Curator Picks - 4/30

Monday, April 30, 2012

On this last day of April, I'm thinking about time. How fast it flies and sometimes (ha!) how slow it drips. April flew and now here we are at May. On the verge of summer. Soon the market will be laden with summer produce, and dinner will be as simple as sun-warmed tomatoes tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.


Food:


I swear, I don't mean to mention Sweet Paul every week, I really don't. But his posts are so good and this recipe Monday is for a mint, cucumber, and lime cocktail so who can resist that? Also see another post of his a little further down.


Gotta give it to Ree at The Pioneer Woman for her use of color in recipes. She never fails to make my mouth water and today's recipe for shrimp tacos was no exception. Also, her avocado slices are so perfect!


Back to my favorite blog of the moment, Roost for some insane looking cinnamon roll almond flour donuts. Donuts are like the final frontier to me, well and meringue (which my mother can whip up infuriatingly in minutes). Caitlin says she's already had three donuts today, I'd be guilty of a whole lot more if I made these. I'll need to find donut pans before I do, though.


Looking for some new creative toppings for your homemade pizzas? How about kale or butternut squash? I know at least one gardening coworker who'd love that idea. Check out Spoon Fork Bacon for a prosciutto, kale, and butternut squash pizza - includes recipe for the crust.


Interior design:


Beautiful coverage by James over at The New Victorian Ruralist today on an incredible hotel in the Austrian alps. I think I could really relax there.


Fashion/Style:

Giveaway on Sweet Paul for the totally cool and cute Cuppow which is a plastic top you attach to a jar that turns it into a travel mug. You have until Friday to enter. 


And if you're in the market for some sunglasses to start your summer off on the right foot, then check out this gorgeous collection gathered for you by Mrs Lilien. I know quite a few people who'd go crazy for these sunglasses.


Pretty necklace giveaway on The Daybook from Le Mode.




I'm tempted to leave work a few minutes early today just to get to the train faster so I can read Fifty Shades of Grey - how sad is that? It's not actually that well written, but there is something about the characters that is pulling me in, kind of the same way the romance did in Twilight.


Curator Picks - 4/27

Friday, April 27, 2012

Fashion/Style:


Totally totally in love with this photo on The Sartorialist today. Her heels are crazy though, was she really going to ride her Vespa with those on? Or did she just see Scott coming with his camera and run back upstairs to put on a crazy awesome outfit? (Cause that's what I would have done).


Great round up of camera bags on A Beautiful Mess. These camera bags don't look like the boring black cases you always see as they are not only functional but so so pretty. I kinda love this Jo Totes one, now if only my upcoming photography class wasn't online!


Other stuff:


My husband just sent me the link for this book which is out of stock on Amazon. I can clearly see why. It's a hilarious parody on Goodnight Moon called Goodnight iPad. I think it will be making its way to my bedside table very soon to remind me to shut down my electronic gadgets every night and enjoy some unplugged time.


This article published in the New York Times last sunday is a little obvious but I still found it very interesting. We're relying on our phones or other electronic devices more and more, in fact I'm finding it hard to walk to the subway now without at least holding my phone in my pocket in case I miss a vibration that might signal a new email or text message. And I was just out at lunch with two other people and we all checked our phones several times throughout the hour away from the office. Is it possible to just unplug and absorb your surroundings? I found it funny that you can tweet the article to your followers - isn't that exactly what the author is telling us not to do? I guess I should be encouraging you not to read my blog and instead speak to some people face to face, but I won't :-)


Anyway, enjoy the weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday. I'm ending with a photograph I recently took of my 5 month old. This is a pre photography class shot, I'm hoping to learn to be more creative and post more stuff on here soon.


Curator Picks - 4/26

Thursday, April 26, 2012

We are in the middle of launching our Spring '13 list here at work, so the editorial staff has been busy making presentations to our sales team. Nevertheless I did see some posts out there today that I loved:


Food:

If you guys aren't reading the food blog Honey & Jam yet, well you should be. Her photographs are luscious and I love her food styling on the crumpled brown paper. She's so talented, and only in her 20s! (sob). Today she posted a recipe for raspberry and white chocolate honey almond meal muffins that had me pinning it in five seconds. Talk about the most amazing group of words in one sentence.

Fashion/Style:

Emily at Cupcakes & Cashmere talked about the three essential items she has in her wardrobe and then gives you day and night options for dressing them down or up. So clever. Her three items are a striped dress, flat leather sandals, and a simple yet delicate necklace.

