our greatest dream.

lovie & i have lots of hopes and dreams for baby patrick.

dreams of great adventure in life. great success. great love.

but if we could ask for just one dream to come true.

our prayer. our hope. our dream.

 is that he will have a great. great love for the Lord. 

a strong confidence in His plan. a quiet peace in His presence.

an unwavering assurance of His provisions. 

that no matter what this life may bring him.

he will walk in faith. in grace. in dignity. & in righteousness. 

and while we fail daily to exemplify a blameless & holy life.

we pray that we can breath into patrick the words & promises of the Lord. 

that he may carry them in his heart today & everyday of his precious little life. 

that being said. i thank my sweet. sweet friend for giving us this most tender of all gifts.

a book of scriptures to pray over our little babe. 

personalized just for baby patrick.

such a wonderful blessing.

reading patrick's name in the scripture is so amazingly powerful.

we will forever treasure these God-breathed words to our babe.

love. love. love.

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A. Liz Adventures ::: My Favorite Parisian Experience {Guest Post}

Thank you so much to sweet Kristen for inviting me to share with you all today my oh-so-favorite part of our recent trip to Paris.  Kristen is a fellow lover of all things Paris, as you may know.  :)

Visiting Paris was a definite item to check off of my "life list" and I was thrilled when my husband and I began planning for our two year anniversary trip to Europe!  I did a fair share of research before we boarded the plane (including this amazingly pretty book, which I found at Anthropologie).  Our main goal upon arriving in France was just to truly immerse ourselves in the culture and French way of life.

So, what was my favorite part of the experience?  No doubt, the food and drink!

For me, it was more than just a meal ... it was an experience.  

In the photo above, I want you to just imagine yourself right in this scene.  Atop the hill in Montmartre, at the base of the Sacre Coeur, was this amazing cafe with outdoor tables that faced the little cobblestone street.  Perfect for people-watching.  We stopped for a drink and listened to the guitar player behind me play as he sung along with the most strong, clear, beautiful voice.  Heavenly.

And here, we lunched at the most adorable little cafe where I enjoyed a croque monsieur and my husband finally got his long-anticipated croque madame (notice the egg on top!).  Oh and Pellegrino ... lots and lots of Pellegrino was consumed!

The afternoons were the perfect time to stop off at an interesting looking pub and kick back with a pint of beer, talking about highlights of the day and plans for the evening.

Oh my heavens -- that French onion soup will forever stay etched in my memory.  The thickest cheese layer with just the perfect amount of a crunch was over the perfect broth.  And that carafe of wine -- so simple and unassuming, and so tasty!

I had a smart moment, if I do say so myself, when we were packing -- I decided to toss in a small wine opener!  We had a little market at the bottom of our hotel where we picked up bottles of French wine and Evian for next to nothing.  Seriously -- it was shocking how much better the prices were than they are in the States.

Getting ready for dinner at night was made complete by having a little baguette, brie, and roquefort party on our bed.

And on this day, I had a teeny bit of a tummy ache ... no, no, no, it couldn't possibly be from the wine consumed the night before!  Regardless, it wasn't anything that the world's cutest glass of beer wouldn't fix right up in a jiffy.  ;)

So when I reminisce about our trip, I would say that the food and drink greatly dominate the memories.  I am already looking forward to the next Paris trip and the opportunity to enjoy the little cafes a second time around.  Thanks again to my friend Kristen for letting me brag on the French cuisine for a bit ... now, where can a girl find a Nutella and banana crepe around these parts?!

For more photos from our trip to Paris, click here.

To see the professional photos we had taken at the Eiffel Tower, click here.

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bat those babies.

adore this little montage of twiggy.

how impossibly cute is she?!

and those infamous lashes... 

made up eyes make the greatest statement.

so never leave home with out your lashes done.

it's just one of the rules of being a lady.

now go bat those babies, girls.

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a grown-up rice krispie treat.

oh. my. goodness.

prepare to get your socks knocked off. 

i have just discovered the worlds best rice krispie treat.

i know. i know.

you are probably thinking the same thing i was before my first bite.

how can you possibly better the original rice krispie treat?!

but my oh my. you are about to see just how to do so.

allow me the joy of introducing you to the 

grown-up rice krispie treat.

the rice krispie treat with the volume turned up. turned way up.

the snap. crackle. & pop. are practically screaming. 

hello. browned butter sea salt rice krispie treats!

the sweetest thing about this recipe is that it is so very simple & quick.

i had these puppies whipped up in less than fifteen minutes.

{which has great potential to be very dangerous in weak.sweet.craving. moments}

all you need is:

one stick of unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon of sea salt

one 10 ounce bag of mini marshmallows

6 cups of rice krispie cereal

start off by greasing the pan of your choosing. 

i used a smaller pan than normal because i wanted to make thicker treats.

over low-medium heat. brown your stick of butter.

watch this very closely as it can burn in the blink of an eye.

you want the butter to be a golden color & nutty in fragrance.

when it is browned. add in the salt. give it a swirl.

toss in the marshmallows. then stir until melted & smooth.

pour in the rice krispie treats & mix completely.

transfer the sticky mess of a mixture to your greased pan.

smooth it out quickly before it starts to cool.

i used a silicone spatula to compact the mix & smooth out the top. 

allow the treats to cool completely before cutting.

then. dig. in. 

and trust me when i say. these are sinfully scrumptious. 

i literally could not stop eating them.

the browned butter gives a rich flavor that is out of this world.

