June Favorite Finds

I cannot believe we are already a week away from the fourth of July!  June has been such a busy month for me both at home and at work.  It all really feels like a blur.  

The one thing I have noticed is that being so busy lately has made it hard to recall everything that I have accomplished over the past month.  I know it sounds ridiculous, but it if wasn't for my daily Instagram postings, I probably wouldn't have been able to recall all of my favorite finds and fun moments from this past month.  So I guess what I am trying to say is- thank goodness for Instagram! 

To give you a short recap, here are a few of my favorite moments over this past month:

• Attended a Nationals vs. Cubs baseball game with my husband (see photo above). 
• After 8 years of service, I finally achieved Sustainer Status with the Junior League of Washington.  The Junior League is a non profit organization with branches around the country.  It's a great way to get involved in community service work and meet new friends. 
• Learned how to install my own lighting fixtures in my home (blog post coming soon).
• I've been busier than ever with my day job and really excited with all of the work I have been doing lately.
• Discovered and became slightly obsessed with these fab finds detailed in today's blog post. 

CB2's Rona Wine Glasses

CB2's new Rona Wine Glasses are a current obsession of mine at the moment.  From their stately size to the modern silhouette, I am currently all about this updated look when it comes to my stemware.  The rona wine glass is offered in two sizes (22oz and 12oz), are dishwasher safe and cost $5.95/glass.  Love love love!!!  Definitely a chic and affordable way to update your stemware this season.  

Peonies 

If you have had a chance to take a look at my Instagram over the past month, I am guessing that you are not surprised to see this on my list.  June is their in-season period and I literally cannot get enough of this gorgeous flower!  They are voluminous, fragrant and come in the most most fabulous array of pinks, purples and whites.  So far, the best deal I can find on peonies is at Trader Joe's (about $7.89/5 stems), but oh how I wish that I had my own bit of land to grow these gorgeous blooms myself.  Seriously so envious of my friends and family who have their own peony plants growing in their backyard.  My big tips when purchasing and arranging peonies that I did want to share-- make sure to thoroughly inspect your blooms before buying.  The cut stems should be wet from sitting in water and there shouldn't be any signs of brown on the bulb petals.  When arranging, make sure to avoid over-crowding your peonies.  They need sufficient space to open and if they are crowded in a vase, you won't see maximum "bloomage."

Silicone Whisk

The silicone whisk is a kitchen essential for anyone who has ever made a recipe that involved whisking in a pot or pan.  Metal whisks will scratch the surface and can ultimately damage your cookware over time.  In order to keep your pots and pans looking their best, use a silicone whisk when stirring or mixing ingredients in your cookware.  

Cotton Shoulder Covers

Recently I have been spending a lot of time helping my little brother move into his new townhouse.  Not so much the manual labor but more with the decor and organization.  Last weekend we focused on organizing his closet using hangers I've featured in this post and getting rid of clothes he no longer wore.  While on one of my many trips to the container store, I came across these most fabulous cotton shoulder covers.  Dust on coats and pants is no longer an issue thanks to these most ingenious shoulder covers.  Each cover can fit a couple of bulky garments and all shoulder covers are machine washable!  Not only did I buy a few for my brother, but I also went ahead and bought covers for both my coats and my husband's suits.  This is a simple and inexpensive solution that will help protect your clothes from dust and keep your garments looking sharp.   

District Doughnut

While I do love a good cupcake, I have to say that gourmet doughnuts are on the rise and even quite possibly the new cupcake.  This past month, District Doughnut opened a pop-up shop in Georgetown and I have to say that after trying one of their delicious doughnuts I was immediately hooked!  Their store offers flavors like Baklava, Brown Butter, Sea Salted Dulce de Leche, Fluffernutter and Chocolate Creme Brûlée (which they will brûlée right in front of you!).  The store is a total experience and I have even taken to serving their gourmet doughnuts for dessert at my latest dinner parties along with a scoop of ice cream.  If you are visiting DC, I highly recommend trying District Doughnut and if you live in DC, great news- District Doughnut offers delivery!

February Kitchen Tools: Home Coffee Brewing Accessories

There is nothing I look forward to more each morning than greeting the day with a delicious cup of home brewed coffee.  Whether I am enjoying a classic drip in my favorite mug or a delicious almond milk latte garnished with cinnamon, I adore coffee and nothing beats a freshly made brew at home. 

