Around Here

Happy Monday everyone!  We had a really good weekend!  Did you all?  The weekend seemed like the perfect mix of productivity, visiting with friends and even relaxing.  Saturday we had some good friends come for lunch.  They were in town from Nashville visiting family and we loved getting to squeeze in a visit while they were here.  We don't get to see most of our friends from college nearly enough.  We just had casual crockpot bbq, but my friend brought the most delicious desserts from Nothing Bundt Cakes and they were so good.  Sunday we grabbed a quick lunch and then Heath and Andy came to visit Virginia and watch some basketball.  That night we made Ina's Parmesan Roasted Broccoli to go along side a roast chicken.  Highly recommend Ina's broccoli.  Converted J.D. into a broccoli lover!

Virginia also fell in love with her daddy this weekend.  She spent the weekend just giggling at all of the hilarious stuff that he did.  You know, funny stuff like looking in her direction, taking off his hat, picking her up, you name it, she thought it was hilarious and he hung the moon! :)

Heath and Andy met up with friends for drinks and basketball Friday night.  Sadly it didn't end well for Tennessee, but such a good game.  They had a little Pasta and Provision date night Saturday night, and spent Sunday cooking and relaxing with us!

Hope everyone has a great week.  The weather is finally warming up!!
~Mary Keller

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday everyone!  We made it to the weekend.  This week was a little crazy.  Virginia started off sick and then I also had a few days of travel for work.  I'm certainly ready for a weekend.  Heath and I did attend a really cool local Arts & Science Council Art CSA event last night.  It's a cool little series that we'll tell you about, with two other events to follow.  JD and I have good friends coming in town this weekend (we love when our Nashville friends visit!) and we can't wait to have them for lunch.  Hope everyone has a good, relaxing weekend and we'll meet you back here Monday!

~Mary Keller

Thoughts on Decorating

I by NO means really know what I'm doing when it comes to decorating, but I'd love to share a few thoughts on the subject with y'all, and I'd really love to hear your opinions as well.  Decorating can really be tricky.  It's time consuming and expensive, and really I think it's more fun in theory.  It's not as much fun when you're spending your own hard earned money.  So, I have a few "rules of thumb" that I really go by that I'll share, and in return, I'd really love for you to comment and share any tricks or helpful things as you go to decorate your own home.  Let's all share and make it a bit less painful!

Pinterest - Go ahead and pin away all the things you love.  This may seem so obvious, but I think the trick is in editing.  Leave Pinterest alone for a while (a month or so at least) and then go back and look through your saved images.  See what still resonates with you, what you still love, then delete the rest.  With blogs and Pinterest, we see so many beautiful images, but truthfully, just because something is beautiful doesn't mean it's your style.  You may love it, but it still may not be for you.  Ruthlessly edit your saved pins and save only what you really want to live in forever.

Pick a Fabric - Pick a fabric or something to use as your starting point.  For some reason, I always seem to find a fabric that I love that I'll end up basing my entire room around.  Your starting point doesn't have to be a fabric though.  Maybe it's a rug.  Just pick something that you really love and start there.  When selecting fabrics, I ideally prefer three different fabrics in one space.  Ideally the three should be different in patterns and scale.  So you fall in love with a large floral, with it you may want to add a simple pretty texture that almost is a solid and then a really small scale geometric.  Three patterns, three scales seem to make a room seem complete generally. 

Paint is Your Friend - This, again, is obvious, but I tend to really add color with paint.  Paint is SO cheap compared to furniture and fabric.  If your den is beige, sofa is beige, all of your furniture is brown wood, and then your dining room is beige, it can be bland.  If all you do is add a beautiful rich color to one room, the room instantly feels more put together and "done."  I tend to gravitate toward dining rooms in color just because you don't spend as much time in there as the living room.  And if you've been to my house you know I love bright color (hello my dining room is practically neon green!) but even if you don't love bright colors, a beautiful rich grey or moody taupe-green can really make a difference from everything being monotone.  (And it's so much cheaper to repaint a room when you're tired of it in 5 years vs. recovering the sofa in that trendy fabric.)  A tip when picking a bright color, go with something that it technically a historic color.  You'll see this section in every paint line.  In my opinion, these are usually the most beautiful colors when it comes to brights!

