Finally Getting Around to Hanging Some Art

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year (for the first time ever!) and had a bunch of family and friends over for the day. Since we knew we were hosting, we wanted to make sure everything looked good and ready for guests. We've had art lying around the house since we moved in in April just begging to be framed and hung on the wall, but for some reason we kept putting it off and finding literally any other project to work on besides that.

We've been collecting art over the last couple of years and there was no better excuse to hang it than with the holidays just around the corner. Thats when Framebridge came to the rescue! We went to their website, picked out our favorite frames from their huge and beautiful collection, input the dimensions of our art, and waited to receive packaging to send in our art. Once the packages arrived (with the return shipping label!), we put the art in them, sealed them up, and sent them off to be framed. Literally 4 days later we had our old art back home with us, only this time in brand new custom frames that the people at Framebridge made and sent back to us with the utmost care. It's as simple as that.

Then the fun began! We FINALLY had our art framed! It was time to hang it all around the house. Take a look:

Our trip to Seattle last summer made such an impression on us, we had to frame this old picture of Puget Sound we picked up while we were there. We framed it in Framebridge's steel-ribbed frame and it's our absolute favorite one! That's the thing about Framebridge, they offer so many different styles that you can get whatever type of frame fits your design aesthetic. 

In our dining room we hung a picture of the old train depot here in Cleveland that we picked up at an estate sale TWO YEARS AGO. We weren't kidding about pictures lying around the house for way too long.

We had two prints framed that we purchased on our most recent trip to Rosemary Beach this past summer and hung them in our upstairs guest bath. The bamboo frames are so different and unique. Obsessed with them:

In our breakfast nook we had an eye chart that we picked up at a local antique store framed, along with the original blueprints of our last home below it. 

The last picture we had framed was a map of way the stars were aligned on the day we got married from The Night Sky. Seriously y'all, these pictures make such thoughtful, completely original gifts for loved ones. We highly recommend checking them out. We ended up placing it in one of our guest bedrooms (we call it the tree house room because of its vaulted ceilings and big trees right outside the windows) and it looks great against the white walls and striped duvet cover.

So here's to Framebridge & The Night Sky for making our house feel more like a home, especially during the holiday season. We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with family, friends, and some delicious food.

Cooking With Krystal: Mediterranean Bowl

Mediterranean Bowl

Servings 4

Bowl Ingredients:

• 1 package frozen cauliflower rice
• 2 cups fresh green beans
• 1 lb organic 99% fat free ground turkey
• 1/2 red onion diced
• 1c roasted chickpeas
• 3-4 sprigs fresh oregano
• 1/4c thrive algae oil
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Hummus Vinaigrette :

• 1/2 container organic hummus
• 1/3c apple cider vinegar
• zest of a lemon
• 3-4 sprigs of fresh oregano chopped finely
• 2 tbsp algae oil
• 1tsp sea salt
• 1tsp pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook turkey meat on medium heat in a skillet with 1/2 of the red onion. Chopping up the turkey meat as you go to be sure it is cooked throughly.
2. Meanwhile add package of cauliflower rice to a saucepan on medium heat and cover for about 8-10 mins stirring occasionally.
3. Once meat is finished wash pan and add a little more oil to your pan and place your green beans in with a pinch of sea salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for about 10-12 mins until beans are thoroughly cooked.
4. While beans are cooking mix all hummus vinaigrette ingredients in a medium bowl until mixed well and set aside.
5. Once everything has cooked add it all to a bowl. Top with the remaining ingredients as in the rest of the red onion, oregano,roasted chickpeas and hummus vinaigrette and enjoy!

About Krystal

About Krystal

Krystal has a passion for healthy living and wellness and obtained her Bachelors of Science in nutrition from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Her national certification through NCSF as a CPT, along with another in the world-renowned TRX training system and AAHFF for nutrition, make Krystal a versatile fitness professional. Visit her website, K's Kwik Klean Kitchen to learn more about her!

The Most Stylish Restaurants in New York City

We came across an old article on Architectural Digest the other day and it stopped us in our tracks. We are suckers for all things NYC and of course food, so we ate this article right up. Written by Stefanie Waldek, it gives the mind-blowing fact that there are "over 24,000 eating establishments to choose from in New York City," so you could "eat at a different restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day for 8,000 days—or 22 years— straight." Um, okay. *books trip to NYC immediately*

The restaurants are absolutely breathtaking, but the one that caught our eye the most was Eleven Madison Park, above. We're obsessed with the way the colors blend together to create such a sophisticated atmosphere (the whites! the blacks! the browns! the creams!). Even the name gives off an air of prestige.

Below are some of our favorites they mention:

Polo Bar

Four Seasons Restaurant

L'Amico

Cherche Midi

Head on over to AD to check out the full article and the other restaurants they feature. We'll have one of each, pleaseandthankyou.

(all photos via here)

Sad Scores & Soundtracks

Do you listen to music when you're down? Music plays a huge part in our lives whether we're happy or sad, but there's something about listening to beautifully melancholy music that almost has healing powers when you're sad, doesn't it?

