Love Every Moment

The item that my customers love most are my scrapbook tins. By now, I've sold quite a few; but sadly, once it's been sold, I never get to see what's done to it. Today was different though. I was at the Brooklyn Flea today, and a friend bumped into my table without knowing I'd be there. She checked out my stuff and it so happened that she needed a gift and my scrapbook tin happily made its way into her hands. I was delighted that she loved it. I didn't expect to hear back about it but being just as crafty, she took it home and within hours, she gave my scrapbook tin life. I won't share her tin here for privacy purposes, but it truly made my day; so thanks S. You rock!

I don't think I've ever blogged about my wedding scrapbook tin - the wedding album I made to use as a sample to show my customers what my tins are all about; so here it is filled with photos of one of the happiest days in my life.

Day Trip to Governor's Island

More photos on flickr: Governor's Island Set

Governor's Island is now open! Mike told me about this several weeks ago and we've been wanting to check it out. It was pretty neat to take the free 5 minute ferry ride over. We went on Saturday afternoon, after a lovely but pricey brunch at Sarabeth's to celebrate a friends birthday. Despite the downpour, we decided to take our chances and headed on over. I didn't really know what to expect but it turned out much better than I thought. We had so much fun, yet we were still in the city. Governor's Island is still a work in progress but they plan on implementing many eco-friendly solutions such as, free Bike Rental*on Fridays! Unfortunately, we were there on a Saturday so we paid, but it was totally worth it.

I'm not a history buff, but there's something about visiting historical places that moves me. I may not know anything about where I am or what I'm looking at; but being here and seeing for myself what's existed for decades before I was even born is quite amazing.

*Bike Rentals are only free for the first half an hour as advertised on the website.

Christmas in July Sale

There's a lot of good things to come from the summer months. Outdoor brunches, iced Soy Lattes, mini weekend getaways and of course tons of grilling. Unfortunately, summers in New York City do not fare too well for me. It's humid, muggy & in the past month quite rainy! I am looking forward to the Winter - dreaming of hot cocoa, thick snuggly sweaters & a fresh blanket of snow.

Check out my etsy shop for my current promotion, half off all Christmas cards. Offer ends August 29th.

Oh and I'll be continuing my presence at the Brooklyn Flea tomorrow. Hope to see you there!

Wedding Season

For the next wedding you'll be attending, don't forget to drop in and select from my elegant chic collection of handmade cards - perfect for some wonderful wishes and blessings for the newlyweds!

Sunday Dinner

My wonderful pots have been de-virginized. (if that is a proper word) Thank you for the suggestions; I finally decided on Pot Roast; perfect for a Sunday night dinner.

10 minutes of prep work; 3.5 hours of braising on slow heat and a bit of praying..and the outcome?

Absolutely fantastic! As Tyler Florence's recipe suggested, I went back to the stove every 1/2 hour to baste. I was really hoping that this would be good, and it definitely surpassed my expectations! Most of the main ingredients were bought at Whole Foods. It's more expensive, but we feel it's important to eat organic so we try to do it as often as we can. I also threw in some potatoes to round out the dish & I used rosemary that I've been growing from an herb pot I keep at the back.

This is what Mike came home to after a session of biking with Stan. Stan decided to stop for dinner too and this pot yielded generous portions so there was more than enough to pass around.

Next Sunday, we're having a few boys over and I think I'll be making another pot recipe. Hmm, what to make?

You know you're old when...

...You get excited over getting kitchen stuff for your birthday! For my birthday, Mike got me Le Creuset pots!! For those who know what it is, I'm sure you'd be just as excited as I am... Oh look at the possibilities of what I could make with these babies. Any suggestions or recommendations? I'm a Le Creuset virgin, lol!

Mike took me out to Momofuku Bar for dinner and it was interesting, in a good way. As a surprise, Mike also invited a couple of close friends that were into Asian Fusion and I was quite thrilled to have companions to share the food. I'm not a food critic so I won't go into too much details, but I'm not shy when it comes to food, so we ordered a whole bunch of side dishes to try. Some of it included their special for the night; pig tails, fatty pork buns, fluke and veal sweetbreads. Of course, we also got ramen. I wasn't a big fan of the broth base for the pork ramen, but the ramen definitely had a good chewy bite to it. It's slightly different from the traditional ramen I'm used to but good in it's own way.

Though I was beyond stuffed, Mike also planned to take me to the newly opened Chocolate bar in the Village and of course, I obliged. I got an iced mocha & indulged in a piece of salty dark chocolate caramel. The caramel was not chewy at all and surprisingly soft. I didn't taste the salt too much though. I also bought a Dark Chocolate - Strawberry Jam graffiti bar for later.

Finally at home finishing up the night with my best friend, Sam... Life doesn't get any better than this (okay it does) but so far I feel great to be a year older.

Table Inspirations

There's something about eating outdoors that feels so wonderful; especially when eating at a table dressed up with a few simple yet elegant details. I love this photo below. It was one of several reception tables at what looked like one fabulous wedding. The rustic glass containers, paired with a small bunch of lavender buds and of course, the piece that puts it all together; the damask table runner really makes this setting so perfect. It's oh so chic and so inviting. This decor can easily be transferred to my own backyard, me thinks.



Source: thewhiteheads