Around these parts...

Yikes.  Yet another break turned blogging sabatical.  I'm still "fairly" new to this whole blogging nonsense and yet I don't know how people do it on the reg.  There is a fair amount of pressure to be consistent and interesting - but I think it might be brought on by my own delusions?  Regardless, I'm going to try to my more consistent - can't promise interesting - to continue on in the spirit with which this started - to document the home we've started to make in our new-to-us house.


So, for those of you outside of STL, last week I was working from home (God bless my employer) because of some of this nonsense.

note: we got 12 inches, but after several glasses of wine and a few more inches i had no desire to document the event any further.

 

And while this really was quite beautiful....

 

mother nature literally laughed at me when it was 50+ degrees the weekend before, when i purchased that wind chime. bah.

 

It basically quelled any hints of Spring and left D and I housebound for a few days.  There was a lot of this:

 

 

a little of this:

 

getting ready for its debut in the master.  more to come.

 

and LOTS of snow time with this sweet face. She is literally a different animal when it snows.

 

 

In other news, we had some friends over for a Bingo + Wine Night + Make Your Own Pizza Night a few weeks ago.  It was a blast.  I bought this on Christmas clearance a few years ago and have gotten GREAT use out of it.  Also a fun way to clear out your "gift closet" of randoms.

 

 

 

wine rate cards and place settings

 

 

 

 a hint of spring with moss and hydrangeas

 

It was nice to get everyone together and start enjoying our house in the way we hoped we would.  Our Holiday party (one day I'll share, I promise...) was a definite kick off but we have big hopes of having more regular gatherings with close friends and family frequently.

 

I'll be back later this week - planning on writing the post now so no cop outs - on an update to our window treatments.  Riveting I know, but maybe fun for others to see why we went with what we did and how we managed to get them made!

 

What have ya'll been up to in these final days of winter?

 

xoxo,

KC

 

 

Weekend Recap: NOLA

Hello Loveys!  Sorry for the delay, I got stuck in NOLA for one more day after my flight got canceled but let me just say - WHAT.A.WEEKEND.  Holy Moly, where to begin!

E's bachelorette party got started with a bang on Friday with some fun details, food and drinks in the room and then we hit Bourbon that night.

our mini set up in one of the rooms at the W.  yes, I traveled with all that nonsense.

 

little gift cups for all the girls.  got these at target for only 58 cents each and

added names and filled them with pool ready essentials.

 

 

This was my first time to NOLA and I have to say, I was a little surprised by how chaotic and dirty it was.  EVERYTHING smells, it's just crazy.  As E's fiance later put it: "doesn't it feel so good to leave that place?" Haha. 

 

Smells aside, we had fun and got to check out a few local haunts.  We had breakfast at Mother's, which featured all the classic southern dishes like baked ham, sausage, eggs, grits and biscuits but the general consensus was that only the biscuits were really remarkable.

 



via. yes, this is the creepy street corner of mother's.

 

We later hit up Johnny's Po Boys for lunch where the po boy was invented, also a questionable interior with lots of greasy soul food, but significantly better - try to muffalata - i know, weird choice.

 

And some of us checked out Palace Cafe on Sunday for brunch.  This was my second favorite meal with a bloody mary bar, banana beignets and eggs benedict with debris.  Debris you say? like Trash? Ah yes, this is a common meat term in NOLA that refers to either beef or pork shreds that fall off when roasting - they are served with a light gravy (no cream) on biscuits and it is like eating a delicious heart attack on a plate.  Been there. Done that. Not going to happen again for my health.  Seriously though, the Palace Cafe was beautiful and quaint in such a way that only a little french restaurant can be - caned back bistro chairs, lots of heavy wood work, black and white octagonal penny tiles - be still my heart!

 

and this is their sign out front.  isn't it darling?

 

So if you're keeping track, Palace was only my second favorite restaurant - because we went to Luke for dinner Saturday and it was INCREDIBLE.  Probably one of the best dinners I've ever had - easily in the top 10.  Like Palace, this was a traditional southern take on French food with all the delicious pomme frittes and bearnaise sauces a girl could want.  The service was excellent, the menu had something for everyone and I feel that the price was a deal considering the quality of food and presentation.  two thumbs up!



 

loved the design of the Luke menu.

 

 

You'll notice that this post doesn't detail any of the debauchery of the trip - let's just say we had our fun and NOLA won't be forgetting these 8 girls any time soon.

 

night two. W lobby.

 

Especially after this. We love Texas and the USA what can I say?

 

and you can totally tell the part where none of us knows the words. perfect.

 

More house stuff later this week once I got started on the detox that my liver and heart so desperately need.

 

xoxo,

KC

 

 

 

 

Heading Home

When I was 17, a junior in high school, my father's job got transferred to the corporate office in Topeka, Kansas.  This meant that we'd have to leave the place we'd lived longest, Colleyville, Texas.  I was fortunate enough to have parents who not only supported me but enabled me, and my sisters, to stay in Texas to finish my senior year.

