It's been a while

everyone is perky and attentive on the morning of the launch of our fall 13 books

Apologies for the hiatus. I've been crazed preparing for and then making presentations at the sales conference for the launch of our Fall 2013 titles. These are books I'm super excited about working on so it was fun to discuss them with the sales team (they have some nice shoes!). Now that it's over, I'm tired. And I need to sleep. But first, here's what I've been seeing throughout the week:

Interior design:

I'm kind of addicted to West Elm as it is, and now with the opening of West Elm Market, their new shop of kitchen tools (they're calling it a community store and general market), I can tell I'll be spending way too much in there this fall.

Are you as excited about the new Nate Berkus book as I am? Just in case you haven't purchased your copy yet, head to Apartment 34 before Sunday to win a signed copy of his book along with an incredible looking lacquered box from his Target collection.

Art for your home feels like an incredibly tough process, not to mention expensive. Jenny at Little Green Notebook takes some of the stress away with this giveaway from gorgeous online art store, 20x200. Just find your favorites on 20x200, go back to LGN and tell Jenny, and voila! You'll be entered to win one $200 gift certificate and five $20 gift certificates. 

Fashion/style:

Kelly of The Glamourai and Jamie Beck are visiting Paris and I'm swooning over the images of their adventures in the city of lights.

Win $100 to spend at Shopbop through The Zhush.

My kind mother, who is staying with me for a few days while T is traveling in Europe for work, just bought me a pair of the cutest skinny red jeans with zippers from the Gap. I'm in love with them. But just as I was trying to figure out what to wear with them, I found this super helpful post from Ramshackle Glam on how to style your red jean outfit. Yippeee.

Food:

I was pretty excited to meet Yvette Van Boven in our offices last week. She's kind of a superstar in the foodie world and her cookbooks are simply gorgeous. Check out this recipe for a luxurious gingerbread with white chocolate and dates on Design Sponge.

Even though Molly of Orangette acknowledges that the world doesn't need another banana baked anything she still manages to entice with a recipe for banana cereal muffins from the always amazing Kim Boyce and her book, Good to the Grain.

People, I'm declaring it right here and now, I LOVE bread pudding! I love it cold, I love it hot. I love it to the moon and back. And then some. Now that I've told you that, I'm pointing you towards this scrumptious recipe for maple pumpkin bourbon bread pudding from the always fun Eva at Adventures in Cooking.

Maria and Josh of Two Peas & Their Pod recently traveled to Oregon and have come back with a sweet gift box giveaway from Harry & David. It has pears and lots of blue cheese, and well, that's really you need to know.


Ok, now back to tracking this hurricane barreling its way towards NYC. Baking some tea bread, stocking up on milk and eggs, and hunkering down for a windy, rainy day on Monday.

end of the day at the launch of our fall books at work

Too much internet

I've been sleeping, well, not much these past few weeks. Not sure why, but I suddenly can't seem to motivate myself to go to bed any time before 1am. There's just too much INTERNET out there, people!

And I can't let it all go to waste while I sleep!

Interior design:

Get some ideas for fall decorating over on the beautiful french farmhouse interior site, Dreamy Whites. I'm digging the use of Autumnal branches around the home (and those blue French canning bottles, ahhh!)

Win $100 towards chic office supply store Pippin from Erin at House of Turquoise. I'd use it towards a colorful desk chair, or perhaps some pink office supplies in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I've been a fan of Swedish designer Lotta Jansdotter for years. See her beautiful bright Brooklyn office at Decor8 today. Also, I didn't realize she had a line with Fishs Eddy. I need to pick some of those pieces up right away.

Fashion/style:

Comment on Bleubird to win $250 to spend on so many awesome baby things at Tottini.

Ok, I hope no family readers are paying attention cause I totally want to make this amazing memory card game with my own photographs, from Pinhole Press. I used them for calendars last year and I was very impressed with the quality of the paper and printing. Found via Cup of Jo today.

Win $100 towards Shopbop from Bedknobs and Baubles.

Food:

Check out these beautiful warm apple pots from Caitlin at Roost. Like little mini apple pies in a cup, they are the perfect single serving desserts that don't require too much effort.


That's it, see you tomorrow. Off to try and get some sleep.

Tradition

Last Saturday's batch of lemon poppy seed pancakes

I have this Saturday morning tradition where I rise earlier than a few members of my household and tune Pandora to my Irish music channel. The rooms of my apartment swell and fill with the sounds of the tin whistle, accordion, and bodhran while I flip pancakes and dance/shuffle around in my pajamas, my bare feet tapping out rhythms on our cold kitchen tiles. Slowly but surely, I'm joined by others, blinking their eyes owlishly. The music is usually too fast for their sleepy minds and it's quickly replaced by something more sedate, like NPR, but for a few precious minutes on a weekend morning, the apartment and the sounds in it are mine.

Just a few posts before we head into the weekend.

Food:

I promise to stop posting apple recipes soon, seriously. Can I do just one more? How about this utterly tempting apple mosaic tart with salted caramel from Smitten Kitchen? Yep, that works for me.

I love sugar, that's a fact. But, I don't think even I could eat too many of these dark chocolate and coconut popovers posted on The Kitchn today. If I find the plain popover too heavy, perhaps this would be way over the top. Or perhaps it might be heaven.

I wrote a post for the Abrams Books blog reviewing malted milk chocolate pots de creme from the new Baked Elements book. Check it out here.

Fashion/style:

I'm in awe of these wildlife images for the Veolia Environnement wildlife photographer of the year. Once you look at the top 10 you'll have trouble seeing how they chose just one as the winner.

Interior design:

You better believe I'm entering this giveaway from Anthology Magazine to celebrate their 2 year anniversary. You could win issues no.1-8 (including the hard-to-find issues no.1 and 2!) All you have to do is follow them on instagram and take a photo of your favorite place to curl up with your copy of Anthology magazine.

Looking for something to dream about this weekend? Take a look at this post on This is Glamorous about the many extraordinary castles in Germany. This is part of their "take me away" series and the photos alone have me booking tickets to Germany pronto.


That's it, have a wonderful weekend!

I missed you, oven

As the weather gets cooler, I am able to turn on the oven again. Oh, how I missed it. I find comfort in dicing and roasting vegetables, sweet potato, carrots, and onions, piling them in neat piles and tossing them in olive oil and salt and roasting until they are bursting with sweetness. This is my go-to way to serve vegetables and often the way I use up supplies that are wilting fast.

Food:

Speaking of turning on the oven, check out this baked butternut squash with parmesan and sage from Gourmande in the Kitchen. I bet your kitchen would be filled with the most intoxicating aroma while this was baking.

Go and make these super cute mini chocolate raspberry cheesecakes from Claire at The Things We Make, right now. Like, right now. That's all I really have to say about that.

Win some Le Creuset bakeware from The Pioneer Woman today. She's giving away three beautiful braisers in your choice of flame orange, caribbean blue, or dijon yellow. 

Fashion/style:

Download this super cute Halloween-themed wrapping paper from Bloesem. Use for October birthday presents, or for party favors for your Halloween parties.

I love the girly lifestyle site, Hello Giggles and the team behind it (which includes Zooey Deschanel). The Coveteur features the home of another one of the founders, Sophia Rossi. After seeing the images of her beautiful home it's clear that the cute, vintage style of Hello Giggles owes its inspiration in part to Sophia.

Interior design:

Despite the fact that we just bought an oriental carpet for under our dining table, I'm still always on the lookout for other rugs. So I appreciated this pretty and affordable rug round up by a new blog find of mine, Design Darling. I'm thinking of a pretty chevron number for the bedroom.

Gahhh, drooling over these images of a Scandinavian apartment on Emmas Designblogg today. Instead of the usual graphic black and white you so often see, this is a refreshing change with warm brown tones and pops of white.

I was super excited to see that Lonny has launched an iPad app. You can see past issues and even directly link to websites to purchase the items you see in the magazine pages. Awesome!

Check out these inspiring images of kitchens on My Notting Hill today. Get this, they have libraries in them!  That's pretty much my idea of heaven--I'd probably never leave the room!

I'm adding billie magazine to my list of online magazines to read. The new shelter and fashion mag is coming out in November and is run by former Domino editor, Lili Diallo. Read more about it on The Editor at Large.

In the blink of an eye

Isn't it amazing how life can change in the blink of an eye? One minute you're cruising along, and the next you're thrown for a loop - reeling with new knowledge and unsure of your footing. When life hits you with unexpected events, really the only thing to do is to fall back on comfort. See those mugs up there? They are filled with the most incredible creamy chocolate-y malted goodness. Milk chocolate pots de creme from the newest book in the Baked franchise; Baked Elements. Heaven in a cup.

Interior design:

It's kind of amazing what some new shiny knobs can do for a piece of furniture. Check out Jess Lively's new take on an IKEA classic dresser.

Young House Love takes the hassle out of holiday card buying and has a giveaway for $400 to spend at Tiny Cards to purchase their gorgeous custom holiday cards as well as some custom address labels.

I'm looking forward to curling up with issue no. 9 of Anthology Magazine and a cup of tea very soon, but in the meantime, enjoy this preview.

Food:

Do you read The New Potato? A recent find for me, it's run by two sisters who are clearly passionate about discovering new culinary talent and showcasing amazing restaurants in NYC. Today's post lets you shop a stylish collection curated by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of Apartment Therapy. I'm drooling over those pretty little soup bowls.

