What are you doing this weekend?

I'm making these delicious pumpkin & hazelnut donuts tomorrow. Jealous?

Yeah, I thought so.

Image: Canelle et Vanille via Tiny Prints

Gimme

I guess I'm in a rainbow mood lately. It must have something to do with the gloomy weather and all the super mean people I've encountered lately. I need color and lots of it. Color makes everything magical, don't you think? Like that horse in the Wizard of Oz. I would like that horse too. And I would like one of these pillows. In fact, I would like all of these pillows. I wouldn't turn away the artwork, couch or rug either. Can this just be my new living room?

Order yours (and one for me) from thatfunkyboutique on Etsy 

Oh Hell Yes.

via Little Green Notebook

via Secret Sparks

via Pinterest

Grace Gift Shoes via Wedding Bee

Shelving Woes

Four months ago we moved into our apartment and though we are completely unpacked, we have yet to tackle some important projects like what the eff are we going to do about this random nook in our kitchen? It currently houses the litter box, which is a perfect fit, but why waste all the space above? I'm thinking shelves are the most logical answer since they would provide some much-needed storage space as well as a place to display artwork, vases and other pretty things including scented candles, which will come in handy considering the often unpleasant odors wafting from below.

So here's the thing: it's an awkward shaped space. It is roughly 18 1/2 inches deep and only 14 1/4 inches wide. Since the litter box fits so snugly on the floor, I also have to factor in the size of the box if I am to consider a shelving unit.

Here are two thoughts for shelving units:

Omar Shelving Unit $69.99

 The Omar Shelving Unit from Ikea is 72 inches tall and the lower shelves are removable so we could easily make room for the litter box underneath, assuming it will fit in between the legs, which I am not so sure about. I like the industrial look of it and the fact that the shelves are adjustable so they can accommodate things that are oddly-sized like my air-popper or matryoshka nesting dolls. I also like that it is as deep as the alcove itself so the spacing wouldn't be awkward.

Molger Shelving Unit $49.99

The Molger Shelving Unit, also from Ikea, is a little shorter at 55 inches but the wood would look nice with our cabinets and I also like the option of painting it some crazy color like teal or hot pink or glitter.  While the shelves aren't adjustable, it does look like we would still have the option of removing the bottom shelf. However, it's not as deep as the Omar so either it would have to sit forward or be pushed to the back of the alcove and I'm not sure I love that idea.

Our other option would be to make and install individual shelves ourselves. While definitely not the easiest choice, it would probably look the best and would eliminate the problem of fitting the litter box down below. We'd have the option to paint them (I'd probably just match them to the wall or trim) and it would look good enough to leave when we move out because what else is anyone going to use that space for?  Also I like how cozy it would look. Here's a good example:

Terisa, Colin and Lauren's Home on Apartment Therapy

Does anyone have any thoughts on this matter? 

I Get Mad, Bitches! (A Rant)

If these were my panties, they'd be in a twist.

I don't know if you know this, but life is fucking hard. And sometimes living in this city is hard too.

There are aspects of this city that I love with a passion that rivals my all-encompassing adoration of Ryan Gosling. Like the fact that if you have nothing to do and no money, you can go to a museum for free on a Friday night and if you flirt with the bartender they will give you a free drink to sip while you amuse yourself with some abstract expressionism for a while. (Although you think you acquired said drink because of your cleavage or insane flirting skills, it will most likely be because it is an open bar and therefore the bartender is required to give you a drink. Either way, score!) No longer do you have to sit at home with your cat watching You've Got Mail in unflattering sweatpants, placing your nightly call for Chinese take-out because you are single and therefore required to only ever eat Chinese food and always the same order which your local restaurant has memorized, much to your chagrin. New York City is a goldmine for single people, really it is. But you know what else it is? It is a fucking pain in the ass. And this doesn't just go for single people.

There are times when it is hard to leave your apartment without acquiring a thick coating of wrath that will inevitably grow thicker as the day drones on. A million little annoyances will accumulate until you have two choices: you drink a lot or you become a hater. If life is extra hard, you do both.

Take this morning, when I left my apartment and the truck parked right outside sprayed some brown sludge on me and I was all 'fuck you, truck!' and then I got on the subway and witnessed not one but 3 separate incidences of people acting like asshats towards one another. I mean, yeah, it's Monday, the worst of days, and inexplicably humid out even though it is technically supposed to be "warm cider season" but does that really give people an excuse to shove one another or start yelling at someone simply because they are offended by the song they hear them playing on their ipod or become a gargantuan bitch because someone's bag on a SEVERELY CROWDED TRAIN just happens to be grazing their left thigh even though, hello you dumb cow, there is an entire FOOT of empty space in front of you into which you could move to avoid said bag?!?

Deep breaths.

Even after I got off the subway, thinking I could shrug off my commute with a strong cup of coffee, I had to wait while a disgruntled middle-aged hag lambasted the poor coffee cart guy, insisting that he dented her doughnut and must now provide her with a new doughnut and ALSO a free second doughnut because her doughnuts are precious god damn it and shouldn't be man-handled and while she was at it, her coffee was chocolate and not toffee-colored as she had specified so she needed a new coffee too with the correct amount of cream. Nevermind the 16 people lined up behind her who were already late to work, myself included.

