Life in Pictures

Despite the blog silence (or maybe as evidenced by the blog silence), life here has felt full lately.  Here are a few of the high notes...

K turns 30

K's mom and I teamed up to plan a surprise birthday party for K at our favorite mexican restaurant in SA, La Fonda on Main.  The party was a success, the birthday boy was surprised, and I took exactly one picture.  Oh well, we'll always have this picture of the cake and I'm told K looked very surprised as we walked in : )

Deer Valley

K's other birthday gift was a ski trip to Deer Valley.  Our sweet friends let us use their house as a gift to K.  The weather couldn't have been better and the skiing was amazing.

Valentine's Day

Do you all make a big deal out of Valentine's Day?  I feel like it doesn't end up being that big of a deal for us.  It feels kind of forced to do nice things for each other because you're supposed to on this "holiday."  This year, Valentine's Day was so off my radar I actually planned to take dinner to a friend whose husband is deployed.  And then I kind of forgot about dinner for us.  

We ended up with this pancetta-spinach-whole wheat pasta creation that was actually pretty yummy.  And a good representation of our combined tastes.  K thinks everything better with bacon.  I think everything's better with spinach.  This time we both won :)  

March?

And then there was the whole month of March.  I don't really know what happened, but March flew by.  We got sick, K switched teams and has been working every weekend, and we tried out best to carve out some time together in between.

Easter

March ended on a high note - Easter,  a visit from my mom, and a great Easter brunch with friends.  We opted for another al fresco Easter celebration and the weather totally cooperated.  On the menu?  To start - caramelized bacon (this was to.die.for) and Trader Joe's Rosemary Almonds.  For lunch - rack of lamb persillade, green beans gremolata, braised carrots and parsnips, buttermilk mashed potatoes, and fluffy rolls.  Plus, deviled eggs (thanks, Meghann!) and a frittata (thanks, Dom!).  For dessert - easter egg sugar cookies (that we scattered in 'nests' on the table), Mary Carolyn's coconut cake, and Deb's carrot cake.  I'm still full, but it was a wonderful Easter.  

Hallelujah!  He is Risen!  Hallelujah!  

  

Resolutions

Well hello 2013.  It's hard to believe 2013 is already in full swing.  I'm not much for new year's resolutions, but I do find the fresh start that a new year brings to be exciting.  There is always hope in new beginnings.  I really liked this prayer Scotty Smith shared on his blog on New Year's Day and thought it was worth sharing here.

SCOTTY SMITH|5:51 AM CT

A Prayer for New Year’s Day

     Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:14-15

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of a new year. Tons of confetti still cover the streets of Manhattan from last night’s party, gratitude fills my heart with the breaking of this day.

I’m thankful to begin this year with a little better understanding of the gospel than I had last year and the year before and the year before. I’m already praying that I’ll be able to say the same thing this time next year, and ten years from now; for the gospel isn’t merely good news for people getting ready to die—it’s good news for people who are now ready to live.

In the gospel you lavish us with your love, liberate us by your grace, and launch us into your transforming story of redemption. What more could we possibly want or hope for, in life or in death?

Because the gospel is true, I don’t respond to Joshua’s bold charge with a list of New Year’s resolutions—promises of what I’m going to do for you. Rather, I begin this year resolving to abandon myself to everything Jesus has done for us. Jesus is the promise keeper, not us. He’s the one who has promised to make all things new, including us, including me. Hallelujah!

Father, that’s why serving you is the greatest privilege conceivable and the purest delight imaginable. For Jesus is our Joshua—the one who has saved us, is saving us, and one Day will completely save us. Without any hesitation or fear of sounding cliché, I gladly affirm: Jesus saves! What other Savior died for us that we might find life in him? What other god bears scars that we might bear his beauty? What other god sacrificially serves us that we might gratefully serve him?

Because of the gospel of your grace, throwing away my idols feels less like a painful sacrifice and more like a liberating dance; for all my “empty nothings” have ever given me is momentary pleasure and lasting regrets. Remind me of this all year long when I’m tempted to think otherwise.

Father, may this be a year of considering our lives worth nothing to us, if only we may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given us—the task of testifying (by word and deed) to the gospel of your grace (Acts 20:24). So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ loving name, with great anticipation and much thanksgiving.

