Dainty

To celebrate the arrival of spring.

Image via @amy_merrick

Winter White

What a semester! These last few weeks have been challenging, but it is an unending privilege to do what I love each and every day. I hope that as 2016 comes to a close, you're all feeling the same way about your work—whether that's coordinating weddings and designing floral arrangements, tackling problems that will change the world (or one little piece of it), volunteering to help others, or taking care of your families. 

After a lighting-fast trip to Tulsa for a beautiful winter wedding, I'm absolutely thrilled to be spending our first holiday in Michigan—we'll have a white Christmas for sure! I've planned the two-day menu, though admittedly I haven't shopped for a thing yet. Just one exam to grade and a last assignment to submit before I can devote myself to tree-trimming and listening to Aaron Neville on repeat. Wishing you all a lovely holiday!

 

Image by @suertj.

Raspberry and Rose

 We've got a big week ahead—John and I are headed to Omaha to celebrate the marriage of two of our dearest friends—but before we leave there's gin to be made and music to be studied (so much music to be studied!). In the meantime, I'll be dreaming of romantic rose bouquets studded with raspberries and boys in black tie.

Bouquet by Third Bloom, image by Silvana di Franco.

Sun-Bleached

Can't stop staring at these spectacular white pumps; perfect for a wedding day and a Santorini honeymoon, don't you think?

Image by Jen Wojcik.

Smitten

With these classic navy dresses, charming peony bouquets, chilled glasses of rosé, and summer weddings.

Image by Katie Stoops Photography; bouquets by Sweet Root Village.

Ikat

This week I'm loving taking advantage of everything San Francisco has to offer in the month of August (rosé, avocado toast, stone fruit, oh my!), a fantastic dinner with new friends, and lots of beautiful bits from around the internet. Some of my favorites are below!

Such a sucker for a pretty brunch wedding.

This vineyard fête is absolutely lovely.

These two look like people you want to hang out with, and their wedding was equally welcoming.

Mad about magnolias.

Crushing on this chic LA celebration.

Image by Jodi Miller, navy and white suite by Brown Linen Design.

A Beautiful Morning

 I don't often post engagement shoots, but these images by Eric Kelley were simply too gorgeous not to share. Here's hoping we all have a few mornings this beautiful.


P.S. A peek at their classic Southern celebration.

Blanc

I dashed out of my first SoulCycle class on Friday afternoon (or should I say indoctrination?) still panting and leapt into the idling car where my dapper husband was waiting to chauffeur us across the Bay. One of my good friends and colleagues and her very talented boyfriend were putting on a pop-up at Ordinaire Wines in Oakland, and because there's nothing more appropriate than a rich Italian American meal and a few glasses of wine after a serious sweat session, we simply couldn't miss it! A few naturally-fermented sparklers were truly fantastic with the baked clams, frutti di mare, eggplant parm and veal scallopini, and the canoli John and I shared for dessert took me back to the East Coast for a moment (though the biodynamic Riesling was all California). Best of all, a ton of other colleagues showed up for the event as well, so we took over a farm table and had a blast. More than four hours after we arrived, we finally decided to call it a night and head back across the bridge for home.

John woke us up early the next morning, as he hasn't quite recovered from the change in time zones, and had a breakfast hash topped with poached eggs ready before I knew it. Naturally his early morning wake up lead to a mid-morning nap, but I took advantage of the quiet to get my inbox cleaned up and my to do list drafted. Once John was back in action, we both settled in to our favorite spots in the living room to get a little sun with our productivity. I spent the better part of the day with my head in my books, while John spent his at the guitar, and after a little late afternoon exercise, we dashed out to grab bahn mi and salad rolls at Bun Mee's Fillmore outpost. Paired with a glass of rosé and an episode or two of Mind of a Chef, it was the perfect low-key evening.

John was up equally early Sunday morning, but I had made a plan the night before-an alarm with a time of my own choosing helped me feel like I was in control of our day's start time, too. We decided, in honor of John's recent trip, to enjoy a more European breakfast-croissants, berries, and a bit of Swiss. Then we dove head first into our to dos, including Introduction to Social Media for John. His lunch with a friend meant I had the house to myself for a bit, and in my world, that means quiet time with a dense book. Having finally finished the philosophical tome I've been toting around for weeks, I was able to devote myself to music theory and ear training while John worked through some new pieces. John and I both worked up a sweat, and a piece of avocado toast tided me over when our Sunday Supper was at 8 rather than 5. We hosted my little brother for one last evening-he's moving to Colorado and we won't have the luxury of last-minute dinner plans for quite some time! Then we headed to bed, feeling satisfied both body and soul by a restorative weekend.

Tell me, what were you up to this weekend? Making a spur-of-the-moment trip, perhaps, or enjoying a glass of summer water?

