style spotlight

i stumbled across one of the most amazing style blogs: atlantic-pacific.


what initially caught my eye was this necklace:
i actually own this necklace. it is one of my favorite iconic, statement pieces. the name is "runway pearls". it makes any outfit i match it with. love!




and it just kept getting better. outfit after outfit. AHmazing. brilliant color/pattern combos, and the most eye-catching jewelry schemes. she piles on the jewelry. my kind of gal. we would be fast friends. i just know it.


her hair in this shot is really sort of breathtaking, no?


piled on jewelry...YES please!


did i mention the brilliant pattern combos?
do yourself a favor and check out her blog. you will be utterly inspired. promise.

denver art museum

saturday i had the pleasure of spending a few hours lingering amongst genius, romance and unspeakable beauty. not a bad way to spend ones time.

this is where i was...



the museum is fairly large with 7 floors of various art. i knew i only had a few hours, so i concentrated my time with the american and european art and spanish colonial art.








it's been determined; i will be purchasing a membership. this is easily one of my favorite places to be.

i *heart* books

i have a passion for books. i don't mean to offend anyone who may own a kindle, or another like device, but there is nothing like holding a real book in your hands. the smell, the texture of the pages, the weight and tangibility of them. no electronic device could possibly compare to that. ever.

i am a collector of beautiful books. here are some of my favorites that are kept on the shelf above my bed. the small leather book on the end is my grandmothers diary from 1947. i never knew her, but inherited her diary some years ago. she wrote everyday about things like doing chores (laundry was quite the task back then and consumed much of the day), playing bridge with the girls and motherhood. i treasure it.



okay, so don't hate me, but i recently found these lovely volumes of the count of monte cristo (published in 1914) at an obscure used bookshop in boulder for $1.00 each. yes. just a buck a piece. i still haven't gotten over the bliss of that find.



i have the entire collection of these childrens classics (the french short stories is not part of it). when we were living in pennsylvania, renting our home, we were rummaging through the garage (filled with tons of junk belonging to the owner) and came across these books. they were in sad shape due to being shoved in a box and stashed in the rafters. the garage was quite dilapidated and exposed the elements. after airing them out i was able to get most of the mildew smell out. i love the colors and graphics. gorgeous.

i couldn't do a post about books and not include a picture of just a few of our cookbooks. we use them frequently. the brick on the end is a treasure that stephan found last summer while skipping rocks with the boys under a bridge near the royal gorge. he fished it out of the stream.

corners of my home

i love to document different parts of my life. home is a big part of that. here are a few snippets of the view from here.



master bedroom. i have serious typography lust. so to surround myself with beautiful typography i've created a cluster of meaningful words, pictures and numbers.


close up. (please excuse the blurriness of this photo.)


art and typography = perfection.


my wee eiffel tower collection. embellished with gorgeousness, of course.

lovely orchid that stephan gave me for our anniversary last year. it's just started to bloom again.


books and plants. another passion of mine. (post dedicated to my books to follow)

the start of my abstract plate wall. i've been collecting beautiful, interesting, and quirky plates to adorn our eclectic kitchen.

i'm a sucker for brilliant packaging

i am. a total sucker for great packaging. something that literally jumps off the shelf and screams, "i'm all that...you NEED me!"
apparently i am not the only one.

case in point:

when you open this up you find this impossibly adorable booklet:

and this is why i spend the bulk of my days at target. they know the way to this consumers heart.

true that

source

this about sums it up for me.

what we cook: indian food

i'm a fool for some yummy indian food! plus, i wanted to learn how to butcher a whole chicken. perfect opportunity if you ask me.

the menu with recipes:

palak dal (spinach and lentils)
1/2 cup lentils
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
salt, to taste
1 pound spinach, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice

cook lentils. remove from heat and drain. set aside. heat the oil in a wide-based pan over med. heat. add the onion, garlic, and ginger, and saute for 2 min. or till onion is translucent. add all the spices, salt, the spinach, and lemon juice. mix well. cook, uncovered until spinach is wilted down (we used frozen spinach. worked great) stir in lentils (we added green peas too - yum).

murgi ka tikka (chicken tikka)
14 ounces boneless chicken, cubed
1 tablespoon veg. oil, for basting
marinade -
3/4 cup plain, low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon ginger paste
2 teaspoons garlic paste
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon hot chili powder, or to taste
salt, to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons tandoori masala (recipe to follow)
1 teaspoon garam masala (recipe to follow)

make the marinade by mixing together all the ingredients in a bowl. add the chicken cubes, coat thoroughly. cover and marinade for 5-6 hours or preferably overnight.
bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking. heat a few tablespoons oil in saute pan. once the pan is very hot, add chicken. turn to brown on each side. you can finish it in the pan or in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes.

tandoori masala
1 cup cumin seeds
1/2 cup coriander seeds
2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon carum seeds
8 green cardamom seeds, removed from pods
10 whole cloves
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon ground mace
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
4 bay leaves
3/4 inch piece cinnamon stick

combine in a spice grinder, grind to powder. store in an airtight container and refrigerate. it will stay for months.

garam masala
1 1/2 cups cumin seeds
3/4 cup coriander seeds
2 teaspoons green cardamom seeds
2 teaspoons black cardamom seeds
1 tablespoon whole cloves
two 1 1/4 inch pieces cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, or to taste
4-5 bay leaves
1/8 nutmeg kernel

combine in a grinder. grind to powder. store in airtight container and refrigerate. it will stay for months.

basmati rice

raita (yogurt sauce)
2 cups plain, low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
half english cucumber, finely chopped
chopped cilantro, to taste


and yes, the kids all loved it! it was one of the most amazing dinners we have enjoyed in quite some time. high fives were definitely exchanged!

what we cook: donuts

i'm starting a new segment on my blog titled "what we cook". it's something i have thought about for awhile, and contemplated having a separate blog for it. but at the end of the day, it makes more sense to just combine it into this one!
i have asked stephan to teach me how to cook. i'm not a bad cook, i do fairly well. but having a chef as a husband (a good one too) and not learning techniques seems wasteful. it's a surprisingly wonderful bonding activity for us that usually ends in high fives at the dinner table.


the other night we were invited to our friends house for family home evening. i asked me talented husband to 'whip up' some homemade donuts. they were fantastic. the only drawback was the dough didn't have proper time to rise, so the donuts weren't as fluffy as they could be. delicious nonetheless.




dipped in chocolate ganache. sinfully decadent.

inspiration: italy part 2

as promised, part 2 of my italy. art and fashion. i've included just a few (very few) of my favorite pieces of art, as well as some iconic and a few of my favorite italian fashion designers.

iconic advertisements by: Leonetto Cappiello

DaVinci's Mona Lisa

DaVinci's Last Supper

Michelangelo's David

Michelangelo's The Fall of Adam

Fresco by Melozzo da Forli

VERSACE

PUCCI

MOSCHINO

MISSONI

GUCCI

FENDI

ARMANI