Thursday, May 27, 2010

Made In Brooklyn

Everyone seems to have moved on to ICFF (which I didn't attend this year, just so big! felt overwhelmed and figured everyone would blog about it!) but I just ran across this bike rack I saw at Brooklyn Designs.  So cool, especially in a long narrow NY hallway.

Seriously, someone go buy this awesome vintage Creative Playthings Kitchen

It's at Junk, on Driggs and No 9th, $50, great shape.  Seriously though, been there for over six months and every time I go there I want to buy it, and we really, really, really don't need it (especially since we already have an awesome vintage toy kitchen!)

East Village Edition

 
I've mentioned before that I lived in the East Village for several years (well back then it was still called Alphabet City and people were still shooting up on doorsteps, but that is another story) This store front is on 2nd Ave, and I find it very comforting. Even as fancy restaurants, little expensive boutiques, and big fancy condo buildings have overtaken the neighborhood (the old CBGBs is a John Varvatos store for God's sake!) this place has remained exactly the same, right down to the really dirty Spiderman sheets hanging in the storefront window.  I kinda want the Spiderman sheets.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Balthaup Kitchen

That wardrobe reminded me of this amazing kitchen storage system from Balthaup which I covet, but will probably never be able to afford. I do have a few friends, that if they ever build their dream kitchens, I might point the way to this....or next time I have a really large budget to do a client's kitchen.

Awesomeness

Saw this wardrobe in LONNY magazine. So many little storage places, so obssessed. I would use this in a million places...a kids room, as an entire office in say a living room, as a tool closet, oh I could think of more, but let's just enjoy the perfection of a lot of little boxes and bags to organize hoarding tendencies.

Daily Lunch Box

Whole wheat cheese tortellini w/homemade basil & arugula pesto
Green Beans
Blackberries

My sister says she likes my blog but that the Daily Lunch Box is a little boring...here's the thing though, I think about what my son eats a lot.  I feel like in this fast food, pre-packaged, chemical laden atmosphere you have to.  It's not like you can trust marketing, or even the FDA to protect your family from stuff that's bad for you, and I want to do my best to nourish him so that at least that is a part of his life and not something he has to figure out on his own.  My point, I'm damn proud of the food I put together for him and I want to look back at this and feel a sense of accomplishment.

If you want just a little web-browsing about the things we eat here are a few links (nothing new, all this stuff made the rounds a while back, but worth looking at)

Jamie Oliver's TED speech
Fed up with School Lunch -- a blog where a teacher eats her school's lunch every day -- has a lot of great education guest posts as well
Michelle Obama's Let's Move Campaign
Gluten Free Girl -- I love how Shauna and The Chef make food so joyful
101 Cookbooks -- one of my favorite sites for cooking inspiration

Brooklyn Designs


As per my yearly tradition I went to Brooklyn Designs with my sister and my son last week.  It was cool, though a lot of the same as last year.  This display of found gloves, which wasn't at the show, but at a store nearby, was my favorite thing.  I did really, really, really, really love Grow House Grow's new patterns (and the designer is such a sweet woman).

Monday, May 10, 2010

Daily Lunch Box

Cream Cheese & Cucumber Sandwich on Raisin Semolina Bread (from our favorite baker at the Farmer's Market....what is their name?)
Pea Shoot & Cherry Tomatoes with Brianna's Poppyseed Dressing (I love this stuff, it makes me want to eat salad for every meal, alas, though I got B to eat this exact salad the evening before and beg for more, he didn't touch it!)
An Apple

Friday, May 7, 2010

Daily Lunch Box

This seems to be left-overs week.
Annie's mac & Cheese, with peas (from dinner last night)
Grapes
the last of the Cranberries, and graham cracker bunnies
Veggie Bootie

I couldn't get all of the food in the photo if I put it in the lunch box, here is what it looked like all packed and ready to go.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Love

I have a conundrum that I have been trying to figure out for years.....people say that they just fall out of love, but here is the thing I have been thinking....when we fall in love with someone, what we really fall in love with is all of the good things about them....the best them, and the best of ourselves, but no one is ever their best all the time. So when we say we fell out of love, what we really mean, is that we lost our faith.  Maybe the best them got so hidden behind their faults or caught up in our own faults, or bad times, or bad fights that you couldn't see it anymore, and one day you just stopped believing that the best existed. 

When do you say that?  When do you say, I have lost my faith, and just walk away?

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Founding Fathers

Is the spirit of the people an infallible, a permanent reliance? Is it government? Is this the kind of protection we receive in return for the rights we give up? Besides, the spirit of the times may alter, will alter. Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless. A single zealot may commence prosecutor, and better men be his victims. It can never be too often repeated, that the time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is while our rulers are honest, and ourselves united. From the conclusion of this war we shall be going down hill. It will not then be necessary to resort every moment to the people for support. They will be forgotten, therefore, and their rights disregarded. They will forget themselves, but in the sole faculty of making money, and will never think of uniting to effect a due respect for their rights. The shackles, therefore, which will not be knocked off at the conclusion of this war, will remain on us long, will be made heavier and heavier, till our rights shall revive or expire in a convulsion.

- Thomas Jefferson


Was he prescient, or just very wise?  I get so sick of hearing about the founders of our country...what they believed, thought....used as an excuse for all sorts of atrocities and ignorance.  They were prolific writers, you just have to read it.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Daily Lunch Box

Sharp Cheddar with mustard on whole wheat bread
Veggie Bootie
Cherry Tomatoes
Pickle from The Pickle Guys

Okay, not my best effort.  We had a long weekend over here at Casa Brooklyn: great, fun, but long.  My sister and I threw a huge KY Derby Party on Saturday (we are from Louisville, home of Churchill Downs, and have the party every year)  I spent a lot of last week cleaning house and finishing up some projects around the place (pics of the house in coming days....) I was so inspired by the cleaning up that I decided to have a stoop sale on Sunday....perhaps over estimating my energy, but I made $17 (totally worth the like 20 trips up and down our 3 flights of stairs!) and got rid of some stuff.  Anyway, long story short (don't really know why I say that, it's a long story longer, LOL) both B and I overslept a bit this morning and were just rushing (or I was rushing, and trying to get my 3 year old to rush, an iffey endeavor at best) to get out the door.  Got down the stairs and realized I had not only forgotten to bring his lunch, I had actually forgotten to make it! So this was a throw together, mostly leftovers from the party.  He didn't eat the tomatoes.

More wierd things I have seen


What is that you say? Under the bushes, outside of the McDonald's?

Ahh, its a sculpey fry. Oh and they glued it to the ground. Awesome.