Felted Wool Slippers by French Press Knits on Etsy

If you haven’t yet figured it out, I’m completely Etsy-obsessed. And I’m also on a major fall kick. The same coworker for whom I took photos of her handmade gift tags, turned me onto this Etsy shop, French Press Knits, today and I basically need a pair of these felted wool slippers. Immediately. How perfect are these for getting to the office on a snowy morning, kicking off your boots and treating your toes to something cozy? And clearly they’re amazingly adorable, too. Even the packaging is sensational! If you followed my wedding planning adventures, you already know I’m obsessed with kraft paper boxes tied up with baker’s twine.

And, yes, they even come in many different colors. Really fun and cozy colors. I’ll take a pair of each, please and thank you.

{Photos from French Press Knits}

Salvaged Stationey Gift Tags by Little White Lily

One of my coworkers makes incredible handmade gift tags, which she crafts from scraps of beautiful paper, lovely ribbon and salvaged stationery. I’ve been helping her with photos to revamp her Etsy shop, Little White Lily, and thought I would share a few here. Some of these items are currently available in her shop or will be available soon. I’m also working on photos of a whole array of absolutely amazing Halloween gift tags, holiday gifts tags, and tags in more colors and patterns than you can imagine. You should do yourself a favor and hop over and buy a few now, because as the friend with an MBA I’m working on convincing Tiffany she needs to raise her prices – she’s basically giving these lovely little creations away for free right now. (And we can’t have that, now can we?) Consider this my little insider’s tip of the day. And seriously, how beautiful are these gift tags?

{Photos by Cyd Converse for Little White Lily}

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

mazing. There is no other word to describe it besides amazing. I have been a huge fan of illustrator and typographer Jessica Hische for a long long time, but her latest project, Daily Drop Cap, is too fun for words. If you’re a lover of typographer, you should hop over and pay Jessica and visit, and add her blog – I Love Type – to your list of daily reads.

Photography by Yvette Inufio

I think I first saw Yvette Inufio’s photography months ago, but when I stumbled onto her flickr photostream, it was like finding myself lost in the prettiest of dream worlds. Balloons and flowers and soft pretty textiles, old books, vintage suitcases and enamel makeup compacts and old bicycles propped against brightly painted buildings. Just complete and utter heaven. And luckily for us, Yvette Infuio’s Etsy shop is filled with many of her amazing photos offered in a wide range of print sizes and pairings. To me, these romantic images are perfect for a bedroom or a sunshine-filled little reading nook. Now I just need to find myself a reading nook…

{All photos by Yvette Inufio who just so happens to rock my world.}

Framed Photo Inspiration

I have always loved the idea of a gallery wall in our house and as it is, there are a whole lot of framed photos in our house. For me, photos are a major part of making a house a home. And I take a ridiculous number of photos on any given day at any given event. I’m that friend who people tend to groan at because I’m insisting on yet another group photo. The result of that though is that I have a lot of photos of great moments, great people and great memories and I would definitely love to start showcasing them in a more special way. I stumbled upon these images of this living room on Apartment Therapy and instantly fell in love with the stunning yet simple grouping of photos on the side wall. Don’t you love this?

I’m thinking I’d love to do this on one of the large blank walls in our living room choosing favorite photos from our engagement session, wedding and honeymoon. I would probably stick with all black frames, but I’d definitely switch up sizes and styles. Perhaps some are ornate with traditional white mats while others are clean, sleek and modern. I love groupings of mismatched but alike items so I like the thought of a dynamic photo display that, over time, would likely evolve as our lives do. So the architect in me (practicing or not, you can’t shake 4 years of architecture school and obsessive measuring) is thinking I might grab a level and a chalk line and start blocking out a wall and then from there let it grow organically. Heck, soon enough I might even have a disc of wedding photos so I can get this party started right.

Anyone else put together – or looking to put together – a gallery wall in your house? I would loooove to see pictures!

Beet Soup in Roasted Acorn Squash Bowls

It felt like fall this weekend. Completely and thoroughly like fall. The air was crisp, the sky was bright, and the rustle of leaves that accompanied the wind was unmistakable. Yes, yes, fall has found us in Upstate NY. So while I was digging through the fridge and taking inventory of what our CSA share had brought us last week, I decided that a soup of some sort was in order. After taking stock of the available ingredients, I did a wee bit of consulting with my BFF (aka Google) and stumbled upon a recipe for beet soup in roasted acorn squash. What? I get to use up a whole bunch of yummy veggies and put little acorn squashes to work as adorable little bowls? Sign me up!