Mix the Materials - If everything in your room is a wooden piece of furniture, considering adding something that is a different material.  Maybe a lucite table, a ceramic garden stool or a metal piece.  I'm really bad about this.  Just about everything I buy is wood but I'm trying to mix things up with a few small pieces that are different to keep things fresh and less predictable.  I really like antique stores, consignments store and Craigslist for wood pieces.  I think you get so much more bang for you buck.  I like West Elm, Crate and Barrel and even Ikea for pieces that are a little less traditional.

Accessorize Away - This is really the final layer, but it's arguably the most important layer.  I really think accessories are what give a space life.  I guarantee you if you think of anyone's home that you really love, if you take a close look, they have great accessories.  You can have the most expensive sofa but if the rest of the room is bland, the sofa doesn't seem so special.  On the other hand, you can seriously have your husband's old bachelor sofa, and if you have quirky interesting accessories on the coffee table and bookshelf, I think the room has life.  Accessories take time, but pick them up here and there when you're shopping, traveling, thrifting, etc.  (Plants make perfect, easy "accessories."  Love Trader Joes inexpensive orchids.  Just put them in an inexpensive pot.)

Alright, phew, that was long!  Please share any thoughts/tips.  I'd love to hear.  I'm in major "finish up the house" gear over here.  I'm ready for this place to be decorated so I can have my weekends back! :)

~Mary Keller

Images:  The Nero Chronicles . The Foo Dog Ate My Homework . Love with the Proper Stranger . Mark D. Sikes . Camille Styles

Studs for every Style

I'm always drawn to very simple styles and always (always!) gold jewelry. I don't know what it is about  gold but I've always been a lover of gold from a very young age. It's not a surprise that I've been really thinking about gold studs lately. In my daily wardrobe I keep my jewelry pretty simple and classic to go with my work wardrobe and pretty much daily I think to myself I need a simple gold stud with this outfit. So when MK recently asked me to pull together some options for studs (Virginia has entered the pull on any and all jewelry stage) I happily obliged.

There are so many options available right now for studs, they're all over the place and range in price from $10 and up. I'm certain there is a pair for everyone in this little round up.

- Heath

gold shark tooth; gold, mint green and black; gold cutout pyramids; gold snakes; gold xoxo; colorful mosaic; pale pink starburst; neon yellow bows; gold and green malachite; emerald cut diamond studs; small gold bars; studded moonstone; turquoise studs; sapphire slide studs, gold lily pads, X studs; black diamond circles; labradorite and gold studs; gold and multi color arrows

Charlotte's SEED20

Remember a couple weeks back when I mentioned that J.D. and I had a SEED20 and then dinner date out?  I want to share a little more about this event with you guys.  It was really an pretty impressive evening.  I didn't know what to expect and I was blown away.  Charlotte folks, highly recommend you make a point to attend next year! 

You can read all about SEED20 here, but basically it is a venture-philanthropy based pitch competition for non-profits seeking funding.  (Say what?  That's J.D.'s basic description.  I'll explain....)  Social Venture Partners puts on SEED20 in Charlotte annually.  They interview non-profits throughout our region and select 20 to be part of the competition.  These 20 non-profits are then assigned a coach to help them develop a 3 minute pitch.  They meet with their coach for 2+ months and during this 2 month period the field is narrowed down to 10 non-profits.  On the final evening of SEED20, these 10 non-profits deliver their pitch to an auditorium filled with the coaches, selected judges and a general audience and a winner is selected.  The audience votes for their favorite but experienced judges also select winners and give very generous cash prizes.  J.D. has been a coach for the past two years.  Last year he told me how impressive the evening was so I agreed to go this year.  Guys, there are some REALLY impressive charities and people out there doing really impressive things in Charlotte.  It's the kind of event that is completely eye opening and makes you want to get involved. 

