Make- Ahead

I'm super-excited about this gift from the husband: The Best Make-Ahead Recipes from the never-fail, test everything 40+ times people at Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen.

Little Green Notebook

Jenny at The Little Green Notebook Frequently does interior design roundups that blow my mind. She seems to have an inexhaustible supply of (photos of) pretty rooms cataloged in her pocket.

what to wear

In my etsy dreams I dream of owning a brooch by Accessoire and a headband by TheCandyThief.
Clearly I have a thing for felt.

Vibrant Victorian

If only I could be so bold with color!
Via Living Etc.

Gardens of the World

We netflixed the documentary series "Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn" about 4 years ago, and we couldn't bear to send it back, so we bought it. Every Spring at the first sign of crocuses we whip it out and watch the episode on spring bulbs. Are we garden geeks? Maybe. Are you?

I'm also an Audrey Fanatic. Hence my excitement over my birthday present to myself.

Grace Connell

I love these designs by calligrapher Grace Connell, especially the map!
It kind of makes me want to design a treasure map..... except for the parts where I have no design skills and my boys are at an age where they are more likely to eat a map than to follow it.
Via kiss the groom

Grayson

I saw these chairs around a formal dining table on display at the Williams Sonoma-Home in the King of Prussia Mall two years ago. Loved it. They've been on my mind ever since.

please remove your shoes

My brother's inlaws have a sign on their door reading,
"Please remove your shoes, the light carpet thanks you."
True Story.I am not a fan of light carpeting/rugs in real life because I don't like things that always look dirty. But if this were not real life, I would want this rug. A lot.

Girard

House Industries' Alexander Girard collection has some spectacular stuff. I'm personally enamored of the nativity. If it ever goes on sale for 95% off I will be sure to snatch it up.

niche

I love love this baby niche from an article in the late Cottage Living.

player

I wonder how many hours I've spent playing Toulouse? (It's suspiciously similar to another game)

primrose

It's no secret that I love finding jewelry on etsy.
This bracelet made me especially happy this morning.

tuscan cod

Four years ago I walked into my local Costco and was handed a free cookbook, "Creative Cooking the Costco Way". I went home and marked all the recipes that looked good, and I have only ever tried one. It happens to be my very favorite fish recipe in all the world.

Tuscan Cod

4 frozen fish fillets (cod or other white fish)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
8 slices of tomato
4 slices fresh mozzarella (I like to use marinated mozzarella)
1 Cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 Tablespoon chopped fresh garlic
1&1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
Seasonal Mixed salad greens

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. Place Fresh/Frozen fillets in a lightly oiled ovenproof dish (I like to line mine with foil to minimize cleanup) Season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with basil. Overlapping slightly, arrange in sequence on each fillet 1 slice of tomato, then 1 mozzarella slice, then another slice of tomato. (Unless you want to be more generous.... )
3. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, parsley, garlic and olive oil. Spoon the crumb mixture over the fillets.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes. If desired, broil for 30 seconds to further crisp the topping.
5. Serve fillets on a bed of salad greens.

wild things

This promises to be tremendously cool.
Maurice Sendak + Spike Jonze.
My college film friends used to get together just to watch Spike Jonze shorts.
The dancing Christopher Walken was always a winner.

Tracy Lord and swim caps

After watching The Philadelphia Story recently, I had a renewed desire to find a swim cap small enough to fit my head (tightly enough to fulfill it's function of keeping hair dry-ish).
I like this one in pink, but have learned not to buy things online that are not likely to fit.

Oh Peony

image by twelve22

The first place the Mr and I lived after we were married was a miniature white house owned by a cute older couple: Walter and Hazel. Hazel loved peonies, and a full third of the large garden plot was devoted to them. Thus I have a large and sentimental spot in my heart for peonies and was happy when this catalog landed in my mailbox. It' s always nice to humor my unfulfilled inner gardener. Still longing for dirt of my own!

It must be the tights

I had this image from the Sartorialist saved in my bloglines for over two months. It makes me happy to see that a pair of striped tights does not a witch make. Plus her use of color(hue, tint, shade, tone) is spot on, and she proves that arm/handwarmers don't always make the wearer look homeless. All things I had hoped were true.

Craftsmanship

photo by FL Architect Fan

Since the Mr and I don't quite see eye to eye on architectural styles, this flickr group is the only fulfillment I'm likely to get for my love of craftsman bungalows. It's so hard to keep from daydreaming about living in such lovely little homes.

And it was all yellow

I've been loving all of Stephmodo's to-do about meyer-lemons. I kept remembering how she raved about finding them at Costco, and so I'd buy them at TJ's, then return home and have no idea what to do with them. Usually I make lemonade with lemons.... deep I know. I like controlling the sweetness factor, and I drink it like a horse.
So I was happy to see her link to this fun recipe. This is the 2nd recipe I've seen using citrus peel as a baking vessel this week. (The other being orange campfire cakes) Apparently I am meant to try it, although it promises to be a disaster. Everything is with small children underfoot.

Anything you've been trying lately despite knowing it was doomed in advance?

Bienvenue

Welcome to my happy spot.
A place for Sugar and Spice and everything nice.... plus panache.

I'm all about panache.