Scenes From Our Weekend

Dear Monday.  I wish it was Friday again.  This weekend flew by.  I am off to get a cavity filled this morning and dreading it.  It is my first cavity in probably 15 years.  I have only had one other cavity before.  I hate needles and the numbing aspect most off all. Wish me luck!

We had a fairly low key weekend.

Thursday night I went out to dinner with some girlfriends.  We ate at The Grocery and I forgot how amazing that place is.  Everything we had was delicious.  If you go definitely try the broccoli, okra and Churros for dessert.

Wearing Joie Dress (40% off)

I found a new sandwich I love at East Bay Deli.  The Carolina.  It is turkey, cheese, sprouts, tomato, bacon + avocado and so good.

Frances Moon looked so adorable I had to snap a picture.

Pink Chicken Dress | Twine and Twig Necklace | Stella and Mi Mocs

Friday night we enjoyed an early happy hour at the Yacht Club.  The sun finally came out Friday afternoon after several days of rain and gloom.

My little family.

Teaching Sterling how to make a wish on a dandelion.

Miss attitude.  I swear the terrible twos are starting early here. Frances Moon has temper tantrums all the time now.

Saturday morning we enjoyed brunch at our favorite spot The Variety Store.

Wearing the most comfortable sweater/knit dress (under $50)

Dress (runs on small side I am wearing a medium)

Another view of the dress.   I wore mine during the day with flip flops but it is also cute styled with booties too.

The kids love to go see this dog after we eat at The Variety Store.  He is always chilling near the docks.

Sunday the kids and I hit up the grocery store bright and early and we found the cutest Christmas hats at Publix.

The weather got chilly and rainy again on Sunday, so it was perfect to bust out my new sweater.  I bought this a few weeks ago and had been waiting for colder weather to wear it.

 I love the swing style and pockets. I am in a size XS.

Pocket Sweater

Sunday Matt took Sterling to the Stringray Hockey game and Frances Moon and I want to Baptism celebration for baby Ellis.

He is quite possibly the sweetest baby ever.

How beautiful is sweet Ellis??

I love this picture of Frances and Taylor I snapped.  They are such good friends already just like their Mamas.

Ended our rainy Sunday night with some delicious French Onion Soup with Gruyere Croutons.

I use this Tyler Florence Recipe it is really good.

Have a great week.

Friday's Truths

It has been awhile since I did a Friday's truths/confessions post, so here we go.

HAPPY FRIDAY.

 

1. I love One Direction.  Like really love them and kind of want to see them perform live.  Why at the ripe old age of 35 have I started to like teen music??  I also love Nick Jonas:)r

 

 

2. I joined a gym for the first time in 5 years.  I decided I need to do something to lose the few pounds I have gained.  I figure if I am paying every month it will make me feel like I need to get my money's worth. 

 

3. I have anxiety every time I leave Frances in the nursery at the gym.  Even though I am at the gym right there near the nursery I feel bad leaving her.  I have attachment issues with my kids clearly.

 

4. I have become addicted to decaf cappuccinos.  It is my favorite treat in the morning.

 

5.  Yesterday Sterling and I finally watched Inside Out and I cried.  I mean I got teary eyed several times.  I thought it was going to be a funny light hearted movie but it was way more thought provoking and serious than I expected. 

 

6. I feel like time is passing by so quickly these days and it scares me.  I heard the country song "Don't Blink' on the radio yesterday and it really resonated with me.  I want to try and savor these moments with the kids while they are young and still want to be with me.

 

7.  I can't stop thinking about Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton possibly being a couple.  For some reason this makes me really happy.  I love both of them.

 

 

8. I am so ready to start decorating for Christmas.  Matt insists I can't put any decorations up til after Thanksgiving but I want to start decorating so I have more time to enjoy them.

 

9. Every Friday morning I wake and get excited because I know we will order pizza tonight.  I am pizza obsessed.  It is my favorite way to the end the week with a side of wine:)

 

 

10. Last week I went 5 days without washing my hair.  It was a record.

 

11.  I have become a snob about alcohol and wine. I only want to drink the good stuff.  Life is too short for bad booze.  Gray Goose and Casamigos tequila are my favorites.

