just do it (a deck building realization)

this past weekend my husband, craig, and i, along with the much-needed help of my father-in-law and my parents, added a deck onto our cottage.  we have over an acre of land, and love spending time outside with our little dog, olive, but we didn't really have an outdoor space that we could enjoy.  so, after a few years of talking about it, we finally planned it, got our zoning permit and broke ground.

it's funny how we put things off that we know we will enjoy.  (sure, it took a weekend and about $700 in materials to make our 18 ft by 12 ft deck come together, but the enjoyment we'll get out of it is truly priceless.)  so, why do we put off things that will ultimately bring us more happiness and enjoyment?  perhaps we're waiting for the "right time" or for the moment when our to-do list is done, but unfortunately, those moments never arrive -- they are forever in the future.

there's a lot of truth to nike's slogan...just do it.  if there's something you've been putting off (it doesn't have to be as grandiose as a weekend-long deck building project) put it on your calendar.  schedule yourself a manicure, go to a yoga class or plan lunch with a friend you haven't seen in a while.  replenish yourself instead of depleting yourself.  put as much energy into the things you love as you do your responsibilities.

olive enjoying the deck

isn't she adorable?!!

so, what are you going to do that will increase the joy in your life?...

when the boys are away, the girls will play!

tonight my sister, some friends, and i are enjoying a girls' night in.  craig's on his way to montreal as we speak for a friend's bachelor party, so girl-time is a must!  what's on the itinerary?  pizza, wine, fire in the fireplace, chick flick (maybe) and obviously lots of laughs and good conversation.  and maybe some just dance on wii...  sounds pretty prefect, right?

what we're drinking...

night harvest - sauvignon blanc
tapeña - dry rosé
rex goliath - free range red

i've had night harvest and rex goliath before, but the tapeña is a new one. cross-your-fingers it's a "goodie" - i love finding new vintages : )

what we're eating...

pizza!  usually we make-our-own, but tonight, to keep it super simple, we're opting for take-out.  i'm thinking a 1/2 broccoli garlic, 1/2 ricotta roasted red pepper pie.

broccoli pizza  - picture credit {here}

what's satisfying our sweet tooth....

cake balls.  it's such an awful name, but they really are delicious.  little tiny cake/frosting/chocolate-dipped bits of heaven.  (recipe to come next week.)

yes, that's right...i made those : )

hope you have some fun weekend plans, too!

weekend menu: yoga & cocktails

this weekend i have yogadharma - my yoga teacher training - so there's not a lot of time left for cooking!  luckily, after visiting with my parents early this morning, my mom sent me home with a few servings of penne pasta with smoked mozzarella for my lunches this weekend. yum!  and though my time is limited, craig and i are still planning on meeting up with some friends at our favorite watering hole saturday night.

weekend lunches: penne with roasted red peppers, spinach & smoked mozzarella

recipe {here}.  picture credit {here}

happy hour with friends: cosmopolitan

cosmo recipe {here}.  for the best, go to bobby's!

saturday night dinner with friends: veggie pizza

we're looking forward to veggie supreme pizza from baked on main!  picture credit {here}.



happy weekend!





weekend menu: happy birthday, mom!

today is my mom's birthday. we're heading out to dinner at a fabulous restaurant that has a gorgeous river view, then we're heading back to my parents' house for birthday cake - chocolate orange ganache tart - and presents.  and tomorrow i'm cooking a b-day brunch - biscuits with scrambled eggs, caramelized onions with rosemary and bernaise.

food and birthdays seem to go hand in hand.  there's something about delicious food, good conversation, and a well-mixed cocktail that makes any celebration better!

mom's favorite cocktail: gin gimlet

i think mom would love this variation: ginger pear gimlet

mom's birthday cake: chocolate orange ganache tart

this deliciously rich ganache tart has an orange wafer crust and is sprinkled with toasted nuts - recipe {here}

mom's brunch: biscuits (with eggs, chicken sausage and caramelized onions)

 photo credit & recipe {here}

happy, happy, happy birthday, mom!

my perfect weekend menu

friday night dinner:


mashed sweet potatoes with spinach & goat cheese

saturday night happy hour:


champagne cosmopolitan cocktail - my two favorite drinks combined!!!

saturday night dinner:

the yoga pot - delicious combo of lentils, zucchini & ginger.  yum!

sunday morning brunch:

blackberry-lemon coffee cake

hope you have a delicious weekend!

fall-ish weekend recap

this past fall-like weekend found us enjoying the company of friends, yummy food and traveling to some of our favorite (nearby) places.  it was a lovely weekend, indeed.

craig and i kicked off the weekend a day early on thursday night and enjoyed happy hour drinks at our favorite little bar.  on the way home, we saw a rainbow!  we were excited and tried to get some pictures, but don't worry, we didn’t break out into tears like “double-rainbow” guy on youtube… haha

when friday evening rolled around, we headed to our alma mater, muhlenberg, for alumni/homecoming weekend.  craig and i wandered the campus while sipping some tea and soaking up the gorgeous, fall-like weather.  later, we met up my sis, hannah, and friends for sushi before venturing back to campus for a night of college-esque fun {wink::wink}

after breakfast at our hotel saturday morning, craig and i drove into philadelphia to meet with my mom and dad to look at some potential properties.  we have been dreaming about moving into philly for a few years, so we thought it would be a good idea (and a lot of fun) to start doing some “research”.

for lunch, my parents treated us to a delicious meal at tria on 12th & spruce.  we ordered some wine (it is a wine bar, after all…) and shared some small plates (homemade rosemary olive oil potato chips with truffle aioli and also caramelized onion bruschetta with feta) before indulging in the main course.  everything read so well on the menu, craig and i decided to share: 1 smoked salmon sandwich with herbed goat cheese on grilled brioche and 1 truffle mushroom & brie panini.  yum!