I hope you will feel lavished by God's love, liberated by His grace, and transformed by the story of redemption in this new year.

Time flies when you're . . .

too busy to slow down and breath having fun.  Seriously, though, we've been busy lately.  K switched to an in hospital rotation (which means he no longer gets to enjoy the schedule that comes with private practice) and I have been working non-stop to meet several large deadlines at work.  To say we've been busy is almost an understatement.  We're like barely getting our laundry done busy.  Thankfully we're still managing to have a little fun ;)  Here's a quick recap of life lately:

BYOP!

Our friends the Watsons had a BYOP (bring your own pie) party last month to celebrate Charlotte's half birthday and usher in Fall in San Antonio. (That's a little bit of an oxymoron, I know, but I promise the temperatures cooled off for at least two full days!) It was so much fun to sample the variety of sweet and savory pies and Mary Carolyn made a delicious salads to complete the meal.  Our contribution was a savory tomato, zucchini, and goat cheese tart.  Here's our tart just before it went into the oven.

Birthday Surprise

I turned 29 last week.  Yikes!  Work has been so busy that we didn't really have time to celebrate the day of, but K plotted with my bosses to surprise me with a quick trip last weekend.
It was a wonderful* surprise and I thoroughly enjoyed our little mini-vacation.
We played tennis, had a spa day and relaxed by the pool.

*Confession: I had to actively try to be excited about having my "plan" for Friday/Saturday thrown off.  I was actually a little disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to head into work at 6:30 on Friday morning to finish my motion and catch up on other deadlines before calling it a weekend.  I wish I was kidding.  I think that disappointment faded when I got to the spa mid-day Friday, but I feel like I have to at least confess the extent to which I am a control freak.  
Thanks for loving me anyway, K.

My Other Birthday Surprise

or Lucy's lesson in placing your treasure in heaven....
Last week, K and I made a big decision to buy a rug for our den.  I desperately wanted a patterned natural fiber rug, but we decided we needed something that would be a little easier to keep clean.  Read: a little more Lucy friendly.  We chose a neutral/patterned wool rug that I absolutely love.  We literally had the rug four days when I came home (on my Birthday no less) to this:

Yep.  Lucy ate the rug.  Or actually it looks like she sat there all day slowly pulling it apart.  Whatever.  She made a big fat mess of my pretty new rug.  I cried.  Then I immediately regretted that we had made a "big purchase" for the den.  Then I cried some more and went to bed.  A little dramatic?  Yes.  But I was frustrated and stressed and tired and it was my birthday.  K and I  decided Lucy was most likely trying to give us a not so gentle reminder that our material things just aren't that important.
She is so wise.  

Lazy Labor Day

It was a wonderfully lazy labor day around here.  I went into this weekend with a to-do list a mile long (that included things like catch up on work, ironing, laundry, cleaning).  I was literally excited to have three full days to get everything done.  

Yesterday morning when I told K I was feeling overwhelmed, he suggested I just relax.  Best advice I've heard all week.  We slept in, made a yummy brunch, baked banana bread (that Lucy ended up devouring when we left the kitchen to get ready), went for a long walk, and ate at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants at the Pearl Brewery.  It was perfect.  Not on our list yesterday?  Any of the items on my to do list!  So glad K is around to help me keep things in perspective :)

Our Favorite Summer Meal

Despite the Texas heat, summer is truly one of my favorite times of year.  I love the way afternoons turn into long evenings that slowly fade into night, being outside, trips to the farmer's market, and, of course, summer food.  This summer we have been enjoying lots of fresh zucchini, heirloom tomatoes, and delicious Texas peaches. Our favorite recipe so far?  This Halibut with Tomatoes, Zucchini and Summer Squash baked in parchment packets.  It's as simple as it is delicious.

Image via Bon Appetite.

Fish Fillets with Tomatoes, Squash and Basil

from Bon Appetite

2 cups very thinly sliced assorted summer squash (we use zucchini + yellow crookneck)

1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots

1/4 cup thinly sliced basil, plus 1/4 cup basil leaves

20 cherry tomatoes, halved (we love buying small heirloom tomatoes)

4 T dry white wine

4 T EVOO

s+p

4 6 oz filets Halibut (or other flaky white fish)

For the packets, cut four big squares of parchment paper, fold each square in half and cut to form half heart shape (so that when you unfold you have a large heart shaped piece of parchment).    

