Tuesday, August 31, 2010

25 Days!

The fun has already begun! I'm ready (and now fully equipped) to get this party started.









Wow, I'm blown away by how generous people are!  We love all of our beautiful wedding gifts.  Thanks friends and family for your generosity and support. See you soon!  xoxo

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Monday, August 30, 2010

little brown pen






































By blog or by shop, I'm loving Nichole's views at little brown pen.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Have a fluttery weekend

Most of the time, one would have to go outside to see pretty things like this, a big yellow butterfly on a colorful thistle.  So I recommend you do exactly that, go outside.  Enjoy a butterfly's fluttering wings.  See a purple flower. Enjoy your weekend.

xoxo

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29 Days





While the ending of Annie Hall doesn't look quite look like a classic love story, I seem to remember it that way, anyway. 

In May 2007, Ryan and I saw Annie Hall together.  We'd been dating for less than a year, we were infatuated with each other, and we hadn't been apart for even a few days.

So now when I think of Annie Hall, I think of it as "our movie".  It feels like a love story in the end, after all.

{Prints from Mike Oncley via A CUP OF JO}

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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Over the Weekend Recipe: 24 hour pickles

I've never pickled or canned anything before, so when I read in RealSimple that you can make pickles without a pressure cooker, pectin or special jars, I got so excited!  

I can't tell you how much I love pickles.  Crunchy, zesty, dill pickles, to be exact.

{Photo by Christopher Baker}

This recipe is fast, easy and really works! If you're a pickle lover but don't have experience canning, give this recipe a try.

24 Hour Pickles
(adapted from RealSimple)

4 Kirby cucumbers, quartered lengthwise
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 small sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Walla Walla), thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon dill seed
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
Sea salt

Directions:

Place the quartered cucumbers in a 1-quart jar (a used pasta sauce jar worked great for me).

In a bowl, combine the vinegar, onion, garlic, sugar, dill seed, peppercorns, bay leaf, 2 teaspoons salt, and ¾ cup hot tap water. Whisk well until the sugar dissolves.

Pour the vinegar mixture into the jar with the cucumbers, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 day before serving. The pickles should last up to 1 week and taste best on day two or three. Enjoy!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Best coffee in Baltimore

This post is long over-due, so I'm going to just get it out there: Spro Coffee is the best coffee in Baltimore. 

Two months ago I would have said it's the only coffee worth drinking in Baltimore, but luckily Woodberry Kitchen proved me wrong with a beautiful cappuccino served alongside my eggs benedict, but that's another story.

For anyone googling that simple phrase like I did eight short months ago, may this post find them well, cut their sampling of scalding bubbly latte's short, and lead them to the finest espresso available in Charm City: Spro.

Clementimes' picks: Haupia cappuccino or honey macchiato.


These friendly barista's carefully and masterfully prepare each cup.  It's worth the wait. Trust me.

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33 Days!


One faith is bondage. Two
are free. In the trust
of old love, cultivation shows
a dark graceful wilderness
at its heart.  Wild
in that wilderness, we roam
the distances of our faith,
safe beyond the bounds
of what we know. O love,
open.  Show me
my country.  Take me home.

{"A Homecoming", Wendell Berry}

Friday, August 20, 2010

Fairmount, Philadelphia

Yesterday I spent the morning wandering through Fairmount, the neighborhood that faces the Philadelphia Museum of Art. 

The sun was shone brightly as the local mailman made his deliveries.  The only noise on the narrow streets was from birds chirping and a pack of pre-teen runners stammering by.  For a moment I felt like I was stealing something by snapping these photos. But seeing them a day later, it didn't feel like much of a crime anymore.

How Genetics Work


Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Bike Escort

This bike escort card idea is fantastic.  And, the bike in the photo happens to be a cousin to my dear bike Shelley, who also comes from the Schwinn Breeze clan. 

Look are her shine.


 
{Photo by Abigail Seymour via Grey Likes Weddings}

Monday, August 16, 2010

This is the best place.






La Push, Washington.

