Five Days and Five Nights...

Anyone who has visited this blog (or my last one) for awhile, knows that I love talking about clothing and frequently toy with the idea of creating the perfect wardrobe out of a few good pieces. I recently came across the site Travel Smith and they are advertising an interesting concept: Get ready for five days and five nights with ten pieces of clothing! While the style of clothes is not necessarily my cup of tea, the concept is great. Their wardrobe list includes the following in only four colors- denim, white, black, and red:

Trench Coat(like) Jacket
Boot Cut Jean
White Button Down Shirt
Pin Tuck Shirt
Multi-Gore Skirt
Black Trousers
lacy Wrap
Suede Pumps
Shimmer Tank
Stretch Belt

One of the great things is that the pieces shown on this website are not exclusive... If you don't have one of these basic items, it can easily be found in a local store. In addition, the clothing is relatively timeless, so you will be fashionable for several years, not just a few months!

Would you ever consider a wardrobe this small (or maybe only a little bit bigger)? I must say that it appeals to me very much, but I wonder if after awhile I'd get bored.

Mmmm, Mmmm, Good...

During our most recent doctor's visit, we were told to increase our little one's caloric intake as much as possible. Since she is only sixteen pounds (less than the 5th percentile as compared to her height which is in the 50th percentile), the doctor suggested foods like full fat milk (which is always recommended), butter, bread, pasta, ice cream, meats, cheeses, etc. One dessert our lucky little duck has been enjoying is a pudding parfait - chocolate on the bottom and vanilla on the top! Of course it is made with whole milk AND is calling my name from the kitchen!

Not Just for Kids...

These sweet little piggies demonstrate good manners for little children to learn... I think that everyone could benefit from a little flashcard drill!

Living Well on Less: Like Merchant Ships...

Meredith is doing an outstanding job as this week's Finishing School teacher! I have really been enjoying her posts on Starting Small, An Attractive Breakfast Table, and Budgets and Bags. I hope that each of you have time to go over to her blog and glean some fresh ideas for practicing "cheerful frugality!"

Feminine Improvements in the Yard...

Though I hung a wreath on the front door and tied flag bunting to the porch railing the day we moved in, our yard needed some serious work! Husband got right down to business and mowed the lawn, weed-whacked, and set up the sprinkler to try to revive the yellowed grass today. Normally, we are against watering lawn (especially since the house doesn't belong to us and the owners aren't interested in paying for the H2O), but our neighbors have been complaining a bit about the owners lack of dedication to their yard. We're hoping that a bit of water this week will appease the masses and revive things a bit. I hope they don't get too excited though, because I have a feeling that we'll be coiling up the hose in a few days and letting Mother Nature do the rest!

How have you improved your curb appeal lately?

Feminine Improvements in the Nursery...

After we cleaned out the garage yesterday, I had all that I needed to work on the baby's nursery. First I moved all of the furniture around until I found a suitable arrangement. I unpacked the tray that tops the changing table and elegantly organizes cotton balls, q-tips, and a basket full of odds and ends. Next, I covered the changing table pad with a pretty piece of vintage floral cloth and moved on to putting a light bulb in the table-top lamp, books and special keepsakes on the shelves. Since we've decided that the time has come for the little one to move into her own bed and room, I moved her crib mattress and bedding into the nursery. All that is left to do is to hang a few pictures and blinds, put away the co-sleeper, and put together the toddler bed (in a few more months!).

What room did you improve today?

Feminine Improvements in the Powder Rooms...

The first rooms that I will be working on this week are our bathrooms. We have two and a half baths and each one really only has the bare necessities in it!

I added flowers (either faux or dried) to each bathroom and also added a few knickknacks and candles to the master bath and guest bath. I've also thought about a few pictures that I'd like to hang on the walls... Husband just needs to find some time to hang them! With the towels folded prettily and the window films we put up last week, things are much improved!

Note: While editing this post, I somehow deleted the links that some of you put up yesterday... I am so sorry about that! If you wouldn't mind, please put them up again! I only got to visit one or two and I'd like to visit the rest and comment on all! Thank you!