 

12. I think I may be the only person who starts eating more veggie meals and gains weight.  Matt is losing weight and I am gaining weight- not fair!  Maybe my beloved bacon helped me keep the weight off.

 

13.  Sterling brings home so much stuff from school and I throw almost all of it away.  I feel bad but I just can't save everything little thing he draws or colors.  He actually saw one in the trash the other day and I had to act surprised like how did that get in there???

 

14. I am so over breakfast foods.  I can't ever think of anything that sounds appealing to eat in the morning.  I know breakfast is the most important meal- any suggestions?

 

15. John Stamos and Rob Lowe are two men who I feel like reverse age.  They look just as good now as they did 20 years ago.  They need to dish their secrets.

 

16.  I am really thinking about jumping on the botox train.  I feel like I know so many people who are doing it and I don't want to the be the only one with wrinkles.  I also hate needles and don't want to look frozen.  I sometimes wish they had never invented these types of things so everyone could just age normally.

 

17. I cut a few inches off my hair this week and it felt really good.  I didn't go too short but definitely cut about 4-5 inches off.  I may go shorter next time, but baby steps for now.  I have hair issues.

 

18. My Monday nights are not the same without The Bachelor/Bachelorette.  When does it start back up??

 

19. This time last year is when Matt's back went out.  I am thankful everyday that he is better.  He meets with a surgeon in 2 weeks to discuss options.  He still really wants surgery and that scares me.

 

20. Friday is my favorite day of the week

 

Nordstrom Clearance Sale | My Favorites

Happy almost Friday!  I wanted to pop in and let you know the Nordstrom Clearance Sale just started.   There are so many great buys at 40% off.  Sizes tend to go quickly so I recommend shopping early. 

My Nic+ Zoe Cradigan was just reduced.  It is perfect for Fall.  I love the fringe and colors!

I am wearing a size small

 

Nic+ Zoe Cardigan

I shared this Tory Burch Dress several months ago and it is now 40% off!  I am still wearing mine for Fall paired with a cardigan.

Tory Burch Dress

I also own and love this Free People Tunic. It is great with jeans or leggings.  I am wearing size small. If you are shorter you could totally wear this as a dress too it is just a touch too short on me (I am 5'9 for reference)

Free People Tunic

also comes in black and ivory.

.  I have these Rag and Bone booties sitting in my cart.  They rarely go on sale and I love this new style. Just debating between the black or tan.

Rag and Bone Margot Booties Black | Tan

I am actually wearing this Joie Dress to an event tonight.  It is so cute with booties and even tights for colder weather.

Joie Dress

 

For the kids these Mini Boden PJs are a favorite. 

and this Tucker and Tate Dress has Frances Moon's name all over it!

 

 

A few other favorites.  Scroll thru to view all my top picks!

Our Dining Room Chairs!

I wanted to share our dining room chairs with you guys today.  I have had several requests to share the source.  I am hoping to have the dining room finished by Thanksgiving since we host every year.  Of course several items I wanted are back ordered.  I am trying to patient but I am ready to finish this room and move on to my next project, Sterling's room!  But I promise a full reveal very soon.  In the meantime, lets talk about the chairs!

Honestly the chairs to me were the hardest decision for the room.  I am so glad I had Alex's help because I could not narrow down what I wanted.  I had a vision in my head of what I wanted but had no idea where to start.  I wanted the room to serve several functions.  Since we live in a smaller house our dining room is where we eat all our family meals, do homework/crafts and also entertain.  I needed chairs that were durable yet I still wanted them to look modern and stylish.

A few inspiration pictures I had saved.

I found the chairs at Lulu and Georgia.  They are called the Claremont Arm Chair. 

Since we were keeping and working with our existing table and buffet, the dining room chairs were the only big ticket item we really wanted to replace.

