for love of : small batch productions

i came upon this gorgeous etsy shop : small batch production and instantly loved everything about it - from the quilt inspired patterns to the minimalist shop photographs. claire creates and sews all of her designs with sustainable materials which amazing! and they can be composted when its their time. i so admire the elegant simplicity of her collection and would love to have that dishtowel in my kitchen and the tote for the beach!

go check out claire's shop~

wine list wednesday

so today im reviewing a renwood 2006 serria foothills  zinfandel - if you saw my post from last week you may remember my little rant about how im on a bit of a zin kick at the moment - so i decided to take a chance on this bottle of zin for the week and sadly i must say i was disappointed. 

over all the flavors werent bad, just unbalanced. it was kinda clumsy - like a big red apple-y black current explosion with not much else to reign it in. i must admit im partial to drier wines and dry this is not... not even a hint of it to speak of. but it you like big voluptuous fruity wines then this might be the one for you - 

food pairing : bbq ... maybe all that hot spicy savory goodness would be a nice compliment to all the fruit. 

bagged

so there are some things in life that i just cant seem to get right and so i do what any normal human would do .... ignore them until dire straights hit....


top of this list would be shopping for a new cell phone. my last phone was more or less held together with duct-tape and chewing gum ....


the other thing near the top is bag shopping ... dont ask me why.. but i can never seem to find one that i like, in the right color at the right price. unless they are clutches .. i seem to have no problem finding or purchasing those ... alas its quite hard to fit a loaf of bread or a water bottle in one. 


case and point i love this little clutch from inaiko 

but i digress.... so on to 


exhibit A: a 7 yr old navy blue longchamp market bag ... with NO interior lining, because somewhere along the line it started to come apart and then when i looked yesterday it is completely gone. 

so ive put together a preliminary line-up.......................

 these two beauties, the baule & sacco, from the lovely 2011 line at AI_  so pretty but im not quite sure how to get my hands on them....italy~~

brown croc hobo bag : patkas

simple, classic, sure to hold everything i need in its place - 

 the weekender tote in blue and white strip ticking : death in texas 

i love the blue ticking, who doesnt? and the little bits of leather trim. perfect. 

sawyer bag : plumo         frida bag : plumo

im really loving the last two ... maybe a bit easier to get my hands on? UK~

interior inspiration : Coco & Igor

im so excited! to release two new collections, the ZOLA and HUNT collections, in the shop today,and i will be posting some of the inspiration behind them over the week but for a wonderful sneak peek head over to illseen,illsaid. jane has written up a lovely post. 


i hope you all enjoyed your weekend... inbetween rain drops i watched Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, directed by jan kounen- i find more and more that when watching a movie, what im actually watching is the sets. i had to watch the king's speech a few times to be able to tell you what actually happened in the movie but the set, i think i can map out each scene. Coco & Igor was no different. its streaming on netflix at the moment. the the set becomes the bonding point for the movie, which in all honesty is pretty slow and not terribly compelling, but the sets...

it plays on chanel's iconic black and white fashions and stravinsky's fame as a composer - the notes on a page, the alternating keys on a piano - through the sets their world seems to flow seamlessly together - the majority of the movie takes place within chanel's home. 

i believe the sets are designed by marie-helene sulmoni and yves fournier, but i had a very hard time confirming this, so if i am mistaken please correct me. what ever the case, they are truly inspirational, with too many details to point out but i hope you'll enjoy lingering over them as much as i have. i also couldnt resist this little bowl, so humble yet elegant especially paired with that crystal steamware. 

flowers for friday

since there was such love for the flowers last friday thought i share some of my favorites this week - 


parrot tulips - love 'em. ive pretty much decided that they are my favorite flower. they start out looking one way and as they grow and open they change so much. the white with green accent are my absolute favorite but these pretty pink ladies arent too shabby either ... oh they come in orange too!

fruits of labor : grao de bico

so i haven't done one of these for a while and i think im long over due. the weather here in SF has been so grey and raw the last few weeks but this recipe is definitely helping to keep things warm and cozy - grao de bico or chick peas, portuguese style. 

this recipe is kinda special because it comes from my favorite cookbook - peter hunt's cape cod cookbook. it was published in 1962 and is an amazing collection of recipes. this book, over the last year, has become very important to me and at some point i want to give it the full post it deserves - but for now - here is one little recipe from its pages. 

1 lb of dried chick peas

1 package of linguica

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon vinegar 

1 bay leaf

wash peas. soak overnight in enough cold water to cover. drain peas and place in a kettle. cover with fresh cold water (just enough so the tops of the peas are covered) add sausage, cut into bite sized pieces, onion, salt, vinegar and bay leaf. bring to a boil. reduce heat to low and cook 3 hours. 


serve with crusty bread and fresh chopped parsley. its yummy, trust me. 