after lunch, we wandered around society hill before heading to old city for cappuccinos and a bit more real estate scouting. 

saturday evening found us back home in our little bucks county cottage enjoying chinese on the couch : )

sunday morning kicked-off with 8:30am yoga class.  nothing like 90 minutes of sweaty vinyasa to set you right again.  mid-day was a women-only affair, celebrating the impending arrival of my cousins’ first baby.  we don’t know the name yet, but we do know it’s going to be a november boy.  (fingers-crossed he’s born on my birthday, november 19th!)

olive, our dog-baby, all curled up on the couch.  she is seriously too cute!

 before leaving for the baby shower, i had thrown together a crockpot chili, so a lovely, hearty aroma greeted me when i walked back in the door afterwards.  craig and i got into pjs nice and early and chowed down on chili, fireside.  yes, it was cold enough for a fire in the fireplace!  i loved it!

spring in my step...

despite the rainy, gray weather outside, i'm in a sunny mood.  not only is it friday (yay!), but craig and i are heading into philly tomorrow to meet with our baker (and sample wedding cakes), talk flowers with the florist, get massages (thank you groupon!) and then enjoy a fabulous dinner with my family at the cooperage, a whiskey and wine bar.  then sunday, i'm meeting up with my lovely bridemaids to look for their dresses.  pretty much weekend perfection if you ask me...

today, i give you some springy photos - all taken by my dad - to put a little spring in your step too.

so, what are you up to this weekend?

recipe for weekend fun

2 college friends + happy hour + gourmet pizza + s’mores = weekend amazingness

ashley, me & alexis

this past weekend, ashley & alexis visited (yay!).  they came out saturday afternoon to see our place, and then we ventured out for some festivities.  we took them to our favorite happy hour spot, bobby simone’s, for drinks and appetizers.  i (of course) got a cosmo, the rest got beer.  we ordered some wings and chicken quesadillas to wash our drinks down with : )  we then surprised the girls with a shot.  please do not judge it by its name.  it’s called a “dirty girlscout”, and it’s dessert in a shot glass.  1 ounce coffee liqueur, 1 ounce irish cream, 1 ounce créme de menthe, 1 ounce vodka.  it takes like liquid thin mints or melted mint chocolate chip ice cream.  we sipped our shots with smiles.

ash & me

my sis, hannah, joined us, and we walked over to jules thin crust.  this fabulous little pizza place that makes gourmet pies (all from local, organic ingredients).  yum!  i ordered two slices – one with roasted potato, fresh mozzarella, rosemary, scallions, sour cream, parmesan and olive oil, the other “kim’s pie” had roasted chicken, portobello mushroom, caramelized onion, mozzarella, balsamic bbq sauce, chives.  omg.  with a glass of ménage à trios red wine, the meal was complete : )

we found this on our walk...

craig's pizza

on the way home, we made a pit stop at wawa for s’mores fixins’.  when we got back to our place, we started a fire in the fireplace and toasted marshmallows (and watched a marathon of say yes to the dress).  there is nothing like an ooey-gooey, homemade s’more (or girly reality tv show) to complete any night. 

(no fireplace?  no problem.  a small candle will do just fine.  or a gas stove burner on low.  or even assemble your s’more and microwave it for a few seconds until the marshmallow is gooey and chocolate is melted.  don’t microwave for too long or the marshmallow with get super tough.)

my pizza: kim's pie & roasted potato

the next morning, we enjoyed coffee with strata and orange cranberry muffins (recipes {here}) before they had to head out : (

thanks (as usual) for a great time, ladies!

thanksgiving weekend in review

our turkey : )

wow.  thanksgiving (weekend) has already come and gone.  it's hard to believe.  i look forward to this time of year so much, and it never fails to fly by.  quicker and quicker each year.

thanksgiving table

thanksgiving was spent at my parents' house.  my mom makes a killer thanksgiving dinner.  we began prepping the day before and continued our kitchen duties thanksgiving morning while the macy's parade was on.  and it snowed! 

snow...snow...snow...snow...SNOW!!!

i'm always in charge of the mashed potatoes and homemade cranberry sauce.  my sister made homemade bread and rolls.  and my mom prepared the turkey, stuffing and her traditional mushroom souffle.  the food was spectacular.

han's homemade rolls on baking sheets

the house felt "holidayish" and super cozy with fires blazing in both fireplaces.  we visited with family and enjoyed food, cocktails and company.  perfection.

fast-forward to saturday.  we spent the day helping my parents' decorate their house for the holidays.  generally we don't decorate for christmas quite so early, but they're hosting a baby shower for  my cousin next weekend and the house has to be christmasfied by then : )

the big tree

living room mantle

we got and put up and decorated both trees (one for their living room and one for the great room), rearranged furniture, cleaned and prepped for the holidays/baby shower.  it definitely got me in the holiday spirit.

small tree in living room

then saturday night my parents had a party to go to, so i hung out with my sis and we had a girls' night.  (craig was up with his family all weekend in ny.)  we made homemade pizza.  half with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, (delicious) chopped olives and thyme.  the other half had caramelized onions, bleu cheese, fresh mozzarella and rosemary.  omg.  they were so good!  we watched movies and enjoyed sister-time.



pizza pre-baking

pizza post-baking.  yum!

sunday craig headed back down, and we worked on our own decorations back at our place.  we got our tree situated in our family room and put lights on it and also decorated our barn with colorful strands of lights.  it looks adorable.  for dinner we enjoyed some thanksgiving leftovers my mom sent home with us : )

our cute baby tree

so, how was everyone's thanksgiving weekend?