Neo Chain Blog Hop with Dazzle-it

How cool is this? Dazzle-it is now making colored chains and findings, and I am officially obsessed. This new line is called Neo Chain, and as you can see below, the chain comes in two different thicknesses with findings to match. I love little unexpected details in jewelry. The pop of color on the chain is a perfect update to a jewelry design staple. 

For my project, I worked with the black and gold Neo-Chain which was both exciting and a challenge for me. I could think of a lot of cool ideas to incorporate the black and gold chain in some edgy and trendy design inspirations, but in the end, a case of spring fever steered me in a more feminine and romantic direction. I had a small handful of pink and gold beads that worked perfectly with the Neo Chain. 

For more information about Dazzle-it products visit www.dazzle-it.com or http://blog.dazzle-it.com They are on Facebook too with regular give-a-ways: www.facebook.com/Dazzleit

Glitter Clothes Pins

Less than three months to go until my wedding, and while I've been crafting more than ever, I will not be sharing much of it until after the wedding is over. My latest project is painting and glittering clothes pins for the escort card display. I think I like the chunky gold 'old school' glitter the best, but I still have like a million other colors to try. I'm just excited to have a remotely practical use for my glitter collection. Yes, I have a glitter collection, and yes it is freaking amazing. Speaking of amazing things, if you'd like some more clothes pin inspiration, I would recommend checking out Vicki O'Dell… The Creative Goddess. That is where I first saw the idea to paint clothespins. She has done quite a few variations on clothes pin embellishments, but these are my absolute favorite. 

'Tis the Season for Tassels - A Blog Hop with Dazzle-it Products!

Necklace with Dazzle-it Faux Suede Tassel and Lace 

Today, I'm excited to share another blog hop with Dazzle-it products! Dazzle-it has a line faux suede lace and tassels, which are perfect for creating high end looking jewelry and accessories and a very affordable price! (for buying information, see the bottom of this post). 

I made a necklace and a pair of earrings. Both projects came together quite quickly. I could see myself making a group of these as a darling set of stocking stuffers this holiday season! 

The necklace (see the top of this post) was fairly self explanatory. I cut enough length so that tassel would fall mid way down my torso. I used a matching silver clasp, but the length was long enough that I could slip it on and off over my head without a clasp. Instead of using a jump ring, the lace fit snugly through the eye of the tassel, so I just tied it with a shoelace bow, and secured it with a dab of super glue at the center. 

The earrings took a few more steps, but were also a quick and easy diy project! As you can see below, I connected each tassel to an earring hook with a single jump ring. From there, I took a matching 3/8" wide ribbon (from Offray) and tied it around the top of the tassel, forming a bow. I added a dab of super glue to the center of each bow to secure them. 

One piece of advice: Attach the earring hook before you tie your bow on. That way you can see where the front of the earring is and tie your bow accordingly. 

Whether you prefer bold bright colors or the more sophisticated neutral colors, Dazzle-it offers a wide range of both. For more information (and buying information) about Dazzle-it products, visit www.dazzle-it.com or http://blog.dazzle-it.com. Follow them on Facebook for the latest updates, as well as promotions and give aways! 

Autumn Apple Pie - The Best Apple Pie Recipe Ever!

This Pie Filling.

This Dough.

This Pie Crust Cutter Set.

Ever since I first tried the Spiced Apple Pie Recipe from Martha Stewart, I knew I would never make another type of apple pie filling again. It is so. good. It combines the apples with lemon juice, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and a little bit of flour, and it is unbelievable. The texture is perfect. In fact, I recommend making extra filling so you can nibble on some as you are making your pies. It is that good! 

I'm sure the recipe is amazing when made verbatim, but I've made a few adjustments to my own taste.

Indigo Dye

I went a little 'Maria Von Trapp' and indigo dyed some old curtain scraps that I've had on hand for months. While I've done indigo dyeing several times before, this was my first attempt without a special kit. As you can see from the picture above, the project was a success! I will share a full tutorial soon, but I couldn't 'resist' sharing a sneak peak now!

Tour of Healdsburg California - A Blog Hop with Treasures Found!

When I saw the Staycation Travel Challenge at the Treasures Found blog earlier this month, I jumped at the chance to participate. The premise of the challenge was simple. Take a staycation in your hometown, gather inspiration, and channel your inspiration in to a creative project! 

For this challenge, I profiled my hometown, Healdsburg, California. For those of you who aren't yet familiar with Healdsburg, its a small town in Sonoma wine country, just an hour and a half north of San Francisco. I created a beaded flower ring using the inspiration garnered from my stay cation. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see my ring, and enjoy the photo tour along the way!  

Top left: Chardonnay grapes ready for harvest. Top right: Dried lavender on the patio of Diavola. Bottom left: An afternoon paper flower workshop at Healdsburg SHED. Bottom right: Fresh flowers for sale at Healdsburg SHED. 

Wine tasting! Travelers please take note: nearly all tasting rooms close promptly at 5pm, so be sure to get your tastings in early in the day! 

Inspiration abounds at the boutiques around the Healdsburg town square! These gorgeous African hand beaded bracelets can be found at Circumference Imports Gallery. 

Bocce ball at Campo Fina. You can find this restaurant right on the town square. You'd never guess it from the entrance, but in the back lies a gorgeous courtyard with tons of outdoor seating and a full size bocce ball court! The world class food doesn't hurt either ;) 

Lime Stone is a beautifully curated boutique located right on the town square (Healdsburg Avenue and Matheson Street). Come here for home accessories you can't get anywhere else! 

If you do just one thing in Healdsburg, make it the Alexander Valley Bar at Medlock Ames! You can do a wine tasting here during the day, or, at 5pm, the tasting room closes, and their speak-easy style bar opens! As you can see from this image, this bar happens to be on a vineyard, and you can walk the gorgeous grounds, wine or cocktail in hand! Close to the Healdsburg/Geyserville border,  It's the perfect stop for a drink before going out to dinner! 

Alexander Valley Bar grounds at twilight. 

Rustic Restaurant at Frances Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville California (neighboring Healdsburg). For dinner, you can't beat the view at Rustic. Call for a reservation, and make sure you request a seat outside! 

Moon over the vines in wine country. 

As you can see from the photos above, Healdsburg has a strong agricultural influence. I noticed a lot of chartreuse green, and hints of pink everywhere! This is what I came up with for my "Healdsburg-inspired" piece of jewelry.

My Healdsburg inspired ring! Three flowers on a gold wire wrapped ring! Each flower was in made in a different shade of pink, with a small beaded green leaf below. 

A close up of one of the flowers. Each flower was made with two layers of five petals each. The top 'petals' are each made with loops of four beads. The second layer of petals were made with eight beads each. The centers were made with round pearls that I recycled from an old necklace of mine. The wire looping allowed me to 'shape' each petal. 

So there you have it. Staycation 2013 was a fabulous success! A huge thank you to Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati Jewelry for including me in your 2013 Travel Challenge! I had a blast participating!

*Update* To see the complete list of blog hop participants, follow this link: http://treasures-found.blogspot.com/2013/08/2nd-annual-challenge-of-travel-stevens.html 

Nautical Knots: A Lovely Knots and Dazzle-it Blog Hop!

It's blog hop time again! Today I am sharing a how-to project featuring Dazzle-it's Lovely Knots line. Using the 2mm Aqua Blue cord, along with the Lovely Knots guide book by Fernando DaSilva, I made this gorgeous infinity knot bracelet. This post contains a basic explanation. For detailed instructions, as well as a number of other beautiful projects, I recommend checking out the Lovely Knots book. 

First, gather your supplies.*  Each blog hop participant received everything pictured below. 

* If you're a true craft-a-holic like I am,  you'll probably have to stop and Instagram everything before proceeding. 

Okay, now we're really ready to begin! 

Step one is cutting eight (8) one foot lengths of cord. As you'll see from the glimpses of the Lovely Knots guidebook, you may also wish to use two different colors. If that is the case, you'll need four lengths of each color for a total of eight.

 

Next, loop four of the cords while keeping them flat. 

Then, you'll need to loop the second set of cords through the first set, as shown in the guidebook, and the images below. While it appears challenging, the trick is to orient your guidebook pictures in the same direction that your cords are. When your cord is oriented the same way as your book, it becomes significantly easier to follow along. 

Almost there! 

Tighten the cords, one end at a time. 

And voila! 

To maintain your tidy knots, tape each end together prior to clamping on the kumihimo jewelry findings. The Lovely Knots book recommends clear tape, but in a pinch, I used colored tape. Run some glue over the ends of the cords before clamping to prevent the cords from fraying. 

Of course, I couldn't resist embellishing the ends of the bracelet just a tiny bit! 

 What a perfect fit! The cord and the knot both have just enough give to fit my wrist comfortably! 

