Star gazing

 I was able to get up on the roof of my 32 floor building a few nights ago to watch the NASA rocket launch from Virginia. I stood there with some neighbor friends, craning our necks back to catch a glimpse against the city lights, but unfortunately we didn't see it ascend into the darkness. I'd had never been up on my building's roof before, and I took a look around (although not for long because the wind was turning my hair into freezing whips, I was like an icy Medusa by the time I was done up there).

We could see south, as far as the Empire State and way beyond

And then east to the East River and Triborough (now RFK) Bridge

I can't even imagine how incredible a sunrise or sunset would be from up that high. I'm going to do my best to get up there for both of those next year (with a proper camera, not just my iPhone).

While I wait for Downton Abbey to return, I'm falling headlong into Parade's End on HBO. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch (could his name possibly be any more perfect?) from Sherlock (the best!) and it's written by the incomparable Tom Stoppard, whom I've loved since my heady days in 12th grade english class reading his tragicomedy Rosenkrantz and Gildenstern are Dead.

Interior design

Did you see the Domaine feature on Susan Feldman of One Kings Lane? Her Hollywoods Hills home is drop dead gorgeous, and I'm drawing major inspiration from everything I see there. Clearly she gets to draw from her awesome position at One Kings Lane, but still, it's pretty amazing.

I've been looking for ages for a chalkboard for our entryway, one where I can note all of our various appointments and to-do lists. I eventually caved and got a glass whiteboard but now this Apartment Therapy chalkboard roundup is making me reconsider that whiteboard.

I appreciate this honest and refreshing post from Nicole of Making it Lovely. It's not often that a design blogger will give us a candid look at a room in their home, one that isn't necessarily done up to perfection as we're now wont to expect because of idealistic sites like Pinterest.

food

As Adrianna says, you shouldn't make this rose apple pie with bourbon glaze if you're handling the major part of the Thanksgiving meal. But seriously, the one is a work of art.

I have trouble loving kale, I'll admit it. But here's a kale recipe I could get behind. See Bev's sausage and kale pasta bake here. The kale is completely buried, and that's fine with me.

Or you could travel to Marrakech with David and Luise and enjoy a raw key lime mousse with pomegranate while you gape over their gorgeous shots. I was there so long ago, without a great camera, and this post makes me long to return (not that I needed much prodding, really).

And then some pretty moon bokeh for you to close out the post

My holiday table

Am I the last person to know about H&M Home? After Abbey posted her favorite star items from their site, I had to jump over and see what else they had. Result? I've just figured out my entire holiday table:

1. star-shaped metal candle holder    2. white glass vase   3. white tea light holder   4. gold star-shaped candle

1. owl plate   2. bird tablecloth  3. cloth napkins   4. small metal cake plate

My weekend in images

Thursday: Somehow this little one turned 2 last week. How did that happen so fast?

Friday: Had to pause while chopping leeks to admire the colors. They were used for leek and cauliflower soup (with ground cashews as a cream base!)

Favorite item of the week: cute mama and baby fox from IKEA (used when dancing to "What Does the Fox Say?", of course!)

Saturday: The beginning of a butternut squash, apple, and brie galette. Next time I'll add more brie and make my pie crust with no sugar. It felt like I was having a sweet pie for dinner.

Location: tiny park on 2nd avenue and 91st street. I can't get over the colors this season.

Location: same park as above. We were the only ones out and about most of the day on Sunday. The rain kept others inside. Luckily we love being outside in the rain.

Location: 91st street between 2nd and 3rd avenues. It was this kind of weekend, misty, foggy (so foggy we couldn't see past our building at one point) and the trees are in that florescent phase right before they go dark for the winter.

Location: 93rd street. I saw this chair on my street on the upper east side on Sunday. Unfortunately it had been raining all day otherwise I would have picked it up immediately, and found a way to reupholster it. Although, after I posted this shot on Instagram yesterday, several people ooohing and aaahing over it made me regret my decision to leave it behind. I told myself if it was still there on my morning walk that I'd grab it. It was gone :( 

I hope you all had a great weekend.

Happy weekend, friends!

I hope your weekend is shaping up well so far. I'm firmly ensconced on the couch with some chocolate babka from our new Breads bakery, and perhaps there's a movie in my near future. (Correction: it's 1am and that movie is finished - we watched The Heat - not the greatest use of $5.99 ever, I have to say) I have plans for the apartment this weekend, plans that include paint and IKEA. I also have a date with Central Park. I've been dying to shoot the autumn foliage and it seems to be particularly glorious this year.

interior design

Bri Emery did some research on Airbnb and found us some cool places to stay in California. Now she has me dreaming of a trip there.

Who wants some Anthropologie bedding? Camile Styles has an Anthropologie bedding giveaway that you just have to enter. Or don't enter -- so I can have a better chance.

Sarah Yates of A House in the Hills has some serious decorating talent. Just check out her living room. I'm dying over that round mirror. It would be right at home on the wall over my kitchen table.

food

Kelsey of Happyolks never fails to get me thinking with her essays on life, love, and the power of womanhood. And there's a recipe for a butternut squash and brie galette. Seriously? Delicious food AND food for thought.

If you weren't lucky enough to be in that sold-out room at NYU last week to see Luisa Weiss, Smitten Kitchen's Deb Perleman and Food 52's Amanda Hesser speak about food and blogging and Luisa's book, My Berlin Kitchen (now out in paperback!), then you can watch it here.