My dad traveled from our home in Colleyville to a temporary apartment in Topeka Monday mornings at 5am and returned back to our house on Glen Dale by 6 on Fridays.  It was hard going through the motions senior year knowing that after graduation that while I'd be leaving for college, I'd also not be coming back "home," but I'm sooo grateful I got to finish out my high school years with some of my best friends in a town that I still LOVE.

My parents have since moved twice, and have a second home in Toronto now with a similar situation to the above, but every time I get the chance to go back to Colleyville it's still a homecoming of sorts.  I know the roads, the stores, the RESTAURANTS - yum - like the back of my hand, and although some things have changed - hello strip mall across from high school - lots has stayed the same.

This weekend I'm headed to Colleyville, and actually Glen Dale Drive, for my best friend's wedding shower.  E moved into the house 5 houses down from mine in sixth grade.  We met when I tried to sell her family some wrapping paper for a Choir fundraiser.  I think they took pity and ordered a few rolls and quickly accepted me as one of their own. 

Over the years the Booths have been my second parents and siblings.  E and I would sit on top of our brick mailboxes and yell at each other as the other one walked home.  We played kick ball in the cul-de-sac with her four brothers and sisters and my two sisters. We held not so secret parties, went on silly car rides to Sonic and high school football games (it literally is a way of life in TX) and ate LOTS of fajitas.

I still miss Texas and E but she has also moved out with her now-fiance and we both have our own grown up lives that I'm pretty sure neither of us ever imagined during our awkward middle school years.  I'm excited to see a few old friends this weekend and enjoy all that Texas has to offer.  Here are a few things that remind me of "home"

need one of these. just need to figure out where to put it.

the 6 flags that flew over texas. duh.  i explain this to people all the time. 4 years of tx history baby!

so confused why this deliciousness still hasn't made it north of the mason dixon line

scary how true this is.

pretty sure i thought southbound 35 was written for me during the whole

Topeka/Colleyville show down

this was COMPLETELY baffling to me when i went to college.  my first car was a suburban, duh.

I'll be sure to take some pics of the shower! Have a fab weekend!

xoxo,

KC

Weekend Recap: Well Lived Life

Back in the saddle this Monday after a weekend that marked the transformation of a house into our home.  Not to get too corny on you (sidenote: the whole Corny thing now has new meaning, and increased use in our house what with being Newly Cornwells..) but last night D and I were watching the Olympics on our new tv in the living room (an Olympics purchase, duh!), and we both commented on how we finally felt settled for the first time in the eight weeks we've lived here. 

What with the constant travel this summer for work and fun, I think it was hard for us both to remember that this feeling would finally come - the constant to do lists with "MUST GET DONES" would subside and that we'd be left with a smaller, "should get done...eventually" list and a house we're proud to invite people to.

We were finally able to relish some of that sweet feeling with the Olympics party this past Friday.  We had lots of Americana going on all over the house - I scored most of our decks from the Hobby Lobby 4th of July sale for 80% off and supplemented with some Olympics printables.  Glow sticks, flags and hamburgers at the ready we watched the sometimes-baffling opening ceremonies with some key friends and fam.

chandelier decks in the dining room

official London Olympics posters at the front

mini flags EVERYWHERE

it took me awhile to hang this puppy

the kitchen decks complete with AMERICA sign found for 80% off, I'm already pumped for the 4th

It was so fun to share our plans and progress with family and was a great kick off to a weekend of Olympics watching and sun. 

We also got to hang out with our sweet nephew S, not once but twice this weekend!  He cheered on the US at our house on Friday and we got to babysit him Saturday and got a taste of babydom.  We learned that two year olds have expert hearing, and that we're super lucky to have the mix of carpet and hardwood in the house.  We also checked out the pool for the first time with S and found that the lazy river was a happy compromise for all three of us.

The weather was SOOO gorgeous on Saturday, it was like a crazy reprieve from all this insane heat and humidity.  The pool was perfect and surprisingly not crowded! That evening while enjoying a homemade watermelon margarita popsicle (recipe from here and SUPER delicious) we thought we'd see if we could push our luck with the good weather and entertaining luck from the night before and try to rile up a group to watch a movie outdoors.  We found some takers and fired up our projector and enjoyed the almost crisp air and the Jack Black/Owen Wilson/Steve Martin flick, The Big Year.  It was not what I was expecting but good none the less.

movie on the garage

We also set up this awesome chandelier my in laws got me for my birthday awhile back.  It was a fun pop of light hanging in the dress while we watched the movie.

it has 3 layers but we only filled 2 of them up.  lesson learned, need bigger, slower dripping candles

All in all, this weekend was AWESOME and for some reason totally unexpected.  I think we forgot how to enjoy ourselves for a bit there, which sounds completely crazy.  We'll keep forging on in our improvements and trial/error home ownership but we're definitely going in the right direction focusing on the things that truly make up a well lived life.

xoxo,

KC



Weekend Recap: Committed

After some harassment from a friend regarding my consistency with blogging (or lack there of) I'm trying to start the week off right with a blog, here we go!

