A Quiet Weekend

Are you in need of a quiet weekend?  I sure am!  I'm looking forward to spending this weekend house/dog sitting for a friend, catching up on some much needed sleep, relaxing, watching movies, playing outside, cooking (possibly this yummy Moroccan Chicken) and spending quality time with two of my favs, James and Captain.  Hope everyone has a good one!

Scrabble Love

I don't know about you, but I love Scrabble (and I rock at it)!  Over the years Scrabble has become a staple of my family get-togethers and lazy days with friends.  Hence my excitement over the fact that I have recently found cute Scrabble crafts everywhere!  There are Scrabble pillows, shelves, place cards, magnets, cufflinks, wine charms, coasters, key chains and so much more.  All are easy to make and most can be found on Etsy.

With Mother's Day coming up I thought I'd bring attention to one of the best gifts I have ever made for my mom (according to her).  While in college I was unable to see my mom for her birthday because she was in England horseback riding with Olympic riders (yes, she is so cool) so I left her a birthday surprise at her place.  The surprise was an airplane ticket out to Colorado to see me (she liked this) and a Scrabble board that I had made just for her (she loved this).  I will admit that I am not at all an artsy person but I decided to try.  I started by making a list of words that I felt reflected our relationship (dearest, mother, daughter, love, together, friends, advice, rose, equine...).  Then I went to the store and bought Scrabble (the old fashion kind).  One by one I put down the letters/words onto the board.  Once I had the board looking like I wanted and had used most of the letters, I grabbed a glue gun and began to glue down the letters.  I let that dry and wrote a brief note on the side of the board.  Ever since, my mom has raved about it and kept it in shadow box in her home.

Other cute Mother’s Day ideas can be found here.

Wine Wednesday

Alamos

Price: $10-15

Origin: Argentina

Type: Malbec

Best Served With: Red meats (like steak, lamb or duck) and beef stew

Description: “Alamos Malbec has a dark, blackish purple color. The nose shows ripe black fruits, black pepper spice and floral notes. The mouthfeel is full yet soft and supple, with black raspberry and currant flavors mingled with notes of sweet spice and a touch of leather. The finish is long and persistent with soft, sweet tannins.” -Winery

A Pastel Weekend

Longtime friend, Emily, and her husband, Steve, held a coed baby shower at The Lyceum over the weekend.  Given that this was the boys first baby shower we decided to let them help with some of the shopping in the baby isle, which ended up being absolutely hysterical!  They made friends with shopping fathers (one of whom being the man in red and white below) and goofed off for a good bit before we continued on.

 

The shower was only a few blocks from our house, which made this weekend a great excuse to have friends (who sadly don't live close enough to see often) stay with us, and allowed us to take advantage of the beautiful weather and walk to shower.

While at the shower we enjoyed catching up with many old friends, eating great food (the cheesecake was to die for), playing a few shower games (one of which I won!) and congratulating the expecting couple.

Easter Sunday, James and I said bye to all of our visitors and went out to my mom's farm in Leesburg, VA to spend time with my mom, James' dad (they just so happen to be friends and the reason that James and I met), and a few family friends.

All and all, we had a great time over the weekend.  We enjoyed the company of both family and friends and are counting down the days until we get a chance to see them all again.

Happy Easter Weekend

I’m feeling so fortunate that I will be able to spend this weekend with family and good friends.  Wishing everyone a Happy Easter and a weekend full of nice spring weather, blooming flowers (I’m especially loving the cherry trees, tulips and daffodils), time with friends and family, yummy food and of course lots pastel colored candy!

A few Easter ideas I'm loving:

Simple, but elegant table decor found here,

These adorable banana cupcakes, and

If you are really looking for a party... fill (the bottom half) of plastic Easter eggs with Jello Shots (a trick learned in college).  Then hide them and let the hunt begin!

It's Earth Day!

This Earth Day just so happens to coincide with National Parks Week (April 16th through April 24th), which means visiting National Parks is free.  As an employee for a nonprofit that works to conserve National Parks, I hope that many take advantage of this great opportunity to see some of the most beautiful places on earth.  

Here are a few pictures from one of our trips last year to our favorite nearby park, Great Falls.

Also, in honor of Earth Day Starbucks is offering free coffee and tea to all who bring in their reusable mugs or tumblers today.  Bring your cup and enjoy!

Thoughts from Captain

“I’m pouting…  This week has been rough on me so far.  I have a cut on my belly and although I think I can handle taking care of it all by myself, my parents (and the vet) don’t seem to agree.  They expect me to wear this goofy thing on my head for a week (or two) but I’ve shown them.  It took me a mere three days to take this thing off all on my own.  Smiling now!”

-Capt

Wine Wednesday

I plan on making a weekly shout out to something I hold dear to my heart... wine!  I'm not going to claim to be an expert on the topic but I will say that I absolutely love it.  An undeniable fact about my relationship with wine is that I tend to prefer those extra yummy kinds that I can’t seem to afford, so for the sake of my (and potentially your) wallet I’ll aim to keep the price range between $5-30 (although we might have to splurge on occasion, right?).  With that said, I’d like to start with my favorite white of the moment: 

Pouilly Fuisse Louis Jadot

Price: $20-25

Origin: France

Type: White Burgundy

Best Served With: Shellfish, fish and white meats with cream sauce

Description: "Ripe, supple and of medium body, this classic expression of Pouilly-Fuisse shows vibrant Chardonnay fruit flavors with notes of melon and minerals, gently touched with oak, ending in a fresh, silky finish." -Winery

Spring Dresses

When I think about spring, I think about sundresses.  The newly nice weather brings so many fun events like Easter, graduations, bridal showers and my personal favorite horse races.  With Easter, Gold Cup, Iroquois Steeplechase and Shauna’s (my cousin) graduation just around the corner I can't help but shop around for dresses.  Today, I am loving these cute dresses from Warehouse:

Yellow Obi Structured Dress

Grey Bow Front Linen Dress

Red Ottoman Bustier Dress

A Weekend to Recover

Last weekend was hectic (and a blast) to say the least.  We had the privilege of being invited to a few very important events in our friends lives.  I kicked off the weekend by attending Halley's bachelorette party in Washington, D.C. Thursday.

On Friday morning we drove to The Bellevue in Philadelphia, PA to attend The Marine Corps Sholarship Foundation Ball.  Our evening included many speakers (one of whom was General Zinni), performances by the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, dinner and dancing.  James' lifelong friend and mentor, Bobby, was the chairmen of the event.  He did an excellent job!  We were honored to be involved in helping him support such a great cause and thankful to get to spend time with him and his family.  A few pictures from the event can be found here.

The next morning we woke up early to make the six hour drive from Philadelphia, PA to Lexington, VA to attend Alex and Halley's wedding at House Mountain Inn.  The venue was absolutely perfect!  The (relocated) ceremony took place in front of a fireplace under a pavilion in the pouring rain.  Halley made a stunning bride and we could not be happier for the two of them.

Due to the craziness of last weekend, we decided to make this weekend a lot more low-key.  We had one of James' best friends from high school, Sam, visiting and we spent the weekend cooking out with friends and doing some much needed gardening work in our backyard.

April 15th...

Tax day!  I can’t think of a better day for an accountant (me) to start blogging so here goes.  This is my first blog post ever and being an avid blog reader myself this is both exciting and a little scary for me.  For now I just want to say thank you for checking out my site.  There will be a lot more to come!