home – Cafe Du Martin

004 | inventory

Published on July 15, 2015November 19, 2015 by Joanna1 Comment

Making: lots of banana bread muffins lately (recipe coming soon!) + easy dinners that go along with our busy schedule right now. Last weekend we made personal pizzas for a bachelorette party/sleepover and it was fun, fresh, and so yummy. They were so good I think we are going to put them in our weekly rotation as a family. We usually make Friday nights our pizza night so it would be easy enough to tuck them into our meal plan.

Drinking: iced coffee in the morning, la croix in the afternoons, not nearly enough water throughout the day, and gin & tonics when my husband is kind enough to whip one up for me. They are by far my favorite summer indulgence and taste even better if I happen to find myself sitting on a patio enjoying a warm breeze and the company of good friends.

Reading: Something Other than God by Jennifer Fulwiler, my beloved Real Simple magazine, and because I am volunteering at our parish VBS this week I have also been reading the daily devotionals for that. We have been frequenting our local library weekly this summer to make the most of story time (read: free entertainment, indoor activity, keeping a toddler busy during the heat of the day) and have picked up a few cute reads for the littlest member of our family. Currently we are digging: Llama Llama Red Pajama, Dig Dig Digging, and Pete the Cat: I love my white shoes.

Wanting: more time (especially to blog!) and energy during the day. This summer has been seriously full + busy. I don’t really mind the busy part of it so much but I just feel like every.day.is.jam.packed. It’s a lot and I am always wishing + wanting for things to slow down. After looking at my calendar for the rest of the month I don’t really see that happening anytime soon. At least not for the rest of the summer…so I suppose I should scratch the ‘wanting more time’ part out and just focus on the more energy part!

Listening: to The Gilmore Guys Podcast (o b s e s s e d) + Fountains of Carrots. I mentioned to a few people in Instagram that I would do a round up of my current favorite podcasts soon in the form of a blog post – I promise, it’s coming! I have also been listening to our V BS soundtrack on r e p e a t this week. Nothing like a good ol’ vacation bible school jam + coordinating hand motions to motivate you throughout the day. *wink*

Eating: lots of raspberries lately and some other fresh fruit when I think to pick up more produce at the store. As I mentioned earlier, we have been so stinking busy lately my meal planning has been kind of off and lacking in whole foods. That is something that should be remedied no matter the fullness of our days. But when I haven’t been able to eat like I would typically want to I have been enjoying the guilt-free feeling of our NatureBox snacks. I am pretty obsessed with the Dutch Cocoa Sun Crunch.

Smelling: the sunscreen + chlorine smell that seems to permeate the air every summer. Also, looooots + lots of bug spray lately.

Enjoying: pool days + the local splash pad with my girl, in-home date nights with my husband, reading before bed (a habit I always had growing up but fell by the wayside in college, something I’m happy to be getting back to).

Loving: the language development happening with Miss M right now. She is communicating SO much and it is incredible to experience and watch. I have been having a lot of those flashback-to-last-summer moments and it really is just insane how much a child can change in such a short amount of time. Lately she has been making all sorts of animal sounds (favorites include: rooster, horse, and cat.) She has also been telling me when her diaper is dirty which is always appreciated.

Hoping: for good things this coming year with our mom’s ministry at church. A friend and I have taken over the leadership of the group and we are excited and daunted by all of the things that need to be done. We are really hoping to grow our membership and help more mom’s in our parish.

Feeling: tired. VBS has been exhausting for me + my girl this week. Combine that with watching my nephew twice this week and just the regular hub bub of life and early bed times have been on everyone’s agenda this week!

Wearing: anything and everything that is Texas-summer-heat-friendly these days. While it has only his triple digits a handful of times (so far) this summer it has still gotten to that point where getting in and out of the car is preeeeetty much the worst and I feel like I am constantly coated in a layer of sweat (you are so welcome for that visual;).

Noticing: just how grown up our little girl is starting to seem. I hate to be all emotional-mommy-cliche but…where the heck did my baby go?? The weekend of the fourth we had a little pre-birthday celebration for my nephew and chasing her around the Dallas Children’s Aquarium I realized we have a full blown K I D.

