In the Kitchen: Basic Basil Pesto

It’s Basil Harvest Season here in Southeast Louisiana. My plant grew into a small tree over the summer – one of the only plants that actually thrived during our sweltering July and August!

Naturally, this bounty led me down the pesto path, and what follows is the super basic, super quick pesto recipe I use (and it’s vegan substitutions).

Continue reading “In the Kitchen: Basic Basil Pesto”

Start Something: A Tiny Corner Renovation

Sometimes I look around my house and get completely overwhelmed by the amount of small things that need to get done to make it home-y and representative of my style. I spend hours staring at home blogs and watching Joanna Gaines do her thing, but somehow can’t manage to figure out where to start in my own home.

One recent day, I decided I just needed to pick a thing that could be completed in a day or two and actually do it. I ended up choosing this weird desk / alcove in my home office / our entry way that may have been a closet at some point. For us, it was a stuff-collector, which always bugged me because it anchors a very long hallway and I had to look at our clutter all the time.

Continue reading “Start Something: A Tiny Corner Renovation”

In the Garden: High Drainage Houseplant Potting Mix

If you’re like me and tons of other people suddenly spending all their time at home and trying to fill the deep chasm of the universe’s uncertainty with things you can control, you’ve amassed an interesting collection of house and porch plants. I’ve managed to fill all my good-light windowsills and my husband built a sweet palette table for the patio plants. And if you’re like me, you’d also like your plants to be a source of happiness and excitement and not stress over confusing plant-health issues. A big step in settling into That Plant Life is making sure your babies are in the perfect soil.

Continue reading “In the Garden: High Drainage Houseplant Potting Mix”

In the Kitchen: The Best Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

Around here, we like our pizza. We like it so much, we had grilled pizza at our super fun, outdoor farm wedding (9 years ago today!). And while there are countless food things to love about our yummy city of New Orleans, we are not often compelled to drive 30 minutes to the best pizza in town (and it is good!), wait in line and then dine with all the children in the Bywater or eat lukewarm slices back home. It’s a rare luxury that we can squeeze in a trip during off-peak hours and really enjoy ourselves. I digress. This is all to say, it was high time we found an at-home dough we love so we could take all the annoying parts out of pizza night. Without further adieu – here is our favorite pizza dough recipe!

Continue reading “In the Kitchen: The Best Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe”

What Are We Even Doing Here?

Hello, new friends! And hello, old friends!

Welcome and thanks for your patience on the slow startup. I’ve had this blog in my head for some time, and it’s been a challenge to storyboard and narrow the focus and make sure it’s not just a “big bag of weird” (as Lorelai Gilmore would say) pouring out onto the screen. But strangely, the most daunting part has not been thinking up content for future posts – it’s how to even begin here. What kind of introduction will do this little blog justice but not seem like too… much.

So here’s where we begin – a little about me. I’m a graphic designer by education and profession. I have worked with clients of all types from engineering firms to legal teams, moms to musicians, engaged couples of all types, and everyone in between. My most common thread has been creating things that serve the client’s messaging and brand while being of good value, because good design shouldn’t be unaffordable, out of reach or half-assed.

I also like to help my clients help themselves. Lots of DIY brides and grooms want to leave their own mark on their weddings – how ’bout I design you a lovely personalized invitation suite but show you how to make envelope liners and seating cards? Lots of small startups and nonprofits have brilliant, multi-talented people on staff – how ’bout I design your logo and then teach you some social media branding tricks?

I like to encourage people to strike a balance between DIAY (do it all yourself) and DNY (do nothing yourself) and make sure they know when to look for specialized help and when to tackle something themselves. The same goes in all areas of life

And that’s the theme of this blog.

In future posts, we’ll get on a little bit of a schedule. Look out for: Monday Mood (pretty colors! design inspiration! nice stuff to look at!), maybe some Real Talk Tuesdays (I’ve got some real thinkers coming), Fridays from the Garden (see what vegetables the ants ate this week!) and so on…

I think we’ll have fun. Nothing in life in perfect – especially now, in this the Year of the Dark Lord 2020, during which I am starting this sweet little blog. But while it’s not perfect, I hope you’ll find some small bits of positivity, humor, inspiration and maybe some new things you can do in your life to create a vibe, space and style you love.

Thanks for coming! I’ll be back tomorrow to really get this beast rolling!

Let’s Get Rolling

Welcome to House and Highway! I’m so excited you’re here! Stay tuned for tales from the garden, insights on home improvements and design style, vintage cars, light travel, some snacks, a few curse words, and most assuredly – a lot of pretty pictures. I’ll be back soon with some actual content. Thanks for joining me!