I Want to Cook Here

Image via Desire to Inspire.

My kitchen is white, white, white...I'm constantly dreaming up ways to warm things up without having to do anything too major to the room.

Not that I expect you to trust my taste anymore after the horse incident of yesterday...but if I could do a full redo of the space, this is the kitchen I would emulate...cozy, but modern and functional. Nice.

The Controversial Horse

I am exactly 10 years older than lovely cousin Erin. Once when she was over at our house for Sunday dinner (amidst the pots boiling over, Millie sobbing and Audrey having some sort of sugar-induced crazies), I made the mistake of asking her if she ever looked at me and thought, “oh god this is going to be my life in 10 years.” She just smiled and said, “no, I’m just thankful that this isn’t my life now…”

Having Erin around allows me to view my world from a different perspective -- like reminding me that not everyone thinks it’s cute to hear your kid sing home on the range in a twangy southern accent 10 times in a row. She also gently nudges me out of my comfort zone when it comes to buying clothes or something new for the house.

So, on a recent shopping expedition, I was feeling pretty proud snapping up this horse. I knew she’d think it was a killer score a la Kelly Wearstler. But instead, she spotted it in my cart and looked at me with slightly amused pity, like I was some kind of suburban housewife let lose in a tchotchke shop in Santa Fe. Suffice to say she wasn’t feeling the Kelly Wearstler …

I bought it despite her skepticism and have moved that horse into every room in my house. I still haven’t found a place for it.

I Love...

this photo by the extremely talented Maditi. So pretty.

A Possible Solution to the White Coat Dilemma

So it’s not as elegant or well-made as the white coat I’m dreaming of, but for the price, it will be far less painful when it gets completely mucked up…

Weekend Recap

Our first bout of fall weather inspired us to cram in as many seasonal activities into our weekend as possible. Admittedly, most of our adventures involved food. We feasted on homemade apple cake gifted to us by one of Audrey’s classmates, spent Saturday afternoon at the elementary school Halloween carnival playing games and munching on caramel apples and made a big Sunday dinner for my folks, lovely cousin Erin and her mom, as they were all in town at the same time.

I’ve wanted to try and recreate this butternut squash and goat cheese puree that Bryan and I had at our anniversary dinner in Austin, but the weather hasn’t been cooperating up until now. It was so, so easy and crazy yummy. We served it with an oven roast and asparagus, but I think it would be especially good with pork chops.

Here’s how you do it.

• Preheat oven to 375


• Pierce 2 medium butternut squash 4-5 times and place in a casserole dish


• Bake squash for about an hour – you’ll know it’s done when you’re able to easily slide a thin knife all the way through the squash


• When fully cooked, slice open the squash and remove the seeds and strings
  
• Scoop out the remaining squash into a bowl and add room temperature goat cheese, kosher salt and pepper to taste and mash well with a spoon

Playing with the New Camera

Some items on the inspiration board

Friday Morning Paper

I've previously documented my fondness for paper, so I've decided to feature something in the paper genre every Friday. I'm kicking things off with this very cool little note-book. I love the cover, but the inside might actually be the best part, as it’s filled with 40 pieces of hand-stitched, found mixed papers.

I’ve always lusted after her handmade address files too, but they seem to be perpetually sold out…I guess I’ll just stick to the trusty Filofax.

Living on the Edge

I’m generally pretty practical when it comes to clothes. I’m not going to attempt to classify myself as low maintenance (for fear of mass ridicule by my friends and family), but given Audrey’s fondness for digging in the dirt and Millie’s need to spit up all over me on a regular basis, I just can’t bring myself to purchase anything that can’t be washed a million times and still look decent. But every once in a while I get completely obsessed with an item of clothing that flies in the face of practically, thumbing its nose at muddy hands and baby mum mum crusted faces. Currently it’s this white coat. I know, I know, white… But I can’t get it out of my head.

A Somewhat Obvious Truism, but Nonetheless…

Great image and great quote from the Design Within Reach newsletter:

"A room without books is like a body without a soul."

-- Cicero

For Audrey -- A Few More Animals

Audrey and I were perusing the ole blog last night, and she was upset that I didn't include this picture on my animal post. Apparently it was her favorite one...

Driving

Audrey is a much happier driver than me.

For the past couple of days, my commute to work has been decidedly un-fun. Usually a little time alone in the car with NPR is a high point of my day, but traffic, construction and bad drivers have joined forces to collectively make me miserable.