Bookmarking: any and all gardening tips. We just recently finished revamping our backyard garden (left behind by the previous owners) and are so excited to start planing and growing herbs and veggies!

003 | inventory

Published on April 20, 2015July 15, 2015 by Joanna4 Comments

Making: messes every day with this TODDLER we have running around our house. This girl started legitimately walking the week of her birthday and has not slowed down since. We are also trying out and making a bunch of recipes from this blog. Tonight we both had kale + cream cheese quesadillas and sweet potato fries. Amy recently posted some similar quesadillas on her IG account and some carrot fries. If you are looking for inspiration on what to feed your toddler – check her out!

Drinking: coffee + good beer + not enough water. I was doing so great and bought a new water bottle…that instant motivation of putting a new shiny water bottle in your shopping cart at Target! Hoping to get back on track this week. As for beer… are you on Untappd? My husband and I are both craft beer drinking fiends so if you’re on there and want to connect you can find me here. (:

Reading: Love Does for a book study, borrowing Jennifer Fulwiler’s Something Other Than God, Real Simple Magazine, Parents Magazine, and (shamefully) reading Sean Lowe’s book For The Right Reasons (it’s only because we are in Bachelor off season! Promise!). As for little books, we have been frequenting our local library weekly. The children’s section there is so awesome and laid back and they have the biggest selection of board books I have ever seen! We were also gifted lots of new fun stories for M’s recent birthday celebration and have been working our way through those. Some of our favorites right now are: Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!, I’m Not Scared!, and LMNO Peas.

Wanting: for things to slow down a bit. The past few weeks, or rather weekends, have been pretty crazy and I wouldn’t mind having some time to catch up on somethings or just relax. I’ve also been wanting to start on some creative projects but I’m just not sure what to do yet. Hopefully inspiration with strike and I can get moving on some things!

Listening: I would have to say that my top 3 favorite podcasts at the moment are: This Inspired Life, The Girl Next Door, and One Bad Mother. Obviously, more intended for females if not moms. Spotify playlist I’ve been loving right now: Feelin’ Good. Putting that playlist on, on a Saturday/Sunday morning and making some pancakes while sipping coffee = pretty much perfect right now.

Eating: a solid rotation of dinner recipes and snacking a bunch during the day. I know I have posted about Dinner A Love Story before but their cookbooks are seriously the two most often looked at books in my collection. They have such solid, easy, delicious recipes and I have yet to find one that I don’t like. We also ventured to a local farmers market that opens up on Saturdays near our new house. We picked up the most gorgeous, fresh strawberries and peppers I have ever seen. We also grabbed a pound of grass-fed beef and some homemade pasta for dinner later on this week. I can already tell it’s going to be amazing.

Smelling: this delicious new candle I just got. I picked it up on a whim thinking I might like the fresh scent for spring/summer and I need to go back and get a larger size. It is such a good scent and isn’t overly floral or sweet like some summer-y scented candles. Highly recommend! I have also been smelling this awesome beard balm on my husband’s beard a lot lately. A good friend of ours has started making it and when he was down for a visit a couple of months ago he gave Eric the Chrism scented version. So. Good.

Enjoying: nap time, walks through our new neighborhood, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, gorgeous weather, a somewhat settled into home (we still have yet to hang much on the walls – but all the boxed are unpacked!), thinking about the future, spending time with friends, planning upcoming weddings, day dreaming about upcoming vacations, going to functions with my handsome husband, my Erin Condren planner, and new fresh feeds to follow on Instagram. (:

Loving: this season in life right now. We are finally past all of the intensity that was buying a house and we are settling in so nicely. Like I said, while we have yet to make commitments on where to hang art work in our home, we have unpacked all of our boxes and have cozied on up in our humble abode. We were able to get some yard work done last weekend and we felt like SUCH homeowners. Making trips to home depot, mulching garden beds. This is the life, people!

Hoping: For some clear direction soon. I blogged about feeling a bit lost/distracted lately and have yet to really hone in on some solid direction. I feel like I’m doing everything I need to be doing right now and what I really should be praying for is the confidence to know that what I AM doing is right.