Divid squash among parchment sheets, arranging on one side of sheet in thin layers.  Sprinkle shallots and sliced basil over squash.  Scatter tomato halves around squash (almost creating a frame where the fish will go).  Drizzle each packet with 1 T wine and 1/2 T EVOO.  Season with s+p and place fish atop each portion.  Season fish with s+p and drizzle 1/2 T EVOO over each.

Fold parchment over crimping edges tightly to seal the packet.  Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes.  Serve straight out of the packets and garnish with basil leaves.

*The packets can be assembled up to four hours in advance and then refrigerated, which makes this such an easy meal to serve for company.

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have!

Farewell to the Karnes

Our dear friends Jon and Caroline (and Wylie and Baby Girl and Moser) are moving this week.  We are so sad to see them go.  We met them within weeks of moving to San Antonio and have been so blessed by their friendship over the past two years.  Has it really been two years since we moved here!?!

Since the Karnes will be heading back to Maine, we thought it appropriate to send them off with a proper New England-style clam bake.  We had so much fun!

Yum!  Can you believe the size of that lobster!?  I can't believe we pulled this off.  The closest I've ever come to a clam bake is a crawfish boil, so I feel like this was a huge accomplishment ; )  I'm so glad our New Englander friends Deb and Nick helped us pull this off. 

Here's a shot of the table before we ate.  Still loving our spot under the trees.  Can you believe we ate outside at 5:00 in the Texas heat?  I seriously love this tree.

Yum!  Somebody loved his corn! 

Love this shot of the guys.

Thanks to Deb and Nick for helping us host this little sendoff dinner.  It was such a fun way to celebrate our friends.  Jon, Caroline, and Wylie (and Baby Girl and Moser) we will miss you so much!

Zucchini Banana Nut Muffins

I made these muffins tonight in an attempt to salvage some leftover ingredients (a couple of extra-ripe bananas and half a zucchini leftover from dinner).  The result?  A delicious and nutritious dessert that will also make a great breakfast tomorrow morning.  Yum!

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts (I reserved a few to sprinkle on top)
1/2 cup oats
1/2 zucchini shredded
2 extra ripe bananas
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar

Preheat the oven to 400.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.  In a separate bowl mix together eggs, vegetable oil and the sugar.  Add dry ingredients, walnuts, oats, zucchini and the bananas and stir until just combine.  Fill muffin cups (or loaf pan) and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Hope you enjoy!

Sip and See

Our dear friends and neighbors recently welcomed a baby girl into their family.  It has been so fun to watch them adjust to life with little Miss Charlotte and even more fun to see how much they love and enjoy their new baby girl.  She is precious and they are understandably smitten.

This weekend we hosted a sip and see to celebrate Charlotte's arrival.  It was such a joyful occasion and we were so happy we could provide a place for friends to gather and celebrate this beautiful baby girl.  Here are a few pictures from the day . . .

I found the template for the invitations on Etsy and worked with

Jayme Marie to customize everything.  She did a great job, don't you think?

We served a light, cocktail-style buffet which included: our favorite ham sliders, herbed goat cheese and cucumber sandwiches, strawberries with lime curd, caprese bites, and smoked salmon dip.  For dessert?  Mini carrot cake cupcakes from Kate's Frosting of course.  Here are a few shots of the table before guests arrived.

Isn't the tiered tray fun?  Our friend Deb let us borrow it for the day.  

I loved having something that added height to the table.

Yum!  K loves these ham sliders so much he actually broke his 
Paleo man diet for the day (well maybe the weekend) to enjoy a few. 

And, since it was a sip and see, we also took some time to plan a fun drink menu.  We had homemade raspberry almond ice tea and Kir Royales to quench everyone's thirst.  Here's the "bar" set up.

K and I are so fortunate to have so many generous friends.  The drink tub was borrowed from our friend 
Ann at church and K's parents supplied the fun pink linens and all of the silver goblets and champagne flutes.  

I just love the elegant touch Kathryn's silver and crystal added to Charlotte's party.

Last, but not least, we sent everyone home with a little dessert for the road.

I made these colorful pineapple shaped sugar cookies to coordinate with 

the invitations and to symbolize Charlotte's "welcome." 

