black tee on him, gray tee on me, and scratch carrot cake for all

This man of mine turned 63, (we celebrated last night as he is on the road today), visited the doc and got all stitches out and clearance to do light stuff and wear Birks and Crocs, United Airlines recovered my laptop (in Texas!) and is sending back to me, good food continues to be favorite project. and we’re wedding planning, so, all in all a pretty good day.

linguini, brie, tomato, basil

condiments in ramekins, they like to be dressed up too

a tray full of sliders on ciabatta, we had greens separate 

seventeen year old’s daughter card to her dad, she get’s it, and is so funny

We think a pretty good day involves family, food, and a good outfit. Sharing a few photos of kitchen happenings and a look from spring18 that would brighten all our closets.

chicken chili with definite chips in the afternoon

chicken and corn chowder, so delicious, and extra for a friend

pretty white flowers, from a friend 

We’ve been thinking about the blog, and the business, and life in general. When you spend two weeks with your feet mostly above your head you have time to do a lot of thinking, stay tuned.

W by Worth 

Every day dress, a pretty good day.

bolognese is always satisfying

This one’s for you Christen: we’ve been working our butt off in the studio with all kinds of gorgeous clothing looks while dressing all kinds of beautiful women, yet also trying to keep the home fire burning with some good old food porn. 🙂

love these autumnal hydrangea from the country house

 

Honestly we’ve had lots of asks, and we try and deliver. Here we go: oldest daughter from NYC and third daughter from South Carolina home for a hot second so we cooked up a quick thankful dinner.

cauliflower rice, roasted butternut squash, caesar salad with garlic croutons, moving very slowly to a bit more plant based diet

slightly wilted from a few days ago garden herbs acting as centerpiece

what our working kitchen really looks like 

Roasting any kind of vegetable is one of our favorite techniques and works for adding flavor to breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Quick, easy, spontaneous and full of flavor, that’s how we roll.

Food porn, not our favorite subject line, yet definitely our thing.

Yay, we prep and cook with a very sharp knife and often in nothing at all but a sweatshirt and an apron or some beautiful bodysuit from our friends at Lace & Day. Seen here are a few real life kitchen happenings from the last week or so.

Every day dress, wear some good clothes and cook some good food.

xoxo

Never mind we asked for, and granted, two thirty-day extensions (thank you, Rouxbe) for professional cook certification, we’re finally #graduated. Eighteenth out of a class of 60+, and a grade of 95%. Second daughter said I underestimated: oh, well; finished, and checked off the list. All good things take time, and usually more time than planned for, or expected.

spatchcock your chicken for even grilling results

hold your potato puree over a Bain Marie

Lifelong learning, we’re a fan. A few simple notes, that kind of tie in with what we do professionally, sell luxury clothing and dress beautiful women.

• search out the absolute best ingredients, whatever that may be, a black v-neck cashmere sweater, classic white blouse, happy hen organic eggs, the very best carrots, celery, and onions.
• pay careful attention to the set-up, making sure everything is fresh, sourced well, measured, and in tune with the present season.
• use, (or wear), everything until it’s done, finished, and worn out.

late summer grilled chicken, potato puree, and tomato salad

We’re working on reducing food waste, and clothing waste, and loving good, enduring style.

ps. all best practices tell us to get on a regular, scheduled posting schedule, yikes, is life really like that

We’ve been cooking, and eating and drinking for sure, one of life’s great pleasures, and reading and studying. So, what are we supposed to really eat? Low carb, gluten-free, no sugar, Paleo, whole grains, vegan, plant-based, wtf. Add to that and we’ve moved for decades, in all kinds of ways.

Now we’re interested in more than simply the jean size, we want to keep the brain strong, and the joints fluid.

Confused by the research, and the marketing.

Last night did some gasp, pasta! Tonight we did coho salmon, with cauliflower ‘couscous’.

