flip burger boutique: part 2

robert & I went to atlanta over the weekend so he could see the guided by voices reunion tour & so I could visit with my sissy. we had a great weekend. I took robert to flip burger boutique (last time I went with kara). we went for a late lunch at 4pm, so the place was empty. and as always, the food was delicious.

{flip burger bar}

{love the two booths stacked on top of each other}

{bacon burger & the most delicious french fries}

{the turtle milkshake was amazing}

homemade fettuccine

I have a feeling we spend way too much money at the grocery store on fresh pasta (I'm kind of a carboholic). so in order to save some money, I bought robert this pasta roller/cutter attachment for our kitchenaid for christmas last year. I had visions of pasta in soups, on salads, baked in casseroles, you name it, we'd have made it for just pennies.

 except that it sat in the box for a whole year. we both made it once after christmas & then put it away & totally forgot about it. so I whipped the sucker out, dusted it off & spent some time making dough & cutting pasta. it's actually much easier than it looks. 

{step one: make dough, knead & let rest}

{step two: roll out pasta, fold, repeat}

{step three: continue to roll until it becomes thin & transparent}

{step four: add the cutter attachment & feed pasta sheets through}

{step five: let dry & freeze or refrigerate until ready to cook}

the high line

while visiting nyc, I got to meet my good friend dani for a picnic-lunch at the high line (she works right below the park in chelsea market). the high line was originally built in 1934 as part of an elevated rail system. when the interstate developed in the 60s, the rail eventually became obsolete. it lay unused for decades, until recently.

the city recycled it into a mile & a half long urban park. it's extremely peaceful in the midst of a noisy, bustling city. I had such a nice time walking the park & enjoying the greenery. just another reason why nyc is such a cool city.

{such cool landscaping}

{we sat on these steps & had lunch}

{how brilliant- they salvaged the old tracks & made rolling benches to lay on}

{what a beautiful juxtaposition}

{original stained-glass windows}

{public art, "the viewing station"}

cucumber sandwich

I was feeling british today, so I made a cucumber sandwich for lunch. with a cup of hot english tea, of course.

robert's birthday cake

this year I kind of skipped out on robert's birthday. I was out of town. on a trip that I myself planned. not thinking about the date of robert's birthday when I scheduled it months ago. it saddened me a whole lot more than it did him. I don't think boy's really care much about celebrating birthdays like we ladies do.

so anyway, I really tried to make it up to him by giving him some great gifts, making a delicious italian meal & by baking a cake of his choice, which happened to be "marble cake". sigh. I'm not gonna lie- I was seriously disappointed with his choice. I mean, who chooses "marble cake" over a delicious vanilla cake with buttercream frosting? or a rich chocolate lava cake. or red velvet. heck, even carrot cake sounds more fun than "marble".

and then I found this recipe, which saved the day & got me excited about "marble cake": mocha hazelnut marble cake. so there. I made it & it was delicious. sorry for judging you, marble cake.

“hembakat är bäst” {"homemade is best"}

as if ikea isn't cool enough, they now have a new baking book called, “hembakat är bäst” {"homemade is best"}. isn't the food styling brilliant? evelina bratell did all of the styling & carl kleiner photographed the book. these images should hang in a modern art museum!

metallic pumpkins

I love the look of these gold, silver & bronze metallic pumpkins spotted here. what a cheap & easy way to add a little pizazz to your ordinary fall decor.

yard sale goodies

our good friends moved across the country to san diego this past summer. while we're excited to have somewhere fun to visit, we really miss having them around (a lot). but the good news was that joy of the blog oh joy was having a big yard sale in san diego. she has the most fabulous taste & also happens to be my same size; so I made my friend megan head out to the sale in the park to get me some goods. she bought me some really cute stuff- note cards, cute paper, fabric & the most adorable shirt with a big bow. yay for friends who live in awesome cities!

on the roof of the MET

when I was in nyc a few weeks ago, I visited the coolest exhibit on the roof of the metropolitan museum of art. It’s called big bambú & it’s basically tons of fresh-cut bamboo poles strung together with nylon rope. but it’s massive- like about 50 feet high. the artists (twin brothers doug & mike starn) have been adding to it each month. it’s extremely impressive, especially set against the beautiful new york city skyline.  

sunday pancakes

I was feeling domestic last weekend. so before church on sunday, I whipped up these berry lemon buttermilk pancakes for my hubby. quite a nice change from our usual canned pillsbury cinnamon rolls. recipe from here.

a beach brunch wedding

my good high-school friend josh got married this past weekend. josh & I have been really good friends since ninth grade. our birthdays are just days apart, so we always shared joint parties because we had all the same friends. he married a sweet girl named cassy, who by total coincidence, I knew in college.they had a very sweet brunch wedding at the beach on saturday. there were lots of cute little details that cassy put together herself. robert & I took a few pictures & thought I'd share.

congratulations josh & cassy! 

{starting the morning off with a bloody mary}

{many different cakes. I probably shouldn't mention they were vegan & didn't taste so great. but they sure were cute!}

{a "just married" banner on the bride & groom table}

{don't you love it when the bride seats you with people you adore, like my dear friend heather?}

{I noticed the flower girl running around barefoot & then saw her sweet little shoes on the table.}

{mr. & mrs. joshua butler}