So, nesting is a real thing, huh? I love me some decorating, but I’ve never really been so meticulous about a “plan” for a room before, until I started thinking about how we’re going to decorate Baby B’s room. We were both on board with finding out the gender, so it’s nice to go into the planning process with a girl-scheme in mind. It’s been really fun to research the pieces we want to use in the space, and now I feel like I have some clear marching orders for what we need to invest in, what we’re adding to our baby registry, and what little details will pull it all together. 
How gorgeous was the weather this weekend? It had that crisp hint of fall that makes me so darn happy. We spent what felt like our first glimpse of autumn up in Portland, Maine this weekend to celebrate some the wedding of our good friends. While our trip was brief, we managed to pack a ton in and I thought I’d share my mini-itinerary should you ever find yourself with 24 hours to kill in Portland, Maine!
read more
I’m off to NYC this week for one of my favorite blogger events, Better Homes and Garden’s Stylemaker event! I’m rocking my best blogger outfits (which is a challenge with a baby bump!), plan on hearing from some great speakers on the BHG editorial team, and can’t wait to mix and mingle with design and style bloggers from around the country. This year I’m a bit more excited about the event, because I had the opportunity to work with Better Homes and Gardens and TRISCUIT Crackers on fall-inspired snack that will be served at the event!
read more
I’m having a little bit of trouble coming to grips with the fact that summer is coming to a close this week, I’m not quite ready for the warm weather, and beach days, and patio cocktails (and mocktails!) to end. This weekend I had a girl’s night with some my girlfriends and we enjoyed the fading summer with some al fresco dining and porch swinging and all around warm-weather merriment. In preparation for our hang out I set up a make-your-own style margarita bar with all of the essentials, and thought I’d share a few of my tips for setting up a margarita bar of your own. Once you have the tools, the garnishes, and ingredients in place, it’s super fun to let your guests mix up their own cocktail creations.
read more
Right away when I found out I was pregnant my friends and family jokingly asked if I was ready to become a “mommy blogger” and I scoffed at it with such repulsion! After keeping my new secret from the blog for so long though, I realized that there was no way I could really separate something so big happening in my life from my writing here. When I first started the site, I was decorating our first apartment, and a lot of the content focused on decorating. As I got engaged, wedding content started popping up here a lot more often. My favorite part about maintaining this blog is that it has been like a living diary for me to catalog my experiences, and I don’t think this next phase of my life will be any different.
read more
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen some pretty big news announced this weekend — we’re expecting a new (and tiny!) member of team Domestikatedlife in January. I’ve just about reached my maximum life limit for secret keeping by not announcing this sooner on the blog, but knowing that a confetti-filled party was how I would let the cat out of the bag helped me keep my lips shut for much longer than I am usually able. This weekend we went to the doctor and had the ultrasound technician at the appointment write down the gender of our baby. We patiently (just kidding, I was so not patient) waited for a crew of a few our closest friends and our immediate families to come over to our house for a gender reveal BBQ to share in the excitement of the news. 
read more
It has been sweltering the last week or so, hasn’t it? I’m avoiding the oven at all costs and focusing my efforts on desserts that involve icy cold whipped cream and frozen bites of cream puff goodness. This recipe I’ve been working on is my favorite kind: a non-recipe! If you can pick up creme puffs in the frozen food section of Trader Joe’s or Costco, you’re pretty much already halfway there. All you have to do after that is make some homemade whipped cream (I usually drop in a pint of cream into my KitchenAid mixer with a tbsp or so of sugar, and 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract — whip until it starts to create stiff peaks).
read more
I’m open to any and all ideas to beat this August humidity! Beach days have helped, sitting my face 2 inches in front of a box fan has done the trick, and refreshing cocktails are always a good idea. This cocktail recipes can be made with or without alcohol, and is as easy as throwing all of the ingredients in the blender (an inexpensive handheld immersion blender will even do the trick if you strain it 2-3 times). The sweetness of the strawberries and the cool flavors of the mint and watermelon are so darn refreshing. I’ve been keeping a carafe of this in the fridge to sip on with tons of ice and a squeeze of fresh lime. Enjoying it through a flamingo straw is the icing on the cake! Full recipe below: 
read more
Last weekend was a multi-day celebration of my husband’s birthday; I am a firm believer in the “birthday week” over just one night of festivities. We planned to kick off the weekend with friends heading out to a concert (Huey Lewis and the News played, and yes they were awesome). To me, one of the best parts of outdoor summer concerts is the tailgating before the show. We were heading to the event with friends, and we own a tiny car that isn’t ideal for this type of pre-concert picnicking. Luckily Enterprise CarShare reached out me about trying their car-sharing program in Boston and it was the perfect opportunity to borrow an SUV that would hold our friends and concert tailgating spread!
read more
I tend to hit a cooking slump during this time of the summer. It has been terribly hot the past few days and I glance over to look at the stove like it’s going to bite me if I turn it on. Instead of phoning it in though (literally, I considered phoning in a pizza), I’ve been trying to take this heat wave as a cooking challenge — can I create tasty treats that also keep me cool? That’s where this idea came in! I took the elements of a nice chilled antipasto plate and made them into dippable skewers, laced with some chilled provolone, tortellini, tomatoes and olives. I made my own pesto for the dipping sauce (I just throw in garlic, basil, pine nuts and olive oil and keep adding until the consistency looks right) — try Ina Garten’s recipe if you like to be exact with proportions! They chilled down in the fridge for a bit until they were ready to bring to a friend’s pool party and proved to be the perfect cool snack.
read more