We had so much fun celebrating the Watson family and cannot wait to watch Miss Charlotte grow!

Green Turkey Burgers

My friend Chaiss is a wonderful cook and shared this recipe on her blog a while back.  After living in San Antonio for a while, I think I understand how Chaiss came up with the recipe.  Everything down here has a Southwestern flair - so why not spice up your turkey burgers with a little kick too?  The result is delicious and green turkey burgers have become a favorite dinner around our house!

ground turkey (I buy extra lean)
cheddar, pepper jack, or swiss cheese
hamburger buns, grilled with butter
salsa verde
diced green chilies
chopped cilantro
green leaf lettuce
tomatillos (or regular red tomatoes)
sliced avocado

Add some salsa verde (about 1/3 cup), 1/2 can diced green chilies and a handful of chopped cilantro to your ground meat. Season with salt and pepper. Grill hamburgers and buns, melt your cheese on the burgers, and pile on the green toppings.  We serve ours with sweet potato fries.  Shhhh we buy them from the freezer section, but they're also a cinch to make at home. 

I love this recipe because it's flavorful, healthy, and super easy to prepare.  K loves it because what guy doesn't love eating burgers for dinner?  Hope you enjoy these delicious and healthy burgers!

DIY Burlap Table Runner

Remember the Easter Potluck K and I hosted last month? After we started planning, K gave me a very specific (and low!) budget for the party. That meant no trips to Pottery Barn or Williams-Sonoma for seasonal decorations (or these washed linen table runners I've been eyeing).  And it meant I'd have to get creative if I wanted to dress the tables up.

Once I realized we would be putting everyone outside, I decided burlap would be a great way to spruce of the table without making it feel too formal. So where to find a burlap runner that covers three 8 foot tables? Make it of course! This was a no sew project (because let's be honest, I can't sew!) that was about as simple as can be.

Here's my burlap creation in action.

To make one of your own, you'll need some burlap, stitch witchery, your iron, and a damp kitchen towel (or "press cloth"). Stitch witchery is my new favorite craft supply. What is it? It's sort of like tape for fabric that creates a stitch like seal when heat is applied.  And a miraculous discovery for those of us that are sewing impaired.

Because burlap is a stiff fabric, I bought the super weight stitch witchery. Worked like a charm.

I was making runners for three 8 foot banquet tables, so I bought a lot of burlap (10 yards to be exact). I think 8 yards would have easily completed the project, but I'm sure I can find some fun uses for the leftover burlap.

To make the runners, simply cut your burlap roughly to size. The straighter you can make your cuts the easier it will be to create your seams later. (I used our wood floors as a guide!) The burlap I bought was double the width I needed, so I cut the length I wanted and then cut it in half down the middle.

Next heat your iron and get your press cloth ready. I got started by ironing a fold in the burlap to mark the seams I planned to create. Next I placed the stitch witchery inside the fold, placed the damp cloth on top and pressed the iron down. Do not slide the iron - just press it in place, pick up and move on to another segment. Once I got going, I found it wasn't necessary to first iron the fold in the burlap, but it was a huge help getting started. I worked in 2-3 foot segments (basically the size of my ironing board). And before long, I was finished. As Ina would say, How easy is that!?

Here's an action shot. Just lay out the stitch witchery, fold and iron.

I tapered the corners to avoid bulk and the possibility of a frayed end poking out from underneath.

Plus, as K is fond of reminding me, I'm a little OCD.

Ta-daaa! Here's a close up of the finished project!

It really is that simple! I think the whole project took me about an hour and a half, but there was some laundry folding and movie watching going on in there too.  There are endless possibilities for customizing this runner. Wouldn't a monogram look cute on either end? Or maybe ribbon detailing along the border? And of course you could always use the same technique with different fabric . . .

My Favorite Banana Bread

Banana bread is high on my list of favorite foods. Something about it is just so perfectly delicious. I love a slice with fruit for breakfast or topped with ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce for dessert. I am constantly searching for new banana bread recipes. The gold standard? Something equal parts delicious and nutricious. I think this recipe for Banana's Foster Banana Bread is pretty darn close to perfect. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Bananas Foster Banana Bread

*adapted from Cooking Light

1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)

1 cup packed brown sugar, divided

6 tbsp butter, melted and divided

1/3 cup plain fat free yogurt

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
powered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine banana, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 5 tbsp butter in a nonstick skillet.  Cook over medium heat until mixture in a large bowl.  Add yogurt, remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, and eggs.  Beat with a mixer at medium speed.  Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) in a small bowl.  Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended.  Pour batter into a 9x5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350 for about 1 hour.