You can read all about these non-profits here, but let me share some thoughts on a few that made an impression on me:

PlateShare - Okay, picture a really cute girl that is the first on stage to deliver her pitch in front of an entire packed auditorium.  I'd probably be freaking out, but she blew everyone away - and eventually won the event!  PlateShare is brilliant.  Her concept is for everyone to round up to the nearest dollar when dining out at a restaurant.  All proceeds would go to fighting hunger.  Can you imagine the MILLIONS that would be raised if we all just donated an extra 15 cents or so when we went out to dinner?  Her pitch was spot on stressing that food banks need money to buy FRESH food, not canned processed food donations.

Camp Blue Skies - This non-profit is a camp for adults with disabilities.  I don't think you could listen to this pitch and not have such a soft spot for this charity.  They ended up winning audience favorite for good reason.  The camp founder delivered an impressive pitch spouting out facts on how "the system" offers little support for individuals with disabilities once they are past age 18.  The thing I love about this charity is that it really helps both the campers with disabilities, but also their families, giving their family a desperately needed break.  The camp founder stated that one parent thanked him when picking up her happy adult camper.  The week away at camp had given her the first night alone with her husband in over 20+ years.  Can you imagine????  I cannot.  It's exhausting taking care of a healthy newborn.  I cannot imagine the exhaustion of taking care of someone with a disability for life.  Wow.

Youth Development Initiatives - Guys, this non-profit is doing BIG things.  They offer an after school program geared to keep at risk kids in school, on target and out of trouble.  I know, it sounds like something you've heard before, but they are getting results.  And I truly feel if we can solve this problem, it would have so many positive ripple effects.  Their founder delivered an unbelievable pitch introducing the audience to "Mike."  After going through YDI's program, Mike went from a failing GPA to graduating on time with an impressive GPA.  On the other hand, "John" was on their waiting list and due to lack of funding could not be accommodated in the program.  John ended up not graduating and unfortunately later in jail.  Get this, Mike and John are brothers.  (True story, but I can't remember the exact names.)  I can't imagine guys.  We've got to support groups like this who are really trying to help these vulnerable teens.  This group got my vote, and actually won the Coach's award as well.

If you're interested, take a few minutes to see more.  If you're in Charlotte, consider attending next year.  I think you'd be impressed!

~Mary Keller

Around Here

 

Happy Monday!  This weekend was kinda crazy guys.  If last weekend was full of eating and drinking and relaxing, this weekend was quite the opposite.  Saturday we took advantage of the amazing weather in Charlotte and went to work in the yard.  We literally got out there at 9 in the morning and didn't quit until around 6:00 that evening.  Tough stuff.  (Remember when I said yard work is only fun on the first pretty day of the season.  Turn's out yard work is only fun the first two hours of the first pretty day of the season.)  We ordered a pizza for dinner and crawled in bed super early.  Sunday we definitely woke up pretty sore.  That makes me feel pretty lame.  Sunday I thought we had a day of relaxing ahead of us, but our sweet girl woke up with a high fever.  I spent the rest of the day cuddling her and doing odd projects while JD sat at the dining room table and worked all day.  Fun stuff huh? 

Heath and Andy had a little more fun.  Their weekend included a Common Market picnic lunch, burgers on the grill while watching the basketball tournament and finally (!!) finishing up their wedding album.  Cheers to a happy week ahead, and fingers crossed that Virginia feels better. :) 

~Mary Keller

Happy Friday

Happy Friday guys! So glad we made it to the weekend. This week flew by didn't it? Here are a few things that caught our eye...

I saw Daylesford Organic farm on Lauren's blog and Instagram feed a while back but it fell to the back of my mind. When I saw it again recently on Annie's travel blog I fell in love big time. This place looks amazing, and seems like the perfect spot to spend a few days in the English countryside. The farm and grounds are gorgeous and it even has a cooking school! It's definitely going on my list.

I'm loving this new series on Cupcakes and Cashmere. Emily's trying a hand full of different boyfriend jeans to find just the right pair. She's given pictures and detailed descriptions of each and did the same for white tshirts too!