 For more information, or to find a local Dazzle-it retailer, email info@dazzle-it.com. 

Dazzle-It Summer Love Blog Hop Follow Up

For those of you who are interested in even more colorful jewelry inspiration, here are all of the finished projects in one spot. For links to each of them, see the full post on the Dazzle-It Blog! 

Summer Love Blog Hop with Dazzle-It Beads!

How great are these colors? One glance and I'm ready for a summer fiesta! This particular fiesta just happens to be online, with my fellow Dazzle-It blog-hop participants. These gorgeous (and surprisingly affordable!) beads were sent to each blogger to be styled in to our own unique creations. I am going to show you what I came up with, and later this week I will share the links to everyone else's beautiful creations! I'm all about mix and match, so I decided to create a trio of simple pieces focused on a single color theme, and as you can see below, my color is green!

I started with the Dazzle-It 20lb 1mm Pure Hemp, which was just narrow enough to fit through the chinese symbol beads. I cut a 16" length of the white hemp, as well as two 16" lengths of the green hemp. I strung 5 of the beads in to the center of the white hemp. To hold the beads in place, I knotted the white hemp on either side of the beads, but inserted a length of green hemp on either side before I cinched each one. Like so: 

That left me with three strands on each side, which is exactly what I needed to braid both sides. I braided the entire length on either side, which left me a enough to tie the bracelet on the opposite side in a nice little bow. 

The green square beads I strung on single strand of elastic for a quick and easy accessory. To balance those pieces out, I created a single strand hemp bracelet, knotting one of the green peace sign beads in the center. All three could be worn together or separately! 

Of course no post (or Fiesta!) would be complete without a little music. I'd recommend The Orishas! 

To find the Dazzle-It line near you, email to info@dazzle-it.com 

Autumn in Healdsburg

Supposedly, its November in Healdsburg. Its 84 degrees out, the sky is blue, and the trees are green. On some level, I knew the palm trees wouldn't be going anywhere, but that doesn't stop it from being weird seeing them this time of year. And bumble bees. I don't think I've ever seen this many bees in November. My tomatoes are still ripening, and I am wearing a tank top! I guess this is Autumn in Wine Country!

I'm missing grey skies, yellow leaves. I'm missing black coats and brown boots, and I'm missing the cool weather. I'm missing walks through Georgetown and I'm really missing living in Glover Park! I'm left to manufacture my own Fall, with paper leaves, and playlists inspired from seasons past.

The first list my Halloween Playlist. My favorite song from here being My Body's A Zombie For You by Dead Man's Bones. Believe it or not, Ryan Gosling founded this band with Zach Shields.

The second is my Autumn Playlist. So many great fall songs, my current favorite being Your Rocky Spine by Great Lake Swimmers.

Both playlists are shared via Spotify.

a patriotic playlist

This playlist has all of the classics for Independence Day. Beyond Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever, it includes Copland's Hoe Down (you know this one, it's the "Beef its What's for Dinner" Song), and my personal favorite, George M. Cohan's Yankee Doodle Dandy. The entire Yankee Doodle Dandy soundtrack is included starting at track 18. I'm especially excited for the first track on the playlist. While looking for a good recording of  "Battle Hymn of the Republic," I stumbled a recording that Judy Garland did on television. It's perfect. You can automatically access this Patriotic Playlist in its entirety on Spotify, or I'm including the entire list below: 

• Battle Hymn of the Republic - Judy Garland 
• Hoe Down from Rodeo - (Copland) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
• The Stars and Stripes Forever - Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
• The Washington Post - United States Marine Band 
• Semper Fidelis - John Philip Sousa 
• Gladiator March - John Philip Sousa 
• Liberty Bell March - John Philip Sousa 
• El Capitan - United States Marine Band 
• Taps - American Patriotic Music
• Fanfare for the Common Man - (Copland) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
• The Star Spangled Banner - United States Coast Guard Band
• The Marines' Hymn - United States Marine Band 
• The Army Goes Rolling Along - United States Army Band
• God Bless America - United States Air Force Heritage of America Band
• America, My Country 'Tis of Thee - The Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers 
• Anchors Aweigh - Robert Shaw Chorale 
• Keep Your Eyes Upon Me - Yankee Doodle Dandy Soundtrack 
• I was Born in Virginia - Yankee Doodle Dandy Soundtrack 
• Harrigan - Yankee Doodle Dandy Soundtrack 
• Little Johnny Jones Sequence (Give My Regards to Broadway)- Yankee Doodle Dandy Soundtrack 
• Oh You Wonderful Girl Sequence - Yankee Doodle Dandy Soundtrack 
• Mary (is a Grand Old Name)- Yankee Doodle Dandy Soundtrack 
• You're a Grand Old Flag - Yankee Doodle Dandy Soundtrack 
• Over There - Yankee Doodle Dandy Soundtrack 
• Strictly Off the Record - Yankee Doodle Dandy Soundtrack 
• Over There Finale - Yankee Doodle Dandy Soundtrack

Click here to get the entire Patriotic Playlist on Spotify. 

