Feeding Finn

Feeding Finn has been far easier than I anticipated it would be and I'm so thankful. Matt has snapped a few pictures of me and my little nursling, but I wanted to do something a little more deliberate to remember this season of our lives. Enter Karissa, friend and birth photographer extraordinaire. She took photos when both of the boys were born and when Ezra was nursing, too. I knew she would be willing to do it again, even at six months pregnant with her toddler in tow, and especially if I bribed her with tacos. Pregnant ladies love tacos. Heck, who doesn't love tacos? Anyway, we spent about an hour in Providence to get these shots. Matt kept Ezra and Zekiah occupied and Finn basically refused to nurse because he wanted to play with the boys and/or smile at Karissa and random passersby. Still, I love these pictures and am so glad I'll always have them to help me remember this time. Thanks so much, Karissa! I promise we'll get tacos if the Taqueria is ever actually open. 

 

 

That face! I just can't. This sweet boy has my heart.

 

HAPPY HOLI-DIY | a recap of my craft night at Anthropologie

Last night was so much fun - I hosted an event at Anthropologie (you may have heard about it, ha) and to top it off two customers thought I worked there because I "dressed like it" and I had a "great outfit." Two of the greatest compliments of my life right there. Oh, and my mom and aunt came out to support me and they were like my personal fan club so that was nice, too. Hopefully everyone who came to the event had as good a time as I did! We made initial ornaments that do double duty as gift toppers, and a few industrious people even made enough letters to make a word garland! Check back tomorrow for the tutorial. Here are a bunch of photos of the event... much thanks to Matt who stopped by for a little while to capture these images for me. 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Most of all, thanks to Anthropologie for having me and to everyone who came to the event! Hope we can do another one real soon :)

tea with Rose | Teas and Javas

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Paris program for this important message: the tea tour continues! Hillary and I went out for tea in August just before we went on vacation, but we didn't get around to posting before we left so this is a bit of old news. However, it's still totally worth sharing! We checked out the (then) brand new Teas and Javas, a new venture from the people at Alex and Ani, on Wayland Avenue in Providence. We both loved the atmosphere and thought the place was really cute and well decorated, and it was especially nice that the store front was open to the sidewalk. Sidewalk seating is so Parisian :) Anyway, we ordered our tea (iced this time - it was a scorcher!) and sat for a few minutes while we waited for it to brew.

The tables were dark granite and the walls were covered in white subway tile which contributed to the overall feeling of calm. Hillary and I ordered peppermint alfalfa tea (by Irie Tea) as we both tend to stay away from caffeinated teas and the herbal offerings were somewhat limited. That was kind of disappointing, but I did really enjoy the peppermint alfalfa - it was cool and refreshing. Ezra probably drank half of it even though I got him a cup of water. 

There was a case full of yummy looking cupcakes and cookies, and my friend Karissa said she and her husband went for lunch one day and they loved the roast beef focaccia. After perusing the menu online, it looks like I'll have to go back to try the French brie sandwich... we'll see how it measures up to all the brie baguettes I enjoyed in Paris!

Don't forget to check out Hillary's post about tea tour stop six right here!

sail away or just stay | vacationing on a houseboat

Let's talk houseboats. Have you ever even given them a second thought? I know I haven't, but last night while looking for a retreat location I came across a really cool option... there are a couple of houseboats docked at the Fox Point Marina in Providence! Unfortunately, they don't provide enough space for our retreat, but how awesome would it be to vacation on a houseboat? Now I can't get them out of my mind. Even a one night stay would be super fun... talk about a cool date night! Check out this one or this one if you're in the area.

images via Thrift Candy from Houseboat

tea with Rose | Teavana

Our tea tour continues, this time at Providence Place. We'd been to Teavana a couple times before and knew we had to include it here... with so many choices there's something to please everyone. Just look at all those tins!

As I've mentioned before, I almost exclusively drink herbal tea so when the girl working at Teavana asked what I'd like I told her that I wanted something caffeine free. She informed me that rooibos tea blends don't contain caffeine, and that she had actually just brewed a new blend for one of the store samples - citrus lavender sage combined with opus rouge rooibos. One sip and I was sold. 

I forgot what http://telloandrose.wordpress.com/ chose, so you'll have to read her take on Teavana right here. 

After we made our purchases we had to stop at J.Crew to do a little shopping. Ezra and Hillary hid out behind some pants while I browsed above them.

