In celebration of tomatoes, and in anticipation of my own from my garden, I am posting some pictures of recent tomato loving endeavours Bob and I have cooked. My neighbor recently loaned me a stack of books on preserving vegetables. Let me tell you, they are scary! I am a more than a little overwhelmed at the amount of charts and ratios in them. However, our tomatoes continue to grow at an exorbitant rate and I need to be ready to use or store every single one of these beauties!

The top photo is of some bruschetta we made one Friday for Happy Hour. The bottom photo is a pizza we made last Monday when we got home from California. We like to keep pizza dough from Trader Joe's in the freezer. That makes for an easy meal when you can roll it out and top it with anything in the fridge.

Have a great weekend and send me some photos of any yummy tomato creations or recipes you may have!

-M.

High Stylin' Soiree

These are pictures from Kristin's amazing Bohemian Bliss Soiree. This was such an incredible event. I am really sorry if you missed it. Atleast you can view the photos and make a mental note to definitely attend her next flea market. She had the most amazing vendors. And the best part was how many people dressed up in their vintage best!

(Me and my family going 'green' to the soiree)

(beautiful Kristin)

Yes, I know it's hot. Already. However, in case you are staying in town this weekend, I love this idea of having a picnic in your own backyard! Prop up an umbrella, have the kids help make some yummy sandwiches and whip up a batch of refreshing drinks. You might want to make a separate batch for adults only!

It has still been cool at night so you could make it an evening under the stars. My brother loves to put up a tent in the backyard and sleep outside with his kids. What a treat!

I will be heading to California tonight so I wish you all a very safe and fun Memorial Weekend!

-M.

photos from Country Living

These are a few pictures from my garden! The tomatoes we planted just 2 months ago are growing like crazy. We already have little tomatoes growing on all of the plants! I can't wait to eat them. They are one of my absolute favorite vegetables.

Bob and I have learned a lot since planting our garden. We had no idea that the zucchini plant would grow like a crazy monster. We already have several good sized zucchini and lots more just starting!

Our garden also includes green leaf lettuce, arugula, bell peppers, jalapeno, onions, and a full herb garden. We love being able to run outside and get the herbs we need while cooking.

-M.

Just a reminder that the William Arthur Wedding promotion ends May 31st. Receive 25 free invitations when you place an order of 75 or more personalized pieces of wedding stationery! I have had customers save around $100 on this special offer. There is still time to take advantage of this promotion so call and book your wedding appointment with us!

-M.

Get inspired!

I can't help but get inspired when I go to my brother David and his wife Carrie's house. Carrie is unbelievably talented where decorating is concerned. I usually take my camera because I know I will want to take pictures. People like me who do not have the natural decorating talent need ideas and inspiration! I am not kidding when I say that every time I go over there I come home and do something to my house. The last time I was over there I came home and re-did our patio!

This cozy setting is just outside their front door.

My camera couldn't capture the beautiful bench and roses opposite the chairs.

This is the entryway

Beautiful shelving in the Guest House

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
-M.

Kimberly Jarman, photographer extraordinaire came into the store and took some photos for me. How lucky am I? I have been adoring her work for years now. So even though I hate getting my picture taken I had to have some photos for the website and close ups of product. Thankfully for me, Kim was gracious enough to lug her equipment down to the store and do me the favor of a mini photo session.

Kim has a studio just down the street from M & Co. at 166 West Main Street. Her studio is directly above Domestic Bliss. She specializes in wedding photography. Incredibly talented is an understatement where Kim is concerned! Visit her website to view her amazing work.

Enjoy her pictures, and thanks again Kim, for your time and expertise!

-M.

M & Co. Papery is pleased to announce that our website is officially up and running! We still have some tweeking to do but I love the way it is turning out.

Check out our website at mcopapery.com. Someday we might make it a full retail site but, for now, I am just happy to have one up and running!

-M.

Bohemian Bliss Soiree

Kristin, the party guru, over at Domestic Bliss is having another fabulous soiree! In celebration of the completion of their 1920's Bungalow they are hosting a Vintage Artists Market and Open House. For more details click here!

Mark your calendars for the weekend of Friday the 15th and Saturday the 16th!

-M.

When the day is long and life gets hard we all need a little beauty to make us feel better. This is where I find happiness. Paper napkins! Just seeing a beautiful napkin makes me smile. They add such a great splash of color to your dining.

These are a few of the patterns we have at M & Co. currently. I am particularly enamoured with the watermelon print. The back side of the napkin has a beautiful pineapple. I can hardly bring myself to wipe my mouth on these beauties.

Sometimes it's the small pleasures in life that sustain us. Thank you Caspari for printing such dreaminess!

-M.

Oops, sorry about the 'Have a Good Weekend' comment below! I guess I really had my days messed up when I scheduled this post. Oh well. Did I mention I'm turning 40?!

These are some pictures from my trip to Kansas. I absolutely loved it! The sky was so blue and lots of green grass everywhere. I kept thinking all of my nightmares were going to come true and a tornado was going to swing through at any moment. Of course that didn't happen. But you can't help but think these thoughts while in the land of Dorothy.

This is downtown Lawrence where I spent most of my time.
Photos taken from somewhere online (I forgot where).

I would have died and gone to Barbie heaven to have these pink beauties when I was little! I am still coveting them.

These photos were taken in the cutest fabric store I have ever been in. Good thing I don't know the first thing about sewing because as it was I had to restrain myself from buying endless supplies of fabric that I would never do anything with!

(love the cat lounging shamelessly)

This picture speaks for itself! Hysterical! (Tip jar in one of the downtown cafes)

This was a delicious French restaurant we dined at in Topeka. (What? A French restaurant in a western saloon styled building?)

I just had to take a picture of possibly the best grilled cheese sandwich I have ever tasted!

Bob and I were extremely fortunate to happen across one last great restaurant on the way to the airport. I highly recommend this cafe if you are ever in Kansas City. Missouri that is. Until then check out the menu and get inspired! Kansas City Cafe

There is one more restaurant I feel I must mention just in case any of you get to Topeka. We were given the recommendation to dine at the Rowhouse Restaurant. It didn't disappoint! This wonderful restaurant changes it's menu every week. I was so enamoured with the food that I emailed the chef to request the recipes and believe it or not, he actually sent them to me!

Have a great weekend.

-M.

Think happy thoughts! It's Monday!

Have a good one -
M.

(photo from LaLa Lovely)

I love, love, love these new invitations we just got in by Mindy Weiss. And these images aren't doing them justice! I am going to have to take a picture of them and post it because these are all printed on a beautiful, creamy background which makes them look vintage and luscious. And the blue is definitely not aqua! It is a robin's egg blue.

These invitations are the perfect first impression to your fabulous event!

-M.