Jetting Off (For A Day)

I'm headed to Ohio and back.  Tons (TONS) of work crammed into an 8 hour work day, preceded and followed by a flight... not the easiest way to do a Tuesday.  Never the less, it must be done.  And, it will make me all the more grateful for holiday vacation time! 

I wish I could say that there was a post coming up later today, but nope.  I'm taking a bit of a hiatus.  See you all tomorrow!

Laser cut air plane charm found on Etsy (wouldn't it make a cute Christmas tree ornament?!) 

Congratulations!!!

My best friend and her boyfriend got engaged last Saturday night!  Congrats Steph & Jeff; the future Mr. n' Mrs. Snow!!!  Wishing you a long life filled with love, adventure and lots of giggling.  See you both very, very soon!

Image via Saipua

Four for Friday

Happy end of the week!  It's the last weekend before Christmas, time to wrap up the shopping!  I have a few fun things planned; some sister/sister time, a double date on Saturday night, possibly some pre-holiday baking, and a whole lot of apartment clean and laundry doing (yuck).  It's gotta get done before I take off for Cali next week!

- So I think I'm way behind on this one (like WAY behind) but... Ikea Hakers is rad.  If you own Ikea junk and want to make it way (WAY) awesome-er, go scout this site!

- Have Cake, Will Travel is probably the most beautiful vegan cooking blog I've ever come across.  The recipes sound good too!

- Hey, look at Hey Look!  Lots of fun ideas for styling your place and space up!
- And (because it's been a loooong week) I'm  really diggin' the winter-white, seasonal sparkle going on in this cup of cheer!

Happy Birthday Wishes!

Birthday wishes have come full circle!  My little sister Steena was the first to get a w&w B-day shout-out.  And her birthday is now upon us once more.  Tomorrow she turns 22!  Crazy!!!  That sounds way too old for a baby sister.  I can still see her at four, chasing my siblings and I around the house, little fingers outstretched and jaws gnashin!  (she was a biter)  Anywhooo, happy birthday TT!

Images via 100 Layer Cake

Eeep! Sorry!!!

I've been a very bad blogger this week.  Sorry guys!  Work was bizzzz-erkkkk this week.  Like out of this world nutz-o!  But, I'm going to try harder.  Look into these sad puppy eyes and say you'll forgive my absence?!

Puppy eyes via XO Photography on Flickr

Make a wreath this year!  Need some help?  Take a class!  East coast-ers, head to Brooklyn and sign up for a one on one tutorial with the Little Flower School gals, hosted at Saipua (and it's only $45!!!).  If you're a west-sider, meet up with Amy Merrick in Portland!  And if you fall somewhere north, south or in the middle of these two classes (or if you're just lazy) check out Design Sponge for an online tutorial.

P.S. Need wreath-y inspiration?  Check out these wreath posts from last year: peppers, citrus, herbs, blossoms and veggies!

Images, clockwise from upper left:
Amy Merrick, Design Sponge (wreath by Amy Merrick) and

Four for Friday

The chilly weather is finally setting in; we're down to the high 30s/ low 40s phase that just precedes the coming of winter. It has me feeling giddy for color and all things Christmas!  This Friday's four are festive themed and rainbow hued, enjoy!

- 100 Layer Cake has the full skinny on neon-flecked holiday decor!  While is may sound a bit nontraditional, it's absolute loveliness.  Promise!  Go check it out!!!

- Glitter like a ornament on the tree with sparkly nails!  A Cozy Kitchen has the how-to.  I especially love the teal-y ones with silver.  The effect reminds me of a snow storm!!!

- Love it or hate it?  Yeah, we're talking fruit cake.  Always With Butter has a new version dubbed "Earl's Favorite Cake" in honor of her great grandpa.  I've honestly, never ever tried fruit cake.  But I love spice cakes and have a shameful affinity for candied fruit.  So I'm thinking, I'd probably dig it!

- Ever seen this hil-ar-eeeeeee-ous holiday fete drinking guide?  Go over to Grub Street  for a bigger image.  So funny.  Where do you fall?  Found on A Cup Of Joe.

