i'm SO bummed i failed to snap a photo of my rental car. it was the most peculiar thing i've ever seen {or driven}. picture this... ford focus.hatchback.fiery orange. BAM. watch out, kc. not only have i not driven often in four years, now i'm not doing my self any favors by "blending in."

friday night {once i picked out the FFF = fiery ford focus} i met lizzy, omang, meghan, leah, lindsey and sal at Extra Virgin for apps and drinks. it was just amazing to spend some time catching up. after dinner we headed out on the town - a drop by the levee and onto close down o'dowds {we are ooohhh-ld}.

saturday i brunched with lizzy, omang, bree & scott at urban table. it was delish!! seriously there are so many cool places in kc. can't wait to head back to try more. after brunch, i headed to sal's to meet annabelle {SO CUTE!!}. i cannot believe one of my best friends has a little newborn... she's just a little miracle. we spent the day shopping and the night watching the ku/mu basketball game with some chinese takeout. just awesome. it's always bittersweet to have to say adios to my dear friends, but i'm so lucky to have such great buds up in chi, too.

dinner at extra virgin.



here's a pic of the ladies at o'dowds.


i mean... how often are you able to laugh like this?!


andy and annabelle. how precious?! i think i kept waking him up because i was being paparazzi. oops!

:: kochs come to chi ::

january is typically a pretty grim month in the life of me... eric works crazy hours, weather is crummy and the holidays have passed. booo.

this year, january was full of fun because my parents came up for a nice, long weekend! we got to shop, eat, relax and spend time together. SO nice since we weren't able to go to my parents' for the holidays.

here are a few quick pics from their trip. we hit-up all the places my mom loves {michigan avenue, state street, southport} my dad's faves {billy goat tavern, chicago-style pizza, berghoff's}. plus, i introduced them to homegoods. their lives are forever changed!

it was just so amazing having them here... wish they lived in our extra bedroom... clean house, great home-cooked food and the best company:)

:: adios 2011, hola 2012 ::

no, we didn't go to a latin american country for the holidays... but since it's 19 degrees here, i thought a sunny state of mind would be helpful to recap our lovely break.

we headed down to springfield for christmas. this was my first holiday away from my family, but my in-laws really made me feel at home! we shopped lots, ate lots and caught up on some movie watching. four days flies by, so it felt like we were turning around to drive back in no time.

while i had to work a few days the week between christmas and new year's, eric & i spent some qt together. went to dinner one night, took a cooking class another night:) then, had a fun NYE with friends!

2011 was such a fabulous year, but i have a feeling 2012 will be even better. can.not.wait.

cooking class {we made beef tenderloin, broccoli/cauliflower gratin, compound butter, sausage-stuffed mushrooms and pumpkin donuts!}


my friend kelly & i on NYE. she and her bf hosted some people to celebrate.

:: whirlwind weekend in KC ::

i LOVE visiting KC. end of september eric & i traveled back for a jam-packed weekend. we got to see lots of friends and celebrate a few special people.

saturday morning sally & i drove into lawrence to meet leah/lindsey and their fellas/babies to cheer on the wildcats. of course we won, and it was great to spend some quality time with my buds. saturday night eric & i went to tracy & brendan's wedding downtown. it was beautiful and the band was lots of fun... you know it takes a lot for me to occupy the dancefloor:)

sunday i helped host a baby shower for sal! it was out at her sister kimmie's and was so much fun to eat yummy food, catch up with lots of friends and celebrate sally and baby annabelle. plus, there is so much FUN stuff for little girls... loved seeing her open her gifts.

we are so blessed to have such great friends. xxo.

tailgating


reception


mama to-be


lindsey & i with mama sal

:: you make my dreams come true ::

people i work with LOVE dressing up... for no reason. so you can only imagine the pressure that comes with halloween. we have a party/costume contest each year and my friend dave & i went with an oldie, but goodie... daryl hall & john oates.

unfortunately, we didn't with for "best team" costume, but we were a huge hit at the bars afterward. only 5 people thought i was pat summit, tennessee women's bball coach:) ha!





here are some of my co-workers {toddlers in tiaras, cottonelle roll cover, chest ball team}

:: gobble, gobble ::

turkey day couldn't have been more fabulous this year! first official holiday as a married couple. oh, how blissful:) eric & i were home for a FULL week with my fam. though the 9 hour drive to get there isn't desirable... we jammed to some music, read a load 'o magazines and caught-up with some friends. thank goodness we had good weather and didn't hit much traffic out/into chicago.

being home is always so fun! this time it was even more so because we got to meet our new nephew george... he's adorable and HUGE:) he loves eating so much. we have a lot in common! we also got to attend his baptism, which was so special. glad we could be there for my sis and justin. the house was full of family - beyond just the main fam, my aunt cristy was in from montana and both grandmas were over.

we went to walmart about a billion times, ate lots on turkey day {i even took a stab at making/baking my first pies from scratch} and saw nebraska play iowa. here are a few pics from the week.

the ladies after turkey day dinner {aunt cristy, mom, grandma sherrill, me, grandma joal... matching tops in gold/silver!}


apple pie with a pecan crumble topping {recipe from a blog} and pumpkin pie with a granola crust {recipe from real simple}


the fam after george's baptism

:: cupcakes, cocktails and clam bake ::

we've been spending so much time organizing our tiny, humble abode since we've been home that it has been great to get out on the weekends and hang with friends.