I fear my husband is going to ask me for marshmallow topped sweet potatoes again this year, and I just can't bear the sweetness (are all you Americans frowning and unsubscribing from my site now?). BUT, I may have found an alternative in  this coconut-pecan slow cooker sweet potato dish from Aimee at Simple Bites.

hard to define - but all about NYC

This is clearly a sponsored post, but I love seeing New York  through photographer Jamie Beck's eyes.

Did you know Banksy was hanging out in NYC for the month of October scattering incredible artwork all over the city? Here are his top 10 pieces that had fans scrambling across the five boroughs to track him down.

Jenna of Sweet Fine Day has prepared her annual NYC calendar, and it's available for sale now on her website, check it out here. Plus she has some interesting musings on our soon to be former mayor.


Happy weekend, friends!

Emily

Emily Dickinson has to be read in the winter, when the sky grows dark before 5pm and the wind reaches little tendrils down your neck. She has to be read from inside the window, while the light creates shadows on the glass and your forgotten tea steams quietly beside your trembling hand.


"Hope" is the thing with feathers

"Hope" is the thing with feathers-
That perches in the soul- 
And sings the tune without the words- 
And never stops-at all- 

And sweetest-in the Gale-is heard- 
And sore must be the storm-
That could abash the little Bird 
That kept so many warm- 

I've heard it in the chillest land- 
And on the strangest Sea- 
Yet, never, in Extremity- 
It asked a crumb-of me. 

-Emily Dickinson

Source: The Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by R.W. Franklin (Harvard University Press, 1999)

A glorious run

We've had a glorious run of days the past few weeks. The kind that make you wish you could stop time. The air is clearer, I can see further from our windows and everything has a crisp, cool edge to it. I've gone from the soft padding of flats on the sidewalk to the ring of Autumn boots. From salads for lunch to hearty soups and breads.

In other news, we had wafels and dinges a while ago and now they are all I can think about. Seriously. Is it bad that I'm trying to find an excuse to walk past the Wafels and Dinges truck at the tip of the Great Lawn so I can snag a wafle with spekuloos and whipped cream, and then nutella drizzled all over?

food

I'm so happy for the lovely Kate of Cookie and Kate who has taken a great leap and made her site a full time job. To celebrate, she created this red pepper martini for us all to enjoy.

Diane Cu and Todd Porter of White on Rice Couple launched their beautiful book, Bountiful and developed this lemon bundt cake to thank their readers. Should I do this one for my next work bakeoff competition?

There's no natural segue way for this after talking about alcohol and dessert, but can we move on to baked sweet potato fries next? Well Linda of the Brooklyn-based The Tart Tart has just made me crave them. And then she posted a recipe for quince ginger sorbet! How much temptation can I take?!

interior design

Marisa Rosenbaum, Refinery29's shopping market director, has a small apartment, a teeny tiny apartment. And it's quite possibly the prettiest small apartment I've ever seen. Check out her design tips and secrets.

Ok this is totally inspiring, and I will probably never do it (just being honest here, guys!) but this DIY modern sunburst mirror from Jenny Komenda would look amazing in my apartment.

This bedroom designed by Emily Henderson haunts my dreams. I think I want to use that Sherwin Williams crushed ice color in my entryway.

Ever since the creative cooperative, Makeshift Society opened up in San Francisco, I've been waiting for them to come to the east coast. And now Anna of Door Sixteen tells me they're coming to Brooklyn! They're scheduled to open their doors in 2014 and I can't wait to check out the space.

fashion

The last thing I need is another bag (did I really just say that?), I just got this one from Madewell and it's THE perfect fall bag. But should you be in the market for one, enter to win a handbag from the Fleabag shop with DesignLoveFest. If you don't win, she's offering a 15% discount on their site with the code. LOVEFEST15.

Let's talk about Kate Midleton for a second, shall we? Perfection - that's all we really need to say. Design Darling shows us how to duplicate her look. It's nothing earth-shatteringly different, really, but just very tailored and neat.



Happy Halloween!

October apple picking

So, I'm sure you've seen fall apple picking shots similar to these a hundred times by now, and I'm sorry you have to see them again. Actually, I'm not really sorry. It's one of those mandatory Autumn activities in our family and we look forward to it all year long. This year we found a no-frills farm an hour outside of the city that satisfied our various requirements: Ted's requirement was that it had no carnival atmosphere, mine was that they had apple cider doughnuts. We both left happy.

There's always one magical tree in every orchard I go to, one that stands out from all the rest. I was in love with this one. Her extra long branch was laden with the most delicious apples in the whole orchard. 

I'm dead set on figuring out how to duplicate these apple cider doughnuts in a baked form. We may or may not have polished off a dozen while we were there.

After exiting the apple orchards, you're met with this little bakery crammed with about fifty varieties of pies and lines of people waiting for the next batch of baked goods.

All this to say, hold on to those traditions. They're the memories we cherish year after year. Even if sometimes it doesn't feel worth it, cause one or both children are having a meltdown in the middle of an orchard because you're not picking from the tree they chose, and you're pretty sure a wasp flew down the back of your jumper.

Autumn snuck up on me this year, and now it's securely here. I didn't realize it until I walked outside after a work event last night and the wind sliced across the back of my neck. That wind is going to make me take out my wooly coat soon enough.

I don't mean to shorten your enjoyment of Autumn, but it's going to be Winter in the blink of an eye.