I know I have said this before, but I really do believe that coffee is a very personal experience for each individual.  Everyone likes to enjoy their coffee a certain way so it would be silly for me to sit here and preach about certain methods of coffee making being superior to other methods.  Rather, I want to focus today's post on three of my favorite coffee brewing accessories.  These three items have made a huge difference in the way that I am able to enjoy a delicious cup of java from the comfort of my home and all three items are absolute essentials in creating the best at home coffee bar.  

Nespresso Aeroccino

We received both the Nespresso and Aeroccino as a gift set.  While I knew that I had always wanted the Nespresso, I had originally viewed the Aeroccino as a "nice to have."  Of course now I am sitting here laughing to myself because little did I know how much I would absolutely LOVE having the Aeroccino.  This electric can froth milk in 70 seconds hot or cold!  In addition, it's easy super easy to use (just add milk and push the button) and clean!  Lattes for breakfast?  No problem!  Cappucinos after dinner? You bet!  I adore this machine and it also works brilliantly for frothing both almond milk and soy milk.  This is a coffee making staple in my house and one that I would highly recommend for any coffee drinker.  

Krups Burr Grinder

Grinding my own coffee beans at home was something I started doing a few years ago.  If the truth be told, I only decided to start grinding my own beans after an unfortunate (but ultimately fortunate) situation at a very well known coffee chain.  

Every week I would visit this coffee store to buy my weekly supply of beans.  The store offered complimentary bean grinding for those bags purchased in store (whats not to love about that?!).  Well, on one of my weekly visits, I had purchased the bag and asked the barista to grind the beans.  Long story short, I was returned a half bag of grinds, which was frustrating since I had just paid for a whole bag of coffee beans.  When I questioned the barista about the discrepancy, she swore that it just looked like there was less because the beans had been ground.  Reasonable assumption if it hadn't been a whole half of a bag that was missing.  In any event, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  I bought a Krups Burr Grinder.

OMG, what a difference freshly ground coffee can make!  I have the ability to customize the degree to which the beans are ground and the quantity produced during each grinding.  I now have delicious coffee every morning made to my exact brew strength specifications.  Coffee is even better now that I have freshly ground beans and something that I recommend for anyone who enjoys a fresh cup of joe in the morning.  

Coffee Caddy

When we initially moved into our current house (as you may recall from this post) I was faced with some serious storage challenges in the kitchen.  I was able to come up with some very creative storage solutions and eventually we were able to build a beautiful pantry, but there are still a few solutions that resulted from dealing with the initial storage challenge that I am keeping, like this fabulous coffee caddy.  Not only does it provide an organized and compact space for all of my coffee accessories, it fits seamlessly in most spaces and cost less than $10!  Whether or not you are faced with storage challenges in your kitchen, this is a wonderful organizer that helps me corral all of my coffee making necessities and easily keep track of my inventory.

Closet Renovation Project

Over the past few months, we have been undergoing a bit of construction in our house to create a new butler's pantry and coat closet.  As I have mentioned in various posts, while I love my kitchen, it is not the biggest and the storage is limiting for someone who frequently cooks and entertains.  Just to be clear, by "limiting," I mean that every time I needed to use my food processor or get out my cake stand, I would have to go upstairs to the attic to pull those items out of storage.  Not ideal but hey, it worked.  

We had initially planned to have a built-in custom cabinet installed to the right of our existing coat closet, however the quotes we were receiving from various contractors had my husband and I turning white in the face.  It wasn't until my mom actually took a look at the space and suggested re-purposing our current closet, that we finally saw the light.  She suggested that we consider reducing the existing coat closet and inserting a pantry to create into a hybrid butler's pantry/coat closet. Finally we realized we were onto something!  Of course as the universe might have it, a California Closet's Store opened up down the street from our house right around this time, so we decided to go and talk to a closet consultant to see what they could do for us.  

After a store meeting and home meeting to measure the space, California Closets sent us 3 different proposals for how the space could be designed (at various price points).  My husband and I made a few additional tweaks to the proposal we liked best, the contract was finalized and the building process began!

The whole process took about 3 weeks including construction, below are the details from start to finish along with the options we selected.      

