Archive for fun
making…
a list!
(I know the last thing we need is more STUFF, but these are some appealing little objects that I think we could get used to having around)
a bike bell that makes pedestrians smile.
a measuring cup/juicer because making a little cup of orange juice on a freezing Sunday morning is a necessity masquerading as a luxury
fancy dustpan for the nerd herd.
a candle that conjures up wintertime cinders and I never get tired of sniffing.
a design book that is definately ubiquitous, but incredibly beautiful, and yet another example of how the Japanese are actually a more intelligent life form, just pretending to be like us
the best teapot in the world.
a smart collator to encourage the art of anal retentiveness
a beautiful book about food because you can never have too many
a heavy jar of soft almond scented hydration (for obvious reasons)
and a new kitty bed, because they are already spoiled, what’s the harm?
oh yeah, and for delicious one-pot meals year after year…
admiring…
the beautiful cozy work of
at BonBon’s lovely open house on Sunday.
I also replenished my winter paper and candle supply with goodies from
and
the lovely Tamika Rivera.
All the while ogling the magical work and fine hospitality of Ms. Bonbon herself.
Sovereign Beck was also a delightful addition this year!
Thank you!
Images : Hortensia Handmade
knowing…
that this is all over Dwell, Treehugger, Aparment Therapy and everywhere else– not new news!
But fun nevertheless.
visiting…
mini-India (after an amazing meal in Thailand, and before we descended on the streets of Uruguay) during a Sunday journey into another of the many amazing corners of Queens with the best neighbors there ever were.
visiting…
beautiful Woods Hole
for a week long wedding celebration
that was
pure
magic.
We made the journey from NYC through Fall River and New Bedford to attend the week-long wedding celebration of two of my favorite people, one of whom was born and raised in Woods Hole, MA. We had an amazing week. About 20 of us stayed in a 100-year-old estate that was truly this most magical Cape Cod environment anyone could conjure up. We cooked dinner and watched the sun set, went for evening walks and late-night swims in the bay, activating the sparkles of phosphorescent life. We silk-screened party favors and created custom wedding cocktails, eating lobster rolls for lunch and local lamb and bluefish for dinner. The ladies went on a sailing regatta for the “bachelorette party” and the boys went fishin’. We got to know everyone in the town as they helped us to gather flowers from their gardens to re-assemble as bouquets, boutonnieres, garlands, wreaths and arrangements for the celebration. Hundreds and hundreds of flowers, FILLING a porch of the house, in one afternoon transformed into lovingly created gifts that were just a tiny part of the magic of the week. It rained the day of the ceremony, but we joined the 100 wedding guests in the stone church, fragrant with Clematis and filled with the sounds of the accordion, where the brides parents were married years ago. Later at the house we were cozy with fires blazing in the fireplaces, the piano playing, and chowder, Templeton Rye and pound-cake (among other delicious treats) in our bellies. Landing in Port Authority on Sunday night to hipsters in ridiculous sunglasses felt like waking up from a super amazing and unforgettable dream. The whole thing was stupidly fun and an awesome way to kick of things to come.
more pics here!
taking…
a little trip…
What a beautiful weekend.
We stayed on the super fresh and cold Esopus creek @ sunny Lazy Meadows, in a perfectly preserved Airstream. The Airstream is already so distinctive, on its own it would have been a delight, but it had the double value of bringing back lots of vivid memories of the one my parents bought from my grandparents in the late 1970′s. Incredible how switching on an overhead light can overwhelm you with a time past.
In keeping with the compulsion to dig a bit deeper into being American, we had an especially Americana-filled summer weekend. Wacky hippie-Buddhist Woodstock, Nathans hot dogs on the grill, a tiny (but well-stocked) 24-hour farmers market which had an honor box (!!), long hikes, fire-towers, wild blueberries, ridiculous views of the Hudson Valley, the scent of hot pine-needles, cold beers, ice cream, milk-glass, waterfalls, wildflowers, potato chips, ranger stations, farmland…
As we were enjoying all of this, I was thinking so much about American vacations of the past, especially when there was little or no money. A camping trip in the Catskills would fit that bill. Long before giant RV’s with flatscreen TV’s, and strangely named hideous campers (The Prowler?), the simplicity and fun of pulling a tiny trailer up into a wooded lot beside a fire-pit or next to a gurgling stream had a much more compelling demeanor. Making a nice dinner, watching the sun set, roasting treats and chatting by the fire, then falling asleep in clean sheets listening to the crickets and the wind is something as powerful now as it was in post-war America.
more pics here.
learning…
about this insanely great little operation from my neighbor,
who, incidentally has a jewelery collection for fall 09 that I saw last night which is seriously off the hook.
Sunday Suppers is so incredibly great! I can’t wait to go. It makes me think of going out to rainy Bainbridge for long amazing dinners @ Kurtwood Farms. [I am also a COMPLETE sucker for this photography. Its doin' me in.]
smart cookies:
