Quote Of The Day

A well used toy car from "Cars"

Same setup as here: Seamless White Background - How To 

Steven Gambrel

This beautifully converted ballroom designed by Steven Gambrel.

Great Cooking Tips

Learn how to avoid the most common cooking mistakes here 

Photo: Johnny Autry Story by Ann Taylor Pittman and Tim Cebula

Place Setting Diagram

Marni For H&M

H&M Announces Collaboration With Marni. Will be available in stores and online in March. Expect to see lots of things that Marni is known for, like tribal-inspired prints, crafty jewelry, and fun chunky shoes.

Photos: Courtesy of Marni/H&M

Quote Of The Day

Shear Perfection

T IS FOR?

TOPIARY!
Trimmed to a tee, some tantalising topiary that we were fortunate to be treated to on our travels in September. Firstly above and below in the gardens at Great Dixter, Kent ~

and then this tailored allée in Les Jardins de Séricourt, France ~

where we were also treated to this tableux ~

Not quite tea for two but terribly civilised nevertheless.

Tango over to ABC Wednesday for more on the terrific letter T.

Ostwald Helgason’s SS12

I'm  loving  cork as a material in clothing.
photos: facebook.com/ostwaldhelgason

Floppy Disks Become Portraits

Nick Gentry floppy disk paintings combine the now obsolete tech storage with acrylic paints, metallic leaf and mixed media mounted on wood.

More Images from  Nick Gentry's site, flickr account and Robert Fontaine Gallery

Quoe Of The Day

Little Green Notebook….luv ya!

What a treat to come home and find my err... our Living room on Jenny in the hoods' blog

The Little Green Notebook.

I mean come on…who hasn’t dreamed of picking up and moving to a loft in NYC with beautiful family in tow… like Jenny did?

Can’t be just me. right? right?

Anyway….Oy. I think I kinda hate seeing my rooms in “print” …blog print. you get it right?

Do other folks 185 lb Great Danes mush down their furniture just so? No? thought so.

Thanks Jenny in the hood.

You are good. Jenny in the hood.

ok. done.

The Ruby Collection

Dolce & Gabbana is launching its Ruby Collection there truly is a red for everyone and every skin tone. Iconic (slightly orangey), Devil (bright, bold), Ruby (self-explanatory), Ultra (the darkest and berry-tinged), and Scarlett (the most classic looking of them all). Saks.com 

Photo: Bobby Doherty

Green Salad with Blackened Chicken

Ingredients:

10 cups organic leafy greens, rinsed and dried
two large avocados, sliced and scooped out with a spoon
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted
blackened chicken (recipe follows)
balsamic vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Toss in a large bowl and drizzle with the balsamic vinaigrette.

Blackened Chicken

1 tablespoon ground dill
1 tablespoon ground thyme
2 tablespoons ground paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
2 chicken breasts
olive oil

1. In a small bowl, combine spices, salt, and pepper. Rub onto the chicken breasts. Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet set over medium high heat. Place the chicken in the oil, and sear, about two minutes on each side. Reduce heat to low, cover, and allow to cook for about five minutes more, until fully cooked, and internal temperature is 160˚.

2. Take off heat, and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Cut in slices.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
large pinch salt
large pinch pepper

In a small jar place all the ingredients and whisk them.

via here

Helpful Functionality

Copy Paste Character let’s you copy the ‘hidden’ characters that come with the computer’s typefaces, so you can paste them into emails, tweets, text documents, forums, etc . . . . check out their iPhone App

Quote Of The Day

Handcrafted in the U.S. - Wendell August

After enjoying Thanksgiving feasts, lots of naps, shopping, movies and a four-day work break I've turned my attention to the Christmas season.

 

 So now I'm thinking about gifts and recently I've noticed a number of posts about buying and giving "made in the USA."  For bloggers focused on trying to support local economies, I thought I would pass along a company I was introduced to last year.  

My girlfriend Marta (and I know she is going to read this post), gave me a beautiful pewter ornament.   I own a very small collection of pewter and enamel over metal ornaments so the gift Marta gave me was a real treasure.  Marta told me that ornament was handcrafted by Wendell August, a company in her home town that burned to the ground last year.  Her purchase was to intended to help support the company and the local economy.  

I thought I'd pass along the story and a link to Wendell August in case you are looking for handmade jewelry, ornaments or other household items.  You are going to love these works of art. 

Colors of thanksgiving weekend early in the morning at our casa…

It’s lazy. We have had turkey in many forms. Soup tonight.

The birds are singing outside…the windows are wide open…the sun is rising

Tomorrow… Kids are back at school. Work ensues.

…and for now… I cannot seem to remove myself from my well worn chair in my well worn room.

While the breezes blow.

two fave paintings…Hudson river painter George Inness towards the end of his career

and two of four of my favorite kidlets…how does the time fly?

Enjoy the last of your thanksgiving weekend.

May warm breezes blow for you.