Some days all you need is a good cup of tea to get through the morning. And some days you need something stronger. It's Friday so I didn't need much more than a chocolate croissant from the cafe downstairs and a little Radiohead to put a pep in my step today.
I was blown away by this video this morning on Swissmiss featuring ballet dancers from Staatsballett Berlin dancing to Radiohead's Everything in Its Right Place. The video is in slow motion and it's so inspiring to see what the human body can do. Their strength makes my jaw drop. You can also watch on Devour.
My good friend Luisa Weiss of the beautiful blog The Wednesday Chef, posted a Judy Rodgers recipe today for applesauce, and this will be perfect to make for my 4 month old when introducing solids in two months. It's the easiest baby food really, although I might leave out the sugar and just sprinkle it on for myself. I'll freeze it in ice cube trays for easy access.
Why is it that my 3 year old always asks for a snack right as we're walking out the door every morning? I'll be sweating through my winter coat and have one foot out the door when the request is made. Usually I end up grabbing some veggie booty or throwing some granola in a baggie for her to carry as she heads up to daycare with her dad. But this great recipe for 4-Ingredient Banana Oat Bars on The Kitchn will solve those impromptu requests. The original creator of the recipe also adds flax seeds which I'll definitely do too.
Who doesn't love getting a sneak peek of the genius behind your favorite bloggers? The Pioneer Woman has a great post today with her favorite kitchen tools and I'm taking notes.
Los Angeles has been on my list to travel to for a long time, and coupled with my new years resolution to get out of Manhattan a bit more, I'm eager to take a trip across the country. Cup of Jo has posted a mini guide to LA today. She covers places to stay, eat, and visit for fun. She asked her readers to supply their favorite places too so I'll be reading the comments for some more ideas.
I hope you all have lovely plans for the weekend. We're planning on catching up on a lot of laundry and doing some general chores around the city. Unless there are some really awesome posts worth sharing later on today or this weekend I'll see you here on Monday!
Curator Picks - 3/29
Thursday, March 29, 2012
When I was a child my parents used to take my siblings and I to a strawberry festival every year in our small Irish town. As I remember it, the only food there were strawberries piled high in their traditional blue green paper boxes. These weren't your big fat juicy American strawberries, but little tiny jewel-like orbs that we popped into our mouths with big globs of freshly whipped cream until our lips were stained red. There was also a seesaw ride that I used to love, but that's beside the point. All this came rushing back to me when I saw Stephmodo's entry today on strawberries with creme fraiche and brown sugar. There are no strawberries for sale yet at the Union Square farmers market, but I'm keeping my eye out for some.
Have you guys checked out the mom site Elizabeth Street yet? I downloaded the app to my phone and iPad when Cup of Jo mentioned it a few months ago and am seeing it pop up everywhere. It's basically a review of stylish moms living in a few selected cities (New York, Paris, London, Rome, Los Angeles, etc.) and what they do for fun with their children. You can even apply to become one of their next featured moms on the site and the app. I'm not half as stylish or accomplished as these women but it's inspiring to click through their profiles and see where they eat, what they wear, and get good suggestions for places to go with children.
Design Sponge has a great post today on a London flat makeover and as I have a sister living in London, I thought I'd post this one for her. I love the industrial look but it often feels cold and un-lived in. The designer Cassidy Hughes has done a wonderful job bringing warmth to the space.
Apartment Therapy has opened their 8th annual smallest coolest home contest. Submit photos of your tiny space (must be under 1,000 feet) and show Apartment Therapy how you live well in a tiny space. Meanwhile, 1,000 feet doesn't sound so tiny to me! First prize wins $5000 and the new iPad.
Adrianna at A Cozy Kitchen has a crazy awesome insane recipe today for spicy caramel bacon popcorn - do you think it would be odd if I had that for dinner tonight? Not crazy, right? So glad you agree.
Leaving now to go find some strawberries so I can reminisce about my childhood.
Have you guys checked out the mom site Elizabeth Street yet? I downloaded the app to my phone and iPad when Cup of Jo mentioned it a few months ago and am seeing it pop up everywhere. It's basically a review of stylish moms living in a few selected cities (New York, Paris, London, Rome, Los Angeles, etc.) and what they do for fun with their children. You can even apply to become one of their next featured moms on the site and the app. I'm not half as stylish or accomplished as these women but it's inspiring to click through their profiles and see where they eat, what they wear, and get good suggestions for places to go with children.