I spotted this on my insanely talented friend Buck’s site, bbGun, and it made me smile:

If everyone wore jetpacks, we’d never have to drive to work. We’d miss all the traffic, horray, but I’m sure there would be air traffic – a sky full of the same ol’ nosepickers and honkers and light-runners except maybe we’d be nicer drivers, puttering around the pretty blue without billboards or buildings or birds flying randomly in front of your car, instead they’d fly besid you and you’d become friends. Charlie the Chatterbox would escort you to work and you’d share your bacon and biscuits, he’d bring his worms and his beetles and you’d eat them, politely, for fear of lowering his self-esteem and being responsible for a broken home, an unhappy heart, and his AA meetings, Thursday nights at 7.

- Commute #735

Small

These photos from Oh Joy! and Hoping for Happy Accidents have been fueling our recent obsession with little animal figurines.

Bonus -- the second image also lead me to Makié, a really beautiful children’s clothing site.

Image by Rebecca Thuss via Oh Joy!

Image via Hoping for Happy Accidents

Lately Audrey's been using the little animals to create fun vignettes all over the house… Some recent creations:

Babette #2

Image via le train fantôme

I always end up on the greatest sites via Hoping for Happy Accidents. A recent visit turned up a link to Fanja’s blog, le train fantôme, which in turn lead me her really exquisite little shop.

My favorite is Babette #2 -- especially her description:

Babette is a busy librarian
She treks the woods in search
of the books read and lost by
the Eddy rabbits
She is one-of-a-kind

I think she'd be just perfect for a book obsessed little girl...

Sweet

Photos courtesy of lovely cousin Erin. I'm always partial to the blurry ones…

We ate our way through the fair on Friday... It was quite a success.

Happy Monday!

It's Time!

We always wait to go to the state fair until the final weekend, as the weather tends to be cooler and the crowds are thinner….and today’s the day. Last night before bed, Audrey and I laid in the dark and listed out all the things at the fair we were most excited about.

Her picks: corn on the cob, cotton candy, the twirling monkey ride and the fact that it's Millies first fair...sweet.

My picks: corny dogs, carmel apples and the Ferris wheel.

Happy Friday!

More from Pia

Image of artist Simon Porm’s home via Pia Bijkerk

Pia Bijkerk left a nice comment on my earlier post about the lovely rooms she styled, letting me know that the home belongs to Australian artist Simon Porm. One of the things that really drew me to the photos originally was the stack of paintings in the background, so it was great to find out more about the artist. Thanks Pia!

Special Made Surprisingly Simple

Image via Donna Hay Magazine

The combination of bad weather and cabin fever lead us to make a family trek to the bookstore a couple of weeks ago. Given all that’s involved in just getting the four of us out the door and the potential for disaster once we arrive at our destination (especially retail establishments), the excursion was surprisingly smooth.

While Millie snoozed in her stroller, Audrey and I hit the magazine section. We parked on the floor near the art/shelter/craft magazines, as I’m attempting to protect her self image for as long as possible by shielding her from the women’s magazines (even though I furtively read them after she’s gone to bed.) Holding fast to her previously declared career path, Audrey was pretty fixated on Art in America, informing me of the various paintings that she planned to emulate when we got home.

I was having a similar experience with a copy of Donna Hay Magazine. This is a seriously lovely magazine. I’d always seen it on the stands but never really flipped through it. Mostly food and entertaining shots (she’s maybe a cooler, more minimal Martha?), the photography is amazing. I love her tagline, “Special made Simple" but have been combing through the recipes, as I'm a little skeptical of the “simple” part. Surprisingly, most of the dishes actually fit my usually elusive culinary criteria of impressive results/minimum skills. The best evidence was this “philo dough nut tower” (of course this is not exactly what she calls it.) It’s ridiculously pretty and oh so easy.

update**

A few of you have asked...

Nut filo stack with rose syrup (the actual name)

• 1 cup chopped pistachio nuts
• 2 cups flaked almonds
• 8 sheets filo pastry
• 2 ¾ oz unsalted butter, melted

Rose syrup

• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon rosewater

Preheat the over to 400 . To make the rose syrup, place the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes or until thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the rosewater. Set aside to cool.

