Yesterday was my birthday, and I took a short break from blogging on Sunday and Monday so I could spend time with family and relax. I had a wonderful time celebrating and enjoying delicious food while we lounged around on the new sofa and cooked in the kitchen.
I received two awesome gifts for my birthday in addition to the beautiful purse my dad got me, the always useful Target giftcard my mom sent, and the multi-colored yards of fabric my grandmother and godparents got me. One of the gifts I’ve actually had for a while but since it was technically a birthday gift I haven’t shared my excitement about it with you yet.
When we went to buy our sofa at Crate & Barrel my husband surprised me by suggesting we pick up the mixer I’ve wanted since I started formulating an idea for my dream kitchen. When he said to get it I was in shock and when we were walking outside with it I was bouncing up and down. This was AMAZING! It was a dream come true and still is. The satin copper Kitchenaid mixer is gorgeous and even when it’s not in use we have it out on display.
I’ve only used it a handful of times since the purchase, but every time it’s exciting. I’ve made cakes, cupcakes and cookies, and next I hope to tackle pizza dough.
My other amazing gift was a complete surprise as well. It came in the mail yesterday, so it was close to being an after-birthday surprise.
When I got home my husband had all my cards on the dining table with a towel draped over what looked to be a very tall box. He had disguised the size by stacking the actual packaging on top of the box it came in, so as I drew back the towel (eyes closed) I had no idea what it could be. I was wishing for something, but knew it was really out-of-budget right now so I thought it was going to be something the hub had happened to see and thought was cool. Plus he’s good about reading my blog and generally gets me pretty good presents.
When I opened my eyes my wish had come true! In front of me in the beautiful eggplant and white packaging was the Breville Tea Maker. (Insert more jumping up and down here). I was in such amazement and was completely blown away. My husband had managed to save money to buy me something I really wanted and had kept it a secret. He’s not one for keeping secrets when it comes to gifts so I was so proud of him and thankful.
Interestingly enough he was as excited about it as I was. And so after a delicious dinner we followed the easy set up directions and ran it on it’s maiden brew. While I didn’t brew any as a comparison, my tea did seem to taste better (less bitter and in need of sugar) than it normally does. It was the Queen of Babylon white tea and I felt like I could taste the fruity flavors much more so than usual.
I set the timer and was contemplating setting it to brew me some more this morning while I got ready for work, yes it does that (AWESOME!!), but I decided I’d rather be present and watching it when I first run the timer feature so I can make sure it works. Perhaps a nightly cup will become a new tradition.
Overall I had a wonderful birthday. Much better than last year!! It wasn’t the presents that made it so good, though they were the sweetest icing on the cake, but the thoughtfullness of loved ones and friends that made my entire day pretty much perfect.
Thank you so much to everyone who shared their kind words and thoughts yesterday.
You might also like:
For my birthday (coming up on Monday), my dad bought me a purse. It was a complete surprise since I’m fairly sure the last time he bought me something I would tote around daily it was a backpack, and even then I picked it out. But since I’m apparently predictable in the sense that I enjoy most things adorned with peacocks he must have felt like he was in the clear. The bag is gorgeous, and designed by Elliott Lucca, a name that I hadn’t heard of, or so I thought.
Once I looked up the Lucca bags I was happily enticed by several pieces in the vast collection including the other print of my bag:
Today I thought I’d share some of the most beautiful of the Elliott Lucca designs
Cordoba Box Tote
Cordoba Clutch
Cordoba Clutch
Intreccio Tote
Lucca Travel And Gifts Duffel Weekender
Lucca Woven Camera Bag
Lucca 3-way Demi II
So as I mentioned, I was not familiar with Elliott Lucca. What I didn’t know is that this was the name behind The Sak, a brand I’ve seen continuously for years in Marshalls and TJMaxx.
The Sak purses are always there throwing a loop in my good intentions of a reasonable handbag. Their colors and prints are reminiscent of the handmade mentality surge for the last few years, and each time I touch the bags, look them over, and then have to convince myself to walk away. But I must say those bags don’t last long.
Back when I would find myself perusing stores several times a week they were no where to be found after a day or so, especially the super cute ones like these:
Artist Circle 3-In-1 Clutch
Artist Circle Large Satchel
Artist Circle Nano
Iris Crossbody
Artist Circle Cosmetic
And did you know that they makes shoes? I think these are so cute for summer!
Katie Wedge
Katie Wedge
and in case of rain…
Artist Circle Rainboot
Something interesting I learned when looking up more information on Elliott Lucca was that The Sak designs come from paintings belonging to talented artisans such as Daphane Park who painted the Water Nation print found on the Artist Circle Nano bag above.
Water Nation
To learn more about the Elliott Lucca brand, or learn how The Sak is a globally invested brand visit the muti-faceted site for Elliott Lucca/The Sak/The Sak Roots
You might also like:
Last night I received a wonderful package in the mail. It was from my dad’s mother in Indiana. She had sent me the completed pillows she ordered made from my grandfather’s Harley Davidson t-shirts. I thought it was a wonderful idea when I heard that’s what she had planned, but now that they’re here I’m even more touched.
