Friday, April 29, 2011

Royal Wedding!

I so enjoyed watching the Royal Wedding this morning! I remember getting up in the middle of the night 30 years ago to watch Princess Diana wed Prince Charles, so it was very special to see her son, Prince William, wed his bride, Kate, today. Everything about the procession and ceremony was perfection. The British sure know how to do Royal Weddings right! I loved her dress and the kiss, but I think my favorite part was knowing they were taking their vows in the same place William the Conqueror was crowned King 1000 years before. What an amazing history Westminster Abbey has seen!


(image from the AP via NPR.)

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Beautiful Space: California Home

I know I've shared my love for airy, light-filled homes with lots of white and touches of black before, but this home is so beautiful I had to share it too.




I love all the little details, and the kitchen is to-die-for! See the full home tour here.

(images via Stephmodo.)

Monday, April 25, 2011

I'm Back!

Sorry for the long blog silence, but we were on spring vacation last week, and I just couldn't find the time to blog :)  Here is a little hint where we were:


If you guessed Florida, you were correct. Amelia Island, in the top, east corner of the state. We stayed in a condo right on the ocean and had a blast. We also took little trips to the Okefenokee Swamp, St. Augustine, and Savannah on our way home. We came with sand, sunburn, and lots of memories! More pictures should follow later this week as I edit them.

I'm also working on lots of fun things, including a garden update, summer plans, and lots of lists of things to keep me organized.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Beautiful Space: Kennett Square

I love the home in this Sneak Peek on Design Sponge. In two years the owners completely made it over into a beautiful, light filled home. The entryway with the vintage map welcomes you right in. I love the great room with the vaulted ceilings and mix of furniture. The white kitchen is an amazing place to cook--love the Persian rug! And the dark bathroom is just perfect. Check out more photos and the complete interview on Design Sponge.







(images from Design Sponge.)

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Beautiful Cookbook

This cookbook is shooting straight to the top of my "most wanted" list. It has the most beautiful photos and back story. I love a good cookbook, especially one with photos for each recipe, and this one looks like one of the best! Read the interview with author Heidi Swanson on Design Sponge, and see more of her beautiful photos.

The photo wall she pinned up while working on the book is amazing:


(images from Design Sponge.)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Photography: Downtown D.C.

I bought a new set of Lightroom presets the other day and decided to try them out on some photos I took last weekend in downtown D.C. The presets are Cinnamon Rose Zing presets for Adobe Lightroom. I love the pop of color these presets added to my photos!

Lots of colorful row houses in D.C.:

I loved the white with red trim and touches of black in this row house:

I love this shot of the Washington Monument. The grass is so green, the trees blooming white, and the flag's color really pops. I think it's interesting how the color of the stone in the monument changes halfway up:

This is actually the EPA building, but I loved the carvings in the front. Even office buildings in D.C. are beautiful!

The Capitol! I took several shots of the Capitol and tried different presets on each shot for several different looks. Which do you like best? I think I like the first one best myself:




I don't know where these statues were, but I love how the photo turned out:

This was a pretty stone church we passed, and I loved the contrast of the door with the stone:

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Weekend in Photos

I'm finally getting last weekend's photos up, just in time for this weekend! Wow! I can't believe almost a week has gone by since I last posted. I've got to get caught up.

Last weekend was a little bit of all my favorite things: dinner out, time spent downtown, family meals, and gardening. Friday night the boys and I met Stoehr downtown for dinner at Oyamel, a Mexican tapas restaurant. Great food, but we think we prefer the other Jose Andres restaurants we've eaten at. The guacamole was amazing and we tried lots of yummy little dishes including brussel sprouts, beans, corn tortillas, fruit & jicama salads, flank steak, and a variety of tacos. After dinner we drove to the tidal basin to see the cherry blossoms. In spite of all the rain we've had, the blossoms were beautiful! It was freezing cold though, and none of us had jackets, so we didn't get out much.

Saturday Stoehr and I made breakfast together. I made snickerdoodle muffins and Stoehr made huevos rancheros. Great way to start the weekend! We wanted to head downtown to a museum, but were slowed down a little by the tourists and scattered rain showers. We finally made it to the American History Museum and spent a couple hours browsing the exhibits. On the way home we stopped by Taylor Gourmet for subs. We got home just in time as Kohler's "friend" was coming over for a bit. In the evening the boys all had various plans and Stoehr and I actually had time at home alone, so we watched Black Swan together.

On Sunday we had a slow start, but around noon made it outside to the garden. Stoehr and I worked together moving plants from the front garden bed to a spot in the back yard and then digging up the beds to prepare for planting. I planted cauliflower, swiss chard, and lots of lettuce. We got so much done and were so sore we could barely move when we were done. The garden looks so nice now though. We going to have to watch out for the squirrels and birds though! Kieran also decided that he wanted to bake something today, so he looked through one of my cookbooks and picked out a recipe for pita bread. He basically made them all by himself--he kept telling me to let him do it all. They turned out great, and everyone enjoyed the treat.






















Saturday, April 2, 2011

Beautiful Space: Parisian Home

This beautiful home belongs to the Parisian owners of a children's boutique. I love the bright white spaces with touches of dark furnishings, the amazing tile floor, and all the ceramics. And how cool is the front stoop with the glass roof and beautiful front door!







(photos from Milk via The Style Files.)