Place the pistachios, almonds and 1 tablespoon of the rose syrup in a bowl and mix. Layer 4 sheets of filo, brushing in between each layer with butter. Repeat with the remaining sheets. Cut each filo pile into 4 long strips. Place 3 teaspoons of the nut mixture on the end of a strip, fold and top with another 3 teaspoons of the nut mixture. Continue until you reach the end of the filo strip. Repeat with remaining filo strips and create a stack.

Place the stacks on a baking tray linked w/ non-stick baking paper and bake for 5 minutes or until light golden. Arrange tacks on plates and spoon over the rose syrup. Makes 4.

It's easy...I promise.

Oh My…

All images via Little Fashion Gallery

This Little Fashion Gallery site is quite cute. It appeals to my love of all things French and has lots of great frocks to sufficiently quell Audrey’s dress obsession.

These coloring books are great too…

Further Proof of My Glamour-Free Life

These Baby Mum Mum crackers are my favorite purchase of late. Millie is crazy for them, and truth be told, Audrey’s loving them too. Luckily there are two rice “rusks” in each little package, so everyone’s happy.

A List

Photo via Domino

I was surfing the Domino site last night and revisited these “libertine rules to live by” from designers Cindy Greene and Johnson Hartig -- I first saw the list in the magazine and sort of just glossed over it.

They’re actually pretty fun, but my favorites skewed toward the practical:

• Invest in one good antique to anchor a room.
• Make a collage on your refrigerator of museum stickers, invitations, funny notes, and every time you reach for something, you'll be reminded of how lucky you are.
• Close your eyes for 30 seconds at least once during the day, to be quiet and grateful.
• Buy your favorite books in hardback—that's one thing you'll never grow tired of.
• Always have enough negative space in a room, so the eye has a chance to relax.
• Don't throw away old clothes, furniture or knickknacks—drop them at Goodwill.

Although the part of me that aspires to be more glamorous wishes this one was my favorite...

"Always have an extra case of champagne on hand."

The Chair -- Part Two

After the arrival of the infamous IKEA chair, I set to work on a plan for my office revamp, starting with a little inspiration board. The saffron mum paper arrived yesterday from Broadway Paper, so now I can officially get started on the transformation...

Images above from left to right – Maditi Photography, Lena Corwin’s photostream, Black Eiffel, Fred Flare, La Paracaidista's photostream, Pottery Barn, Z Gallerie, Broadway Paper, Ikea

Pretty

I love this picture of Audrey Tautou from style.com. True, she's wearing a slightly annoyed expression, but I like how she manages to look totally pulled together, yet really comfortable and casual.

Full disclosure – Audrey Tautou partly inspired our daughter’s name...and come to think of it, I’m already starting to see that expression of bemused annoyance on Audrey’s face, so maybe her moniker was more appropriate than we thought.

Or maybe it’s just four.

More from Austin

Just a few lovely displays at Gardens... I loved all the salt cellars and unique serving pieces. The wooden spoons are on Bryan's list after he finishes the clutch (or maybe I should say after he starts making the clutch.)

They would make great Christmas presents, yes?

Green

Today is Blog Action Day, spurring bloggers across the globe to post about the environment. Take a peek at this very useful book. It's an offshoot of an equally useful and thought provoking Web site, http://www.worldchanging.com/.

And, not that you would in any way judge the contents based on it, but the book boasts a lovely cover as well…

A favorite quote from the book:

"When we become conscious about what we buy, we end up with more space for appreciating the objects that surround us, and what we have actually can make us happier."

Seven Hours of Sleep and a Few Succulents

Bryan and I celebrated our anniversary with an overnight trip to Austin. We’re a bit of a cliché, as we were most excited about the prospect of seven hours of uninterrupted sleep. But we found ourselves equally pleased with a drive free of mitigating any backseat crises and a couple of very leisurely meals (chicken tacos at Güero´s) sans wrangling highchairs, crayons and sippy cups. We almost didn’t know what to do with ourselves.

Once past the thrill of being full-on grown-ups for 24 hours, we just meandered around town. Bryan and I met in Austin when we were at UT, and we’ve seen it change pretty dramatically. While we definitely lament how its authentic grooviness seems to have succumbed to a more highly polished, self-aware brand of hip, there’s definitely no shortage of design inspiration.

