pumpkins pumpkins everywhere

At least that’s what we’re hoping for.   While we have lots of exciting s&j happenings, I only want to give sneak peeks for now and I really don’t think you want to see another pile of wood :)  SO, this is how we spent our weekend:

and that wasn’t working as all 4 of us girls aren’t fans of “sweatin’”

so this is how we dug our pumpkin patch (do not worry – chair not destroyed – it was a marker for the edge of the patch)

yep, seeds looked good so we planted all 100 of them while mills played and did things i didn’t realize she was capable of as always.

 

Keep your fingers crossed that something grows out of our garden!

goodbye summer and HELLO fall!

Arre’s farewells to summer had me thinking about all I should miss about summer, but I can’t help but be thrilled for the cool mornings that have yet to come in the deep south. 

We celebrated our first day of fall by playing in the water hose in our birthday suits (kids, not me) on the front porch (apologies for those that drove by for molly’s “booty shake” I promise i have control over them(sometimes)).

But this idea of fall had me thinking about one of my fall favorites…

Apple Cider

One of good ole’ marthas…

Serves 6

• 1 1/4 quarts apple cider
• 3 tablespoons firmly packed light-brown sugar
• 7 whole cinnamon sticks, (6 sticks for garnish)
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• Ground cloves
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt
• *1/2 cup Calvados, or other brandy (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together cider, sugar, spices, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Remove from heat; pour in brandy, if desired. Strain into a pitcher; discard solids. Serve in mugs, garnished with cinnamon sticks.

*i have never added brandy to mine, but at the rate things are going it’s going to be an essential ingredient this fall

and so it's over

Summer.

It's officially over.

Tomorrow.

So tonight I am going to eat ice cream,

go for a boat ride

and stay up late reading a book on the back porch (or maybe even the dock).

and tomorrow, i will wear boots.


images via lilesandsparrows, gourmet mag

Are you there?!

In our quest to entertain, sometimes enlighten, and mostly bring you up to speed on our latest stewart & james endeavors…we somehow are losing followers. ouch.  i know I’m to blame for some of it – I have been completely MIA as far as this blog is concerned lately (or now that i think of it, that really should help with you readers that don’t consider poop talk appropriate dinner or car ride (laura leigh) conversations).  So whether this will bring you back in or make you run for the hills (I’m hoping for the first) I don’t know..but here’s what’s been going on with me, us, kids, etc.

I mentioned before that i was able to fly across country for a little bachelorette jaunt with a dear friend (susan)  Well, this weekend was the finale of those events…her wedding that was held at Rosemary Beach along my favorite – Florida’s 30A!  It was FABULOUS and i want to kick myself each time I think of how I wished I had more pictures…but instead I’m stealing from facebook friends :) 

Susan was the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen and as Louise so aptly put “i want to box that up and collect her, she looks just like a barbie doll”  And she did.  She was also serenaded by her Ken (aka Wil) on stage, too sweet! …enjoy these stolen cell phone pictures (all photos by louise) :)
 

on a much more back-to-reality-note: any idea how these two kids are genetically related?  it doesn’t make sense…we are yet to see which path #3 is taking

 

molly is rarely fully dressed – many times has one sock on or one braid in, prefers tattoos and a necklace as her only attire and thinks this is the only appropriate thing to do for the camera – who wouldn’t want to see her tongue?

mj never leaves the house without a full ensemble – cardigan, sparkly flip flops, rainbow dress, head band, and last but certainly not least: a positive attitude that will knock your socks off.

And lastly – more to come on this but here’s a little sneak peek

Have a lovely week!

just another day at the office...

while there are many woes to being an office-less operation, plenty of perks make their way as well.

starbucks is still our #1 go-to meeting spot but in an effort to cling to summer (as I've been quite obsessed with lately, if you haven't noticed), we held our most recent meeting poolside.

meeting checklist:

• frames - check
• frame hardware - check
• revised marketing material - check
• laptop(s) - check
• swimsuit(s) - check!
• bloody mary(s) - check!!

and were actually productive. we'll prove it to you by the end of the week ;)

Anthology Magazine {print is NOT dead!}

Print Is Not Dead from Anthology Magazine on Vimeo.


In a (digital and literal) world where print mags are falling fast and online replacements are on the rise, Anthology comes as a splendid surpise!



While I adore the internet and all of its offerings more and more each day, I actually get paid (well, a little bit anyway ;) ) to write for print publications, so their fate is of particular interest to me. The creation of a new one as opposed to the demise of a great is news that absolutely makes my heart sing (and my heart only - don't worry).

Even though some people try to pit print and online publications against each other, it's actually a beautiful partnership in more cases than not. Anthology does this by opening right up with a profile blogger sensation, Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge.

Other treats within include lots of gray walls, a yellow sofa and reprinted classics (and that's just from what I can tell online!)



This quarterly print magazine about décor, travel, design, entertaining, and culture - yes, please! - will be available in October, so subscribe now. Hopefully doing so will help keep this one in print *fingers crossed*

To learn more (or to just get inspired) visit their web site.

cheers {to the (still) summer weekend}

Now I know a recipe like this would have been better for say... the Fourth of July weekend but... I was busy that weekend and well, I wasn't keeping up with this series at that time.

Anyway, this sounds too good to pass up just becuase I wasn't paying attention.

