Professionally, we’re moving towards wrap on the FW17 fashion season. Still in the studio, organizing last-minute wardrobe fill-ins, party outfits, travel wardrobes, and special gift giving. Our clients seem to be pretty well dressed and organized, us, not so much. 🙂 We’ll get it done, we always do, yet it all kind of feels surreal.
thank you, Lexi, had to post twice, double delicious
Personally, instead of shopping and decorating and card writing and baking we’re simply hanging out in the kitchen, putting out brunch, pitcher’s of bloody’s, triple batches of Bolognese, and hoping the Christmas elves, that would be us, would come on in and kick it into gift-giving high gear.
Honestly, we’re moving there, towards wrap17 on all things, simply having some major inertia.
Wishing everyone out there the mojo and spirit to get it all done, with a little style and a little grace. xoxo
oh, Meghan, this white coat’s for you, heartfelt congratulations
Okay, so now here’s the footnote: blogging best practice says posts should be at least 300 words, we usually clock in at about 110. Also: include clickable links, and tags, yikes, we have zero to minimal links and no tags at all, so we’re so not searchable, oh, well. And, post on a regular schedule, totally missing that one. We’re all about a little cottage industry here, so if you’re logged on and reading, thank you sincerely. xoxo, again.
Two of our favorite feel good things, beautiful, comfortable clothing and soulful, delicious food, share the good stock rule:
Buy and source the best you can, given your location and budget.
Strive to always have the basics; with clothing great knits (sweater, skirt, cardigan, dress, or combination, merino wool, cashmere), equally great black pants, denim if you’re a creative, single or double faced wool or tech if you’re more corporate, white shirts, something striped, a good bag, good shoes, over the top lingerie, and some sort of great coat and/or jacket. With food it’s all about fresh; lean protein, huge amounts of vegetables (always including onion, carrots, celery, garlic) and fruits, organic eggs, olive oil, butter is love, pasta, grains and beans, and exquisitely made house stock.
Develop a sound relationship with your purveyor, and shop seasonally.
Use all that you have and acquire in full rotation, and down to it’s core, or move it on to others, in feeding and/or dressing.
Here at the every day we rely mostly on our best basics and mix in some luxury. For food stuffs we shop often small and close to home, and for clothing we mostly nix the mall and rely on thoughtful, one to one trunk show shopping. We like to hear ourselves think, and take time with our closet and pantry additions. When making purchases I often tell myself and our clients, ‘even if it’s free, if it’s not absolutely right it’s just not worth it’.
Every morning we wake up and vow to do it better: all kinds of things, social, style, food, family, and otherwise. Here we are sixth day of December and the feeling continues, let’s somehow do it better, and we just can’t get there.
This time of year, when it gets dark before we’re even settled in, thinking we need to simply settle on the simple. Shared meals, good outfits, nothing over the top, and enjoying the moment. Tree has lights, no ornaments, and it’s feeling okay.
Had a kind of big style post saved in the draft section, wanted to hit post, just wasn’t feeling it. We’ve got work going on, and things to clean up, always.
At a time when it can all feel over the top, wishing you and yours moments of peace.
Like most women, not really sure where this eleventh month of 2017 has gone. Here at the every day we’ve done a big club runway show, a private trunk show or two, an exhilarating engagement, a quick in and out overnight fashion trip to NYC, an almost melt-down, Thanksgiving dinner and then some, a quarter century birthday and a gorgeous new puppy. No break soon everyone, Santa baby is coming. 🙂
Most days and most nights you’ll find us styling, and cooking. Two things we definitely think make days better: good clothes and great food.
Shown here are a few looks we’ve red-hot recently dressed our women in. Most pieces still available, as you all know most days and most nights we’re always striving for ways to make things look, taste, and feel better; all-around for those we love.
At about the age of five remember being entranced by the intricacies of lace, never mind the color or shape, simply loved the spaces within.
Now at fifty-two the crush continues. Wore a new piece to lunch today with a forever friend, and obviously paired it with denim as most mornings we’re on our knees pinning hems or hauling boxes or running to USPS to overnight fancy dresses.
This love affair will continue, come holiday dress-up time we’ll pull out the ankle skimming sexy satin skinny’s and black suede sandals to wear with this new wardrobe keeper.
Every day dress, eternal lace crush, and beyond. xoxo
Wild wedding ride prep has begun, and thank you all for your well wishes. Logged on to blog tonight for the first time in a week, haven’t had the courage yet to hit Facebook, we’re not very good at that platform, and it feels a little beyond.
Anyways, settling back into the rhythm of the kitchen, and honestly finding peace there. After a day of hustle it’s feeling okay to take two hours and beyond to prep and serve food for those we love. Home feels like a sanctuary.
We’ve served up simple polenta enhanced with house made stock, oyster mushrooms and roasted Brussels. Butternut squash risotto with the last of the beautiful container grown sage fried into a crispy garnish and enhanced and topped with sage brown butter. Classic California pizzas topped with all the olives and cheese left in the fridge and a never fail to please Caesar salad. Even for a simple meal it feels as if we use every flat surface in the kitchen and yet emerge well fed, and thankful. When the food is thoughtful, life is good.
Stylewise, we’ve been wearing all black to the studio, and all black to they gym, double sessions, we’ve got work to do. 🙂
Totally apologize for complete neglect of natural light in all recent photos: it get’s dark at 4 pm and we’re honestly just not that organized. 🙂
Two years ago Christmas dinner our first of four daughters shed tears at the table believing she would never have her one to love. Hearts on hold, all around.
Ensuing days brought more shared meals, both celebratory and with deep conversation. Keep the faith, you are absolutely beautiful, and maybe try Tinder? She was like, ‘mom, really, a dating app?’, and I was like yes, absolutely. When you dress beautiful women you also listen to intimate details, and Tinder was one.
