Palm Springs WE LOVE YOU…
This weekend was spent with great friends, good food and in a beautiful location. What’s not to love about Palm Springs (P.S)?
Seven of us ventured out to the desert to spend quality time with our amazing friend Ally Lopez Eckert before she moves to Kauai next week. She is so loved and we will dearly miss her and her 2 beautiful girls…(with another one on the way) but she should set up the guest room because she is sure to have many visitors.
A big thanks to Jamie for finding this awesome house on homeaway.com and a super uber thanks to Lindsay for arranging all details for a perfect weekend in P.S.
A very dear friend of mine moved back to Florida over a year ago. She is looking to come back with her husband and son to visit some friends in CA… She sent me the email below and is looking for someone interested in doing a house swap in OC or SD areas of California.
“Our house is walking distance to one of the nicest and most private white sandy beaches in FL
(Indian Rocks Beach)! It’s kid friendly, smoke free, and approx 2,000 sq ft. with a huge back yard. The house is 3 bedroom 2 bath.
The children room has a toddler bed, and the guest room has a full sized bed, master bedroom has a brand spankin (no pun intended) new cal king bed! There is a huge playground right down the street. The house would be cleaned by maid service before guests arrive, and there are offices with wireless internet downstairs in the man/cave and upstairs as well. The house is straight out of the 70′s with a modern interior design flair! ”
It is available for rent @ 1,650 for a month during the summer, or $500 for the week.
Or we are also open to a house swap in OC or SD area for a week to two weeks…
Harbor Dr. S
Indian Rocks Beach, Fl 33785 Call Dianne @ 727.510.6013
You can also check out her amazing blog at Vanerwin.com
Indian Rocks Beach is located on a barrier island on the West Coast of Florida, only a 30 minute drive from Tampa International Airport.
Convenient proximity to many Florida Attractions including Busch Gardens, Walt Disney World, Universal Studio, and Sea World.
The area provides an abundance of outstanding restaurants, and a variety of gift and convenience stores.
A few weekends ago, Todd and I decided to spruce up our kitchen. I’ve been wanting to make a chalkboard wall since I saw one at my friend Erica’s amazing Brooklyn brownstone in NY. For a few bucks you can really go-green and eliminate all those annoying notes and post-its from your roommates or significant other… “Dogs are fed,” “buy toilet paper,” ” we need milk,” ” wash your f-n dishes”!!
Here’s what you need:
• a clean wall or surface (you can paint this stuff on anything)
• brush or paint roller
• paint tape (for clean lines)
• chalkboard pant
• chalk
• and a creative idea for your first writing…
The paint looks so good even on it’s own w/out chalk, but who can resist drawing on the walls like a kid again?!
While browsing the web, I found a few other cute uses for the chalkboard paint. (these photos were pulled from various blogs)
So today Todd and I decided to try switching our dining room table. We have a really nice one that I added to with some chairs I salvaged from a garage sale a few years back… but we were fortunate enough to inherit a beautiful teak danish table from his grandparents just this week.
Todd and I seem to usually have a battle of opinions on our styles, tastes and preferences… go figure!
So we are test driving the “New old table” for the time being but what do you think? Should we keep the New old (grandparents) or switch back to the Old new (glass top)?! Did I mention the New old opens up to seat 8-10 -how cool!
I was so excited to make this recipe. Anything with mango or fruit I am a total sucker for… I do have to thank my “friend” Martha for the recipe from her EVERYDAY FOOD magazine. Make sure you have a “jumbo muffin pan” I didn’t and used metal muffin tins… Also my pastries didn’t “puff” enough so check your cooking times as ovens vary.
MAKES 6 active time 10 minutes TOTAL TIME 30 min
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed and cut into six 3-inch circles to fit jumbo muffin pan
• 1/2 cup light-brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark rum
• coarse salt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place puff pastry circles in refrigerator. In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, rum and pinch of salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 1-minute, then add butter and stir until completely melted.
In a jumbo muffin pan, divide sugar mixture among the cups, about 4-teaspoons each. Divide mango among cups and top with pastry. Bake until pastry is golden brown, puffed and juices are bubbling, 20-25 minutes. Rotate pan halfway through.
2) Let cool on a wire rack, 15 minutes. Run a small knife around edges of pastries to loosen. Place a rimmed baking sheet over pan and quickly invert to release tartlets. Serve warm. (I topped mine with vanilla ice cream…)
This past Sunday a few friends and I visited the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena.
I was looking for some new rhinestone pieces for Cleeo (my jewelry line) but what we all ended up with was some great household items. Tables, lamps, stools, and a metal jewelry cabinet. We definitely scored… but not with the weather it was freezing!
