{ hello munday }

{source: eat // me, adorn // helen norman, win // make&mingle, make // oh so lovely! via my girl thursday} 

eat // yummy gfree apple crisp! w+i took a trip to a u-pick apple orchard a few weeks back w/ friends chris and faith. fyi - apple picking is a september activity. we were there when the trees were very limited. but we collected enough to make a yummy gfree apple crisp. click here for the recipe (modified from betty crocker).

adorn // your thanksgiving table w/ these fantastic ideas via southern living! i teased last week that too many of my friends are skipping from halloween directly to christmas. but i'm all about thanksgiving and i am a teeny bit sad that we won't be hosting a thanksgiving of our very own. (remember - we'll be in hawaii visiting my sister + her hubs and little boys. that's why it's just a "teeny bit".) maybe i can sneak an heirloom pumpkin or two on the plane. oh - i kid.

win // a lovely giveaway teaser! TOMORROW we're having a fun-tastic giveaway here on the blog from the lovely ladies @ make&mingle. i'm pretty stinkin' excited. and you should be too. so please stop back by tomorrow for all the details!

make // this adorable bow diy by oh so lovely on my girl thursday today. w+i went to a wedding saturday night {congrats, rachel + mike} and i struggled big time w/ my hair. and finally gave in and wore it the usual boring way. time to google some hair-torials. wouldn't these little bows be a fun addition as well? and they make it soooo easy-peasy. yes please.

{source: share // darlingmagazine, gift // korin, listen // david nail}

share // have you checked out darlingmagazine? a sweet twitter friend shared this lovely site last week {thanks, hé ré}. 1) choose your personality. 2) explore! no worries if you have multiple personalities - apparently me too. loving all the posts about "the hostess", "the dreamer" & "the achiever" ... then again ALL of the articles are super great reads. do check it out.

gift // these adorable mugtails from korin featured in real simple this month. adorable (and i'm not the only person to think so ... due to overwhelming demand you wouldn't be gift these until february 2012). if there was such thing as a city animal, nashville's would be the squirrel. i prefer them in my dishware - rather than in real life. and bonus: wouldn't these go sweetly w/ last year's squirrel nutcracker?

listen // david nail's new album is in stores tomorrow! and w+i are thrilled out of our minds. yup. we love him. he's country, yes ... but he's also bluesy cool. i played his last album straight for about 3mo. really have high hopes for this album as well. and just in time for 7hrs of listening (aka our flight to hawaii NEXT week!)

the tree ring ...

a lovely video to wrap up your friday ...

{hello munday}

eat // mushrooms! we're meal planning, people! in an effort to grocery shop wiser, i sat down yesterday w/ the calendar and planned out this weeks menu. we happen to be eating 2 meals w/ mushrooms this week: portobello mushroom pizzas (yum!) and a new italian chix crock pot meal later this week.

but by this time next week ... we should be able to eat 1 very special mushroom meal. we'll be harvesting our first batch of oyster mushrooms. one of wade'sfriends from his stint in boston sent us 2 back to the roots' mushroom kits as a wedding/anniversary gift. have you heard of this!?!

i'm still a little shy of fresh grown mushrooms. but wade is sooooo excited. and carefully watches our crop daily! :)

wear // lace this fall w/ the perfect silk blouse or a little knit dress or the perfect little sweater. okay okay - it's true i'm a sucker for lace + ivory. so this is RIGHT up my alley! love.

{source: we heart it}

make // pretty little cake bunting w/ a bit of scrapbook paper + a glue stick, a bit of yarn or ribbon and 2 tiny dowel rods. this weekend we celebrated wade's big birthday. finally he and i are the same age again. ;)

*** inspired by the darling bunting on this yummy looking cake photographed by call me cupcake. now to learn to make cakes so lovely!

buy // an alphabet stamper like this one from sculpey. then ... take on this adorable diy catch-all plate via a brooklyn limestone in progress. a complete "ah ha" moment. and definitely a necessity for my upcoming pottery class, wouldn't you agree!?! :)

{souce: amazon & a brooklyn limestone in progress}

listen // the new jeff bridges album. i'm just going to admit that i find jeff bridges to be hot, hot, hot. i know he could be my grandpa. ha. so i'm pretty smitten w/ the new bluesy country sound of his album released earlier this month. have you had a listen? have one here!