Both nights, tomatoes in the mix, canned San Marzano in the sauce and local homegrown with the fish.  Are they inflammatory? Do we simply want to add color to our plate and not eat those things?

The quest continues. In the meantime we topped off one of the best local berry pies of the summer with vanilla ice cream and scratch full fat whipped cream. Double trouble, I guess.

no makeup, happy at work on Labor Day 

best pants of the season, faux leather joggers

We’re also in the office, working on mindful luxury in the wardrobe for all our women.

Every day dress, every day cook.

what we do with our spare time, load the SUV with white chrysanthemums

doing the work, in a Dolce and Gabbana bikini

yeah, this is 52 and 20 or so extra pounds, why we are confused, now more than ever

switched out the planters for fall 17

xoxo

ps. no Photoshop, ever, way too much computer work for us.

 

 

Husband says I start stuff and leave it at 90%, yikes, so not cool. Is he talking about the laundry? Surely not dinner, haha.

This professional cooking school thing has me; it’s good, and it’s hard. We’re clocked in at 96% done with 96% average, and need to finish. Most things in life take longer than anticipated, this I know.

all this dairy free, gluten-free, raw stuff…

turns into this chocolate ganache torte

again, gluten-free, dairy free

penne Carbonaro (it’s tofu)…

So, we need to finish. Shown here are some blissed out time away photos, and the rest is time alone in the kitchen.

Wishing everyone reading the perseverance and discipline to get things done.

beautiful women we love to feed, and help dress

Every day dress, every day cook.

xoxo

oh, fried green tomatoes, you are sublime

Okay, so if you’re stopping by here for fashion or style, sorry, we’ve been on holiday. In reality we’ve been out of touch, and in the kitchen, and it’s taking us a bit longer than planned, like everything else in life that goes down.

driving to market in off shoulder top for food stuff 

We’re on month seven of this professional chef thing, one month extension, granted, and have three days to finish, yikes. Here’s what’s on deck: plant-based manicotti with egg and dairy free fresh pasta dough, scratch tomato sauce, tofu ricotta and cashew béchamel, fresh udon noodles with shiitake broth, almond sole, another Alsatian onion tart, two ways to use legumes, penne Carbonaro, veloute sauce, baked tofu, a chocolate ganache torte, a written description on what you should/could do if you find a pot of boiling stock on a stove top, a black box assignment, (don’t ask me, haha), and a four-hour multiple choice exam, yikes. Interested? Check out www.rouxbe.com. Highly and totally recommend.

Instead of totally concentrating at the task at hand, I get a little side-tracked, and go college dorm shopping with my daughter and decide to make something we’ve never had before: Fried Green Tomatoes with Buttermilk & Chives, from the beautiful new cookbook The Lost Kitchen: Recipes and a Good Life Found in Freedom, Maine, by Erin French. Absolutely delicious, and the book, absolutely divine.

the plate is hot 

what the end of the day looks like…

Yes, we’ve also made Wild Mushroom & Truffle Oil Pasta, twice now, in the last three days.

Fall fashion coming soon, can’t wait.

xoxo

 

 

 

 

 

After being gone girl for darn close to three straight weeks the only outing we’re doing is the grocery run.

Our idea of a dream Friday night is a good dinner, a glass of Cava, (or two), and very early to bed. Friday night shenanigans’, indeed.

Spent the day in the kitchen, doing a nice pan-fried chicken garnished with fresh, local pea shoots for lunch, a big side dish of sautéed haricots verts with shallots for the fridge, and a little riff on a Nicoise Salad for dinner: pan-fried halibut topped with a slightly overdone poached egg. Yolk was still a bit runny, thankfully; must have been first out of four to hit the barely simmering water.

We’re 91% through with our professional cook certification and currently posting a 96.3 grade, whew. Hope to wrap this up in the next few days, we’re really missing our style fix. 🙂

Wishing everyone a restful, soulful, mid-summer weekend. xoxo