Phase 1

Before we could have the new closet unit installed, we needed to have a general contracting team come in and widen the existing door frame.  Widening the door frame would provide us with the necessary latitude to install maximum depth shelves, drawers and rolling shelves.  

The construction took approximately a day and a half to complete.  When all was said and done, it looked great and they were very respectful/careful with our property.  The one piece of advice I have for anyone about to undergo construction in their house is -- get ready for an invasion of dust!  Our construction team used tarps, cloths, etc… and still the dust that covered every surface post project was incredible.  If you are going to have any work done to your home, I would strongly encourage you to avoid having the work take place near any time when you plan to be entertaining.  

New Coat Closet

Our new coat closet is now a fraction of the size it used to be, but it's perfect for holding our everyday coats or our guests coats when entertaining, has a storage space above for all of Dolly's supplies (see this bin) and even room for a few everyday cleaning tools like our Swiffer!  My husband and I do not have extensive coat collections, so we found it much more beneficial to allocate the space towards kitchen/dining storage.  

Pantry

As I mentioned above, we opted to have the doorframe widened so that we could install the maximum depth shelf option.  We have enough room to house placemats, cheeseboards, cake plates, dry goods, baking supplies, the majority of my small kitchen appliances and even a few of these fabulous bin organizers.  I feel like I am honestly swimming in storage space these days, which is something I never dreamed would be possible given the size of my kitchen paired with my serious habit for kitchen equipment and entertaining accessories.  

Drawers

Oh what a luxury it is to finally have additional kitchen drawers!!  As I have mentioned in previous posts (like this one), our kitchen is only outfitted with two drawers, so having additional drawers included in our new butlers pantry was an absolute MUST.   Prior to having these new drawers, I was storing my kitchen linens in a basket situated in a high cabinet, which was a total nightmare.  These new drawers have given me the room to store and easily access my dish towels, oven mitts, aprons and table linens.  Talk about luxury!  

Rolling Shelves

We opted to have 2 rolling shelves installed on the two bottom levels of our pantry.  Reason being - who wants to crouch down onto the floor and dig around the back of a shelf for an item?  Definitely not me.  Adding the roller shelves allows for easy access to all items on both lower levels, which is especially helpful when you are storing big bulky kitchen appliances.  In addition, the lowest rolling shelf has doubled as a pet food/feeding storage space.  Dolly's bowls and kibbles can finally be stored in the same location, making her meal prep super easy and convenient.  

I would have to say that what I loved most about using California Closets for this project, was the ability to customize every single aspect of this cabinet.  We were able to choose the doors, interior and exterior hardware and stain colors for all shelves and drawers.  The best part?  Because California Closets is a closet manufacturing company, the cost to build this pantry was a fraction of what we were being quoted by various independent contractors.

As this project comes to a close, there are a few key takeaways that I wanted to make sure to share with you all while everything is still fresh in my mind. 

1. Before trying to create a new storage space, see if you can re-purpose an existing space.  You will save on expenses and keep your home from looking crowded if you use a space you already have. 
2. When it comes to specific home improvement work, you will save money by going to the experts instead of an independent contractor who is most likely not readily equipped with the materials that may be needed for proposed project (like a custom closet).
3. Err on the side of more details as opposed to less.  For this project, I pulled out everything I had wanted to store in this new closet so that the designers at California Closets could get a more accurate idea of my desired end goal. 

While we still have a few loose ends to tie up, like the two holes in the floor where the old door frame used to be, the lion's share of the work is complete and I couldn't be happier with the final product.  Starting off 2016 on an uber-organized note is the absolute best!

Packing Tips and Strategies

Labor Day weekend is finally here, which means the end of summer and end of wearing white jeans and shorts.  Aside from this being the last weekend to wear white, Labor Day weekend also means traveling for many. While travel is full of fun new adventures, it also means that there will inevitably be some degree of packing involved to prep for the upcoming trip.  For those of you who know me well and/or have ever traveled with me, you are fully aware that packing has never been a strength of mine.  What I really mean is that I have the world's worst case of "Over-Packers Disease."  If it isn't glued down to the floor, chances are that it is in my suitcase.  Options upon options, excessive amounts of accessories and I have been know to receive an overweight bag fee on occasion (not good!).  

