enamored.

Take a look at these fantastic Le Creuset with wooden handles and this other enamel sauce pan. Loving all things enamel at the moment!

candle sticked.

Look what I found last night when I took out our trash! You should have seen how thrilled I was. It was a very exciting moment. On my run this morning with Ben, I was thinking about what I am going to do with them. Thinking of painting them a matte yellow. But then I thought, maybe I would do a sharp pink. But now I might want to do an amazing green. Oh the options! And yay for another DIY project...I am now keeping a list of my to-do projects come September...

birthday love.

Happy Birthday to my Mom! For those of us lucky enough to love her personally we all know how committed, loyal, intelligent, thoughtful, and caring she is. Living from a distance, there are things now that I miss and appreciate all the more about her. How selfless and giving she has been to her children. How curious and driven she is in conversations and reading. How interested and inquisitive she is about other people. Her sense of history and relationships. Her roots in the south, history in the east, and life in the west. Her love of travel and NPR. Her background in politics but her mission in ministry. My Mom is just so layered and interesting. As her daughter, I am forever grateful for it all...

So, Happy Birthday Mom with much love and wishes for the year to come!

wedding time.

And we're back! We left last Wednesday for NY and only just got back last night from a fantastic wedding weekend. Ben's best friend, Pete, got married and the wedding was up near New Paltz. The wedding was gorgeous. We didn't want it to end and are only now coming down from the high. It was such a great weekend that I didn't do a very good job of photo documenting everything but I'll give you what I can. Here we go...

We spent Wednesday night in Westchester at Ben's house....it was a very short visit with his Mom. On Thursday, we took the scenic drive up to New Paltz. Ben's dad let us drive his Porsche up north and we lucked out with a beautiful sunny day. We drove through West Point and meandered along the beautiful back roads.

We made a quick stop in High Falls to stop in this great little store we spotted, High Falls Mercantile. We got two great ceramic bowls on sale.

We headed to dinner in New Paltz at A Tavola with Peter and Claire's families. It was intimate and small and lovely. I loved the idea behind this drink with jam in it.

Friday was all about wedding errands. We swung through Kingston to get Pete's ring re-sized. Stopped for lunch at a small deli. On our way to the wedding site, we stopped into a fantastic, hole in the wall, roadside craft beer store.

The wedding was on the Shadow Lawn property in High Falls. The ceremony was planned for outside, cocktails in the red barn, and then the reception under a big tent out on the lawn. Have I mentioned I love barn doors? 

 

Friday night was a big rehearsal dinner/BBQ at the house we were staying in. It was great! Outside in the backyard. Amazing toasts by some of the groomsmen. Just lots of love and celebrating. Also, the florist was amazing and I was loving all of the arrangements in old cans!

And finally, the wedding day was gorgeous. The threat of rain loomed large the whole weekend but miraculously it stopped raining around 3:00 and held off for the rest of the evening. The ceremony ended up in the barn and was simply put, incredible. Intimate and small. At one point, we all sang a folk song from O'Brother Where Art Thou and it filled the whole barn. It was beautiful. The reception flew by. Ben also nailed his toast to Pete and Claire....even the DJ announced it was one of the best toasts he has ever heard!

Pictures do no justice to the weekend. We are still reveling in what a beautiful, wonderful wedding it was. And to top off the night, there was a bonfire late into the evening with smores and drinks.

As you can imagine, we had a hard time coming back yesterday...

lettered.

Now, this is a true letter. Fantastic. Simply fantastic.

bistroed.

We grabbed a quick bite with Emmy and Cynthia last night at Bistro Bohem. It was good. Very good actually. Ben and I both are big into the Shaw neighborhood at the moment and this was another big hit for us. Food was excellent and the restaurant has great neighborhood charm. Not to mention, I am new to the Eastern European food world and our Pierogi, Chicken Schnitzel, and Beef Goulash all made me want to try more! Oh yeah, and those potato chips, unreal!

amtraked.

Look! There are proposals to overhaul Union Station and finally make some movement toward a high-speed rail hub. Read this Washington Post piece, "Amtrak to propose $7 billion overhaul at Union Station". Very exciting...as long as they do it right of course.

olympics.