While these Vans were a little big for Ezra, he definitely proved that he can rock them. 

Note to self: will have to pick up a pair when he's a little bigger.

All in all, this was my favorite stop on the tea tour yet. I may even head back to Teavana to get myself a couple ounces of tea to brew at home, and at about $10 an ounce, that's saying something. I'm already looking forward to our next cuppa.

brownies and bananagrams | date night at home

Hello all! How was your weekend? Ours was nice - not too hot like last week, but now we're getting hit with a major thunderstorm. Matt was supposed to shoot an engagement session but it has to be rescheduled, so I'm thinking an indoor date night is just the thing for us to do tonight. Here's what we'll need...

a candle for mood lighting / cream soda / music, preferably Little Broken Hearts 

bananagrams / brownies, the most important thing of all (besides Matt)

How do you make a night at home special?

tea with Rose // Tealuxe

Hillary and I decided to go to an old favorite of ours last week for our tea tour - Tealuxe. It's probably the most well known place to get a cup of tea in the state so of course we had to include it in the tour.

We met up on Thayer Street at about 9:00 and placed our orders - I chose an iced papaya and pineapple and had to wait a few minutes since it was custom made. Not a problem as I took the time to poke around the cafe while Ezra sipped on water.

I was tempted to get the 'half & half' but I decided that drinking tea blended with lemonade would be cheating since we're supposed to be on a tea tour. I refrained. 

The papaya pineapple was a bright blend of fruity flavors that almost tasted sweet even without the addition of sugar or honey. Getting it iced was a good call because the day was already warming up and we headed to the playground after so Ezra could run around. It was the perfect refreshment for sipping while I watched Ezra climb and jump and pick up every piece of litter he found. I'm not kidding. He picked up every piece in sight and wanted me to lift him up so he could reach the trash can. Someone get this kid's college application started because he's already doing volunteer work. Anyway, I would definitely get the papaya pineapple again. I might even buy some loose tea so I can make it at home. Maybe it will be the official beverage of summer 2012.

As you can see, Ezra snagged my tea and downed the last inch or so. I think he felt pretty cool drinking it, although he did add a few wood chips later on. Wouldn't be my first choice for a garnish but then I'm not eighteen months old. Read Hillary's post about our trip to Tealuxe right here, check out our other stops on the tea tour, too!

P.S. Hillary used instagram to capture this shot of Ezra looking all moody. I kind of love it.

a morning in the city // breakfast at tazza

Breakfast is one of the easiest meals to make for yourself at home, but there's just something about eating out in the morning that makes paying $8 for fried eggs feel worth it. Plus then you absolutely must get dressed and brush your teeth before nine. In the spirit of approaching the day with a "go get 'em" attitude, that's just what Ezra and I did one day last week. We got dressed, brushed our teeth, and met Laura and Hillary in Providence for breakfast at tazza last Thursday.

The breakfast menu is pretty limited with only a few egg type dishes, oatmeal, and maybe one or two other items, but that was more than enough for me to choose from. I ordered a sandwich with two fried eggs, cheddar cheese, and pesto on a bolo. Now I know you're wondering what a bolo is and I confess I was, too, until Hillary asked the waitress. A bolo is a Portuguese sweet bread roll. I don't know about you but I call that a Portuguese sweet bread roll. I've never heard it called a bolo before and we have our fair share of Portuguese bakeries around these parts. Wait just one second - okay, a quick google search tells me that bolo is the Portuguese word for cake. Can anyone confirm this?

Okay, enough semantics. The bolo egg sandwich was wicked good, and Laura and Hillary enjoyed their meals, too. Hill got eggs with a bolo on the side (and bacon - yum!) and Laura got the same sandwich I did except her bread of choice was a bagel. 

Aren't they so cute? They don't even have any food in their teeth even though I insisted on taking this picture mid-chew.

This one was looking very cute, too, but he was in a huff because I wouldn't share my hot chocolate with him. I did let him play with the little spoon that came with it though. The spoon was so cute I was tempted to take it home with me. Not really, but it was a really cute spoon. Really. 

I still want to have brunch at tazza. I mean, would you look at this menu?! Shrimp and grits? Buttermilk beignets? Malted Belgian waffle with Chantilly cream and BACON ALMOND BRITTLE?! Sorry for yelling but I just think that sounds amazing. Let's go on Saturday.