Design Sponge has a great post today on a London flat makeover and as I have a sister living in London, I thought I'd post this one for her. I love the industrial look but it often feels cold and un-lived in. The designer Cassidy Hughes has done a wonderful job bringing warmth to the space.
Apartment Therapy has opened their 8th annual smallest coolest home contest. Submit photos of your tiny space (must be under 1,000 feet) and show Apartment Therapy how you live well in a tiny space. Meanwhile, 1,000 feet doesn't sound so tiny to me! First prize wins $5000 and the new iPad.
Adrianna at A Cozy Kitchen has a crazy awesome insane recipe today for spicy caramel bacon popcorn - do you think it would be odd if I had that for dinner tonight? Not crazy, right? So glad you agree.
Leaving now to go find some strawberries so I can reminisce about my childhood.
Curator Picks - 3/28
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
I'm not going to lie, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of posts in my reader today. There were 80 by the time 10am rolled around. Does everyone post on Wednesday, or what?
My jaw literally dropped when I saw Apartment Therapy's post today on creating a Narnia-like world for your child (or yourself) by installing a wardrobe over the doorway so it appears like a secret world when you open the wardrobe doors. I must have this for myself! I could picture snuggling up in there (with or without children) with my favorite books, hidden away for hours and dreaming that Mr. Tumnus would come and find me under the streetlamp.
Considering I just ate straight lemon curd for breakfast this morning (hey, it's my vitamin C for the day!), this recipe for Spring Grapefruit Tartlets over at Oh Joy! are perfect for me. Probably a little too technical to attempt on a weekday, I'll be trying these on some weekend when I have a few hours to spare.
Also, Oh Joy posted today about her online yard sale. She's purging her closet and home and has put together some gorgeous things to sell. Of course her stuff has already sold out, but she says she'll post more again tomorrow. She's selling through a site called Copious and it's worth checking out as anyone can post their own used stuff to sell on the site and then can buy at the same time!
One of my new year's resolutions was to learn to cook more Indian food and Heidi from 101 Cookbooks has posted a lovely looking recipe for saag paneer at just the right time. It requires a huge amount of spinach (another goal of mine) and it's going to help me use up the buttermilk languishing in my fridge - perfect!
I'm a big fan of breakfast for dinner. In Ireland it's very common to eat a fry for dinner which would consist of sausages, rashers, and fried eggs all put together in a big pile of runny yumminess. Probably not the healthiest of meals, but it was certainly delicious and easy to put together. Now that my evenings are more rushed, I find myself looking for quick easy dinners that don't require a lot of prep. For tonight I'm thinking of doing this Cupcakes and Cashmere recipe for pancakes with rum syrup. Cause breakfast for dinner equals yum. Also her tip about using a squeeze bottle for the pancake syrup is so smart. No more drips on the stovetop!
Giveaway on Cup of Jo today for a pair of Alexis Russell diamond earrings. Leave a comment on Joanna's site before tomorrow!
Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday :-)
My jaw literally dropped when I saw Apartment Therapy's post today on creating a Narnia-like world for your child (or yourself) by installing a wardrobe over the doorway so it appears like a secret world when you open the wardrobe doors. I must have this for myself! I could picture snuggling up in there (with or without children) with my favorite books, hidden away for hours and dreaming that Mr. Tumnus would come and find me under the streetlamp.
Considering I just ate straight lemon curd for breakfast this morning (hey, it's my vitamin C for the day!), this recipe for Spring Grapefruit Tartlets over at Oh Joy! are perfect for me. Probably a little too technical to attempt on a weekday, I'll be trying these on some weekend when I have a few hours to spare.
Also, Oh Joy posted today about her online yard sale. She's purging her closet and home and has put together some gorgeous things to sell. Of course her stuff has already sold out, but she says she'll post more again tomorrow. She's selling through a site called Copious and it's worth checking out as anyone can post their own used stuff to sell on the site and then can buy at the same time!
One of my new year's resolutions was to learn to cook more Indian food and Heidi from 101 Cookbooks has posted a lovely looking recipe for saag paneer at just the right time. It requires a huge amount of spinach (another goal of mine) and it's going to help me use up the buttermilk languishing in my fridge - perfect!
I'm a big fan of breakfast for dinner. In Ireland it's very common to eat a fry for dinner which would consist of sausages, rashers, and fried eggs all put together in a big pile of runny yumminess. Probably not the healthiest of meals, but it was certainly delicious and easy to put together. Now that my evenings are more rushed, I find myself looking for quick easy dinners that don't require a lot of prep. For tonight I'm thinking of doing this Cupcakes and Cashmere recipe for pancakes with rum syrup. Cause breakfast for dinner equals yum. Also her tip about using a squeeze bottle for the pancake syrup is so smart. No more drips on the stovetop!