Other:

Did you know you can now read a realtime Everest blog? This very real very life and death climb (a Sherpa died on the mountain a few days ago) is being blogged and photographed live by climbers for National Geographic. Follow them live only on your iPad but you can view the live photographs and keep up to date with weather conditions at base camp here.

I heart Maurice Sendak. First I loved him for his children's books. Second I loved him on this Fresh Air interview on NPR that had me in tears during and after. And today I loved him on this hilarious Steven Colbert clip that I found on Pikaland. He is such a wise and beautiful yet wily old man.

Curator Picks - 4/25

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

I woke up feeling excited and inspired this morning. It could have been the fact that the baby gave me a longer stretch of sleep than usual, or it could have been my excitement over signing up for a photography class last night that got me all worked up. I tried some photographs out this morning and can't wait to learn more so I can show you some on the blog.


Interior design:


Have you guys seen the Spring 2012 Trad Home issue yet? Packed full of some lovely articles and features on the up and coming interior designers, this is definitely a great resource and has some really droolworthy interiors.


I attended the launch party for Phoebe Howard's new book, The Joy of Decorating hosted by Bunny Williams and Charlotte Moss at Carolina Herrera's store on the upper east side last night (wow that's a lot of big names in one sentence). I had the pleasure of editing this book and working with the talented Mrs. Howard taught me a lot about my own design sensibilities.

Window display at Carolina Herrera store

Beautiful dress forms in the basement of the store
Cooking:

Herriott Grace, a beautiful shop run by a Canadian father/daughter team, Lance and Nikole, is selling charming cloud cookie cutters. Their shop is a one-of-a-kind online store filled with handmade objects mostly for the kitchen. Their blog is also one I travel to often to read Nikole's dreamy writing.


Fashion/style:


That Pantone fad isn't fading. I saw these Pantone toothbrushes on Swiss Miss. And we had Pantone cookies at work today to celebrate the launch of our spring list. There was even one that matched my outfit perfectly:

...and the cookie was delicious too!

Curator Picks - 4/24

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Isn't it weird how things suddenly resurface in your mind? Old memories rise to the top, traveling through layers of grey matter until, POP, they reappear, and you are left wondering why you thought of Marlon Brando while eating a Chipotle salad for lunch. But anyway, I am eating a Chipotle salad and I DID just think of Marlon Brando. I was thinking that I was just 15 I saw Brando (along with Debra Winger and Johnny Depp) filming a movie in Ballycotton, a tiny village in County Cork. I remember Marlon Brando was wearing a priest's outfit and was dodging pouring rain that was created by a machine on the set. That movie, Divine Rapture, was later cancelled due to lack of funding but when I googled Brando today I saw that it is being revived and reshot in Ballycotton all over again! I wonder if they'll use any of the old footage. 17 years later and that memory popped up out of nowhere, how odd. 


Anyway, on to the links of the day:


Giveaways:
Amazing giveaway today at A Beautiful Mess. You could win tons of things from a $50 gift card to purchase a vintage dress on Ruche to a photography class from Bella Pop! There are over $1000 worth of prizes to win so make sure you leave a comment on their site. Whether I win or not I think I'm going to sign up for a photography class at Bella Pop. They are online classes and you can do the homework on your own time and watch the tutorials over and over. 


In the same vein as decor8's post yesterday about reconnecting to family and friends via printed photo albums, Stephmodo and the online stationer Minted have teamed up to offer $100 gift cards to three lucky readers.


Gardening:
If I had something other than a north-facing apartment that gets one sliver of sunshine reflecting off the East River in the afternoon I'd be sure to take some inspiration from these beautiful shots on Apartment Therapy today.


Fashion/Design:
Bleubird posted a well curated mother's day gift guide today and I hope some of my family members are reading this cause I'm loving that Madewell songbird dress :-)


I'm not usually interested in other people's weddings, but this stunning costume wedding in a chateau in the Loire Valley that Miss Moss covered on her blog blew me away. The wedding can also been seen in the current issue of Town & Country.




Photographs by Shawn Connell of the Christian Oth Studio

Curator Picks - 4/23

Monday, April 23, 2012

You figure if The Coveteur features an interior designer then the interiors have got to be amazing, right? Well this one doesn't disappoint. Check out the feature today of Brian Gluckstein, a Canadian interior designer with one amazing closet. Everything is organized by color - something I wish I had the time to do (and maintain).

The very talented Jenny at Little Green Notebook did a Sputnik DIY chandelier last year that I always wished I could duplicate. One of her readers, Kristin, just recently sent in photographs of her beautiful home featuring the chandelier. How glorious does this room tour look?

