i want my hat back

This is the trailer to a brand new book for children called

I WANT MY HAT BACK

by Jon Klassen

I got my copy in the mail this week.

I can't stop laughing.

You must run to get it.

Don't walk...

Or order it on Amazon.

dalloway chairs

New Dalloway chairs at Anthropologie.

Fun.

e + p on momfilter today

Pop on over to momfilter today....

The snap of e+p holding hands seen through my rear view mirror

is the remembering photo today!

What an honor...I adore momfilter.

Super inspiring for those with or without children.

(It was recently mentioned on GOOP.)

The site was created by Pilar Guzman + Yolanda Edwards,

founding editors of the sadly defunct COOKIE.

  (Pilar is the current editor of Martha's Living Magazine)

How I miss you COOKIE.

Thank you momfilter.

etsy baby quilts

 

I love these baby quilts from b/perrino's etsy shop.

i can can

I went to a little tomato canning 

class a couple of weeks ago.

I was utterly inspired!

Our crop of tomatoes was a bust this year

so I got a box of not-so-hot tomatoes

for way too much $ from I will not say where.

(They did redeem so I am not as ticked as I was)

I was able to can 4 jars from that lot and then 

found some beauties that I let ripen on my dining room table

for a few days as it should be.

So I canned tomatoes twice...

an old pro with the process embedded in my brain.

It truly is so easy.

Now I have 8 jars of tomatoes come cold tomato-less dead o'winter!

Here are the snaps of my process!

 sterilized jars right out the dishwasher's sanitize cycle

 ripe tomatoes

 seedless and quartered toms draining

 fresh basil from our garden on the bottom, then toms, then salt ready... for bath

my new canning pot with roaring boiling water

canned tomatoes!

rain

Rain, rain all weekend...so they say.

photo from here

piper at the window

Piper at the window yesterday.

downton abbey

Another thing I'm hooked on:

Downton Abbey.

A British television series that aired on 

Masterpiece Theater 

here in the states back in the spring.

I stumbled upon it on the Netflix "play it now", 

started watching and could not get enough of it.

  I didn't know how much of a following it had here and in the UK.

(Cathrin are you hooked????)

Julian Fellowes is the writer.

He wrote Godsford Park starring

Dame Maggie Smith..love her.

Here is the trailer of series 1 which again is available on Netflix.

Below you will find the trailer to series 2.

 It's due to air on Masterpiece Theater
January 8, 2012

I can hardly wait.

nothin' but

I'm hooked!

I found Nothin' But granola + bars at

The Westport Farmer's Market 

last Thursday.

I have been meaning to stop by the 

booth and boy am I glad I did.

The nicest gal named Jerri

makes the delicious granola

which comes in a variety of flavors:

coconut, chocolate, almond

(super yum...perfect when you need a fix o'chocolate)

ginger, lemon, cashew

+

cherry, cranberry, almond

(I sprinkled a bunch on greek yogurt + honey...so so tasty)

If you are local...you must find Jerri at 

The Westport Farmer's Market

on Thursdays 10-2pm

or if you are far

shop at the site.

slippers from lithuania

I ordered these slippers from this

etsy shop.

They are the 

coziest, comfiest wool slippers I have ever worn.

They are well made

with a silicone sole so you won't slip.

Ramune makes them in

Lithuania.

Ramune is going to Greece until October 10th.

So if you want a pair...I would order now

as he is very busy come pre-holiday season.

Everett wants a pair in yellow...

no problem...all our custom made!

sparseness

photo credit

photo credit

photo credit

photo credit

I used to think that every empty 

shelf, wall, sill, tabletop + corner

should be filled.

My thoughts have changed.

I am appreciating sparse spaces these days.

cozy thing

I know come January or maybe even sooner...

I will want to be in one of these
sipping a nice hot cup of my new favorite tea.
(Is it a giant turtleneck sweater???
Are the legs + head in the sleeves???
The neck where the hands are???)

e + p

Looked in my rear view mirrow

and 

this is what I saw.