*Optional: Combine remaining 1 tbsp melted butter, 1 tbsp milk, and powdered sugar; stir until well blended.  Drizzle over the warm bread.
**I also like making this into muffins.  Just half the baking time.

Anyone have any good banana bread recipes they want to share?  I'm always looking for a new ways to make my favorite bread!

Family Fiesta

It's Fiesta time in San Antonio and we kicked Fiesta off this year with a visit from the K's sister and her family. It was such a treat to spend the weekend with them. On Friday, K went with Kristen, Joel and the kids to Sea World. The kids had a blast and Cameron even rode her first roller coaster. Other highlights from the weekend? A trip to the Witte Museum Science Treehouse and a ride around Brackenridge Park on the train.

Playing on the pulley exhibit.

Learning about air pressure. I love the look on Cooper's face in this picture.

Cooper really loved the water works exhibit.

Making music on the outdoor drums.

It was a fabulous weekend and we were sad to see the Dow family go. Can't wait for our next visit!

Anniversary Surprises

K and I celebrated our first anniversary earlier this week by doing what we do best - eating out. We planned to visit the new San Antonio location of one of our Dallas favorites, Perry's Steakhouse. It has been at least two years since I've been to Perry's and I was pretty excited about enjoying a big juicy steak and all of the yummy sides. Dinner was wonderful, as expected, but the highlight of the night ended up being the surprise scavenger hunt K planned for me.

As we approached our first anniversary, K and I decided to limit our gift giving to traditional anniversary gifts. For the first year, this means paper. For my part, I surprised K by framing the scripture verses read at our wedding with one of our wedding invitations.

I was really curious to see what K would come up with. He's terrible at keeping secrets and was at one time dubbed "the world's worst liar." I mention this not to complain (these are not bad personality traits), but to give a little background on K's secret-keeping abilities. In the weeks leading up to our anniversary, K was silent about our anniversary, gifts, or related plans. Then, as the day drew near, K started grinning whenever I mentioned our anniversary. One night he actually started spontaneously giggling in response to something I said only to explain that it would make sense soon. The suspense of what he had planned was killing me.

When I arrived home on Monday night, I played it cool and feigned disinterest in his gift. Inside I was dying to say "Let's exchange gifts RIGHT NOW!!!" Before I had the chance to say anything, K presented me with a simple white card with a handwritten note . . . It said, among other things that my gift could be found at the end of a scavenger hunt! How fun is that?

The scavenger hunt took me around our house and was filled with fun personal messages and inside jokes. There was a card in the dishwasher where K does some of his best housework despite the effects of the "forcefield;" a card on our newly hung porch swing (hung 18 months after it was purchased); a card where we keep Lucy's leash (our walks with Lucy double as our time spent solving the world's problems); and cards in a few other locations around the house.

At the end of the paper trail? A garment bag filled with new outfits hanging in the closet! My heart leapt when I saw the Neiman Marcus bag. K went shopping for me in the dress section of my favorite store! I have not had a new dress or top or other fun clothes in ages (and I truly love new clothes), so this was such a treat!

K's gift was thoughtful, creative and fun and made for a very memorable first anniversary. K did a great job keeping the secret and pulled off an amazing anniversary surprise. I can't wait to celebrate 60 or so more anniversaries just as special as this first one!

Ham and Cheese Sliders

I have been involved in a wonderful women's Bible Study since I moved to San Antonio last fall. It has been a place for me to make new friends and more importantly a place for me to grow in my relationship with the Lord. I cannot express how much this group of women has meant to me. It has truly come to feel like an extended family and one that I have been very thankful to be adopted into.

This week we celebrated the end of our study on Genesis with a potluck dinner and a question and answer time with our pastor, Tom Gibbs. It was such a joy to share a meal with these wonderful women and such a blessing to hear our pastor's insights into our study.

For my contribution to the potluck, I made Ham and Cheese Sliders and this Cranberry Avocado Salad with Candied Almonds. Naturally, both recipes were Pinterest finds. Here are the details on the Ham and Cheese Sliders.