The recipe is pretty simple. You dice up a large red onion and get it to work in your pot. Once it’s soft, toss in an apple that has been peeled and cut into approximately 1″ chunks and a couple pound of beets that have been cut to roughly the same size. Dice up or grate in 2 – 3 cloves of garlic, let it all soften up some more, then add 4 cups of veggie stock, a few cups of water and let simmer for 40 minutes or until the beets are nice and soft. In the meantime, you’ll have cut the tops off your squash, hollowed them out, took a thin slice off the bottom so they sit stable, and lightly brushed them with olive oil. I made sure to sprinkle mine with fresh cracked black pepper and some sea salt for good measure. Roast the squash while you’re putting together the soup. Once the beats are soft, you’ll need to puree the entire beet mixture. I’m thinking you’d be best with a food processor or an immersion blender, but a standard blender will do the trick, too. Then the soup goes back in the pot to reheat and season to taste with a pinch of salt, a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and I opted to omit the brown sugar the recipe called for and add in a nice sized dash of cinnamon and a little sprinkle of ginger.

Once the soup was done, I served it up in the acorn squash bowls and put a little dollup of sour cream on top. It’s really hearty, yummy and the prettiest bright red violet color. I decided to let the soup be the star of the show and served it was a simple salad of fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomato from the local farmer’s market, fresh basil and a tiny drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar over mizuna. Delicious! Mike and I ate dinner at the coffee table, sitting cross-legged on the floor and it was the perfect first official foray into fall cooking. Better yet, the acorn squash, beets, garlic and mizuna were all from our CSA share this past week. Nothing says “yum” like organic veggies!

Black Tie Charity Event – Finding the Look

In November, Mike and I will once again be attending a black tie charity event in my hometown with my father and stepmother. We had so much fun last year, I really can’t wait to go! My dad called today to confirm we were planning to go before he purchased tickets, which got me all excited just thinking about what cute outfit I might be able to put together. My one requirement is that I’d like to wear a dress that is short and sassy so I can wear – and really show off – the lovely heels I wore at our wedding again. I love them oh so much. But the look still has to be black tie appropriate even though I don’t want to wear a full length gown. So I’m thinking black. With the gold heels. A fabulous clutch. And a really sparkly necklace. Here’s my first little attempt at piecing together a look. I think I’d wear my hair up (or as “up” as my short hair goes) and maybe even get crazy and rock out the sparkly headband I wore to our Saturday evening reception. What do you think? (And, by all means, feel free to pass along cute dress ideas if you know of something fabulous!)

Dress by Maggy London at Nordstrom
Shoes and clutch by JCrew (Shoes no longer available)
Necklace by Mia Beads on Etsy (I have on just like this already that I made for myself when making my bridesmaids’ necklaces before the wedding.)

Grilled Patty Pan Squash with Parsley

Ok, after all the amazing ideas I got for how to cook patty pan squash both here and via twitter, I decided to take the easy route. Keeping in mind that any “recipe” I share is really never going to be a real recipe (unless we’re baking, folks, then I’ll indulge you with measurements), consider this a guideline for one super easy way to cook yourself up some patty pan squash. It does not take a rocket scientist to do this and it tastes delicious. Perfect, right?

So, chop up your patty pan squash and dump it in a bowl. I went with slightly larger than bite-sized chunks so they would cook down into nice little bite-sized pieces. Load up the bowl with lots of fresh minced garlic, a ton of chopped fresh parsley, a couple of chopped basil leaves, a good 3 – 4 tablespoons of olive oil, freshly cracked black pepper, a good dash of coarse sea salt and toss. Make yourself a little pocket out of aluminum foil, toss the contents of the bowl inside, seal up your pocket and place it right on the grill. It’ll take about 20 minutes or so to cook through, depending on what else you’ve got cooking on your grill and the heat of the flame. When it’s done, it’s a really mild and tasty squash loaded with fresh herb flavor. Using fresh organic squash and fresh herbs is key here. Don’t mess up a simple dish by using dried herbs – you’ll regret it, trust me. It’ll come out of the little aluminum foil pocket all steamy and delicious and perfect. And you won’t have to reinvent the wheel to get there. Even better.

Grilled Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Chicken

While home last weekend for the long Labor Day weekend, my mom and I did little more than cook all weekend. Which, to be honest, is typically how it rolls when Mike and I spend the weekend with my mother and stepfather. It always ends up involving some lazy and relaxing combination of cooking, sipping on wine, sitting by the fire, floating around on the lake, just being together and, well, just being. So, it’s no real surprise that we did a whole lot of cooking while home for a few days. And, without a doubt, the grilled sun-dried tomato and basil chicken we made for dinner one night was the star of the weekend so I thought I’d share it…although I have to be honest and let you know upfront that my mother and I originate from a real Italian way of cooking. Rarely do we measure anything, the recipe changes every time and everything is tasted and re-tasted until the seasoning is just perfect. So I apologize in advance that there is no exact science to the “recipe” I’m about to share. Isn’t that the fun of it anyway?

First up, the filling. We rough chopped about a cup of sun-dried tomatoes (I think we used two 3oz. packages) and combined it with a can of tomato paste, four fresh garlic cloves finely minced, a big pinch of coarse sea salt, and I’d guess about 3 tablespoons of a good quality olive oil. Mix it together until it’s combined well and it’s as easy as that.

