get cute stuff for your kitchen!!

Hello friends and family! I know an updated Braeden Post is long overdue - but fear not, I'm working on a few fun posts that will be up soon. For now, I just wanted to share a fun find.

I have a new favorite Etsy shop, Jadite Kate! Her kitschy finds coupled with her fabulous photography drew me in! But, her love of jadite, milk glass and all things Fire King kept me coming back for more! Take a look at a few of her kitchen accessories!

These jadite measuring cups are amazing. I've stalked jadite for a while, but I've actually never seen individual measuring cups like these before.


I looooove these Fire King nesting bowls in robins egg blue! They would have been mine, but alas, they were already sold...

And these Pyrex dishes are so vibrant that it's hard to believe they're vintage. Love them!

The Best Rhubarb Cake...Ever!

There's something about having a baby makes that makes people do nice things for you. They buy your baby presents or make food for you or offer to clean your house.

For instance, my friend, Tara, recently brought over the most delicious rhubarb cake. It was so good that I absolutely had to share with everyone! As she explained, it's a perfect "entry level" recipe to learning how to love rhubarb (because, we don't necessarily think of deliciousness when we think of rhubarb). You honestly have to try it!

The Best Rhubarb Cake Ever:

1 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1+ teaspoon vanilla (for a richer flavor use close to 1 1/2 teaspoon)
2 cups chopped rhubarb

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the brown sugar, butter, and egg. Whisk together in a small bowl the the flour, salt, and baking soda. Alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk and then the vanilla. Stir in the rhubarb.

Pour into a buttered 9x13” baking pan. (You can divide among round cake pans- just shorten the baking time).
Stir together 1/3 cup sugar (torbinado or granulated) and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; sprinkle on top of cake.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Thanks, Tara!

Homemade Baby Food!

I know baby food is about 6 months away, but I'm already planning to make Braeden's food from scratch. There's nothing wrong with good old fashioned store-bought baby food, nothing at all, in fact. It's what I ate, and I turned out just fine! :) But, my love of food and cooking makes homemade baby food an obvious choice, doesn't it?

I know what you're thinking... The idea of making my own baby food seems like a cumbersome process, one that an average working mom might not want to take on. But, I don't plan on being the average working mom. :) Besides, I have a feeling that I could make a few weeks of baby food in a single Sunday afternoon.

I've been researching and it seems like we already have everything that is needed: a stock pot and a steamer basket (or a roasting pan), and a food processor or immersion blender!

And, while the first few months of baby food making will be simple purees of fruit and/or veggies, eventually, we'll be able to dive into our baby food cookbook!

Nursery: check! (finally!)

We have 3.5 weeks before Braeden is due, and we're happy to report that the nursery is complete!! Well, almost complete. But, it's complete enough to unveil to our friends and family!

Nathan and I didn't want a cookie cutter nursery. We wanted something fun, imaginative, semi-gender neutral and able to transcend from baby to toddler.

What do you think?!

We added lots of personal touches! I made the crib bedding (nope, I had no previous sewing experience, but it's amazing what you can learn from podcasts and other online tutorials!). I combined several tutorials and applied a "figure it out as you go" method. The results: not too shabby!

Nathan made a frame out of wall molding for our National Geographic map, and then nailed it directly to the wall. Hanging artwork above the crib could be dangerous if it's not secured, so we decided that a taped poster and a completely secured "frame" was the best solution.

Another first: using a miter box/saw. Like sewing for me, this was Nathan's big project. The results: not too shabby


We searched and searched for the perfect functional art before we stumbled on the most adorable vinyl Hooting Owl Growth Chart. Ironically, all of the pieces of the wall vinyl were delivered except for the growth chart! Thankfully, the seller is committed to happy customers and has the growth chart on the way!

We were also gifted an awesome Pottery Barn-esque changing table, which was made by Nathan's friend, Shane. (Yes, he really did make it...Shane's something of a modern day craftsman!) Then, Nathan's dad applied a quick coat of espresso paint so it would match the room, while I made some new basket liners that complemented our color scheme...and voilà, it became the perfect addition to our nursery!

Here's a closer look at the Hooting Owl {sans} Growth Chart.

And here's a closer look at my first sewing project! I used this podcast to make the basket liners without a pattern. Worked perfectly!

Braeden has received several adorable stuffed animals and tons of books, but perhaps the most exciting gifts were the 4 animal paintings that we received from Nathan's brother, Jeremy. The monkey, octopus, elephant and lion couldn't be any more perfect! Thanks, Jeremy!

When the "final" details are added (old family photos, the growth chart and a mobile or two), we'll be sure to update the photos. For now, we hope you enjoyed the unveiling of Braeden's little nursery!

