Wednesday, November 30, 2011

DIY Embellished Onsises


I am an awful seamstress! But I thought I could sew a few simple lines to attach some cute fringes to Sophia's onesies. I bought a pack of onesies and then picked out trims to match.

You need about 6-8 inches per collar.

I just sewed a simple stitch across the top of each fringe to attach it! Can't wait for her to wear them!






Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Mini Pies with Dana & Mary




Towards the end of summer I hosted a little baking day at my house. La Lune Events has contributed a few posts to Spokane Bride Blog and we needed some content. I love to make these mini pies for events and Dana & Mary came over to help!





You can read the full post over here at SBB and find the recipe!

These would be perfect for Christmas, bridal showers, baby showers, or anytime! 








Monday, November 28, 2011

Adventures of Big D


This weekend was very busy for us! I worked as a nurse for a few hours, hosted an open house, hosted a knitting party, met with multiple clients, and arranged many photoshoots on location at the Attic. On Saturday, Diesel came with me to the property and decided to eat some mouse poison. I saw him do it and before I even realized what he ate he had swallowed the entire block of poison. I realized a little while later what it was and immediately took him to the vet. They were able to make him throw it up and now he has to take Vitamin K for three weeks to make sure his blood doesn't get too thin from the poison that may have been absorbed. 
The big guy didn't know he was bad but was so sad after the vet. He sat in the front seat with me as we drove up to pick up baby Sophia. 
I'm happy he's still alive. He is lucky. And poor little Sophie would have missed him so much...they are already best buds!

This is not the first time Diesel has gotten into trouble. It's pretty much weekly around our house much to my husband's dismay. 

Here is a cute video of another mastiff...they must all be alike.




Follow Alisa's Garden on




Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Butternut & Mushroom Tartine





tar·tine

  [tahr-teen; Fr. tar-teen]
noun 
a fancy French open-faced sandwich topped with spreadable ingredients.



While I was in San Francisco last month we ate lunch at a french bakery called La Boulange. It was extraordinary! I had their special for the day....a butternut and mushroom tartine. A tartine is a french open faced sandwich or a "fancy" french sandwich like the dictionary says. It's really quite simple actually. I knew I had to make it when I got home with a few of my own twists.
Mary Banducci photographed and helped me cook during a very unusual photo session day. Don't ask me why I decided to cook, photograph, watch four kids under the age of 2 , and have my friends over for pedis all at the same time. Despite the chaos, this magical lunch prevailed! 




Ingredients

1 butternut squash
4 tbs fresh sage
2 cups fresh chanterelle or brown button mushrooms
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp dried thyme
3 cloves fresh garlic
whole nutmeg
pinch of salt
loaf of french bread



Directions

Heat oven to 400*

Slice your butternut in half, de-seed it, and then peel the skin with a vegetable peeler or knife. Dice the flesh into small half inch cubes. Place in roasting pan.

Lightly rinse or brush mushrooms and slice into quarters. Place in roasting pan.





Mince fresh garlic and add to roasting pan.

Sprinkle squash mushroom mixture with salt, freshly grated nutmeg, and dried thyme. Sprinkle with olive oil. Toss the mixture with your hands to coat. 






Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes. You want the squash to still be firm not mushy. 

Chiffande the thyme leaves and begin to heat olive oil in a saute pan.

Remove from oven and cool slightly while you toast slices of french bread.



Sprinkle the fresh sage into the oil and flash fry it for about 30 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon or fork.

Top your bread with the squash and mushroom mixture. Garnish with friend sage. 

Bon Appetit!





Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Thanksgiving Inspiration

We are hosting Thanksgiving in our new house in Coeur d'Alene this year. It will be the five of us plus Papa. I've been using Pinterest for some new recipe inspiration. But this photo topped them all...wish I had the time and energy to make my Thanksgiving look like this! Maybe next year!






Red Cabbage for Papa


        

Yam Fries since we don't like sweet Yams & Green Bean Casserole (but with all fresh ingredients) Great recipe here.
Going to try out some mini pecan pies, too, for my dad!


All photos via Pinterest 


Monday, November 21, 2011

Our Life Lately


 On a walk as a whole family on Tubbs Hill before it snowed!

Sophie has gone to work with Daddy for a few minutes recently so I could get some much needed yoga time in!



Sophia was a Lady Bug for Halloween!




