FIVE FALL PIECES

They say that French women only purchase five thoughtfully considered, quality pieces each season. This prevents a classic fashion pitfall I have found myself a victim of: buying unnecessary clothes and cluttering up my closet with random trendy pieces that won't last. This year I have taken to heart the minimalist attitude of the French, stripped my closet of those un-loved and un-worn pieces I've held onto since high school with a hoarders-esque death grip, and committed to only buying pieces that fit three criteria. First, they must mix and match seamlessly with my current wardrobe. Second, they must be clothing I will actually wear frequently (nothing that doesn't fit right, must make me feel great, etc). Third, they must fit into my mommy life style. I love silk Madewell tops as much as the next gal, but between my two small children and my own Liz Lemon tendencies I know that such a top would be covered in spit up/mucous/food/coffee stains before 9:30 in the morning. Realistically, at this stage in the game, I need clothes that I won't be crying over if (read: when) they are ruined. With all this in mind, I purged my closet today and it felt AMAZING. I held up each piece of clothing I owned and asked myself two questions. First, have I worn this recently? and second, If I saw this in a store today would I buy it? Happily, I now have a huge pile of old clothes that I will be schlepping up to a resale shop soon. Now that I've been able to cull my closet to the very best loved pieces, I decided it was a good time to practice my new French mindset and purchase a few things for fall. I hit one of my go-to shopping spots: the clearance section at Target. None of these items cost me more than forty bucks, and I absolutely love every one of them. Here's the rundown of what I purchased and why.

no 1. Striped sweatshirt dress | Could anything be MORE French? I have pinned about a thousand outfits of gals wearing dresses similar to this one and have been on the lookout for one for ages. I snagged this baby for about $17.00. Thank you, thank you Target clearance! It fits great, and the material is thick enough that it's not super clingy and exposing. I am still pretty shy about my postpartum body and this dress covers all the areas I am trying to hide/forget exist.

no 2. Black Booties | Not on clearance but still a great deal. Daniel got me a great pair of cream suede booties from Urban Outfitters last year and I've been wanting a darker pair that I wouldn't be constantly worried about staining and/or scuffing. I am very hard on shoes and clumsy to boot (pun intended) so I tend to favor cheaper shoes.

no 3. Plaid Button Up | I have been wanting a plaid flannel winter button up for years but never found one I loved. This top has  fun lining and elbow patches and the fit is longer than most button ups. It's not actually flannel, but I actually don't mind because it seems like this will be warm but breathable.

no 4. Brown Backpack | This was a bit of an impulse buy, but I have no buyers remorse over it. All of my old purses are falling apart or too tiny to fit what I carry these days. Plus, Daniel just bought me an awesome vintage bike for my birthday and this will be a much easier bag to bike with. Also, when I inevitably spill a bag of cheerios in this bag, I won't think twice about it.

no 5. Long Sleeve Blouse | This may be my favorite purchase of the lot. The black section is nice and flowy (in other words, flattering) and the jersey sleeves are breathable and stretchy. This is the perfect shirt for an active day with the littles when I want something slightly nicer than a t-shirt, but just as comfy.

What are you wearing this fall?

BEDROOM INSPIRATION | WHITE + MINIMAL

Sources no 1. | no. 2 | no. 3 | no. 4

This spring we are buying a house! I am thrilled to get a fresh start with organization and decorating. This is the first time in our lives Daniel and I are picking a spot to settle down long-term, so I'm trying to thoughtfully plan and design each room to reflect our family's aesthetic and lifestyle, hopefully managing to keep the look minimal and classic. Our new home was built in 1968 and definitely reads very mid-century ranch so that's the starting point for a lot of the design decisions we are making. I'll be sharing inspiration posts over the next few weeks and then I hope I'll be able to share the actual results as soon as we are settled in! 

First up is our master bedroom, which has been a little challenging since I'm attempting to create a space that comfortably combines the vintage-modern mix that Daniel and I love while retaining a minimalist approach. To make the bedroom feel calm and serene, we want to keep the space as open and bright as possible. I plan to place our mattress directly on the floor so that our littles can easily climb in for cuddles. I also want to have no furniture in the room besides bedside tables, possibly using floating shelves or low stools to serve that purpose. We will have two big closets so I think we can manage to fit all of our clothing in there. I know that realistically a home with two kids is bound to be messy a large portion of the time, so I want to make our bedroom a place of retreat. No toys, no clutter--just an open, crisp, white & relaxing space. As far as art on the walls, I'd like to blow up some of Daniel's black and white film photos and use those in a poster size as statement pieces. There is also no overhead lighting, so I'd like to either DIY or purchase two wall mounted lamps on either side of the bed. If I'm brave enough to go the DIY route, I'd like to copy and slightly modify this DIY from Manhattan Nest. 

For a few more of my favorite inspiring white + minimal bedrooms check out my Pinterest board!

Sarah 

HOW TO BREW A FRENCH PRESS

My husband is an incredibly talented barista + all around huge coffee nerd. Over the two years we've been married he has pretty much spoiled me into a level of coffee snobbery I previously scoffed at. At the risk of sounding incredibly pretentious, single-origin hand brewed coffee is my absolute favorite way to consume coffee these days. We don't even own a coffee machine and I love it (less counter clutter). I'm slowly learning from Daniel how to brew my own coffee (for the first year he always had to do it for me), and honestly I really enjoy the ritual of it. One of my favorite things about weekend mornings is that it's a time to slow down and enjoy my morning coffee, rather than just chugging a cup to get a quick caffeine buzz and going about my business (which is still what I do during the week, sadly). After you've spent ten minutes carefully preparing 12 ounces of coffee, you really want to sit down and enjoy your hard work. The easiest way to start brewing coffee sans-machine is with the French Press method. I'm not completely comfortable with the pour-over method all by myself quite yet, but when I am more confident I will share that way, too. 