{Photos by Jennilee Marigomen via poppytalk}


Over the Weekend Recipe: Potato Corn Chowder

There's nothing like a rainy day where you can light a sweet smelling candle, curl up with a book, have something warm to eat and let coziness emanate throughout the room. 

With so many sweltering hot days in the Mid-Atlantic lately, a cool, wet day this last Sunday was an unexpected treat.  I had three ears of corn, an onion and a handful of potatoes left over from a produce box from Delaware. What better than to put them to use by making a thick, summer vegetable soup?

Potato Corn Chowder
(adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)

Ingredients:
3 ears of corn
4 medium red potatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 cups milk
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 flour
Pepper (or even cayenne) to taste

Start by cutting the corn off the cob and setting the kernels aside.  Put 4 cups of water in a large pot on med-high and toss in the cobs, season with salt and pepper.  Bring to boil, then let simmer for 30 minutes.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and once melted, add the chopped onions and sugar.  Cook until soft on medium-high heat, about two minutes.  Add the flour slowly and whisk together.  Cook for 5 minutes, whisking and stirring constantly. 

Remove corn cobs from the corn stock-water, then add the onion and flour mixture.  Next, add the milk, cream, corn and potatoes and stir well.  Raise heat to medium-high, bring to boil, then reduce heat and let simmer while covered on for 30 minutes.  Add a dash of cayenne, then salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

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Sunday, August 15, 2010

Sunday in LA


Here are a few fantasy outfits for a Sunday (evening) in LA

Aren't the sets of Chanel purfumes, studs and sunglasses great?

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Which dress would you choose?


Friday, August 13, 2010

Have a love filled weekend!

And stay tuned for a brand new Sunday Story Board on...Sunday!

Bohemian Chic (or Martha Washington?)

Cupcakes and Cashmere is a fun lifestyle and fashion blog I've been reading lately.  Emily has a few fun beauty how-to's on her site, so this week I've been practicing her over the head braid

What do you think of it? 

When I did it, it looked suspiciously Amish, sort-of Martha Washington-esque. 


If your hair is long enough, try it out and let me know how it worked for you.

xoxo

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Water Wedding

You know how I feel about "the jump" in wedding photos.  

This jump, on the other hand, is something I could get into!




{Photos by Michelle King via 100 Layer Cake}

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

No Country for Young Women

Have you heard of this site, No Country for Young Women?  I found it through a new blog I've been reading called LittleBrownPen.  Nichole of LittleBrownPen captures beautiful, I mean beautiful photos of Paris and New York, where she splits her time.  (The poor girl...) She writes about simple, down to earth topics and experiences. 

NCFYW recently interviewed LittleBrownPen's author asking questions about her professional journey as a writer and what it's like being a "modern woman".  I found it encouraging and hopeful, showing that there is no direct path toward any particular career, that the journey and process builds from one step to the next.  That every step along way matters, not to lose heart if you don't have everything all at once. 

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Lately I've been inspired by blogs written by and for women like Nichole's.  Many of the women I'm reading about range from young and single, to mothers and wives.  Some focus on fashion, others on weddings, babies, art, home design, cooking or gardening.  They're educated, working at-home or in an office, observing, exploring, writing and sharing. 

From the blogosphere, I see that many women are finding a niche in blogging, crafting, designing, growing gardens, making their own food, taking photographs and reconnecting with what matters.  It feels like a holistic coming-together of art, beauty and meaningful work.  The blog itself provides the platform to share these details and experiences and provides a thread to a community of like-minded people.  I love that there is a sense of community, that one blog leads to another, that many of these women know each other and are connected because of their writing and sharing online. 

While fashion and design can be a place of greed and envy, it's wonderful to see art, detail, and fair labor embodied in people's work these days.  That's part of why I love Etsy.  People have found something they love to do and are making a living because of it.  Simple, but important.

When I was a kid, I remember getting a "character award" in elementary school for observant.  While patience or kindness is slightly more admirable in my opinion, I'm proud of that award. 

I'm enjoying being an observer and paying attention to what's happening in this world. 

Cheers to women, blogs and details.

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