Super Photo Organization

Photo storage/organization has become something of a hassle since it went digital. I've lost my photos twice as a result of past computers crashing (you think I'd learn to back up my files after the first time!). And now, even with my photos backed up, nothing is organized. I just have the files in chronological order on a few CDs.

Enter: Real Simple's article on organization! This article describes the secrets of super-organized women, including what one woman does with her thousands of digital images and videos! It's genious! Organizing photos by year, and then by theme (i.e., parties, holidays, vacations, etc.) makes it infinitely easier to copy to a color coded disc and file in a drawer. Sure, you may rarely need to access these photos and videos, but at least they'll be off of your camera and computer, and in a safe place.

Now, all I need to do is figure out how to get in the habit of printing photos. Any thoughts?

Nathan's BDay BBQ Menu

A few weeks ago, Nathan and I invited a couple friends over for a low-key birthday bbq. We had burgers, brats, beers, and a few mean games of BAGS. It was a rockin good time, of course, but my favorite part of the day had more to do with cooking/preparing a few scrumptious dishes than playing bags. Is that weird?

Awesome Buffalo Chicken Dip (serves 15)
2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained*
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces
1 box/bag of crackers/tortilla chips, whatever you'd like!

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and cook on 300 until hot and bubbly (about 20 minutes). Serve with celery sticks and crackers/tortilla chips. *I've made this recipe using chicken that I've boiled and shredded and using canned chicken...and I couldn't tell the difference between the two...

Aunt Dorothy's August Tomato Salsa (variation) (serves 15)
8 tomatoes, diced
2 onion, finely diced
3-4 jalapeno peppers, finely diced*
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely diced
3 teaspoons kosher salt
2 limes, juiced

In a large bowl, mix diced tomatoes, onion, peppers, cilantro, garlic, salt, and lime juice. Then, process half of the mixture in a food processor and add back to the bowl. Chill for 2 hours before serving. *Depending on your heat tolerance, either seed the jalapeno or leave unseeded.

Grilled Veggie Sandwich
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cup sliced red bell peppers
2 small zucchini, sliced
2 red onion, sliced
2 small yellow squash, sliced
1 large loaf of french bread, split horizontally
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Preheat the grill for high heat. Brush vegetables with olive oil on each side. Brush grate with oil. Place bell peppers and zucchini closest to the middle of the grill, and set onion and squash pieces around them. Cook for about 3 minutes, turn, and cook for another 3 minutes. The peppers may take a bit longer. Remove from grill, and set aside.

Spread some of the mayonnaise mixture on both sides of bread, and sprinkle the bottom half with feta cheese. Layer vegetables and top with more feta. Wrap sandwich in foil and place in 350 degree for 20 minutes.

outdoor living

A few weeks ago I posted about our pitiful attempt at creating an outdoor oasis full of flowering plants and comfortable seating... Well, as you can see from the photo below, 4 plants and a table does not make an outdoor living space - clearly!! However, we've made several improvements in the last couple of days...
We've added a few more plants, some comfortable seat cushions, a small outdoor rug (not quite in the picture) and bamboo shades. I think we're well on our way to a comfortable outdoor living space! Don't you?

summertime fun...in our backyard!

We are gearing up for summer around these parts - especially since we moved into our new place which boasts tons of outdoor space (a private deck as well as a semi-private backyard!!!)! I'm anticipating bbq's and birthday parties and generally enjoying having our friends and family over for some summertime fun! With that said, we've been testing some fun, summery beverage recipes: sweet tea, perfect lemonade and white peach sangria.

Sweet Tea - Serves 8

1 pinch baking soda*
2 cups boiling water
6 tea bags
3/4 cup white sugar
6 cups cool water

*the baking soda apparently takes the bitterness out.

Perfect Lemonade - Serves 10

3/4 cup and 2 tablespoons white sugar
4 cups water
3/4 cup lemon juice

White Peach Sangria - Serves 10
1-1/3 bottles dry white wine
1 cup peach flavored vodka
1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/3 cup white sugar
1-1/4 pounds white peaches, pitted and small diced
1 cup apples, small diced
1 cup seedless green grapes, halved

a sneak peak at our new place!

We've Moved to a new home and a new blog!!!

FINALLY! Nathan and I have a real home!

Well, kind of. It's still an apartment - but it's an entire floor of a 3 flat - and it's over 1,200 sq ft. That's ENORMOUS compared to our tiny 720 sq ft, 1 bedroom in the Gold Coast. And, with our new home, we've decided to create a new website - a kind of continuation of our uber-popular wedding website.

Please come back often and see what we've been up to!