Online Magazines

Image from Nesting Newbies.

Image from Lonny.

A lot of you may already know about Lonny, the online magazine that replaced Domino. (If not, be sure to check it out here.) But today I found out about another new online magazine called Nesting Newbies. Silly name, I know, but the content is really great. They are both relatively new - they've only come out with a couple of issues each.

Be sure to check them out. They feature accessible ideas geared toward the regular consumer. And the best part? They're free!

Found via Pillow-Mint.

Bookstore Cafe Design

I have to say that the design of the McNally Jackson bookstore cafe is one of the most creative aproaches that I've ever seen. I haven't been there yet, but after seeing these photos I can't wait to go check it out! It's designed by architecture firm Front Studio, which is one of the only firms in New York owned by an asian women team.

All photos by Maggie Soladay.

The flip-down school-style "writing desks" on the book-covered wall are my favorite element. Not to repeat myself, but I cannot wait to see this place! 

Found via A Cup of Jo.

Central Park

A new all-time snowfall record was set in Central Park yesterday. 36.9 inches have fallen this month. The previous record for snowfall in Central Park in any single month was 30.5 inches in March 1896. It's beautiful!


We took this picture today at 110th Street and Fifth Avenue, which is the northeastern corner of the park.

Cold Weather Lunch

In my opinion, the best possible lunch to eat during a snow storm is a giant bowl of chicken soup. And it doen't hurt if your husband can come and have lunch with you! My soup of choice today was the chicken udon soup from Tataki. It's chicken, vegetables and udon noodles in a spicy broth. Mmmm! Kane ordered the chicken Teryaki bento box which is also really great. You can see the steam from my super-hot soup in the picture below.

Blizzard in Progress

These photos are from my walk to the subway this morning. It's continued to snow all day and it keeps piling up. I can't wait to see Central Park tomorrow!

Waterworks

Waterworks opened their new showroom in NYC tonight. It's beautiful. They kicked things off tonight with a party and an auction benifiting Housing Works. One of our clients donated the bubble chair that's in these pictures and it made quite a bit of money for the charity!

Anyone?

Anyone want me to send them some of this fabulous faux fur?;) I happened across this rack today at New York Elegant Fabrics in the fashion district while shopping for some decidedly less outrageous fabrics.

Swedish Sunshine

Since I am facing yet another snow storm tomorrow, the images of this beautiful sunlit home really made an impression on me. The style is feminine and effortless. The photographs do such a great job of capturing the warmth of the Swedish sunshine. They're from a Swedish home magazine called Sköna Hem.

Found via Apartment Therapy.

Old Crow

Image from Old Crow Medicine Show.
Some of you that know me really well may know that my all-time favorite band is Old Crow Medicine Show. They used to be kind of obscure, but they've built a pretty huge following over the last few years and now you can find them on iTunes. Check out a few of their songs and videos here. I know that bluegrass isn't for everyone, but they've got something special.

I've seen them in concert once in Athens, GA and twice in NYC. They packed the venue every time, which sort of restored my faith in the music-listeners of New York. (There's no country or bluegrass radio station in New York City, you see.)

They are touring in Australia and New Zealand for March and April, but I highly recommend you check them out if they make a stop in your city. It'll be worth every penny!

Image from Old Crow Medicine Show.

Beef Stir Fry

We just finished making beef stir fry for dinner. It was our first time to try this recipe and I'm glad we did. I picked this particular stir fry because it calls for broccoli, asparagus, peas and edamame instead of the usual peppers and onions which I don't care for.

This is my adapted version of Ellie Krieger's Emerald Stir Fry with Beef. As you can see, I simplified it quite a bit but it is just as good!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dry white wine (like Reisling)

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

extra virgin olive oil

8-10 ounces of beef, sliced into 1/4" thick strips

1 large bunch of broccoli, trimmed and cut into florets

1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and sliced into approx. 2" pieces

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen shelled edamame

salt, garlic salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Combine white wine, orange juice, soy sauce and water in a bowl and set aside. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to a saute pan or wok and add the sliced steak. Cook to your preference, season with salt and pepper. Once cooked, put the steak on a plate to rest. Add another couple of tablespoons of olive oil to the same pan and add broccoli, asparagus, peas and edamame. Cook on medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, or until the vegatables are slightly softened. Season with garlic salt. Add the wine/juice/soy sauce/water mixture to the pan and cook for another 4 minutes, or until the vegetables are done. Add the steak back into the pan to heat it through and mix it in with the vegatables. Plate and serve.

In the future we will probably serve it over rice, which would make it even better.

The whole process takes about 30 minutes, including prepping the vegetables.

Enjoy!

Coral Casa

Images from Veranda.