Loving this little challenge Emma from A Beautiful Mess has taken on. She is making every single recipe in a chosen cookbook, a Julie and Julia experiment if you will. I have a bad habit of reading cookbooks cover to cover like a book and then putting them down for way too long before actually trying new recipes. I think I may try to do this, it would definitely force us to expand our repertoire!

Thinking I may try these Korean beef bowls next week with steamed broccoli and jasmine rice. Seems like a great weeknight meal.

Excited to start reading this book and since I skipped it last month I may try to squeeze this one in too!

And last but certainly not least, go Vols!

Hope you guys have a nice weekend!

- Heath

New twists on a southern classic - deviled eggs

 

Deviled Eggs are a pretty standard Southern staple that I absolutely love. While I'll never tire of a good classic egg it's fun to update the classics every now and then too. Each of these caught my eye for different reasons, some for looks, the color from those pickled beets is just too pretty, and some for flavor, I think the salt in country ham is the perfect compliment to the creamy filling! Wouldn't the jalapeno and siracha eggs be a fun appetizer at a cocktail party, just a little kick to keep you on your toes. I think the caesar salad eggs would be perfect served for brunch and the kimchi - well I'm just curious how those flavors mix.

 

For any Charlotte folks, King's Kitchen has a good classic deviled egg and Fran's Filling Station used to have updated unique takes on deviled eggs every day but I dont see them on the menu anymore.

What do you think, stick to the classic or switch it up a bit? What's your favorite?

 

- Heath

clockwise from top right - siracha, country ham, kimchi, caesar, japaleno and pickled beet

Photo Diary | Anniversary Weekend in Charleston

So last weekend J.D. and I snuck away to Charleston for a little anniversary celebration.  6 years!  I can't believe it.  I told J.D. that it seems like just yesterday that we got married.  He disagreed. :) He's finished law school, we've moved from Atlanta to Charlotte, he's started a job, I've started a business, we've bought a house and we've of course added our little Virginia in those 6 years.  We've grown up.  Crazy!  Below is a recap and a few pics from our trip if you're interested...

Perfect This Recipe | Lee's Brothers Roast Chicken

So you guys may remember that Heath and I have been testing tons of Roast Chicken recipes the past two weeks in search of THE Perfect Roast Chicken.  Between the two of us, we've tested 11 birds in the past 14 days.  That's a lot of chicken, but guys, I've learned that I'm pretty much obsessed with roast chicken.  It's seriously the best dinner.  So, after much testing, the winner is....Lee Brother's Roast Chicken!   Ina's Roast Chicken was a close second!  The Lee Brother's recipe wasn't even in our planned line up, but our friend Katherine commented that it was their go to recipe so we decided to test it too.  Guys, it was SO good.  (Thank you Katherine!)

If you're looking for a good, classic roast chicken, perfectly juicy with crispy skin, definitely go with Lee Brother's recipe.  It was super easy.  You basically chop a few onions and potatoes, put them in the bottom of a pan, put the roast chicken on top and squeeze half a lemon over the chicken.  Then pop it in the oven.  After about 20 minutes, you flip the chicken and squeeze the other half of the lemon over the chicken and back into the oven it goes.  Using only lemon on the chicken makes the skin crispy and delicious. 

If you really love a simple gravy with your roast chicken, I'd recommend Ina's Jeffrey's Roast Chicken Recipe.  It's really delicious too.  If you're not a lemon lover, I'd cut the lemon way back.  In Ina's recipe, you chop onions and lemons and put them in a dish with the whole bird on top.  You roast the entire bird for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and while the chicken is resting you add some wine and chicken stock to the pan ingredients to create a simple gravy.  Super good but definitely the lemon stands out.

J.D. and I loved all of this roast chicken so much we've basically decided it's our new Sunday staple.  Basically roast chicken is SUPER easy (the entire bird looks/sounds a little intimidating) but seriously it's as easy as chopping a few things and tossing it in the oven.  It's healthy, and it's so comforting.  Even after having chicken night after night testing different recipes, J.D. and I never once got tired of having a really delish roast chicken dinner.  And finally, it's so versatile.  You can add whatever veggies you're in the mood for along side the chicken.  One night we threw in extra potatoes and quickly sautéed spinach, and another night we made rice and roasted brussels sprouts.  We usually had leftovers that I made into chicken quesadillas the following night.  Super good guys, we'd highly recommend giving a roast chicken a try if you've been intimidated in the past!  (Bonus, perfect for entertaining but you fix it and then forget about while it cooks!)

~Mary Keller

Around Here

Good morning and happy Monday everyone! Hope you guys had a nice weekend! We had a really nice weekend around here. MK and JD took a weekend trip to Charleston to celebrate their 6th anniversary. It was their first weekend away from Virginia which I'm sure was tough even though it was much needed. Looking forward to her recap, Charleston is one of my favorites.

Andy and I helped my mom and grandmother babysit Virginia here in Charlotte. It is always so wonderful to see my parents and grandparents with Virginia. It makes my heart so happy, especially the photos above with Virginia and her great grandmother Virginia!

Hope everyone has a good week!

- Heath

Happy Friday

A few things we're loving this week...

TJIF!  SO excited this weekend is here.  This week has been a quick week, but I'm ready for the weekend none the less.  A few things we're excited about right now:

Did anyone snag a piece of art at Furbish Studio's recent pop up shop is featuring artist Teil Duncan?  Holy cow those pop up shops sell out quickly!  I wasn't in the market for anything, but you know we are big fans of Teil and are thrilled for all of the publicity she's getting lately! 

Really enjoyed A Cup of Jo's post on banning the word "bossy".  Love this!  Lean In and the Girl Scouts have teamed up to lead the effort.  Why are assertive girls always labeled bossy?  (I may or may not be a little "bossy" myself! :)  (Plus, a homemade thin mint girl scout cookie recipe here!)

I attended an event called Seed 20 in Charlotte this week, and afterwards J.D. and I took advantage of Heath and Andy babysitting and had a little date night.  I'll share more on Seed 20 later, but let's just say this event left me thinking.  I was blow away hearing about so many impressive charities here in Charlotte.  Really can't wait to share more on this...

Lastly, J.D. and I are headed to Charleston this evening.  We're SO excited.  It's a much needed little escape for our anniversary.  We've got dinner plans tonight at Xiao Bao Biscuit.  I've been once with girl friends for a bachelorette party and I'm pretty much obsessed.  Virginia will be in good hands with my mom and grandmother while we're gone.  (How cute is it that my sweet little Virginia's GREAT grandmother Virginia will babysit her!!) 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!  Looking forward to catching up next week.  Fingers crossed for good Charleston weather.
~Mary Keller

Top image via Teil Duncan; Girl Scout Cookies via Bless This Mess; Xiao Bao Biscuit images via Stephanie Burt Charleston Recommendations

My Look, Her Look, Mom's Look

When I saw this skirt in the new J.Crew style guide something about it stuck with me. I just knew it could be so versatile. It's a little out of my comfort zone with the a-line fit but the fabric looks light enough to lay nicely and I love the subtle hint of black and white. It adds just enough interest to this skirt to keep it from being too little girly for me. 

Old Navy shirt, Forever 21 sunglasses, H&M scarf, Club Monaco clutch, Eddie Borgo earrings, Sole Society shoes, 

The casual concept behind this outfit was my first thought when I saw this skirt. I love love love the chambray shirt against the black and white lines. The lack of color in the skirt allows you to be more playful with color in your shoes too. I don't usually do lots of color in an outfit so I left the remaining accessories neutral but fun. 

Givenchy earrings, Soludos espadrilles, Forever 21 sunglasses, H&M sweater,
Clare Vivier bag

 If I'm being honest this may be a little out of MK's comfort zone but I think it would be such a cute casual option for her transitioning to spring. The flats are easy to wear and I kept the accessories minimal(because Virginia is in a grabbing earrings phase)with cute stud earring, big sunglasses and a giant bag to house anything and everything she needs to carry these days. 