The Olympics are starting soon! I love the Olympics. And, I actually think I prefer the summer Olympics to the winter. Gymnastics. Track. Swimming. Diving. And, if you haven't heard, Michelle Obama is heading over to lead the U.S. delegation. And, of course, there will be great spottings of Kate Middleton out and about. Get your game face on, it's Olympic time!

family mealed.

Oh man. We ended up having a surprisingly busy weekend but the highlight was breakfast at the Family Meal out in Frederick! It doesn't have a website but man oh man, it was good! Owned and started by the famous Bryan Voltaggio of Volt Restaurant, it is a modern diner. I can't tell you how cool the concept of it is. Apparently the building used to be a car dealership. The inside speaks to all the traditional hints of a diner but it is sleek. And, the food was fantastic! We all agreed the pancakes were some of the best we can remember eating this year, the biscuits and gravy hit the spot, the eggs were yellow and beautiful, and the orange juice was perfectly pulpy (very important) and smooth. Delicious. We can't recommend it enough!

the vogels.

This story in the Washington Post just took my heart! Ben sent it to me yesterday and I only just now got around to reading it. In light of our recent visit to see the Stein Collection exhibit at the MET and the Kreeger collection here in DC, this trumps both. The Vogels are astoundingly modest and grounded and generous. What a story....your must read for today!

toki time.

Finally went to Toki Underground last night.

 Laura and I walked over to H street after work. We waited the hour and half for a table (crazy!) and got a prime seat at the window looking out over the street. Gotta say, it is a cool space.

We started with fried chicken dumplings. Laura also ordered an iced coffee which came in this little can.

 

I went with the Curry Chicken Hakata and it was good! Spicy and filling. Solid chunks of spicy fried chicken. A boiled egg that broke apart nicely and added great flavor to the broth. A mix of scallions and vegetables...and great textured noodles. It hit the spot!

 

 And finally, we went with some cookies for dessert. Straight out of the over, soft and warm (if not hot!), with a glass of milk. Oh yeah, they were good!

vineyard time.

Mary and Ben are going to Martha's Vineyard! I have never been. I am very excited! Always been on my list to get to.

When are we going? No idea. But, this is going to happen. Why?

Because of this....

Credit: Photos by Gabriela Herman - taken from various sites.

Intrigued? Enticed? I bet you are!

So, apparently, Chris Fischer hosts dinners in his Greenhouse on Beetlebung Farm. Described as elegant and rustic dinners, apparently the food is just picked and served. Just fantastic!

wayfared.

Looking for an escape today? Literally or figuratively?

I have a quick band-aid fix for you! The latest Wayfare issue for the Summer. Take a look and daydream a little...

pickings.

Some random pickings from the week...loving all of the below!

SPLENDID Stripe Dress

JCrew Panama Hat

Neon Accent Cross Body Bag

Madewell Bridgewalk Sandal

ephron again.

I really wish I could have had lunch with Nora Ephron. I really really do. But instead, go read this most recent NYTimes piece about her, Nora Ephron's Hollywood Ending. My recommended read for the day!

the high time.

Unrelated to anything else, how cool is this zip-line?! It is the highest zip-line in America and out in New Mexico. Amazing!

upstate.

Ben and I will be putting in some quality time in upstate New York in the next month. At the end of the month, we are headed up to the Hudson Valley for his best friend's wedding. I love weddings. Everyone is just so happy. Just love weddings. This one will be a great one too because Pete and Claire are  a great couple and Ben is giving a big toast too!  We also just decided over the weekend to go up near Lake George for a short vacation in August. We really wanted to go to Michigan for some true r&r. Ben is still coming to terms with the fact that that has not worked out because of my work schedule but we have a solid back-up plan that is showing some promise. More on all of that soon as we figure out some details but in the meantime, to get us excited, look at this great place I just found, Miss Lucy's Kitchen, for brunch or a lunch stop!

wireless phone booths.

Whoa! Just today's proof of how cool NYC is. They are turning old phone booths on the streets into wireless hook-up spots.

clouded.

Take a look at these amazing photos, Lovely Sky Monsters, by Camille Seaman in the Atlantic. They are amazing and make me want to go to Nebraska!