I love the playful palette of this 1920s Spanish Colonial Revival home designed by Kathryn Ireland. She kept the walls and large upholstered pieces clean white, and built her design around the beautiful coral red in the Kilim rug. Sometimes Spanish style can become a bit too heavy and oppressive, but I think this is a great example of keeping it fresh.

The Indian bone mirror above the mantle is an unexpected accent. The two mirrors below are interesting options that have would have a similar look for substantially less money. They can be found here and here.

                           

                           

Vespa NYC

Last night Kane and I went to dinner at Vespa with his boss and wife. I had noticed the upper east side restaurant several times before, but this was our first visit.

The food was wonderful. A great Italian menu. Kane had the asparagus raviolli, and I ate the gnocchetti with basil pesto and pine nuts.

All images from Vespa.
We can't wait to go back again this summer because the very best part of Vespa is the outdoor garden dining area that's open during the warmer months!

Wedding Shoes

Find them here.
I accomplished the one thing that I really needed to get done today, and that was to buy a pair of shoes for Logan and Logan's wedding! Now I can get my bridesmaid dress hemmed.

I don't think I have ever owned a pair of platform shoes in my life, but these are so cool and I am so tall in them! I just had to buy them. Plus, I learned that it's not so easy to find shoes that are the perfect silver/champagne color to go with the dress!

Bagels!

Kane and I got an early start on our errands today! We started off the day with bagels from the Hot & Crusty at 86th Street. You can't beat a good fresh bagel. We meant to take pictures of our bagels before we finished them, but that didn't end up happening because we ate them too fast!

Spring Clothes

Leading Role dress from Anthropologie.

Ingrid dress from Shabby Apple.

Reina dress from Kate Spade.
My wardrobe is looking a little shabby. It's about time for me to get some new spring clothes! I'm not the best clothing shopper in general, but one thing that I'm great at picking is dresses. These are a few of my favorites right now.

Jade Roses

Image from Brooklyn Bride.
I saw the most gorgeous flower arrangement at a client's home today. It was a mix of jade, lavender and hot pink roses. Jade roses are my absolute favorite right now! I had a beautiful fall wedding, but I have to say if I had had a spring wedding I would have wanted to cover everything in jade roses! These arrangements from Blossom and Branch in Brooklyn are so striking.

Surrounded By Books

Home of and designed by Mandy Myerson and Ryan Nelson. Photo by Liezel Strauss.
I love being surrounded by books. If I had my way I would have enough time to read a new book everyday. Currently my books are piled on shelves here and there, and lots of them are still at my parent's house because it didn't make much sense to haul them all to New York!

The idea of having a room of floor to ceiling books is so appealing to me. A place to go where you can literally be surrounded by books. 

The following rooms are a huge inspiration.

 Library by Miles Redd.

Room by Courtnay Daniels Haden.

Room by Alessandra Branca.

Interior by Jed Johnson Associates. I'm a little biased about this particular company if you know what I mean!

Cards

Although I had the best of intentions, I didn't get around to sending Valentines this year. I got an unexpected one in the mail today from a wallpaper vendor called Porter Teleo. It is made from their hand-made paper and a rubber stamp. They sent it along with a beautiful journal covered with their paper. Such a nice little surprise. I think I'll hang on to this Valentine for inspiration for next year!

Mamma Mia!

Image from newyorkcitytheatre.com.

To celebrate Valentine's Day, Kane and I went to dinner at Ted's and then saw Mamma Mia! on broadway. We had relatively inexpensive tickets, so our seats were in the mezzanine, but they were still really great. The Winter Garden Theatre is one of those great old theatres that really doesn't have bad seats.

Image from mamma-mia.com.

There's a reason why the show has been on for almost ten years. It is full of energy and you really can't go wrong with two hours of ABBA songs!

Thank you Kane! It was a wonderful night out.

Blue Airmail Stamp

At the interior design firm where I work, we purchase a lot of items at auction. Antiques, art, accessories. We have subscriptions to all of the auction company's catalogs including Sotheby's, Christies, Philips, etc. The catalogs are full-color bound books printed on heavy-duty glossy paper.

One day, while I was throwing away some fine art catalogs, I flipped through and realized that the pages in these books were better quality that most prints I could buy.

So I brought the catalog home with me and cut out the art that I loved. The first one that I'm going to use is Blue Airmail Stamp by Andy Warhol. I love the simplicity of the design, and the scale of this particular copy.

I framed it in a basic square silver frame from Ikea. It's the top frame in the following photos from our bedroom. I have plans to add a few more frames to this grouping over time. 

The other items are a black and white photo of the church where Kane and I got married, an oil painting that I bought when I was in college, and a photo that I took about 6 months ago of a graffiti door that I pass on my way to work.