Archive for March, 2013

March 18th, 2013 No Comments

this week’s color palette: citrus- orange, lemon & lime…with gray

This week’s color palette was inspired by a story I styled for Martha Stewart Weddings about citrus. Photographer Sang An shot this beautiful image. We used a slightly pale gray background to allow the bright colors to pop. Which just as in a room, a neutral color is always a good base to allow bright colors to shine. These Benjamin Moore paint color selections are very true to the vibrant citrus. I chose Gray Lake because it has a slight green tint to it and works within this color family. I’ll keep sharing the citrus story I styled this … Read more

March 15th, 2013 No Comments

we’re loving the simplicity of click and grow- especially for basil

Ok- a “smartpot” that waters and fertilizes plants electronically so you don’t have to? We want it! I for one do not have a green thumb- so Click and Grow takes the guess work out of growing beautiful plants and vegetables. The design of the flowerpot is simple and clean white (which we love!), though you will be able to personalize your flowerpot soon. Then all you need after purchasing the flowerpot is a plant cartridge of your choice. I’m going to start with their basil starter kit. You need batteries and water to start, but after that … Read more

March 14th, 2013 No Comments

try an unexpected accent color on your patio, or keep it classic and green

Usually I think of classic colors like navy, red, blue, yellow, tan and gray for outdoor accents like pillows and chairs. But I came across this photo from Pinterest from a Spanish blog and it fit perfectly with this week’s color palette. Using a bordeaux color for accents outside is an great unexpected color. The outdoor greenery is our palette’s green while the gray furniture is the neutral and the bordeaux the accent color. And in my search for this color butterfly chair- who knew there’s an entire site called butterflychairs.com? They offer a lot of colors including this … Read more

March 13th, 2013 No Comments

weddings with peter callahan: 5 creative ways to use green mint or basil at your celebration

Our March weddings contributor, Peter Callahan of Peter Callahan Catering, has so many ideas using mint and basil it’s hard to narrow them down! But here are five creative ways to include these flavors at your wedding or celebration. Above, Peter serves Mint-tinis with a flowering mint garnish on white drink trays lined with fresh mint leaves. Below, “In summertime we like mint and cucumber water for dinner or at the bars served in French glass bottles with long cucumber slivers and spearmint stalks and leaves.” – Peter “For our ice cream bars, we have assorted ice cream flavors, all … Read more

March 12th, 2013 No Comments

serve up classic mint julep’s for st. patrick’s day – in a mint julep cup of course

Having friends over this weekend for St. Patrick’s Day? Why not serve fresh green mint cocktails like a classic mint julep recipe. I carry a vintage inspired mint julep cup on my shop. My silversmith and I found a julep cup from the 40’s and we had it replicated for my shop. I just love it. It’s a little taller and a little more slender than the readily available julep cups out there. And why not fill extra julep cups with mint as your table or bar decor- they will smell wonderful and your guests can use the mint to … Read more

March 11th, 2013 No Comments

this week’s color palette: mint & basil greens

If you’ve been reading my blog you might know I love the Donna Hay cookbooks. Her book Flavors might be one of my favorites. It takes you through classic flavors and devotes an entire chapter for each one, like vanilla, salt & pepper, chocolate…and this week’s inspiration- mint & basil. She has so many creative recipes for these flavors, I highly recommend her books. The photography by Australian photographer Petrina Tinslay is gorgeous and the recipes are simple and clear. As I do weekly I select Benjamin Moore paint colors to coincide with our inspirational photo & color … Read more

March 9th, 2013 No Comments

we just couldn’t get enough bacon- so to top off the week here is vosges haut-chocolat’s maple chocolate pudding with bacon spoon recipe!

Maple Chocolate Pudding with Bacon Spoon Recipe   (courtesy Vosges Haut-Chocolat) This sensuous and sizzlin’ appetizer marries the savory and salty taste of crispy bacon with the sweet, rich taste of maple pudding with a hint of vanilla. These are wonderful hors d’oeuvres for breakfast and dinner, and they’re perfect for entertaining. – Katrina Markoff, Founder, Vosges Haut-Chocolat Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 50 min.

March 8th, 2013 No Comments

vosges has…yes, bacon chocolate! Katrina Markoff was way ahead of the recent trend

In my quest for bacon food pairings this week, I found that Vosges Haut-Chocolat has a lot of bacon paired foods. So I went right to founder Katrina Markoff to get the inside scoop on this bacon frenzy. Katrina first paired bacon with chocolate back in 2007 with ‘Mo’s Milk Chocolate Bacon Bar’, followed by ‘Mo’s Dark Chocolate Bacon Bar’ in 2008, then followed the Bacon Toffee… and the line has grown based on popularity and customer demand. Vosges line now includes bacon baking mixes, caramels and truffles. And the website also offers unique … Read more

March 7th, 2013 No Comments

double duty pieces for under $250- versatile enough for a small apt. or a growing family

Sometimes our lives change so quickly and we need simple pieces in our homes that can do double duty from day to day, week to week and even year to year. These are four great pieces that can work for a multitude of uses. The Hable sisters design such great, strong canvas pieces. This Lemon Beads Storage Box, $98, from Hable Construction can work for magazines, files, homework, closet organization, baby supplies or just as a great tote bag! The Go-Cart Carbon Grey Three-Shelf Table on casters, $129, from cb2 can be used in an office, as a bookcase, in … Read more

March 6th, 2013 No Comments

weddings with peter callahan: bacon cocktails, bacon appetizers, bacon garnishes- they’re all having their day and they are packing a smokey punch of flavor!

As I’m seeing a trend of bacon becoming more popular at events I turned to our March Weddings Contributor, Peter Callahan (bestselling cookbook author & founder of the culinary design studio, Peter Callahan Catering),  to see what he’s been serving. As we talked about the increase in requests for bacon from his clientele, it turns out Peter has a sentimental spot for bacon. “I grew up with bacon. Bacon was put in my peanut butter sandwiches that we ate for lunch while skiing at Mad River. Slab bacon from the local butcher in Londonderry, Vermont was what we served at … Read more