Cauliflower completes me. One of my favorite recipes in the Autumn is a cauliflower cheese soup from Moosewood Kitchen. It's so satisfying. Naturally Ella has a recipe for a roasted garlic and cheddar cauliflower gratin that looks just as good.

As usual, Caitlin of Roost brings it with this insanely good looking post on pumpkin spice donuts with cinnamon butter glaze. If you haven't welcomed Autumn yet, you should do so with this recipe.

Fashion/style:

If you're as active on instagram as I am then you'll easily be able to participate in this contest being run by Anne Sage at the wonderful San Francisco-based blog, The City Sage. You could win a $250 gift card to Target and all you have to do is tag @thecitysage in your instagram posts as you walk around the streets of your town.

Do you love Erin of Apartment 34's style as much as I do? Well then you'll be excited to see that she's pairing down her wardrobe and selling off some of her excess fall clothes on Threadflip! Threadflip lets you sell your clothing straight from your closet. I'd check out her collection if I were you.


Here's Central Park from this weekend - no Autumn colors yet. See you tomorrow!

Happy weekend

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. I'm planning on putting some of those apples we picked last weekend to good use and making a galette or two.

Interior design:

Holly Becker of Decor8 has teamed up with her publisher to put together a box of her very favorite items for your home and they are giving it away! Head to Decor8 and then on to the Chronicle Books site to participate. From a Jonathan Adler vase to a gorgeous Voluspa candle, I'm dying to win this one.

Fashion/style:

Am I the last one in the world to start reading the JCrew blog, 770 Behind the Line? Oh well, I'm reading it now and loving the stylinga and outfit inspirations they put together.

Most of us don't live in London so won't be able to check out this incredible Chanel show about Coco Chanel's iconic little black jacket that just opened in London's Saatchi Gallery. But The Londoner got a sneak peek and features it on her blog. She also has a giveaway for one of the Chanel prints that you get if you attend the show! I would frame one of these for my bedroom.

Food:

Just in case you think I never post about salads (well, it's true, I rarely do), here's one from Sprouted Kitchen today that looks really good: it's a butter lettuce salad with tahini honey dressing.

Helene at Tartelette is giving away a copy of Marmalade by Elizabeth Fields, a book Helene shot beautifully for Running Press. Just leave a comment to be entered.

Here's a totally cute gift for trick or treaters at Halloween or to make with children: petri-dish jell-o from Sugar & Cloth today.


And finally, how cute is this little orphaned walrus joining the NY Aquarium? I need to visit him asap.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Chill

The mornings are chilly now and we are greeted by a blast of cold air upon leaving our building to walk the few blocks to the subway. October moves quickly and I'm looking forward to walking down my favorite blocks near Central Park to see the stately brownstones all decorated for Halloween.

Interior design:

The October issue of Lonny is live!

I'm loving this incredibly colorful Finnish apartment over on This Little Street. Found by Audrey for her "Live Here, Eat This" series, she pairs the home with a gingered watermelon juice so you can sip in style.

If you're in the market for a new sofa then check out this roundup of relatively affordable JCPenney couches from Camila at Effortless Style. I'm really digging that Oasis Darrin sofa in a deep grey.

Food:

I like to make pancakes every saturday or sunday morning. Last weekend I made lemon poppy seed pancakes that kind of blew me away. This weekend I might try out these whole wheat apple cinnamon pancakes with cinnamon syrup from the lovely Maria and Josh at Two Peas and Their Pod.

You have until October 15th to enter this giveaway from Aran at Cannelle et Vanille for an assorted mix of Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flours, but I'd suggest heading over there straight away because she also provides recipes for some apple scones and apple and cardamom brown butter cakes.

Adrianna at A Cozy Kitchen is celebrating her birthday (happy birthday, Adrianna!) and like the nice person she is, she's hosting a giveaway for us! Enter to win a cute purse, the newly released Spoon, Fork Bacon book, and coloring pencils fashioned like twigs.

I can't help it, I'm totally into curried soup at the moment. Naturally Ella has a tasty looking recipe for curried pumpkin and coconut soup that sounds perfect for a chilly Sunday afternoon. I'd serve it with some buttered Irish brown bread.

Oh what I would give to attend this food photography and styling workshop being run by Bea at La Tartine Gourmande in County Clare next autumn!

Fashion/style:

Gabrielle of Design Mom is in Ethiopia at the moment as part of The ONE Campaign, touring schools and helping find ways to combat starvation and malnutrition. Her dispatches are incredibly interesting and showcase this gorgeous but ravaged land. Here she tours some schools and visits their library and here you get to see how beautiful the land is. Also enter to win $175 to spend on a cool backpack, lunch bag or diaper bag from So Young.

Gourmande in the Kitchen is hosting a giveaway of a super stylish ONA Bowery camera bag. Simply head over to leave a comment to be entered to win.

Ok I'm off to watch the VP debate on my DVR. I hear there is lots of snide giggling by both!