Blueberry Compote Crepes

If there is nothing I love more, it's Sunday Brunch with yummy food!  Crepes are one of my all-time favorite...they're fancy and yet super easy to make!  A great take on the classic pancake.

Crepes

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp butter for pan

Combine all of the crepe ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.  Batter should be runny but start to thicken up.  Add a splash of milk, if necessary.  In a medium skillet, heat half a tablespoon butter and coat the entire the pan with it.  Slowly ladle about 1/4 cup of batter to cover the bottom of the pan.  Cook over medium heat until the edges become slightly dry, about 45 seconds.  With a spatula, check the bottom to make sure it's turning a golden brown.  Flip the crepe and cook for another 30 seconds until the bottom is golden brown.  Makes about 6-8 crepes.

Blueberry Compote

• 2 cups blueberries {fresh or frozen}
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice

In a medium saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar and orange juice and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Reduce heat to medium low and allow sauce to simmer for 5 minutes or until the blueberries begin to break down.  Remove from heat and allow to cool down so that the compote thickens.

Fold the crepes in thirds and cover with the blueberry compote.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

How easy is that?  They're simply scrumptious and the perfect entree for brunch!  :)

Do you have a favorite brunch item?

xo natasha

Linked to: Friday Fancies

Dining Room Reveal

It's been a while since I've revealed a room from our home...and quite frankly, we don't have many more rooms left to show!  But the dining room has definitely undergone quite the transformation, so I am proud to finally showcase it today.

In case you're new here, I have to give you the full disclosure on this house.  When we bought it, it was a dump!  It wreaked of smoke, was in total shambles, and looked unlivable.  Why did we buy it then?  Well, it was in a great neighborhood and we got a lot more house and property for the price, so even though it was a HUGE project, we knew the end result would be well worth it.  

Here is what our living room looked like before:

 The dining room was actually an enclosed porch previously.  The previous owners tried to make it part of the house, but it was clearly a poorly done addition.  There was no insulation and the windows were cracked {and single pane...burrr!}.  There was also a random door off to the left that didn't go anywhere. 

 So my husband and father-in-law went to work.  New windows were installed and those random window boxes were removed.  

 New drywall was hung {that's my husband!}.

We ultimately decided that this needed to be the dining room.  With the reconfiguration of the kitchen, there was no dining space and this room didn't serve a purpose otherwise.  So in went the dining room furniture.  Do you love our make-shift chandy?

And here is the reveal!

 Looks like it was always supposed to be this way, right?  :)

 You can see where the living room is located...next to the the family room.  Just a hop, skip and a jump from the kitchen.  It become the special place to dine and entertain when we have guests over.

 Still working on window coverings for some of the windows.  And there's Wilson!  :)

 I like that we have a view of the backyard...which is still in progress too!

I have a small obsession with wicker! 

 And there's our new bar cart!  :)

OH and I wanted to show off our cute new urchin...perched in his place on the bar cart!

  I found this painting at TJ Max...love that it looks like an original!

So,  here's one more reminder of how far we've come...

And where we're at now!

What do you think?  I know we're super happy with how it turned out and it's great to finally have a proper dining room!  :)

xo natasha

P.S. Hop over to Danielle's blog to check out what I'm looking forward to this Thanksgiving!  It's a great series that's going on this week!

Friday Fancies::Winter Wedding

Hello Lovlies!  I'm so happy it's Friday...are you?  We have an action packed weekend ahead...which is kind of exciting considering how low key our past couple weekends have been.  It also re-inspires some fun new outfit ideas...which is always a plus!

Tonight we have a Food & Wine Tasting Event to attend for my Soroptimist Group.  Soroptimist is a group of women who work together to raise funds for our community and this event is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year.  I'll be selling raffle tickets!  :)  Tomorrow night we have a wedding in San Francisco...can't wait to celebrate with all of our friends!

Dress / Coat / Necklace / Earrings / Bracelet / Clutch / Heels

Naturally, I will need a stunning outfit to wear!  Since we're full swing into fall {and really, what feels like winter here!}, I pulled this dark emerald green frock.  I love how effortless it is, but very timeless as well.

To modernize the look, I pulled a lighter green in the handbag and bracelet.  Of course, I adore the Kate Spade necklace and would just die to own these earrings {which is a long-shot considering the price tag!}.  The gold accents tie all of the pieces together and give it a touch of elegance.

My favorite part about this ensemble is this FAB feather coat and the adorable bow heels!  It really makes everything feel that much more festive and fun.

Do you have any fun plans this weekend!?

xo natasha

P.S. I'm guest posting over at Cassie's inspiring blog, showing some before and after photos of our home.  Be sure to stop by to check it out!

P.P.S. I am also over at Laura's beautiful blog talking about what I'm most thankful for this season!  It's a good reminder of what's really important during this busy season!

Travel Schue::Chicago

I'm back with another installation of Travel Schue where we get a peek into what a perfect weekend would be like in the town of a fellow blogger!  Last month, Kat gave a tour of New York.  Today I am thrilled to have my girl Lesley from Six Twelve Place here and she's giving us a tour through Chicago!

Chicago is one of my favorite cities...it's so clean and eclectic.  I love all the shopping, eateries, and fun sights!  So without further adieu, here's the perfect weekend in Chicago! 

PERFECT CHICAGO WEEKEND

STAY at the Elysian Hotel.  This luxurious 5-star hotel is in the perfect Gold Coast location- close to the lake front and some of the city's best shopping

EAT at one of hundreds of amazing restaurants!  My suggestions for breakfast:  Bongo Room, Milk & Honey, Southport Grocer or pick up doughnuts at the Doughnut Vault {but be sure to get there early- once they sell out, they close!}; For lunch: Ralph Lauren Cafe, Bandera, Benchmark, Pie Hole Pizza; For Dinner {you'll need reservations}: Girl and the Goat {get the chickpea fritters}, Spiaggia, Japonais {try the rock and the manju buns}, Hubbard Inn {the mussels} and The Alinea {Get the hot potato cold potato black truffle dish}.

DO as much as you can while you are here!  Chicago has so much to offer and a lot of it will depend on the weather {a winter trip will be very different from a summer visit!}, but some of my favorite things to do are: grab a coffee and go for a walk along Lake Michigan, visit The Bean in Millennium Park, grab rooftop drinks and take in the amazing view {The Wit, Trump Terrace and NoMi are all great for this!}, pamper yourself with a massage at Allyu Spa, SHOP along Michigan Avenue {make sure to visit the Bloomingdales at the 900 Shops}, go to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, take in a comedy show at Second City, see the city's famous skyline on the Architecture Boat Tour, Tour the Robie House- an architectural masterpiece by Frank Lloyd Wright, layout at the beach {North Avenue Beach is very lively with tons of sand volleyball courts}, take a Segway Tour or get active and rent bicycles to ride along the lake front.

Oh I LOVE Wrigley Field...such a charming stadium!  And I definitely want to check out Milk & Honey and the Girl and the Goat next time I'm there!  Thanks so much Lesley for putting this ultimate guide together.  It rocks!  Be sure to stop by and say hi to Lesley!  :)

Are you taking any trips soon?  I wish I was!

xo natasha