Breakfast

I can't remember the last time I made breakfast on a Saturday morning. Our weekends have been pretty busy lately, but they have been full of good things, so I'm not complaining.

Several months ago I had a friend over for breakfast and tried a new recipe. I would be lying if I said I hadn't been thinking about it ever since. It might just be my favorite recipe for French Toast ever. I made it for Todd today and I'm pretty sure he agrees with me.

Ciabatta French Toast with Marmalade Drizzle
(via Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

1/3  cup  fresh orange juice
1/2  cup  orange marmalade
1/2  cup  2% reduced-fat milk
1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
2  large eggs
8  (1-ounce) slices ciabatta bread
2  tablespoons  butter

Preparation:

Place orange juice and marmalade in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat; keep warm.

Combine milk, cinnamon, and eggs in a shallow dish; stir with a whisk. Dip bread slices in egg mixture; let slices stand in egg mixture 20 seconds on each side.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place 4 bread slices in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon butter and bread slices. Drizzle with marmalade syrup.

Happy Weekend!

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Future Lake Home, Perhaps?

As a child, I grew up on the lake. My family didn't take big vacations. I didn't see the beach until I was nearly a teenager, but I was very familiar with water. I had the luxury of growing up in the Ozarks, which meant I was only miles from Table Rock Lake (aka my summer home). My step-dad loved the outdoors, so we would spend two weekends a month at the lake during the summer.

Most of our time at the lake involved camping in tents, but as I got a little older, we upgraded to renting an adorable A-Frame cabin. We would load up all our gear in my step-dad's jeep (doors off and top down of course) and drive the windy road to our campground. My sisters and I were in our bathing suits before the car was in park. We were as comfortable at the lake as we were in our own home.

By high school our camping trips were few and far between.  Once I turned sixteen I didn't find going to the lake to be very cool. You were more likely to find me at a friend's house or with Todd. Sadly, by college I could barely tell you how to find our old campground.

A couple of years ago, good friends of ours inherited the coziest lake cabin just outside of Memphis. Todd and I visited for the first time in 2009 and the moment we pulled into the driveway a thousand memories filled my mind. I had forgotten just how much I missed being on the water. We visited again this past summer and when Todd and I got home we talked about how we would love to have a place like that to take our family one day.

Since owning a lake home is a bit out of the question right now, I did the next best thing and brought a little of the lake into our current home.

However, a recent trip to Home Depot made us realize our dreams of owning a lake home may not have to be as far away as we think! I had seen an online article about a professor who built a 450 square foot home and e-mailed it to Todd. I asked him if he thought we could build something similar. Afterall, you don't need a lot of space when you spend the entire time outdoors.

 

So when we were walking around Home Depot and saw this little beauty, the wheels started turning...

All we need is a small piece of land on the water, some insulation and electricity, right?

It's good to have dreams!

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Guest Bathroom: Before & (nearly) After

I'm pretty excited about this post. It's not that our guest bathroom got a major overhaul, it's more that it just needed to be personalized a bit.

When I decided to give our bathroom a much needed makeover, I knew I wanted it to have a lake/cabin/camping feel. I'll explain why that was important to me in an upcoming post. This post is more about the art I found to fit the theme.

Originally I had the idea of framing black and white photos from past trips to the lake. Sadly, after I developed them, I knew photos didn't fit the look I was going for. Instead I wanted drawings or sketches. I searched for weeks on Etsy, art.com and other sites. I found nothing. I had a pretty specific look in my mind and wanted so badly to match it.

Then it hit me. I was reading Darby's blog (if you've read my blog at all you know how much I adore Darby and her blog). Darby designs and sells the most darling t-shirts for children. I was scrolling through her photos when I realized her drawings were exactly what I was looking for.

Knowing it could be a long shot, I e-mailed Darby and told her I wanted to use her drawings as art pieces in my bathroom. She was so sweet to not only allow me to use them, but she quickly e-mailed me the images. I had them printed on card stock and framed. I am thrilled with the results!

Before:

After:

I'm really happy with the turnout so far. There will still be some tweaking here and there. Soon we will add white beadboard to the walls to really make the green pop, but that will be a few weeks down the road. I'm just glad the room is starting to feel more like us. It's still simple, but playful enough that it can serve as a kids bathroom one of these days.

Thanks to Darby, this bathroom feels a bit more complete.

More updates to come!

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A Few of My Favorites Part II

Back in January of '09, (I can't believe time has passed so quickly!) I wrote a post about some of my favorite blogs. Nearly all of the blogs I read are recommendations from friends, so I thought it might be helpful to share what I'm currently reading. A few are really popular and a couple others are just starting to take off. I'm always a sucker for a good blog, so if you're looking to expand your own blog roll, look no further!

I've decided not to summarize the blogs as much this time, because they really speak for themselves.

Favorite Design Blog

Sadie Olive

To give you an idea of how incredibly talented Sara (the author) is, check out the nursery she designed for the foster baby she and her husband are hoping to have very soon. Amazing. 

Favorite Food Blog

Joy the Baker

Fabulous recipes, hilarious author. What more could you ask for?

Favorite Inspirational Blog

Chatting at the Sky

I mentioned this blog back in October during 31 Days of Grace and I've been a big fan since. 

Favorite Craft (and more) Blogs

Finding My Feet

Raechel from Finding My Feet is adorable. She's a Nashville girl, a mother of two and a genius with a sewing machine. I've learned a lot about motherhood and even more about getting crafty from her. 

A Case of the Mundays

Blair is incredibly gifted when it comes to crafts: felt, leather, jewelry, you name it, she can do it!

Favorite Lifestyle Blog

Everyday Musings

If I could trade lives with someone for a day, it would be Olivia Rae. This girl knows how to enjoy life in the moment. Her blog is filled with beautiful photos and delicious recipes. I read her blog when I need to virtually escape for a little while. 

Those should keep you busy for awhile, but just in case you need more, click here for my first round of favorites. 

♥

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Taking A Little Trip

Thanks to the many frequent flyer miles and hotel points I have racked up over the last year, Todd and I are taking an almost free vacation in just over a month. I can’t wait. I’ve been getting restless lately. I’d like to blame it on the weather, but I think I’m feeling antsy in general. Curious about where God is leading us. I’m not sure what’s around the corner, but while we wait, we’re going to enjoy a much needed vacation. 

We haven’t told friends or family about this little trip. It was definitely a last minute decision based on vacation days that must be used before the end of March, etc. (the fact that we only need to cover the cost of a rental car and meals helped too!) But we will be back well before things get exciting later next month. I can’t miss a certain baby boy being born!

Where are we going? Here’s a hint…

©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2010)

Looking at that photo definitely makes it easier to plow through work these next few weeks. I feel like a college student counting down the days until Spring Break!

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