salty and sweet

are you being hosted this weekend? hostess gifts can be both easy to shop for and hard...on one hand, there are several quick, easy wins. a bottle of wine, a bunch of beautiful flowers, or a nicely presented plant can't go wrong and i'm a big fan of all those options. but then there are the times you want to go a little different. for times like that, i love the idea i saw on my baking addiction of giving homemade vanilla sea salt. 

first, i think it's beyond lovely to give something you made, and what's different about this is that it's not a batch of brownies or a cake that's eaten and then over that day, one and done. this is more of a slow burn - something that can be kept in the pantry of the recipient and used many different ways over many weeks and months, and each time they taste it and discover a new use for the salty and sweet treat, they'll think of you and the lovely hosts they were on the night they got it from you. i love that! 

 

if you're not fancy with a crafting tool that makes perfect labels, which is like a different language to me, i think a plain paper tag (even one neatly cut from a grocery bag) with a hand-scrawled "vanilla sea salt" is kind of more charming. and this way, there's no mistaking who made it...from your kitchen to theirs.

video conference

there are so many videos constantly being emailed around and so much tv to watch on every screen that we're all on overload from time to time, right? add to that the fact that i work in television and am married to a television lover, i am often on MEDIA OVERLOAD. but there are certain videos that i still watch from time to time just because they make me feel good, and i wanted to share them with you this morning. 

do you remember this awesome wedding entrance? i still get chills because it's just so fun and thinking about the amount of effort all their friends put in to learn it and step outside their comfort zone to actually do it. obsessed. plus it's a great song. 

then there's this michael buble video that i just find contagious. first of all, i just love him so much. the song is so catchy, the video is so kitchy, and the horns...love those horns. and all the paper confetti reminds me of the paper confetti moments at my own wedding and at my sister's. priceless.

and you've seen the honey badger video right? omg. if you haven't, you're going to need to go somewhere where curses are okay, and watch it immediately.

oh, and one other music video. have you heard of lenka? i love this song of hers and the video is cute and quirky too. this is totally one of those songs that just makes me smile and tap my feet in a way that reminds me of my grandpa and makes me smile even bigger.

as lenka says, just enjoy the show! see you tomorrow.

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special sips

 

i'm always a big fan of having a special drink when people arrive at a wedding or another special event. at my sister's wedding, sparkling water with fresh raspberries punctuated the rosy, blushy hues of the day. at my own wedding, we offered guests water and sparkling apple and pear ciders to signify the fall season. 

at a bridal shower i planned at work a couple years ago, chocolate was the theme so i did cups of chocolate and plain milk but made them look more special with bright pink straws, all tilted matchingly to the side. yeah, matchingly. made it up.

so...these wildflower ice cubes are begging to be tried, particularly at a spring party like a bridal shower or wedding, don't you think? they actually seem pretty doable based on martha's instructions, and you could employ the same method with any number of things...fresh herbs like mint to put in a mojito or a long island iced tea, or berries to put in a fruitier cocktail. love. this. idea.

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favorite

do you own an item that you just love so much you irrationally want another one? that's how i feel about the ikat scarf i got from h&m last year. i just DIE for it, over and over again, every time i look at it. when i'm not wearing it, i have it draped on my desk chair or over the side of the couch in my living room. the color story in it - blues, orange, pink, mustard...oh my god. i just can't. 

what good would having a second one do me? none. it doesn't even make sense. i just love it that much. although....now that i'm giving it some thought, if i had an extra one, i could use it to reupholster the antique bench i rescued from a junk pile...

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layers of love

the isla layered necklace from sarah chloe is, i think, my very favorite incarnation of the initials-on-a-pendant look i've seen. i have to admit it's partially because you don't have to choose what metal tone to go with (white, yellow, rose) and can instead use any combination of them you'd like. i think a rose and yellow combo would be pretty if you only needed two charms, and then who knows, maybe you'd have a white one to add later on!

of course, these more typical versions are very lovely too. and then there are these diamond little boy and girl charms.  and i love love love the concept of this trio necklace because it looks collected over time and not too perfectly planned because of the way they overlap and touch.

do you love? i feel like sarah chloe is pretty much one-stop-shopping for all monogrammed and personalized jewelry. there's pretty much nothing in that realm that i've wanted (initial pendants, monogram pendants, even old-school nameplates in all different typefaces!) that they don't kill it on.

a chic coupling

what do you think of blake's braided updo? i think it's so beautiful and chic, and i love how it's undone and polished in the same instant. here are instructions...

this look reminds me of another of my recent obsessions and you wouldn't normally make the association. a new colleague of mine has introduced me to the wonderfulness of these pencils, and i'm a total devotee now. she sticks them in her pulled-back hair. it's so effortless and bookish seeming - i wish i could do it without seeming like i'm single-white-femaling her, which i would be...

oh yeah, and she tops the pencils with these old schoolerasers. well maybe i'll get my own old school eraser like this pretty white one which i've often admired as i stock up on office supplies each time i get bored of my highlighter and post-it selections. 

...although i don't think these erasers would look as chic in my hair, even with the chicest of braids.

kitchen whites

i'm all aflutter with dreams of a white kitchen (with touches of blue). these dreams aren't new to me, just renewed because we're talking about moving so possibility is in the air. i'm already set on white dishes, but here are some of the white kitchen accents i think would be cheerful, even on a frozen day like today. 

i love all the stoneware and ceramic egg crates i've seen so often recently, but my personal favorite is the one from anthropologie since it holds a full dozen. if i got this one or this one, though they're pretty, i'd still have a half empty carton of eggs each time i bought them until i got through the first six. not pretty.

i also really love the berry boxes because they're sweet looking and they just look so much like the real thing, even with the little puckers and dents and bends in the basket. even though i prefer them in white for my fantasy kitchen, you can see all the lovely little details in the green one here. aren't they lovely?

jayson home and garden has three different ones in white that's a nice mix and crate and barrel's are basic and inexpensive.

i'd also love a really simple set of white mixing bowls like these...

... and canisters, even with one special one like this thrown in (note: in this fantasy, i make cookies). 

and even white can have whimsy with little pieces of art like these owl measuring cups. 

i guess the nicest thing about these moments of white is that i might not be able to (read: will definitely not) have a dream white kitchen like this or this, but i can get some of these little accents and feel like i'm living a little piece of that wonderfully white dream.

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dawn of a new day

it's a funny feeling to have a whole year ahead of us, isn't it? it seemed from facebook and the media and just the general sense of things, that 2011 was a hard year for a lot of people. it was an exceedingly hard year for me and mitchell, and we have spent the last couple days talking a lot about the hope...so much hope... for a better year ahead. hope is precarious in so many ways - it means you stand on a precipice and look out -- one eye open -- and choose to believe that you'll be okay. it takes faith and guts and a lot of trust. i know so many of you have had challenging years...some that started out that way and got tougher or maybe better...some that started out wonderful and strong and ended on a scary and uncertain note. 

one thing i know for certain is that i'll be back here writing regularly again, which had gotten a little spotty, admittedly. so together, we'll meet 2012 with faith and guts and a lot of trust, okay? what's really the alternative, right? and while we're at it, we might as well make it look and smell lovely, taste good and make us happy. so here we go. a few thoughts to get us started.

i'm beyond thrilled that voluspa has brought back their best candle scent ever, baltic amber. apparently, i wasn't the only one miffed that they'd done away with it.

i made this classic spinach dip on new years eve just exactly the way the recipe says to, though i used light mayo and light sour cream. it was REALLY GOOD. and i totally did pack it into a bread bowl and served it with cubes of fresh sourdough. first rate.

a few weeks ago, my cousins and i had our semi-monthly cousins outing at a private "beauty bash" at the super girlie benefit boutique in soho which was so fun and such a steal! for $50, you get a brow service (thread, pluck or wax) and $50 of product credit PLUS drinks and snacks. new favorite benefit product? definitely this plum mascara.

