Merry Christmas!

Maxwell-Concklin Christmas II

John and I decided to make our Dec. 21 Christmas celebration an annual event. We get to make a fancy dinner and exchange gifts four days early! It also allows us to create our own family traditions but reserve the big day for our parents. 

This year, we had a wonderful time with our favorite bubbly and a Stuffed Pork Loin, Roasted Root Vegetables, Green Beans in Shallot Vinaigrette, and Butternut Squash Bread Pudding. Bread Pudding is so fun to make, and this one in particular combines sweet and savory in a really good way. It was a total hit.  

Herbie got a new bouncy ball, a bone, and Blueberry treats. :)

We hope you all have a beautiful holiday weekend with the people you love most. 

Cheers!

         Lauren

 p.s. My two handsome men -

Shapeshifting

via Design Sponge

Inspiration comes in so many forms. For me, it's clearly been in music (though not as much these days) - and often in words, color, and design. For a while, it was our wedding. Designing a day to represent both of us individually and what we've become as a unit kept me entranced for hours on end. Most recently, it's become our home. We finally have a place of our own combined with the feeling that we're going to stay a little while. What inspires me now is having a space to create something for us - a place to live, work, and play - a blank canvas that will serve as the backdrop for our next few chapters.

We both have a penchant for bright colors, so I'm thinking a neutral background that will allow for lots of warm, energizing pops of color. I've been having a lot of fun searching Design Sponge, Design Love Fest, Oh Happy Day!, and others to see what excites me and find offbeat ideas on where to shop.

Scouring Craigslist for thrifty furniture finds becomes so addictive!

xo,

        Lauren

This steals my heart.

I'm so in love with these portraits from illustrator Itsuko Suzuki. They make me want to go rescue all the dogs I can get my hands on and make sure they have lots of hugs.

xo, LM.

Breaking Bad in my kitchen.

John and I love Holiday Projects.This year, it's homemade Pomegranate Jelly inspired by Aarean at The Color Issue. While I was figuring out Pectin and Calcium, I felt like my Dad the Chemist would be proud...along with Walter White.

As it turns out, making jelly is way more fun and less intimidating than you might think - and a nice little hostess gift to have on hand for holiday parties. The festive color doesn't hurt. :)

Just a Delight

Forget red and green; yellow is my favorite. This is so happy. 

From the lovely Sarah at Note to Self. 

Weekend Things

I visited The Grove Park Inn with my lovely aunt this weekend. We had delicious food and looked at the National Gingerbread House display. These houses were incredible - intricate detail and entirely edible! My inner baker was amazed.

The Grove Park Inn has the biggest stone fireplace I've ever seen. It's so cozy.


But Aunt Lyn shared more than just Creme Brulee with me this weekend - old family photos, some gorgeous vintage clothing she wore in college that happens to fit me perfectly, and my grandparents' sweetheart charms. I have "Trudy and Leonard" pendants in time to include them in my wedding. They're very special.








And John's incredibly sweet.

xo,

Lauren

Deboned

I'm in love with the Trader Joe's Christmas bags this year - DIY Kraft paper gift tags with pretty white text. Here you'll also see a lovely 5 pm moon and Herbie, who never ceases to amaze me with his sweet little humanlike habits. 

John and I tried this restaurant recently and loved it. They had me at "pistachio encrusted goat cheese drizzled with honey." We shared the Branzini (Moroccan Sea Bass) pictured below. 

Time well wasted, indeed.

2011's Food Trends

According to The Huffington Post, these are the top 11 food trends of 2011. From macarons to bitters to a general homage to the South, I feel like they took this list right off the tip of my tongue. 

And just to be clear, I would totally go to a fancy donut shop for dinner. You should come along. 

xo,

         Lauren 

Right Now

What I need to drink right now;

How I need to pour right now;

What I need to taste right now.

Amazing packaging.

I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to open them - a favor I usually reserve for fancy soaps.

Happy Weekend!