The Struggle is Real- Images of our suitcase situation from our honeymoon and then my most recent overweight bag fee from my napa trip.   Don't worry, my husband didn't pay for that baggage fee--- my mess, my problem.  

In an effort to finally conquer this most unfortunate disorder, I have taken to Pinterest to try and understand the best ways to pack both strategically and minimally, so that I can once and for all be free from constantly carting around luggage that feels more like a body bag.   The packing tips I am sharing today may seem so simple, but they often go overlooked and really can make a huge difference in the overall size and weight of your luggage.  Below are the results from my search:

Check the Weather

Really simple step to do that I have not attempted to consider when packing until now.  Before your trip, check the weather forecast of your destination for the days that you plan to be there.  If you don't see a chance of rain, then you can save yourself the extra luggage space and leave your raincoat at home!  In addition, should your destination require sweaters, it is always helpful to know what type of sweaters you'll need to bring (ex. thick wool or thin cotton).  Being empowered with the right information can really help you to pair down on appropriate outerwear essentials.  

Consider Amenities at Your Destination

Whether you are going to stay at someone's house or a hotel, it is always a good idea to check on the amenities available at your destination.  The most obvious example of this is the hair dryer.  Talk about a big and bulky piece of equipment!  Most hotels come with hair dryers in the room and same goes for the majority of homes.  It is an easy item to exclude from your packing that will free up a sizable amount of space.   Other items to consider- toothpaste, soap, shampoo, shower cap, slippers.  

Use Travel Size

I don't know why, but for the longest time I had always thought that you could only travel with 3oz of Liquid TOTAL on an airplane.  So of course, my attitude was "what's the point in trying to size down the toiletry bottles?"  I will never be able to fit everything I need into 3 ounces, so might as well save the energy and just pack the whole thing.  

Recently I was informed (finally!) that it's actually 3oz per container and no limit on the number of containers.  Now THAT makes quite a difference (hello Callie!  Glad you are finally joining the party!).  Using travel size bottles decreases the overall weight of your bag, increases the amount of space available and lets be honest, who needs a full size bottle of anything for just a weekend!?!  Here is a link to a great set of travel containers.  In addition, most brands carry travel size quantities at stores like Target, CVS and even at your grocery store.  

3 Pairs of Shoes (MAX)

In the past, I have been guilty of traveling with a shoe suitcase…yes, a whole suitcase just for my shoes!  Did I wear every pair?  Absolutely not.  At best, I maybe got around to wearing 3-4 pairs.  In all honesty, you really only need a maximum of three pairs of shoes.  Since I like to work out, sneakers are a must.  For the other two pairs I would suggest a pair of casual every day shoes and a pair of dress shoes.  The trick is to keep the casual and dress shoe choices neutral so that they can go with a variety of outfits.  If possible, I would also recommend traveling in your bulkiest pair of shoes in order to save additional space in your suitcase. 

Plastic Bags Prevent Wrinkling

My mom taught me this tip-- you can protect your clothes from wrinkling by placing plastic garment bags (ex. the free ones from the dry cleaner) over your article of clothing prior to folding and packing it.  I am not sure of the science behind why this works, but I can tell you from experience that it most certainly does work and has been a lifesaver for me.  Who wants to have to iron their clothes when they are on vacation!?!

Lay It All Out

Before you start packing your clothes into your suitcase, I highly recommend laying all of the items you intend to pack out on your bed.  This will give you a complete look at what you are deeming necessary for a trip.  I recently tried this approach and boy, did it help.  Instead of packing my usual 10 t-shirts for a weekend, I could see first hand that it was way too many and cut the number down to three.  In addition, to laying your clothes out prior to packing, I strongly encourage you to consider the drawer folding technique I discussed in this post, when you go to load your clothing into your suitcase.   This folding method will help you to maximize space and provide you with a view of your entire travel wardrobe.

While I am certainly not anywhere near considering myself to be a master packer, I would say that these tips and strategies have helped me to improve my packing tremendously.  Take time to be thoughtful about what you are packing.  The worst thing you can do is to pack in a hurry.  Packing with haste will only lead to either overpacking or forgetting important items like socks or even make-up.  If you have any additional questions on packing or have any suggestions on how I can improve my own packing, I would love to hear from you!  Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend everyone!