They were back ordered twice before we finally got them but they were worth the wait!

I scotch guarded them as soon as they arrived because my kids are MESSY.  I actually still make Frances sit on a towel when she eats too. 

I loved the modern and sleek look the most about these chairs.  The room is white and everything else is light so I loved the idea of navy- plus the navy hides stains easier too.

They required minimal assembly.  I had to screw the legs in chairs and that took about 5 minutes a chair if that.  I love how wide the seat is they are so comfortable!

I wanted to share some other chairs that I am loving right now at Lulu and Georgia.

If you need dining room chairs I found they had some of the best selections.

You can click on the smaller squares below to view them on the actual Lulu and Georgia page.

Overall I am so pleased with my chairs.  I can't wait to host Thanksgiving and my Christmas cocktail party in our newly finished room!

- Thank you to Lulu and Georgia for partnering and gifting me 3 of the chairs and to Alex Kaehler for putting together the design for the room.

No affiliate links were used in this post.

Roasted Veggie Pot Pie

Last week I had a reader comment and ask if I really felt better eating vegetarian.  I mentioned this before but I am not strictly vegetarian, Matt however is.  The truth is we both feel better when we eat a mainly plant based diet.  I have noticed I have way more energy,  I am not as sluggish and I think Matt feels the same.  He has even lost some weight and looks really good.  Of course for us ladies losing weight is always harder:) 

 I still love to indulge in some meat every now and then but I eat a primarily veggie based diet the majority of the time.  I cook mostly meat free meals now since Matt is a vegetarian.  I don't love meat enough to cook it just for me and the kids.  I love a good veggie meal so that is why many of the recipes I post lately are meat free.  I will post meat recipes again but this is our life and what we are eating currently.

We have had a lot of rain and dreary days lately and that makes me crave comfort food.  This veggie pot pie is so good you won't even the miss the meat.  But if you did want to have meat add some chicken in by all means.  I subbed cauliflower for the chicken because I felt like it was a hearty veggie.   Roasting the cauliflower and potatoes beforehand helps bring out great flavor instead of just boiling or steaming them.  You could really use any vegetable combo you wanted though.  I think for a fun Fall pot pie butternut squash or sweet potatoes would be really good.

 I decided to get all fancy and cut a star design out of my pre-made pie shell:)  I always use pre-made pie dough.  Maybe one day I will get ambitious and make my own but the pre-made works perfectly and is so easy.  If you want to do a design just save a little extra off the sides and cut into a design and place on top!

Enjoy!

||R O A S T E D  V E G G I E  P O T  P I E ||

- 1 head cauliflower chopped

- 1 small bag yellow baby potatoes diced

- 1 small container mushrooms, sliced

- 2 leeks, thinly sliced (wash them well first)

- 1 cup frozen green green peas

- 4 carrots, chopped

- 2 cups chicken or veggie broth

- 2/3 cup milk

- 1/3 cup all purpose flour

- 1/4 tsp celery seed

- 1/4 tsp pepper

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/4 tsp garlic powder

- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

- 5 tablespoons butter

- 2 pre made pie crusts

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  

Toss cauliflower, carrots and potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Spread on a baking sheet and roast about 20-30 minutes until tender.

Meanwhile heat 2 tablespoons butter in skillet.  Add sliced mushrooms and leeks and sautee about 5-7 minutes until softened.  

Scoop out mushrooms and leeks and place in bowl. 

 In that same skillet add in 3 tablespoons butter, flour, salt, garlic powder, celery seed, and cook about 3 minutes.  Do not let it overcook or burn.  

It should look like mashed potatoes almost.  Add in chicken stock and milk and cook on medium high heat until bubbles and thickens.

Once it thickens remove from heat and stir in all veggies.  

In a pie shell press one pie shell on the bottom.  Bake in oven 7-9 minutes. 

 Remove from oven and pour in veggie mix.  Top with second shell.  Cut several slits in so it can breath while it cooks.

Bake at 400 degrees 35 minutes.