It's so hard to say goodbye

Our VERY good friends Kelly & Todd had a going away barbecue for us this past weekend. It was SO NICE and thoughtful! And DELICIOUS!!

Here is a link to Kelly's blog where she posted some photos and her YUMMY menu (Check out the super cute sunflower cupcakes!)

Thanks Kelly, Todd, Gracyn & Tucker!!

Meant To Be The Lees

Affair with a chair

I have an obsession with the Louis Ghost chair by Philippe Starck. I've been wanting one since I saw it in a magazine about 5 years ago. I think it would look PERFECT with our antique desk that was given to us by Dave's Mom when we got married.


Here is an old picture of the desk:


Notice the ugly folding chair I use now? It's still there - so I NEED a new chair. :) I think I am going to use the desk in our kitchen/family room/nook area for my own personal desk once we are set up in the new house.

That's my goal right now. Find myself a job to get myself the chair!

Cleaning out the freezer.

I am trying to clean out my freezer & fridge before the big move. I found a beef brisket that I am making today with this recipe that I got on AllRecipes.com. My mother-in-law makes a FANTASTIC brisket recipe and I would normally use it, but thought I'd give this one a try on the frozen brisket. Her recipe really deserves a fresh one. :)

Brisket with BBQ Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
4 pounds lean beef brisket
2 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring
1 tablespoon onion salt
1 tablespoon garlic salt

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Pour liquid smoke over brisket. Rub with onion salt and garlic salt. Roll brisket in foil and refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Place brisket in a large roasting pan. Cover and bake for 5 to 6 hours. Remove from oven, cool, and then slice. Put slices back into pan.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, ketchup, butter, water, celery salt, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir, and cook until boiling.
4. Pour sauce over meat slices in pan. Cover and bake for 1 more hour.

Let the moving begin!

We have been in the midst of a move, so I haven't been keeping my personal blog up-to-date. But the good news is that we BOUGHT A HOUSE!



Over the next few weeks we will be finalizing everything and then I can get back to my decorating fantasies! I also started a new blog about moving to Northern Virginia: new2nova.blogspot.com. See you when the dust settles!

Home Alone

I am all by myself this week - Dave is gone for work. These are my plans for the week:

• Go to the gym (I've been slacking).
• Pack for Hawaii.
• Go to my favorite new store in Saint John - Je Suis Prest. It's a great new store in Brunswick Square for trendy ladies. She's got a great selection of designer clothing for younger women. I only wish she had opened the store 4 years ago - but I probably would've gone broke. :)
• Make some cookies. And try not to eat them all by myself.
• Take my adopted friend Tucker for a walk or two.
• Clean the house before leaving on Friday!
• Rent a couple of chick flicks

So those are my plans so far...it's great to have an easy going week - but I miss Dave! He keeps me motivated. :)

I forgot to mention that I had my last day at Little Bundles last week. I am still going to work a few shifts here and there if time permits, but I thought I would need some time to get moving chores done - if we EVER move!! Don't get me started on Dave's company - they are ticking me off right now. Hopefully I will have some good news about the move soon.

I Heart NY!

I just got back from an ALL-TOO-QUICK weekend in NYC with my Mom! We went on a mission to find dresses for all of the upcoming weddings this summer! And I found 3! I am super happy with my finds but will post those later when I have time to model them. :)

Here are a couple things we did while visiting the Big Apple.

• Dinner at Osteria Del Circo - where we sat next to THE Woody Allen. No joke. It was very cool!
• West Side Story - one of the best musicals of ALL TIME! The dancing was spectacular - and it was a great show!
• South Pacific - also one of the best musicals of ALL TIME! It was GREAT! Definitely one of my favorite Broadway shows - and I've seen A LOT of them.
• A fabulous lunch at Le Pain Quotidien with my good friend Susan and old roommate Rachel - I miss those girls! That was the first time I have eaten at PQ and it was great - I am so excited that there are several in the Washington, D.C. area too so I can go again once we move.
• LOTS of shopping at Bloomingdales, Barney's, Saks, Lord & Taylor, and the many shops surrounding Rockefeller Center...we didn't venture out of Midtown this trip because we were on a mission. Next time we will have to hit SoHo.
• We stayed at The Blakely, one of our favorite hotels. It's small, quiet, and perfectly situated near shopping & shows!

I just love NYC - I am so excited that I will be able to get back there more often once we move this spring. Here are a few pictures of us enjoying spring in New York.

Let the whirlwind begin!

This week is the start of my crazy spring/summer/fall...

It all begins with a trip to NYC this week. I am going with my Mom. We are planning on doing a lot of shopping and going to a few shows - We have tickets to West Side Story & South Pacific! It will be great.

We are staying at our favorite small hotel in NYC - The Blakely (http://www.blakelynewyork.com/). It can be hard to find a hotel that makes you feel comfortable in NY. Plus, there are so many to choose from. This one is small, homey and we love going back.

Then I am back in Canada for a weekend, and then it's off to NASHVILLE for my cousin's wedding.

Then I am back in Canada for a weekend, and it's off to MAUI for Dave's brother's wedding. Busy, Busy, Busy.

I am also supposed to move back to the U.S. sometime during the next month. Not sure when or how that's going to happen but I am an optimist - I am sure it will all work out. I can't wait to post about my upcoming house hunt. I just hope we are able to find something we are happy with/can afford.

Here's a pic of one of the Blakely's rooms - I love getting design ideas from hotel room pics. I really like the dark moulding around the tray ceiling.