Each grandchild chose from the mountain of t-shirts our grandfather had collected over his many years of riding. There were at least 60 t-shirts in a closet, and when choosing mine I tried to go with colors I knew I would have somewhere in our house. These probably will not all stay in our living room but one day may find themselves in different rooms as lovely reminders of what a wonderful man he was.
You might also like:
Have you seen Mary Kratrantzou’s spring collection at Neiman Marcus? It’s amazing, especially that last one! The price tag… well it’s outrageous of course.
You might also like:
We’ve been doing some spring cleaning in Reidyville and one of the things I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with is our collection of DVDs. Now don’t get me wrong, we don’t have a massive collection, only about 200 or so. So when Walmart started offering their DVD-to-streaming service which is supposedly designed to help consumers re-invest in their old DVD purchases, I was all for it. Then i did some research.
image via goldman music
The idea: Instead of never barely watching the DVDs you already own, you can take them to Walmart and pay $2 (or more) to turn them into a streaming digital format to enjoy on all of your Internet-connected devices. What’s that you say? Internet-connected? Well yes, that’s the first problem with this new service offered by one of the largest retailers I the country, if not the world.
image via home theater
You need to be connected to the Internet because you’re not downloading them to something simple like an external hard drive. The files are actually being added to Vudu, which you need an account to access. Vudu is an Internet-based service which you the have to connect to through a third party program. The program, Flixster, forces a sign-in (through Facebook or email) and had been known to have a few glitches if you accidentally have two accounts. So already that’s two sign-ins. Then there’s the issue of the files themselves.
The files, which you own (or so you thought) are only available through an internet device, they’re not actually on your device, unless you’re connected to the Internet (during which time you download them temporarily for the purpose of streaming). This means that those with wifi-only devices are essentially out of luck when they’re not on a network. So forget your kids being able to watch Dora videos on your wifi iPad, or iPod while you try to shop, that’s not going to happen.
So what is the benefit of moving your movies to an external server where you don’t have continuous access? The only one may be that you can finally get rid of that hideous DVD rack that’s taking up room where you want to put those new speakers or that artwork near your tv. And if you rarely watch your DVDs that space might be valuable, especially since you won’t really think about watching them once they’re online either, out-of-sight out-of-mind, right?
So what’s the point? Well if you do watch your DVDs frequently this might all be worth the hassle and the hundreds it will cost you to transfer them through Walmart, to get your room cleaned up and minimalized. If you don’t watch them, you may want to just bite the bullet and get rid of them, or find some other way to store them. Maybe just a spring cleaning of the movies you know you’ll meet watch again. I think I may just wait for this system to be improved on, because like the DVD itself, there’s sure to be another rendition of how to watch movies in the future.
You might also like:
Every year I try to plant a new crop in my garden, if not only to shake things up, but to teach myself about growing different crops. This year I chose red potatoes. I thought I’d start simply by buying the seed red potatoes in the bag at Home Depot. If this turns out well I may grow a few different varieties in the coming years. I’d love to grow some purple potatoes as well and sweet potatoes since those are the varieties we usually buy at the store.
Red potatoes can be grown in containers, and truly should be grown a good distance apart, but since space is limited in Reidy growing grounds I decided to overcrowd my pot and see what happened. Since it’s only a test run I don’t mind doing crazy things like that. The most important thing I can do is remember to water the potatoes and make sure the soil is at the perfect balance of damp – not too dry, not too wet).
Within a week leaves began to poke their head through the soil, it was a nice surprise considering I was doubtful anything would grow at all. Growing potatoes seems to be simple in containers. You wait, watch the stalks grow up every day (and there is a noticeable difference each day), and when they get 5-7in out on the soil, you cover the stem more with soil. This process is referred to as “hilling” the soil. So far I’ve done this three times, and each time the plants have found their way out of the dirt in two days or less. Very impressive little plants indeed.
Eventually your potatoes (and mine) will grow tall enough and strong enough to produce flowers. Any time after that it will be safe to harvest. Even safer would be to wait until the leaves turn yellow and begin to fall apart. Then the potatoes are said to be completely ready.
image via landscaping revolution
I’m very excited for my first potato harvest, I hope they don’t come out warped and weird, though I doubt that would render them inedible. Perhaps they’ll turn out something like this, and look lovely and ready for some potato salad.
image via diy network
Have you grown potatoes in containers? Were they a success or did you have some trouble come harvest time?
You might also like:
Every one of us who’s been bitten by the Pinterest bug either has a food board or has borne witness to the amazing culinary images our friends pin. I have such a food board that is continually being updated with more and more food that looks delicious but that I rarely make. This is how Someday Suppers was born. It’s my secondary attempt to get myself to actually make the food I drool over on Pinterest. Maybe if I pair up the items I’ll have a better handle on what to make as meals, or maybe this will just be a fun blog post for the weekends. Either way I hope you enjoy them!
Happy Sunday!
