Thursday, April 19, 2012

suburbia - week (magnificent) seven


hmm.... what is new to update you on...

nia is becoming quite the little lady. she insists on wearing accessories to breakfast each morning. yesterday was her polka dot hairband + jean jacket and tuesday morning she pulled out her pink jellies. 

in other news, my moms neighbor, mr.mulford came over to help stuart figure out a plumbing dilemma in the main bathroom. 10 minutes later, problem solved and they were walking towards the front door when i heard mr.m say "nipple". not just once, not twice, but six times. "brass nipple, blah blah blah, nipple, blah, blah, nipple, blah blah nipple, nipple, nipple" i had to trap myself in the kitchen for fear i would burst out laughing like a giant 12 year old. when i confronted stuart, as i was curious how he managed to keep a straight face, he called me "totally immature". really? 

house shopping update: i currently have a shopping cart chock full of fun furniture, bedding and/or accessories on the following websites: CB2, west elm, restoration hardware, roost, medina, nova68, williams sonoma, wind + willow and (obvi) etsy. 

bank account update: we do not have enough money for everything in said shopping carts. c'est la vie

i'm clearly having withdrawal symptoms. monday nia + i met up with a girlfriend and her two kids to walk over the hudson on the newly restored railroad bridge which is now pedestrian-ized. it's beautiful up there. you can see far up + down the hudson, watch boats pass, the kids love watching the trains. there are a bunch of benches in the middle and strategically placed ice cream trucks at either end. however, i referred to it as the high line 5 times or more and i caught myself on the hunt for one of the sweet chaise lounge benches in front of the waterfall floor that sadly don't exist on the hudson walkway. 

i was also on the verge on tears knowing the brooklyn flea is back outdoors as of a weekend or two ago and i haven't been there yet. i'm totally craving mcclure's pickles. 

to offset my 5 borough withdrawal symptoms however, you may be envious to know that i went estate sale + garage sale shopping this past weekend. it was wonderful. there are not many things that can make me as happy as an arm full of old books and records or a killer sweater or skirt and oddles of costume jewelry from a good, ol' fashioned garage sale. 'tis the season. 

and how do you find a hair dresser here? there are no reviews to check. no livingsocial deals. and i'm surrounded by the typical upstate soccer mom types who all have the choppy 90's style/not-quite-a-bob/not-quite-a-pixie cut with bad roots, so can't really ask who they recommend because i am certainly not sporting that look over my current  odd gray hair peeking out and getting split ends. do i really pay $30 in gas and another $40+ for parking to drive almost 2 hours to go to my fabulous but overpriced LES stylist? 


with love, upstate sunshine and rocking my newly acquired $1 jacket, 
L

p.s. because i can't resist...



Thursday, April 12, 2012

suburbia - installment 4 (actually week 6)


clearly i fell a little behind on our weekly updates. oops!

honestly, with nia running, jumping, climbing, falling, spilling, throwing, crying, screaming, coloring, drinking (milk + water, obvi!) bathing, rocking, digging, ripping, rolling, typing, and worming we have zero alone time. these update emails are just about the only emails we get a chance to write. 

today is our 6 year wedding anniversary. stuart is working today + i'm catching up on mass amounts of laundry. romance, certainly not. i did manage a sweet lunch of grilled cheese, string beans and strawberry + soy milk smoothies with nia and a leisurely 4 minute babble infused telephone conversation with stuart.  however, we got dressed up and went out last night to terrapin in rhinebeck (where we got married) to celebrate. i fell asleep on the car ride home at 10:30pm. i guess growing old together is happening NOW.

easter was fun + family filled. http://beevans.tumblr.com/  we did egg coloring good friday + sunday dinner at my aunts house, with the other 28 members of our family. this week i'm weeding out the leftover easter candy stockpiles by squishing the reese's eggs and deeming them "too messy to eat" and sending the rest off with stuart to work. 

my excitement levels for a house of our own has reached a new peak, and is obviously evident to everyone around me; the easter bunny left us 'this old house' and 'kitchen makeovers' magazines in our easter baskets. my "ideas + inspiration"  folder is so jam-packed that i had to create sub folders of 'cabinets', 'floors' and 'wall ideas'. and i'm afraid to sign into one kings lane for fear that i will max out our credit card. 

as mentioned in a previous update, the po'town galleria just got a new funky fresh sephora store. pretty nice having a nyc go-to make up store nearby. i left with two new make up brushes; one for blush and one for powder foundation. i decided to finally go beyond my staple liquid stick blush and whether it due to stress, country air or the fact that i kiss my baby a thousand times a day, my skin isn't as flawless as it used to be. bummer. 

love + terrific weather,
L

oatmeal

having never really been too into oatmeal (with the exception of senior year of college when i basically survived on instant oatmeal + microwave popcorn) i was pleasantly surprised when my mom created this slow-cooked oatmeal that i ate a giant bowl full of. nia devoured it within minutes. it was a warm, cinnamony breakfast treat. yum.

my mom got the recipe from my aunt, who said it was 'company' oatmeal recipe. i've obvi tried to find it to give the 'compamy' proper credit, but no such luck.

2 2/3 c. old fashioned oats
4c. milk (i prefer whole)
1/2 c. raisins
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 TBSP butter, melted
1 TBSP cinnamon (i also tend to add a bit on the top too)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 apples, finely chopped
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (the recipe calls for them, but i have yet to try it with them)

heat oven to 350 degrees. mix ingredients in casserole + bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. serve hot with extra milk.


and with a little extra milk, it is pretty darn tasty the next morning after 45 seconds in the microwave. 

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

ombre nails

currently obsessed with ombre nails i decided to finally test it out

pointer & thumb


middle


ring



pinky



channeling



 



april showers

one of my best girlfriends is getting married. us bridesmaids just threw her a bridal shower last weekend. and i must say, it was practically flawless. and because valerie is one of my best friends i decided to use some of my favorite "party ideas" for her shower.

i wanted to dessert table look to be inviting, beautiful + delicious. for the overall table look this was my inspiration...


and this was the result...


in hindsight we could have used more bud vases of roses. 


for the cake i fell in love with this image ages ago and was determined to use all aspects of it as possible...


here's the bunting (my current obsession)...


and the ombre...


and this one for the trim...


pretty good, no?

and then i spotted this in a martha post a few months back and just loved it. so i switched up the colors for valerie's purple wedding color. it was such a beautiful way to decorate, bring in tons of fun + pops of color and was super fun + super easy. 



*obvi it would have been nice to have the city backdrop and party on a lush rooftop.

(images courtesy of martha stewart weddings)