Cheers!

Sarah

MORNING SICKNESS SURVIVAL GUIDE

These are a few remedies I discovered for Morning Sickness during my first trimester:

1. Peppermint Altoids. Until they burn your tongue! I was pretty much sucking on these 24/7 in my cubicle.

2.  Tonic water with lime. When you get sick of the lemonade, switch to this bitter and citrusy beverage. It weirdly made me feel much better.

3. Sparkling Lemonade. The bubbles and citrus really settle your tummy.

4. Peppermint tea. No milk, no sugar. Breathe in the steam while it's still too hot to drink. This doubles as a scent blocker for that crazy supersonic sense of smell you develop.

Do you know any other tricks that I didn't mention? Or were you lucky enough to avoid morning sickness altogether?

Sarah

FIVE INSPIRING SPRING PIECES

no 1. Panama hat by Margaret Howell | no 2. T shirt dress from Victory | no 3. Roma Sandals from Arts&Science 
no 4. Slouchy Blouse from Steve Alan | no 5. Comfy linen trousers by Atelier Delphine

I've always been more of a "dress for comfort" type of girl, so I'm loving the current prominence of slouchy tomboy pieces this season. I tend to use the work of higher end designers as inspiration and mostly shop sales and knock off stores to get the look I like for a more comfortable price. I also don't usually binge buy, I just purchase a few pieces here and there that I hope will remain classic wardrobe staples for more than a few years. I chose the items above as my shopping inspiration for this season because they could be paired with almost anything I currently own and are fresh and interesting without being too trendy. I'm quite sure I could never afford the Arts&science sandals, but I love the closed toe and ankle strap. I feel like I could chase down a three year old in those things without worrying about unsteady footing. 

What trends are you excited about for spring and summer this year? What is your shopping philosophy?

Sarah 

"BECAUSE I LIVE, YOU ALSO WILL LIVE"

     Spring is unconquerably blooming forth here in North Carolina. This year, one particular theme is constantly at the top of my heart as tangible metaphors of new life and rebirth surround me, poignant reminders that He is Risen. Nature springing from dead earth in a riot of color is an inescapable reflection of God's common grace for the whole world. We all get to experience this beautiful transformation each spring, and this year perhaps more than others I am noticing that He is using his creation to tell us a love story. As the world around me grows more vibrant and lovely, my heart is inexplicably filled hope. 

     Over the last winter months, I thought I had killed my beloved and much-babied Lavender plant. The leaves turned a sickly ashen grey and brittle, dry stems crumbled to dust at the most gentle touch. Strangely, this plant precisely mirrored my own spiritual state as the final doldrums of winter had totally worn me down into a silent apathy. However, last week, to my great astonishment, fresh green sprigs began popping up through the dead stems of my little plant. The resurrection of my lavender is a timely reminder that Jesus's resurrection brings the dead back to life. His life transforms our brittle, apathetic hearts of stone to new hearts of flesh, overwhelming us with love and mercy until we can't help but to share that love with everyone around us. One of my favorite phrases to recall during moments of struggle or sadness is "Jesus is Alive." It reminds me that he is always near, always at work, and always always enveloping me in love and forgiveness. It seems a particularly apt phrase to repeat during this Easter weekend. Now I have cut away the dead branches of my plant and cleared out the deadness in my own heart, leaving only room for grace and hope. My prayer for everyone this Easter is that the truth that Jesus lives will take root in your heart and bloom forth there in love. 

Happy Easter!

Sarah 

RECIPE | BALSAMIC BRUSSELS SPROUTS

I've always been highly skeptical of Brussels Sprouts, probably because they've got such a bad reputation as stinky, gas-inducing, mushy tiny cabbages. However, the magic of the internet has since turned my mind to hope. I keep coming across pins of recipes mixing roast Brussels Sprouts with bacon and was finally inspired to give it a try myself. I bought a bag of fresh sprouts at Trader Joe's and decided my best bet was to do Balsamic Brussels Sprouts since that's one of my favorite flavors. 

The instructions on the bag included a little pro-tip: the best way to cook these is to blanche them. I had no idea what blanching was, so I did a little Google research and figured out how to do it. I can now state without a shadow of a doubt, the ONLY way to cook these is to blanche them first. Blanching made a remarkable difference in the texture and flavor of these things. 

Here's what I used:

Brussels Sprouts

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Salt

Here's what I did:

Step one) Trim the stalks of the Brussels Sprouts (but not too closely, otherwise the leaves will all come apart).

Step two) Boil a large pot of salted water and add the sprouts. Boil for five to ten minutes or until you are able to insert a fork into the center of the Brussels sprout with a little bit of resistance. Like so:

Step three) Use a slotted spoon to transfer the Brussels Sprouts from the boiling water into an ice bath. Leave them in the ice bath for about ten or twenty seconds. This brings the cooking process to a complete stop so that you can now roast your veggies until crispy in the oven without them getting mushy and/or overcooked. 

Step four) After removing the Brussels Sprouts from the ice bath, slice them in half along the spine of the outer most leaf (this keeps them from losing a bunch of leaves). Toss them with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar (I applied the Balsamic liberally and I ended up pleased with the decision).  Spread them out on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and roast at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I kept a close eye on them to make sure they didn't burn from the balsamic. 

And miracle of miracles: they came out crispy on the outside with a flavor that was a little nutty, slightly bitter, and overall highly pleasing. I will be playing with new recipes for these all winter! I am henceforth converted to a Brussels Sprouts fan-girl. Can't wait to try them with bacon. 

Sarah