Dear Gap.

Please make these boots in my size.

Seriously, the cutest things ever.

If you have a toddler girl, you must buy them. About 100 times cuter in person as well.

Dining in the City

Great titles like Redbook magazine cheap.

As a lot of you know, we reside on the coast. Living at the beach has it's definite ups, including fresh local seafood year round. {Think pan seared... not fried, we don't do that too often!} However, I am from Raleigh originally and boy do I sure miss the wide variety of cuisines the city has to offer, ranging from really awesome takeout, to dining in for the ultimate experience! Stephen and I had a date night at my new favorite Raleigh spot last weekend, Cow Fish, The Sushi Burger Bar. Hold your tongue- it's freakin' incredible! Cow Fish blends sushi and the burger variety into one amazing experience.

There was much debate on exactly how early we had to arrive in order to eat at a decent hour. Apparently, the whole city of Raleigh is up in arms over it and the wait can be upwards of an hour and a half. We were advised to get there at 5:30. Hello, early bird happy hour!

So we arrived shortly after 5:30, and were told 30 minutes to an hour wait. Not too shabby, we could handle that.

We quickly found a spare spot to stand at the bar next to the enormous fish tank, and the people next to us finished up and we were able to take a seat immediately. Not too bad! 

 

A few minutes after we arrived, Stephen showed me the link the restaurant just texted him to find out our approximate wait time. Your text link shows a special fish that corresponds to a fish swimming on the tv screen on the restaurant wall. When the fish gets closer to the front of the screen, you are closer to getting your seat. Is that not crazy?! We didn't pay much attention to it because we were practically face planting in our crab rangoon dip, but that is besides the point.

We ordered drinks and the said crab rangoon dip to make ourselves comfortable as we prepared to wait for a little while. Y'all...the crab rangoon dip may or may not be a good idea. It's one of those appetizers you want to eat the whole thing, and then not have any room for dinner. 

We were shocked that after only about 25 minutes our buzzer went off and our seats were available! It was too funny because we dreaded all day waiting an hour and a half to eat this amazing food, and there we were promptly seated!

Stephen ordered the Doug's Filet Roll which is crab, cream cheese and avocado topped with thin slices of seared filet mignon. It was quite incredible. One of the best things I think I've ever devoured.

I ordered the Spicy Crunchy Roll, which is shrimp tempura and crab. Since living on the coast, I have gotten so spoiled and I rarely will ever touch seafood unless it is freshly caught at a local restaurant. This was so good though!! Stephen and I also always order a roll each and then share. It's the best way to enjoy sushi!

This was the perfect spot to try something really fresh and new, and fun at the same time. I cannot wait to go back again!

find my top here

If you have been to either location in Raleigh or Charlotte, please tell me your favorites!

Hanging Tip + New Art

Allow me to introduce you to my favorite hanging trick ever.

Toothpaste.

So it's new to me, maybe not to you. But I have been hanging things on my walls for a long time and never knew about this trick. I first tried it in the nursery on our gallery wall. Absolutely comes in handy when you have multiple things to hang and want to be precise. 

Here's the trick:

Dab toothpaste on the back of your hardware that will hang your frame. Once each hook has a dab of toothpaste, press it up against your wall. The toothpaste will leave behind a mark(s) where your nail(s) should go.

This was especially helpful for the dreaded triangular hooks- I didn't have the time or patience to mess with picture wire.

So easy and painless to hang these babies.

 

These ginger jar prints are from the fabulous shop of The Pink Pagoda. I'm so in love with them. Find mine here and here. They are finally the finishing touch on my room that I needed. I am on a budget and didn't want to spend a fortune on framing so I scoured Hobby Lobby for the best looking gold frame and mat. These 16x20 frames were a steal- $29.99 and half off- so $15, and the mats were about $5 I think. They look pretty nice if I do say so myself!

I also found a few new pretties last weekend in the form of blue and white porcelain goodness. Score!

Kitchen Plans: The Unexpected

If you've been following this blog for a while you've caught on that things happen slow around here. Every room in our house seems to be on the top of the list- I can't focus on just one! I'm still toying with what I really want to do with our bedroom. The living room needs a few upgrades. The guest bedroom is about half finished. The kitchen. Oh the kitchen. I desperately want one of those beautiful, basking in white kitchens with clean countertops and shiny back splash! Several weekends ago we inched our way towards my ideal kitchen. We bought new pendant lights {baby steps y'all} for our bar and Stephen installed them on the very same day. Big things happenin'.

Our appliances are all new with the house, so it makes perfect no sense to replace {even though I would love for a hood and gas stove and pot filler!}. We have granite countertops, and while I wouldn't mind starting fresh in that category I am keeping in mind this is a makeover, not a renovation. I want the cabinets to be a glossy white and to have back splash. Well, we were in luck because Stephen's brother happens to work for a tile company and he came and installed subways, as mentioned here. Once we got on the tile train, Stephen jumped on board to paint the kitchen cabinets. {Who are you and what did you do with my husband?} He also installed a new faucet {his idea as well?!} and we are tweaking the lighting. I swear this came out of nowhere, even though I've been daydreaming about this white kitchen ever since I said we had to have wood cabinets. I was planning a wedding and building a house at the same time, so I was a little preoccupied!

Then I saw this photo on pinterest and it put things in perspective. Yes, I want all the glory of a pretty kitchen but the hands that will make it dirty and fill it with love are what makes the kitchen the center of a household. So forget the perfect, magazine quality photos for now. This is the new dream. And a good one! I will absolutely be incorporating a chalkboard along the ends of one of our counters for Weeks to draw and play nearby while we cook for years to come! What a great idea!!

via

This is really shaping up to be a fun project and I'll be posting updates along the way. Well, let's call it fun until Stephen is griping about painting in a few weeks ;)

The Perfect Pump

Whew, times have been crazy around here. I'm sure I'll get around to an update on things, but for right now I just want to have some retail therapy!

via

Fast forwarding to fall, I always have a few things in my mind for each season that I would like to purchase. I did splurge on a few things from the Nordstrom sale, which I am still pleased with weeks later- always a good sign. After seeing the classic black pump show up in tons of photos lately, I've decided that I must have a new pair! The kind I am really looking for is seen above, with the wide cut out across the top of the foot. Are you with me?

And, if you want a pair with just a little something more....I love this Valentino-esque pair and this pair for a little flair.

Have you found the perfect pump?