Cheese State Visit

This past week, we traveled up to Wisconsin to spend some time with my husband's side of our family and to meet our new nephew, August. He's such a beautiful baby and I loved spending time with him. Our niece, Madelynn, is getting so big and can already sing her ABCs.

We packed a lot in to a 5 day visit and got to see over 40 members of the family!

Spicy Lentil Coconut Soup

I made this soup on a chilly Sunday and it was oh, so satisfying. Spicy curried Indian flavors with a smooth creamy coconut finish. Jake and I devoured the leftovers too. 

I can't take credit for this recipe, I found it here and am so glad that I did. I plan on adding this soup to my arsenal of warming winter recipes.

I followed the directions nearly to a t, but I added already cooked lentils (since I had them on hand) and a bit more spice and salt. I'm a big believer in tasting as you cook and adjusting spices accordingly. I squeezed some extra lime in there too. 

If you're in the U.S. of A you'll need to convert everything from metric. If I were a nice blogger I would do it for you. But alas, I am not.

Catching Up

It's been a little while since I've checked in. Here  are some photos and a video to get you up to speed on what I've been up to.

+ We celebrated Thanksgiving at my parent's house. My mom sure knows how to host a holiday.

+ We got a new Puppy, Anderson "Cooper" Koneman. He's the sweetest!

+ Celebrated Christmas at home in North Carolina (watch the vid)!

+ Went on a family vacation to Disney World. I don't know who was more excited about meeting the princesses -- Addie or Jake.

+ Sweet little Ellie Pearl turned 1. Where does the time go? She's the happiest most lovable baby. Aaand girlfriend knows how to eat some cake!

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Master Bedroom Makeover

Our master bedroom makeover began due to our desire for a new bed. The bed and mattress that we were sleeping on may have been in its 20s (believe me, I know how gross this is). 

Interior design projects tend to snowball for me, so the new bed lead to new bedding and accessories to match (am I the only person whose heart skips a beat in the Homegoods lamp section?). 

I was never happy with the color of the walls -- the chip looked taupe but the color read very green and too dark for my liking.  We decided to go with a light grey which really brightened things up.

One of my favorite additions to our new bedroom is the sign that hangs above the bed. I think it speaks to our relationship. I had it custom made from a talented lady that has an Etsy shop that you can find here.

There are still a few things that I'd like to change but overall I'm really happy with our new and improved boudoir!

Before:

After:

Nephew

Welcome to the world, sweet August!

Our family has been anxiously awaiting your arrival.

Uncle Jake can't wait to take you to your first Packers game.

I'm looking forward to dressing you up in bow ties and suspenders.

Most of all,  I'm counting the days until we meet you and can

hold you close &  b r e a t h e   y o u   i n.

Stay small and keep your fresh baby smell until Aunt B makes it into town.

Love you so much, little man :)

Happy Fall!

Things have been a little crazy around these parts but I wanted to drop in and wish you all a happy fall! It's my favorite time of year. We're doing our best to soak it all in.

We took the girls to the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago and lots of adorableness ensued. Wishing you a beautiful weekend full of all things fall.

Madelynn Turns Two

Recently, Jake and I went on an incredible road trip. We started in North Carolina, made our way up to Wisconsin for a family wedding and our niece's second birthday, continued on to Colorado for a work event and then made our way back home. There were lots of stops a long the way and I hope to share some photos here soon.

One of the highlights of our trip was seeing our niece, Madelynn. We don't get to see her very often so we were excited to spend some time with her. She's getting so big and is talking quite a bit now. She loves all things Dora and is pretty fearless when it comes to playing and jumping around. Also, she's beyond beautiful -- we really hit the jackpot in the gorgeous niece department!