For the Love of Books

What was my first love? Books. I was a 3 year-old wishing someone would teach me to read already. It was a pop-up book about the seasons. I fell hard and am still giddy over the stories, the ideas, the images, the characters, and the cover art.

Penguin has been publishing many classics in beautifully designed, cloth-bound hardcovers. Once I discovered this edition, I wasted no time starting a collection of my favorites: Pride & Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland, Little Women, Jane Eyre, A Christmas Carol, Tess of the d'Ubervilles.

Then I discovered the Rolls Royce of books: Penguin Threads Deluxe Classics. Penguin commissioned illustrator Jillian Tamaki to design and hand-embroider covers for The Secret Garden, Emma, and Black Beauty. A few years ago, we sold limited-edition journals covered in vintage embroidered handkerchiefs. These Deluxe Classics tower over our little journals. The detail is just astounding. Look at the rich tones, nuanced shading, the texture, and 3D-like effects. The work continues on the back covers! How did Jillian not go blind on this project? Consider me first in line at the door of the Jillian Tamaki fan club.

O t h e r  E m b r o i d e r y  P r o j e c t s

This Monster Quilt was Jillian's first embroidery project, which she completed 5 months before embarking on the Penguin commission. That isn't right. I can barely sew on a button. Well, I can, but the utter boredom prevents me from doing so. I prefer to attempt minor-league embroidery, such as the gift  I crafted for a friend who loves ice skating and hedgehogs. (see etsy artist's pattern last image below)

images of Jillian's work are ©Jillian Tamaki

Nicole Vos Van Avezathe

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Project Runway: Royal Wedding Style

Speaking of weddings, Project Runway designers have sketched their vision of Kate Middleton's wedding gown. Some of those sketches are, ahem, unique. Although I don't think all the following are in Kate's style, I thought these had the most "je ne sais quoi":

Michael Costello

Simone LeBlanc

Jennifer Diederich

Mila Hermanovski

Daniel Franco

Carol Hannah Whitfield

Ivy Higa

Heidi Elnora

Christopher Straub

...but more like this blue and with a more subtle, gradual flare.

from 06 Marie Antoinette

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Style Icons: Season of the Wedding

Congratulations to one of my favorite actors, Reese Witherspoon, on her wedding over the weekend! She seems like a great mom, friend and a strong, very down-to-earth person. Best wishes to her and her family. These are my favorite red carpet looks from this lovely lady:

Nina Ricci, Golden Globes 07

Jason Wu

Narciso Rodriguez

Dior, Oscars 06

Marchesa, CMA 08

Armani Prive, Oscars 11

photos via Glamour and InStyle

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Remembering Liz

Today we remember Elizabeth Taylor, a classic yet original beauty. She seemed to have lived a full life on her own terms. We may not have made the same choices she did, but I hope she passed away with the peace of knowing happiness, adventure and love for others and the life she led. Here's a look back at this undeniably chic woman.






1 by Richard Avedon, 2 via celebritiesfans, 3 via cowkitty, 4 via theweddingtiara

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Hungry

A lot of things are on my sub-conscience, but in front of it all is food... like the 10-year-old bouncing on stacked booster seats that I (a petite 5'4") inevitably have sitting in front of me at the theatre. Naturally, I was attempting to be productive when food bounced from the sub-conscience and I'm now asking myself, "what's for dinner?"

I'm thinking of Camarones Enchiladas, my favorite Real Simple recipe. While I love shellfish, its price can be a bit indulgent so I usually use chicken breast instead of shrimp in this dish. You are allowed to substitute only the shrimp. (Weird, right?) Well, you may skip the capers, too. (As with olives, I've tried and failed to like them. Bleh!) The rest is magical chemistry, an exquisite homeyness resulting from the perfect blend of red wine, paprika, red pepper, onion, cilantro and lime. Although I am loyal to dessert, I can hold my own eating these enchiladas.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 med onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp paprika, preferably smoked
• 1/4 -1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• kosher salt
• 3/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped 
• 1/2 c dry red wine
• 1 tbsp capers, chopped
• 1 14.5-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained
• 1-1/4 lb med peeled deveined shrimp 
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving
• 8 small whole-wheat tortillas, warmed
• Sliced avocado, chipotle-flavored hot sauce, crumbled queso fresco or Feta, for serving
• Directions

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until begins to soften, 3-5 minutes. Addgarlic, paprika, crushed red pepper, ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
2. Add cilantro, wine, capers, and tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as you add them. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid slightly thickens, 15-20 minutes.
3. Add shrimp and lime juice to the tomato mixture and cook until shrimp are opaque throughout, 3-5 minutes. Serve with the tortillas, avocado, hot sauce, queso fresco, cilantro, and lime wedges, if desired.

