seeing double

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

all lit up

just thinking about this glorious and colorful pendant light makes my day brighter.

its fun and simple but still has wonderful design and i love that is comes disassembled. its like a little mini collaboration between you and the designer vibeke fonnesberg. 

playful, yet still elegant. it would be wonderful hanging over an old long scrubbed farm table. a perfect paring. the Bau pendant light can be found at gretel home. a sweetly colorful shop i came across on decor8.com and feel madly in love with.  

rustic redefined. mexican pottery

i wanted to do a little post on something i love even though i dont have too many pieces of it in my house. ok truth be told i only have one piece. a big white tea cup painted with luscious deep blue flowers. i like it because it crosses a line for me between the formality of english china with the casual but inspired folk painting of scandinavian and mexican pottery. also it feels amazing in my hand in the morning.

but there are tons of beautiful examples of mexican pottery. If you haven't guessed by now i love folk painting. my grandmother was a tole painter (ill be doing a post around thanksgiving on some of her work) and i think my appreciation of it came at an early age also the colors are typically vibrant and full of life. there is an effortlessness to all folk painting that attracts me but something else attracts me more. it is a style passed down through generation and generations of a culture. it adapts and changes while still adhering to traditional rules or guidelines.

here are some of my favorites from etsy.

the shapes are all irregular and weight and (typically) terra cotta materials give the pieces rustic feel. the brush strokes are honest but confident and there is a flow to the designs that are painted.

casadeoro

madeforfun

destash4u

trip to the farmers market

there is nothing like a trip to the farmers market on a bright, warm sunny day - all of the produce is swelled with ripeness and color and smell, and those samples are every bit as good as just looking at the fruit. here is a visual journey of just such an experience -

and there are wonderful shops to be seen inside of the san francisco ferry building - below are some pictures from my favoite

i love the baskets in these pictures they remind me of the baskets in this picture from my post about bohemian interiors. see the whole post here
i think they are wonderful! they are from the gardener. an inspired shop here in the bay area.

fruits of labor: top secret bean salad

this is my favorite salad to eat, make, bring, look at.... ok you get the idea. its colorful, flavorful, easy to make and generally fun! so im finally going to divulge my top secret fiesta salad recipe -


2 10oz. cans of black beans (you could make em fresh to but i see no need unless you are crazy)

2 ears of corn boiled or 2 8oz cans of whole kernel corn

1 4oz can of whole green chilies

1 medium sized orange pepper cut into small chunks

1 cup of finely shredded red cabbage (mandolin suggested)

1/4 of a small red onion

2 scallions

6 tbsp of olive oil

1 tsp of orange juice (fresh or otherwise)

1 1/2 limes zested and juiced

3 tsp of red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tsp of cumin

2 tbsp of chopped fresh cilantro

salt and pepper

ok i know it seems like a lot of ingredients but its gonna be amazing trust me - combine everything in a large bowl

drain and rinse black beans, add to bowl

drain and rinse corn if using canned or cut kernels away from cob after cooking - toast in a dry frying pan over high heat stirring constantly until skins are blistered, and dark brown (you will get a combo of all these looks but you don't want to burn them just give them a true toasting) - then add to bowl

drain and rinse whole green chillies, dice and add to bowl

dice red onion and add to bowl

slice all parts of the scallions into 1/16" rounds and add to bowl

cut orange pepper into small chunks and add to bowl

finely slice red cabbage (its easiest on a mandolin) and then run your knife through it a coupla times just to make the strands a bit shorter (so that later no one has to contend with them dangling half in half out of their mouth, ew)and add it to the bowl

then just add everything else except the cilantro and S&P. stir it with a rubber spatula so as not to mush the beans up. add S&P to taste, remember its a lot of veggies and beans so it may require more salt then you would have though - very last thing fold in the cilantro. cover and chill up to a full day ahead but at least 1 hour.
enjoy!