apartment love

Check out this beautiful apartment! I love the floors, both the painted and the wood tones. I also think the dining room table is stunning, as is the overall serene feel of the space. Enjoy!

images via Elle Interior

happy weekend

Today I am headed out to White Sulphur Hot Springs with 6 girlfriends to celebrate the 40th birthday of our friend, Laura. I am looking forward to a long weekend of wilderness, soaking in the hot springs and quality time with my girls. I will not be back until late Tuesday night and will do my best to post next Wednesday. Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend, my dears!

image via Cherry Blossom World

kelp pickles

My step-mom makes great kelp pickles. It's something a lot of folks do up here using Bull Kelp. The pickles are delicious in Halibut salad sandwiches, and also just by the spoonful as my sister prefers them. The other day, Bret, my sister, my dad and I all helped do some prep for Kara to make pickles with some kelp my dad brought home. It was fun and quick with all of us pitching in. Basically, it entails chopping the kelp and soaking it in pickling salt for several hours, then mixing it with chopped onions and mustard seed and canning. A great little slice of the sea to pull out of the cupboard any time of year. Here are some shots of the process.

summertime

You're half way there, my dears! Have a fantastic hump day. I did promise pups on this blog, so here is a fun shot I took recently of Rosie Mae, sitting in a patch of wild flowers. Happy summer!

fabulous fancy

I love the mix of vintage and ethnic style in this open and light apartment. Owned by a photographer and a stylist in Stockholm, the space is whimsical and fun without being cluttered and distracting. Love it!

images via Skona Hem

happy holiday

Happy 4th of July. I hope you get to eat lots of pie! My step mom, Kara made this strawberry-rhubarb pie last night. Delicious! Love this time of year. It's also Bret's birthday today and pie is his favorite, so we'll be having more of that! Have a wonderful holiday, my dears.

happpy weekend

We have been watching a lot of Mad Men in our house lately. If you watch the show, you know that there is a lot of booze consumed by all the characters. One drink that Don Draper regularly orders is an Old Fashioned. So, I recently decided to find out what goes into an Old Fashioned and how they taste. Turns out, they're quite easy to make and very yummy. Interesting fact - the name Old Fashioned comes from the theory that this drink was possibly the first one referred to as a cocktail. So, happy weekend, my dears. Have yourself an Old Fashioned and roll into your down time with some history on your tongue!

2 oz bourbon whiskey
2 dashes bitters
1 splash water
1 tsp sugar
1 maraschino cherry
1 orange wedge

Mix sugar, water and bitters in an old-fashioned glass (i.e. a short tumbler). Drop in a cherry and an orange wedge. Muddle into a paste using a muddler or the back end of a spoon. Fill with ice cubes, pour the bourbon over the cubes, and stir. Enjoy with a toast to the invention of cocktail hour!