SF Girl by Bay posted the most gorgeous secret hideout in her back garden this morning. It's a teepee filled with blankets and pillows where she goes to shut out the world. When I have a garden, I'm adding a teepee to my wish list (after my vegetable garden).

Strawberries? Check. Jam? Check. Coconut and rice? Check and check. I'm making this lovely looking Strawberry Jam Coconut Rice Pudding from Joy the Baker very soon. Sounds perfect for an afternoon snack or a more healthy dessert choice (so I don't feel guilty eating ice cream as I watch The Biggest Loser tomorrow night). There is another yummy looking strawberry recipe from Adrianna at A Cozy Kitchen. Travel over there for some Strawberries and Cream Scones. I love that the strawberries are still in large pieces in these scones, which gives me a lovely unfinished, not uniform look.

Molly over at Orangette posted a recipe for Pistachio-Citrus Pound Cake that looks divine. She's expecting her first baby (a girl!) this fall, so you know whatever gets the pregnant lady thumbs up has to be pretty delicious.

Holly Becker at decor8 wrote a really poignant post about the digital age and photography and how we are preserving (or not preserving) our memories. What do we really do with our photographs after we release them into worlds of facebook and instagram? She suggests making photo books and points the reader towards Paislee Press to make interesting and creative photo books that will preserve your memories for future generations. I also like Pinhole Press and used that at Christmas to make calendars for each of my family members.



Curator Picks - 4/20

Friday, April 20, 2012

Instead of writing my blog post during lunch as I normally do, I went to yoga class instead. I needed it badly. I needed the creak of the floor boards under the teacher's bare feet as she walked around the classroom (am I the only one who finds that sound the most soothing in the world?), I needed the sound of the oms filling the air and vibrating in my ears long after the voices ceased, and most of all I needed the repetitive downward dogs, tree poses, and especially pigeon to bring me back to a more equal state. So that's why I'm writing so late today, and I'm only giving you a few posts, but I'm writing from a more calm place so that's worth it, right?

While I hope tights season is over now I couldn't resist this image on The Sartorialist. I love her dark tights with the pink heels. Also, the curve of her back - so beautiful.

There are some recipes for infused vinegars over at Design*Sponge. How delicious would tarragon + orange vinegar or lavender vinegar be on a simple green salad? The best part is they are super easy to make and would be gorgeous gifts.

I think I've documented my love of bed trappings before on this blog, so you'll know what I mean when I say I was dying over these polka dot pillowcases covered at Babble. And while we're on the subject of polka dots, check out these gorgeous skimmers from Madewell.

I'm loving this totally neutral Sissy + Marley nursery featured on decor8. As a parent who is trying to avoid the heavily gendered slant everything has these days, I think it's the perfect nursery. Check out some of the dreamy images (see the rest at decor8):

Curator Picks - 4/19

Thursday, April 19, 2012

It has been a rather crazy day here, rushing around, never quite finishing anything before I'm moving on to the next task. The day has become a blur and I wonder when it will stop. I love that I am forced to abandon an internet connection when I descend into the subway at Union Square every day. The bars on my phone count down one by one until at last there is just one little signal bar blinking at me until it too disappears and I'm left alone with my thoughts. And my kindle. That 20 minute train ride is usually my only time to read (for pleasure) during the day and until yesterday that time was gloriously filled with Haruki Murakami's 1Q84. That time has ended now and I'm ready to move on to something a little less fantastical and completely different: I'm thinking about tackling Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton.

Juan Carlos, the elephant murderer aging king of Spain recently had to apologize for his lavish hunting trip to Africa. Gawker's issue was that he took this trip in the middle of Spain's economic crisis but my issue is what on earth was he doing hunting and killing elephants?? Apparently it can be done legally in Botswana, but really? Come on! There is also a grisly photo of the 74 year old king posing with his gun and a shooting partner next to a recently shot elephant (photo was taken in 2006). How nasty is that?

Petit Collage is the greatest site if you're decorating a nursery or buying gifts for that special child in your life. I love their sunshine print on wood. Design Mom has giveaway today of a $150 certificate to spend in their store!

I didn't yet make that farro risotto recipe from yesterday because now I've got my eye on this super quick and easy recipe posted by Deb at Smitten Kitchen today. It's a pasta dish with broccoli rabe, a vegetable I haven't done much with, well, ever to be honest. Having dinner ready in less than an hour is invaluable on a weekday.

Curator Picks - 4/18

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

I read somewhere that you should write about what you love. Well I guess I'm loving Zooey Deschanel because she made it into two of my favorite posts today.

