The rhythm of the school year is about to play again. The rhythm that keeps us slightly more confined than the loose beat of summer. And with that change comes a tighter deadline on dinner. It requires a bit more forethought and planning, too—some of my least favorite tasks. Even still, meal planning seems to be the only thing that makes dinner time work well in our house. To that end, we installed a 90lb. vintage chalkboard on the dining room wall to keep a record of the weekly meal plan. I’m a visual processor, so a plan only works when seen. If you too are like me, here’s a couple beautiful, doable ideas for adding a menu board to your home. Insider tip: Look for inspiration at cafés. Read more

I fell in love with the Palihouse Hotel a couple years ago after seeing it on Instagram. I studied every last nook and cranny of the design I could find online to get inspiration for our home. Their use of color, contrast, and mixture of old and new is so well done. I don’t have a category to file this post under (yet), but it’s too good not to share. I think you might want to steal some of these ideas for your own home. Read more

One of the most common questions I get—where do you buy enamelware? I’ll tell you all my enamelware sourcing details in a second. But first, I want to tell you why I love it so much. It’s so beautiful, so functional, and so light and compact to store. It’s also so easy to clean. So, so, so. Can you tell how much I love this stuff? I even opted to use the baking dishes exclusively in my cookbook instructions, though the pan sizes are a touch non-traditional. It performs so very well, I don’t own any traditional casserole dishes anymore. (I’ve been slowly replacing things for the past 5 years.) You’ll find a lot of enamelware at vintage stores, which is a testament to how timeless and durable these kitchen items are. If buying vintage, check for chips and rust before using in your kitchen. Read more

I put my head down in January when there was still snow on the ground to write a book. I turned in my manuscript on June 30th at 5:47pm (!!!). And here we are talking about back to school ideas. Where did half a year go?! I lived most of my grade school life in Texas. As soon as the calendar struck August, we went back to school. Even though school starts in September in Minneapolis, the Target shelves say otherwise. In the back-to-school spirit, I’ve partnered with Scotch™ to share a couple simple things we do throughout the preschool year to keep things running smooth(er). These ideas are fit for the 5 and under crowd. Read more