Some Feminine Improvements...

As I look around our new home, I am struck by the fact that most of the rooms lack the little feminine details that I am normal quick to distribute! Since we've only been here two weeks, we have a busy toddler, and have had four different overnight guests since we've been here, it's not really that surprising, but the time has come for some personal (and yes, FEMININE!) touches to be made inside these four walls!

This week, I will be going room by room and listing the small changes I will be making to each space. I would love it if everyone here would participate as well. Though most of my changes will be decorational, yours could be accomplishing things in each room that have been bothering you (or your family), a little tidying up, cleaning, or anything you want! I will probably be limiting my changes per room (for now) for time's sake because with everything else going on here, sometimes I just have a few minutes to accomplish things.

If you'd like to join in my little adventure, just sign the Mr. Linky on the posts to follow and let us know what you're doing on your blog (or in the comments section!).

Gather ye Rosebuds while ye may, John William Waterhouse

Finishing School: Week Four...

Though I am shamefully late on announcing this, I want to make sure that all of you hop right over to Julieanne's blog, My Daily Life as a Wife and Mother, to view her recipe and instructions for making the perfect summer dessert, Yellow Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting! The finished product looks absolutely delicious and perfectly beautiful! I am inspired!

Never Mind...

I have to totally take back my last post on being clueless in the kitchen right now... Mrs. Wilt's last two posts were on Peanut Butter Cookies and Tomato Sandwiches. Can you say dee-licious? Add a little bacon and lettuce to the tomatoes, mayo, and white bread, and I'm all over them! After all, it's a Thursday and if you are Orthodox, you know exactly what I am talking about!

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less...

With the dog-days of summer officially upon us, I find that I am lacking a bit of creativity in the cooking department. Though I usually really enjoy preparing meals, not having any imagination is putting a damper on any excitement farm-fresh produce is giving me!

Enter a great article (Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less) from The New York Times, and I think that I'll have inspiration for MONTHS!

Photo from MarthaStewart.com

Beautiful Privacy...

Our new home has two bathrooms with windows in very inconvenient areas. One overlooks the shower and the other is very close to the toilet. After searching high and low for curtains for a narrow window and a window that would be wet frequently, we happened upon Decorative Window Film by a company called Artscape. I have to tell you, I absolutely love how they turned out! We chose Wisteria, but there are many other options to pick from (we were also considering Magnolia). I cannot wait to show you the real pictures!

Phew...

Well, the move is officially over... What a relief! We still have plenty of boxes to empty (Where, oh where, are my bowls and salad plates?!), but things are slowly but surely taking shape. We love our new home and neighborhood and are looking forward to getting aquainted with everything around us!

I'll have some updates soon!

Yikes...

Due to some errors on our part and on the part of the realtors for our present house, we have to move out of this house by next Tuesday (we originally thought the lease was up July 30th, but it was really June 30th!). Yes, there's a little bit of a freak out going on at our house, especially since as of Monday morning, we had NOTHING packed.

If I'm a bit absent from this blog for awhile, you'll know why. Hopefully I'll be back by the middle of next week:)

Happy Fourth of July!

Moving On, by Julie Paschkis

A Comforting Sunday...

Today was full of all the comforts of home... just how I like my Sundays!

• Today was Fr. John's first anniversary to the priesthood. We celebrated with a special coffee hour followed by brunch at a local hotel with some of our good parish friends. The dining room overlooked the ocean and food was delicious!
• The baby and I took a nice long nap with the afternoon light streaming in on us.
• Dinner was Beef Stroganoff over egg noodles followed by Blueberry Cobbler. Meredith, your recipe truly does inspire rave reviews!
• A nice long walk around the neighborhood... the evening air was nice and cool and it felt great to stretch our legs.
• A dvd of The Queen.
  

Finishing School: Week Two...

For Week Two of our Online Finishing School, we are heading over to the Merry Rose to learn a bit about some notable American Women. Elizabeth will highlight some different things that we can learn about each throughout the week. This is especially timely, as those in the United States will be celebrating the national holiday of the Fourth of July on Wednesday!