Sunday, July 29, 2012

{House}: Master Bedroom Update

Isn't it funny how the last room in the house to get any decor seems to be the master bedroom? It is certainly the case for us. When we last left off, our master bedroom was mostly decorated:


Since then we've added a straw yellow body pillow on the bed and really liked the pop of yellow. From there I have decided to incorporate more yellow into our brown/blue/red scheme going on in the room. I've made a little board to illustrate our plan:


I love the ginkgo pictures my pal Ellen took and plan to put them elsewhere in the house. I want to replace the pictures with light, bright items like the Julia Child print I found on etsy. I also want to make a pennant banner out of the straw yellow buffalo check fabric and then frame some of the fabric as well. I also want to attempt some paint chip art in one of the frames as well.

I think with these little pops of yellow in the frames, the bedroom will be more "us" - fun and cute. Even grown-ups can have fun decor! (Am I a grownup? I don't feel like it ...)

In ideas and inspiration,
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Saturday, July 28, 2012

{Travel}: YAM's Canoe Trip.

I have a great group of friends through my young adult group at church (YAMs = Young Adult Ministry) and every year we take a trip to the Spring River in Hardy, Arkansas. One of the families in our parish has a house and we take over for the weekend, canoe, float, cook, play (intense) games, and hang out.

Last weekend I hit the road with some of my great friends and had a blast.

We got in late Friday night after a long day at work and just enjoyed catching up and playing games.



Then got up early (too early when you only get 4 hours of sleep!) for a homemade breakfast, some sunscreen slathering, and heading down to the river!


Our view from the Skyhigh cabin - the river is down below. The wonderful family that lets us crash their vaca house for the weekend owns a spot on the river where they have a dock.


I spent most of Saturday floating on the river by the dock - I elected not to canoe (and was very glad to do so) but most of the YAMs canoed and report it was fun.

Once we got back we played lots and lots of Mexican Train Dominos:


I had never played any type of dominos and got addicted very quickly. We spent most of the night playing dominos.

We also ate very well this weekend - here's a cheese, cracker, and fruit platter Gabriella constructed:


We had a Saturday evening Eucharist outside with Brie playing guitar. It was so nice.





What a wonderful weekend with great friends. I'm so glad I went and that I'm a part of this fabulous group of young adults!

Shameless promotion: If anyone is looking for an Episcopal church to call home, check out Calvary Episcopal Church in Downtown Memphis. I love my church and the people that I share it with!


In sun-soaked river weekends,
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

{Eat there}: Tokyo Grill.

It has been over a year since that fateful day when I started eating sushi. Ever since then I've been searching for good (but cheap) sushi. I love Sekisui Midtown but I feel like every time Jake and I go I get the bill and am like... um whaa?

Another (random) thing... I miss cheap good hibachi. In college there was this place I went with my roommates (shout out to the girls of 1312) all the time where you could get $8 hibachi that was the rice, veggies, soup, salad, and meat. And it was FAST. None of this chef-throwing-fire-in-your-face business. Hibachi places stress me out. (And now I'm sounding like my mother - hi Mom!).

Ok so now that I've rambled about sushi and hibachi let's get down to business. I'd been reading about Tokyo Grill, a fast-food Japanese place on Park at Mendenhall (where it turns into Mt. Moriah). We were out doing the Target run last Sunday (yes, we have a routine. no, we're not ancient ...yet). Best part about Tokyo Grill? I heard they had good/cheap/yummy sushi AND good/cheap/yummy hibachi. So BAM there we went.


When you walk in you're greeted with this counter with a menu and place to order. If you want to eat in the restaurant, you go and sit down but if you want to get a to-go order, you can do so here. A lot of people were getting to-go orders and I can see why. Good and cheap.


We sat down and studied our menus. So many choices!


They had lots of sushi rolls - these were the bargain ones:


They did indeed have the cheap hibachi too:


I ordered a clear soup to start and it came in a container big enough for about three people! Jake and I shared it. I can see myself getting this to go on the way home on days when it is cold and I have a sore throat. It was delicious.


