The Past Week:

smiling in his sleep!

comforted by papa

We've been spending quite a bit of time lately at home, the weather has turned cold, the leaves are mostly changed over in color and sometimes staying at home sipping warm drink and staying in jammies sounds the most ideal. Our little one is full of smiles and giggles these days. He's becoming more alert and interested in his surroundings. Goodness we love this little guy. Erik's preparing for nanowrimo and I'm busy sewing and designing. So much to do! I hope everyone is enjoying these last few days of October!

Rowan's postcard leggings and moccs are from here.

What I Wore:

We Love Vera for Anthropologie dress • J. Crew Jackie cardigan • Anthropologie tights • Coach Poppy bow ballet flats

As a designer and illustrator, I love Vera Neumann's designs. She has an amazing story of starting out printing on silk scarves in her kitchen with her husbands help and turning that into an empire. There was a time when she was a household name and most ladies owned at least one of her scarves. A great coffee table book documenting her journey to becoming a successful designer as well as full of great prints is Vera: The Art and Life of an Icon. I definitely recommend checking it out, especially for all of her beautiful designs!

On Being a Mom:

Well by now you would think we would be settled into our new role as parents and as a family of three, but truth be told, I'm not quite there yet. I am loving being a mom to my little Rowan and am so lucky I get to be with him all day. There are days though when I question if I'm a good mother, am I taking good enough care of him, does he have enough stimulation and tummy time during the day, is he thriving, is he happy and the list goes on. I do know though that when I have these thoughts, I just need to step back and see the big picture. He seems like a happy baby, I get lots of giggles and smiles throughout the day and he's strong and healthy. All I can do is make sure he is getting lots of love and take care of him the best I know how. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I'm the only new mother with these thoughts running through their head! (I hope!)

I feel that there is so much pressure with us new moms and how we raise our babies. Every baby grows at a different rate, I don't think it's fair to the moms and babies to compare one another. I think the end result is really what matters! 

Oh The Things We Like: Cozy Fall Weather

One of the best things about cooler weather is lots of cuddling and cozy evenings spent by a fire with a warm drink. Right now, our drink of choice is hot apple cider. I'm a big fan of made in the USA goods and even bigger fan of made in Minnesota- Fairbault Woolen Mill Co. is the oldest manufacturer in Minnesota and is having a revival with their original woolen goods. And how cute is this Odd Molly sweater jacket! Goodness I love it.

Odd Molly knit jacket • Capri Blue Volcano candle from Anthropologie • Paine's Balsam Fir incense from Labour and Wait • Canada Goose aviator hat • Fairbault Woolen Mill Co. foot soldier wool blanket 

Sausage Penne (our favorite dish!):

We literally have this dish once a week because we love it so much! I based the recipe on a dish I had at Nordstroms Cafe and truth be told I think this might taste better. :)

1 box penne (I use Barilla)

1 jar Newmans Own marinara sauce (Also really good with vodka sauce)

1/2 can whole plum tomatoes

1 brick mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 package sweet and mild sausage

fresh basil if in season

(alternate- frozen peas or fresh chopped broccoli cooked)

Boil the penne for 11-12 minutes

Meanwhile remove the sausage from the encasing, grind and cook on medium heat in skillet 

When the sausage is fully cooked and ground, add marinara sauce 

Chop the whole plum tomatoes, add to the marinara and sausage mixture, add half of juice from can as well

When the penne is cooked, pour into serving bowl along with grated mozzarella, mix well until the mozzarella is melted

Add fresh basil, finely chopped (we used peas this time)

Pour in sausage and sauce mixture, mix well

Serve as is or with a side caesar salad and garlic bread.

Enjoy!

Shoptiques + HighOver U:

I'm so pleased to be working with Shoptiques, what a great concept! Basically you now have the opportunity to shop top boutiques throughout the world, right from home. Perfect when you want something one of a kind! A few months back I had one of my HighOver U dresses on their site from the boutique Il Vostro which is unfortunately closed right now. Nonetheless it was a great privilege to be highlighted on their site. This dress is one of my absolute favorites and literally looks amazing on any figure. You can't go wrong with a sweetheart neckline and chambray fabric! Has anyone checked out Shoptiques before or had an amazing find from a boutique?

What I Wore:

J. Crew ruffle tank • American Eagle cami • Miss Me jeans • American Eagle button up • Coach Poppy sneakers • Marc by Marc Jacobs bag

What a beautiful fall day! The leaves are not quite peak yet, but many bright oranges, golden yellows and reds pop against the blue sky right now. Perfect day for a family walk.

Andy Warhol + Bugaboo:

       

Truth is, I'm a big Andy Warhol fan. Not the Andy Warhol of the seventies and eighties with the pop art scene, but rather the Andy Warhol of the fifties. In that time period he did illustrations for department store greeting cards and fashion. I took a class in college all about him and his art, yet somehow I never new he did illustrations for children. (How did I not know this!?) I love Bugaboo strollers and from their new Warhol line I saw his children's illustrations and I love them! Plus how adorable is this stroller? If your interested in seeing more of Warhol's fashion illustrations, check out this book. I bought it years ago and enjoy looking back at his illustrations. 

Two Months:

I can't believe this little guy is two months old! Time has flown by so quickly and he has grown so much. I'd like to think we have a happy little baby (well not quite so little!), he can be very serious but also full of smiles and trying to form words to say back to us. He currently loves to sit up on his own, still very much a cuddler and grins widely when we say 'I love you' and 'uh oh'. He tries to respond with 'gove ooo' or 'oooo' for 'love you' and 'you'. It's so sweet to hear his little voice and see his mind busy at work trying to figure new things out and form words. My husband shared his thoughts on the first two months here. Goodness we are so blessed with this little guy in our lives. Right now I'm feeling very thankful, very lucky and very much in love with the two men in my life.

