narcisco rodriguez's line for kohls is 50% off

i swiped up two items in the narcisco rodriguez line for kohls. it is 50% off right now. go treat yourself to a clothing designer who designed carolyn bessette's wedding dress and michelle obama's 2008 victory dress.  it's affordable now and you deserve it.

travelogue. barcelona, spain.

more pictures from our spain and france trip. these were taken in barcelona, spain around the barcelona museum of contemporary art (MACBA) in the raval district. we couldn't take our eyes off of the skate boarders. this was our last day on our trip so we just wanted to soak it all up.

cleveland museum of art's new atrium

i wrote about seeing the first phase of the new addition at the cleveland museum of art by the new york architect rafael viñoly  right here. well, since then the second stage of this project has been completed. 39,000 square feet and five stories high. i haven't seen it, but my family and friends in that area have visited it and raved about the new atrium. my dad said it looked like a building in new york, chicago or boston. and it is right there in cleveland, ohio. how lucky are the cleveland natives who can visit this space. to be a part of the community. a place to center your mind. to be inspired by culture and design. we are putting this numero uno on things to do when we head back to cleveland to visit family.

photo from cleveland museum of art

an artist's abode

what an inspiring artful home from an equally imaginative woman. gisèle d’ailly van waterschoot van der gracht just turned 100 years old and lives in this canal house in amsterdam. she has lived an extraordinary life. read more it here. i haven't met her, but i feel my heart swell when i read about her because she is just so special. 

photography: jordi huisman for freunde von freunden.
via miss moss

thanksgiving day hike at second beach

the ocean. fresh air. blue sea + sky. orange rust brush. brown sand. my family. these are all things i'm thankful for.

thanksgiving dinner

the brining heritage blend turkey ready to be taken out and herb-roasted in the oven

the rub ingredients for the inside and outside of the turkey

negroni cocktails and kale, collard greens and red swiss chard ready for the creamed greens with chestnuts recipe

swiss chard stems, garlic, and shallots sauteing for the creamed greens recipe

the resting turkey

the girls decorated the branch in the white vase with little tags. they drew designs and pictures of what they were thankful for.

we collected orangey rocks and seashells at the beach during our hike and then put them on the thanksgiving table.

our thanksgiving day table without all the food

lots of candles and indian corn

i hope you all enjoyed your thanksgiving weekend. this was the first year we did our own little thanksgiving celebration with our family of four. josh and i really enjoyed the process of making the feast with no pressure. the colors and cooking process mesmerized me so i took lots of pictures. we had been collecting recipes and stocking the refrigerator with all the ingredients for the past week. and we picked up our first turkey we have ever cooked at simmons organic farm on monday afternoon. we opted for a heritage blend. here's a link to read more about this type of turkey. we concocted the brine on tuesday morning so it would be full of flavor on thursday.

we got outside for a hike at second beach in middletown, rhode island on thanksgiving morning once the turkey was in the oven. we collected orangish rocks and shells so the girls could put them on the thanksgiving dinner table. the girls also decorated little tags with designs and pictures on what they were thankful for this year. it really made the day enjoyable because the girls felt special being a part of the preparation for the day. i'm definitely going to repeat this little project because it kept the girls entertained and happy while the meal was being prepared.

here are the recipes we used for thanksgiving. feel free to skip on over this. i'm mostly doing this so i have some documentation for future years.

a simple turkey brine 

herb-roasted turkey

whipped potatoes with horseradish 

creamed greens with chestnuts 

fresh cranberry relish

buttermilk cornbread for the cornbread dressing

cornbread dressing (in honor of my grandmother, mar)

corn (for the girls)

greek yogurt cheesecake with pomegranate syrup 

grandma's pumpkin pie

in this instance, judge a book by it's cover

do you use your local library? i do. i take full advantage. the girls have a story time every thursday afternoon with other kids their age. i enjoy talking with the other parents (i met my two best friends in newport at the library). saying hello and how's your week going to the librarians or trading a quip. checking out the new arrivals in the fiction and non-fiction areas. swifting through the movies to see if there are any i'm dying to see. and flipping through the magazines i don't have a subscription for, like dwell, downeast, architectural digest and the new york times magazine. 

i feel like this thursday library routine and all the other routines we have in our life (exercise, yoga, meeting a friend for coffee, church, class, commute, grocery shopping, farmer's market) aren't so little. the little things add up to a greater sense of community and camaraderie. and it's this feeling that helps me and i think so many other people feel fulfilled and happy during the fall and winter months when sunlight is scarce and there isn't so much to do outside. what can i say, i like routine, structure and a brand new book to read from my thursday visit to the library.

on that note, have you read any good books lately? i just finished 'where'd you go, bernadette' by maria semple. it's witty, quirky, quick, and i read 150 pages in one night because i couldn't stop. the cover is pretty fantastic, which is so not the case for new fiction covers. go ahead. judge this book by it's cover. it's okay.  

this weekend

this sunday we had my uncle, aunt, cousins, and bro down from boston for some fall fun. i made a new recipe, pumpkin doughnut muffins (recipe from martha stewart) as seen in the picture above. my cousin, laura, fishtail braided the girls hair. we ate lots of pulled pork and coleslaw and then went for a walk at third beach because the sun was shining and the crisp fall weather was calling us outdoors.

friendsgiving

our friends invited us over for a 'friendsgiving harvest party'. i really admire how they threw this big bash complete with a cider-brined turkey, a slew of kids that were entertained the entire time by the flock of chickens they had outside,  and a full-on bonfire once the darkness set in. it was fun and a great way to kick off the holiday season.