can you love a chair? if so, this one has my heart. it belonged to kacey’s grandmother who so kindly gave it to us. last month, we hauled it all the way from oklahoma. it’s worn + weathered, and i love it so.
home
rae gun
i just bookmarked these diaper covers. as a ruffle lover, i think a ruffled bum is just beyond cute!
office blues
think we picked up enough paint swatches for the office? before, we were considering robin’s nest and sea salt, but then we decided robin’s nest was too bright and sea salt too dreary. so, we narrowed it down to delicate mist [behr] and tropical surf [glidden]. both of us were leaning heavily on tropical surf. we got paint samples of both, and kacey painted a large swatch on foam core board. that’s when we realized tropical surf was way to dark and too blue. it wasn’t subtle enough. so now, i think we may be going with delicate mist instead. i’m so happy we painted a large area on foam core. it really allowed us to see the color. those swatches they provide are just too small!
new home + new paint
as if we didn’t have enough going on in our lives with our little baby due in a bit over 6 weeks, we decided to also buy a new home. eeks, right?! we could have stayed put, but with a little one, we knew we could really use more space. so, i think back in january, kacey and i decided just to see what was out there. we agreed that if nothing was really worthwhile, we’d stay in our current home and then re-evaluate the house situation later on during the year. good news is that we found a great home. scary news is that if all goes as planned [crossing fingers tightly!], we will be moving a month before the baby is due. here’s hoping i don’t go into labor early and we close on time!
the house we found really doesn’t need much work. it’s a newer home, the rooms just received a fresh coat of paint and the flooring is new, too. however, the previous owners of the home have two little boys. currently, one of the guest bedrooms is painted a medium blue and the other a deep golden yellow. since we’re expecting a little girl, we’ve been gathering paint swatches and trying to figure out what colors to paint these two rooms. we’re also tossing around the idea of painting our new office space.
right now, for the nursery, it’s a toss up between going the typical pink route or going in more of a neutral direction. we’re considering benjamin moore’s wild aster and martha stewart’s buckwheat flour. I think either would work well with our dark wood furniture. plus, we really haven’t picked a concrete color scheme for the nursery since we knew we could be moving into a new space.
in the new home we’re also thinking about painting the office a nice sea foam color. i’m liking sherwin william’s sea salt or benjamin moore’s robin’s nest. sea salt is more soft + subdued and robin’s nest is more bright + cheery. our office furniture is all white and birch [thank you, ikea!], so i think either of these colors would keep things clean + fresh in there.
in our previous home, we played it safe and had neutrals in all the rooms. the trim was benjamin moore’s muslin. the guest rooms, utility room and bathrooms were painted benjamin moore’s stone house. our living room, kitchen, dining and master bedroom was benjamin moore’s scarecrow. we found that the scarecrow in the main rooms was a bit too dark, especially since we didn’t get much light. this time around, we are very aware of the need for lighter walls, especially in the smaller rooms.
so there you have it! we’ve been quite busy these past few months. preparing for baby, purchasing a home, packing and keeping up with + growing our business!
sea life prints
in preparation for the baby, i think nesting is kicking in and not just in the nursery. we recently did a little revamp in our bathroom. thanks to young house love, we discovered extra long shower curtains. so, we changed out our too short one and put in this nice long white one
heart loop
just now, this sweet heart loop formed at my feet and it made me smile. funny how the littlest things can cheer you up!
hope you’re having a good day. it’s dreary out where i am. i wish the sun was shining so that i could take product pictures. i have lots of updating to do!
thanksgiving hot browns
a few years ago, kacey’s family began a tradition of serving hot browns for breakfast the day after thanksgiving. my sister-in-law made them one year and they were a huge hit! they’re perfect for the day after turkey day since they use up some of that leftover turkey everyone has! i look forward to them every year.
my sister-in-law tweaked the original recipe to make it easier to feed a larger group. with her permission, i thought i’d share it with all of you!
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thanksgiving hot browns // serves 8-10
8 oz. whole butter
8 oz. all purpose flour
2 qt. heavy cream
2 qt. milk
2 beaten eggs
ground nutmeg
2 cups pecorino romano or parmesan cheese, plus 4 tablespoons for garnish
salt & pepper to taste
3 lbs. leftover turkey
8 slices of texas toast (crust trimmed)
16 slices of crispy bacon
8 roma tomatoes, sliced in half
paprika
parsley
in a large saucepan, melt butter and slowly whisk in flour until combined and forms a thick paste (roux). continue to cook roux for two minutes over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. whisk heavy cream and milk into the roux and cook over medium heat until the cream begins to simmer, about 2-3 minutes. remove sauce from heat and slowly whisk in pecorino romano cheese until the mornay sauce is smooth. then, slowly wisk in the beaten eggs. return to a low heat stirring constantly until sauce thickens. remove from heat, grate in a large pinch of nutmeg (i like grating fresh from whole nutmeg), add salt and white pepper to taste (black or red is fine, but it will effect sauce color). cook bacon. [to save time, these steps can be done a day or two in advance and refrigerated.]
toast bread. cut roma tomatoes in half lengthwise and place on baking sheet. broil in oven until lightly charred.
tear/shred leftover turkey and place in the bottom of a large casserole dish, top with mornay sauce, reheat in microwave until warm. then broil in oven until cheese begins to brown and bubble. crumble large chunks of crispy bacon over top of casserole.
for each hot brown, top 1-2 slices of toast with turkey mornay casserole. take the two halves of roma tomato and set them alongside the base of turkey and toast. sprinkle entire plate with additional shredded parmesan cheese, paprika and parsley. enjoy!
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posting will be light for the rest of the week as we wrap up a few projects and spend time with family. happy thanksgiving!
photo via the brown hotel