This supper:
Spicy Honey Chicken from The Girl Who Ate Everything
Oven Roasted Garlic Brussel Sprouts from The Cooking Photographer
Crispy & Thin Potatoes which seem to be missing from Spoon Fork Bacon perhaps due to a name change from Fish Food Blog
For Dessert: Baked Apples with Caramel Sauce from Half Baked
And to wash everything down, making this a definite summer meal, how about some Blueberry Mint Lemonade from A Crimson Kiss.
You might also like:
As I’ve mentioned before in my dream kitchen I image a good amount of copper. There’s something that really lures me in about its warm metallic glow. Recently some new copper products were put on the market that I’m really digging and I definitely had to share.
The first, a stainless copper sink. This sink from Rohl promises the demise of discoloration (or patina, which some copper fanatics won’t find appealing), as well as ease in cleaning and a more quiet splash-back sound. Oh and let’s not forget that it’s gorgeous.
The second product is something not confined to kitchen duty. The new Structure series from Daltile is a beautiful example of what can be done with metallic tile. Interlocking mosaics and subway structures look futuristic and elegant in brushed copper. This tile is recommended for indoor use on walls and backsplashes, but that still renders the possibilities endless in use. Who wouldn’t love some copper accents in their home??
While I’m currently just on my way to copper happiness via appliances, those of you executing your renovating dreams might want to try these on for size and bring some copper loveliness into your homes.
You might also like:
How is it that I barely posted this week? I’ve been pretty much feeling exhausted mentally, and lazy physically. The hub was sick this week with the stomach flu, and my body was steadily fighting to stay well (which I did thankfully). Then there has been the eagerness of our newest addition arriving… remember when I said we had a secret that was helping us move toward our dream home? Well in March we ordered one of our dream sofas and we’ve been waiting for it to be built and arrive in our living room.
Buying a sofa was a huge deal for us, as it’s the most expensive thing either of us have purchased aside from our cars. Convincing the hub that this was the right one for us was a challenge, but what’s that women always say? … “make him think it was his idea.” right! Actually I was about to give in and get the other Dorchester sofa but after reading the legal jargon on their contract the hub decided not to chance it and we ended up at Crate & Barrel in DC purchasing the lounge!!
Please don't judge, that picture is temporary and the mess in the corner was put there so the movers could make it in with the sofa.
This sofa is super dreamy! Compared to our old sofa which was feeling more like a wooden park bench than an upholstered piece of living room furniture, this sofa is heavenly! I don’t know if it’s the plush microfiber or the down blend cushions, or the fact that we can actually lie all the way down on it and feel relaxed (as opposed to feeling like we’re bruising ourselves), it is amazing! After waiting less than the minimum of 8 weeks (ours came in 7) we are now thoroughly enjoying lounging on our lounge!
I’m glad we chose the charcoal gray fabric (this was actually the hub’s preference, I was leaning one shade darker). This was a great choice, that was hard to make in-store since the natural lighting was limited, and our living room is full of light from the sliding door. This was definitely the right choice, and really one darker shade of gray would not have affected the serious comfort level of this sofa. Have I said how amazing it is???
I’m hoping that with the arrival of the sofa and the stomach flu being out of the house I can finally relax (which really means get to my other projects.)
This weekend I’ll be:
-Picking up a campaign desk from a Craigslist lady
-Putting lacquer on our revamped end tables
-Turning a coffee table into an ottoman (the cats will be super sad I’m taking away their sunken living space)
-And hopefully getting some household things done like grocery shopping, laundry and cleaning the house
-Oh and this rain while wonderful, needs to slack up a bit so I can plant some new seeds.
3 outta 5 ain’t bad… those are the odds I’m betting on at least. I’ll be shocked if 4 things happen and if I get to all 5 I’ll probably be skipping posing on Monday as I’ll be exhausted again.
(We currently have pillows lying inside this and cats lying on top. It's their sunken room and they love it! Too bad it's getting raised 5" above the rim.)
Posts I still need to get done, (also hopefully during this weekend):
-The DC Design Center
-My trip to L.A.
and some other posts I’ve been writing down ideas for.
What have you all been doing this week? Has it seemed as crazy to you as it has to me? Do you have any projects planned for the weekend? I hope you all have a fabulous Friday!
You might also like:
Agrarian
Pronunciation: \ə-ˈgrer-ē-ən\
Etymology: Latin agrarius, from agr-, ager field — more at acre
Entry 1: agrar·i·an
Function: adjective
Date: 1600
1 : of or relating to fields or lands or their tenure
2 a : of, relating to, or characteristic of farmers or their way of life b : organized or designed to promote agricultural interests
Entry 2: agrar·i·an
Function: noun
Date: 1818
1 : a member of an agrarian party or movement
Entry 3: agrar·i·an
Function: business venture
Date: 2012
1 : a shoppe launched by Williams Sonoma with goals of supporting a lifestyle of healthy living – connecting the virtues of the homegrown and homemade to your everyday table.
Not only can you buy plants through William Sonoma’s new Agrarian Shoppe, but also garden tools, raised cedar beds, trees, bee hiving supplies, chicken coops, canning supplies, beer making kits, heirloom seeds from the Beekman Boys and a very special shiitake mushroom growing log. And of course everything is organic.
You might also like:
