Archive for the ‘force me to live here’ Category

Kelly Wearstler

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Anne Cabot Ishon, a good friend of mine and interior design student at Queen’s College, introduced me to the work of Kelly Wearstler.  This morning, I’ve been flipping through her portfolio and it is such yummy eye candy.  I love her mix of colors, shapes, and design.  She takes risks and mixes various elements, but still keeps a very classic feel in her work.  I’m flooded with jewelry ideas for 2010 & planning on incorp0rating new materials and bold designs into my work.

Before & After

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

How awesome is this before and after?  This elementary school gym was converted into an artist’s work studio called the Clafin School Studios – located in Newton, Mass.  I love to see old warehouses, manufacturing buildings, rundown schools, and empty industrial buildings being converted into something gorgeous, airy, unique and (best of all) useful for the community.

Thanksgiving in the mountains of North Carolina

Friday, November 27th, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!  I’ve had an amazing vacation in the mountains of North Carolina.  For the past few days, I’ve been catching up on some well-needed rest and relaxation.  Today, we visited a small town called Weaverville, and fell upon a gorgeous pottery studio: Mangum Pottery.  I had a great time exploring the gallery and learning more about the process of making pottery and the life of a potter.   I took a few photos of the bowls and mugs in the studio waiting to be fired and a few photos of the finished product.  The last photo is a coffee mug I purchased to drink my coffee in tomorrow morning.

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Ciao…I’m off to Aruba

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Au revoir my friends.  I’m  leaving Charlotte this evening and spending a week in Aruba!  While I’m away, please check out the treasure chest on my website.  I’ve been adding new pieces everyday. All orders will be shipped when I return on July 21st.

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twist my arm

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Alright…go ahead, twist my arm…I guess it wouldn’t be too difficult to take a relaxing bath in this sweet wooden tub…sit in this worn-out leather chair full of memories and contemplate what i’d like to cook for dinner.  I found this recipe for a pretty amazing chocolate steak marinade…I mean, seriously, can you resist??  

Chocolate, Chili Mole Marinade

Ingredients:

                18 ounce Mexican beer

                    3/4 cup Aztec Elixir Cocoa – or any spicy chocolate 

                    1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

.                   1 tablespoon Worcestershire

                     splash of sake

                     sea salt

                     green peppercorns

 

Directions:

Marinade for 1 pound of flank steak or up to 8 pork chops

 

Prepare an ice bath in a large metal bowl, set aside.

In a small sauce pan heat the 1 1/2 bottles of beer. Once the beer is warmed add the cocoa mixture. Stir to combine. Once the cocoa is completely melted pour into a bowl, add the other ingredients and place the bowl in the ice bath. Cool to room temperature place the marinade and the meat in a large bowl or large ziplock bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

 

Grilling:

Heat grill to hot!

Salt (sea salt) and grind green peppercorns (or whatever you have available) on both sides of the meat and cook on grill until desired pinkness. Salt lightly on both sides after having taken the meat off the grill and be sure to let the meat rest for 10 minutes, 5 minutes on each side before slicing. Bon Appetit!

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Sixx Design

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

It might be an understatement if I said that I was in love with Sixx design.  I mean, just check out their amazing home (not to mention the awesome underground trampoline).  Husband and wife team, Cortney and Robert Novogratzfind the time to incredibly inspiring projects and still raise six children (all under the age of nine…including 2 sets of twins).  Take a look…sixx1.pngsixx2.pngsixx3.png sixx4.jpg

love this carpet…

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

I’m in love with this carpet designed by Yvette Laduk.  I found it on one of my favorite sites!  9-4-woody-wood-carpet.jpg       upclose_wood.jpg