Category Archives: design

SO PINK

Adam and I are back from our stay up north and I have all sorts of rad little mementos of our road trip (mostly food and wine!). I laughed when I realized that my new pretty placemats (handwoven by a grandmother on the south shore) and a big slab of peppered Kamouraska smoked trout are the very same shade of peachy pink. Pink’s my favorite color for a reason — it loves to sneak into my life in every conceivable way.

I bought a huge side of fresh trout, too, which I made for my concert with Katherine on Saturday night. I broiled it with a little olive oil until barely cooked through, and we ate big, flaky pieces topped lemon medallions and stalks of fresh dill alongside heaping sides of roasted asparagus risotto and a crispy chickpea and escarole salad.

The next morning, I tried the smoked trout, which tasted exactly right alongside steamed wild rice, sliced radishes and cucumbers, scallions, and a scrambled egg, all tossed up with a little rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, grated ginger, and tons of sriracha. My new vibe is to try to incorporate fish into as many breakfasts as possible — super delicious and leaves me feeling full forever.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS

Wow! I’m so blown away by the lively, colorful textiles by California artist Kindah Khalidy, especially her cheerful strawberry print. Totally love the crop top but think the striped scarf might make more sense — it’s still freezing here in Montreal, so at this point wearing anything without sleeves seems like a distant, lost memory.

[via Simple Things]

PS. Sasha, this is for you. It’s not the same as owning the actual record, but at least it’s something.

INHERITANCE

I stopped by the market to pick up my weekly dose of Peewee-sized eggs from the Captain, and noticed for the first time that he also sells bags of dried beans. I lifted a sack of the hefty Cannellinis, and an old man the next stall over leaned over and said to me, “Don’t get those, get these,” and pointed to a bag of diminutive, wrinkled white beans. “These are the ones we eat everyday. These are the beans you need.” So I bought them instead, and stewed them with a big pot of dinosaur kale, shallots, butter and harissa. He was right, they were better. Tiny and tender, just the enough pop of bean-ness.

And yay, this new baseball jacket (that I bought from Suzanne!) has happily planted itself into my wardrobe. It feels so much nicer to inherit clothing from women I actually know, not just faceless sellers from eBay or thrift stores. I like wearing this jacket and knowing that it has this history, that it came from someone truly rad. Thank you Suzanne!

 

CHEZ PANISSE MENUS

Ordering this book immediately. I love reading menus, and lists of ingredients; it’s so soothing. Is that weird? My favorite Richard Olney volumes are his books arranged by precise meal plans —specifically,The French Menu Cookbook: The Food and Wine of France—Season by Delicious Season—in Beautifully Composed Menus and Ten Vineyard Lunches. I can’t even count how many times I’ve referred to its pages for inspirations for dinner parties and other events. I love thinking about the sequencing of a great meal as being similar to a tracks on a record or chapters in a book. Why should a meal be assembled haphazardly, when it could be composed as a linear, thoughtful event? Oh, and this Patricia Curtan book inspires me to host a Grand Aïoli of my own, too.

[via the Paris Review]

TOTALLY OBSESSED

I know that I’m supposed to be searching for the perfect maid-of-honor dress for my best friend’s wedding in August (no, I haven’t found it yet; yes, I realize this makes me beyond flaky; yes, I plan on buying one eventually, I mean, it’s not like the wedding is only a few weeks away or anything), but I have found myself combing through the internet for what I want my boyfriend to wear instead and daydreaming about color-coordinating our outfits. My heart practically stopped beating when I saw these beyond rad sherbert-hued 70s-inspired styles from Acne. So perfect, and so his style. Need to figure out a way how to get him to wear mint green, raspberry, salmon and camel. He would look so great.

[Acne Menswear by Dazed Digital via Clever Nettle]

ERDEM RESORT 2012

Hot resort collection. Wish I could see a detail of those flower-flecked shoes, too. There’s a small shop downtown that stocks quite a bit of Erdem. The stuff is perfect, every dress fit like a glove.

[via Style.com]

A FEW THINGS I LOVE

1. As per my ongoing backpack obsession, I finally bought one of the Shabd x Baggu backpacks and I love it. Tons of roomy space, sturdy thick canvas, lots of little pockets, the perfect shade of seafoam green.

2. My favorite piece of jewelry, a present from Sasha. I’ve only recently gotten into astrology, ever since discovering that my partner and I are both Libras. (It’s a heavy match). This pendant is ideal. Totally witchy and with a serious weight and presence.

3. Bought a beautiful new lipstick for summer. My Nars Heat Wave has been a great standby for nights, but I wanted something less intense for daytime wear, especially for stuff like work. Dior’s Rare Amber is the perfectly creamy matte rose hue. (Apologies for the beyond-chipped fingernail polish).

ROOTING AROUND

I had a super fun photo shoot at the house today, so I bought some spring tulips to celebrate the occasion. I can’t wait to share the results with you next week!

DREAM CHILL ZONE

I seriously flipped out after I saw these outrageously awesome photos of Jayne Mansfield’s house — dubbed “The Pink Palace” — on Cat Party. (According to Wikipedia, Mansfield paid a scant $76,000 for her Beverly Hills mansion). Between the heart-shaped pool and expansive checkered terrace, this is my ideal backyard setting for all of the grilling I plan to do this summer. Outstanding.

[Images via Cat Party]

FLOWER UN-POWER

 

Oh, barf.

I was recently combing the internet for acceptable bridesmaid dresses, and ended up on Anthropologie, a weirdly reliable site for buying super-discounted Rachel Comey shoes. I immediately noticed this dress (top two images) for exactly what it was: a blatantly simplified copy of Stella McCartney’s incandescent 2011 resort collection (bottom two images), of which I have waxed poetic on many occasions, including here. Yet this copy is so embarrassing, so derivative, so lame.