Friday, January 29, 2010

Weekend time!

Hello my darlings! Welcome to the last weekend in January! Have any plans? Tonight I am planning on going to Boulder to see a friend of mine dj at this place. Then tomorrow I plan on taking it easy and doing a lot of nothing. It's supposed to be really nice so perhaps I'll go to the park! I also have to do a lot of reading because there is a book club meeting next week and I am a little bit behind. Oops. Right now we are reading this book and I am having a little trouble getting into it. Well hope you have a fabulous next few days! x.

Oh and check this stuff out...

These shoes are on my spring wishlist

home sweet home.
Link
Adorable fill in the blank Valentine's cards

Permeate marker on paper...I'm impressed!

The cutest little teapot!

DIY: paper ornaments

Take me here.

Don't forget to check out the Wolf moon tonight!

Loving these rustic candle holders.

This sweet table reminds me of my childhood.

Next craft project...felted hearts!

These chocolate and banana cupcakes look to die for!

I heart tea.

(photo via anna aden)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Todays daydream: Brittany, France

I watch Anthony Bourdain on a regular basis. He seems like the only travel show host that has the ability to keep it fairly real for his audience. Despite the cameras he still actually tells us when he's miserable, or the food is bad or the camera crew just threw a fish in the ocean for him to catch. It really is his honesty that keeps me coming back for more, that and occasionally the places he visits. The most recent episode was a case of the latter and kept creeping into my head all day. Brittany is a province of France located on a northwestern peninsula just below the English channel. The province is famous for its oysters, crepes and salted butter; oh yes this is my kinda place :) During low tide, boats are stranded on land and you can walk to the islands that were once surrounded by water. It seems like such a magical place...



(photos via flickr)

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

My new place.

I had some requests to see my new apartment. So this is it, minus the bedroom. It's still a work in progress so I didn't want to show it yet. Sorry they're not the best photos but you get the picture right?! Everything actually is still a work in progress but it is starting to feel like home, slowly but surely!




Monday, January 25, 2010

Three ingrediant tomato sauce.




So last week I was looking at one of my favorite cooking blogs Smitten Kitchen and there was a featured recipe for tomato sauce with three ingredients.
1. Canned whole tomatos
2. Butter
3. 1 yellow onion
To the average cook this is quite confusing (no garlic, no olive oil, no red wine?!) but her article was extremely convincing and it seemed so easy (too easy actually, you just throw the ingredients into a pot, chopping the onion in half once- no dicing) So I did it. I made the sauce. I served it (to myself) on rigatoni with some red wine and a little parmesan. I am telling you this sauce was beautiful. Seriously, so creamy and unlike anything I expected. You must try this recipe. I'm insisting upon it. It is as follows (straight from Smitten Kitchen):

Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions
Adapted from Marcela Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking

Another thing that blew my mind about this sauce: I, for one, am a grated parmesan junkie. I not only sprinkle it over my bowl of pasta, I like to have additional nearby, to apply a fresh coat to the layers of pasta that follow. So you can imagine my shock to find that I liked this dish even more without the parmesan. The flavor of the sauce is so delicate, fresh and sweet that it needed nothing at all.

Serves 4 as a main course; makes enough sauce to lightly coat most of a pound of spaghetti

28 ounces (800 grams) whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them)***
5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan (it fit just right in a 3-quart) over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste (you might find, as I did, that your tomatoes came salted and that you didn’t need to add more) and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Serve with spaghetti, with or without grated parmesan cheese to pass.

***Just a side note, I used Sunflower brand whole tomatoes because that is where I recently did my shopping and they didn't have San Marzano tomatoes and it still worked beautifully!

Friday, January 22, 2010

It's the weekend!


Hello my loves! Yes, it is finally Friday and can you believe January is just a week away from being over? My, how time flies! Any weekend plans? Tonight I want to go to the Winter Brew Fest here in Denver but I think I might have to save my pennies and stay in with a bottle of vino and a movie...some times you have to prioritize, ya know. Tomorrow though, I am going to this Pabst Art Show with a whole gang of my friends which should be very interesting and fun! (I'll take pictures don't you worry). Sunday is my sister's birthday (the big 2-9) and she has requested that we all go to the Bull and Bush brewery to celebrate...so that is what we'll do! I've never been there before but they are suppose to be a really good brewery here in town. So there you go, there is my weekend...it seems to have a lot of beer involved in it...humm.

