Favorite Things, Tied with String

This year, instead of a card I decided I'd send a box filled with some things I like - basically a box I imagined I'd send to myself - filled with "some of my favorite things."  (Yes, the hills are alive)

 

First, I baked a little: my favorite Cowboy Cookies full of dark chocolate, walnuts, oatmeal and coconut.  Then a Double Chocolate Walnut Biscotti which I like most for the contrast of the walnuts cross-sections with the dark cookie surrounding it.

I supplemented my baked goods with some Macaroons from Peter Sciortino's Bakery in Milwaukee.   I also like Glorioso's but my Macaroon aficionado Angela and I go either way and that's what she brought with my delivery from the city.

 

I finished the grouping off with Loacker's Dark-Noir chocolate wafer cookies available at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods or online.  I prefer to eat these Italian treats by placing one on my tongue and letting the wafer dissolve away leaving only a warm morsel of rich, warm chocolate.  And then compliment with a swig of coffee?  Addicting.

 

I packed them in boxes and envelopes in various arrangements.  This was most popular. 

 

This is the second shipment.  (Is that your name?)  I'd love to send more, but my two elves quit after only one night. 

Happy Holidays Everyone.

Prints, Charming

Two great things:

1. The "Golden Rule" as interpretted by a designer and his son.  His sons drawings are rearranged to create this pleasant, graphic print.  Perfect for a kids room.  Get it here.

2. Yee-Haw Industries is a letterpress printmaking and design shop. They have a great Etsy shop featuring some gorgeous antique and vintage style cards, tees and more.  (The pea card is my favorite.)

Pairs in Place

Here's how our install turned out.  Read this about the project first.

Three Pairs.

 

This is the raw table Victoria's husband Tom built.

We glued hard foam to a piece of plywood and screwed

that to the tabletop.  This is the base we developed so

the fruit could be 2-dimensional yet free standing.

 A school group stopped to investigate the finished fruit.

 The approach from the upper level/Bradley Collection.

The backside reveals the naked cross-section of the fruit.

The two lemons were voted out during installation but we were still pleased with our results.  Our intent was to create the illusion of a three dimensional still life in a two dimensional format (in response to the photo gallery).  The Art of the Table event begins tomorrow for four days of art-inspired tabletop creations.  Click here for more info.

Fruits at the Table

Been working on the table setting for Art of the Table which is already next week.  My friend Victoria and I have been throwing ideas around for the past 6 weeks.  Just finished these images of the fruit that I mocked up as they might look on the table.  The black line will be the drape on the table.  The pear will be tallest at 36" among the other fruits in our over scaled still life.  Each fruit will be be mounted individually and carefully placed amidst the 96" x 14" table - long and skinny.  The fruit is big and thin.  Let's see if this works.

Schedule: Print on Monday, set up Wednesday at 11am.  Ready, set, go.

In the meantime, get tickets for Alberto Alessi, his lecture is Thursday, opening day of the event.

Experimental Baking

My favorite cookie, Barbara Bush's Cowboy Cookies has a new sibling.  Midway into mixing a batch of Mrs. Bush's recipe I realized I was fresh out of oatmeal.  In a pinch and much too late for an oatmeal run, the decision was made to omit the grain at an attempt for something new.  With that, I left the nuts out as well but then went to add the chocolate chips and only sourced half of what I needed.  I decided it needed another ingredient as a replacement and to boost the chocolate flavor.  Cocoa powder!  Not only would it transform the flavor but completely transform the cookie aesthetically.  Success.  They baked flat and once cooled become a chewy chocolaty disc.  A little dusting of confectioners sugar completed the transformation.  And the cinnamon inside remains a complete surprise!

COW CHIP COOKIES

3 cups flour

1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

1 Tbsp. Baking Soda

1 Tbsp. Cinnamon

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp. salt

3 sticks butter, softened

1.5 cups sugar

1.5 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 Tbsp. pure vanilla

1.5 cups chocolate chips

2 cups coconut

Confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients (first 6 ingredients) in a bowl.  Next, cream butter until smooth.  Add sugar, then eggs and vanilla.  Mix until smooth and creamy.  Slowly add dry ingredients.  Mix well.  

Mix in chocolate chips and coconut.  Drop 1.5" balls onto cookie sheet.  Slightly press with heal off palm.  Bake for 10-12 minutes rotating half way through.  Let cool for several minutes then transfer to cooling rack.  Dust with confectioners sugar once cooled. 

Eau So Pretty

Just ordered one of these: Bobble, the reusable, patented water bottle that filters as you drink.