Image by Mary Dougherty Photography, white peony bouquet by Bill Chisnell.

Slingback

Years ago, I had the most perfect pair of black slingback peep toes-not too high for the roughest terrains, as demure as they were sexy, and appropriate for any occasion. I lost them romping through someone's yard one summer, but I'm pleased to see their luxurious ivory equal captured by Berit.

Do you still wax about an old pair of perfect pumps like I do?

Orchid

This week I'm loving a tiki party at the office (and John by my side to help mix up cocktails), catching up with good friends, and taking a few moments everyday to be thankful. Tell me, what are you loving this week? 

Charmed by this Gatsby-inspired Southern celebration.

A darling midwestern wedding.

Isn't it romantic?

Sweet on this couple's style.

Smitten with this chiaroscuro-inspired New Zealand wedding.

Image by Kate Holstein, cake by d'ELissious.

Criss-Cross

Classic white satin sandals are perfect for black & white ballroom floors beneath crisp Sperry tents, coupe glasses full of Champagne and warm summer evenings. 

Image by 13:13 Photography, white cross-strap sandals by Badgley Mischka.

Sunbleached

After a wonderful and boozy evening with my closest co-workers on Thursday evening, Friday morning was the last thing I wanted to see. John managed to make my wake up a whole lot more fun with an early AM juice date in Hayes Valley, and later dropped by the office for a little picnic lunch, too! But by 4pm, after setting up a team-wide meeting and corralling 70 people to their seats, all I wanted was some quiet time. I headed home and squeezed in a quick workout before dinner-it was the perfect thing to work up my appetite and wash away the week! We hadn't been to Masala in weeks, so it was fun to grab a table and dig into our gorgeous curries while we caught up with our Friday night dates. My little brother stopped by just as we were signing the bill, and we strolled down the street for custard at Easy Breezy (my favorite summer treat) before Char drove us home. We tucked him into his cot before turning into bed ourselves, delighted to finally get some rest after a busy week.

John was up early on Saturday, and met the delivery man of our favorite bread company at the front door. He grabbed everything we needed for a decadent breakfast hash-Yukon golds, sweet potatoes, pearl onions and garlic-and topped our roasted veggies with a poached egg for the perfect morning. We sent Charlie on his way, then curled up with an episode of Iron Chef America and relaxed. John's pre-dawn excursion had taken its toll, so while he napped, I crossed music theory, French practice, ear training and some blogging off my list. John awoke ready to tackle his own projects, so we set up his & hers workstations in the living room, and before I knew it, he was headed out the door to catch up with a friend. I took advantage of the time alone to organize-my closet, the pile of wedding gifts still sitting in the corner of our kitchen, and my computer's hard drive-and when John returned, we whipped up a gorgeous summer salad chock full of roasted Silver Queen corn, carrots, red peppers, avocado and thin slices of Parmesan. Then we cozied up with Magic in the Moonlight for a quiet evening in.

We weren't up quite as early the next morning, but John still managed to be the first person in line at our favorite little coffee shop, Hollow. He bought out their chicken-apple sausage empanadas and brought them, along with a perfect chai, home to me, where I was still lounging in bed! After breakfast, we jumped right into work, his computer keyboard clacking and my ear training app torturing me. We made steady progress on our to do lists before pausing for a little mid-afternoon exercise (and a viewing of a charming documentary of the origins of General Tso's chicken). With hair still wet, we headed out to wish a friend well as she heads across the pond to summer festivals and music school, and after some delicious tacos, made it back home with time to read before bed. 

All in all, a wonderful weekend-but tell me about yours! Did you spend some time by the pool, tackle a big project or taste-test popsicles, perhaps? 

Image by Robyn Michelle Lee Photography.

Blooming

We kicked off the holiday weekend in classic form-with a quick trip to the grocery store for supplies and a lovely breakfast of poached eggs over avocado toast with coffee and tea. Though I had Friday off, I spent a good deal of the day working. I finally shut down my spreadsheets and Powerpoint decks around 3 and got in a little exercise before we headed down to the ballpark where we were meeting our usual Friday night dates for a very unusual activity-watching Le nozze di Figaro from Club Level seats at AT&T Park! John had never been to the ballpark, and we thought Friday evening would be the perfect opportunity. After a picnic of fried chicken, pesto pasta salad, roasted corn and wild rice salad and beautiful Oregon cherries, we settled in with ballpark beers to watch our friends fill up the stadium with their soaring voices. It was such a wonderful production that none of us minded the late hour, and when we finally crawled into bed well after midnight, we were still humming our favorite arias and ensembles.