For us, we love listening to scores and soundtracks that, strangely enough, actually help us through a tough time. Thomas lost a friend a few weeks ago and has been listening to a couple of different scores lately. For us, the more dramatic the music is, the better, with beautiful and delicate strings and pianos and cellos all coming together to form a haunting, melodic sound that might just help ease whatever pain we're feeling.

We've gathered a list of a few of our favorite film scores below:

A Single Man

The Hours

A Cure For Wellness

Intersteller

Sleepy Hollow

Notes on a Scandal

Gladiator

Pirates of the Carribean

Harry Potter

The Chronicles of Narnia

Batman Begins

Chocolat

Forrest Gump

Casper

The Polar Express

Titanic (of course)

It sounds weird, we know, but you should try it sometime. And if scores from films aren't your thing, we would love to know what you listen to when you're feeling down. Music is so therapeutic, don't you think?

(photo via here)

Cooking With Krystal: Kale Donuts with a Matcha Glaze

Kale Donuts

with a matcha glaze

makes 12 donuts

Ingredients

Donuts:

1c almond flour

1/2c tapioca flour

1/4c coconut flour

1tsp baking powder

1/4tsp sea salt

1/2c almond milk

1/4c coconut oil melted

2 cups baby kale

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 droplets of liquid stevia

Glaze:

1 scoop whey protein (I used jay robbs vanilla)

1/2tsp matcha powder (I used four sigmatic matcha with lions mane)

1 tbsp almond milk or to desired consistency

1 tsp ghee melted

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and lightly spray donut pan with coconut oil spray.
2. In a large bowl combine almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Set aside.
3. In a blender mix almond milk, coconut oil, and kale. Mix until it is completely smooth and green.
4. Add in eggs, stevis, and vanilla and pulse in.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and gently mix until combined. Let your mixture stand for about 5 mins.
6. Evenly divide batter into your donut pan filling each mold about 3/4 of the way full.
7. Bake for about 10-15 mins.
8. Let sit in the mold for about 5 mins before transferring to a cooling rack.
9. While donuts are cooling you will then start on the glaze by mixing all ingredients together except for the milk.
10. Slowly add in the almond milk a little at a time, making sure you get the right consistency to have a good glaze.
11. Spread the glaze on after donuts have cooled and enjoy!

About Krystal

Krystal has a passion for healthy living and wellness and obtained her Bachelors of Science in nutrition from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Her national certification through NCSF as a CPT, along with another in the world-renowned TRX training system and AAHFF for nutrition, make Krystal a versatile fitness professional. Visit her website, K's Kwik Klean Kitchen to learn more about her!

New Friends

Happy hump day everyone! How was your Halloween? We had an absolute BLAST last night as our town goes all out for Halloween with shutting the downtown streets for trick or treating, decorating the houses, and everyone you know stopping in for some wine and chili. We went as another HGTV-themed duo this year and you can head over to our Instagram to check it out. 

 We didn't post a thing last week as we took some time off the blog and our YouTube to focus on some other projects we have going on, and the break was nice. BUT, the reason we didn't post last week was because we were so busy every night meeting new friends that, before last week, we had only met through Instagram.

First, the boys from Probably This came through town on their camping trip and we ended up inviting them to stay with us for 2 days! It was so cool to meet another couple who is navigating their way through the world of social media and to get their take on it. Also, they were just really friggin hilarious.

The same night Matt & Beau came, our friend Sayle was in town as well and paid us a few visits. She is from Cleveland like us, just two streets over actually, but moved to NYC back in the early 2000s where she lives with her wife. She is a wine expert (check out her website/business here!) who was filling us all with so much knowledge, not just about wine, but about culture and current politics. She is so extraordinary and we can't wait to see her again when she comes back to visit her family!

Isn't she fabulous?

We laughed and laughed and laughed and drank wine all night. It was so refreshing to meet people in real life that are just as wonderful as you know them to be online.

Also, it's worth noting here, that all of our new friends in the photos above sent thank you notes/care packages after they came to visit us. How did we get so lucky to have found them?

The next day we got invited to drinks with some other Instagram friends at Blackberry Farm near Knoxville, which was the first time we had ever been there, despite living so close. It was breathtakingly gorgeous, from the mountain views and sweeping hills, to the beautifully designed interiors of the main house/restaurants. The landscaping was gorgeous, you take golf carts to get everywhere, and the staff was so welcoming and friendly. At one point we came across a pretty sweet campfire with perfectly placed logs with literally no one around, but there was a basket filled with goodies to make s'mores (but no sticks?!) and a pretty view of the mountains. They have thought of pretty much everything.

We met Jesse and Justin for drinks and didn't stop laughing the entire night. As it got colder outside, they invited us to stay for dinner in the main house which was the perfect blend of Ralph Lauren meets rustic prestige. Not to mention the food was absolutely delicious. Oh and dessert? Don't get us started on Sarah's Chocolate Cake and the cookies.

How charming are those sconces?

They were both so down to earth and inviting and kept us laughing non stop. They're huge HGTV fans like us so that was a big topic of conversation all night. All in all, it was a beautiful fall night spent with great food, amazing views, and two charming men we're happy to have finally met in person.

So that was our week! It's crazy how social media can connect you with people you from all over the world, people you may not have normally come across, especially being from s such a small town. We hope y'all had a wonderful Halloween and ate lots of candy!!