Suffice it to say, this has not been an I <3 NY kind of day.

there are lots of nice people to meet by laura george

You know, I happen to be from a nice small town where people are genuinely kind to one another. Sure, they may gather in coffee shops to slander one another or spread vicious lies every now and then but there is a pretty strict code of feigned pleasantry and a general rule to be nice to people, at least to their faces. I appreciate this. It makes life rather nice. I'm sure it doesn't take any additional energy, certainly not as much as it took that woman to shove me out of the way this morning instead of simply saying 'excuse me'.  Why is it so hard to be nice to strangers on a train? Or on the street? Or in a store? Or at the coffee cart?

I'll tell you where all this leads: This leads to chaos. Because you know how I felt when I got off the train this morning? I felt like I wanted to kick someone. Hard. The kind of kick where they fall on the ground and then I pretend like 'oops! you totally just tripped on my small little foot and I can't believe you fell down and I'm just POSITIVE you've done nothing to deserve that at all! carry on, carry on.'. But I didn't kick anyone. Instead, I let it fester until I could recharge myself with two glasses of prosecco and some popcorn cooked in duck fat (awesome! not gross at all!). So I guess, in the end, I salvaged the day. But if anyone crosses me on the train tomorrow,  there will be blood.


Images: La Perla, Laura George

Love.

Like the rest of the internet, I am obsessing over Kate Lewis and her adorable chair paintings. I would like two or three to hang in my hallway. Or maybe a set to complement a cozy reading nook. Or possibly this big poppy painting to adorn my bathroom wall. I'll take any of them really but clearly the one above is the best.

Image: Kate Lewis

Wear What You Eat

Tangerine Flicker Dress

Wear This! 

Then Eat This!

Apricot Pie with Coconut Crumble

(And while you're at it, maybe drink this?)

Blood Orange Champagne Cocktail

One Stop Shop

As you all know, I absolutely do not approve of furnishing your home-or even one room-all from one store. But if you are given a million dollar gift card or an employee discount or are forced at gunpoint to decorate from one source, just try to do a decent job, ok? Here's what you do:

1) Choose a variety of styles- if everything looks alike it will be painfully obvious that you bought it all from the same place
2) Find pieces that look old or weathered-anything that can pass for an antique automatically makes you look like a fancy designer/antique hunter extraordinaire.
3) Mix patterns and textures-visual intrigue is important!
4) Don't go crazy with trendy items-if everything is covered with guns or mustaches, you might as well slap on a sign that says 'this room courtesy of Urban Outfitters'. Are you a frat boy? If you are, you have no business reading this blog.
5) Simplify your look with a base layer of neutral colors- neutrals can look more sophisticated and therefore more expensive than a lot of brightly-colored items.

Whatever you do, don't buy a bedroom set! Bedroom sets (or any 'set' for that matter) are made for housewives in the Midwest who furnish their living rooms from Sears catalogs left over from the early '90s. Bedroom sets are for people who are lazy and what do we do with lazy people? We kill them. We kill them a lot.*

All items shown above are from Urban Outfitters

*This is a lie. We do not kill them. We judge them. Harshly. Not so different.**
**Yes! Different! Oh hell.

Sconey Scone Scones

This is what they should have looked like.

This past weekend I had a very packed schedule that involved fun things like dinners with friends but also boring things like laundry and cleaning the bathroom and finally throwing away the over-sized hoodie that takes up almost a full drawer of my dresser. So what did I do with this long chore list? Why I baked apricot yogurt scones, of course!

This absurdly easy recipe was featured on The Kitchn back in April and I've had it saved ever since. I fancied it up and made a light lemon glaze with 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and 3/4 tsps lemon extract instead of the 1tsp vanilla extract in the recipe.  The result was mind-blowingly good if I do say so myself.  Unfortunately, they didn't look as good as they tasted- mine came out more like lumps of fried chicken. Guess I need to work on my presentation skills.

HERE is the recipe in case you also have laundry to do and would like a distraction.

See? Not so pretty. Sigh.

Images: Emma Christensen for The Kitchn, Mia G

What a swell party this is

Bals: The Legendary Costume Balls of the Twentieth Century by Assouline

If you are hunting for a fabulous 30th birthday present for me (and you really should be), feel free to buy me this amazing book about costume balls. It has over 250 illustrations to fawn over and would look great on my coffee table. You can purchase it online here and I promise to let you look at it when you come over to my apartment.

If you have a ton of money to throw around and want to buy a companion piece to this book, may I suggest this fun photograph? I'm not sure what's going on here but I know I love it.

Leopard People, 1966 NYT

Wear What You Eat

Glass Jeweled Linen Tank Dress

Wear This!

Then Eat This!

The Cake Girls via Martha Stewart Weddings

September Obsessions

Persimmon Accents

 

 

Art Deco Accessories

Greenhouse Terrariums

 

Fancy Chalkboards (1, 2, 3)

Busy Bathroom Wallpapers

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cordials

EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING

TFNC Deco Embellished Chiffon Dress

Picture me in these two dresses.

A|Wear Gold Trim Shift Dress

And also these shoes. Oh god. The pain of not owning them is killing me.

Dune Glee Peep Toe Heeled Shoes

Images: Asos

Calendar Love

It seems so antiquated to use a  paper calendar these days but I'm an old-fashioned gal and like to fill in those boxes and see my my life organized on paper. Also, I just like the look of them. Especially the new watercolor version by Linda & Harriet. It would look marvelous in my fantasy kitchen with white cabinets and black marble counter tops.

Just sayin'.

Images: Linda & Harriet via Oh Joy!

Oh Hello

Image: jaclyn paige via The Beautiful Soup