{source: Dustin Cohen}

happy munday, folks! :)

music saves mountains ...

i mentioned before that wade and i volunteered at bonnaroo this past weekend w/ the nrdc. to tell you the truth - i wasn't too familiar w/ the cause until we arrived. now i'm rather passionate and had to share w/ you all.

we worked a tent for "music saves mountains" - bringing awareness to mountaintop removal coal mining.

what is mountaintop removal?

instead of extracting coal from underground, mountaintop removal blasts away mountain peaks to access the coal underneath. today, there have been over 500 peaks destroyed (devastation the size of the state of delaware), cleared over a million acres, and over 2500 local rivers and streams have been buried from debris from the blasts - polluting drinking water with toxic waste and sacrificing the safety of countless communities. the economy of appalachia has also been greatly affected. in the last 30 years, mountaintop removal in west virginia has increased production by 140% while eliminating more than 40,000 jobs.

{source: steve shames / j henry fair}

the appalachian mountains are america's oldest mountains filled w/ fresh streams & rivers that have for hundreds of years provide millions of americans w/ clean drinking water. with the future of america's oldest mountains at stake, singers and musicians have come together to fight for these cherished mountains where american music and countless songs were born.

the nrdc premiered the film "the last mountain" on thursday night and then again inside our makeshift mountain/chill zone at sundown throughout the rest of the weekend (until our projector was stolen. boo hiss.). it is a documentary on the battle over one of these mountains:

this issue hits home, nashvillians! over 250 mountains have been blown to smithereens in kentucky. nashville, tn is directly downstream from this destruction.

our goal at bonnaroo was to get the word out and get people involved by petitioning the president to change the legislation. find out more about the issues here. and be sure to sign on w/ the cause here.

music city!

nashville is always all about music - but this week it's OVER THE TOP. we've earned our nickname "music city" w/ both CMA music fest and bonnaroo in town. i'm about to jump head first into the madness for the CMT awards tonight. then saturday, wade and i leave bright and early to catch the final 2 days of bonnaroo.

{the cmt awards!}

both present the perfect people watching opportunities. here's to fanny pack clad rednecks ... followed by smelly bra-less hippies!

hopefully i can find time for a good ol' blog post in between!

{photo courtesy: whitney bell}

{french kissed} la vie en rose

oh sweet pomplamoose ... thank you for being my background music while i am stiiiiiiiillll working on our wedding book. xo.

angry birds addicted? not me. but definitely my sweet husband, wade. check out their latest.

{shop} bugs!

apparently tennessee is about to be hit by a major cicada infestation. the 13 year cicadas are coming! think alfred hitchcock's the birds but w/ less (intentional) eye plucking and BIG BUGS. sick-ada! (yes - i just came up with that!)

only a tiny bit better than the real thing ... anyone brave enough to wear these magiciada earrings from modcloth:

{click to shop}

i would so rather be attacked by these lovely bugs any day:

{click to shop!}

1 // anthropologie petite critters cards
2 //anthropologie watercolor peony wallpaper
3 // ruche fluttering on a rose necklace
4 // modcloth dragonfly dress
5 // my lavaliere @ etsy birds and the bees ring
6 // urban outfitters butterfly rug

and just because ...

{listen} the honey trees ...

i'm sleepy today. no amount of green tea can kick it. i went home at lunch to photograph a little project wade and i finished recently. and then walked out the door w/ out my camera. as i said - i'm sleepy today!

so instead of a post on our project - i'll share a little cover of "moon river" by the honey trees. i'd love to just crawl in bed and listen to this sweet song on loop:

ps - i'm absolutely in love w/ that couch!