Feeling: content, tired, happy, healthy, strong, and loved. All really great feelings to be feeling right now.

Wearing: Well Saturday night I was wearing a fancy dress because Eric and I were invited to go to the Bishop’s 22nd Annual Pro-Life Dinner/Gala! It was so snazzy and I think we both cleaned up really well. But as for the rest of the week? Back to the daily grind of alternating between work out clothes, jeans, and my school t-shirts that I wear on work days! Oh the glamour!

Noticing: Currently? That my contacts are driving me nuts. In general? That life is crazy right now. Not just for us but for so many of our friend’s that we haven’t been able to see lately.
Bookmarking: some breakfast recipes on Pinterest and pretty much everything that was in the 15th Anniversary Edition of Real Simple Magazine – everything I found in there was pure gold!

FAITH | humility of house hunting

Published on December 9, 2014 by Joanna2 Comments

I think the title gives enough explanation as to what has been going on over in our neck of the woods lately. We have been house hunting for almost a month now and man, I knew it would be tough…but I think in terms of the emotions that come with finding a house that the word tough is a understatement. I am going to start this with a disclaimer that I am fully aware of my overly sensitive nature and that the combination of looking at house after house and being repeatedly disappointed in conjunction with my ever emotional self is starting to take it’s toll. I’m sure I am not alone in my sentiments of wanting a house search to be over (it could have been over on our first day of hunting and that would have been fine with me!), but I am not so sure that it is normal for me to be feeling so DONE after only ONE month.

Everyone I have talked to has warned me about how terrible the search can be – with a few exceptions of those who truly did enjoy the process. I was really hoping to be a member of the latter and envisioned Eric and I looking at a handful of houses and finding an adorable abode in no time. Honestly, thinking about how naive that sentence is makes me a little sick to my stomach considering the past few weeks. I feel like we have seen a little bit of everything from scary houses that do NOT match the listing description (note to self: if the seller hasn’t posted any pictures, it’s probably for a good [ugly] reason) to completely wood paneled living rooms (and bathrooms, and bedrooms, and…every room), to homes that we could imagine actually living in and planning future weekend projects together.

The last one was a kicker. Two weeks ago, after a crazy weekend filled with family and other non-related house hunting events we ended up putting an offer on a house; the first house that we BOTH loved – only to be turned down a few (excruciatingly long) days later. It really hurt and it took me a couple days to get back in the saddle and even browse through new listings from our agent. But of course, with struggle and sacrifice come the greatest of life lessons and I can honestly say that these past few weeks, while tough, have been yet another much needed lesson in humility.

Humility. Oh, how I wish this were not a lesson I had to learn over and over and over again. I feel like I am constantly needing a reminder from Him that I am not the most important. I do not know what I really need in this life. I need to trust more. Be more willing to go with the flow and live the life that has been so greatly provided for me. I’m not always going to get what I want, especially when it’s not what He wants for me or our family right now. I know that years down the road I will look back and know why we didn’t get that house, but right now it’s hard to think about it too long. My heart was in it. I really wanted it, and I think it’s ok to admit I am more than a little hurt by this process and what we have had to deal with lately. But if I am being completely honest, this is not the first time I have felt this way.

I can remember numerous times in my short life getting way too emotionally invested for my own good. Whether it be something I wanted, a friendship, or a relationship. I’ve never been afraid to jump the gun emotionally and start investing more of myself before the time is right. And time and time again, God humbles me and tells me to be more careful with my heart. To really consider what is going on and to give it prayerful thought and anticipation. Rather than be heartbroken repeatedly. How human of me but how perfectly does it exemplify my relationship with God. I need him and He wants me to realize it – if only I realized it more regularly and without the need for these big lessons.

I know that the perfect home is out there for our family. We aren’t looking for our forever home, we aren’t looking for absolute perfection, we are looking for a place to grow and learn in love. To make friends and family feel welcome and to live this abundant life. Although, as I keep thinking about our search and what we have endured thus far – I realize that we don’t need a house to have all of this. I already have it in my heart.

“His dwelling shall be glorious.” IS 11:10

Photo by Kate Love Photography