In your spare time I suggest checking out some of these inspiring links...

Love letter murals, so sweet!

I saw this movie last night and loved it (Jeff Bridges is amazing in it)...now go!

12 things I love about you. Perfect for Valentine's Day.

This Raggedy Ann party makes me want to be a kid again!

Colorful legwear by Kate Spade (get more legwear inspiration here)

The life of a chocolate maker...

Winter layering ideas (only a few more months...hang in there!)

An entire blog devoted to the love of buttons! (right up my alley)


Just for Marisa: Why do I love Man Men you ask? read on...

My mind can't stop daydreaming about sping...which is why I can't resist posting about these adorable highwaisted swimsuits.

Rustic country living...pretty much perfect.

Loving these colorful collages...

(photo via pavlunka)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Needle felting + a mushroom and a fox.

So I thought I'd share my most recent craft project with you all. I touched upon it a little bit in my weekend post but needle felting is really pretty strange until you actually try it so I wanted to expand. I bought this felting kit from Fancy Tiger last week...

They basically provide you with the felting wool, a sharp pin and a foam block. It is amazing to me these three things will soon lead you to an actual object, but it did and this was my end result...

My sister got the Fox ball kit and each kit comes with enough for two so I made a fox as well...

The process of needle felting is actually pretty simple. One of the main objectives is to find the right shape. For example, when making the fox, you must first roll the wool into a tight ball (or the shape you wish the head to be). Once you have got your shape you use the needle to poke all around the ball until you feel it is the right density and texture. (this is a great way to relive any sort of anxieties you might be having) The foam is used as a safety barrier between you and the needle which is very sharp. I won't bore you with a huge list of instructions but if you are interested I found I really good tutorial here. Voila! Now you have two lovely forest dwellers...

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

listing.

I often find myself needing to make lists...sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. However, once I do make a list, I find myself, more often than not, remembering the things on the list and not even needing the wasteful piece of paper at all. Does this happen to you?
Well, the other day I was reading the blog hula seventy, one I frequent and she has begun to make a list every week for one year. They are not practical lists, like the ones we normally think of, but more lists of simple, but personal concepts (i.e. List the places you would most like to travel or even more simple, list the people you've lived with). She was inspired by this series of books which are absolutely adorable.
It kinda makes you wonder what writing something down does rather than just thinking about it. I mean I am sure we have all thought about the places we'd love to travel or the top foods we couldn't live without but writing them down...hum, I wonder if it gets us there faster.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Style steal: winter shorts.

I've never thought of pairing tights with shorts to convert them into the winter wardrobe until I came across these photos. I have to say, I like it! I am short though so it might not work as well as it does on these ladies.



(via ellybeth, SallyJaneVintage, papercupclothing)

Friday, January 15, 2010

Hello friday.


Hows it going dears? Hope you have had a marvelous week. I have been settling into my new place well and have started to realize the perks of living alone. (i.e. I am completely in charge of decor, the food in the fridge is mine all mine and no one can steal it, I can do my exercise videos, yes videos, whenever I please, I can listen to songs I love on repeat as loud as I'd like without judgement) So there you have it. I am doing okay (for all of you that where a little worried). It is funny though. My parents have still been calling me a lot more often. I don't think they buy it yet.

Well this weekend I barely have any plans. I know I will be hanging out with friends tonight, although I am not sure what we will be doing yet. I also know that somewhere in the mix I will be seeing my sister and finishing my unpacking. I desperately need to sort all my clothes. It's the only thing I have yet to do and I'm really dreading it. So, there is my weekend. Some fun, some not.

In your down time, here are some things to enjoy...

This article about living alone is quite accurate and also a little funny. (the pros and cons section is spot on)

Last night I taught myself needle felting while watching old Lost episodes (the premiere is coming!) and made this mushroom!



You'll be ready for the rain or snow with this vintage umbrella...so cute!

After a long search for the perfect one, I just recently bought this shower curtain for my bathroom and I love it!

