a fall bounty

a couple weeks ago, my sister molly and i met our friend rebecca at the farmers market near our office at about 8 am. it was so beautiful to be there first thing in the morning on a cool, crisp fall day, and the morning sunlight streaming in created a totally different feel than i've felt at the farmers market before. it was like an otherwordly light filtering through all the layers of beautiful greens and colorful shapes.




as we perused, we talked about the ways we shop for produce and how to minimize waste and maximize the use of seasonal produce when it's at its best. just a few days before that, rebecca had emailed me to pose this question for discussion:

do you have a game plan when you go to the farmer's market? like, do you go there looking for particular things or with a recipe in mind? or do you just go and see what's there and figure out what you will make with it as you go along? it's just so hard to resist the beautiful things that they have there, especially when you don't know if it will still be available the following week.

so we walked and talked about this conundrum that i think a lot of people feel in some form. my personal thought is that it's a great idea to have a plan B for everything you buy at the farmers market. for example, you might see some beautiful squashes and peppers you want to try - interesting colors and shapes, and you have lofty goals of sauteeing or grilling them, drizzling with some herb-infused olive oil, blah blah blah. and that would be lovely. but if it doesn't happen, for whatever variety of reasons make things like that not happen, then you can have a plan in the back of your mind to make a big pot of chili on sunday to use up the things that never made it to their culinary promised land.

and about the idea of not knowing what will be available next week making it hard to pass over something particularly interesting, i say ask the sellers. one of the best things about farmers market shopping is that you're buying directly from the source (which is so nice in so many ways). they've known that huge eggplant since it was this big. so they'll gladly tell you when things will be available and when they won't, even when they're at their peak. and they can also give you ideas of how to prepare each specimen if you're not sure.


one of my favorite things at the farmers market is seeing vegetables in their full, uncut form. it totally makes them more exciting to use, though it can sometimes be a little intimidating. seeing them (and buying them) that way makes me feel even more connected to the true source of this goodness, and that's really something to feel good about it, especially in a food world that we know is over-processed and so very disconnected from its source and its intended form.

i was happy to see all the gnarly and huge heirloom tomatoes (the uglier the better, right?) after last year's tomato issues. these are the kind of tomatoes that just sliced on a plate are a showstopper.


what have you been buying at the farmers market? and do you have a system or strategy to share?






some more honey living farmers market posts:

fresh ideas
local harvest
on the grid
good and green

sour and sweet

how's this for life giving you lemons...our flight to paris was cancelled due to volcanic ash...seriously? oui, seriously. so rather than joining the thousands of people at the mercy of an angry geyser of lava, we decided not to try and force this trip right now.

instead, we took those lemons and made margaritas -- we went to mexico!

yet another lesson from the universe that the best laid plans (even those of the seventeen page variety, for example) can disappear in an instant. as my bff bethenny (a margarita maven herself) says, "we plan and god laughs."

but it's also a reminder that the unravelling of a plan can yield another great one.

btw, mazel bethenny!

don't forget to check in each morning for a new post while i'm gone.

photo from exeter township

kall me karla

i love the kardashians. i have no shame about it. i love them. especially khloe. we've talked about her perfect gunmetal mani. and you've probably seen her rings, like, without a kamera or binokulars because they're so kompletely huge and sparkly.

well now look at her home office. so glam, so luxe. give it to me. read about the details here.



do you think if i spelled my name with a K i kould get one just like it?

top photo from http://www.people.com/, ring photo from www.celebritysmackblog.com, all others from www.casasugar.com

take me there

okay, so first order of business today...get me to this porch. it belongs to india hicks, daughter of famed interior designer david hicks and herself a model, entrepreneur, bravo's top design host and true island living guru. included in her island empire, india has several properties on harbour island and windermere island in the bahamas which are rentable and gorgeous. she lives on harbour island full-time in a house called hibiscus hill with her husband and four children, including a daughter named domino.

oh and by the way, she's also written books on island design and island beauty, co-owns a boutique and has created two cosmetics line with crabtree and evelyn called india hicks island living and india hicks island night. but that's it. other than that she's a bum.