We then shared an order of the spicy crawfish roll. They were made fresh to order and we got to watch our guy do it!  This roll was $4.25.


And then last the hibachi came out. We got chicken teriyaki (my fave) and it, too, was enough food for about three people. The rice alone was so much food!


You'll notice even when we ate dine in, everything still came out in the to-go Styrofoam. I guess that is just easier for them but I did feel wasteful.

I would definitely recommend going there. The owner was at the counter and we chatted when we checked out - he was so nice and he told me they are opening a second location in the Ridgeway area.

You know you want to go there - here's their website.

In sushi and soy sauce,
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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

{Make this}: Refrigerator Pickles.

So per usual I've been on Pinterest a lot lately. The other day I pinned a recipe for refrigerator pickles:


I had been wanting to make pickles for like ever... my neighbor, Ted, growing up made delicious pickles that we called Ted pickles and he'd give them to my family and I still think about those pickles to this day. So add some nostalgia to the fact that I bought mason jars at the flea market in Monteagle, I had the most delicious homemade pickles at Beth's from the ATL farmer's market, and pinning this recipe and BAM I was on a mission.

I read over the recipe for the pinterest pickles (recipe here from Waterberry Farm blog) but wasn't sold. Then one of my go-to blogs posted their recipe for refrigerator pickles and I was sold. The blog post was really well written and explained the process in detail. All my anxiety turned to excitement.

My first stop was to get the supplies from the store. I found almost everything I needed at Target but did have to go to Easy Way to get the pickling cucumbers, garlic, and dill.


Per the recipe, you do need pickling cucumbers versus the regular ones. Don't know the difference but follow instructions I did!

You'll need...

10 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
2 cups of white vinegar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
several sprigs fresh dill (on stem, not chopped)
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
pickling cucumbers (I used about 6 for 3 jars)
(optional if you want spicy: jalapenos sliced and red pepper flakes)


You'll do (I followed Our Best Bites blog post for instructions)

1) Make your brine by boiling 4 cups of water, once boiling reduce to simmer and add the garlic, let cook for 5 minutes. Add the vinegar and salt, bring back to a boil, stirring until salt is dissolved. Once boiling, set aside.


I used the time the brine was cooking to chop my veggies -





2) In your canning jars, take tongs and divide your garlic from the brine into the jars (I did three jars even though the recipe calls for two and had more than enough). Divide out your seeds and dill and put them in the jar (this is where I added my jalapenos too).


3) Add in your cucumbers. As you can tell, I did one thing of spears and two of chips. I personally like the chips best.


4) Bring the brine (sans garlic, which is in the jars) back to a boil. Pour the brine into the jars, covering the cucumbers completely. Before putting tops on the jars, let the jars cool (I poured with the jars sitting in the sink as to not dump boiling brine all over the place). Once cool, top and put in refrigerator for 24 hours. You can keep them in the fridge for up to three months.

Here's the finished product!


The taste is almost perfection. I wanted a spicy garlic dill and got exactly that. It is just a little too vinegar-y so I might reduce the amount of vinegar next time but I'm very happy with the outcome!!

You know you want to try it!

In having a pickle obsession,
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Thursday, July 19, 2012

{Family}: Yay for the Dales!

So I may have mentioned in the past that my cousin Amy is a ridiculously legit photographer - I blogged about our Christmas card session here and her website is Amy Dale Photography, found here. Well Amy and Andrew are so much fun - Amy is so genuine and sincere, plus she's funny and easy going. Andrew (her husband) is awesome - he and Jake get along really well. He's smart and quirky, has a great sense of humor. They are both musicians and artsy, down to earth, and active in their church. They just bought a downtown condo that is ridiculously awesome and are invested in helping build up the South Main community.