The Rose Bowl has some amazing furniture, knick-knacks, any and everything you could imagine.
I ran into so many people I haven’t seen and it was fun getting caught up with Valerie from Bleach Black, Josh and Tanya from Dainty Hooligan, Steve from Better Shelter and a few other friends.
Happy April Fools Day! What a better way to celebrate than to be apart of a memorable and adorable prank?!
Long Story Short: A friend decides to surprise her fiance with a faux chimp adoption. The plot is that they have already adopted the chimp and it is being delivered to her fiance at his office. He knows a special delivery is coming but has no idea what it is… The real chimp “owners” Mike and Sue are playing along on the joke…
They walk in and say “ok we’ll it’s all set up we are here to deliver him… Your fiance has it all arranged. You just need to sign the adoption certificate…”
Minutes later after the initial shock and confusion has settled in with him, his fiance walks in with another certificate to certify that he is an April Fool! too cute.. what a day for the offices at Analog Clothing and Gravis Footwear. Everyone had their cell phones and cameras snapping photos and petting the chimp named Bentley. He is 2 years old and weighs 12 lbs. His trainers are from Missouri. His older brother Kenzy is 5 and does commercials.
I learned a lot about chimpanzees today. We sure hope that Mike and Sue can find property in California and set up their chimp habitat to help out the autistic children. To find out how you can help or to experience a chimp for all occasions
call Sue 314-308-2212 or Mike 314-308-5758
This weekend we were invited to an 80′s Prom themed- 40th birthday party. What a fun night! Getting dressed in outfits that we pillaged from our closets was just half the fun. Todd and I were rolling in laughter at each other as we each pulled out bad outfit after accessory! His being his white “creeper” style shoes (that he wore- giving him an extra 2″) and mine were the 2 dresses I have saved for almost 20 years ( I wore for cotillion and homecoming dances). I can hardly believe they still fit… thanks to pure barre. After eating in the dress was another story…( we had a reenactment of Something about Mary, the zipper/ skin scene… only it was my back- ouch) the dress didn’t fit after I ate!
As a typical prom night would go we went to our friends house, had corsages and boutineer’s for the couples (carnations, of course). Slammed a few beers/ drinks, took some group shots and loaded into the big SUV to a prom style dinner at A restaurant. It was a full house and we received many stares, which of course is all part of the fun… a few burgers, martini’s and laughs later we were on our way to “prom.” Arriving fashionably late, we mingled, had our couples photo taken against the backdrop and drank a few, unchaperoned beverages…
AND Prom night ended, how every prom ends… we passed out!
I’m spending the holiday in Alabama with my family. Aunts, cousins, mom, sister– we are a houseful of women, NO men… so to pass the time we are eating and cooking. I stumbled upon this simple, easy and delicious recipe and wanted to share. But be careful you will eat all of them faster than they cook. They are so yummy… enjoy!
makes apprx 15
browned to perfection
COCONUT MACAROONS
Prep time 10 minutes/ bake time 20 minutes
MIX coconut, sugar, flour and salt in large bowl. Stir in egg whites and almond extract until well blended. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased and floured cookie sheet(s). BAKE at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until edges and bottom of cookies are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet(s) to wire racks. Cool completely. Makes about 15 cookies
About a year ago as I pulled out my winter wardrobe, I realized most of my nice sweaters had pilled. You know when they start to get a ton of fuzzy’s and you can’t get rid of them. This seems to happen on other articles of clothing as well with rayon in the fabric. I’ve found a solution and it’s so easy! I came across this very chic specialty detergent and fabric care brand called THE LAUNDRESS.
The Laundress makes a ton of detergents, fabric care and specialty products that solve your most annoying clothing issues- hence the SWEATER STONE.
It’s so easy to use, the pumice like stone is very light and you use downward motions to “shave” the pilling away. Its so easy and stores away in the sleeve for no snagging. This little miracle has saved me some $$ and resurrected my previous season’s sweaters and clothing. I am so pleased with the sweater stone and the laundress brand, that I just wanted to share.
If you order online enter “2009Catalog” and get 15% off your first order.
my alexander wang dress with pilling
after the sweater stone- brand new!
my Kain Tee with major pilling
after the sweater stone- like new
The Laundress was started by two women in NYC, who started the eco-chic line. Frustrated that the majority of their own personal clothing called for DRY CLEAN only they researched and sourced for more options. Upon their discovery they used ingredients that were free of toxic chemicals. They value the importance of properly cared for clothing and home linens. Both have backgrounds in fiber science, textile and apparel management.
”
Recent Comments