12 Days of Cookies

Lottie = Doof is counting down the 12 Days of Cookies!  The bake-blog is already on Day 4: Rugelach.  Yumzers.  Already shared were Evergreen Shortbread, Fig and Date Swirls and Maple Pecan Cookies!  Christmas cookies are so totally one of my favorite things.  Not just the eating of them.  The making, the baking, the plating and sharing!  If I did a remix of Julie Andrews' My Favorite Things, Christmas cookies would come after doggies, bunnies, flowers, and coffee.

Trinkets/ Mociun

Mociun is my new favorite girly-trinket-shop!  There are some incredibly creative (and super pretty!) pieces on these cyber shelves.  Their ceramics remind me of the gorgeous handmade vessels that decorated my grandparents' house.  (This one is my fave!)  The jewelry is what I'm really crazy about though.  Check out all their goodies!  Mociun also has some women's apparel and accessories, plus a few men's neckties.


Found via Unruly Things

Happy Birthday

Whim & Whimsy is 1 year old!  Actually it was a year old last Friday, but I've been so swamped at work that it went by unnoticed.  (Eeek, sorry w&w!)  On one hand, it's flown by quite quickly and on the other, it seems like w&w has always been around.

In honor of the blog's B-day, I'm going to share a new discovery: Lael Cakes.  Boy, have I been missing out on pretty frosting covered concoctions!  Whilst the decorations on Lael Cakes are enough to make me fall in love, they also happen to be vegan and gluten free.  Score!  (And of course, they're made to order; with a wealth of flavor combinations to choose from!)  Check out more on the Lael blog.

Lael Cakes found via Brooklyn Bride

Four for Friday

Happy first weekend of December!  I've got a full weekend planned.  The BF and I are going to get a little Christmas tree.  Yippie!  I'm going to meet up for brunch with a buddy visiting from Germany and some college friends.  On Saturday night it's celebration time, a 31st birthday backyard-BBQ is going down in Bushwick!  I've got tons of gift shopping to do, recipes waiting for experimentation, illustration projects to work on and a hefty load of apartment cleaning to kick-off.  I'm determined to do it all.  The cold weather does that for me.  I get really efficient.  Aaaaawe-some!!!

Have a fab weekend & see you Monday : )

- Punchfork is my newest online, real-time recipe box.  They've got a vegetarian search category at the tippy top of the page!

- Newest wall paper obsession?  Everything from Turner Pocock.

- Wear & carry, space & place, paper & prints... Supermarket has all the artsy duds you could wish for.

- The 15 DIY Holiday Crafts are so sweet.  I wish I had time to make them all!  Hopefully I'll get to a few of them before December wraps.

Minty Fresh

A ultra-icy-cool Hanneli Mustaparta models Dolce & Gabbana's newest fine jewelry for Vogue. Styling herself, she chose, "to experiment with this jewelry without making it look boho chic. That’s why I wore my hair straight and chose a shirt with very strong lines. I buttoned it up so it doesn’t look sexy. It’s just kind of nerdy and then you have these amazing, beautiful earrings".

Of her other look she quipped, “The necklace with all its charms had this Italian feeling so I wanted to try lace. It’s a very pretty combination, and if it’s just a lace top it can be for day or if it’s a dress it could work for evening. I also tried it with a knit sweater and it worked in a completely different way; it was more casual.”

Wouldn't you love one of these looks for a holiday party?  Devastatingly refined whilst young and modern!

December

Whoa!  Can you believe it's December already?!!!  Break out the sweaters, gloves and long underwear.  Bring back the extra blankets too!

Cozy throws from Donna Karan Home

YeeeeeeHaw!

From Knoxville, Tennessee comes sassy sweetness in the form of letterpress loveliness; YeeHaw!  The YeeHaw shop is filled with pages (and pages!) of hand-crafted products, executed on recycled paper, with re-purposed inks, original imagery and beautiful antique typography.  YeeHaw declares, "if this don't light your fire, your wood is wet."  I love 'em for that line alone!  (Fortunately their designs are gorgeous too!!!)  The three farmer's market posters above are my faves.  There are tons more goodies over at Etsy though, including calendars, journals, cards and much (much!) more.

Refresh

One of my favorite blogs Hither and Thither just had itself made over.  This spot is one of the very first blogs I began following.  They definitely helped inspire w&w.  Once I saw them out in New York.  I know that sounds like I'm some creepy stalker- but it was by chance.  I swear.  When they passed me I was actually stalking watching doggies play at the dog park.

