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Saturday, April 18, 2020

RECIPE 8: Chicken Soup with Toasted Garlic Mushrooms and Celery

You guys! Just looking at this recipe again for Alison Roman's Chicken Soup with Toasted Garlic, Mushrooms and Celery has my mouth watering. Paulo and I chose this recipe after the weather cooled again and Montana got snow... again... (FACE PALM!)


The Hubs and I bought a rotisserie chicken to speed along the process and threw in the noodles we had (spaghetti), and our tastebuds were met with deliciousness that is part chicken soup and part pho (thanks fish sauce). And dang! It's a good comfort soup but also on the lighter side so you don't regret getting seconds or thirds. And the mushrooms, whelp they just make this dish taste buttery AF even though it includes no dairy.


Don't just take it from me. Follow the link here for the recipe, enjoy and don't forget to follow our journey to cook the whole book via #pandwdinein.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Weekday Musings

EATING // We've now cooked 10 recipes from Alison Roman's Dining In with only one disappointment (the dish was actually better the next day - so does it really count as a fail?!) With over a hundred recipes left to cook, both Paulo and I are feeling confident about our cookbook choice. And this week we'll be baking our first sweet. Don't forget to join us in the kitchen via #pandwdinein!

HOME*WORK // I've been working on a built-in bookshelf concept for our living room and am close to pulling the trigger. I can't wait to have a place to display books and art but also have a place
to organize and stash the growing pile of Henry's toys. I love our open concept floor plan on our first floor but have quickly discovered we need a solution for the toddler mess ASAP. Stay tuned...


CRUSHING ON // ManiMe. A true lifesaver for any girl stuck at home who's a regular at the manicurist. I was skeptical the on-the-go stick-on gels were an actual option but I'm already wearing my second set and have ordered more. It's super easy, fast and they work just as hard as a true gel manicure. My first set lasted a whole week and I did not hold back on my routine for a second. Within an hour of applying the gel stickers, I was washing dishes, changing diapers, cooking, bathing Henry and going about my day. My first ManiMe manicure lasted an entire week and this second set is going strong on day four. Each set of gels is custom cut by using 3D scanning technology and are 100% guaranteed - so what's the risk? Plus have you seen the designs? ManiMe has great basics like matte watermelon but they also have designs I may not risk at a nail shop (I mean look at this flower power). For $5 off your first purchase, click the link HERE.

READING // When I'm not reading Hairy Maclary, I'm turning the pages of Sally Rooney's Conversations with Friends. Rooney is the winner of The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award and it's no surprise as she solidly paints a picture of each character and you can't help but root for the protagonist while also feeling conflicted about her.

THANKFUL FOR // The extra time with my family. Although we wish we could be frequenting our favorite dining spots and shops, working at coffee shops, swinging at the park and seeing our family and friends in-person - we're feeling grateful for more quality time with our small crew. Don't get me wrong, Henry continues to test us every day (thanks terrible twos) but there are moments during the workday - like random hugs, handholds, kisses and bursts of laughter - that I will definitely miss once this pandemic has passed.

THINKING ABOUT // It's our fifth week of quarantine/self-isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic and it's hard to think about anything else. How long is this going to last? What are you doing to thrive instead of just survive?

WATCHING // Ozark. After months of many friends telling us to watch this show we finally started. We're one episode away from finishing the first season and it is awesome. I tend to judge shows in part by if I am able to stay awake (yes, I'm one of those annoying show sleepers). And you guys! Until last night, I've been wide awake for each episode. We still have two seasons to go but if it continues as is we'll be watching every episode of this tense and dark show.

WEARING // Real clothes. Getting dressed is definitely helping me fight through the #WFH slump. Both the Hubs and I normally work from home but with Henry at home, getting dressed each day has become even more important. Ya'll, I even wear mascara sometimes!

Alrighty, that's all for now folks. And for the escape we all need right now, download one of these six snappy Zoom backgrounds from the one and only Gray Malin.

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Wallpaper 101

Wallpaper can be like investing in art depending on the quality and placement of the paper. I love how this medium can transform a space, add dimension and texture. It can also portray a mood, add whimsy and just make you smile.

My first foray with wallpaper was with our half bath on Capitol Hill. Powder rooms are the perfect place to experiment and make a big impact without the worries of a shower, a bath or the steam damaging your selected wallpaper. 

After ordering various samples, I taped the samples up on the walls in the space and mulled over each selection. This process can take time but is entirely necessary. Sometimes it can take months to find the right paper for your space. Because - don't forget - unless you're using a temporary sticker type of paper, wallpaper can last a lifetime so you need to love it.

For our powder room on Capitol Hill, I eventually settled on a classic paper: Cole & Son's Palm Jungle. I fell in love with this particular paper because it complimented our classic 1900s row house with plantation shutters and reminded us of our annual vacation spot, Palm Springs. But because both the Hubs and I favor a more modern aesthetic, we chose an unexpected colorway for the palm print, blue and white. Switching up the color immediately punched up and altered the space while still honoring the more traditional style of our home and place. 

The next paper I fell hard for was Hygee & West's Daydream. Before our lives turned upside down with a baby, a new job, moving and building a house - I'd planned to use this paper on the ceiling of our nursery. I bought several rolls during Hygge & West's annual sale but then we were moving. So I used this paper floor to ceiling on our new powder room in our modern home we built in Montana. This time making selections on hardware, penny tile and a sink to directly compliment the wrap of orange birds and clouds. Although our powder room is small, it dependably creates joy and is a conversation starter with every guest.


We inserted the extra Palm Jungle paper that I saved from DC on the back of our built-in bar in our dining room. It's a show stopper and ultimately adds dimension and interest to an otherwise white space. It also jives with our modern furniture and fixtures while also reminding of us of our first home as a family. We also snuck some extra Palm Jungle in the coffee nook in our kitchen hidden behind floor to ceiling high gloss cabinets. 


When we built our house, we planned a large master bath with a standalone tub, double sinks and a separate water closet - a total luxury after sharing a pedestal sink in a tiny bathroom for six years. The water closet is far enough from all the water elements that I knew it needed paper so after a long search I found Juju Handprinted Papers, I fell hard for their Maxi Gold on Charcoal and again covered the space from floor to ceiling for a bold statement in our otherwise very white bathroom.

So what's next? After we cover Henry's ceiling in Schumacher's Deconstructed Stripe, I'll be hitting pause. But likely not for long as I'm committed to finding the right paper for our guest suite/the Hub's office.

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