lazy hair day

with the heat the way it's expected to be today, there is nothing to do but put your hair up and leave your neck free to breathe what air is available. loving these braids as inspiration.

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a cozy corner

well we finally moved and i've been wanting to aggregate pictures and thoughts into a post to share and the days get away from me. in the meantime, i thought i'd show you an inspiring dining corner shot... our new place shares nothing in common with the above image other than wood floors. but we're hoping to create a little banquette area with a bench and some eclectic chairs. i also love the idea of the gallery wall above the table. totally planning on that as well.

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these are nuts

so good. they remind me of these, which are harder to find and more expensive. both are insanely good for a you-only-need-a-few kind of snack.

take me there

i want to go to there.

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a sweet surprise

have you heard of the baby gender reveal cake idea? admittedly, i should probably have come up with a catchier name for it, but listen: when it's time to find out the gender of your baby, your ultrasound technician writes down "boy" or "girl" on a piece of paper and you bring that paper to your favorite bakery. then when you're ready to celebrate whatever that gender is, you pick up the cake and cut into it to reveal either pink or blue cake. some people even make whole parties for the reveal! HOW CUTE!!!

i know that i, for one, will DEFINITELY want to know the gender of my baby, though i am struck by the simplicity of the response i got when i recently asked an expectant father why he and his momma-to-be chose to wait. "there are so few good surprises in life" was what he said. i love that thought, and i love the idea of celebrating that good surprise with colorful cake and then having months and months to plan knowing exactly what gender my baby will be :)

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smart salvage

i think we all have at least one eyeshadow or blush that has dropped or just generally degraded to where what was once a solid is now not so solid anymore. it gets messy, dusty and doesn't go on right anymore. so i love this glamour mag recession-friendly beauty tip on salvaging those downtrodden faves. for containers for this project, i love these.

so easy that it's kind of like, why have we not been doing this since the beginning of time? or at least since the beginning of middle school...

a prune prelude

okay so even though i'm not into sardines, doesn't this plate seem like the perfect bar snack? well that's what it is at downtown restaurant prune. and maybe it's the perfect prelude to prune chef gabrielle hamilton's recipe for braised chicken legs with shallots and vinegar.

 i love how both dishes seem to blend savory and tart, salty and sweet, deftly and with confidence. dare i say i might try sardines in this iteration.

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