Summer fun

6.28.2013


June has been chock full of fun activities, including a trip to New York, my fourth half marathon (Mr. C's second), time with grandparents, and, of course, a meeeeellion kid activities {pool, swimming lessons, summer school, etc}. Hope to be back soon to share details!

The most amazing meal of my life

6.11.2013

Last Wednesday Mr. C and I went to The Catbird Seat in Nashville for dinner with good friends. It took us a month to get reservations and we were pretty excited. Catbird Seat has a very cool concept: only 32 seats surround a U shaped kitchen and the chefs prepare the meal as you watch. The two co-chefs, Jeff Habiger and Erik Anderson, have pretty impressive resumes. It's such a unique restaurant and we loved how each plate was served and described by the chef himself. I felt like I was on Food Network.

It was amazing to watch them prepare each course. If you're a foodie this is your heaven.  And I forgot to mention it is a 10 course tasting menu with alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink pairings. I opted for alcoholic (no surprise there) while Mr. C opted for non-alcoholic.



Let's get to the good stuff.

The menu:


Dinner begins and ends with versions of these little guys...


While they may look like oreos, at the start of the meal they are a porcini and parmesan concoction. At the end of the meal they are chocolate and peppermint. Interesting and yummy.

Below, chef's version of a bologna sandwich, an island creek oyster, and his take on a local favorite, hot chicken. Following that was salmon tartare (that word makes me laugh) with rhubarb and curry, then a cold potato soup with white caviar, garlic flowers, crispy potato, and dill (I ate it so fast it is the only plate I didn't get a picture of). Last was monkfish with sea urchin sauce and a bunch of other fancies. It melted in my mouth and was a favorite.


Next up, duck with lavender yogurt, morels, peas, and something I can't pronounce. Then came lamb with red pepper and raspberry (delicious together) and onion and potato. Last, scharfe maxx cheese (a cow's milk cheese from Switzerland) with caraway, rye, onion, and ham.  Thank heaven above they wrote this down for us (although I still had to google).


Finally time for desserts!! The first was a strawberry cornmeal crumb ice cream thingie, then an egg custard with maple, bacon, thyme, and salt, and my favorite, vanilla cake with pineapple something and bourbon beads. See that thing that looks like a marble? It is a teeny little shot of bourbon. How'd they do that?!


I wish I'd taken pictures of the drinks because they were phenomenal, both the non and alcoholic versions. Particularly memorable, a Prosecco drink with orange liqueur and lemon, a 2009 Evening Land Vineyards Chardonnay, and a 2009 Vin des Seigneurs Mayolet (must've been a good year).

Mr. C and I eat like this every night. Just kidding. There will be no Christmas presents for the children after this dinner.  It's true I could have had a Tory Burch handbag instead but it was an experience I'll never forget.  If you're a foodie and you're traveling to Nashville put Catbird Seat on your list:)

Sunday Snapshots

6.09.2013

Sunday seemed like a good day to share this little message we stumbled upon on the beach.


Y'all, I lied. I said no more vacation shots but I couldn't resist. 


Quite exciting to see some dolphins playing. They literally swam back and forth for hours.


A critter on our fence....




Family feet...look how cute the wittle toes are:)


Five on Friday

6.07.2013

Joining some favorite blogs for 5 on Friday today! Thanks Jennifer for the idea;)

ONE~ I was going through Instagram beach pics and sort of rediscovered this one -- it made me smile so big! I love C's little heart hands and my other C hugging his bear. Such an impromptu moment!


Some other fun pics (sorry, I just can't resist:)


Pirates...


This was kind of funny too...


Okay, promise I'm done!

TWO~ These chips from Costco are fantastic and addictive and with ingredients like kale and chia I'm convinced they are good for me. Mr. C thought they'd be gross but he's now a fan. Plus I love that it is becoming easier (at least for me) to find non-GMO snacks.


THREE~  I did a DIY monogram sign for C's room recently and I'm so happy with how it turned out! Going to share more about it soon.


FOUR~ Pulled out my Lululemon socks yesterday, flipped the cuff down, and saw some hidden inspiration.


How cute is that?

FIVE~  Speaking of running I've been in a bit of a slump but I'm making a comeback. Mr. C and I are running another half on June 22 (not for time this time) and then marathon training starts. EEK! Am I really doing this?


Hope y'all have a fun weekend!

Beach pics round 2

6.04.2013

The beach is their happy place.


So happy it's hard not to dance at any given  moment.


I don't think they stopped smiling the whole time we were there. I'm thinking we should go back;)








Finally scored a family pic that I'm going to do a canvas of, yay!


We're silly.


Practicing panning...


My precious babies:)


Happy Tuesday friends!

Factory Fan

6.01.2013


I ordered this JCrew Factory necklace while at the beach and it's my new favorite! The dark stones are a deep blue. On sale now;)