Who doesn't love bunny rabbits? Some woman in my neighborhood loves them so much that she walks down Park Avenue with a bunny on a leash (along with her two yorkies) every day. Hello Giggles, the totally cute and awesome style site run by Zooey Deschanel and her stylish friends, has a LIVE BUNNY CAM today! Nigel and Prudence are two bunnies rescued by the LA Rabbit Foundation and awaiting adoption.

I also love Zooey in New Girl. Do you guys watch that? It's such a witty, fun show and I couldn't tell you which character I like the best as they're all hilarious. I've practically watched the entire season in one sitting on Hulu.

I'm not even going to make the obvious joke about bringing sexy back, but ElleDecor announced that Justin Timberlake is launching an online home decor collection to be made available at HomeMint in May. I'm curious to check it out.

Cup of Jo alerted me to the friends and family sale on Shopbop until midnight today. Enter the code INTHEFAMILY20 when you check out. I'm on the hunt for a pair of good skinny white pants.

I'm making this Wild Mushroom Farro Risotto from Spoon Fork Bacon for dinner tonight. It will be my first experience cooking farro which is a type of wheat grain and seems like an interesting alternative to rice.

Crazy giveaway of an iPad over at the Pioneer Woman's website. It comes already loaded with Ree's newest cookbook. You have until Thursday to enter so head over there now!

Curator Picks - 4/17

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Dear New York, today I love you. I loved you when I stepped outside this morning in only a t-shirt to walk the dog. I loved you when I walked up the street from work to City Bakery for a chocolate chip cookie (okay two chocolate chip cookies and marshmallows) after lunch. I loved you when I walked across Union Square and smiled at the people crammed into the tiny park in the center, duking it out for a tiny piece of park bench to sit on and enjoy the warm air rustling the leaves. I even loved you when I came back to the office and had to sit through an interminably long computer session to learn a new sales tracking system at work. And I'll probably still love you tonight when my tired feet walk down the hill towards First Avenue and I'll catch glimpses of the East River sparkling between the buildings.


Julianne Moore's beautiful west village garden was featured by Architectural Digest (also covered today via Curbed and Apartment Therapy). Her garden designer, Brian Sawyer was recently back from a trip to Northern Ireland and was influenced by the dark, mossy green gardens he saw there. Moore's back garden is bigger than my apartment and has totally cool features like stag-horn ferns mounted like antlers in her brick walls. So clever!


Photo by Christopher Baker for Architectural Digest.


In the same kind of earthy, garden-y vein, check out this gorgeous blog, The Forest Feast. Run by a former New York City photographer, Erin Gleeson, who moved her life to a cabin in the woods in northern California in 2011. With a mix of whimsical illustrations and beautiful photography, Erin's goal is to create a cookbook out of the collection - and I would totally buy that book. The site reminds me a little of the illustration/photography mix in Stephanie Reynaud's French Feasts:



Off the earthy vein: Irish pancakes are more like crepes; thin slices that I then squeeze lemon on and sprinkle liberally with sugar. I try to make them every weekend (along with a batch of the fat American pancakes that the other members of my household crave). But I think I might get the best of both worlds with this amazing looking Banana Bread Crepe Cake on Smitten Kitchen's site.

Looking for a good recipe for Thai food? I usually end up ordering it because I can't seem to replicate the results at home. But over at Camille Styles today I found this recipe for Thai Steak + Noodles that looks pretty delicious. It has a lot of ingredients (and a 2 hour steak marinade), which usually makes me discard the recipe but I think this one might be worth it. I'm sure you could make it easily without the steak too for all you non meat eaters out there.




Curator Picks - 4/16

Monday, April 16, 2012

I'm not a sun worshipping kind of girl, in fact, I'll often cross to the shadowy side of the street and I hate squinting if I'm outside without sunglasses. But I'll gladly worship the sun we have today and might even walk on the sunny side of the street. It's 86 degrees out there, and while that's a little odd for this time of the year and I'm sure poor Gus the polar bear in the Central Park Zoo hates it, it's put a spring in my step on this April day.


When I'm craving something beautiful to look at, I travel over to Caitlin's Roost blog. Not only is it the most beautiful food photography I've ever seen (she's self-taught!) but it also has some really interesting gluten-free recipes. Listed by Saveur as one of the blogs they love and just last week nominated for best blog in the special diet section, Roost combines dreamy photographs with great recipes. I have yet to find a way to love lentils, so I doubt I'll be making her most recent recipe. But I'm keeping my eye on the site for the next post.

Check out The Kitchn's review of the top 10 outdoor food markets today. Created by National Geographic, this post gives you the rundown on the best markets out there from all over the world. And yes, the Union Square green market made it in! I mean, I think it's pretty incredible and have the privilege of walking through it every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but I didn't know how it compared to other markets in the country and world. And now I want to go to the market in Helsinki and check out bear salami!

You must know by now that I love all things tart and lemon. I mean not only the tartness of lemon but also the physical tart, but not the girl who is a tart! Oh whatever, you know what I mean, I LOVE LEMON! I was delighted to see that Sweet Paul tackled the ubiquitous lemon tart for his Recipe Monday post today. It has an almond crust which I bet gives it a lovely sweetness.

Head over to Young House Love today for a really cool Model One radio giveaway. They are giving away the cutest little radio in your choice of green, blue, yellow, or red.

Did anyone check out HBO's new show Girls last night? What did you think? My Sunday nights are getting a bit crowded with Game of Thrones, Masterpiece Theater, and Mad Men so I had to put Girls off until tonight. Looking forward to it though.


Curator Picks - 4/13

Friday, April 13, 2012

It's too nice to be sitting inside reading blogs! It's too nice for me to be sitting inside writing this, so I'll try and keep it short and sweet and only give you two sites to look at.

Want to catch a nap on a floating bed in Phuket, Thailand or watch the meteor showers from your bed in northern Italy? Then read this review of outdoor sleeping hotels on Apartment Therapy today.

I found this beautiful wind site via Design Mom today. Take a few seconds and watch this grid showing how the wind swirls around this country, it's so strangely compelling (and also seems like all the different streams converge on Minneapolis!).

That's it guys; look at the wind on your computer, and then go outside and feel the wind on your face. See you back here on Monday.

Curator Picks - 4/12

Thursday, April 12, 2012

One of my office neighbors was playing The Cranberries this morning, and as Dolores O'Riordan's angsty voice was drifting into my office and swirling around my head it brought with it so many high school memories. Of course then I had to google them and found out The Cranberries are recently reunited and have released a few new songs this year. Maybe it's time to bring back the bands I used to love and listen to years ago. It's funny how songs can trigger memories of events. It has left me in a rather melancholy mood so I'll try and cheer myself up with the posts below.

The wonderful Lottie + Doof was nominated by Saveur as one of the top food blogs for 2012 and to celebrate they have posted a recipe for Sweet Orange Rolls that are sure to tempt you. I'm dreaming about these on sunday afternoon with a cup of my other current obsession, Stash Earl Grey tea (seriously, it smells magical and I spend more time huffing it than drinking it!).

I think my favorite time of the year is rhubarb season, or perhaps it's when the markets are overflowing with basil and tomatoes. Either way, spring and summer in New York yield a bounty of fresh ingredients and my oven barely gets any use until we rush headlong into winter again (but let's not think about that just yet). I'm considering giving the oven another whirl with this recipe from the gluten-free blogger Tartelette today for Rhubarb and Strawberry Crisps. Tartelette calls it sunshine on a spoon.

Ahhh, how cute is this rolling luggage from Skip Hop? So perfect for rolling through the airport with your stylish little one. I found this via Swissmiss today. Aunties, take note!

Just in time for the warmer weekend weather comes a post from Victoria at A Subtle Revelry on making your own gourmet yogurt pops. She uses store-bought yogurt in pretty pinks and purples and pours them into popsicle molds. Then sprinkles them with edible baking glitter and stars for a fun festive touch. So easy, and so impressive looking.

And last but not least, Cup of Jo comes through with another great giveaway today. Enter to win a swimsuit from Eberjey, the gorgeous swimsuit and lingerie line. I think I'd chose the red polka dots!

I'll be back here tomorrow with some more favorite links for you. Now I'm off to celebrate with Lara Spencer at her I Brake for Yard Sales launch party. Yayyy!

Curator Picks - 4/11

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

We're having strange weather at the moment. Like New York is unsure whether she wants to fully move on from winter and embrace spring, or perhaps she wants to skip spring all together and jump right into summer, as evidenced by the upcoming 79 degrees predicted for this weekend. Either way, this weather is playing havoc with our immune systems, and everyone I know has had some kind of horrible soulsucking cold in the past few weeks.

I'm just getting over my nasal clogged adventure and was thrilled to see this post today on Remodelista about treating colds naturally with tea. With ideas for making tea with various combinations of mint, lavender, and chamomile and sources to buy the teapots and strainers, this is definitely a post I'll be returning to again and again.

For everyone still mourning the loss of the great Domino, the new seasonal version was supposed to be out April 17th. However Curbed has just located the magazine (called Domino Quick Fixes) a week early on several newsstands around Manhattan. I think I'm going to try and pick one up before I get stampeded by the herds. Curbed is calling this Domino Day and is doing a fun update every hour with images from the pages.

In other work-related news, I'm super excited about the beautiful book I Brake for Yard Sales that I worked on with the lovely Good Morning America co-anchor Lara Spencer. It's only been out two weeks and is selling really really well. Her advice on shopping at flea markets, thrift stores, and estate sales is invaluable and I learned so much while editing the book.

Your blog tour wouldn't be complete without some giveaways. Oh Joy! has a giveaway today of a beautiful top and her very own teaspoon collection designed for Leif. And while we are on the topic of spoons, have you guys seen the pretty checkered teaspoons for sale at Anthropologie? Dying to have them in every color.

Check out Little Green Notebook today through Sunday for a sweet smelling giveaway from the Charlotte, North Carolina-based interiors shop Isabella. You could win a Nest bamboo candle, a Scents and Feel hand towel, and some gorgeous Savon hand soap.

Dinner tonight is going to be avocado pesto pasta from A Cozy Kitchen. How yummy does that sound?


Curator Picks - 4/10

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Pantone! Pantone children's books, pantone mugs, pantone eggs, pantone everything. We are obsessed with pantone at the moment. I don't really have anything to say about it, I just wanted you to know that I am acknowledging the pantone movement (and possibly ordering myself a Pantone 346U mug).

How is it that I've never heard of a Hummingbird Cake? It's a mixture of bananas, pineapple, cinnamon, and cream cheese?!! Can't believe I haven't tried this out yet. Hope no one from my company is reading this blog entry cause maybe I'll try Bake or Break's recipe for the semi annual Abrams bake-off this year. It's a bundt cake and I confess I haven't tried one of those, well ever, but I'm willing to give it a shot. At the very least there are certain people at home always eager to consume any of my baking missteps.

Tartelette is hosting a food styling and photography workshop in Northern Ireland! She's teaching it with Corrie Cadden, chef of the famed Belle Isle Cookery School in Enniskillen. It's for 3 days in July...kinda wish I could participate.

This competition would be perfect for one of my shoe-obsessed sisters: over on A Beautiful Mess today they are doing a shoe giveaway! Three readers will be able to choose whatever pair of shoes they want from Shoemint, which is an awesome membership based shoe shopping site created by actress Rachel Bilson, designer Nicole Chavez, and shoe legend Steve Madden.

Gabrielle at Design Mom does a great series on living with kids, where she profiles moms around the country living stylishly with children. Is this even possible? I have to believe it is and when I look at the photographs of today's featured mom and artist Kelly Rae Roberts' house I am inspired to make my own home a little more stylish.

Check out the great giveaway over on Cup of Jo today. You only have until tomorrow to enter so hurry up. The giveaway is from Cardigan and you could win their bestselling Elysse raglan crew. So cute!

Curator Picks - 4/9

Monday, April 9, 2012

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, I spent it with my family and enjoyed that lemon clouds cheesecake I mentioned on Friday. I made the base out of chocolate digestive biscuits rather than graham crackers and definitely preferred the chocolate version. Monday came entirely too quickly and the work portion of it is almost over it seems. The same sentiment seems to be floating out there in blog world because there weren't too many substantive posts that I thought you should be reading. But here are a few that stuck out to me.

I'm not sure if they were stuck for topics to write on that day or what, but Apartment Therapy has a post today by Maxwell on the origin of their cute squiggle logo. It turned out to be quite an interesting article and makes me want to try my hand at meditation drawing.

I love the interior design blog SF Girl by Bay's use of colors. Her beautifully set table in today's post teaches you how to mix and match so that your table isn't boring. She uses the West Elm modernist bowls to create pops of color on the table. I also have a set of these and use them for everything from soup and chili to ice cream and cereal.

Popcorn! And pink popcorn to boot. Check out the gorgeous bubblegum pink candy corn on Oh Joy! today. It's made with sakura which is cherry blossom extract. I think I would look great eating a bowl of this underneath all of the gloriously flowering trees on every block in the city.

Have you seen the One Day on Earth videos yet? Hundreds of people took footage of life all over the world on the exact same day (10/10/10). It was all put together into a movie that will come out on Earth Day 4/22. It features snippets of life and death in hundreds of different countries. It makes me feel incredibly small and incredibly connected to everything all at the same time. See the trailer here and the music video version here.


