Already missing October...

I hope everyone had a lovely Halloween, NYC Marathon, daylight savings time—weekend! whew!

Happy 23rd Birthday to my darling sister! (23!? I can't believe that's right!?) I hope it's a good one and we wish we were there! xo!

I am here.

Far from bored or idle— just not much to blog about this fall. I'm okay with that.

Friends are coming to Brooklyn today for the whole weekend. I made some Halloween masks for J and I.

Enjoy to fall before winter sets in!

Settling into Fall

I went to D.C. this weekend to spend some time with two dear friends, we had a fantastic time and I'm already missing them both terribly!

After over a month of denial that it's no longer summer I'm finally accepting and settling into fall. I really do love fall on it's own but it feels like a sentinel for winter which I'm never excited about.

I've been spending the cooler, darker evenings at home—cooking and working on a series of projects that the frivolous summer did not have time for.

*and yes, Lacey is touching Kennedy (what a nut)! Happy (early) Birthday Lace!!! xo

Canyon Echo

After living our new apartment for 3 1/2 months we've finally decided that we are going to paint the bathroom and in a moment of inspiration (maybe?) we decided on a color in about 4 minutes. I'll be heading to the hardware store first thing tomorrow for a bucket of Canyon Echo. I'm hoping it makes our closet-sized bathroom feel like a canyon... though I'm not holding my breath.

Have an inspired weekend!

Jessica & Windsor's Wedding Invites & Programs

Earlier this year I designed a wedding set for Jessica & Windsor. Jessica came to me with a pretty clear vision. Both of them are musicians but while she is über feminine, classic, all about flowers, organic lines etc... Windsor is modern, clean lines & all about symmetry.

Jessica presented me with the idea of a "city park" something that has a orderly feel but retains some of that organic whimsy and of course flowers. Jessica & Windsor also share a love for Italy and spent their honeymoon there. I developed the pattern based on cobblestone or brick-layed streets and paths in a city part or in an Italian palazzo. I still wanted to get something handmade in there so we wrapped the cards in hemp and use a wax seal to hold it all in place.

Jessica did a great job of finding the wax seal & embellishing the envelopes herself.

The photos below are of the programs that I designed at their wedding. Below photos by Lauren Walker.

Photos from a Train

When we went to Philly we took a train. I think the trip back was like a therapy session for me! I just stared out the window at all of the trees & waterways. When we would get to a town or station there would be dilapidated buildings with broken windows covered in vines, rusty structures & bridges. The kind of things that speak to my soul!




*something about these images feels a little bit west Texas to me. Maybe it's the color...

Canning Confession

I like pickles.
I know some people that would die of shock if they heard me say that. But let's be clear. I like my pickles. They're pretty delicious and I might have eaten a whole jar by myself for a snack. While I was making dinner.

They took a good 3 weeks before they were ready. The pickled okra are fantastic as well—also a 3 week wait. I tried to eat some okra (just to test them) before the 3 weeks and they were really tough and I couldn't really bite through them.

We're in vinegar heaven.

a photo for this day.

I received an email from Brandi (who I have never met face to face though I'm happy to be getting to know) a few weeks ago requesting a photograph of my shadow during an adventure. This is what I sent to her. I should play with J's tripod more often, it was really fun!

General Washington, Ben Franklin & the gang!

Our trip to Philly this weekend was wonderful. We saw lots of historic landmarks and the weather could not have been more perfect (on Saturday, at least). I think my favorite was Elfreth's Alley, the oldest, contunually residential street in America.


It all looked so colonial, I felt like I was Felicity. (Yes, the American Girl. Yes, I read all of those books as a child. All of them.)

After a day chockfull of history & walking when I spotted General Washington's Tavern Porter at the Foodery I was all over it. (Who knew I was so patriotic!) Turns out it's (supposidly) from General Washington's original recipe & awesome. It was brewed maybe 15 miles away from where I was at the time and my next trip to Philly will include a tour of Yards Brewery.

*A big thanks to Jeff & Leanne for showing us around Philly!

Chicago to Philly!

I just realized that I never shared any photos from our weekend in Chicago almost a month ago! (whoops!)

We're heading to Philadelphia this evening for the weekend with some friends.

Enjoy the warm weekends while they last!

Fingerprint: Call for Entries

Fingerprint is such an inspirational book. When I'm designing I'm constantly trying to get that little touch into my designs to keep them from looking too "computery" even if I don't have the luxury of screen printing the piece... or sewing it, stamping it, etc.

Entries are due October 15th and are FREE! You can download the entry form here or here.

via mint and HOW.

Canning: part 3

I finally had some friends over for a little canning party on Saturday. It was a lot of fun and we ended up meeting at the Greenmarket in Grand Army Plaza to pick up some fresh goods before hand. We made these spicy okra, these spiced pickles and another batch of more traditional pickles via a mix that Caitlin brought. We also ended up with too many okra for what our original mix made so we decided to make some okra with the spicy pickle mix. I'll let you know how everything turns out!

The zucchini pickles from 2 weeks ago are really amazing, by the way. They are very mustardy, which I love. We still have a big jar left but I can't wait to make more.

We had every intention of making jalapeño jelly as well but found fruit pectin to be a little difficult to find that afternoon. I got some and we're all set to try our hand a the jelly later this week. (I'll share the recipe then!)

today

I wouldn't feel right ignoring today. My thoughts are with all New Yorkers, men & women in the military, and Americans—my heart goes out to you.

Back to School!

J gets kids at school today. No more long summer evenings just working on the apartment & hanging out with friends (or reading Moby Dick which still isn't quite finished!). Now the evenings will be spent calling parents & grading papers but that gives me time to work on some of my own side projects!

Good luck J, & to all of the teachers & students this year!

your mom's a pickle! or, Canning: part 2

Over zealous and unprepared. That's what happened when I went to the farmer's market on Sunday afternoon. I wanted to do some canning this week. I had some old salsa & peanut butter jars but apparently those aren't safe for true canning. (the kind that lasts for years...)

J starts school (his second year of teaching!) next week, we're leaving town on Friday for Labor Day weekend in Chicago — this translates to: busy week, not a lot of time for frivolity or canning adventures. In an attempt to not loose the zucchini I got I decided to do these zucchini pickles tonight. The farmer's market didn't have summer squash so mine are all zucchini. I also haven't picked up the proper jars yet so I'm hoping that since these are going in the fridge and will be consumed within the next few weeks that we'll be safe from some of the frightening food poisoning that I've been reading about. I have to say, the process was simple and so were the ingredients and they smelled amazing! I can't wait until we get back from Chicago to try our pickles!
On a somewhat unrelated note, we got a surprise in the mail earlier this week. Our dear friend, Winston, has returned to Texas (after living in NYC for the past 6 years) to start a farm. He sent us some good ol' Texas dirt & a Lone Star bottle cap. I put it on display in a mason jar with the letter he sent us and the Bob Hope stamp off of the package for our own little Winson time capsule of sorts. Thanks Winston, we miss you too!

*p.s. my 6 year old camera may have bit the dust. I've been using J's camera for over a month now, it's not going so well. Any recommendations on an upgrade. Something better but not super fancy?