Giveaway on Cup of Jo today for a pair of Alexis Russell diamond earrings. Leave a comment on Joanna's site before tomorrow!
Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday :-)
Curator Picks - 3/27
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Ok, so I totally made that spinach pasta dish I mentioned yesterday, and it was delicious. I substituted orzo for the spiral pasta and I think it was a great move - the orzo gave it a more creamy orzo-y texture and the sunflower seeds added such a welcome little crunch. I also left out the chili pepper flakes because I've got two palates in my household that can't tolerate that kind of heat. Booo. But anyway, it was lovely even without the spice and we all ate so much that I didn't even have enough to take for lunch today. I think it played a role in my head feeling a little clearer this morning. Well, that and the fact that my 4 month old went to bed at 7:30pm.
I'd be a bad person if I didn't start with a giveaway. A great giveaway in fact. An IPAD giveaway! Now you can play Draw Something and win every time! Head on over to the Pioneer Woman site to enter to win a copy of her gorgeous new cookbook and an iPad. The contest is open until tomorrow so hurry up and enter.
We recently redid our bedroom and in doing so have lost a bit of space on which to put things. So we're in desperate need of some new bedside tables that can hold a bit more than lip balm, water, and a kindle. Apartment Therapy has put together a nice round up of the best nightstands. I'm pinning some of these right now. (Ok technically that post was up yesterday, but you can forgive me, right?)
On another design note, check out the sexy Italian chairs that the talented Jenny from Little Green Notebook bought for $19.99 in a thrift shop and just had upholstered in a mint green wool. I love the way the arms curve.
The Coveteur gives us a peek into model Petra Nemcova's style today. Not only is she drop dead gorgeous but she's also well known for her charity work and passion for philanthropy. I love finding out which celebrities are more than a pretty face.
There are a lot of posts up today. I think I'll check in here later with some more for you.
I'd be a bad person if I didn't start with a giveaway. A great giveaway in fact. An IPAD giveaway! Now you can play Draw Something and win every time! Head on over to the Pioneer Woman site to enter to win a copy of her gorgeous new cookbook and an iPad. The contest is open until tomorrow so hurry up and enter.
We recently redid our bedroom and in doing so have lost a bit of space on which to put things. So we're in desperate need of some new bedside tables that can hold a bit more than lip balm, water, and a kindle. Apartment Therapy has put together a nice round up of the best nightstands. I'm pinning some of these right now. (Ok technically that post was up yesterday, but you can forgive me, right?)
On another design note, check out the sexy Italian chairs that the talented Jenny from Little Green Notebook bought for $19.99 in a thrift shop and just had upholstered in a mint green wool. I love the way the arms curve.
The Coveteur gives us a peek into model Petra Nemcova's style today. Not only is she drop dead gorgeous but she's also well known for her charity work and passion for philanthropy. I love finding out which celebrities are more than a pretty face.
There are a lot of posts up today. I think I'll check in here later with some more for you.
Curator Picks - 3/26
Monday, March 26, 2012
I'm a bit under the weather today (perhaps it's the highs and dips in temperature we're experiencing here in the city) and all I want to do is curl up in bed with my latest Netflix disk (season 7 of Weeds, in case you were wondering). But, instead I'm here at the office trying not to cough on anyone.
Totally making Joy the Baker's Spicy Spinach Pasta tonight for dinner! This mixture of spinach, sunflower seeds, pasta, and parmesan sounds so yummy and might be just the thing for my pounding head.
Oh wow, I'm in love with these iphone cases that decor8 shared this morning, by Alicia Bock for Society 6 they are the perfect spring accessory. I think i'm into this pretty one called Restless.
I always thought I'd want a real fireplace in my home (when I have a house). But these modern fireplaces via Apartment Therapy today look rather cosy too.
The wind is kicking up outside, blowing a new cooler air throughout the city. I'm wrapping my hands a little tighter around my cup of earl grey and hoping the cold in my head and the cold in the air leave quickly.
Curator Picks - 3/24
Saturday, March 24, 2012
I wasn't sure if I'd post today as weekends are generally for relaxing and destressing in our household. But I just have to share a few great links that were posted today:
I think I might be obsessed with buying sheets and duvet covers. So I was pretty excited when I saw that Apartment Therapy posted their 10 favorite bedding lines (both high end and low end). I fear I may be adding to our already bulging bedding closet!