and speaking of plum...i'm re-obsessed with essie sole mate for nails...i just feel happy every time i see my hands. heaven.

did you have any real favorite gifts this holiday season? i think these retro handsets for cell phones are hilarious and whimsical. i also love the footsie pajamas at target...i just worry a little about overheating and not having an easy exit plan...

i've watched every episode of up all night at least once this past week on my vacation, and i love it. i'm also completely caught up on tori and dean, blissfully netflix-ensconced in both mad men and parenthood and entirely excited for the return of pretty little liars, mob wives and gossip girl...WTF chuck??

bring it 2012.


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keeping our heads on straight...three minute cleanup

 

one of the things that never fails to make me pleased with myself rather quickly is the three minute cleanup. i just made that name up, but that pretty much says it in a nutshell. take this morning for example. as i stood in the bathroom getting ready for the day, i found myself annoyed by how cluttered the sink area was. where did all this come from? long-ago-finished magazines, clothing that - though once probably fine to be put away - now needs to be washed from makeup residue falling on it day after day...wrappers and packages everywhere - how does this happen??

if i were being as perfect as martha, this wouldn't ever happen, but luckily it doesn't take very long to gather up all the mess and put each thing in its rightful place. a quick swipe of the counter with a nice smelling wipe and it's over. done. the dawn of a new day, with even a place to put my coffee. such a nicer way to start the day.

into the woods

 

i love the whole woodland christmas theme i've seen emerge over the last couple of years in the stores and catalogs -- it seems like everyone got the memo. the whole look makes me feel like i could be curled up in a lodge next to a fire with a piping cup of hot chocolate (or coffee if we're being real), listening to wonderful christmas crooning and just more or less living the christmas dream. you too?

i love this wonderful collection of ornaments from anthropologie which are, like everything at anthropologie, a little on the pricy side. still, though, not too bad if you're purchasing just a few special ones for a gift for yourself or a loved one.

and then these from crate and barrel:

and i love how west elm has gone the more plush, playful route, with several of them under $5:

pier 1 also has incredibly affordable ones, which is especially nice - most are under $2!

do you love? so cozy, right? i love the idea of combining these little textural critters with mercury glass, shimmery pine cones and lots of candlelight for a cozy, christmasy night in.

good morning

this was today's daily thought from real simple (do you subscribe?) and i liked its simplicity and truth.

caffeine and inspiration

i found starbucks to be full of inspiration this morning...maybe i'm lightheaded from lack of nutrition, or maybe it just was that inspiring...first, isn't the color story of the christmas blend packaging beautiful?

and don't you know people who get such joy from the red holiday cups? i know i do. get the joy, i mean, though i also know other people who do. it's a sure sign that the holidays are here, and so i love the idea of getting someone an ornament of that very cup! it's as perennial reminder of the holidays for some as the idea of a christmas tree, so why not go for synergy? they come in a set that includes the plain old white cups, or individually as the red ones. paired with a starbucks gift card, this makes the perfect stocking stuffer or thank you gift.

 

i also love the new selection of mugs, including the classic line which are clean and graphic with the starbucks sizes emblazoned on them (clearly the venti would be my choice) and even include a teeny, tiny, totally adorable tasting cup at 3 ounces, known as a demi in barista land. this one is so cute for when you just want a sip...or to serve at the end of an evening with mini biscotti and chocolate covered spoons. or if you want to feel like alice in wonderland. 

i also love the ones with the sort of freestyle mug designs inspired by their italian roast. aren't they pretty? i like that they're so unbranded, so they'd look fine in anyone's home.

and how about this starbucks reserve mug that seems to be made just for me...at first, i was thinking "why would you buy this unless your last name starts with an R?" and then i realized, it doesn't matter, because mine DOES START WITH AN R!

p.s. did you know you could buy the starbucks flavored syrups? who knew?