For us, no visit to Austin is complete without a stay at the Hotel San José. I’ve mentioned my love for the San José before, but every time we stay there, I come home with a slew of new ideas for the house. We snapped tons of pictures and spent lots of time ogling the outdoor spaces, which lead us to visit one of our favorite shops, Gardens, twice to stock up on succulents for the back patio.

We were also pretty enamored of the built-in daybed/sofa in our room that we’re planning to somehow integrate into a playroom for the girls when they get a bit older….and we’re all hopefully getting seven hours of sleep on a regular basis. One can dream.

Flowers from Bryan

Happy Anniversary B. Seven years and no itch in sight.

Beautiful

I love this from photographer Janne Peters.

Happy Friday.

Guidance

Assignment #62Make an educational public plaque. Jonathan Green and Scottie Caldwell Charlottesville, Virginia USA via Learning to Love You More.

I’m hesitant to admit this, having lived almost half my life in the etiquette obsessed South, but I still forget which side the fork goes on when I'm setting the table. I made my own cheat sheet for Audrey to use (that's my story and I'm sticking to it), but it's definitely not as neat as this one -- how fun would it be framed and hanging in the kitchen.

The image is from a very cool site/art project called Learning to Love You More started by artists Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher in 2002. Visitors to the site can accept an assignment, complete it by following the simple but specific instructions, and see their work posted on-line. It's been around a while and oft-blogged about, but still very cool.

Thanks Love Forever.

It's Never too Early...

I read this on The Sartorialist yesterday. I love it... I'm making it into a plaque to hang on the girl's wall.

"I have already begun telling my daughters that smoking is a personal decision but not one they are allowed to make."

I Really Want to See This

Image via Darjeeling Limited.

Wes Anderson's movies usually move me to actually bite the bullet and get a babysitter...and Anjelica Huston...sigh.

Smooth

I’ve previously documented Audrey’s devotion to dresses -- the only way I can get the child to even think about wearing pants is under a dress, which thankfully is actually a good look for a 4 year old (and some very lucky adults.)

Her über-girlishness in this area doesn’t carryover to a love for make-up…yet. In fact, she’s pretty repulsed in general by it. Don’t even think about kissing her if you’re wearing even a trace of lip gloss…it’s just not going to happen, and she’s made it clear to lovely cousin Erin that she doesn’t approve whatsoever of her dark toenail polish…apparently the only acceptable option is the lightest of pinks.

The one concession she’ll make is for body lotion. The kid is mad for the stuff, slathering it all over her little body any chance she gets. She never fully rubs it in, so she’s always walking around with white streaks on her arms and legs.

Our current favorite is this Herbacin body lotion. Full disclosure – I bought it based solely on the packaging at Kuby’s (a very cool little German grocery/restaurant that’s been in Dallas forever), but it smells really great and lasts forever, which makes it perfect for my little lotion addict.

SO Pretty

Image via ilee paper goods.

I’ve mentioned my love of paper before…I’m a huge fan of stationary, date books, calendars, etc. I love, love this letterpress calendar from ilee paper goods on Etsy. They sell out pretty quick, as they're made in small quantities. I’ve been mildly obsessed with getting one since I first saw it over on Oh Happy Day. They've just re-stocked, so I picked up a couple -- one for me and one for a gift…

It’s not all Bitterness and Jealousy

After we finished Audrey’s gallery wall, she was feeling like Millie was a little left out, as her bathroom walls were still bare. So, we dug out these great flashcards (Audrey was happy to donate them to the cause) and hung them all over the wall with little map pins. I think Audrey was more excited about the outcome than I was…sweet, sweet sister!

More on Luxury

Image via O at Home.

I was digging through the aforementioned accordion folders of ripped out magazine pages this weekend looking for an old recipe and came across this image of stylist Suzanne Shaker’s house. I’m a huge fan of using all matter of rocks, shells, twigs, cuttings, etc…as decoration in our house. No matter how many design trends come and go, there’s something timeless about a really beautiful natural object.

The text on the other side of the page really rang true to me as well…

“The wide-open rooms offer a lesson: Luxury doesn’t have to be opulent or showy. Luxury is a well-crafted space; luxury is lots of light and air…”

Yee Haw!

I'll be spending most of the day helping out at Audrey's school for Western Day. Wish us luck with the pie eating, chili cook-off, stick horse race, etc...

Happy Friday!

Image via the Cowgirl Hall of Fame. If you're ever in Ft. Worth, you have to check it out.