May Photo Project: Flowers

This month's photo theme was flowers, and y'all captured some beauties. I took a photo of the peonies I treated myself too since they are one of my favorites. Here's what you shared:

Sally put together this collage of beautiful blooms in the French village where she spends her summers.

Daina's photo of the tulips in Rockefeller Center makes me miss New York.

Brittany shared a photo of these adorable pansies from the Orono Farmer's Market in Maine.

Lisa took this photo while arranging a Mother's Day bouquet.

Jessica captured a bee hard at work in the Ault Park gardens in Cincinnati.

And my mom snapped a pic of the ginger flowers blooming in her backyard in Savannah.

If you want to share one of your flower photos, just leave a link below! As always, thanks for sharing your pictures! Have a great weekend!

Ice Cream Cravings

It's officially ice cream season around here, but maybe that rule applies year-round if you're in Texas or if you're pregnant or if you're a human being. I picked up a pint of Jeni's brambleberry crisp the other day. I'm glad someone was genius enough to combine a fruit crisp with the ice cream you usually put on the side. I also have loved every flavor of Talenti Gelato I've tried, and now that I'm in Texas, I'm happy to see there is no shortage of Blue Bell. What are your favorite ice cream brands and flavors?

Summer Serving

The last thing I need is more dishes to store, but I love all these bright options from CB2. I can already picture them filled with grilled shrimp, fresh fruit and iced tea all summer long.

Weekend in Photos

I feel so refreshed after three glorious days of weekend! We enjoyed hot dogs (over a game of Connect Four), bbq and popsicles. And despite the rainy weather, we squeezed in fun at the farmer's market, some quality vegging out and after a false start, we continued our house-hunting search. Here's hoping for more good things this week.

Thoughts of the Week

These blueberry crostini need to happen.

Getting inspired by this cute, colorful nursery.

And this chic black and white bathroom makeover.

How to fancy up a basic glass vase.

Now I want to have a Spider-Man party.

This print cracked me up.

I've got to try this simple strawberry dessert.

The happiest mugs I ever did see.

And please send me your flower photos before next Friday!

I'm so glad it's a holiday weekend! Saturday and Sunday just haven't been cutting it lately. Hope you have a great one!

Austin Eats: Dinner at Odd Duck

For our anniversary, we went out to dinner at a trendy, cute place called Odd Duck. It's local farm-to-table fare, and they serve everything on mismatched vintage plates, which is a charming touch. Everything we tried was delicious -- Parker House rolls stuffed with barbecue, a zucchini pancake topped with fresh tomatoes and basil, grilled fish over hominy and that beautiful chocolate malt and peppermint ice cream sandwich. It was a winner.

Maternity Shopping: Before the Bump is Big

Dressing for pregnancy has proven to be a challenge for me. I ordered a maternity dress when I was about three months along, and it looked like a giant, black circus tent. I decided to keep it since I'm certain it will look less tent-like in a couple of months, but it made me wonder what women wear during the early to mid-pregnancy phase. My normal clothes are getting tighter and tighter, but it still seems a little too soon for full-on maternity wear.

Since we're in Texas and the weather is heating up, I decided to just stock up on a few loose-fitting, non-maternity dresses (like the ones above) to get me through the awkwardly-shaped phase. I ordered dresses a size or two larger than my usual, which ended up being a great and comfortable solution. It's nice to have some wardrobe flexibility, and I'm sure I'll put them to use post-pregnancy too.

[found here: gray ballet; blue dotted; denali chambray; chambray shirtdress; white floral; striped flared dress]

Herb Art

I love these herb illustrations by Spoon Lily. They're printed to look like they're on a chalkboard but are a more permanent art form. They'd be a fun way to add a little visual flavor to the kitchen.

Weekend in Photos

Jonah and I are celebrating our seventh anniversary today! For the last couple months, life has been good but hectic and unpredictable. We're still living half-unpacked in a temporary apartment -- it's a saga -- and spending our weekends navigating the home-buying process. Since this will be our first home purchase, we're learning as we go and discussing our major life decisions over burgers, tacos and frozen treats. We've definitely had a lesson in patience since all we want is to get settled in somewhere, but at the same time, we're feeling blessed and taken care of and grateful for each other and the little one who will soon be joining our party of two.

Where Does Your Garden Grow?

I love this guide from Sunset on small space gardening. It's helping me to think outside of the window box and inspiring me to get my hands dirty. Have a great weekend! I hope you get to spend it outside.

Single-Serving Lemonade

One of the nice things about working from home is that if I get a mid-afternoon craving, I can usually head into the kitchen and do something about it. Last week, I was desperate for a glass of lemonade, but since I didn't have the time or patience to make a whole pitcher, I stirred up an individual serving. It did the trick without all the lemon-squeezing and chilling time usually required.

Single-Serving Lemonade

1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup hot water
3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup cold water
3 mint leaves (optional)

Stir together the sugar and hot water until the sugar is dissolved. Add lemon juice, cold water and mint leaves and give it a stir. Serve over ice.

Leather Goodness

Blackbird and the Owl makes all sorts of leather clutches, cases and coin purses. I like the bright colors and fun patterns that give these practical accessories a little personality.

Weekend in Photos

I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! Ours was laid-back and lovely. We're trying our best to get out and explore this city every weekend before it gets crazy hot. Of course, most of our outings are food-driven. On Saturday, we walked around the University of Texas campus before paying a visit to East Side King for ramen, fried brussels sprouts and other tasty eats, and on Sunday, we went to La Patisserie for some baked goodies and their take on the cronut. Austin is winning us over bite by bite.

Motherhood

I just wanted to say thank you for all the sweet comments this week about our upcoming addition. It was nice to finally share the news and the outpouring of kindness made me even more excited about becoming someone's mama. I hope you get to spend this weekend celebrating the women you love. Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day Gifting: Books

I always love giving books of the cooking, crafting and coffee table variety to my mom and mother-in-law since there are so many great options. It's the type of thing they wouldn't buy for themselves but always seems to be appreciated. Plus, I consider it my responsibility to keep them on the cutting edge, and this is an easy way to do it.

[found here: The Flower Recipe Book; First Prize Pies; Paris in Color; Sunday Morning Quilts; A Time to Plant; trEATs; Eating in Color; One-Hundred and One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy]