Between this and the last post, you might think you're seeing a pattern. And though the last couple weeks have definitely made me want to indulge in a little wine more than usual, I'm really not much of a drinker. However, I do love having parties and hanging out in the beautiful outdoors, which is where this little baby comes in. I'm totally into this Party Bucket with Table from Pottery Barn.
It's fun, it's functional (times two), and it's pretty attractive. The bucket is made of galvanized steel and fits into a hand-woven all-weather wicker handled piece. I think you can imagine as easily as I have how great this would be at a party or casual cookout, and ease is what good summer entertaining should be all about. image via pottery barn Xx a
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When I think of my own style, I always think of a mix of sophisticated and tough. From my vaguely gypsy-slash-rocker chick style in high school and college to the things I gravitate toward now (similarly rock chick chic), I love pieces with a little edge and hardware. Last night, I stumbled on this beauty online at Hudson, long a Boston design destination.
This ice bucket isn't inexpensive, but what a great statement piece (a much better statement than "I get tipsy off half a glass of red," which is sadly true in my case). Made of reclaimed teak wood, iron, and stainless steel, this will keep more than your wine bottle cool. image via hudson Xx a No matter how interested or involved in social media I am, I'm ever the print journalist, constantly taking down notes by hand -- and realizing that my handwriting has really gone downhill since college as I'm out of practice writing by hand at that length. While spiral-bound notebooks are the most convenient, they're not always the most attractive.
This adorable strawberry notebook from MoMA is perfect for to-do lists, ideas, and notes taken during an interview. The juicy exterior is made of vegan leather and the stem-styled page marker is made of suede. There's also a honey dew version. image via moma store Xx a Are you enjoying all of the sunshine as much as I am? The weather has been beautiful and I couldn't be happier about it. I am very excited to share that Arhaus Furniture and I had so much fun working together on my guest post for their blog the greenhaus, that together (and via Arhaus' extreme generosity) we are giving away their fantastic tabletop pieces to one lucky winner! If you win, you'll receive exactly what I used for my family dinner (pictured above):
To enter, use the widget below; there are a few different ways to enter: Good luck!Fine print: Total retail value of products is $1,392.12. No purchase required. No likes or follows required, though they're welcome! Sweepstakes is open June 4, 2014 through June 9, 2014 at 11:59pm. Winner must be resident of the U.S.; Void where prohibited. There will be one (1) winner chosen at random within two days of the end of the contest. Please use the widget to enter and submit your entry, there are multiple ways to enter and the more ways you enter the greater your chances of winning. For complete rules, click here. Xx a My father is notoriously difficult to buy gifts for because he always buys everything he wants immediately and then there's nothing left for birthdays, holidays, or special occasions. For Father's Day, he asked for tickets to a concert he wants to attend next weekend. I bought them the other day, so I'm all set ahead of schedule, but if you're still looking for the perfect gift for your father, father figure, husband (I am), or another great dad in your life, consider getting him a Man Crate. With a sense of humor and a masculine sensibility — a brass-knuckle meat tenderizer, supplies for increasing levels of zombie threat, and a Chuck Rodent club cover are par for the course (no pun intended) — the Man Crates fulfill a wide range of interests and tastes. More than two dozen crates are pre-arranged or you can request a custom gift. Each set comes with a crowbar so your man can pry open his own gift which comes adorned with "no bows, ribbons, or fluff."
Two or three years ago, instead of a work shirt or video game (my husband's usual requests), I bought him a bacon-related gift pack from another vendor and it was very well-received. Personalized gifts are always much better than something you might buy any other day of the year because they show much more thought as to who someone really is and what they like. If your guy is a first-timer, the Tactical Baby Bag (top) offers a survival guide and other smart supplies for added energy during the sleepless nights (note: this comes with the tactical bag, not a crate). Which ones suits your guy/dad? A few of these would work for my husband, but I think he is the retro gamer all the way. If you're like me, you spend nearly every lunch at your desk, trying not to get crumbs in your keyboard or condiments on your papers. It can be costly to buy your lunch every day as most of us did in Manhattan. When I was pregnant, I was very good about bringing my lunch and extra snacks from home. Now that I'm working at an office part-time, I don't want to spend the money to buy lunch or the time to go out in search of it. So I bring my lunch and sometimes my breakfast. For the last couple months, I've been happily using Island Picnic's insulated organic lunch bag set. It's a four piece set consisting of an insulated lunch bag with hidden handle, sandwich bag, snack bag, and napkin, all made from 100% certified organic cotton.
While they have their place and purpose, zipper-lock plastic bags make me crazy. Instead, I use a mix of the bags from the set and plastic lunch containers I've amassed from various places. Island Picnic doesn't use any plastic materials to line their bags, but rather un-dyed, unbleached organic cotton sateen. The lunch bag insulation is 100% certified organic cotton batting. You can use these bags for nearly any kind of food, even messy PB&J sandwiches which I often do. Just brush off the crumbs to use again tomorrow, or flip the bags inside out and toss in the washing machine. All the pieces are machine washable. I usually put a handful of baby carrots in the snack bag and even though they're wet from rinsing when they go in the bag, the outside of the bag does not get damp and it doesn't affect any of my other food. The lunch bag is big enough to fit extra bags or containers and I like that I don't have to rely on paper napkins. There are a bunch of fun color and pattern options and if you're not in the market for a full set, the snack and sandwich bags are available in a separate set of two. Do you bring your lunch to work (or play)? What do you use? My love for pasta knows no bounds. I even have a shirt that says "Pasta Power" on it and I wore it for years, then framed it so I could still enjoy it. When I came across this adorable ceramic pasta storage container from Black + Blum at the gift show, I knew I had to share it with you.
Aside from being a slim and handy way to store spaghetti, it has both a sense of humor in its design and practicality: the underside of the cork lid has a one-, two, and three-serving portion measurement guide so you can ensure you're making the right amount for the number you're serving. Last year, we ended up coloring eggs that were meant for a deviled egg hors d'oeuvre and I loved how it came out so much that I wanted to do it again this year. Plus, I like deviled eggs better than plain hard-boiled eggs, so this way, we can enjoy the fun of coloring the eggs and I'm more likely to eat them after. RecipeHard boil eggs and remove the shells. Halve hard-boiled eggs lengthwise. Remove yolks and mash them (if you have a ricer, it makes the filling smoother, but using any masher or fork will do). For 6 eggs, use: -1/4 cup mayonnaise -1 teaspoon vinegar -1 teaspoon mustard, -and salt and pepper to taste To fill the eggs, we put the mixture in a cookie press with an accent tip on it; it gives them a light and ruffled look, but you can also use a piping bag (or a plastic storage bag with a corner cut off). We usually top them with paprika, but you can also garnish with parsley, chopped onions or chives, crumbled crispy bacon, or horseradish. The coloring process is the same as eggs still in the shell: food coloring + water + time = colored eggs. The color won't take to the eggs as uniformly as they do on the shells, but as long as you're okay with that, you should be pretty happy with the results. I haven't tried to do ombre or anything more advanced than combining two or three colors on the same egg, because it takes a while for the color to saturate into the egg white. We're actually doing another batch of eggs next week when my sister comes to town, so I might try to experiment a little. images my own
Xx a These ice cubes are so cute! We've seen amusingly-shaped ice cubes before, but these are just a little different. Silicone molds create mini icebergs for a frozen polar bear and pair of penguins to stand upon. Created by Japanese designer Hayashi Atsuhiro, they represent the North and South Poles. As adorable as they will look in your drinks, they also serve a higher purpose: as the ice melts, the cubes act as a reminder of the situation facing real animals living on the receding Arctic and Antarctic ice caps due to global warming. The set of molds is available at Fab. Watch the video below to see how they look in a drink and get a better sense how they're made.
I like random silly holidays like Pi day, and I have a sweet tooth, so I like pies, too. For fun, I thought I'd share the recipe for my most favorite pie of all: the grasshopper pie. If you never had it, it basically tastes just like frozen Thin Mints. Read: Amazing. I've been making this recipe since 6th grade and it's delicious and easy to make. Enjoy! grasshopper piecrust: 1 1/4 cup fine chocolate wafer crumbs 1/2 cup of butter, melted OR 1 premade Oreo cookie pie crust (I've done this the last few times I've made it) filling: 1/2 cup milk 1 cup heavy cream, whipped 20 marshmallows (regular size) 3 tablespoons creme de cacao 3 tablespoons creme de menthe green food coloring -If making the crust, combine wafer crumbs and butter. Blend and shape to pie pan, chill in pan till solid. -Heat milk in double boiler, add marshmallows and stir until melted. Cook thoroughly. -Combine whipped heavy cream, creme de cacao, creme de menthe and a few drops of green food coloring. -Fold into cooked marshmallow mixture. -Pour into chilled crust and chill pie until firm. Serve cold. I don't usually add anything to the top, but before it's chilled completely, you could add cookie crumbles, or if you want to be fancy, drizzle or shave chocolate on top. image via simply recipes Xx a |
#checkout this blog with shop-themed puns
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