So, here it is

watermelon slush (because Summer. Isn't. Over. Two more weeks, people.)

Ingredients:

• 
  
  Four cups of pureed watermelon
• 
  
  Halfcup of simple syrup
• 
  
  Half cup of St. Germain (remember this?! Meg loves it too)

Process:

• 
  
  Combine watermelon, simple syrup and st. germain.
• 
  
  Freeze in a baking pan.
• 
  
  Scoop and serve!

yum!

recipe from shape magazine

image source

Alexa Chung for Madewell

(the incredibly stylish) Alexa Chung's collection for Madewell is online - today. I'm sure it won't be for long,  though.

Here's what I (would) want (if i didn't have -$0.31 in my account):



iris blouse



billie shorts



hello sketch tee

cookbook suggestion

Hi!  We are still here..just back in the routine of things (dragging listless kids out of bed, making lunches (endless lunches), living in the car (poor whining teething screaming almost 18 month old)).  But one thing that has made our routine so much easier is this cookbook…

Created by former Cookie editor and writer of this amazing blog: Dinner: A Love Story, this book feels like it was written FOR ME.  A section on what to do with your toddler that has a separate meal from the rest of the family (it keeps us from throwing scraps on the floor for mills to pick up), to throwing together whatever you have in your pantry, to making things “look” better for kids.  Because as we all know, it’s not what is served on the plate necessarily, it’s HOW it is served and presented and oh so carefully approached with a beg of “please take one bite”.  

It’s not just for people with kids, it’s for those of us with not much time on our hands (doesn’t that include all of us?), but who want to make a yummy, wholesome dinner.  It keeps my panic of “what the f are we going to have for dinner tonight” to more of a calming “let me open my new dinner time bible to see what we will have for dinner tonight”.  the children are appreciating the latter phrase :)

I LOVE it..buy it!  You won’t be sorry!

happy eating

It's a Small (art) World

Remember last year when Steve Penley was here (in Albany)? That was cool. So cool.
Well, the other day on facebook (yes, facebook), I saw a picture of him and dove in the rabbit hole followed the attached link. Low and behold, I was led to my neighbor's sister-in-law's blog - she photographed him (and has some amazing pieces of his in her home (see below))!



 He's on her blog and she's on his

Then while I'm strolling through the rest of Shelli's blog, which you should do, by the way - she is great! - I stumble upon a gorgeous home - the link says it belongs to a shop owner and I think I recoconize some art. I shoot a quick email over to the shop, Gramercy Home. The featured owner responds and is from the area (this area)!


Gramercy!

(And I was right about the artist. And they introduced me to another great one - score!)

So - do you have this? - I started on facebook, linked to Penley's site, realized he has a blog, connected to Shelli's blog, discovered Gramercy, (cyber-)met Jenny and learned about new artists - oh yeh, and found another new blog - whew!

I just l♥ve when the great big internet makes the world that much smaller.



photo credit: Shelli Allen Photography, Penley's blog and Gramercy's blog

cheers {to summer's last long weekend}

remember these?! i sort of dropped the ball. but i'm picking it back up. and to (re)start us off, i found this
delectable recipe from what katie ate (adorable, by the way) on this is glamorous. Mark(ster) adapted it to better suit my cocktail-loving ways..

a few weeks ago, i had the most delightful greyhound - ever. it was made with fresh grapefruit juice (as in, squeezed right out of the fruit upon my order) and served in an old fashioned with perfect ice and a wooden stirrer... but i digress. (i wanted to feature it but it seemed to ordinary (for the record though, mark said just combine equal parts grapefruit juice + vodka.

when i came upon this recipe, it remided me of that beloved cocktail but with a perfect-for-hot-days twist.

here it is:

Pink Grapefruit Granita

INGREDIENTS:

• 
  
  2 1/2 cups fresh pink or ruby grapefruit juice, at room temperature

• 1 cup boiling water

• 1/3 cup superfine sugar

• 1 - 1.5 oz. vodka (mixologist recommends Hanger One)

• Mint sprigs, for garnish

 PROCESS:

1. Combine juice, water and sugar in bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Pour liquid into a 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Freeze until hard, about 3 to 4 hours.

3. To serve, scrape with a fork and spoon the scrapings into small chilled martini glasses or small glass bowls.


4. Mix in as much vodka as the frozen consistency will allow without becoming soupy (1-1.5 oz)


5. Garnish with mint


6. Enjoy Monday!

hold on summer, i'm coming

with just a few weeks of this delicious heat left, I've got to get to the beach.



so I'm heading out after work today.

and i plan to have one up these upon arrival, if you must know ; )

h a p p y
l a b o r
d a y
w e e k e n d
!



image source

get ready {for RUE}

the brainchild of blogger/rockstars: Anne, Crystal, Alaina and Caitlin  premieres this month (on the 16th to be precise)!

The blogosphere has been abuzz for months in anticipation for RUE's debut and now... we are so close!



A few sneak peeks have leaked over the past few weeks and profiles of the founders have made their way around the web as well.

I am intrigued. (they have Max Wanger shooting photos for goodness sake!)

While I still prefer the tangible glossies that magazines (still) are, I am eager to embrace this newest addtion to the digital age ;)

Let the countdown begin...
images via shelter pop, casa sugar