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last first day

Sixth child of six handled her first day of senior high exactly as she slipped into this world; low-key, super easy, and just like that.

She was out the door and gone before I even put the coffee on. Looked for her car upon my rise, and no, not there.

Her birth date was exact: almost born in the elevator, and husband delivered her before doc could get there. We knew the drill, head down, fluid clear, let’s go. Nurse was as nervous as hell.

In the room that night woke up and missed her, why oh why does she need to be in the newborn nursery, she belongs right here, right now.

This child knows things beyond her years, and we love her beyond infinity.

Last first day, and every day dress. xoxo

all photos shot in Portugal by Maxwell

party to go

muscles in a wine butter broth

simple table with chargers

hair up, we don’t care

We’ve been town & country, carting food & wine here, there, and everywhere.

salmon on cabbage

a flat of homegrown strawberries = 14 jars of jam

Life is moving fast, definitely some big bumps, yet we’re celebrating the simple.

yes, please, homegrown peas

everyone in the kitchen now

Breaking bread, always a party to go. When we started this site 5+ years ago we were all about making your bed, protein at breakfast, walk the dogs, get out of the yoga clothes, put on some makeup (yay, kind of slacking on that one, it’s summer…), make some dinner, spend time with those you love, enjoy a glass of wine. Still the same.

major mac & cheese prep, notice the rose gold Birkenstocks and the white polish

unplanned family supper

flower prep, check out the sleeping dog 🙂

blanched hericots verts and chorizo bread waiting to be cubed

the sky is falling

double denim, double wooden salad bowls, toss with your hands

gorgeous roasted miniature San Marizona tomatoes

homegrown for the table times twelve

the gangs all here

knot those cloth napkins if no time to iron

Every day dress. xoxo

back in town, champagne and cell phone never far behind….

messy kitchen counter, honest kitchen life xoxo

a mid-year agenda

white tulips, bread, and butter is love

spaghetti and meatballs, one of the mother sauces

haricots verts and milk braised pork, looks weird, tastes delicious

cod, asparagus, quinoa and sautéed tomatoes

spring is time for rack of lamb

pesto, by hand, no food processor, with small pasta

maple glazed carrots cooked in scratch chicken stock

Essie ‘bikini so teeny‘ nail color

We’ve been out for a little, cooking, gardening, parenting, and forever working on good habits. We’ve been at our studio as well, helping women put together looks for spring and summer events, professional and celebratory. One thing we’ve added to our personal shopping cart is a new mid-year agenda, to help us stay on track, especially those daily habit kind of things.

Last year for the 51st birthday bought the desk size, this year we’re sizing down. Streamlining has been kind of our thing, with the wardrobe edit, now the agenda, and even the wallet. We’ve switched to carrying a little silver card case, with two cards, one for personal, one for business, and our drivers license. All those fancy store credit cards, gone. Card case slips into our bag, or a jacket pocket, or the back of our jeans. Easy.

We love anything Smythson, friend and colleague gifted us with these amazing notebooks, one personalized SCRAPPY, and the other, CLASSY. Pretty much sums us up. Thank you, dear friend.

Every day dress, some new habits, and a new mid-year agenda.

linen, un-ironed

Conversation with 5th child, 3rd daughter, before dinner: me: ‘really kind of liking these un-ironed linen napkins of late’, her: ‘yeah, I get it, me too’.

We’re all for a little pomp and circumstance, especially when the occasion calls for it, yet on a weeknight family kitchen dinner, we can go with the un-ironed.

Like everyone out there, we’ve been busy (prom season et al), and wondering where the days go.

sliced leg of lamb, roasted potato, sautéed spinach

all hands on deck, fish tacos

we always love a little wine

As crazy as it gets, the glue that keeps us together is breaking bread, whatever that may be. Peanut butter and jelly, fish tacos, roasted leg of lamb, doesn’t really matter.

a rail for a client

Every day dress, linen, un-ironed. xoxo

all photos from the iPhone, we got a new laptop and it doesn’t have a memory card drive, not that it makes a big difference, LOL, figuring it out, stay tuned.

classics, over time

We’ve been doing stuff, like roasting chickens, and grilling caesar salad, and wearing our wardrobe classics: long merino skirt, Breton stripes kind of thing bodysuit, a leather jacket. and a striped scarf.

Also going on, a pile of beans, and weeknight dinners:

a pile of beans, who really cares

sweet potatoes

add a lean protein and some time in the kitchen and you’ve got dinner baby

grocery roses, $20, DIY

cut flowers on the table at the restaurant, always add votives

double dates xoxo

a finger or two in the frosting, always

twins!! celebrating 27…

the men watching sports, on the iPhone, in the wine cellar haha

While talking about the blog with second son, graphic designer, expressed how I didn’t want this to be a place where readers felt worse after visiting. You know, an endless visual parade of all things new you need to buy, or etc.

We like new, no problem there. It’s the constant and endless acquisition that gets us.