anyway, i wanted to show you some pictures of her home which i think are just beautiful. so understated and lovely and authentic. her home looks tropical and island-style, for sure, but not in the overdone, overly colorful style you might find at an all-inclusive resort. now don't get me wrong, i love that style too for a vacation, but if i were to live on an island, this would be more my speed. how about you?



i think these photos are a good reminder that in any setting, the same truths apply - well-chosen pieces, eclectic style and seasonal and environmental elements make for beautiful design.

all photos from www.apartmenttherapy.com

upstream

aren't these fish adorable? it was a folk art set that wisteria carried a while ago...i was saving them to share with you when the summer wasn't such a distant thought...but now wisteria doesn't have them anymore! should have seized the moment when i first found them all those snowy months ago. i guess we'll just have to look out for similarly handmade, happy pieces like them in salty beach towns this summer. i'm in!

so since i can't offer a link where you can buy these fishies, i'll offer you these dreams of summer where these fish would look right at home. i know we're only just at the beginning of spring, but i love the feeling of knowing we have the spring AND summer ahead of us...so much to look forward to!

fish photo from www.wisteria.com, all other photos from www.countryliving.com

library love (and other phases)

one of the best things about reading the work of excellent writers is that they sometimes illuminate something inside you that you couldn't quite pinpoint. hali bey of concrete magnolia, one of my favorite blogs, did that for me this morning, and i'll tell you how.

in her post this morning about the library, she talks about going through phases. here is what she says:

"i am a person who goes through phases, i become interested in things, pledge loyalty, earn the badge and take on a new name and for some time, this new thing will become so much apart of me."

to me, her thoughts express perfectly how, for people that move in and out of loves and obsessions and discoveries, a phase is so much more than a fleeting time -- it becomes a part of who you are and who you become, even if the love for that thing itself lays dormant for a time, or changes and means something different at one point in life than it did at another. hali's post on the library tells that story.

and funnily enough, the thought it brought me to was about my own library experience. my love for the library feels so strong and important right now, and yesterday as we drove by the beautiful building, mitchell pointed at it and said "your favorite place!" and i felt so content in that moment - content that my love and allegiance to this old-but-new place was known and validated, and even more than content that i share my life with someone who feels the gravity of my phases, of how they become a part of me, and loves them for me, and through me, and right along with me.

photo from www.concretemagnolia.com

stay the night (or forever)

my visits to the emerson resort have introduced me to a feeling of...how should i say it...never wanting to leave the hotel i'm staying in. yeah, that works. and so when i came upon a few pictures of the crosby street hotel right here in new york, i felt phantom "never want to leave" pangs, even though i'm not staying there (but i SHOULD be).

i just had to share with you how gorgeous every space in this boutique hotel is. here is how firmdale hotels, the british company which owns the crosby, puts it: "hotels should be living things, not stuffy institution... kit kemp [one of the owners] has designed all of the interiors in a fresh contemporary english style. her mixture of colour and texture, modern and antique together with an impressive art collection, has combined to create a unique look and style."

TRUE THAT.

the common areas of the hotel include the lobby, a bar where all-day afternoon tea is served in the english style, a private garden, a drawing room where one can also enjoy their tea, private meeting and event rooms, a screening room and a gym, all impeccably appointed in the most non-hotel hotel style i've ever seen, and one of the first LEED certified hotels in new york city. to me, a place like this being green makes it infinitely better.

i'd be pretty thrilled if i arrived on a soho street (best neighborhood for shopping and dining in nyc, many would say) and checked into this lobby. you?

and the rest of the guest common spaces are just as interestingly appointed. what's nice is that the whole hotel gives the vibe of a very cool home - collected over time, not out of a single catalog page like some decor can be - especially hotel decor.

and then, and THEN...the guest rooms. there are 96 rooms and suites, each uniquely decorated with such whimsy and charm that i just feel like i want to stay in every room. here are a just a few...

now of course, this kind of style doesn't come cheap, but i know you could have guessed that. so especially if you live in new york, and winning the lottery isn't an experience you've had, you might not end up staying here. i feel you.

but i will definitely be keeping the crosby street hotel in mind for something like a small-scale baby or bridal shower - like a lady's tea or brunch. (i wasn't crazy about the way their wedding ceremonies or receptions looked and they're probably mara lago kind of money anyway).

all photos from www.firmdale.com