& the sea salt gives a surprising little kick to round out the super sweetness of the treats.

i tell you what. 

the gal behind smitten kitchen is brilliant for creating this recipe.

it is the most divine melding of flavors.

love. love. love. this treat.

its the rice krispie treat that both kiddos & grown-ups will enjoy.

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sweet slumber.

sweet baby boy enjoying some sweet slumber. 

is there anything cuter in this whole wide world?

just precious. 

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garden inspiration part deux

in dreaming about our most perfect backyard.

we have decided that ivy covered walls is a definite must-have.

my lovie doesn't have too many opinions about aesthetics & home design.

so when he offers one up... this wife listens.

and great news.

lovie loves. loves. loves ivy covered walls.

we are putting in a privacy wall around our backyard property

and love the idea of having crawling ivy growing upon it.

it is just so elegant. 

we also love the idea of having pruned ivy growing on the back side of our house.

so we are gathering massive amounts of inspiration from these ivy covered homes.

doesn't this just look so warm & inviting?!

i adore everything about it. 

the meticulously manicured ivy walls. the fountain. the potted herbs.

that darling awning. the white sitting furniture. the edged boxwood.

this is backyard perfection with an extra dose of ivy.

oh to have walls that are wrapped in lush green ivy.

isn't it just the loveliest?! 

absolutely adore everything about this image.

{especially the dress}

but truly. these ivy walls perfectly decorate the entrance.

and the tucked away lanterns are just amazing.

love. love. love.

can hardly wait to be sitting in our backyard surrounded by walls of ivy.

{images courtesy of houzz. pinterest. and unknown} 

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garden inspiration

when you live in an old house the project list is never-ending.

our house was built in 1938. so you can imagine our wish list of to-dos. 

i happen to love home projects & renovations & redesigns.

so this old house is the most perfect one for me.

one of the renovations that i am most excited about is our backyard & garden.

i can hardly wait. you have no idea.

we are not actually completing this project until february of 2014.

so i have lots of time to gather all sorts of inspiration.

without a shadow of a doubt...

one of the must-haves in our future backyard are round boxwoods.

i just love. love. love the look of them.

potted or planted in the ground. either way is beautiful.

do you love them as much as i do?

they are just so perfectly manicured. perfectly sculpted.

perfectly perfect for our future backyard. 

{images courtesy of pinterest. veranda magazine. unknown}

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the makings of a nursery.

decorating patch's little nursery was quite a fun project.

i knew that i didn't want a theme. and i knew that i wanted to use only primary colors.

the rest was unknown... 

until pottery barn kids made it abundantly easy for me. 

{and just for the record. i may or may not be mildly obsessed with pottery barn}

reds. blues. yellows. bold stripes. polka dots. espresso wood. seagrass accents. 

this is what set the stage for the most darling little boys nursery.

come on in & see some of my fave details from patch's nursery.

where his little dreams are made...

where a gentle lion greets you at the door.

and pinwheels float in the sky.

where perfectly itty bitty clothes are displayed.

and where swaddling blankets boast the name of my sweet little babe.

where books are read. and stories are told.

where we meet the wild things & hungry caterpillars.

where little brown bears dance above a dozing babes bed.

and lullabies chime in the background.

where pull trucks and rolling alligators come to play.

where make believe & imagination soar.

where best friend stuffed animals find their home.

and are always up for snuggles.

where mommy & son spend hours through the night.

in a cozy overstuffed chair with a choo-choo train quilt.

where the wooden toys come to life.

and the learning begins.

where we have a daily reminder to pray the scriptures over patch.

oh. and to give our friend sofie the giraffe a little squeak.

patch's nursery is just perfect.

a perfect little nest for my perfect little babe.

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vintage glam.

be still my little glam loving heart.

i am dying. simply dying. over the latest feature in matchbook magazine. 

it shines the light upon a vintage new york city bride. 

and. she. is. just. fantastically. glamorous. 

traipsing along the streets of manhattan's neighborhoods. 

absolutely stunning. 

channeling audrey hepburn.

{who i am certain i would be besties with if had the chance}

oh. to stroll the streets of manhattan under the cover of a parasol. 

that dress. the lace. those earrings. ahhh!

this has my name all over it.

this outfit is just out of this world perfect.

love the top knot bun. love the jeweled peter pan collar. love the shift dress.

love the mod earrings. love the dramatic lashes. 

i. need. this. entire. ensemble. 

so chic. so elegant. so retro its just not right.

swooning over that pearl clutch.

if i were to ever be a new york city bride. 

i would certainly hope to be as impossibly chic as she. 

hop on over to matchbook mag to view the entire feature.

you will be left in awe of the mega-watt glam factor.

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the simple everydays.

patrick and i love our everydays spent together.

just the normal. mother & son. ordinary. everyday kind of days.

days of endless diapers. feedings. & snuggles.

a welcome back to the simpler days.

where the home truly is where the heart is.

a quiet stillness resounds through the house.

and jammies are totally allowed all. day. long.

loving our simple everydays.

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