Ah, fried eggs...


OMG ricotta gnocchi. (can you tell I'm hungry?)

stairs with a sense of humor.

Legos for our growing technology...brilliant.

Anyone going to Vancouver for the Olympics? (I wish...)

I am thinking about picking up tennis just so I can wear the gear...

(photo via m@pestaartje)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

DIY: feather headbands and combs

For Christmas, I made these feather headbands as gifts for the girls in my family. They are selling them everywhere from Urban Outfitters to etsy (not mine...of course!). It's one of those things that you look at and think "I can do that." Well this time I did and I have to say it is pretty darn easy aside from a few minor glue gun burns. All you do is buy a piece of felt for the back, cut it in an oval/petal shape and hot glue it about an inch and a half up from the end of the headband. Once that's done you just glue the feathers on in layers. I start at the top and layer down. Once you are done with the feathers you can add any sort of embellishments you'd like (that's the fun part!). I choose some vintage buttons and lace. Voila! Now you've got a beautiful new hair piece. I found my headbands and Target and Forever 21. I think they have the most reasonable prices and they come in packs of two or three.




Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Take a look: Christian Faur, crayon portraits

These portraits remind me a lot of Seurat's pointillism paintings. I think it is so amazing that this image can be constructed of multiple solid dots- no blending, no lines. There is such depth to the faces it is just incredible. Christian Faur, the artist, uses found objects and materials that already exist in nature in a lot of his work. When discussing this series he states:

Because of the three-dimensional nature of the crayons, the individual surface images appear to change form as one moves about the gallery space. The images completely disappear when viewed from close up, allowing one to read the horizontally sequenced crayon text and to take in the beautifully colored crayon tips -- all the while being reminded of that first box of crayons.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Happy weekend + a new beginning.


Hello my lovelies! How has your week been?! Mine was full of ups and downs and highs and lows. My man has left on a trip of self-discovery to Thailand and will not return for 3 months. :( This, if you are wondering, is the reason for my personal day on Wednesday and for my general sadness and complete avoidance of all things that tend to make one cry. No sad songs or chick flicks for me in quite a while, thank you. On top of that large change, I am also learning how to live alone again, in a foreign city, in a new apartment. Whoa, one might say I am kicking ass at this whole New Years thing. Drastically turning my life around, check!

It really is all very exciting too. Tonight, I am planning on breaking in my kitchen and making dinner with some friends...lots of wine drinking and card playing will be involved. Saturday, I am going to this venue to see my friend's band play with a bunch of my girlfriends. I also plan on roaming my neighborhood a bit in search for the perfect coffee shop. I believe this is a must when introducing yourself to a new place. Find all the places you know you will frequent often, coffee shop being my number one priority. So yes, I am making a life for myself here and it feels good.

While you have some down time, here are some things to leisurely browse....

How fun are these Crayon rings?!

I'll have some roses with my eggs, thank you. how adorable is this breakfast tray...

I am seeing this movie on Sunday with my sister. Have you seen it yet?

Yes, today would have been The King's 75th birthday...let's remember.

This year I want to...write more letters, read more books and learn to sew.

Bloganistas...what a blogger wears to work.

Give your camera a...makeover.




And speaking of pets. I want...these postcards

Owl measuring tape. I want to squeeze it!


(photo via deviant art)

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Deep thought thursday...

Sorry for my absence yesterday. I was taking a personal day ;)

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Let's get inspired: Mikkel Vang

Today your daily dose of inspiration is Mikkel Vang. Right now he is taking me to a warm and happy place...just where I need to be.






Monday, January 4, 2010

Camper bike.

How amazing is this camper bike?! The artist and inventor, Kevin Cyr, is intrigued by commercial vehicles and their importance in the urban community. Much of his work includes paintings of an isolated van, truck or car on a solid background. He states of his work:

"I commemorate commercial vehicles inundated with graffiti and rust. Removing them from their everyday context, I place them on a solid color field giving them portrait-like importance. With devoted attention, I paint every imperfection and sign of age. Isolating these objects allows me a chance to document a time and place, and to make still a part of the ever-changing urban environment."



(via 20x200; kitsune noir)