On Saturday, I slept in while John cooked up breakfast tacos with all the fixings-roasted potatoes, spicy salsa and guacamole. John caught the cleaning bug and spent the better part of the morning dusting, sweeping and scrubbing while I tacked my to-do list. We hadn't made any big plans for the 4th, so that afternoon we agreed on a classic paella and a bottle of rosé, then grabbed mussels, langostines and chorizo for our supper. After running a few more errands, we mixed up some simple cocktails for a pre-dinner aperitif. John played my handsome sous chef, and we cooked up a rustic Spanish meal that was perfect with an elegant bottle of rosé. Then we curled up to watch The Butler and coconut ice cream with berries, and dashed back up to the roof as our neighbors set off fireworks. We drifted off to sleep with the sound of poppers and sparklers still in our ears.

John decided to experiment with a new recipe for Sunday breakfast-polenta with poached eggs drizzled with basil olive oil. After our morning meal and our usual cups of his & hers coffee and tea, we settled into our weekend routine-John's physical therapy and arrangements, my theory practice and a bit of work. We gobbled up the rest of the polenta sprinkled with a bit of Parmesan cheese for lunch, made plans for the big changes we have ahead (can't wait to share more!) and then settled back in with our to do lists for a productive afternoon. After learning that our neighbor and friend had lost his cat, we dashed out to his favorite beer store for a few unusual sympathy gifts, we headed back home for a little workout before strolling across the hallway for dinner with other neighbors (we live in a particularly great building). After dinner of enchiladas and the most perfectly ripe watermelon, we dove straight into bed and into the new week!

Tell me, what were you up to this holiday weekend? Swimming in the pool, eating charred hot dogs in potato buns, and watching fireworks perhaps, or are your 4th of July traditions a bit different?

Image by Corbin Gurkin Photography, pink and white bouquet by Claire Bean Events.

Strawberry Fields

This weekend was simply wonderful.

With our fifth wedding anniversary on Wednesday and a familial love of surprises, I thought few things would tickle John more than an unexpected weekend trip. Unexpected might be a bit broad since technically I'd been telling John every day for about four weeks that something was planned, but on Friday night I told him we needed to be in bed early for a big day!  After Indian food and an episode of The Newsroom, I discreetly packed a weekender and crawled in bed before 10.

Our early alarm was followed by some favorite empanadas picked up at Hollow the day before and lattes from Trouble that we sipped with Outer Sunset fog practically around our ankles. John didn't know it, but we were headed for sunshine in wine country, and when he realized where we were headed, he was absolutely thrilled. We started with an mid-morning tasting at Ehlers, where John had bought his very first case of wine when we were still in college, then dropped by Bouchon Bakery for a light lunch. I kept each aspect of the day a surprise, so he was delighted to discover that our after-lunch stop was Paraduxx, a winery we'd first visited with friends, and where we left with a few bottles of rosé for summer sipping. After a winding trip over the mountains to Glen Ellen we didn't have the stamina for the third winery I'd scheduled, and instead napped at the gorgeous Beltane Ranch where we were spending the evening. After a game of horseshoes and a stroll through the vineyards we headed into downtown Sonoma, where we strolled through the quaint town square and popped into boutiques to sample olive oils and ogle cooper cookware. After a round of Americanos at El Dorado Kitchen, we walked across the street to the girl and the fig for a fabulous dinner: fried soft shell crab and a charcuterie plate with a glass of sparkling rosé, melon-burrata and pickled carrot, fresh corn salads for our second course, and the duck confit with summer squash slaw and a decadent dish of potato purée with a Carignane from Cline. We shared an orange pound cake with marscapone and berries for dessert and tumbled back to the ranch gloriously full and happy. 

The next morning, John was up for the first pour of coffee and we had the most divine huevos rancheros with eggs fresh from the chicken coop before spending the better part of the morning swinging in the hammock on the lawn. We headed back into downtown Sonoma for a tour of the original Williams-Sonoma and to pick up cheese, bread and a bit of fruit for a low-key picnic in the vineyards. We finally said goodbye to gorgeous Glen Ellen and made our way back home in the early afternoon-but we brought some wine country produce along with us for supper! I needed some exercise and John needed a nap after our weekend, but once we'd both been satisfied, we cooked up some delicate gnocchis tossed with fresh corn, cherry tomatoes, basil and a bit of Parmesan. It was an unbelievably delicious way to end the weekend, and continue our anniversary celebration!

Tell me, what were you up to this weekend? Taking an adventure close to home, perhaps, or celebrating Pride in your city?

Image by Katie Stoops, white bouquet with strawberries by Watered Garden.

Avery & Miles

A perfect day at the bride's parents' North Carolina farm planned by Sheila Motley Events with florals from Southern Blooms by Pat's Floral Designs and artfully captured by the fabulous Jen Fariello.