From there, pound out chicken breasts so they’re about a 1/4″ thick. I think we ended up with 7 or 8 breasts in all. Spread the paste on one side, then layer with shredded parmesan followed by a layer of fresh basil leaves. For about half of the breasts we also added one thin slice of prosciutto on top of the paste before adding the cheese and basil, but I omitted that for mine as I don’t eat red meat. (Ever.) Roll up the breasts, tie with twine, and then slap them on the grill. Use the rest of the paste filling and thin it out with either pre-made Italian dressing or whatever combination of oil and vinegar floats your boat. Baste while grilling until it’s cooked through and enjoy! (Just remember to remove the string before eating…it’s not very tasty!)

It’s so simple to make, but really yummy. With fresh ingredients, even simple things taste heavenly…and I pretty much believe that anything cooked on the grill tastes amazing anyhow. Don’t worry, the infamous patty pan squash is up next!

Remember

This post was written on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. Another three years have passed since the day I wrote this post, and still I find myself incapable of shaking the fog that envelopes my mind and my heart every year on this day. I remember last year, an incredible post written by Meg from A Practical Wedding. This post. In a few simple sentences she stirred up so much emotion for me and ultimately, appreciation. Appreciation for life, for friends, for family, for not having lost someone that day, for all the years I lived in quiet innocence before our existence was forever changed. At any rate, here is my own September 11th story. It isn’t overly unique or dramatic, but in sharing it I know I’ll continue to remember and I believe we all owe it ourselves as individuals and as a nation to remember always the way we felt on that day and in the weeks that followed…

I ancticipate that for much of our generation, “where were you on September 11th?” will continue to be a question asked long into the future although perhaps not with great frequency. My 9/11 story isn’t all that spectacular but I will share it anyway…

On September 11, 2001 I had been a college student for a just a few short weeks and at the time the first plane hit I was making my daily commute to campus for a 9:00 class. I heard about the first plane hit on the radio during the drive. I was listening to a station where the DJs are notorious for playing elaborate jokes and weaving incredible hoaxes. I was pretty shocked as I listened to the DJs announce the plane hit and kind of dismissed it as a sick joke.

By the time I got to campus I had a sense that it probably wasn’t a joke because there were strange gatherings of people clustered here and there with heads bowed in deep discussion. As I entered the main building on campus there was a very uncomfortable buzz about the place that thickened as I entered the academic wing of the building where a lot of people were gathered before going into class. The door to the classroom I was expected to be in was locked and a group of my classmates sat outside. Many students at JCC are in the military or spouses of military servicemen because of my home town’s close proximity to a prominent military base in Upstate NY and therefore it wasn’t unusal that one of my classmates was there in unifrom. What was very unusual was that when he overheard my classmates discussing what had happened [apparently he hadn't heard yet] he got a look of panic in his eyes and quickly lifted his ruck onto his back. “Tell Professor Johnson I had to go!” he said as he took off in a run down the hall. I started after him until word started to spread through the building about the second plane hit and with it, all classes were cancelled for the day.

Making my way downstairs I met up with two of my close friends and we spent a couple of hours in the auditorium watching the live news coverage with much of the campus community. We then spent a good part of the day at one of my friend’s houses trying to come to terms with what was happening. We were young, only 18, and to us this was unfathomable. Later in the day we went to Friendly’s for dinner. We were trying to just keep moving forward and not become one of those people glued to the tv reliving over and over the occurances of that morning. When we walked into the place nearly the entire staff was in the dining room and the manager had brought a small 13″ television in and set it up at one of the booths so patrons could continue to watch the news coverage. I think that is when I truly realized that this was a huge deal, a lot bigger than anything I could have imagined. When I showed up to work later and found out we were closing for the night this knowledge was confirmed and I went home and spent the night quietly in front of the tv.

The aftermath of Septmeber 11th in my community was perhaps different than in most others. Fort Drum is one of the most prominent military bases in the nation. As soon as the terrorist attacks occured our community became very aware of what this meant. The base went on lockdown nearly immediately and surrounding the gates the presence of MPs was at a level I had never experienced. It wasn’t long before many of the area soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan and left behind frightened spouses, children and friends. Among those to go was the husband of a good friend I worked with. I spent a year watching her mourn September 11th and suffer the affects it had had on her life. As proud as she was of her husband, as happy as she was to have him alive, the idea of what might happen was never far from her mind as he missed their first Christmas together and eventually their first anniversary. All around us people were going through the same things where in other communities I believe people largely moved on. Now in Watertown there is a constant ebb and flow as soldiers continue to deploy and return from Afghanistan and Iraq. It’s always with us there. It’s there in the eyes of the children who have parents at war and in the grief of widows, widowers, friends and family as soldiers return home in flag-draped coffins. For those who say 9/11 is a thing of the past, I assure you, it is not.