Happy Independence Day!

red white and blue, how i love you

Every single Fourth of July, my mother and I watch Yankee Doodle Dandy, which is an absolute musical gem. It's on tonight at 8 on Turner Classic Movies if you are interested. Check out the trailer. Or skip the trailer, and check out my favorite scenes from the movie, posted below. I've got a soft spot in my heart for that song because my mother's name is Mary. Happy Independence Day! <3

the significance of this weekend

I love everything about this photo. I took this on our way to a picnic lunch, in the woods near our places in Glover Park, some random Sunday afternoon last summer. To me, it embodies the calm happy vibe that Brandt and I have when we spend time alone together. It's an effortless joy. One of the best feelings I've experienced in my life so far. I love the feeling. I love him.

This morning, I am picking up my Fiance from the airport, and for the first time since we got engaged, we will have a whole weekend.  Alone. Together. <3 

Allow me to explain the significance.

We really haven't had a weekend of "us" time since since last winter, before we started the whole move process. Before the pre-move errands, and the packing, and the holidays. Before the move to the new place, the engagement, and the subsequent perfect storm of social - obligations?

I hesitate to use the word obligation, because in reality, we have had busy social schedules out of our own desire, not because of obligation. Maybe the better descriptor is non-negotiable? Two of our very best friends were having weddings this summer.  We wouldn't miss their big days for anything.   Nor could we pass up the opportunity to see our family and friends who were in town over the last few months, and the opportunities to visit them. We've seen both sides of our families, our DC friends, our childhood friends and our college friends. Basically everyone we know or have ever known. It has been awesome. With so many friends in different cities, these opportunities are rare, and to have all of them come up at once, has been a total blessing. We wouldn't trade a single second of any of it. 

But... 

We are exhausted.  We've had early mornings, late nights, long flights, and even longer drives.  Our schedules have truly been relentless.  Neither of us has woken up any later than 6:45am in recent memory, and honestly 6:45am is a "treat" compared to the 4am wake up calls that have been plaguing us the past couple of weeks. With our busy travel schedules, we're in our offices fewer days, but we've been working longer hours when we are.  We are exhausted.  Ready to rest.  

After months of our relentless schedules, I can't actually believe its finally here. It's just a simple weekend, but it is so long overdue.  As I write this post, I am already savoring our time.  Our happy, calm, "us"time. 

Happy Weekend, Everyone. Enjoy it! We'll see you later!

The Lumineers - Ho Hey (on Spotify)

tuesday taste - music for your mouth

Pair this: The Bitten Word - Scallops with Spice Oil

With this: Food52 - Griddled Polenta Cakes​

So I've been going a little overboard on the domestic front lately. New place, new enagement, and (let's be honest here) a lack of a Chipotle within a 45 mile radius, have all conspired to create a perfect storm of domestic efforts. 

I tend to choose recipes in pairs, which gave me the idea to share my recipe pairings in a weekly post, which I will now call, "tuesday taste." Pretty straightforward concept here. I pair recipes that I think will go well together, and modify as needed, then share.

I've picked Tuesday, because if you are like me, nothing productive ever happens on Mondays.  I find recipes on Tuesdays.  It takes me until Wednesday after work to remember to check the fridge and pantry to see what I've got.  Shop Thursday.  Cook Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Weekends are more elaborate, whereas the balance of the week gets progressively more simple and "survivalist" if you will.  But enough about me! Let's get to the food!

For today's post, I am sharing a recent favorite, picured above. Scallops in Spice Oil as shared by The Bitten Word, and Griddled Polenta Cakes from Food52. The Bitten Word is a favorite blog of mine, Zach and Clay always make me laugh, and as a bonus, they are in my beloved Washington DC! They try recipes out from all the food magazines, and share their favorites. 