** you may have to add a bit of water over the course of the 3 hours. 
*** the bay leaf is my addition 




p.s. what do you think of the bowl?

wine list wednesday : bogle "the phantom"

a delicious red blend, this bottle of Bogle "the phantom" blends three different grapes : petite sirah, old vine zinfandel and mourvedre. and this trio is pretty great. 


ive been on a zinfandel kick for a while now (the red kinds, not the white) and this satisfies all of the things ive been loving about zins - nice big hearty flavor, fruit forward ripe berries and velvety texture but with an added mysteriousness ;) - that being a nice peppery accent and warming spice thing going on below the surface.

i love a wine that can stand up to pizza and this is just the one i think - at $15 it would be fun to get a group of friends for a friday night and make your own pizzas while sipping glasses of this. 


and you should be able to find it at wholefoods and traderjoes  

in bed : the finished product

i finally finished up things in my little bedroom nook - i've been coveting a really worn but beautiful oriental rug for a long time now and while i was back on the east coast i found this beauty. i absolutely love love love it! i scored that amazing yellow 70's adjustable lamp at an flea market a few weeks back and my love for chairs has obviously spread to even the smallest of corners in my house - 


i posted about the bedding here if youre curious - 

hope you like it, i know ill be going to sleep with very sweet dreams  

i do: an accessories collection

a little peek of a new little collection. sometimes the details make all the difference - 

look for the full collection to be released on wednesday

simple sundays

flowers for friday

its friday! im off to the floral studio this morning after a nice long break, not much going on in the way of design in the dead of winter but the madness is about to start all over again and im looking forward to the upcoming season of brides and bouquets - 

im getting back into the swing of things here too. cataloguing, washing and organizing all the treasures ive brought back with me after my trip. I can not wait to get them all in the shop. 

 i've added a few yellow tulips to the 3 bunches of daffodils just for some textural contrast. i hope everyone will have a lovely weekend and pick-up some daffodils. they bring such happy thoughts of spring.

seeing double

 ive been noticing that my legwear seems to be matching my surroundings - 
just a few fun photos to share.... 

wine list wednesday

sean minor's 2009 pinot noir is simply tops. i recently discovered it, quite by accident and now ive brought it to every party, house warming and event ive attended in the recent past. 

i always find myself drawn to wines from the Carneros region of napa valley and this wine is no exception.  


its smooth and elegant and so drinkable - it has a whole mouth feel and a velvety finish, just a hit of dryness and ripe berry fruits all perfectly punctuated by the spiciness of black pepper - but what is remarkable it the restraint this wine shows-


none of these flavors hit you over the head and each mouthful is a further discovery - at around 17$ a bottle i highly recommend discovering this wine for yourself. 

auction highlights

last night i attended an auction. in a nut shell i had an absolute blast, chatted with some interesting people and came away with a few choice things. the highlight was a bidding war over a rug - to everyone in the room it looked like a tattered relic, but the bidders obviously knew something the rest of us did not and for 8 tense minutes (an eternity in the auction world) everyone waited on baited breath at the price of this old carpet kept rising and rising, until the winning bidder entered a 1,000 increase to the price and walked away with his prize. 

i snapped few photos at the preview earlier in the afternoon - i like to imagine the woman who would have worn these things or had these items in their home. 

the tattered french dressing chair was so romantic and melancholy it made my heart ache and this butterfly settee - would have been amazing recovered i loved the lines - a blue ticking perhaps or a big graphic print? 

wine list wednesday

Happy wednesday! im off to an auction this evening and im quite excited about the whole event- hoping to post a few pic tomorrow. 


this wine this wednesday is a bottle of Dry Creek fume blanc 2008. the first thing to notice is the bright nose on this wine - citrus fruit and the sweetness of candied orange blossom. 

its perfect just for sipping as its quite well balanced or it would be nice with a light pasta dish - fresh peas a little bur blanc sauce. yum!


its sweet on the tongue with a nice punch of acid, grassier on the finish and has a nice refreshing ending. 


overall i liked it and at around 12$ a bottle its worth a try. 

looks to love

there are so many gorgeous looks out there this spring.... i was at my mom's house this weekend and saw the new talbots catalogue - all im going to say is wow!! they really have stepped up their game. i cant believe it but ive ordered this skirt and the pretty blush top in the bottom photo. ill let you know! but go check out their gorgeous new items and ad campaign. 

also on my list for spring - prints!and anthropologie has got it covered. im hoping this dress will be my go too for the season - it should be arriving soon. and i love the elegance of the outfit to the right - big 40's sleeve on the top and that long skirt. all in a modern twist of stripes and florals. also check out their feb'11 catalogue if you havent yet 




and this ring just has me over the moon. ive always loved big vintage cocktail rings and i might have to add this piece of costume jewelry to my collection - 

what looks do you love this spring ??

home: vanessa bruno

i've had a very busy weekend - hitting what feels like every antique show and shop in the the massachusetts area. it has been wonderful so far and im looking forward to maine this week and an auction that looks quite promising. 


i am constantly thinking of how to make my life more simple in style and function. Vanesso Bruno is a constant source of inspiration - she manages to capture simple but chic in the same breath. she mixes suede sling chairs with airy floral pillows, makes wonderful use of paper lanterns and has just the right amount of farmhouse chic going on - whats not to love in the long wooden table. if you give the images a closer look there are so many carefully but care-free details to love. 

enjoy! im hitting the road but ill see  you back here tomorrow - 






images via: domino and photographs by birgittawolfgangdreger via thestylefiles