Blueberries and Cream

Inspired by fresh summer fruit topped with reckless amounts of whipped cream.

Yeah, okay ... a stretch. But the ratio of white to blue above is indicative of the ratio of blueberries to cream in my mid-morning snack.

Urban Crochet Scarf, Studio Wonjun
Tied Up Pillowcase, Rukkola
Tote, Ira Granteco
Ceramic Bowl, Lucinda Chips
Lily Sculpture, Fanciful Form
Sketchbook, Space Dog Studios

Check Out This House

I snapped this photo while boating with Evan's family on Friday. Check out the roof (click on the photo for an enlarged view). It's comprised of small pieces of curved wood.

Gorgeous, no? And how about that boat garage?

Blenderless Pina Colada

Did you know I was a bartender when I was in college? Not the seedy, shorts-wearing, cussin' kind, of course. No, I made fruity drinks and served them to khaki-clad country clubbers. It was fun, it was lucrative, and I learned how to make a mean margarita.

In addition to bartending, I served tables. And as a server, I knew the quickest way to get on a bartender's bad side was to ask for a blended drink during the dinner rush. Why? Because next to requests for hot tea (fellow servers, you know exactly what I'm talking about), they are a pain-in-the-butt time suck.

In addition, it was easy to screw up the ice/liquid content ratio. Unless measured perfectly, your Pina Colada either ended up straw-blocking thick or a half slush/half ice concoction that would slide around in the glass and slam against your face if you tried to drink it without a straw.

Though I hated making blended drinks during my bartending/serving days, I love to drink them. Pina Coladas are one of my favorite cocktails, and I'm open about my addiction to all things coconut. So a few weeks ago, I decided to forgo the blending and serve Pina Coladas on the rocks.

We were two days into living in our new house and I craved a Pina Colada. Unfortunately, our blender was in one of twenty dusty boxes in the basement. Anyone who knows me well will confirm that impatience is not one of my defining characteristics. So was born the blenderless Pina Colada. All the ingredients, none of the waiting, mess or inconsistent results. Bingo.

And guess what? I like them better this way. Purist I am not. The flavor is more intense, and I can have one in under a minute.

Here's the recipe:

1.5 ounces of coconut rum
6 ounces of pineapple juice
1-2 ounces of coconut milk

Pour over ice, stir, and serve.

Shameful update: A friend of mine just reminded me that I did, in fact, wear shorts for one of my serving gigs. And to add insult to injury, those shorts were accompanied by construction boots and a cowboy hat that dangled from a string and rested on my back (it was a steakhouse). I wish I had a photo.

La Liste

I don't know if it's because I like the convention of dreamy notes and paper, or that I'm feeling playful and romantic this morning, but I like this video.

Here's a version with English subtitles.

Have a Great Weekend

We escaped to my in-laws' lake house yesterday. Picturesque and gluttonous day.

Hope you have a lovely weekend,
Nichole

Perez Robertson

So my husband took two photos of our Holly loot, and then invoked the Perez Hilton scrawl to highlight which of the things were hers.

We're still settling in and shuffling furniture around, so be kind to our bare walls!

Update: Some more photos on flickr.

Latest Obsession

View Larger Map

Well, not mine, exactly, but my 4 year-old son's. He's smitten with google maps, and would spend every waking minute tooling around our old neighborhood if we let him. He misses the Red Wheelbarrow bookstore, which is the building to the left of the apartment.

He thinks it's funny that people are "frozen" on the street. I think I stumbled upon a site once that highlighted funny moments captured by the Google car. Has anyone seen that?

If I Were a 50s Housewife

I'd wear this dress.
These earrings.
Bake a casserole in these dishes.
And invite you all over to watch The Price is Right.

PS: I kinda want that dress. You?

Hollis + Holly = Helluva Good Day

Where do I start? There's honestly too much goodness to pack into one post.

On Sunday, we drove up to Hollis, New Hampshire to meet Holly Becker of Decor8 and her husband Thorsten. Beyond being a lovely social visit (it was the first time we had met), there was a trip to the adjacent farm, rhubarb picking, and the grand finale: loading some of Holly's furniture onto a truck.

Say wha?!?

A few weeks ago, Holly posted a message on twitter about some things she had just listed on craigslist. She's moving to Germany in a few weeks, and is selling the majority of her furniture. Now for those of you who know Holly and her fabulous blog, it will come as no surprise that I clicked on those craigslist links faster than I can devour an eclair.

Having just moved into our new home after spending the winter in Paris, Evan and I are in the position of having to furnish our home. Holly is moving to Europe and needs to de-furnish hers. Can you say p-e-r-f-e-c-t?

Among the loot are four Eames chairs, a sofa from Room and Board, tables, a dresser, and many other goodies that I'll share once I've taken photos.

Above all though, it was so great to finally meet a blogger that I admired and became friends with online. Her infectious enthusiasm and sweetness are even more apparent in "real" life.

Thanks for a great day, Holly!

The photos above are of the farm next door to Holly's house, her yard and her rhubarb patch.

Happy Weekend, Happy Fourth

For us it's the requisite fourth of july fare: cupcakes, bbq and fireworks. And most likely more of the above.

Hope your weekend is filled with scandalous treats, cool drinks and enough smiles to make your face hurt.

Two Options

We're narrowing down our apartment search in Paris. Whoo hoo!

The first three photos are from an apartment in the Marias, very close to our old apartment. The location is fabulous (right near our favorite shops and restaurants), but it's a bit out of our price range. Isn't that always the case?

Apartment number 2 (bottom two photos) is located in Montmartre. Great location and an attractive price tag.

Decisions, decisions. Which do you like best?

Let's Go to the Farmer's Market

Have you met Marjorie Taylor?

If French farmer's markets, sustainable living and drool-inducing food are your thing, you'll want to check out The Cook's Atelier.

Marjorie's rustic apricot tart and (wait for it ...) Jacques Torres-inspired fleur de sel chocolate chip cookies are on deck for my afternoon with the boys.

I had to restrain myself from typing the last part of that sentence in all caps.

Eclairs

There are two kinds of friends:

The kind who recognizes the severity of their friend's eclair addiction and casually mentions twelve-step programs, the dangers of sugar and fat, and waistlines.

And then there is the other kind. The kind that makes a much-out-of-the-way stop on their way to the airport to pick up a half dozen caramel and chocolate eclairs from their friends favorite patisserie--Miss Manon. The kind that protects the eclairs through security checkpoints and turbulent plane rides. The kind who shrugs off jet lag and delivers the eclairs the SAME day they were bought in Paris. Just because.

Elizabeth, you rock.

Note: That's an old photo of Miss Manon eclairs. Why the old photo? The eclairs were gone before I could snap a shot.

Debunking the Stereotypes

Mention New Jersey beaches, and within seconds someone will mention well-oiled chests, boom boxes or scantily-clad Jersey girls. While some of that is true some of the time, there are a few pockets that are actually quite nice.

We spent Saturday at Pier Village in Long Branch, and were pleasantly surprised by the great restaurants and shops. The beach wasn't crowded at all, and due to the freshly-planted palm trees, we felt more like were were in Florida than New Jersey.

We didn't stay overnight because we live so close, but Avenue (a restaurant and beach club) and Pier VIllage looked really nice. Check out their Website here.

A Tale of Two Street Lamps

Top: Fantasy
Bottom: Reality

The top is self explanatory. The bottom is the street lamp outside of our house circa three minutes ago. Why is it burning bright at 9:30 in the morning? Because it's raining. Again.

Perhaps we'll bake instead of bike this weekend.