Amanda + John get hitched!

This past weekend my best friend of 20 years, Amanda, got married to the love her life, John, in our hometown of Bethlehem, PA. I felt so honored to not only be one of her bridesmaids but also the singer during her ceremony at the beautiful St. Simon & St. Jude church. (You really can't beat the acoustics in an old church) After the "I dos" we headed to the Historic Hotel Bethlehem for drinking, dancing and all around wedding merriment. It was a fantastic day! 

Our gorgeous bride walked down the aisle in a custom made Amsale gown. The belt was to die for!

The men (Jake, Kyle, Weston and Neil) seriously dressed for the occasion!

Posing with the Bride + Groom after their ceremony!

I was head over heels for the gorgeous bouquets we carried. The oranges and reds really popped against our chocolate brown bridesmaid dresses. 

Also two of my favorites from the iPhone photos I snapped ....

Kate Makes: A 15ft Wall Unit (ok... Paul Makes it)

Well, Monday came and went and now my Kate Makes post is LATE. Oy. But hopefully this makes up for it... 

While most 20-somethings who are out to furnish their first apartments flock to big box stores like Ikea, Target and West Elm, I head... well, home. To my sweet and talented Daddy. 

Below is a sketch I drew out in one of my moleskin journals back in early June. Because our apartment is lacking in square footage, I knew I needed a work horse of a wall unit. It had to function not only as a bookshelf, but also as kitchen and office storage and as two clothing wardrobes. And it had to fit EXACTLY along our living room wall. No one but my Dad could build it. Everyday I wake up and smile as I walk by and see the stacks of music books and nicknacks that now live on this massive piece of furniture made with LO and VE by none other than Pauly C. :)

Two months and an incredible number of hours of hard work later by my incredible daddy (with assistant from Jake and my mom) - here is what we got!

Some details of our living room below...  our favorite chair from Aunt Hortie and my Jonathan Adler pillow (from the back and front) a peek into Jake's wardrobe, my favorite moment framed, my new clutch from Roberta Freyman, my sacred Domino Magazine collection, my children's book selection and the Ampersand Jake gave me a few years ago, a few of my favorite owls, and Rufus (our Rhino's profile!) ....

Kate Makes: Her famous Banana Bread

Second post in our Kate Makes series... realizing now both have been doughy and require bananas. Oh well, will mix it up next week! But thought you really all should know about this awesome recipe. 

For the past few years I have been harboring a secret recipe for outstanding banana bread.  It's delicious. It's moist. It's so freakin' easy you wouldn't even believe it!

I am not a baker. Not at all. But this recipe makes me look like Betty Crocker. When I look for a recipe I use google (even though I own a silly amount of beautiful cook books) and my search usually looks something like "easiest recipe for [insert food]" or "simplest recipe for [insert food]". 

That is exactly how I stumbled across the recipe below. Now, before I share the recipe I will give you a few of my very own tips. Use the ripest bananas you can. The shmushier, the better. Also add more bananas than the recipe calls for. And last but not least substitute brown sugar for white sugar and don't be shy with the chocolate chips (or in this case, semi-sweet chocolate chunks!) Ok, go.

Found on: Simply Recipes

Poor Jake. I make him wait for what probably feels like an eternity to eat his banana bread so I can snap the perfect photo. And then I take pictures of him while he is trying to enjoy it. 

Meet: Olive

This is Olive. Olive Elbrick.

She is a poodle. She is stunning. 

She lives on Tiemann and she knows it. 

Her room mates are two of the most beautiful ladies we know.

She likes birdies and bacon that falls from the heavens.

She doesn't make Jake sneeze.

She's just the dreamiest pup.

the end.

drive-by compliment... try it.

Have you ever been walking down the street or riding on the subway when a pair of shoes, or a fabulous bag or someone's beautiful hair catches your eye? No? Yes?

This happens to me constantly. Everyday I encounter fabulous people wearing incredible shoes whipping around Pantene Pro-V hair all of whom are living right here in New York City. So, recently I've started doing something fun... or maybe it's totally bizarre. You decide.

I compliment strangers. It takes only a second.

"Love your shoes!"

"Awesome skirt!"

"You're hair looks gorgeous!"

By the time I've said it, they've usually walked past me. Hence the name, drive-by compliment. I'm thinking it, so why not say it? I like to think that in some little way I make someone's day better. Even if just for a second.

 

Give it a try.

***photo credit from the fantastic Satorialist***

Flashback: November 2008

This morning I was feeling rather reminiscent. And this morning I am glad that back in November 2008 I was such a dedicated blogger. Jake and I had been only dating for about six months. I had bangs. It was Thanksgiving. You can see the whole post here: Maybe We're In Love - and if you're feeling reallly reminiscent you can view the past four years here: Apartment 10... I took a screen shot of the post, it makes me giggle. 

Our first place...

APARTMENT 6E 

Is teeny... approximately 400 square feet. Back in April when we started our apartment hunt we had quite the "must-have" list... it included finding a building with an elevator and laundry, with an on-site super, a dishwasher, good closet space, a true one-bedroom - not a studio, not a junior... on our desired block on the UWS oh - and all within the strict price range we had set for ourselves.

It. Was. Not. Easy. But then we found this place that was literally across the street from our old place. 

And this apartment checked all of our boxes, every single one. It just happened to arrive in a tinier package than earlier anticipated by moi. 

This floor plan is deceiving. It looks giant! I can assure - it's not. But, oddly enough once we started putting our furniture in, it started to look bigger rather than smaller. It remained open and airy wand yet became cozy. The natural light is incredible. Windows in every room flood the space with sunshine all day long. There are three closets, which means... I got a linen closet! Woo! I have to say, I really don't mind sharing this space with my room mate because he's pretty amazing. And the open floor plan allows said room mate to cook up incredible meals while watching TV. He's pumped. 

We've been living here for 2 months. And a lot has been accomplished. I can't wait to share our little love nest with you over the next few weeks. 

I've got Halloween on my mind....

Straying away from apartment decor and wedding to-do's this afternoon...

Even though it's not yet October I am already on the hunt for the perfect, puppy dog costume for the little boy I nanny. I am not a fan of store-bought halloween costumes. I think it has something to do with the shiny fabrics. I always imagine myself dressing my future babes in home-made costumes... the problem is - I don't sew, or knit or crochet. So maybe I will go for the home-made in someone else's home vibe.

Enter: Etsy

Today I stumbled across the most adorable knitted animal hats found at the SweetPeaToad shop. They could be easily be paired with every day clothes to create a toddler's halloween costume and then used for the rest of winter. This Little Lamb hat killed me. The cute factor was just too much to take. I had to share...

And I mean... can it get any cuter?? Little Lion also found on SweetPeaToad



***Also worth noting - Pottery Barn Kids has a brand new line of Halloween Costumes for babies and children. Baby Shark is my favorite. ***

Apartment Tour: Sneak Peak

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting the floor plan and photos of our new teeny-tiny NYC apartment. There is still a lot of reorganizing, reconfiguring, rethinking and re-imagining going on over here, but for now enjoy a few pics I shot last friday while waiting for the pancakes to bubble and turn golden brown.