This weekend we traveled to Cleveland to see the sweet sweet wedding of one of my good friends D to his lovely bride M.

It's funny because after you're married you look at weddings a bit differently.  You recognize all the details that went into it and the stress leading up to it and get to experience all that melt away at the reception.  It was a mini reunion of sorts with some of my MOST FAVORITE people in the world and to top it off we met a few new-to-us friends so it was all around great.

This was the groom's cake.  We went to Mizzou and he was a former Oscar Meyer Hotdogger.

Outside of the obvious connotation between wedding and commitment, Dan and I also made a commitment in the United lounge (not switching from my beloved AA, don't worry).  To actually stop being wienies and have our first get together at the new house.  Father's Day aside, I've been holding off on hosting any big events until we get the details wrapped up on our house.  I realized after flipping through my latest House Beautiful that this simply isn't going to happen anytime soon, and furthermore, most of our friends either A) have gone through the process of buying and redoing a house, or B) don't care about all the crazy details that I think will make our break our first impressions.

So without further ado: get ready for Olympics Opening Ceremonies Celebration 2012 and Casa Cornwell!  I immediately started planning our menu (Americana eats like hamburgers and hot dogs, watermelon, corn on the cob and jelly beans) and decor (RED WHITE AND BLUE EVERYTHING)

Here's what I'm thinking in terms of deets:

Lots of these all over the place. via.

These as prereads, duh.via.

Some of these. prosecco please. via

Until then, I'm pulling another unAmerican move and heading to Toronto for the week for work.  I'm thinking of it as researching different countries in prep for the Olympics.  Sidenote: one of my Canadian colleagues' sister is actually an Olympian and playing for the women's Canadian basketball team - she's going to cheer her on, EEK!!  So jealous!

I'm taking the day off on Friday to finish up some final house deets and prep for the party.  Promise for some posts filling you in on house progress in between.

GO USA!

xoxox,

KC

Weekend Recap: Committed Couples

Sorry for the radio silence last week!  As predicted, work was INSANE.  Doesn't look like it will be slowing down much this week but I have some posts already in the hopper to keep us going.

Recently my father in law said that he's changed his wedding gift giving philosophy to reflect this "DIY craze" that people are in.  Instead of getting something off a registry, he now gets new couples a gift card to a restaurant, a gift card to the movie theater and a gift card to Home Depot, because "that's what people do now on Saturdays." He calls this "Committed Couples Weekends" 

Of course I instantly thought of the scene in Old School where Will Ferrell details his weekend plans of going to Bed Bath and Beyond and Home Depot, and instead of thinking that's lame (you know, how I did when I first saw that movie, circa 2002) now I'm like, "ya, great idea, we can hit Sam's Club on the way home."  such.is.my.life.

I reluctantly tell you that we've had TWO Committed Couples Friday nights in a row now.  Last Friday there was the trip to the Container Store, and this week we got Mexican food and after some margaritas, we headed to Lowes for boxwoods for the front porch, an additional hose, hose splitter and sprinkler.

SIDE NOTE: I am still a loyal Home Depot customer, but decided to hit Lowes with some of our moving coupons.  We went to Home Depot Saturday morning and spent twice as much, partly out of repentance.

It was somewhere in the garden section as we debated the merits of bronze splitters over stainless, that we burst into a fit of laughter both embarrassed and deliriously happy that this is our life now, and somehow, we're OK with it.

Saturday we helped our step-brother in law (also our baseboard installer!) move into his first apartment!  These are D's Saturday errand glasses that were from some free promo bag several years ago and look like fake Oakleys, but serve as great back up glasses to keep in my car.  My sister, M, says they look like running glasses that would "make you go fast" - I don't know about that one though.

After testing out our new hose stuff all day Saturday, we got a surprise thunderstorm Saturday night.  D went to turn off the back porch light and ran into this guy clinging onto the sliding door as the rain came down.  I have to note that he's not actually 5 feet large (as my in laws would later ask) it must be the perspective.

Yesterday we had our first gathering at our new house!  We LOVE to entertain (call it the southern in me) and were so excited to have a big huge farmhouse style outside dinner under our big trees in the back, but with the Saturday rain it got that nice (read disgusting) Missouri humid that we've been missing lately.  We moved the celebration inside and it was nice to have a house full of little laughs, glasses of blueberry-thyme lemonade and mint iced tea and a table full of lovies. We even snuck in some wiffle ball when it cooled down a bit.

It was lovely to celebrate with the in-laws but I did miss Big T, who's was actually visiting his Dad, my Grampa (that's how we say it, so that's how we spell it folks!) in Wisconsin.  The Mitchell clan plus us newly Cornwells will rendezvous north of Tornoto, Ontario over the Fourth (I know very unAmerican of us!) for a belated Father's Day celebration and mini vacation on the lake.  Can't wait to see my Mitchells and give hugs all around!

xoxo,

KC