Via The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

*from The Girl Who Ate Everything

24 King's Hawaiian rolls (or other good white dinner rolls)

24 pieces of Honey Baked Ham (I used our Easter leftovers)

24 slices of Swiss cheese (I bought regular deli style and sliced it into quarters)

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup miracle whip

Poppy Seed Sauce

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1 1/2 tbsp yellow mustard

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 tbsp minced onion

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perkins)

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip and spread mixture onto top and bottom of each roll. Assemble sandwiches and place close together on a large baking sheet. In a medium bowl, combine poppy seeds, mustard, butter, onion and Worcestershire and pour over rolls. Allow the rolls to rest about 10 minutes until poppy seed sauce is set. Cover with foil and bake for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted, uncover and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes until the tops of the rolls are brown and crispy.

Note: These can be assembled the night before, covered and refrigerated. Just be sure to bring the sandwiches to room temperature before baking.

I think these scrumptious little sandwiches would also make a great main course option at a cocktail buffet or luncheon. I hope you enjoy!

Easter Dinner

Since K and I couldn't be with family for the Easter holiday, we decided to host friends for an Easter Potluck. The idea was to provide a place for other SA "transplants" to gather and celebrate Easter. It was so much fun! Good company, yummy food and a great reason to celebrate.

First things first, the food was delicious. It was such a treat to share a meal that everyone contributed to. We set up the dinner buffet on our dining room table and a separate dessert buffet in our kitchen. Here's a peak at our menu:

I bought a Honey Baked Ham, made these cheddar biscuits, and Kathryn's famous yeast rolls. To recognize the contributions made by each of our guests, I printed up labels for the buffet items.

Here are a couple of the labels spread out before our guests and the food arrived.

p.s. This is a terrible picture, but it's the only one I took!

I wish I had remembered to take a picture of the buffet table when all the food was ready to be served! I like the touch of pink and green the labels added to the buffet table!

For dinner, we set up tables in our backyard for dinner al fresco. The decision to put everyone outside was one of necessity - 20 people just don't fit in our little dining room. But, to be honest, I have been looking forward to having a dinner party under the maple tree that shades our yard since we moved in. It's one of my favorite places in our yard and turned out to be the perfect setting for our Easter dinner.

We were so fortunate to have a beautiful and relatively cool day in SA.

Do we own the tables and all those chairs? I wish! Because we had all of the linens, china, crystal and silverware, we only really needed the tables and chairs and decided to rent for the day from Aztec Party Rentals. To keep the feel casual, I set the table with simple white linens and a burlap runner. For the flowers, I tried to keep things simple and fresh - using a soft pink/white palette and lots of fun spring blooms.

We have a great flower shop in San Antonio - San Antonio Flower Co. - where I have started buying all my flowers. It's basically a wholesale florist where you can find anything and everything you need for arranging flowers. Word to the wise - flowers go fast on holiday weekends. I arrived around 5:00 on Saturday and quickly learned that the pickings were slim. Thankfully, there were still plenty of hydrangeas and I was able to find garden roses and what I think were the last dozen tulips in SA at a nearby HEB. I'm pretty pleased with the way the combination of pink and white blooms came together. The best part is we have so many lovely flowers around the house this week!

There is so much hope in the Easter holiday and I had so much fun planning this gathering to celebrate Christ's resurrection. I hope you had a wonderful Easter with your families, friends or a combination of both!

"Whose dog is the butterfly chaser?"

That would be us.

We took Lucy to the dog park today and rather than play with the other dogs, she chased butterflies. No I'm not kidding. People were staring, pointing, laughing...(it was pretty funny to watch). We decided to let her run and hope people didn't realize she was ours. That plan failed when an older man asked us directly whether she belonged to us. Ok fine. She's ours. We're the proud owners of the crackhead (I prefer dreamer) that chases butterflies around the dog park. As the man observed, "she sure has a lot of energy." Yes, we agreed, she sure does. We're just glad she got most of that energy out today chasing butterflies.

At least Lucy is sleepy after her big day at the park : )

Happy Saturday!

Date Night In

K and I really enjoy good food. Finding new restaurants and eating out is probably one of our favorite things to do together. And we tend to do it well - a nice bottle of wine, appetizers to split, entrees and dessert with champagne. But, as much as we love going out, I also really enjoy cooking. Not whipping up dinner after work, but slowly putting together a meal.