Designed by Karim Rashid, these plastic bottles feature an activated carbon filter, are constructed of BPA free plastic and made in the USA to reduce their carbon footprint.  Comes in a rainbow of colors.  Buy here.

Nice Package

Promo packaging from English design boutique ilovedust. Yum, yum, yummy! (Has nothing to do with food, mind you)

Signature metallic is an unexpected surprise inside.

Oh, and how about a customized Eames Chair? Okay!

One of Each

These linoleum cut prints by Hugo Guiness are fantastic.  Vintage and whimsical with a good dose of sophistication. You can even buy them in vintage frames.  Available from John Derian Company Inc.

Go to "goods" and click the "Hugo" link.

SHOP SHOP!

Testing out this new shop package.  Click here!

Leather Lust

Came across this slew of gorgeously designed and crafted leather goods from MAKR CARRY GOODS featured at Vancouver's Old Faithful Shop.  I'm sure I can find something to tuck into many of these.

Equally nice is the Farm Ruck Sack.

For the chicks

To celebrate summer's bounty, her new "farm" house and a new flock of heritage chickens, my friend asked me to create a postcard invite for "FARMSTOCK" -  a weekend of friends and food and good ol' kicking back at her rural residence.  We picked out wormwood, a blocky, weathered font to set the tone for the party and the property itself.

This image served as the front of the postcard printed on 110# natural linen card stock which really added to the character of the content.

Next up: bumper sticker souvenirs.

Summer's Cooking

Nothing new but always gorgeous: grilled corn, and rosemary burgers + roasted red & gold beets with thyme infused oil and black basil.  Fresh summer cooking.

Matisse Does Please

Just viewed Matisse: Radical Invention at the Chicago Art Institute on Saturday.  It closed today (Sunday).  My favorites above.  The bottom, Bathers by a River has always intrigued me - was great to see and realize how it evolved over the span of 8 years.

Speaking of spanning...Renzo Piano's Modern Wing addition to the museum itself is quite amazing - increasing the size by a third. The architecture and design collection is quite nice.

Knife, Fork, Stamp.

Cheap pleasure this $3.99 stamp was.  Even more so that it was 40% off.  I stamped it alternating in black and moss.

Reminds me of this book I love and adore.   A handy pattern for a cocktail napkin or kitchen towel to use while cooking or dining along with the book.  Can't cook without it.  A necessary accessory?  But of course!

For the Wood

The most banal job becomes the most desired...
I can just buy the fire wood for my log carrier and use the ax as a prop, right? 

Both by Partners & Spade.

Ina is Mine-a

Looking forward to digging into Ina's Back to Basics which I received from from a friend as a birthday gift...signed.  SO impressed shoppers can purchase her books and have them personally addressed and signed by the super star (in my world anyway).

Equally in love with her sleek barn home she features throughout the book: simple, refined rawness.  *drool*

Also simple and refined, but hopefully not so raw is her Mustard-Roasted Fish.  Dinner soon.

Tool Studies

Back to the drawing board...
Had some fun sketching old tools and pairing them with words from an old bin of industrial machine parts.  Most of the script appears exactly as it was written on the tool drawers from which I copied.  Good thing there is a plentiful supply of junk to "draw" from. 

Summer Soon

Two great new albums from two artists I've long adored.  Sounds like summer is coming early and this music proves it.  Save Jason for a road trip and Josh for hot summer nights.

Listen to El Turista above or here.

More Jason here.

Both available for download on iTunes or, if you're like me, from a local record store. (Nothing beats the tangible every so often.)

Feel the Paine

First weekend of Roooms of Blooms complete.  We installed Thursday afternoon having brought the designs about 80% complete.

The piece in the main gallery was to respond to three  Tiffany lamps...two of which have never been shown publicly. Our result was a naturalistic representation of the lamps repeating elements from throughout the original works.

For the table setting, we utilized a 1970's Capidomonte porcelain vessel filled with orchids, roses and unusual greens all set atop a 1930s linen created by the woman of an Italian convent.  Privileged to get our hands on this stuff from THE MIXX Design Centre.

More photos of the event here.

Fried Original

 

Visited the Original KFC located in North Corbin, KY.   We were prompted by the billboards on the interstate while traveling which led us 3 or 4 miles off the exit ramp - not exactly efficient by today's standards.  The restaurant is housed in the original building which was once part of a larger gas station/motel complex.  While some of the integrity of what it once was remains, its more or less merely a modern KFC dropped in an antique store - original appliances and packaging are showcased throughout.

Some of the original packaging.  Charming.

100 lbs. of industrial seasoning?  Great generic label.

Learn more about this place.  Not that a trip should be necessary, but an interesting roadside attraction nonetheless.