minty fresh

I'm obsessed with this guy's mint pea coat, logged by NYMag.com's The Cut in Milan.  Given the pastels dotting street style looks at the Fall 2012 RTW shows--at least in London and Milan--I hope J.Crew or somebody makes me a wool car coat in this exact shade with those exact buttons and that exact collar for fall.  Leave it to an Italian man, not even walking in a show, to catch my eye.

nymag.com

I must have mint on my mind.  A few weeks ago I tried David Lebovitz's ice cream recipe using fresh leaves and 'twas delish.  (Is it me or is the warm, creamy soup better than the frozen version of itself?  Kind of like brownie batter and cookie dough.)

Mine.

a stylish reason to pour yourself a drink

I recently purchased four sets of some delightfully colorful Kate Spade Prize Ball coasters.  One for me, one each for three lucky friends to be determined.  Might as well stock up.

Then I found these preppy canine coasters from Rifle Paper Co.  They're practically begging (pun intended) to be scooped up (partly intended).

I was lucky enough to receive Rifle's pale pink telephone message pad for Valentine's Day.  It makes me feel fancy and would be the perfect thing to track RSVPs for my excuse-to-use-these-cool-new-coasters party.

road trip soundtrack

Last weekend I discovered that the perfect song for driving the country roads back from Charlottesville is First Aid Kit's "Emmylou". 

For two reasons other than it being a really great song that undulates with the hills of the road.  One:  I love Emmylou Harris, specifically for her album with Mark Knopfler, which I had the pleasure of seeing them perform in concert and consistently listen to during car rides (and their song "This Is Us" was the last song played at our wedding reception.  It's the perfect last dance, if you ask me).  Two:  I'm indebted to these sisters because I actually heard their Fleet Foxes cover before I'd ever heard the Fleet Foxes.

Flippin' Swedes, teaching us how to be cool all the time.

happy valentine's day

Wee little sugar cookies, sprinkled and lemon glazed and packed in a turquoise Fortnum & Mason tin.  They made the perfect book club contribution a few weeks ago and if I weren't so lazy I'd make a gingerbread version today.

if I had a little lamb

I don't consider myself to be much of an animal person but a BABY animal person, yes.  A certain someone promised to get me a puppy sometime in the next ten years and the prospect makes me squeal like a baby pig with excitement.

Photographer Sharon Montrose feeds the dream with her beautiful, crisp studio images of giraffe, pig, tiger, and monkey pups (technical term), available on 20x200 (whose redesign is a little annoying, to be honest).  I received her baby lamb photo as a present last year.

I love him, his earnest innocence, and the very slightly blurred wisp of his tail.  If lambs stayed small forever, I might actually skip the puppy, but I'll take what I can get.

ikat, you kat

As we're all well aware, ikat is hot, hot, hot.  The tribal effect lends an element of authenticity and an aged patina to new-world spaces and the limitless colors and patterns makes each piece seem unique.  I especially love these high-gloss, neon silk pillow covers from Material Recovery.  This ikat is steroidal.

wall flowers

I bought one of these ceramic wall tiles from Element Clay Studio for my sister for Christmas, hoping that one day I can afford to give her a couple more to create a set.  They come in micro tiles, which I purchased, as well as larger 9" squares.  They are both soft and stark, detailed and simple.  Heather's glazed bowls are pretty swell, too.

And what do you know, Dilly Pad, another Etsy seller featured on their front page yesterday, sells similar wares but in less abstract (i.e., floral) forms and with the option of a glossy finish (and, ahem, a bit less expensive).

So pretty and unique.  Well...as unique as anything can be anymore.

a few finds

I love this upgraded yet laid-back leather butterfly chair from CB2.  It would be mega cool sitting atop a flokati rug in a teenager's bedroom.

A perfectly acceptable alternative, and at $200 less, is this Urban Outfitters version.

Also adore this uber literal trash pail, which I think I found via somewhere else but now I can't remember. A plain galvanized steel bucket would work, too, and when you think about it, the handle is genius practicality.

plum is yum

A simple snack of my favorite plum chutney, cream cheese, and Carr's. I buy a few jars of chutney every year at the Appleton Farm stand at my high school's Christmas bazaar. Chutney is one of those things that sounds so rewarding to make but I know I'm never going to. I'm fine with sticking with small-batch, local (they're based in Middleburg, VA), and commercial. At some point I'll have to try Virginia Chutney Co.'s version, too. The makers were featured in the Washington Post last August and the article really paints such a quaint picture of chutney-making. Sounds like a plum life.

daily servings of fruit

After an enormous, heart rate-accelerating, food coma-inducing meal at our favorite Mexican restaurant (all I had was a taco with beans and rice...and at least a pound of chips with salsa and queso and guac...and a margarita), the whole family went home for dessert made from scratch by my brother. We should have just cut to the chase and skipped dinner - that's how delicious dessert was. Check it: Lime Pie: Not to be confused with Key Lime Pie. I might prefer regular limes. They lent a slightly tangier bite, especially as my brother had included their zest in the custard. So, so good and refreshing. You know what they say - a slice a day keeps the scurvy away. Banana Cream Pie with Bourbon Caramel Sauce: He hadn't had quite enough time to let it set but I loved its ooziness. We decided it would be perfect in ramekins as a sort of miniature trifle. I have to admit, I drizzled some of the leftover sauce onto my finger, straight from the saucepan, several times. The graham crust and whipped cream for both pies were homemade, too. Funfetti Cookies: Last and decidedly least, my contribution. The kids loved them, of course, but they were plebeian amongst the desserts that actually took time and thought and effort. It's probably for the best that I stick to simpler, boxed sweets. The last and only time I tried to make crack pie, this is what happened: Speaking of pie, this place recently opened in Georgetown. I have yet to go but I think my brother could give them a run for their money.