wine country


This year for our 5 year anniversary, instead of gifting each other little experiences like usual, we decided to do a big adventure. A big wine country adventure which was perfect for our wood + silverware anniversary.

Kacey’s parents watched Em while we were away. We missed her wildly. However, we enjoyed the extra sleep and savored our indulgent getaway.

I’ve got tons of pictures to sort and edit from our trip. As I go through them, I’m going to share a few here along with a little bit of what we saw, ate + did.

recent work // meaghan curry photography cards

meaghan curry photography cards

meaghan curry photography cards

I have so many projects waiting in the wings to be shared with all of you. Like these cards.

A talented acquaintance of mine recently started a photography business and turned to us to design her logo and design + print her business cards. She sent over a Pinterest board for inspiration [a brilliant idea by the way]. Right away we noticed that she was leaning heavily towards pattern + geometric shapes – especially triangles. We sent over several options for her logo and she chose this clean + geometric one.

For her business cards, we took the opportunity to get a little playful. Influenced by her inspiration board, we created this striped triangular pattern for the background. The pattern created a neat little effect when it was printed. The negative spaces of the pattern puffed up like soft, triangular pillows because of the printing process. We letterpress printed her cards double-sided on super thick 236# cotton paper in two custom ink colors.

Thanks, Meaghan. You were a dream to work with!

And, PS – if you are in the D.C. area, definitely check her out. She’s wildly talented. The use of color in her photos blows me away.

spoons – chevron, stripes + dots

Just spotted these hand-painted wooden spoons from Shop Sweet Lulu. I’ve bookmarked them for Em’s party next year!

black + white stripes

I’m diggin’ black and white stripes lately…

basket / shoe / throw / bangle / umbrella / tape

Hope your Thanksgiving was a happy one!

hot browns

Posting will be light for the rest of the week as we wrap up a few projects and spend time with family. Below is a post we wrote a couple of years ago. It’s includes a recipe for Hot Browns and it perfect for turkey leftovers! It’s way too yummy not to pass along again!

Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

……………………………………………………

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!

……………………………………………………

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!

……………………………………………………

photo via the brown hotel

recent work // holiday home sketch

holiday sketch house

Another custom home sketch we recently completed. Moving announcements + Christmas cards. A perfect pairing for the holiday season.

around the studio // 11.17.11

studio 11-17-11

studio 11-17-11

Around the studio today – tiny packages for a little secret mailing that went out this morning, plus my favorite striped tape.

crew cuts

J.Crew has some adorable things for babies + kids. I’m glad I live near one of their outlets so that I can peek in once in a while. I’ve snagged quite a few cute things on sale for Em there.