Made a maiden Trader Joes run with Mary & Amaressa last week. Teaching our girls how to shop at the right stores! So happy Trader Joes is FINALLY in the inland northwest! Come to Coeur d'Alene now!



Kyle turned 29 last week and he got me a present for his birthday! Love him!




Diesel has finally realized Sophie is a person and kind of fun to be around. He ignored her for the first 4 months of his life and slipped into a deep doggy depression. He's cheering back up now especially since he realized how comfy her bobby pillow is.





Lisa Wise Photography took some family photos for us (my parents & bro, too) on Saturday! This couch is part of the Attic's inventory and we shot on location at the Attic property. 




Snow plowing and de-icing season has begun for us. Kyle has had maybe 5 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours. Crazy!

This is what it looks like out there today! 
I'm loving our new home and new location in CdA, too! So close and familiar! Christmas lights are almost up on our house and Christmas decorating has already started inside!


Friday, November 18, 2011

Sophia's Four Month Photos




A friend of mine, Lisa Wise, took these photos for us about a month ago. I wanted simple, soft photos of us in our home! I love what she captured of our family. Here are some of my favorites






Kyle and Sophia (a few minutes old) are featured on this Resource Guide for Bloom Spokane! Bloom is an awesome resource for birth information and education for our area!


Thursday, November 17, 2011

Fall Update | I'm back!

Hello blog friends! I took a little (long) break from blogging. I am really going to make the effort and hope to blog more than I have the last few months. Learning how to be a mommy takes time and my little one is definitely my priority.

This season is hopefully going to slow down for me. Weddings are over for me for the year and what a fabulous year it was! SO grateful for that! My new business, the Attic, is up and running and has taken off! Snow season is gearing up for Kyle and I am back to work as a Nurse at Hospice. So that sounds pretty busy but honestly will take less time than what I have dedicated to our weddings this summer.


Our wedding season was wondeful! So blessed that in La Lune's first year we were able to design and coordinate 11 glorious weddings. The wedding season started and ended with probably two of my favorite weddings so far. Shana & Ryan got married at the Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center last weekend right as the sun was setting and beautiful, fluffy snow began to fall. The church was lit dimly with candle light and the windows began to fog at the base of the panes. You could feel the love for them in the church. (I think her bridesmaids dabbed their eyes the entire time) The photo above is from my cell phone. My dang camera was dead and I didn't realize this until the start of the wedding ceremony. We'll all have to rely on Ifong for her sure to be stunning photo documentaion of this event.



(La Lune's first wedding this year in March. Same locations, same vendors...perfection! Photo by Ifong Chen)


I LOVED the theme and design of this wedding on Saturday...gold, sparkle, glitter, gold, gold, gold, and more gold! When she told me that, I was so excited. She didn't care what I used or how I did it. She just wanted it to sparkle and bling! My house will never be the same again and my husband curses every piece of darn glitter he finds in our food, on our baby, in our hair. But it was SO worth it!

(bad photo by my cell phone)

I was so pleased with the way this design turned out. Shana had considered having her wedding at the grand Davenport Hotel with its gold ballisters, ornate carvings, oversized furniture. But we came to the conclusion to create that grand, gold, glistening look in a more rustic location. Barrister Winery is a wine production warehouse in the middle of a city block. The minute you walk in you are mesmerized with the overpowering smell of wine fermenting and the earthy smell of the brick and beams. Thanks to one of my favorite vendors, Event Rents, we were able to have gold chairs, gold shimmery linens, and gold chargers. It was perfection. I hung nearly fifty gold globes and crystals from the ceiling and raw beams. The sixty plus gold, glitter vases and votives completed the sparkly look. I cannot wait for you to see Ifong's photos of the table design!

The best part...seeing my bride's face when she walked into her reception! That is honestly the best part of every wedding. I worked my little buns off for this wedding (and Kyle's too)! It had to be perfect for many reasons.

I also was lucky enough to work with my dream team of wedding vendors! Seriously, you guys rocked and made my job as a coordinator so much easier. I can tell you stories of vendors that need to be babysat, run over my stuff, bring me a branch instead of a flower arrangement. Here's a quick list  Ifong Chen Photography, Fleurtation Floral, AMP'D Entertainment, Rogue Heart Media, Annie Johnson, Erin Blackburn, Shasta Hankins, Lindsey Wilson, Event Rents, the Attic, Simply Gourmet Catering.

Tomorrow...hopefully some Sophie updates and some updates on my new business and maybe even some new recipes!