A couple weeks ago, my mom came to do some work on the wedding. We crafted, shopped for decorating supplies and bought my wedding shoes (pictured above)! Since I’m quite tall (just shy of 5’10) I was serious about buying flats or something with a very, very low heel. Typically, I don’t shy away from high heels. Joey is tall (around 6’4) so that’s not an issue, but the last thing I wanted was to look back at my wedding … Read More

Those of you that follow me on Twitter are well aware that last week Joey and I welcomed this little lady into our soon-to-be family. Her name is Nutmeg, and while 4-years-old really isn’t a ‘puppy’ anymore, I have a tendency to call all dogs puppies, no matter the age or size. Little Nut came to us via Florida, where she was one of four family dogs living with my dad, step-mom and little sisters. She is now the only … Read More

I never really thought I would be someone who had a set of ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos to share. But here I am, with said set of photos, talking about my journey to health. For a number of reasons, college really wasn’t my favorite stage of life. Growing up I was a habitual early-riser who kept a full schedule of activities and had a gym in my basement. The college routine of late nights, a less than stellar diet and … Read More

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I am blown away by you all. Your kindness and generosity in light of recent events blew me away, and I’m thrilled to say that together we raised $230 for the Red Cross to go towards disaster relief in Japan! Thank you, so much, to everyone who donated and placed bids on these baked goods. I will be contacting winners today to get the ball rolling. The winners are: My Nutella … Read More

Can I be completely honest with you?  I’ve been more than a little nervous about this blog bake sale. It’s my first attempt at anything of the sort, dependent on the generosity of the readers of Espresso and Cream. I was more than a bit afraid that it was a silly idea, that no one would be interested in donating or bidding on the baked goods donated. But when some of my awesome readers volunteered their baking expertise with such enthusiasm, … Read More

Whirlwind 48 hours of travel for work: Check. Managing to stay well-hydrated and getting the recommended servings of fruits and veggies both days: Check. (Thank you CIBO Express and the great little vegetarian-friendly restaurant in the Minneapolis airport!) Coming home and trying a new recipe, only to have it fail: Check. Back to the drawing board. Hope you enjoy these little snippets from my trip. Madison

http://www.youtube.com/get_player Man this week is busy! I’m taking a quick work trip over the next couple days and to keep you all occupied in my absence,  I’m sharing this lame little video Joey and I made last weekend after a day of home renovation work in Chicago. Please excuse the crazy hair and dark roots. Hey, a little video is better than no video at all, right? I’m second guessing that logic right now. Madison

First of all, thanks to all of you who entered the gift card giveaway! I was blown away by all the responses and left with a serious craving for comfort food. I’m thinking there might need to be a comfort food week on Espresso and Cream sometime soon. The winner of the giveaway is Sarah Crosby (comment #43)! Please e-mail me (madisonjanemayberry@gmail.com) with your address and I will get your gift card in the mail. In other news, Joey and … Read More

If you are anything like me, you are in love with Williams-Sonoma. Really, how can you not be? It seems like every time I walk into that store, I leave realizing there are about a hundred things I don’t have in my kitchen that I need. Alas, my eyes are bigger than my tiny apartment kitchen so I usually stick to window-shopping and browsing. Doing a lot of oooh-ing and ahh-ing along the way. Maybe I should get to the … Read More

After being sick with the flu a couple weeks back and eating nothing but buttered toast and bagels for four days straight, I couldn’t wait to get back into a varied, tasty breakfast routine. Believe it or not, it took me a full week and a half for me to crave coffee and pancakes again! If you’re looking to shake up your breakfast, here’s a great place to start: PB&J Buckwheat Crepes Breakfast Enchiladas  Blueberry-Lemon Pancakes Oatmeal Scones with Coconut … Read More

When I was in college, one of the most wonderful things about going home was knowing that my mom would have a wonderful meal waiting for my arrival. After driving four hours, usually at night after class, there was nothing better than sitting down to a big bowl of hot beef stew with her famous buttermilk biscuits. So when my mom let me know she was going to visit me this weekend to work on wedding crafts, I knew I … Read More

I’ve know that lately I’ve been pretty quiet on the wedding front. So quiet, in fact, that maybe you forgot it’s happening all together. Not to worry, it’s still on. It’s just that after thinking it over, I decided that I wanted the big day to be special and filled with lots of surprises for our guests, so the detail-sharing has been staying under wraps for the most part. But today, I felt like talking wedding hair, since it seems … Read More