Oh The Things We Like: NYC edition

Piccolini NYC onesie • Juicy Couture NYC taxi charm • Metro card rattle from Piccolini • All The Buildings In New York book from Anthropologie •  Munipals NYC subway wooden trains 

Oh New York, what a great place to visit. Personally I could never live there, I need sun, peace and quiet and wide open green acres. I'm excited to take our little one to visit, for his first subway ride and to see his eyes open wide in amazement at all the sounds and sights. I love the All The Buildings In New York book, I just stumbled across this and think it is such a great idea. You can look inside of the book here. Such a great illustration project idea, back a few years ago I went on a year long project of illustrating what I wore every day. It was really interesting to go back and look through the outfits and see how what I wore also went along with my mood for the day. On those days when I wore jammies all day I remember thinking oh no it looks like I stayed in bed all day! When in fact I was much too busy to get dressed and was busy sewing and baking cakes or macarons! 

Glimpses From The Past Week:

This Peter Rabbit hat is the very first thing we bought when we found out we were expecting!

Rowan's current favorite toy.

Lot's of wiggles!

Our family life lately has been pretty laid back. No complaints here! The weather seems to be confused if it's summer or fall- one day we're bundled up in jackets and rain gear while the next day its dresses san tights and tees for the boys.

While it's been raining, the little one and I have stayed indoors and I've been able to get some designing and sewing done for HighOver U. A new design is almost complete, I'm pretty excited to share the new collection!

We're very much enjoying eating our fall favorites, cinnamon donut holes with hot apple cider, pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting, not to mention our favorite hot dinners such as mashed potatoes and turkey meatballs! 

Otherwise when we're all home, we're enjoying Rowan's sweet smiles, seeing him grow every day and learn new things. 

Destination Guide: Twin Cities

From college and the last few years, we have gotten to know our cities pretty well. Minneapolis is the city of lakes, theaters and art. While we don’t explore St. Paul that often, I can tell you there are some trip worthy restaurants there. Our favorite is Cossetta’s italian restaurant. I recommend the lasagna with mostaccioli and garlic bread with a blood orange San Pellegrino!

Our favorite area of the cities is the area southwest of Minneapolis, this is where you will find Linden Hills which is a city suburb. Run, bike or walk around Lake Harriet, watch sailboats race and shop the one of a kind stores. Wild Rumpus is one of my favorite children’s bookstores, there is a little purple door for children to walk through and various animals habitat the store- such as chickens and a cat. Nearby is Broders, an italian bistro that has wonderful sundried tomato mascarpone, stromboli and pizza.

A little further out is Lake Minnetonka which is an incredibly large lake with many bays and is absolutely beautiful. When the lake isn’t frozen over in the winter with ice fishing houses scattered across it, there are many sailboats and boaters out on the water. This is the place to be on the Fourth of July. Literally you will never see so many people and so many boats all at one time. Excelsior and Wayzata are the two main towns off of Lake Minnetonka and they are across the water from each other. Excelsior is my favorite (not just because we live here!), but it has kept its small town charm, old buildings and eclectic shops. Best ice cream you’ll ever taste is right here at Lick’s Unlimited. Walk along the water with coffee or ice cream in hand, sit on the docks, relax at the park or go down to the beach. Wayzata has been much more modernized and has more mainstream shops, although the cutest Starbucks I have ever seen can be found here. It is a little white building with pillars and large windows, all covered in ivy. 

Downtown Minneapolis, along the Mississippi River you can find the Guthrie Theater. This is a must go to destination. The building itself looks like it is a ship from a Star Wars movie, a shiny deep navy color. Once inside make sure you take the elevator up to the Yellow Box where you can see all over Minneapolis and beyond. After visiting the Guthrie, walk over to the Stone Arch Bridge. Once halfway across, if you turn around you will see the most amazing up close view of the Minneapolis skyline. 

Some other points of interest that we love to visit are the Cherry and The Spoon at The Walker (Spoonbridge and Cherry) by Claus Oldenberg, Minneapolis Institute of Arts (be sure to walk over to Spyhouse Coffee afterwards), Good Earth at The Galleria for Chicken Cashew salad and their fresh pressed lemonade which is actually green apples with lemons and Yum! for fresh, delicious food and espresso.

While the purpose of these destination guides are to help you learn about the not so common places to visit- such as Mall of America! If you are in town visiting and would like to know great independent boutiques to shop at, let me know!

Next destination guide- Virginia!

Minnesota Hot Dish:

Around here we’re getting back into cooking warm dishes for the cooler weather. Hot dishes are so quick, easy and filling and perfect for when you are short on time. I needed a quick meal to make for supper last week as I was feeding and bathing my son and needed to leave shortly thereafter to pick my husband up from the airport. I made this dish in less than ten minutes and had it ready to bake in the oven so we had a hot meal when we came home. With so few ingredients and little time it takes to make, this is one of our favorite go-to dishes for cooler weather. If you try out the recipe, let me know how you like it! 

Minnesota Hot Dish:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Lightly butter the bottom of a glass casserole dish

What you need:

1 pound ground turkey (or beef if you prefer)

1 package tater tots

1/2 cup diced yellow sweet onion

1 can Campbells cream of mushroom soup

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese grated

Brown ground turkey and add chopped onions

Meanwhile mix cream of mushroom soup with milk

Add turkey and cream of mushroom mixture together in casserole dish

Layer with cheddar cheese

Add tater tots on top 

Bake for 30 minutes or until tater tots are golden brown

Enjoy!