Well not only are they just rockin' at life, but they found out in the spring that they are pregnant! So last night we went over for a little party where they announced they are having a GIRL!!! Amy looks precious (and perfectly tiny and cute, so jealy) and they are just both so happy.

So I stole this banner off the top of their blog where they're keeping track of their journey:

We are so so excited for them and can't wait to meet little babydale in December! Keep them in your prayers as they move through this journey of becoming parents. They're going to be GREAT parents!

Oh and just got to throw this out there, Amy is seriously awesome at photography and is a great businessperson who has built an amazing brand. If you're in the market for wedding photography (and she does a bit of portrait/lifestyle too), holla at her off her website. You won't be disappointed.

Yay for babies!!!

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Monday, July 16, 2012

{Shopping}: IKEA 2012!

My trip down to Atlanta meant that I got to experience IKEA for the third time in my life. After going a year and a half ago (blogged here), I couldn't wait to get back. While last trip was marked with excitement over kitchen stuff, I didn't really have any objectives of this trip other than a shelf for above the fridge. That meant I could just soak it in, love the design, and calmly pour over all of the innovation.

Beth and I decided to go to IKEA on Monday night after she got off of work. Best decision ever. It was not crowded at all (versus going on a Saturday and it being sheer mania) and we got to mosey through the various displays.

The design of the shopping experience at IKEA is sheer brilliance. When you walk in, you can either cut directly to the floor with all the products or you can head up to the showroom floor where you see rows and rows of rooms set up with all of their products so you can visualize everything and how it fits together. It is like being in a real life magazine catalog.

One thing I love about IKEA design is how it utilizes every given space. For instance, many would put one large print on this wall and be done but IKEA makes a gallery wall. I love that and want to try something similar in my house.


I also love all of the storage ideas that are design based at IKEA. Proves being organized doesn't have to be ugly. This room very much reminded me of my buddy Eric. It screamed his taste.


Since IKEA sells everything from furniture to bedding to kitchenware to fabric, it is really fun that they fill their displays with their own products so you can see them in action. I loved this table setting and could see myself using it for a shower or girly party. I also like that it shows that one pink plate per setting and a set of cloth napkins can change white dishes into something girly.


This little bathroom display called to me as well. Mostly because I hate our vanities and sinks. I love the furniture look that is so trendy with bathrooms right now and love the open shelving as an element in a bathroom.


Down on the bottom floor with all the merchandise I had to restrain from buying things I didn't need (and couldn't afford or fit in the car). I loved this potting bench/outdoor shelf. I could totally see it on a fab balcony in NYC.


I also love IKEA's kitchenware. Everything is cute, functional, and priced low.


I love IKEA's furniture and find something new to lust after each time I'm there. This little cabinet was super cute and functional. I could see it as an entry console with a resting place for keys and mail on top and stuff hidden inside. Or even a cabinet for towels and toiletries in a hall outside a small bathroom.


I also love that IKEA sells large numbers of everything. Take these trivets - there were hundreds of them. And yet I've been to IKEA (after Christmas during a sale) when this wall would have been barren because people just buy this stuff up!


At the registers there is an area where you can buy food. I took that as an opportunity to take some "artistic" pictures:




But we really did buy the meatballs. I had eaten them once (my first trip to IKEA, which was with Eric) and have craved them ever since. We didn't have time to eat in the restaurant so we bought these and had them for dinner on Wednesday.

Finally it was time to check out. Here I am with my loot:


And here's Beth!


And here's what I got:


From left to right - three wooden brackets for creating a shelf above the fridge, cloth basket to use for serving rolls at dinner, two rubber trivets, moose shaped pasta (I love shape pasta!), popsicle molds, coasters, and four melamine trays to use when we eat outdoors.

I'd say that I did a good job of restraining myself! I love what I got and satisfied my IKEA need for another year. I sense a trip coming in 2013 that will be a blow-out as we work on the guest room and continue organizing closets and pantries. Ah, I do love a good IKEA trip. Thanks for being my IKEA buddy, Beth!

In those crazy Swedes,
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