Speaking of dessert, I cannot wait to make these acclaimed donuts. Usually, I steer clear of all things fried. (That is, except for platanos fritos.) These, however, are baked! The recipe comes from Lara Ferroni's cookbook, Doughnuts:

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1/4 c granulated sugar
• 1 c whole milk, heated to 115F
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-3.5 c all purpose flour, divided
• 1 stick butter, cut into 1" cubes

• Directions

1. In the stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment, beat egg and sugar on medium until blended (1 minute). Add milk, yeast, salt and vanilla, and stir to blend. Reduce to low speed. Add 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until dough is thick and pulls away from sides of the bowl.
2. Switch to the dough hook on medium speed. Add butter one piece at a time, and beat until no large chunks of butter are left in bottom of bowl, 3-5 minutes. Reduce to low speed and add additional flour until the dough gathers around the hook and cleans the sides of the bowl. It will be soft and moist, not overly sticky.
3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. Lightly grease a large mixing bowl.
4. Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume (1 hour).
5. Punch down dough and roll out to 1/2" thick. With a doughnut or cookie cutter, cut out 3" diameter rounds with 1" diameter holes
6. Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Place doughnuts at least 1" apart. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm spot until doubled in size (25 minutes).
7. Bake until light golden brown (5-8 minutes). Don't over-bake.
8. Immediately out of the oven, dip into butter and then directly into cinnamon sugar mixture.

recipe via Honey & Jam (also photo) & Boastful Baker 

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Friday Favs: The Good, the Bad, the (not so) Ugly

T h e  G o o d ...

The DCist Exposed Photography Show exhibits DCist editors' picks from photos tagged as "DCist" on Flickr.  My husband and I went to the opening at Longview Gallery, where I met senior editor and Exposed bartender, Martin Andres Austermuhle. I discovered that he too spent his early years in Bogotá, Colombia. Small world! (Ok, he's Swiss and I'm not, but I was British in a past life and that's close. Right?) True, I'm bound to meet home-grown Colombians in the city of embassies. Pish tosh, they're transient expats, not "childhood-Colombian". There's a difference and the expats would say it's a little larger than an ant-hill. But, I digress...

Why I waited that long to visit Longview Gallery, I don't know. I felt right at home in this space, somehow. The intimacy of its fairly small interior balances its loft-y vibe. It reminded me of Georgetown's Halcyon House, the setting for an event I did in my last year as a wedding designer. I would share a few shots with you, but Leikness-Dougherty kept forgetting to send shots of my work. (Evidently, I don't forget. Admittedly, a little scary.)

More digression: DCist's logo is adorable. I felt like skipping across the room when they stamped the logo onto our hands, but it was too crowded for that. I didn't want to wash it off right away, forgot to scrub it off and went to bed. The result? A DCist temporary tattoo on my face! It showered right off, though. I wonder how my (euh) spontaneous French language instructor would have reacted had I gone to class DCist-branded...

Back to the original point. Longview is truly the perfect setting for my favorite shots by 2011 winners:

Infusion Dance Co - spiggycat



Babel - specimenlife



[love in loss] - holding steady

And these 2. (Sorry, sources disabled image sharing.)

4th of July - A Moment to Capture
DC Caribbean Festival

T h e  B a d ...

I was taken hostage by an insurmountable craving for cake. I intended to get a slice of real vanilla cake with whipped cream frosting and strawberries at Whole Foods, but they were out of my flavor. Gasp! They had chocolate-frosted chocolate cake and carrot cake. I am all for chocolate as an accompaniment - Nutella, chocolat chaud, peanut butter cups - not as a narcissistic dessert ingredient. I do have the ability to like carrot cake, but it scares me because it's too unreliable. (You can end up with a gag-inducing carrot cake just as easily as you can end up with a really great one.) That left only their angel food cake with fresh berries. Normally, I don't buy ready-made desserts, much less an entire cake to take home. If I don't buy it, I don't eat it. I also don't like the wastefulness, the thoughtlessness of impulse buys. But it isn't everyday that you're kidnapped by cake. I argued that cake wasn't an impulse buy because it was on my list. Off I went with my little extravagance.

Life Lesson #_: Don't buy a whole cake when you're hungry. I know this rule. I usually follow it pretty well. (I'm really good at following rules... so long as they're not silly rules made up by other people.) Last two days? Nope, not so much. I ate most of it. By myself. (No photo of the blushing cake, because, well, it's gone.) On the bright side, it was lunch and breakfast, it could've been real butter-rich cake, and I had power cardio and reformer class afterwards. Was it good? Not bad, but a little drunk on sugar. (In America, we seem to be seduced by sweet excess, often piling high fructose corn syrup on top of sugar. The French, however have mastered the art of dessert. They know it isn't necessary to bulldoze the palate with sugar.) After all that, my favorite part was the berries and I should've just bought a tub of them.

But try paying Cake's ransom with berries.

T h e  U g l y ...

Hmm. Crickets. I go treasure-hunting for the lovely, the fun, the original and the inspiring so it isn't easy to resurrect the ugly. The bouncer in my head promptly escorts the ugly away. There is enough "ugliness" out there - slightly ugly and very ugly, among the familiar and the unknown, close to home and far away. I vote for not being around it but going for the treasure instead.

This isn't ugly in the least, but it's scary in an oh so fun way. (Fluorescently colored - is it meant to be consumed? It's too cute to eat!) It's the best DIY idea I've ever seen for St. Patrick's Day. For more info on making your own leprechaun trap, visit the fabulous Not Martha.

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