This weekend K and I didn't have any plans on Saturday. This doesn't happen often, so when it does we like to take advantage by really enjoying the free time. For me this meant making dinner. That may not sound so relaxing, but it was wonderful. On the menu? Herb roasted pork tenderloin, cheesey quinoa, and basalmic and goat cheese asparagus. It was simple, easy to prepare, and delicious. And to take the mood from dinner in to date night, I decided to set the table with linens, crystal and china. It was such a relaxing evening and one that I hope we can repeat often.

Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin

pork tenderloin

herbes de Provence

s+p

balsamic

Preheat the oven to 375. Sprinkle tenderloin with s+p, then with herbes de Provence. I like to rub the herbes de Provence in to treat it a bit more like a rub. Place the tenderloin in your roasting pan and drizzle with a few tablespoons of balsamic. Roast at 375 for 30-45 minutes until your meat reaches the desired degree of doneness. (Note: we usually take ours out a little closer to medium rare, cover it with foil and let it rest. The time on the counter allows it to finish cooking and keeps the meat from drying out.)

Cheesey Quinoa (recipe inspiration here)

1 small shallot, minced
1.5 cups quartered cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic
.5 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water
shredded cheddar (a big healthy handful)
s+p, to taste

Heat a little EVOO in saute pan. Saute shallot and tomatoes over medium high heat for around 5 minutes. Add quinoa and garlic and cook until quinoa appears "toasted." Add water, bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Once the quinoa is cooked, fluff it with a fork and stir in the cheese. Season with s+p to taste.

Asparagus (recipe here)

Yum. Typing these recipes makes me hungry for the meal all over again. I hope you have a chance to enjoy a relaxing Saturday and date night in.

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring is such a fun time of year. I love having more daylight in the evenings, Easter, and of course Spring clothes! This weekend, K and I spent some time freshening up the house, getting organized and I even got to do a little bit of Spring decorating. We try not to go too overboard on seasonal decorations around here, but K let me bring home this little guy this weekend.

We found him at the Williams-Sonoma outlet. Pretty cute, isn't he?

What have y'all done to spruce up your homes for Spring?

Master Bedroom Design Ideas

K and I have been slowly transforming our home to reflect our shared style and taste. When we got married last year our home became an immediate reflection of our individual styles. The living room, guest room and office reflect my style - traditional, cottage-inspired, and white. The den and the master bedroom were all K - black, sleek and modern. The overall affect is, well, a little jumbled. So we've been working on that. Slowly making changes room by room as our schedules and budget allow.

Our current project is our master bedroom. The existing furniture is all courtesy of K's med school apartment. As we were discussing how to use our furniture after the wedding, K made it clear that he would not be sleeping in my bed. Apparently, my shabby chic inspired bedroom set doesn't leave K with the same sense of calm that it does me. So we've been using K's furniture. It's black, modern and broken. Yes, the headboard is broken. It separates when you sit on the bed, lean back to read a book, or roll over. No, I'm not kidding, we've really been sleeping on a broken bed for the past year. We're also in need of a new dresser. K's sock drawer tends to get stuck in the open position, literally stuck. The result? A daily supply of socks for Lucy to play with after K leaves for work in the morning. I usually awake to socks strewn about the room, on the bed and in Lucy's mouth.

Here are a few of our inspirations for the room . . .

Image via Live Beautifully.

Image via MuseInteriors on Houzz.com.

Image via Life of Turquoise.

Any change will be a good change, but if we can make our room as peaceful and inviting as these images we'll be pretty happy. Hopefully, I will have some "after" pictures to share soon.

Nice Little Saturday

Yesterday was rainy in San Antonio. In addition to sleeping in, watching basketball and other general laziness, K and I decided to tackle a couple of projects around the house.

Ta-daaaaa! Our newly hung gallery wall!

Here's another angle. The frames may or may not have

been lined up on the floor for the past couple weeks.

We're super excited to check this one off our list (and have our hall floor free of frames). For anyone out there hoping to match the level of precision you see here, I'll reveal K's technique for keeping everything straight.

Yes, that's a pretzel twist folks. Honey wheat flavor to be exact.

And that is about as DIY as we get around here. Hope you all had a lovely weekend!