SANDY

This has been a tragic week for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, as well as Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas and the D.R.  In general, the most effective way to help is to donate money to reputable relief organizations with a local presence in the affected area. Please consider making a donation to the Red Cross, or directly to one of the areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy:

Red Hook/ South Brooklyn-
Sandy Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Red Hook Recovers
Red Hook Initiative

Breezy Point, Queens-
Donations for Breezy Point and the Rockaways
Friends Devastated by Sandy

Staten Island-
Staten Island Recovers

Long Island-
Sandy Relief Donation Opportunities

New Jersey-
Hurricane Sandy Relief

Paris vs. New York: The Book

You've probably glimpsed Vahram Muratyan's beautiful graphic comparisons of Paris and New York during your travels around the interwebs. But have you seen the book?





J'adore. T'would make a great gift. The postcard box is pretty great, too.

The Bannerman Castle Trust, Aug.11

After spotting this little island and decrepit castle from the train on my way to Dia:Beacon last Fall, it's been high on my list of places to visit! It's so picturesque and I can't imagine a better time to explore it than during this upcoming season of colorful leaves and crisp air. Check out their site for more info and events...Farm Fresh Dinner at the castle? YES PLEASE.


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TO DO: Buy The Smithy

Growing up, we spent many many Sundays visiting open houses around Seattle. It was so much fun to imagine living in a different neighborhood and re-envisioning the layout of my home. Now that I live in the big city, it's almost impossible to imagine owning anything, let alone a wide open space with multiple rooms, rolling hills outside your window, a stream running through your backyard, and so.much.space. Thank you Smithy, for letting me daydream for a day.

apples, again, oct.10

last time we met, i told you all about my early october saturday spent apple picking with friends, and showed you my sunday baking results. now i'll share the recipes that made it all possible...

apple pie with cheddar crust
i made dough for one pie but ended up using smaller baking tins so had enough dough left to serve as the base crust for a second pie. that one i just topped with oats, cinnamon and brown sugar, so let's call it a crisp.

autumn in a bite
doesn't that just sound delightful?! so i totally improvised on this one. i had some leftover homemade caramel sauce from my boo's birthday dinner, and swapped that for the caramel candies this recipe calls for. i also realized too late that i didn't have enough granulated sugar so made up the difference with extra brown sugar. due to these little tweaks, the cookies turned out really fluffy, almost muffiny. so i renamed them caramel apple breakfast cookies and voila, they were a hit!

crockpot apple butter
finally, i had to do something with the gazillion apples that remained before heading off on a 10 day trip to italy. i went with this recipe because a) apple butter freezes well so i can eat it all winter long, and b) i was running out of time before my trip and the crockpot did all the work for me while i slept!


PS: i LOVE this guide to local apple varieties!

appley ever after, oct.10

a few weeks ago i went apple picking with some lovely ladies. it's becoming an annual thing, and i love it. maskers orchards is gorgeous and you can drive right up into the trees and park where you like. next time i'm definitely packing a picnic!













bacon, egg, apple-cider-donut sandwich, mmmm


cheddar cheese pie dough



cheddar apple pie, apple crisp

caramel apple breakfast cookies

leftovers

hot fun in the summertime, july'10

aside from yesterday, the weather this summer has been sooo amazing! much better than last year's month-long downpour.

i've spent my sunny days so far eating lobster on a weekly basis, sipping rosé (has anyone else noticed this revival??), taking looong bike rides on my new beauty, tending to my herb babies, lots of bbqs and finally investing in some chaise lounges for the rooftop. maybe just a little more beach time as per the lovelies below and i'll be set.



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went: little red lighthouse

6/26: 18 miles from carroll gardens to the little red lighthouse, dinosaur bbq for lunch, blueberry beer and some world cup-watching and then 18 miles home. my boo surprised me with a perfect bottle of white wine with a biciclette on the label to round out a perfect day.

4/30: little red lighthouse, june '10

this place exists and i finally went yesterday. an 18 mile bike ride to a secret little lookout was exactly what i needed this weekend.

pictures to come!

that thing, apr.10

remember this video?



it made me want to move to new york.

here i am.

here, nau, dec.09

lately i've been extra busy working a few hours a week at the Nau pop-up shop in Soho. the product is supercool and the weekly events are cooler. come in tonight for a presentation on NYC design solutions...and cocktails. and join me again on friday night for the falling whistles event...falling whistles is an inspiring organization with a mission to rehabilitate and advocate for war-effected children in the congo. at $30-40, these whistle necklaces make great holiday gifts and 100% of the proceeds go toward the children. friday night's event will debut the gold whistle! cocktails too...

if you can't make it this week, keep checking the schedge...there are public events most thursdays through the end of the month!

see you there

xoxox

little joy + devendra b, nov.09

remember how much i love devendra banhart? last night i went with kim and maleeha to see him and little joy, two lovely bands that are pretty easy on the ears and the eyes, if you know what i mean. after 6 days of coughs and sneezes, a seated concert sounded kinda nice. it was a great show (and would have been a gazillllion times better if the girl in the next row had opted not to flail her arms about through all of devendra's set while yelling along to every word).

anyhoo, he played a lot of new stuff, some from the new album and some really hard rock stuff. one of my fave songs off his new album is a sweet little ditty called baby...take a listen.

the opening act, little joy, is fabrizio moretti's (the strokes) cute new little band, and i'm in love with this song:



happy monday, folks.

costume drama, nov.09

spending saturday at the Met and the Whitney was so lovely and totally gave me the museum bug. next on my list is lincoln center's opera house exhibit! E.V. Day has transformed 13 beautiful opera costumes into suspended sculptures hanging high above the theaters' promenade, like little illuminated ghosts of operas past.