The man shed.

In honor of Brent's birthday today, I thought I would give you a tour of the man shed.

The previous homeowners had used this space for storage. We knew it was way too cool for that but debated on what it should be. Home gym? Playroom? Office space? After a few months of settling in, we realized we needed a room Brent could work in, with a desk and a workbench. And thus, the man shed was born.

Brent designed and built the entire workbench himself (it even folds up to reveal extra seating and has a built in mini-fridge). And I love all the pops of orange he included. I'm pretty impressed with the end result.

I think Carson likes spending time out there just as much as Brent does. 

5 minute weeknight chicken.

Sometimes, I get in a rut with weeknight meals. Thankfully, this easy chicken recipe can be a nice break from the monotony, prepped in five minutes and you probably have all these ingredients on hand.

I don't really know what to call this chicken, other than delicious.

Delicious Weeknight Chicken

1/2 cup dijon mustard
1/8 cup honey
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon orange juice
Pinch of salt, pepper, chopped rosemary and crushed red pepper flakes
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking dish with tinfoil and place chicken in baking dish. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and pour over chicken. Cook chicken for 40 minutes. Serve with something leafy.

To decant or not decant? It really isn't a question.

After our weekend in Walla Walla and reading some very persuasive information, I was inspired to start decanting.

Almost every tasting room we visited had information about the benefit of decanting and after reading multiple brochures and one pagers, I have to admit; I was sold. I always thought decanting was something you did for really good wine but learned every wine can benefit from a little extra oxygen. It allows young wines to breathe, which opens their scents and flavors, and helps remove sediment from old wine. Decanting really does make a difference.

For best results, decant a young bottle of wine for a couple of hours (I'm looking at you, $5 bottle from Trader Joe's) and an older bottle of wine for about thirty minutes before serving.

Lennon and Maisy.

Do you watch "Nashville"? It is my new favorite show. I love the music and story lines. Plus, I am fascinated with how musically talented the real-life sisters are that play Connie Britton's daughters. 

Lennon (13) and Maisy (8) Stella shot to fame this summer when they posted their rendition of Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend" on YouTube. They also sing on "Nashville" and completely wowed me with The Lumineers "Hey Ho" the other week. These girls are amazing. If you haven't heard them, check out the links above or you can catch "Nashville" Wednesday nights at 10 on ABC.

P.S. "Call Your Girlfriend" reminds me of Anna Kendrick's song, "Cups", from Pitch Perfect. 

Picnic judging.

I love this quote and totally agree. 

We are planning a couple of picnics for our upcoming wine tasting weekend in Walla Walla. I love the lunch boxes from Salumiere Cesario. Last time we were there we took a break for lunch at Northstar Winery. They have a deck that is just perfect for a picnic. 

P.S. You can purchase a print of the quote from Furbish. 

In the works: a weekend away.

Brent and I are heading off to Walla Walla in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to some quality time together spent tasting great wine, enjoying romantic dinners and sleeping in but I have a feeling we will mostly talk about how much we miss our baby.

This will be our fourth trip to Washington wine country. We had gotten in a fun habit of visiting Walla Walla every year but haven't been there since 2010. There are a ton of new wineries I am excited to try (like this one) and also plan on revisiting some old favorites (like this one).

Each trip we have stayed somewhere different. We've tried everything from renting a house on VRBO (check out this amazing option) to booking a room at Walla Walla's flagship hotel. Here are some of the places we considered this time.

Abeja Winery & Inn:

Walla Faces Inn the Vineyard:

The Marcus Whitman Hotel:

What would be your preference? Traditional hotel, B&B or renting a house? Each has their pros and cons. I'd like to go for a couple of weeks and stay at all three!

P.S. Do you have any Walla Walla winery recommendations or tips to share? I'd love to hear them!