Refrigerator Pickles
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Weird Little Idea: Password Painting
I know there's a way to change your wireless user name and password. I just don't know what that way is (yes, I know: google it), and so ever since we moved into our new place, whenever a guest comes over and needs to get onto our Internet, my system is to root through our junk drawer in search of the tiny piece of cardboard that the installation guy used to write down the user name and password for me, hand it to my guest, and hope that I remember to take it back and that it does not end up getting thrown out (which would make sense, because it looks like garbage).
Obviously this system is not ideal.
I've been meaning to do something a little less likely to result in a massive fight between myself and my husband (seriously, I'm going to guess that forgotten iTunes passwords and such have surpassed money as the number one reason for divorce in our country), but haven't gotten around to it. And then the other day a colleague came over to my place for a meeting and needed to access les interwebs, and in order to allow her to do that I had to first locate that minuscule piece of cardboard with twenty thousand numbers written on it in Boy Handwriting (a.k.a. Terrible Handwriting), help her figure out which were "1"s and which were lowercase "l"s, and then, after she left, try to re-locate the piece of cardboard so that it could be re-filed in our very secure and organized junk drawer (that is a joke; our junk drawer is a black hole into which objects like sip cup lids and passports routinely disappear).
In The Air
The Great Office Makeover
I know, I already put up a video on this a couple of days ago, but I wanted to show you some photos, too...because I LOVE this room.
I honestly can't believe that it's the same space that I saw when we first moved in. I also can't believe how much we have going on in there, considering the entire space is about 8'x10' - and now it's a playroom, an office space, a music room and a guest bedroom (thanks to the addition of a pair of blackout curtains that I hung on the inside of the french doors, so that they aren't visible from the living room but can be used to darken the room in a pinch).
Alright, so here are a couple of "before" images:
Asparagus with Prosciutto and Poached Eggs
Mostly Pinterest functions to make me feel bad about myself. My hair, my nails, my smoky-eye abilities, the scarcity of silk trench coats in my closet, and oh my god my dinners.
It's not that my dinners are bad; they're usually pretty good ifIdosaysomyself - they're just not...I don't know, accessorized. Surrounded with little trimmings of locally sourced flower buds, or resting on snow-white plates with attractive little drip-drops of olive oil scattered about the edges, or whatever. (A caveat: lately my dinners have actually been rawther lovely, but that's because of Trader Joe's, not because of any exceptional food-styling abilities on my part.)
Anyway, this dinner - actually a "brinner,"* if we're being specific - is, like, the Kirsten Bell of meals (I'm watching Frozen with Indy right now - try not to be shocked - and this is the first cute actress who popped to mind, but it actually makes sense because she seems like, were she a food, she would be quite delicious).
Major Makeover: How I Turned A Tiny, Unused Bonus Room Into The Most Efficient Space In Our House
Now THIS is the one I've been waiting to show you. When we first started looking for a new home, I knew that I wanted some kind of office space/playroom adjacent to the living area, so that the whole family can still hang out together when we're all doing different things. And the house we ended up in did have a (very) small bonus room, but it didn't open onto the living room, and felt stuffy and oddly proportioned, so it basically ended up becoming a receptacle room for all the stuff we didn't know what else to do with.
A trash dump, in other words.
Not ideal.
What I Wish I’d Known When I Was Twenty-Two
Journey To The Valley
Cope Gauzy Tee | Frankie B Jeans (similar) | J.Crew D'Orsay Flats | Hat Attack Hat | House Of Harlow Sunglasses | Rebecca Minkoff Purse | Chasing Rainbows Necklace (similar)
One of Kendrick's best friends from business school has been staying with us for the past week, and so this weekend we figured we'd show him one of our favorite places (definitely in Northern California, and very possibly in the world). Mill Valley is the town that I visited with Morgan way back when I was about three months pregnant, and we ate pasta on a sunny terrace, and on the drive back of the bridge to Morgan's place I called Kendrick and told him that I was totally on board with him looking for a job in the Bay Area. I think what I said is "We have to live in Mill Valley one day."
As it turned out, we have neither the five trillion dollars (in cash, plz and thanks) required to purchase property in Marin, nor the desire to have Kendrick spend four hours a day commuting to and from the South Bay. Love it for a day trip (and for some maybe-way-in-the-future-post-lottery-winning fantastizing), though.
Understated
I'm in the mood for neutrals. (Well, I always am. But especially now.)
And so: allow me to present my top 10 Neutral Zone picks for your fall wardrobe (click on the images below for where to buy).
1. The (very) oversize white button-down (I have the one pictured above, and it's cut to be oversized - you can order your actual size for a loose, boxy fit).
Family’s Night Out
See that?
That is the HAPPIEST BABY IN THE WORLD.
I mean, our daughter's always a bit of a grinner, but last night both she and Indy had what might have been the time of their lives. We met our friends and their friends (who are now our friends) - all of whom have multiple kids, so we had a pack of about eight of them - for live music at a place called Jack Rose (technically a bar, but the most family-friendly one ever), and it was the BEST. For all involved.
