esther

we have a niece!  

esther sol dean-moger

she's a doll.  i am smitten.

{and is it bad that i'm already excited to dress her up in little numbers like this or this or c'mon seriously?? i know that i'll be happy with whoever joins our little family eventually, but i tell you what: i will be happiest when i get to dress them up!}

...mmm coffee...

it's no secret: i love coffee.

i especially love espresso- so much so that a few years back, we bought our very own espresso maker, and of course a few of those cute little cups.

it's a gem.  you have to treat her right, but if you do, she pays you back bigtime.

the best cup i've had lately was the one waiting for me downstairs this morning.

ahhh must be love.

cooking

my dream job looks something like julia child and pico iyer's love child-creation.  food and travel.  that's me.  we've traveled a lot this year {killer honeymoon in croatia....how have i not posted on that yet?}, but we've cooked even more...

here we have steak salad...my husband is not just a griller, people. he is a master.  look at that steak!

 

 

 and these are some dynamite peanut-butter cookies, if i do say so myself.  wonder how i get them so round??  this handy-dandy little tool will show you the way {also works to make fun ice cream sundaes}

happy eating, people.

home decor...

our home. we love you. having a home is both exciting and daunting. exciting because you get to try out fun colors on your wall: exhibit A to the left- 'bird of paradise'...daunting because that would've taken a LOT of primer to cover up if our gamble didn't turn out. {luckily we love the orange...and happily it doesn't make the room too dark at all}

the frame on the wall: one of my prized yard-sale finds. $10. not kidding.  it's a strange size, so getting anything to fit the frame was fiscally out of the question, but i did find this fabulous tapestry in a dressing room, fell in love, and talked the owner into letting me buy it. $20. yes.  i didn't want to cut the fabric, so i folder it about a million times then nailed it into the back of the frame with tiny nails- what do you think??  {i know the right side is a bit tight, but hey- it's my first try}.

oh! and take a peek at the blanket on the chair...my gramma made that for me & jordan for our wedding- is she talented or what?

we're actually big fans of tapestries in our house- i'm still on the hunt for the perfect bed frames for both our bed as well as the guestroom, so in the meantime, we hung some tapestries as 'headboards' and it kinda works to fill the space!


here are a few more of our {my...my husband is many things, but decorator he is not} attempts to make our house our home...

 {above is an original drawing by maxwell mays, a close friend of my grandmother- she gave this to me, and it holds such a special place in my heart & in our home}

 {above is a great mirror i found in richmond- and you can see our bedroom wall color...strangely it looks much darker here than in person- and i can't say i hate the dark...might be in for an update!}  *also note my mirror on the other wall...yes, those are love-notes...yes, i know we're sickening..but the other side of the room shows the true wall color...very soothing we feel.  it's a good feeling to be calm in your home. 

 {ok, here is my temporary headboard idea for the guestroom...thoughts?  please don't mind the mess, unless you would like to take notice that this mess is actually a result of my being way prepared for christmas this year, thank you very much}
* i don't know why the walls in this room look so neon in the photo...not how it looks in person, rest easy.

one picture i will not be posting anytime soon is our upstairs bathroom.  oh the headaches this room has given me. it must be the most unusual design ever- long and narrow...and blue.  very blue.  we live at the beach, so we could always say we're being 'theme-y' but let's be real.  we're not being theme-y.  we are just stuck with a very strange bathroom.

ahhh, food...

well, the birthday dinner was amazing.

we went to terrapin which is a place close to home that we've always had our eye on.

it was so delish.  jordan and i loooove to eat...seriously, a lot of our conversations revolve around new meals to try, favorite dishes, and of course what's for dinner tonight {roasted veggies over pasta with homemade marinara, as it were}...i also feel that it's one of the cornerstones of our relationship.  so many great memories were made in our little kitchen.

anyway, for dinner at terrapin, we both opted for the four-course tasting menu.  we both started with a fennel soup {with a drizzle of orange oil}  //  seconds were green curry mussels for me & foie gras for j  //  thirds were the best beef tenderloin pour moi & duck two ways for jordan- crispy and confit  //  for dessert i went with the special- how could i not, there was bacon in the ice cream: what?? ...and jordan got the ice cream sampler.

the service was outstanding, lots of laughs, and honestly some of the best food we've had out in a while.  all in all, the night was perfection.

it's my birthday!!

hello 27!  
my sweet husband sent me flowers at work {so did his parents!}, and he's taking me out to dinner in about 20 minutes...so excited...and hungry!  hope you all had a fabulous 18th of october...i know i sure am a fan (:

boy do we ever...life has been crazy busy these days- hard not to love all of the wonderful things coming our way, but it's definitely taken a toll.

i'm definitely making more of an effort to make time for writing, sharing, browsing, and i love it. here's to a fresh start!