TopShop blazer and top, Forever 21 sunglasses, Kate Spade earrings, and Club Monaco pumps

This outfit was my second thought, when I saw this skirt. Black and white is a classic combination so I thought it would be so pretty to play up the traditional lines and colors here. Paired with a classic nude/blush pump(to elongate your leg) and a fitted blazer this is a classic outfit without being boring at all. 

Like I mentioned here, I struggle with the concept of dressing for work and for the weekend so I loved that this skirt has the ability to be worn on the weekend with either of the top outfits above but could also be worn in a more corporate environment just like in mom's look. Bonus - if it's still chilly where you live I think the crisp white would look great against black tights right now. I also think this skirt would be so cute worn with a silk top for an evening out. You could keep it classic with black or add a color, mint or jewel tone would especially pretty. I think it's such a versatile piece! What do you think?

- Heath

Backyard Dreaming

One of the things J.D. and I really wanted to get done around here this winter was plans for some work in our backyard.   When we did our kitchen renovation, we added French doors out to the backyard which I totally LOVE, but that of course drew more attention to our little backyard.  Our backyard is tiny, as in really tiny, almost didn't buy the house tiny.   Since living here, I've come to really love our tiny backyard.  Tiny yards are kinda the norm near us and yard work is really no fun other than on the first pretty spring day of the season.  So, instead of wishing of a bigger yard, we've decided to try to give our small yard more of a garden (a Charleston garden if I'm really dreaming) feel.  We met with someone this week and have plans in the works.  We have a super old "carriage house" that really is more like a dilapidated shed back there now.  Our plan is to shrink the size of this shed and add an outdoor fireplace and plants to give it more of that charming Charleston garden feel.  These images are our inspiration, and even though I know our end result won't be as beautiful, they still have me daydreaming...

~Mary Keller

Back to Basics: Black Pants

I think I've found the perfect pair of black pants! You're probably sick of hearing by now that Heath and I are in major closet rebuilding mode over here. We're both trying to get all of our basics so then seasonally we can just add a few fun things. You guys, I didn't even have black pants, that's how bare my closet had gotten. That's pretty bad. I had a boss come in town to travel with me (which was fun b/c I really enjoy my boss!) but it's terrible that I really didn't even have a single pair of black pants to wear that week! I really think I've found the perfect pair for me.

I'm obsessed with JCrew's Black Pixie, and I got the pair with the zipper detail.  (Bonus, they're on sale now!)  Reason's I love them: I can wear them with just about any shoe- flats, heels, sandals, boots, etc.,  That's huge to me.  I hate pants that require a heel or certain type of shoe.  They're stretchy so they are super comfy.  I usually rush out of my work clothes when I get home from work.  I find myself not minding staying in these all evening.  That's good news for J.D. to not find me already in my pajamas when he gets home from work.  I think they can be dressed up for work or even worn with a casual top for the weekend.  And I love the little zipper detail, but they are available without and the zippers are easy to hide with a longer top.  Anyone else have a good go to recommendation for basic pants??

~Mary Keller

Around Here

Happy Monday everyone!  Did you all have a good weekend?  We had another weekend of perfect weather around here.  (Don't y'all think we've really lucked out with weekend weather lately?  I know that the weather has been so up and down and crazy, but it seems like things are always so beautiful on the weekend.)  We had a super laid back weekend.  It was the first that I didn't really feel rushed in a while.  Saturday J.D. and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary!  He surprised me Saturday morning with flowers and took me and Virginia out for raspberry and walnut pancakes!  Saturday evening we stayed put and tested a roast chicken for a little anniversary dinner.  Sunday we tried out a few things for breakfast that I picked up from Luna's Living Kitchen (love this place!) and then spent a little time at the park.

Heath's weekend was even more low key.  She played nurse to Andy all weekend.  He had shoulder surgery last week and it was quite the operation.  Fingers are crossed he's feeling better soon.