Over on Apartment Therapy's cooking blog Thekitchn, a reader requests some advice on throwing a Hunger Games themed party and is sent to the Fictional Food blog to make her gorgeous Mockingjay cupcakes. Maybe I'll try these for the next bake off at work!
Good night.
Curator Picks - 3/23
Friday, March 23, 2012
Ah, today. Today makes me happy because it's Friday and because it's the 23rd. Can't explain it but I've always loved the number 23. And once you identify a number you love, then you see that blasted number EVERYWHERE! Anyway, not too many posts out there today, probably because most of those bloggers are out enjoying the sunshine we're having here in NYC.
Apartment Therapy has a great post giving you a peek into famous writers bedrooms. We all want to feel like we're looking at the room where Sylvia Plath came up with her powerful poetry, or William Faukner penned his best work. And perhaps we think if we look hard enough we can soak up just a little of their genius?
Decor8 and Little Brown Pen both discuss Wayfare magazine, a travel e-mag that has just launched. Finally a travel site and magazine that focuses on the experience rather than the destination. Packed full of inspiring photographs and great money-saving tips, this one is going to be a regular read for me.
Sweet Paul always knows how to inspire, and today he has a DIY project of framed blue stamps. Reminds me of my stamp collecting hobby as a child.
That's about it out in my blogland. I'd love to be heading off to the movies tonight to watch The Hunger Games, but it's way too nice to be inside.
Curator Picks - 3/22
Thursday, March 22, 2012
It was difficult to be indoors today, the weather is simply glorious, and as I walked on the street this morning cherry blossoms gently fell around me. It all feels like it's happening so fast. Slow down spring, slow down! I would have been happy sitting on some random stranger's townhouse stoop all day but home calls and there is work waiting. I couldn't neglect my blogs, so here is what I've found so far today:
Cup of Jo has one of her great weekly giveaways, this time from San Francisco clothing line Curator (hey, we have almost the same name!).
Ummm, sour cherry oatmeal cookies with pistachios from Stephmodo? Yes, please! Another project for the upcoming rainy weekend. And they have cardamom, which has to be one of my top five favorite spices. There is something so sweetly exotic about it.
Over at Young House Love, Sherry and John are giving a full house tour via video. You have to check that out. I'm dreaming about doing a renovation like that when I have a house.
Oh my gosh, what is up with the paper flower explosion in the craft world? They are everywhere right now. Grace Bonney over at Design Sponge talks about Frances & Francis paper flowers. The cool thing is they are made with real twigs so they are a hybrid of real and paper! Really pretty.
I've been dying to check out the Cindy Sherman exhibit at MOMA. Pikaland has a good review of the show. Tough to get away from home on the weekends so I'll have to make this a lunch hour priority. There's something so freeing about seeing art exhibits by yourself, don't you think? I find it a more pleasant experience and i can pick and choose the pieces I want to spend more time at (or skip over).
Ok now let's sit here for a minute and tilt our faces to the sun, shall we?
Talk to you tomorrow!
Curator Picks - 3/21
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Here's what I'm loving so far today:
Young House Love finished their kitchen! And it looks scrumptious. Head on over to check out all the amazing work they did. From the cork floors to the all white cabinetry, I'm in love.
Cup of Jo has posted a delicious looking banana bread recipe (made with alcohol ... so you know that's got to be yummy). It comes via Joy the Baker. I think I might make that this weekend cause I've got a few questionable looking bananas hanging around in my fruit bowl - I mean really, who doesn't?
Check out the enamelware, Bloesem just posted about. I'm drooling over this stuff. I've been looking for quality enamelware for ages.
Okay, that's it for now. I'll be back later with more posts from around the web.
Welcome
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Like most of you I'm completely overwhelmed by the amount of social media coming at me from all angles these days. I can hardly crawl out of bed in the morning without checking twitter, pinterest, and my million blogs. There have to be others out there like me. So, why not put my nefarious talents to use; let me locate the best blog entries out there and put them all in one place for you to pick and choose from.
A little about me: I'm a book editor living and working in Manhattan. I work mostly on books in the following subjects: interior design, gardening, and cookbooks, so my blog reading lies in the areas of design and crafty DIY. I hope you'll find this a useful venue to find some of the best writing and blog entries out there. My goal is to update this at least once if not twice a day with the best new stuff coming out each day. I'll try to be as current as possible.
There, writing it must make it true.
Right?
Okay, let this experiment begin...