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Have you ever forgotten a sauce or turned on a burner and walked away only to come back to a burned-on mess? I did this yesterday to my gorgeous and somewhat new saute pan and thought all was lost. I attempted to us a de-glaze method, but that still left some brown makings and residue. I was so bummed because I really thought my pan would never be the same. I was about to start the waterworks when I remembered that I had used vinegar in the past to remove smudges and white residue from my pans and decided that it was worth a try. After about a minute of scrubbing with white vinegar, the pan looked shiny and new--with no brown spots to speak of. I was so happy. This may be something that everyone already knows, and I am the last one to figure it out, but I thought I would share anyway. I really love vinegar- even though my husband things it stinks. I have used it to clean floor sticky spots, rinse chlorine/shampoo residue from my hair and even to conquer a wicked case of stinky feet one time when mere soap couldn't cut it. Anyone else know some handy unexpected uses for vinegar, or any other cool tips like this?

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Menu:

Pumpkin Soup

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Parmesan Garlic Roasted Butternut Squash

Mini Cheddar and Gruyere Au Gratins

Brussels Sprouts with Fried Shallots

Pancetta and Sage-Butter Rubbed Turkey

Gravy and Cranberry sauce

Apple Pie

Pumpkin Ice Cream Torte

I have an ambitious menu planned and 15 mouths to feed for my first Thanksgiving, and I am very excited. I am heading home early today to brine my turkey and put the finishing touches on my decor and table settings!

I hope everyone has a lovely holiday and can enjoy the long weekend spent with family and friends-or however you choose to spend the time.

Dining Room Update-mini post

Not sure If I have already shared this, but we painted our dining room Navy Blue. The way this coordinates with the new living room furniture makes me so excited about the way everything works together. The green throw pillows on the couches pop even more against the navy backdrop in the distance. I thought I would share pictures of the dining room. I need to re-cover the chairs and choose a rug, but otherwise, I am pretty happy with how it looks. Plus my Vera Wang vase looks so great with Hydrangea from my yard- they have stayed green for over month now and even though I am pretty sure they are dead- they look fabulous.

House Update

We have been in our house now for about a month and a half and we are making some progress!
Last week, our living room couches arrived and against all sane advice and a lot of your wise council- we stuck with the white! They look really great, and although I am sure there will be stains in my future, we do have a stain warranty, where they remove stains or replace the couch. The coffee table also looks great, and I am beginning to dress the room with accessories and make it feel complete. I got some green pillow covers at Pottery Barn that I LOVE- but they were really overpriced, so I feel a little guilty about them. I also got an end table and will try to get some pictures of the room when I get more done. I really need to replace the floral curtains that are in that area right now because they are pretty awful.

We also made some progress in the past few days in the nursery! Big Guy worked all weekend with his Dad to put up the moulding/molding and it looks really goo. The pictures aren't that great because I was taking them at strange angles, but I think you get the idea. Additionally, we ripped up the carpet to expose wood floors that are in decent shape! There are a couple gouges in the center of the room, and eventually we will need to refinish the floor, but for now- an area rug will hide the scrapes and scratches and we will try to clean them up and make them look as good as possible. Big guy spent a few hours last night pulling staples and when I got home from running my million errands he surprised me with a staple free floor! This means that we can clean up, build the crib and start moving stuff into the nursery! I can't wait to see how it all comes together. I am really happy with how it looks so far.

Things I love right now...non-baby related

Pumpkin Soup, or anything pumpkin for that matter, bread, ravioli, cheesecake, pasta creme sauce, infused butter, jam, ice cream, candles, decor....I am in autumnal heaven.

Longchamp's Le Pliage Navy Medium Tote. It is only about $100-$130 and I don't know why I don't already own it. Pennies are being pinched these days, however, and every time I go to get one for myself I think of a thousand other things I should be spending money on before this...but I love it!!! Maybe this could be on my Christmas list.

Gap's Cozy Sweater from last year---I have it in Black and one in Ivory, but they are are ratty because I wore them so often. I was hoping to get new ones this year- BUT I CAN"T FIND THEM AT GAP!!!!!!!!!!! KIKI WHERE ARE THEY---PLEASE HELP!!! Tell Gap to bring them back!!! I need a LONG BLACK TURTLENECK SWEATER!!!! Trust me- I do! Every morning when I wake up and it is freezing in Chicago (well... now, the suburbs of Chicago) all I want to put on is a fresh Gap Cozy Sweater! They were long enough to be comfy and so so soft. They are heaven, and I need more. Kiki- are there any versions of this slated for this year???

Thanksgiving centerpieces. I love Autumn and Thanksgiving and I love decorating for the holiday. I can wait to think of creative ideas to dress the table and spruce up the house now that I am hosting Thanksgiving this year.

I know....So cliche, but I am wearing them right now and they are so cozy that they almost make me forget that I don't have a new Gap Cozy sweater....

Fresh flowers...and this vase. I love this look-- Even though it is a bit off season, I think it is still OK to say one last good bye to nice weather and have a bright floral arrangement in the house- You needn't stick to just browns and golds and oranges just because it is cold outside. I was at the store the other day and saw a gorgeous spread in the floral section of Blue hydrangea, bright yellow callas, purple Iris, and happy white fluffy spider mums. I wanted to go nuts and get a whole slew of beauties, but again....penny pinching.....

Belted sweaters. How cute are these? I really wish I wasn't getting too fat for my skinny jeans because this sort of sweater would look so cute with my riding boots and jeans....and maybe a matching tam and a bright scarf.