She hit pause, and then in the quiet of one night or an afternoon or not really sure, logged on, and in.
Direct match, and they had even met before, a year or two ago, and now had mutual friends and cousins and colleagues all intertwined, Two martinis and dinner at Nobu she shared with me they made out in the ATM bank lobby that first meeting, and I couldn’t have been happier hearing about lips locking, on the first night out. That rush and lust feeling at first sight, priceless.
Fast forward to summer weekends at the country house, a casual long ski weekend in upstate New York, a beach weekend or two in NH with his crowd, and then ten of us in Portugal this summer and it’s all feeling family familiar,
Late summer forces apartment and lease and roommate renewals, and naturally they draw together and make things work. An apartment for two, and they talk futures, and diamonds.
He calls the husband, as he’s traditional that way, and they arrange a Monday night NYC dinner for two, and cap it off with ‘let’s toast and drink some champagne’, my heart beats at the thought. He tells him he believes deeply she will want to celebrate with family, and wants to propose to her in her hometown, Buffalo. WOW.
Husband call me excitedly and say’s ‘babe, figure out a way to get her home, with him, this weekend, and it’s got be down low, and vague’. Cool, I’ve got this…sure. Lightbulb moment, mandatory family Saturday attic cleaning! Call her Wednesday morning telling her she’s the only one that gets my madness and I need her and the attic is disaster and fire hazard and I’m headed for a breakdown and she needs to be home and if she wants she can bring him with her LOL and dad will pay for flights. Bingo, she’s in, and flying home to BUF, with her man, for the weekend, and cleaning the attic.
Stealth text messaging with future son-in-law to be took place, ‘how about your parents?’, and he likes that idea. They book flights, we book the room, and a celebratory Saturday evening dinner is planned, unbeknownst to her, and everyone else. Family dinners are normal, yet engagement dinners, this is a first.
Lizzie was face-timed in
Entire family is put on mandatory attic cleaning, even the away college freshman. NO ONE knows anything. Lizzie can’t make it, she’s got weekend theatre rehearsals for a school play with two characters, and she’s one of them, haha.
They fly in late Friday, and there’s pizza, and wine, and a beer or two for him. Saturday morning 11 am sharp we start cleaning the attic. Ethan and Maxwell and Lexi arrive afterwards, tuck into the leftovers, and play video games and go virtual golfing. He cracks a beer before noon, as that was his day. Told the family I was too overworked to cook, and we were eating out, and the only last-minute place we could get on a Saturday night was dinner at the club and jacket and tie were required.
Husband and he are scheming, for proposal spots, and when. I run to the airport under pretense of heading to the studio, and shuttle his parents to downtown club, where festivities were planned.
Husband is like a cat on a hot tin roof, and future son-in-law is deciding a kitchen table, late afternoon, family wide proposal is key. WOW. Okay, we’ve got this, and chill: open a little wine, play a little music, call a family meeting to discuss holiday and Christmas calendars.
We gather, and there’s printed calendars and activities on table to consider, and he starts to talk, out loud, to all of us, thanking us for including him, and that he’s looking forward to Christmas, and every Christmas after that with our daughter, and it starts getting a little surreal, and then he’s down on his knee with the most brilliant diamond ever asking her to marry him. WOW.
Tears and shaking and champagne popping and it’s incredible.
Engaged.
We’re all overjoyed, and celebrate where most of our life takes place, in the heart of the home, the kitchen, and the garden.
Cocktails at seven, and dinner at eight, with his parents, and she still doesn’t know they are in town. I had a new dress for her, kind of like when we surprised her for her sweet sixteen, yet this time there was an added gift of fine lingerie, to match her dress, of course.
Met at the club bar, and his parents were there. She was ecstatic.
Set menu, candlelight, flowers, piano; enchanting.
Club pool, and cigars. Husband and I head home, and they all head out into the excitement of the night, and life.
Every day dress, engagement story, love all around. xoxo
While we’ve been been loving our default and go to color (or non-color) for about forever now, we’re feeling a bit of a pull to the softer side.
Recently chose carob, a chocolate color, over always first pick black for this leather fringe pocket shawl, and paired it with a decade and half old Zac Posen dress: it’s a wonder it still fits as that’s all a little softer now too. Love the pocket detail on the leather, great for the cell and nude lip color.
Always working towards making food and clothes a little better, every day.
Twenty-three photos in this one, so hang on, thinking we need to explore video, yet not yet. Monday through Friday, and very choice weekends, we’re working our styling thing, dressing beautiful women in beautiful clothing. Those two end-days hit and it’s all about kitchen, and garden, and time spent outdoors. As the days get shorter we’re moving a little indoors, and shown here are a few intimate weekend thing highlights. Intimate, as we’re not all dressed, kind of how it is in our downtime. 🙂
happy at home
look close, there’s really two dogs there
Winston!
when making bolognese, we simple triple, in two pots
stacks plates, asparagus in water, messy counter, working on that
gifted wine, and pastry dough, waiting…
taller than him, even barefoot :), might even weigh more, not looking, yikes
you know, butter is love….
Saturday night, at home
We like to cook, and feed those we love, always.
wilted herbs, and candles at brunch, all okay
why not put the fresh squeezed OJ in the fancy decanter
simple greens with beets and cucumbers, for breakfast
the real deal maple in a small flower vase, on the griddle, keeping it warm
Every day dress, and weekend things, that feed our soul into the days ahead. xoxo
Sunday night minestrone, works for Monday too
Booie polished some of the silver, getting ready, and dried hydrangea in wooden bowl
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.
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.
