We drink hot chocolate every day at the little blue dish office. Our favorite brand when making it ourselves is Guittard. You can order it directly from their site or if you are in New York City, Fresh Direct carries it. When going out, our favorite hot chocolate haunts are Le Pain Quotidien in the city (they serve you hot milk and a pitcher of rich dark chocolate to pour in yourself), and in the Hamptons it’s The Golden Pear. Hot chocolate photo by Sang An.
Usually we post about interiors on Thursdays. But this last week has been so hard for my neighboring New Yorkers that we thought…a lot of people are just too overwhelmed to think of paints and furniture and throws, when they’ve just been without power for a week or are dealing with flood damage. So we thought we’d stick to sweet comforts this week- like cake. We’d like to share this blog we found called Sweetapolita. It has 2 wonderful recipes for Neapolitan cakes– an inside out cake and a 5 layer cake. Sometimes baking and giving baked goods … Read more
I worked with baker Samantha Connell on this cake for InStyle. We wanted to come up with a sweet and classic neapolitan inspired wedding cake. When designing your cake with your baker, remember that each tier could be a different color, and/or piped a different way. Though you want to keep things related so it doesn’t look too crazy. We kept to stripes, polka dots and solids in brown, white and pink. Keeping to a color palette is very important when planning an event. It also makes your choices a bit easier when you are focused on a few colors. … Read more
Using candles, especially in the fall and winter when days are shorter, always add excitement and warmth to gatherings. Whether it’s just an afternoon of sweets & coffee with your friends or a dinner party, candles make it seem extra special. We carry candles in over 15 colors and range in sizes from 6″ to 18″ to go with most any color palette. We had mini cupcakes yesterday in the office with hot chocolate. In keeping with our neapolitan color palette this week I put them out on a dark wood vintage tray and used pink paper circles … Read more
Most of us know this color palette by the name ‘neapolitan’, deriving from popular Italian desserts layering three flavors- chocolate, vanilla & strawberry being the most popular. This color combination is wonderful for parties and candy buffets. Candywarehouse.com has several neapolitan candies for you to give as sweets & favors for the holidays..and even stocking stuffers. Here’s a classic neopolitan candy bar that you can buy in bulk- a 24 piece box for $24! They even have salt water taffy and lollipops. Or if you want to do a candy buffet, you don’t have to buy candy … Read more
When you are searching for ribbon- whether it’s for your wedding bouquet, favors or holiday wreaths… one of my styling sources is Masterstroke Canada for ribbons. Owner, Steven Fraser, is an expert in the field and has a very extensive collection. From satin to grosgrain to velvet, you can find most any color, width or novelty ribbon you can imagine. If you don’t see it on their online store, then I’m sure they can help you find what you are looking for. I highly recommend them as the ‘go to’ source for ribbon.
If you are looking for a perfect shade to paint your dining room, media room or library so it feels cozy and sexy here are a couple shades you might want to try…Farrow&Ball’s Brinjal #222 and Benjamin Moore’s Caponata #AF-650. That’s what I’m seeing for fall. In fact Pantone color experts forecast a deep, darkened red similar to eggplant for men’s fashion #19-1652 and a ‘sea fog’ #16-3304 (a soft lavender/blue for ties and shirting) and for women they forecast a more quieting shade of purple called ‘rhapsody’ #16-3817, like the 5th color down on our color palette this week, … Read more
Our eggplant inspired color palette this week lends itself perfectly to many different varieties of flowers. These gorgeous arrangements are all by Michael George, one of the premiere florists and event planners in New York City. Clockwise: Purple and Pastel Mix, including black callas and ilex berries mixed with soft pastel rambling rose (in a black glass cube), Purple Fringe Tulips, Monochromatic Purple Mix, with hydrangea, roses, tulips and novelties, Black Miniature Calla Lilies, Dark Purple Composition, with dark stock, iris, anemones, rununculus and mini callas, and Chocolate Cosmos in mint julep cup. If you’d like to order any … Read more
Oh my gosh! I love this paint finder tool called Chip It! from Sherwin-Williams Paints. You take any photo and upload it into the Chip It! tool and it will automatically sort through hundreds of paints and find matching paint colors pulled from the photo’s color palette. Use a photo that inspires you and instantly it tells you what paint colors to use! I uploaded the tomato photograph that inspired this week’s color palette and this is what the Chip It! tool came up with….wow! How great is that? Try the link above to upload your own photos and … Read more
I had the privilege to speak with Dru Hilty, Trend Manager at Talbots, for an insiders special peak behind the company’s process of forecasting and selecting colors and styles for each season. Here’s our discussion… LB: Dru, How does a collection actually come together at Talbots? Where do you begin when you start researching for a new season? DH: A few of us work with the SVP of Design, Chris Jackson, to help create the concepts behind the collections. He leads the team, and ensures our seasonal concepts are both inspirational and support the brand-vision. Diane Basile, our VP … Read more