So, here we are, digging down a little in the kitchen and digging down a little in the closet.

so, he did get the bunny in the window, and here is its head, on a platter, for breakfast, lol

Every day dress, classics, over time.

mellow yellow

Snow day in the BUF, so we’re staying put and doing fun things in the kitchen like making omelets, and vegetable stock.

Never knew a proper omelet was all about the proper heat, and stirring, and stirring and shaking, and that the eggs should be barely done. And that to be an omelet you don’t even need to put anything in it, it’s all technique. We’re all about learning new things.

Baking we’ve done for decades, and funny thing is no one really eats the stuff anymore, it just kind of sits.

Thinking we’ll have more success with some good soup from some scratch stock.

Every day dress, we’re pretty mellow, loving the March snow day. xoxo

learning new stuff

mise en place for first step of minestrone

Life-long learning, we’re all for it. Enrolled in some online stuff and while we love clothes, shoes, and bags, decided to upgrade the culinary skills.

Here’s a little of what we’ve been up to, the past three days at least:

setting up for poached eggs

barely yet greatly set

lunch for one, new nail color, Essie bikini so teeny, and a jam jar with a smash of Walt Chardonnay

homegrown kitchen counter basil

resulting basil walnut pesto, skipped those pine nuts this time

veggies prepped for dinner

couldn’t resist, pussy willow for the front hall from the grocery, $15

if it works, do it again, this time black suede Birkenstocks, OPI boyfriend jeans nail color

Every day dress, learning new stuff. xoxo

homemaking

We’ve been trying to get in the kitchen, buying baby bok choy and stuff to step up our culinary skill set. Instead we’ve been doing the school run drive around, and it’s all okay.

Husband reads all the time, and reads a lot about happiness. This morning while I was ironing he said the latest research shows that homemakers are the happiest. Can’t tell you how excited I was to not go anywhere today and just do laundry. 🙂

So, since we need to eat I’ll try and tackle that new green vegetable now. And, as we need to dress this is the look we put together today for the run around. We mixed up some floral print, a kind of conservative blue cashmere jacket, and a little camo. Momma won’t like it, she’s so over the skinny jean thing and these are in camo, yet we’re wearing good shoes.

Every day dress, today it was all about homemaking. TGIF everyone, have a great weekend. xoxo

a little funk

balsamic, olive oil, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper

8 minute soft-boiled eggs, prosciutto

chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, tastes way better than it looks

Sunday afternoon late lunch

She’s recovering, although it might take a little. We’re in a little funk, so doing what we do: making the bed, putting on a little makeup, walking the dogs (or spending time out in the garden with them), making some dinner, spending time with those we love, enjoying a glass of wine. A little curve ball, so we’ve battened down for a little, it will get better.

Scary stuff when your kid is in the OR, and we like to share, the good and the scary. We don’t push the site, if you’re here we suppose it’s because you might like to cook, and feed and care for others, or enjoy good clothes, or maybe even a little of each.

Linnie fishing, Booie wining

miss you peanut, xoxo

cozy dinner for 3

We’ve ducked out of the office for a little, her sister’s are all in FL, soaking up some vitamin D, and don’t want to leave her home alone. We’re at the table, enjoying meals for three.

Two weekends ago it was ski town, these last days we’ve seen a lot of the couch. 🙂

indoor garden from sister in CA

outdoor garden where we find peace, 2/21/17

Every day dress, a little funk, tomorrow is a new day. xoxo

the subtle power of good clothing

hand cut vegetables and bouquet garni

going with carnations instead of the expected roses, on Valentine’s Day

So, Tuesday night we were cooking up some short ribs, parsnip puree, green beans and creme brûlée. Wednesday night I was standing gurney side as they were about to wheel our eighteen year old daughter, fifth child, into emergency surgery at 10:56 pm.

Oh, how life can change on a dime. Picked this child up after a phone call from the school nurse, drive sixth child out to her drivers ed class and husband comes home to find fifth child on the floor, in pain. Quick trip to the ER, three or so morphine shots later and the late night surgery crew is saying ‘you look way too dressed up to be here’. We were wearing our regular stuff, yet they noticed, and took us seriously. When your kid is being wheeled in for your not quite sure what and you put your faith in the powers above, it’s a good thing to feel good in your clothes.

Wednesday office outfit that went until Thursday late afternoon

Laid down in those clothes, in the surgery waiting room. Slept in those clothes, in two chairs pushed together at the end of her bed. Woke up in those clothes and was thankful for another day, and Tim Horton’s hospital coffee, a breakfast sandwich, and a sour cream donut, we we’re running on empty.

Really, what you wear can speak volumes, oftentimes without you even saying a word. We write here about good clothes, good food, and sometimes about drinking good wine, and if it came down to the end I’d want to be wearing a good outfit, having enjoyed a good meal, and definitely a good glass of wine, all with the people I love, that’s really the gist of us here at every day dress.

That outfit gave me strength. She’s on the mend. xoxo

what we wore on Friday, for four hours at the office, when what we really felt like doing was never leaving the couch

Every day dress, the subtle power of good clothing.