Hotel-like guest rooms. I love the soothing, calm and posh look of this room. I think it is from one of Gwyneth Paltrow's houses. I get to decorate the guest room in our new house since we just bought a new bed and we are moving ours to the guest room. This means new curtains, maybe some fabric on the walls, new bedding...maybe a basket for guest toiletries??? Ohhh- I hate penny pinching! Maybe this is worth a little spending.....

Fun fabrics and furniture. I love that I can finally start picking things out for my home. It all costs a pretty penny, but it becomes more permanent and real when you can pick things out for a home that you know you are going to be in for a while. I am loving this bench for my porch or entryway!

Monday Monday

This is the big week!!! Wish me luck and keep Big Guy and me in your thoughts and/or prayers!

I will try to remember to take lots of pictures of this next week to share with all of you and I will let you know what we find out at the Doctor's appointment. I am pretty worn out from being sick last week and packing all weekend, but I am doing my best to remember to take it easy and try to relax and that some things aren't worth stressing over. We got a dining set as a gift from Big Guy's parents and it looks pretty great! It was a great deal on Craigslist and a real lucky find since I am not sure of we would have been able to afford to get a nice one for a while, since we have a pretty long list of to-dos for our 100 year old house!!! I couldn't find a good picture to show you, but the people that we bought it from are selling their house so I just grabbed the picture from their real estate listing since it showed the table and part of the hutch/buffet

I had a pretty rough morning. A horrible bus driver tried to kick me off the bus because my transit card expired and the stupid CTA didn't send me a new card in time and my car had a flat, so I dropped it off at the car place near our apartment and I found out they couldn't patch it and Big Guy had to buy me a new tire. I am trying to stay in good spirits though- because I know it is better for me to stay calm and not freak out about things like this- although my pregnancy hormones did kick in and I was tearing on the bus. I hope that bus driver feels like crap.

buy this time tomorrow- I will hopefully be a homeowner!!!

Count Down

6 Days until we move
5 Days until we find out if we are having a healthy baby boy or girl
4 Days until we close on our new house
3 days until I need to have the apartment packed up
2 Days until the end of our last week in the city
1 day until the weekend

Big Guy and I have an exciting week ahead of us, and although I am sure it will be stressful, I am really excited to start the next part of our lives and get to know our new neighborhood.
I am so excited to spend fall in our new home and can't wait to have Thanksgiving and Christmas feel cozy and traditional again!!!

We're Moving!!!!

Finally, I feel OK telling everyone about our house!!! It has been a long road and we have been searching for a home for more than a year. We have gone through many ups and downs and even had a close call, but in the end something (floor plan, neighborhood, moldy basements, TERMITES) always seemed to be wrong with every house we looked at. One house had a half bath upstairs near the bedrooms and a full bath on the main floor off the dining room. We had a house that we really liked that was way over priced and they just wouldn't come down to a price that fit the neighborhood.

Then finally, we found a house in a town we loved and we were elated when they accepted our offer. Then came the inspection where we found significant issues with the structure in the area under a kitchen addition. then came structural engineers and contractors and a battle with the sellers about who got to choose the contracting company and how much it would cost. I don't know if I have ever cried so much in my life. On top of the roller coaster of buying your first home, being pregnant has proven to be a crazy emotional firestorm as well. One day we were up and the next we were down in the dumps. One day it looked like the house was fine and the next day it seemed like the house could collapse at any moment.

At the end of the day we found that the house was fine--it is 100 years old, and so there are creaks and bumps and uneven floors but nothing out of the ordinary, and the sellers finally agreed to let our contractors repair the inadequacies under the kitchen-- so we are moving!!!! We are so excited and couldn't be more thrilled that this is almost over. Everything has been a challenge- I have had to point out mistake after mistake to our mortgage broker and our realtor and feel like I basically did both of their jobs for them--with the help of my brilliant mother who is a Mortgage genius. I have learned that not only should you not do business with friends (which I knew) you can't even do business with friends of friends!!!!

Please keep Big Guy, the baby( I am 19 weeks as of tomorrow) in your thoughts and prayers!!!

Also- Please keep my Best Friend K in your thoughts as well- she is getting married on Friday and three days ago the roof of her reception venue collapsed and because of an event in the area, there aren't any alternate venues or tents available for rent. Then the next day there was a windstorm that knocked out the power to the entire area and they are just starting to restore power to the area!!! It looks like things are going to work out--They were able to combine a smaller room with a smaller tent to accommodate the 350+ group.

K is holding up really well and I think she is amazing for keeping it together so well!!!

I can't wait to get more pictures of the house and the whole move-in and decorating process. I am almost certain that Big Guy and I are going to be paupers for some time- but I am sure we will happy in our new home!!!

My Bed

This is what my bedding looks like. It isn't girly, but I suppose it is still preppy. It is made by Ralph Lauren and it is all inspired by classic men's suiting. It has the pinstripe in the duvet cover and shams, the camel coat inspired blanket, The shirting stripe sheets and I even have hounds tooth Euro-shams that are supposedly supposed to represent the pocket square. I love my bedding, and I love that Big Guy really loves it, but it is difficult to decide how to design a room around it. I don't have the bed in the above picture and I honestly think a dark wood or leather would strike a better look. Anyone have any ideas for a wall color or accessories or even some ideas on how to finish the look- I am thinking I could go one of two ways- executive chic or old school gentleman's club. I like the thought of both but wanted to get some feedback.