see – Page 13

nell hill’s

Published on March 23, 2011March 23, 2011 by cara.b.b.4 Comments

i went on a quick little field trip today in search of a gift, and the place i went to is my idea of heaven. the store is called nell hill’s and it is filled from floor to ceiling with gorgeous furniture, accessories, and everything in between. i love that you can spend anywhere from $5 to a few thousand – she meets every price point – and they have an amazing fabric room as well. mary carol garrity is the owner of the store, and i think she’s a genius. she has impeccable taste and a super-fresh way of mixing classic and more modern items. if you’re in kansas city, or anywhere remotely close, it’s worth the trip. for now, you’ll have to settle for my dodgy iphone snaps. here are a few things that caught my eye today.

{love these wingbacks flanking the fireplace}

{all the books on the mantle are wrapped in old maps – brilliant}

{these pictures do not do the fabrics justice. they were gorgeous in person.}

on another note, thanks again to julie over at milk & honey for featuring our kitchen today!

i heart white woodwork

Published on March 22, 2011 by cara.b.b.3 Comments

when we moved in this house, i knew that one of the first things we would do is paint the oak woodwork. i’m sure i’ll come back around and wonder why oh why we painted all of our woodwork, but that’s not today. don’t get me wrong, i like oak in the right place, but it wasn’t on our built-ins. it made such a difference in our family room. what was once dark and a bit cavernous is now light and bright. i love how painting the woodwork white brought so much attention to the brick fireplace. julie over at milk & honey was kind enough to feature our mantle on her blog a while back. thanks julie!

{yikes – everything looks yellow!}

{and the room breathes a sigh of relief!}

on a side note, we’re preparing for a road trip to denver on thursday, and i’ve turned our guest room into a staging center for all our stuff – it’s a sight to see, people. have you packed for a baby before?? oh my! if anyone has any hot tips on traveling in a CAR for NINE HOURS with a SEVEN month old, pipe up!! i’m equal parts excited and terrorized for the drive.

dining room refresh

Published on March 21, 2011 by cara.b.b.6 Comments

a few years ago, we bought a gigantic piece of art (we’re talking 5ft x 3ft) for our dining room. we loved it at first, but soon realized that it was just too overpowering for the room. i took the piece down one day a few months back, and the wall has been blank in hopes that i would be struck with an idea. well, i was. and here’s the result.

i started with these. i taped them off and spray painted them gold.

i really love our ‘new’ dining room. the light is reflecting all over the place, and i often pass through the room just for the heck of it.

the many faces of beckett-man

Published on March 18, 2011March 18, 2011 by cara.b.b.Leave a comment

you know the photos that you think are bad? they’re not. sometimes they’re the best of the bunch. i thought this was too funny not to share.

{notice the river of drool in 5 of 6 pics. way to go little man!}

quick remix

Published on March 17, 2011 by cara.b.b.1 Comment

per usual, i was getting a little bored…this time with our china cabinet. so i decided to mix it up a bit and completely reorganize. i haven’t decided if i like it any better, but it’s different, and i do love to change things up.

getting all the china and crystal out and dusting it off made me remember how much i really do love it, so i pledge to use it this year! what am i waiting for!?!

happy st. paddy’s day!

{before}

{after}

6 months

Published on March 14, 2011 by cara.b.b.2 Comments

we took advantage of the warmer weather and sunshine this weekend and had a little photo shoot to mark our little mister’s 6 months. here are some of our favorites.

week in review

Published on March 11, 2011 by cara.b.b.Leave a comment

a few quick pics to illustrate the week. it’s been a good one, and the cherry on top is a sunshiny and warm friday and mexican with great friends tonight!

{beckett and miller discuss who produces more saliva}

{sushi for lunch}

{the short guy started sitting up}

{my cousin taught my mama, granny, and i how to make these yummy rolls}

{we started using cloth diapers}

happy weekend!

i’ve created a monster

Published on March 9, 2011 by cara.b.b.Leave a comment

i have always had a sweet tooth, but since being married, i have brought jared over to the…hmmm, some might call it… dark side. well, we were in the mood for something sweet to end our meal the other day, and we didn’t have much around. i found a box of white cake mix in the pantry and decided to visit google for an idea, and this recipe popped up. you could do lot of variations of this, and i decided to add some cherry juice infused craisins (if you haven’t tried these, you must!). it took no time at all, and our little bellies were very happy.

cake mix cookies
1 (18.25 ounce) box cake mix (no pudding)*
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil

mix or match the following or get creative!..

6 ounces miniature chocolate chips
6 ounces butterscotch chips
6 ounces peanut butter chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1 apple, grated
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

combine cake mix, eggs and oil. mix well, then add the optional ingredients and blend in. drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. bake for 9 to 12 minutes.

jamie’s manifesto

Published on March 8, 2011 by cara.b.b.Leave a comment

did you see jamie’s manifesto yesterday? her description of how she felt about domino magazine really struck a chord with me.

the other day, i was trying to describe for a friend what it was about domino magazine that was so special. everytime i open the pages of any issue, i can’t sit still for more than 5 minutes because i’m up, inspired, moving things around, restyling, fluffing and running out to grab something i saw in the mag i needed…once that connection was made, our wheels would start turning and we’d be engaged in not only reading a magazine, but in going a step further and trying to recreate what we saw, with our own personal twist.

i love anything that gives me the urge to get up and create or re-swizzle something in my own home…sometimes it’s a magazine, a tv show, a blog, or just too much caffeine. i love that feeling. i want my home to be pretty to look at but also comfortable to be in, and whatever inspires me to get there, i’m thrilled about. i’ve always wanted to have the house that people want to come to, where friends and neighbors just drop by, but more importantly, i want a home that reflects my family. i think that’s inspiring in and of itself.

{today’s dream kitchen}

home gym – before and after

Published on March 7, 2011 by cara.b.b.Leave a comment

i promised this two weeks ago and just got around to taking a few photos this morning. we turned an ugly storage space in our basement into a little home gym. we had all the equipment already, but it was in a different area of our basement. the new gym really works for us, and it frees up a big space that we will turn into another living area – yay!