Curator Picks - 4/6

Friday, April 6, 2012

Hopefully you all have nice plans for the holiday weekend. I've just finished making Georgia Pellegrini's Lemon Clouds Cheesecake from her book, Food Heroes and will enjoy it after sunday dinner with my family.

I work at a publishing house that does beautiful craft books so it's a little sad that I don't knit more. But when (when, I say!) I do knit again, I'll try out this lovely dutch-style knit throw posted on Remodelista today. I love the dark wool and the chunky stitches, it makes it seem so cosy.

I've entered no less than two competitions to win a kitchen aid mixer this week (actually two in the last two days). One through the gorgeous celebration blog of Amy Atlas and the other through the Pioneer Woman. The Amy Atlas one is over as you had to get your entry in by 1pm (you better believe I was pressing send at exactly 1 while standing in central park today) but you can still enter for the Pioneer Woman's stand mixer giveaway. She's giving away three in a gorgeous spring green color.

I love those features in magazines where they take 3 pieces of clothing and give you several different outfit options. On A Beautiful Mess today, the lovely Elsie Larson (who always makes me think of Zooey Deschanel) takes 8 pieces of clothing and uses them to create 8 different outfits (shoes and accessories don't count). My favorite is the long striped skirt that can also be worn as a dress for a totally different look. She also tells you where you can get each piece of clothing.

If I were at home in my own apartment this weekend, I'd definitely be making these crepes with strawberries and fresh whipped cream from Creature Comforts. And they're gluten-free too, which is something I'm trying to do more and more of. No reason really - I'm just curious to see if less gluten makes a difference in my energy level as I've heard it can do.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Curator Picks - 4/5

Thursday, April 5, 2012

I think work has infiltrated my subconscious. I'm working on an interior design book that has a lot of incredible artwork and so I spend a good portion of my day looking at layouts of houses and apartments with insane paintings on the walls. I had a weird dream last night in which I was trapped in a house belonging to the expressionist painter Chaim Soutine. The fact that he was the owner of the house didn't really enter into it, it was just knowledge that I held as I dreamed. The scary part was the house had no exit. I ran from one room to the next, frantically searching for a way out but each room had a blank wall where the door to a hallway should be. So I just ended up running from room to room to room screaming my head off. Okay that's not a nice way to start this blog post. Sorry about that. On to more delightful posts:

Usually when I look at photos on The Sartorialist I want one or two things in the photo. But today, today I just want to BE this girl! I love her jacket, I love her hat, I love her secret smile, damn it, I love her jewelry, I love her shoes. I need someone to deconstruct the outfit for me so I can buy it all - including the bike.

Remodelista has a few good posts up today. The one about the bicycle commute really appeals to me because it's something I wish I could do (see entry above about that beautiful Sartorialist girl). But I live in a part of Manhattan that doesn't have great services for cyclists and there's no way I'd make it down to my workplace in Chelsea in one piece.

I need help when it comes to packing for trips, I inevitably pack too much of the wrong stuff and not enough of the right stuff. I forget the essential daily products and always arrive at my destination without something I need. Luckily, Emily at Cupcakes and Cashmere has posted a great checklist today of what beauty and face products she's taking on her honeymoon. I think I'll use it as my guide for traveling from now on.

ok that's all I see today, back again tomorrow.

Curator Picks - 4/4

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

I started the Masterpiece Theater series Great Expectations yesterday--gotta kill time before Downton Abbey returns (Shirley McClaine is joining the cast next season!). It's shaping up to be everything that Dickens makes you feel when you read that book, dark, ethereal, and so so twisted. I got lost in it for an hour or so and even found myself dreaming last night about being trapped and shackled in a foggy swamp. It just premiered on sunday, so there is plenty of time to catch up.

I want to like chicken so badly. I've tried it roasted, fried, baked, steamed, every which way, but I cannot seem to duplicate the lovely results I taste in restaurants. I've made every roasted chicken recipe from here to Timbuktu and the chicken still ends up bland and has me rooting in the kitchen for sweet treats after dinner to kick my taste buds back into gear again. I thought chicken and I had parted ways forever. But now that I've seen this recipe for herb roasted chicken with truffled cauliflower mash from Caitlin over at Roost (via Cup of Jo), I just might try again.

Wow, check out this DIY project for an ombre chair on Design Sponge today. That blue just pops right out of the chair and i love the way it fades into a deep navy at the bottom. It is one of those DIY projects that doesn't seem too impossible to try either. Just picture bright blue chairs (or graduating shades of red or orange) around a white kitchen table.