E + P holding hands.

calder's circus

Alexander Calder.

My all time favorite artist.

I have a wonderful film on VHS

of Calder performing with his circus 

called

Calder's Circus

by Roland Films on Art

 I tried to find a copy on DVD...no go.

Here is a clip of this special, special film:

Love it as you can see Calder's wife manning the music

with a necklace he made for her.

You can see his mobile hanging, gently swaying.

The music is also fantastic.

 I did find another film on DVD:

This one is from the Whitney Museum shop.

It's also fantastic yet different from the Roland version.

Here is a clip of this one:

Both capture

Calder's brilliance.

What a talented man...with a child's imagination.

Love.

life is

word.

from here

the man who walked between the towers

This is an 

incredible true story 

for children of all ages

about a man who

walked between the Twin Towers.

I will read this to Everett this weekend and

REMEMBER.

clean fridge

 

We lost power during Irene.

We had to chuck most of the contents of our fridge and freezer.

It was unfortunate but also a good feeling to get rid and

scrub the whole darn thing.

It's clean and sparse...

no longer stuffed with

frozen soup from who knows when 

and old leftover freezer burned hamburger buns.

I now hope to make a conscience effort to buy less

and buy fresh.

photo from here.

pasta carbonara

This recipe is straight from the new William Sonoma catalog.  

My mouth always waters when I peruse this catalog.

The recipes are always enticing.

The carbonara did it for me this time.

I made it over the weekend.

It was so easy and so very delicious.

This dish is so creamy without the cream.

The trick is the room temperature eggs 

whisked with the grated pecorino romano cheese.

The cheese gets the creamy consistency 

once you add the hot water from the pasta.

I used pancetta.

A must try!

The recipe is straight from the William Sonoma website:

This Roman pasta dish is traditionally made with guanciale—pork cheek that resembles unsmoked bacon and is cured with salt, pepper and sometimes garlic. Pancetta makes a fine substitute.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, at room temperature 
• 1 1/2 cups finely grated pecorino romano cheese, plus more for serving 
• 2 Tbs. olive oil 
• 6 oz. diced guanciale or pancetta 
• Kosher salt, to taste 
• 1 lb. dried spaghetti 
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste 

Directions:

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and the 1 1/2 cups cheese. Set aside.

In a 13-inch French skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the guanciale and cook until it is browned and the fat has rendered, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water.

Slowly whisk 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water into the egg-cheese mixture.

Return the skillet with the guanciale to medium heat and rewarm. Add the pasta and 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water and toss to combine. Remove the pan from the heat, pour in the egg-cheese mixture and toss well to combine. Season generously with pepper. Serve immediately and pass additional cheese alongside. Serves 4.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

wildwood again

Remember I posted about

WILDWOOD

written by

Colin Meloy 

and
illustrated by
Carson Ellis?
It was released on August 30th.
Happy to say I got my copy in the mail.
I thought it was a picture book.
I am pleasantly surprised
as it's 2 inches thick!
It's a book for 9 year olds and older.

Here is another thing I didn't know; the author,
Carson Meloy is the lead singer of
THE DECEMBERISTS....
Wow!
The illustrator is his wife!
 They have a little son named Hank!

I love the DECEMBERISTS:


Again, a pleasant surprise all around!
Looking forward to digging in.

end of summer

 

Enjoy the last drop of summer.

image from here

lulie wallace

I discovered an artist I really like on Katy Elliot.

Lulie Wallace.

Her floral stills are so full of color and happiness.

She paints on

square pieces of wood

with acrylic.

 I contacted her to see what she had for sale.

On a whim I sent her

a photo of zinnias + some other fleurs

I had just picked from our garden.

She said she would love to paint them!

A couple of days later she sent me this snap

of our zins:

I love it!

Check out here other work here.

Her blog is a must see too!

Here are some other paintings I love:

l

These $55 paintings are five by five inch little squares.
She calls them munchkins.

Sweet.

Thank you Lulie!