Their scallop recipe gets the lead role in today's feature. It was amazing! Seriously, my mouth is watering just writing about it. Trust Zach and Clay, a little bit of the spice oil goes a long way. I doubled the spice oil recipe, took one taste and realized a single portion would have been plenty! The only thing I modified was the bed of greens. (just not the cilantro type over here!) Greens or no greens, the recipe was amazing! Highly recommend!

The role of best supporting actor goes to the Griddled Polenta Cakes. The recipe is actually for Polenta Cakes with Carmelized Onions, Goat Cheese, and Honey (yum!) but I just did the Polenta Cakes, as a Scallop Foundation/Spice Oil Sponge. Lacking a circular cookie cutter, I did heart cakes instead. Delicious and adorable.  

The two paired marvelously. Give them a try!

Today's Song: Fred Astaire - Cheek to Cheek (on Spotify) "Heaven, I'm in Heaven..."

commuting as an art - 10 songs to add to your commuting playlist

Precision Commuting. City dwellers, do you do it? In Washington DC, where I lived for seven years, commuting was a very orderly affair. If you've ever traveled there, you know that there is one golden rule, "walk left, stand right" on the escalators. But beyond that, bus riders line up at stops in order of arrival. Smart trip cards ready. Never hesitate. Before you pause, step aside. Never stop moving. 

It's a quiet affair, much quieter than any other city's metro that I have been on. Everyone is dressed well. Everyone is quiet. Some have headphones. Most are reading The Express. The rest are reading books. 

Eventually you pick up strategy. Walking another 5 minutes up the route to ensure a seat before a particularly busy stop. Grabbing a spot that will ensure that you will be first to get off of the bus once you arrive at the Metro. (As a Glover Park resident, I was a D2/Dupont Circle North/Red Line girl.) The skip/run down the escalator. In heels. In the rain. The continual mastery of a subtle set of commuting skills. Shaking off your umbrella halfway down the North Entrance of the Dupont Circle Metro Stop. Closing it before you get to the bottom. The pride of being able to climb the entire set of stairs up at the end of your day. No stopping. 

Eventually you figure out where to stand, so that you are at the precise center of a set of doors of the next arriving metro train. Factoring in 6 or 8 cars, and which car you'd like to be getting out of for an ideal departure at your destination stop. (Hint: look at the cars on the opposite platform. Nine times out of ten,  where their doors land will align with where your doors will land.)

*image via wmata.com

And finally, it grows in to an art. Eventually I had developed a playlist ideal for my morning commute. A perfect soundtrack, if you will, for the tourist dodging, train catching, zig zagging, quick paced movement of my daily commute. I loved it, and (I never thought I would say this) I miss it. My daily city commute. 

Here are ten songs (+1 video) of my favorite commuting songs: 

• My Morning Jacket – Circuital  
• The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition 
• Ratatat - Lex 
•  Del The Funky Homosapien – 3030 
•  Little People – Start Shootin' 
•  Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cheated Hearts
•  The Roots – I Don't Care
•  Citizen Cope – Brother Lee
•  Talib Kweli – Get By
•  Miike Snow – Animal

Click Here for the entire Playlist on Spotify (except Devotchka's How It Ends, above on youtube)   

How do you commute? Train, Bus, Bike, Car, Walk? What are your favorite commuting songs?  Leave a comment and let me know <3 

PS - For a good time in Washington DC, play Lex by Ratatat and time it so you hit the Dupont Circle North escalators at minute 2:35.  There is something so gratifying about running down the escalators at that exact point in the song. Try it. Just divine.  

magical medlock ames

Is there anything more atmospheric than gold globe lights at twilight? I snapped this picture with my iPhone on the grounds of Medlock Ames Winery a few weekends ago.  Medlock Ames is one of my favorite parts about living in Healdsburg. It has become our go-to hangout for Friday Night happy hours.  In addition to a vinyard, vegetable gardens, and a bocce court, Medlock Ames also has wine country's only speakeasy bar, officially called The Alexander Valley Bar. Food and Wine Magazine described it as utopian, and I totally agree. 

Fun Fact: our very first tomato plant was adopted from Medlock Ames. On our most recent visit, we were given an extra tomato start. I am so happy that we'll have a little piece of this place growing in our backyard! 