The glamorous Mrs. Lilien's book is available for pre-order on Amazon now. It's designed as a nifty swatch book with 50 cocktail recipes and tips for what to serve with the drinks. Super cute and cool and a great housewarming gift or, let's be honest, a great gift for yourself.

How often do you dream about picking up everything you own and everyone you love and moving to a new city or possibly even a new country? Me? I dream about it at least once every few weeks. Usually while I'm reading someone else's blog filled with dreamy photographs of their city (or often while I'm watching house hunters international on HGTV). And then my sister reminds me that I live in New York City, precisely one of the locations that many people dream of moving to and then I get over it - for another few weeks anyway. Does anyone actually do this? Well, Nichole of Little Brown Pen did! Read her guest post for Love in the City of Lights all about moving from New York to Paris with her husband and two sons. Also, Nichole's book, Paris in Color, is coming out in a few weeks and looks so beautiful.

Enjoy the spring weather today.

Curator Picks - 4/3

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

I'm a huge fan of flowers in my apartment, but I'm hopeless at arranging them. The blooms all end up flopping sadly to one side of the vase and just look silly. Until today that is. Victoria over at A Subtle Revelry has posted a foolproof way to display flowers so they look cohesive and fill your vase just using a grid of simple rubber bands. It's so clever and I'm thinking of picking up some flowers on the way home tonight (have you seen those gorgeous tulips in Union Square?) and arranging them on the dinner table.

You really can't go wrong with lemon. Bake or Break has some yummy looking lemon blueberry cheesecake bars up on her site today, I just might make them to savor with tea after sunday dinner this weekend.

Have you checked out the hilarious Tumblr site, Fuck Your Noguchi Coffee Table yet? A coworker showed it to me last week and I've been laughing ever since. The author shows photographs of perfectly designed rooms and takes the trends apart. So so funny.

Technically, this recipe was posted yesterday but I didn't get to it so I'm posting it today. The always interesting Sweet Paul has a recipe for a caprese salad, except it's a caprese tart! He puts the ingredients on a puff pastry shell and it looks like it comes out beautifully. Definitely adding this to the list once tomatoes are in full force at the markets.

In eighth grade I had this funny english teacher Mr. Purcel. He reminded me of a giant penguin, waddling around the classroom in his dark suit intoning about diagramming sentences in his deep voice. Even just thinking about putting a sentence into that funny structure makes my throat tighten up a little. I always found it so daunting and was never able to get it quite right. I don't think they teach diagramming anymore now, do they? This piece on The Opinonator blog for the New York Times brought it all back for me. Also found today on Swiss Miss.

Curator Picks - 4/2

Monday, April 2, 2012

Sorry for the late post tonight, it was one of those days where time gets away from you. Or rather, I never quite finished what I was doing and was constantly chasing the next task - leading to an all around frazzled kind of day. But now I'm home and far above the city lights and city noise and things feel more doable again.

I'm not one of those people who goes crazy when my child eats sugary things (I am, after all, addicted to anything with chocolate on it). But, we've been worried lately with all of the junk food given at the multiple birthday parties at daycare (honestly, it seems like there are more parties than kids!). Our 3 year old comes home with a glazed crazy look in her eye and it takes ages for her to wind down and stop talking about lollipops. So, I was thrilled when I saw this post today from Design Mom with an alternative idea for an easter basket. It's so cute, you just fill a basket full of seeds and seedlings and maybe some children's tools and an adorable little stuffed bunny.

Rhubarb is starting to hit the markets (although not here in the city yet for a few more weeks) and glueten-free blogger Tartlette has posted a gorgeous looking recipe for rhubarb and strawberry lemonade. While I normally prefer my rhubarb in some kind of crumble, I think this sounds like a perfectly refreshing drink for a spring picnic. I could enjoy it while relaxing on my new West Elm picnic blanket.

There is a new issue of the cute ezine Matchbook out right now and it's full of great spring ideas including throwing an afternoon tea party. There is also an awesome feature story on the LA designer, and owner of the antique store Rummage, Kishani Perera. Her book, Vintage Remix, is full of great ideas for decorating your home with a mix of found and antique objects.

I'm on Pinterest constantly, and am always careful to correctly attribute my pins to the original source (as well as the other blogs or sites that may have led me there) but just in case this confuses you, Stephmodo put together a great tutorial today to teach you the correct pinning methods. It's so easy to take that extra step and make sure everyone is properly credited for their art.

It's late, apartments in the building across the street are going dark (yeah, I spy on people, so what?). It's my favorite time of night when my only decisions are whether to go to bed or watch that episode of Bones waiting in my dvr. I think you can guess which I'm going to do. See you tomorrow!
 

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