I recently made some custom book ledges for my daughter’s room and both she and I couldn’t be more thrilled! Best of all? They couldn’t have been any easier. Read on to see what a couple of craft boards and some wood glue can get you!
Here is an update on how the nursery came together, with all the linkable sources in one place!
We are into Week 3 of the One Room Challenge where we are turning our guest room into a nursery for our baby girl due in January!
Before we started this Nursery adventure, I had already planned on this week being a bit of an easy one, because we snuck in a little babymoon in Los Angeles! We relaxed, saw some sites, and ate very well! Now, back to the Nursery ORC! Knowing that we were going to be out of town this week, we planned to spend this week placing orders. This way, we could be sure that nothing arrived while we were out of town!
Week 2 of the One Room Challenge is upon us and I’ve been getting. stuff. done. (Or at least as much as my 6-month-pregnant body will allow!
My mind has been on overdrive recently, and as a result, I’ve been revising my original nursery design plan and truly diving into exactly how I envision each piece functioning. First, let’s talk about this pivot in design…
This fall I am transforming one of our guest rooms into a nursery, as Baby Girl is due in January! The overall mood I’m going for in here is elevated neutral with pops of soft color. I’m not looking for an overly baby-themed room…let’s be honest, the baby won’t care what this room looks like! But if I’m going to possibly be spending late nights rocking her to sleep in there, I want it to be pleasing to me and my overall aesthetic! As she gets older and develops her own little personality, I’m sure this room will transform along with her evolving tastes, so I’ll be making design changes with that in mind.
I asked our chef and teacher, Michele, if he could suggest any good, authentic Italian cookbooks in English. This has been a struggle of mine — I love collecting cookbooks, but when it comes to selecting Italian cookbooks, I look at all the options and often get overwhelmed.
Without hesitation, he suggested The Silver Spoon. He told us it had been written years ago and was considered the bible of Italian cooking. He said it was recently updated and would likely be available in the States.
When we were in Italy we took part in the most fantastic cooking class at a place called Mama in Florence. We made pizza, focaccia, gelato, and oh my goodness, all the delicious things that still make my mouth water! Since we love to cook (and eat), it was an adventure right up our alley.
We cooked in a gorgeous, yet cozy kitchen and our chef and instructor for the day was Michele. He walked us all through the basics of Italian cooking, and helped correct any erroneous assumptions we previously had about Italian food. We snapped a ton of pictures throughout our 4 hour long cooking class, and what lies below are some of the highlights that we learned along the way!
Maxwell Park opened in June, and to say I was excited to try it out, was a bit of an understatement. Here's why:
Excellent wine? Check.
Expertly controlled refrigeration for every wine? Check.
Sommeliers behind the bar? Check.
Small bites from a rotating assortment of guest chefs? Check.
And to top it all off…a monthly theme, which for July was Italian whites? Check check check.
It was our first night in Florence. We were overtired, jetlagged, and arrived six hours later than expected. And did I mention we were famished?
Lucky for us, the coziest restaurant called Ristorante Trattoria Angiolino was a couple doors down from our Airbnb.
We arrived at Angiolino's on the early side, and were seated immediately in a booth near the lively bar, which was a perfect way to people watch, pick up on some Italian, and (let's be honest) stay awake. :)
Our server was a great welcome to Florence -- he was funny, personable, and made our night!
We had heard a lot about Etto and were excited to try it out for a delayed Valentine dinner, as I had finally kicked the darned sickness plaguing me!
We got there on the early side of the evening and enjoyed a nice table by the window. Per the usual DC scene, our table was right on top of another one, but it was alright, as our neighbors were pretty quiet. It's a small space.
We ordered a bottle of Nebbiolo, which is traditionally one of our favorite full-bodied Italian reds.
With another two months before our next trip, we are looking for ways to feel that Italian culture at home. Here are our favorite ways to get that done!
With the tagline "Italian influenced, wine focused", it's no surprise that we've stopped by Maple on several occasions over the years.
Sometimes we just want a taste of Italy close to home. So we often choose Italian restaurants here in our hometown of Washington, DC. This past week brought a birthday trip to Ghibellina.
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