Hope everyone has a good week!  We've got fun plans Tuesday night and Heath's on babysitting duty. :) (Thanks Aunt Heath!!)

~Mary Keller

Photo Diary | Savannah

As I mentioned last Friday, we spent the weekend in Savannah celebrating the wedding of one of my friends from college. We had so much fun, it's such an easy weekend trip for any Charlotte folks! I snapped some pictures below if you'd like to see…

Welcome March

How is it already March you guys? I don't know about you but I'm feeling a little blue with all this cold weather so I'm channelling those feelings into some pretty blue products for now…

Teil Duncan Storm Cloud; Clare Vivier clutch; NARS eye shadow pencil; Rebecca Atwood Blue Leaves; Issa maxi dress; Tod's peep toe wedges; Loren Hope earrings; Chanel nail polish

Perfect this Recipe: Roast Chicken

This season's pick for the recipe we want to "perfect" is a simple roast chicken.  It just seems like one of those dishes I should be able to whip out beautifully.  For times like when you have family friends over or your mother in law is in town, it would be nice to be able to cook a perfect roast chicken without giving it much thought.  I think a really good roast chicken is actually supposed to be really easy to make.  We've picked 5 recipes to test that each get rave reviews. 

So here's our line up with recipe links:

Jamie Oliver's "Perfect Roast Chicken."  Jamie Oliver is becoming a favorite around here so I'm betting this one has a strong chance.  He uses carrots, celery, onions and garlic to flavor his.

 

Smitten Kitchen's Flat Roasted Chicken.  This one definitely seems to be the simplest and requires little time.  Her recipe was Parisian inspired which makes it a win in my book.  I think it's important to use a small bird (about 3.5lbs) for this one.

 

Glamour Magazine's "Engagement Chicken."  This recipe is rumored to make men fall in love and propose.  How romantic. :)

 

Ina Garten's "Jeffery's Roast Chicken."  You know how much I love Ina.  She roasts a chicken for Jeffrey every Friday night so I'm thinking this has to be good.  Cute little tradition I think!

 

Café Zuni's Chicken.  I've seen this roast chicken mentioned a million places, raved about from lots of bloggers and even the New York Times deems it the best so we shall see!

 



Each of these use different techniques.  Of course, they are all roasted, but some of these recipes use high temps, some low, some have quite a few things to season the chicken, and others just simple salt and olive oil.  So I'm really curious to figure out which one wins out.  Over the next two weeks we'll be testing each of these contenders.  We'd love if you do the same to share which one you love.  If you already have a go to recipe please share.  We'll take notes and report back on which one is best.

 



p.s. As far has past perfect recipe results, we can say definitively that Jamie Oliver's pizza dough really is the best.  It is our Friday night staple in this house and is a tried and true go to.  And for Fish Tacos, Cooking Light's Blackened Baja tacos are the clear winner.

~Mary Keller

Images via Jamie's Oliver and Lucy Dylan Weddings

Around Here

Did everyone have a good weekend?  Yesterday was beautiful!  Perfect weekend weather!  Heath and Andy had a really fun weekend.  They had a quick little visit to Savannah for a friend's wedding.  Friday night included pizza and beer at Vinnie Van GoGos.  Saturday started with the best breakfast at Back in the Day Bakery (they highly recommend) and then they walked around beautiful downtown.  That evening they met up with their College of Charleston crew for the wedding and reception.  Sounds like it was a really beautiful evening.  (Heath plans to share more Savannah pics later one!) 

J.D., Virginia and I did just the opposite and laid low.  We got so much done around here.  Saturday Virginia attended her first birthday party.  She wasn't sure what to think at first but then showed off smiling and showing everyone that she now knows how to touch her toes.  We also finally got our kitchen pendant hung.  Woohoo for finally getting around to finishing the last little things our kitchen renovation!

Hope everyone has a good week!  Virginia starts daycare this week so it may be a tough one for both of us!  (She's been at home with a nanny but we finally got in a program.  Bittersweet.)
~Mary Keller