{whatever wednesday} on a thursday ...

i love a good mashup to get me through my humpday ... or my thursday. this week feels ridiculously off a day! :) enjoy.

dj earworm - like, omg baby

french kissed: alexandre desplat

did you watch the oscars?!?

we watched a bit. remember how we don't have cable - just digital tv and a broken pair of bunny ears? well - we could only get clear reception if i had my hand raised high above my head. i gave it a go (even raised my feet for a while) ... and finally we settled on 28.1 (ion) to watch "good fellas" for the umpteenth time this month.

obviously - we need to see the king's speech! that movie is sweeping the floors this year. which brings me to today's french kissed: alexandre desplat

{source: the associated press}

you probably haven't heard of him ... but i guarantee you've heard his work. the french movie composer has scored several successful films including syriana, fantastic mr. fox, the curious case of benjamin button, the king's speech and my personal favorite coco avant chanel.

it's a rainy awful day outside today in perfect need of a soundtrack. sit back, relax ... and enjoy this tiny sampling of alexandre desplat:

1) dreamcatcher: the twilight saga: new moon
2) the engagement: birth
3) children's games: the curious case of benjamin button
4) sunrise on lake ponchartrain: the curious case of benjamin button
5) the meadow: the twilight sage: new moon
6) river waltz: the painted veil
7) lovegood: harry potter and the deathly hallows

what i'm listening to: lissie

last night wade and i stayed out past 8 ... on a week night! unbelievable, right? way out of our norm ... though i think we both are itching to get out more often.

we went to dinner at wild wasabi in cummins station w/ new friends faith and chris. best egg roll i have ever had. yum! then, the four of us walked to mercy lounge to catch dylan leblanc and lissie in concert.

um ... i have COMPLETELY been missing out. lissie - love her!

a pint-sized powerhouse {voice and stage presence} from illinois --- what's not to love! (oh that's right - my home sweet home!). singer/songwriter/guitarist lissie, accompanied by 2-man band: second guitar player and drummer/bassist (that's right he played bass AND high hat,kick drum), provides an intimate jam session ... part garage band, part gospel throw down. check out her 5 song ep why you runnin and her debut album catching a tiger.

and look a free download of her song "in sleep (live)" - that's right i said LIVE. unbelievable.

french kissed: carla bruni

wade and i have dedicated each tuesday and thursday evening to a french lesson. loving rosetta stone! we're 3 chapters into unit 1 of disc 1 - and already feel like we've learned quite a bit. super exciting.

so today's "french kissed" dives further into my obsession w/ french music. introducing carla bruni. {okay okay - i'm definitely behind on the times!}

italian-born french singer/songwriter and former supermodel who is married to the president of the france, ring any bells?

{isn't she gorgeous!?!}

carla bruni was born in turin, italy on december 23rd, 1968. when she was 7, her family moved to paris (reportedly to escape the threat of kidnapping!) and she attended boarding school in switzerland.

her mother marisa borini was a celebrated concert pianist. and she was raised by alberto bruni tedeschi a classical composer. (in a 2008 interview w/ vanity fair, bruni revealed that her biological father was an italian classical guitarist, maurizio remmert, who had a six-year affair w/ her mother.) she was influenced by chopin, schubert and mahler under the guidance of her parents. yet also influenced by the music of the 70s, she fell in love with french pop icon serfe gainsbourg, british legends such as the beatles and the rolling stones and american idol bob dylan.

she became one of the most sought after fashion models and was featured in business age's list of 20 most highest-paid models. she worked for chanel, christian dior, givenchy and prada. and was romantically linked with rockstars mick jagger, eric clapton, business mogul donald trump, and actor kevin costner among others. (she was quoted to be "bored with monogamy" and to believe that "love lasts a long time, but burning desire - two to three weeks".)

bruni said goodbye to the world of fashion in 1998. and in 2002, her debut album quelqu'un m'a dit released. in 2007, her second album no promises released containing poems by william butler yeats, emily dickinson, w. h. auden, dorothy parker, walter de la mare, and christina rosetti set to music. and in 2008, she married french president nicolas sarkozy.

so since this is "french kissed" let's focus on her debut album. an intimate acoustic album produced by french guitarist louis bertignac (another former lover!). the album was a huge success - selling over 2 million copies worldwide.

{bio references: all music guide & wikipedia, photos courtesy: www.france24.com}

enjoy.

french kissed: playlist

remember how i had secretly deep down wanted "rosetta stone: french" though it was ridiculously out of our christmas price range? well - wade surprised me with it!!! {i can't believe i'm just getting around to blogging about this now!}

we've just begun to dive into lessons - and i have just begun to dive further into my french obsession. "french kissed" my french inspired posts.

for your listening pleasure ...

and perfect timing - while you listen, check out the guide to paris via freepeople:

{click the image or here}