last weekend, crawford {ashley stockmann} came in-town for a visit with her hubby and another couple. this was the perfect excuse to spend a sunday down on michigan ave:) we went to brunch, braved the rain, had our first trip to chicago's newly-opened "topshop" and stopped by sprinkles cupcakes for a little afternoon fuel. so fun having friends visit. hint, hint:)




friday after a long week's work, my friend lauren and i met for mani/pedis and dinner. i fell in love with the orangey-red goodness of essie's "clambake" - matching on my fingers and toesies. nice pop of color to kick-off fall. after pampering ourselves, we headed to a newly opened restaurant called "Morso" + sat in the upstairs lounge. their menu is sharable small plates - american fare with a twist. DELISH! we indulged in pork belly nuggets with a brie fondue, amazing scallops and mac 'n cheese-like spatzele. while the food was incredible, the drinks were ah-mazing - we had one too many "monkshood" cocktails {bourbon, walnut, apple and molasses}. they were SO fall.

:: a martha moment ::

after taking the trash out a few weeks ago, i saw a dresser sitting in the alley by the trashcans. it was bubblegum pink, missing 2 of 3 drawers and did i mention it was sitting in the alley? most {normal} people would have kept walking back to their apartment, but i thought the shape was adorable. so, naturally i dragged the dresser back to our apartment. yes, the neighbors thought i was crazy.

from there, i channeled my inner martha and headed to home depot. below is the list of supplies i gathered {with costs} and pictures that show progress.

i am SO proud of myself and now we have somewhere to store our beautiful serving pieces.

MY TOOLS
* dresser :: free
* paint stripper :: 9.26
* paint knife {to scrape with} :: 7.97
* masks :: 1.97
* sand paper {one pack of fine grain paper, two sponges covered with sand paper} :: 10
* brush to paint on stripper :: 2.97
* angled paint brush :: 1.97
* small paint roller and tray :: 6.97
* white paint + primer in one {one quart} :: 15.77
* three pieces of wood cut to fit in the drawer slots :: 22.26
TOTAL :: 79.14

here's the dresser after I pulled it inside, wiped it down and sprayed Lysol all over it.





we moved the dresser to our front porch {this was my workspace and also the place where walkers-by stared at me with confusion while i worked}. step one, i applied the paint stripper and patiently waited. once it bubbled up, i used the scraper to reveal the fact that there were three layers of paint under the bubblegum pink. ugh. here you will see the pic of the stripped and, for the most part, sanded dresser.



the following saturday, it was time to get my paint on. once again, dragging the dresser outside. i started by painting the wood planks {yes, the ones that were cut down to size at the depot}. then, painted the rest of the piece. two coats all around.




i still want to wallpaper the side panels, but it's ready to use for now. i've placed all our lovely serving platters on the shelves. voila!

:: honeymoon highlights ::

oh, what a glorious trip! we spent two full weeks in europa for our honeymoon and just had the BEST time. honestly, i could live there... aside from being far from all our loved ones, the culture, fashion, landscape, wine, food, wine, sites, wine and history would keep us busy.

here's the run down... i'll keep it short because the details could go on and on.
#1 :: florence, italy {quaint, cobblestone streets, amazing views, lots of piazzas, adorable eateries, great wine, genuinely nice people, lots and lots of art as it was the home of the renaissance}
#2 :: rome, italy {holy stuff to see... coliseum, pantheon, vatican, st. peter's basilica, roman forum, trevi fountain, spanish steps. on top of this, there was amazing pizza, gelato, vino, pasta}
#3 :: pompeii, italy {we stopped through pompeii to visit the ancient ruins on our way to sorrento - it was dusty, but amazing. so crazy to see things and even people who have been preserved by lava and ash. of course, i had my fill after 3.5 hours... eric could have stayed all day}.
#4 :: sorrento, italy {what a lovely beach town nestled on cliffs high above the sea. we took this opportunity to just relax and enjoy ourselves - staying at a hotel outside of town, nestled within olive and lemon groves it was the perfect hideaway with a private beach. we headed into town each night for dinner and spent lazy days at the beach. amazing, amazing time. cannot wait to revisit the amalfi coast and spend time in the other seaside villages}
#5 :: dubrovnik, croatia {the perfect mix of beauty and culture - this was a great stop on our trip. we loved the beaches, the old town, city walls, the food, the stradun and everything else dubrovnik had to offer}
#6 :: paris, france {final stop and maybe our favorite - we loved the little side streets, cafes, beautiful architecture, amazing sites and the fashion, of course, was to die for. we will definitely be heading back to paris... next time for a much longer period of time}

a few pics from our getaway...


{lemons in sorrento - literally some as big as my head!}


{coliseum}


{florence - you can see the duomo in the backdrop}


{amazing caprese salad in florence}


{view from our terrace in sorrento}


{the most amazing felafel, paris}


{our ice cream cones with the stradun in the backdrop}


{trevi fountain, last day in rome}


{adorable dinner at the library, rome}


{eiffel tower, paris}