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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happy monday

how low can we go?

you know i'm a fan of the high/low analysis, and just generally of finding accessible ways to try trends we like. don't get me wrong...i also like the occasional splurge, but we can't splurge all the time. so here, i found an even lower version of the yellow satchels i wrote about last week (admittedly this one's not neon, but still very yellow) and also a very affordable colorblock heel like the ones i admired here.

though i love the ones below for sure (mainly for color choice), i think the above version is a pretty good replacement, especially given that they're over $300 less. thoughts?

tuesday morning

this is the part of winter that feels long and dark, isn't it? this morning felt like the kind of morning where a bunch of flowers goes a long way. i'm a fan of grouping them by color for display...part because i love all things monochromatic, but also because the simple act of grouping and arranging and putting like with like can feel calming. there's something orderly about it that we just don't get very often in the chaos of real life. agree?

i'm listening to this song this morning as i write and sip my coffee and it makes me smile and feel happy. happy tuesday.

barely there

one of the most loved gifts i've ever received was this necklace from my sister and brother-in-law. i love it because it's so perfectly delicate and barely there, but has a little glimmer and falls just perfectly. because i love it so, so much, my husband bought me the matching bracelet as a sweet surprise for channukah. normally, i'm not one for matchy matchy or things in sets, but because these pieces are so subtle and quietly lovely, i love wearing them both. and i do...every single day.

 

i've been loving initial jewelry lately, and last week on a business trip, i admired this lovely initial necklace that had that barely there quality. i particularly love the way the certain letters (like the H and the N) which are suspended on a bias and looked just perfect. 

you can also get them with more than one letter (perfect for one's own initials or those of children), and also with numbers. and of course, the bracelets are as dainty as the necklaces.

while i totally love huge, flashy jewelry (i'll gladly admit that), my love for that kind of bling is rivaled only for my love of this kind of delicate perfection...like whispered bling. love it.