I can't think of a more perfect song to pair this photo with than Florence + The Machine's live version of Cosmic Love as performed for Seattle's KEXP Radio on 4/16/10.  Just like the above photo, this performance is nothing but magical. I first discovered this song (and this now very popular artist!) on a randomly downloaded KEXP podcast. This performance absolutely had me floored.  I couldn't stop rewinding the podcast to the start of this song.  I am so happy I am that they uploaded this clip on to YouTube so that I can share it with you.  Enjoy: 

i've got totally enormous extinct dinosaurs playing in my garden

I am officially obsessed with gardening. I am also officially obsessed with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and their song, Garden (on Spotify) . It's perfect background music for gardening and other projects around the house and office. 

The garden that I started a couple of weeks ago is starting to sprout, and I am constantly running outside to check on them. I've got my seeds in starter pallets, with seed starting soil. Simultaneously, I've been prepping the soil in our yard's sunniest spot with compost and a little bit of fertilizer.

To keep things simple, I ordered a group of heirloom vegetable seeds and salad greens from Williams Sonoma's newest division, Agrarian. (my favorite new site) They work out to be less than $2 per seed packet, which is surprisingly great bargain for seeds. I also bought a few bags of organic compost from our local hardware store, and some organic vegetable fertilizer. I'm a couple of weeks away from transplanting my seedlings to their new homes. As soon as I do, I will post more pictures of the whole garden.  We don't have a ton of yard tools and supplies yet, so we're making due with what we've got.  As illustrated that first photo, an old wine bottle makes the perfect watering can.

Side note: It just so happens that Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs have a new album coming out on Monday.  I am quickly becoming obsessed with their new song Trouble on YouTube Check out the sneak peek on facebook.  

tuesday twirl

 

How sweet is this photo?  My soon to be in-laws came to visit and we all headed in to town for a little after dinner gelato.  We took a walk in the town square, and soon my future niece had everyone twirling.  I couldn't resist sneaking a picture.  

 

Julie Andrews - I Could Have Danced All Night (YouTube)

la mer

It happened at Bodega Bay, just after three o'clock in the afternoon on April 29th.  It had been our very first day in our new home together, and Brandt got a call from work early that Sunday morning.  He explained that there was an emergency, and he needed to go in for a couple of hours.  Could he make it up to me by taking me out to Bodega Bay later that afternoon for lunch? 

I continued to unpack for the morning, and true to his word, he returned home a couple of hours later. We drove the hour or so out to Bodega Bay.  It was a gorgeous, sunny day out and we stopped for lunch at Spud Point Crab Company.  From there, we drove up to Bodega Rock, and went to take our usual walk.  Brandt led me in a different direction than our normal route.  He grabbed my arm, and lead me off of the path, towards the water. From rock to rock, we carefully balanced in the strong coastal winds, eventually getting to the water's edge. For a just a second, we took in the beautiful view. 

What's that? he asked me, and I turned around.  Immediately it was clear what he had spent the morning working on.

I turned around to see this scene: 

When I turned back around, Brandt was on one knee, gorgeous ring in hand, and asked, "Will you marry me?" with the biggest smile on his face.  I will never forget how happy he looked just then, and I will never forget how surprised and excited I was. I said yes, and we celebrated for just a little bit out there on our own little look-out spot.  By this point, the wind had picked up extraordinarily high, so we wrapped ourselves up in our picnic blanket, snapped a couple of pictures, and retreated back down the path towards our car. When we got back in the car, Brandt suggested that we listen to Charles Trenet.  La Mer was the perfect choice for our first song together as an engaged couple.  We made our way back to our new home, together, and ready to start a whole new chapter of our lives <3 

Listen here: Charles Trenet - La Mer on YouTube

our house, is a very very very fine house

So remember that fabulous lead on a rental house that I mentioned in my last post?  Well, we got the house!! We didn't think we would get it, as someone else had applied before us, but it turns out that it was meant to be! It is gorgeous, and we are beyond excited to get moved in!  

I could just hug that kitchen island! 

Isn't it beautiful? The best part for me, however, is the DISHWASHER!  It has been *years* since I have lived with a dishwasher.  When I had arrived in Washington DC in 2005, it never even occurred to me to ask if the apartments there included dishwashers. I assumed they were a modern day given.  6 and a half years of hand washing dishes later, lesson learned, and I am so ready to get back to modern times! I'm half tempted to label this as one of the best perks of our move to wine country... 

Modern amenities aside, we are also excited to be done living out of suitcases, unpack boxes, set up furniture and otherwise finally get settled. We are all set to move in this weekend!  I just can't contain my excitement.  

Credit to Brandt for today's song selection:Our House - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 

It is a very very fine house :)