So anyway, go check out the revamped site and read all about the husband/wife blogging duo's adventures (though they're more of a trifecta these days, with the recent addition of their wee-one... not that the baby actually blogs or anything- yet.)

They've got lots of NYC themed posts like this trip to the Warby Parker Holiday Bazar, coffeehouse guides and carousel encounters.  The odd recipe is thrown in too (Carmel Pears)!!!  It's the same good stuff with a new hat on.

Good Ol' Cornbread

I've made 5 loaves of cornbread in the last week.  The first 3 were trials, to work out the kinks in my gluten free, vegan recipe.  The fourth and fifth loaf were for Thanksgiving.  They were a hit!

The leftovers were just a delicious (moist and crumbly) as the day they were baked.   This recipe is definitely something I'd happily whip up every winter week.  I love the idea of coming home after a long day at work, making a quick soup or stew and having a thick cube of cornbread ready and waiting!

Also, just a thought... next time I make this recipe I'll try topping the batter with some fresh kernel corn.  Rustic texture.  Mmmmm 


Good Ol' Cornbread

4 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer & 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
1/3 cup non-dairy milk (I used light vanilla soy milk but you could use hemp, almond, rice, coconut, etc.)
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Earth Balance vegan butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup well-mashed sweet potato (or yam)
1/4 to 1/2 cup raw brown sugar (use more if you like sweet cornbread, less if you prefer savory)
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup sweet sorgum flour
1/3 cup yellow corn meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

- In a small bowl combine egg replacer and 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk and whisk together until it has a runny consistency.
- In another small bowl combine 1/3 cup non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar.  Let the mixture sit for a few minutes until it curdles.
- In a large mixing bowl combine egg replacer, curdled milk, melted vegan butter, vanilla, mashed sweet potato and raw sugar.
- In a small bowl combine flours, corn meal, baking powder, xanthan (or guar) gum, baking soda and salt.
- Pour dry ingredients into the large mixing bowl and fold together until just combined.  Don't over mix, it should be fluffy batter.  If you feel the batter is too sticky add a little more sweet sorgum flour.
- Line a 1lb bread pan with parchment or a paper liner.  (You can also oil the pan or use a disposable paper bread pan.)
- Transfer batter to the pan and bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees.
- Remove from the oven and let cool.  Nibble immediately or wrap in plastic wrap to keep it fresh for later!

*  You could also try corn bread muffins.  Just watch the oven because they'll bake much, much faster!

Etsy Love/ Coco Draws

The print shop Coco Draws is filled with the chic, charming, classic objects every gal covets.  Illustrator Caroline Wang is a working artist, living in Southern California.  Check out more on her blog and Flickr.

Three flirty little prints in these floating lacquer frames would make such a great holiday gift for the girly-girl on your list!

Just In Case...

For all you American readers, have a happy Thanksgiving holiday!  Tomorrow I'm waking up early, meeting up with my little sis, her BF, my BF and heading to the Macy's parade.  We're going to stake out a spot in Herald Square (I would argue the best location for parade watching) and marvel at the balloons as they go by!  Then our troupe is headed out to my BF's parents' home for dinner.  I'm making  gluten free/ vegan cornbread plus a roasted carrot and beet dish. 

In case you're shy a dish, dessert, drink or two check out these delicious looking recipes!

- First things first- my cocktail is a whiskey sour.  Meet my new found holiday drink: the Boston Whiskey Sour.  Complete with apples, maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon!

- For something  non-alchy  to sip on, consider a Carmel Apple Cider.  Decadent, yes? 

- Someone say cranberry sauce?  Duh.  It's Thanksgiving.  I'm determine to make this recipe for Red Wine Cranberry Sauce in the upcoming month.  It looks so, so, so good.

- Maybe instead of baked stuffing try Quinoa with Roasted Chanterelle Mushrooms.  Mmmmmm

- Straight-from-the-1960s comes Corn Pudding casserole.  This comfort dish has been earmarked as a holiday essential in my family (for decades).  I used to bake it for college potlucks too!  Always a hit.

- I love Brussels sprouts.  And I like apples and hazlenuts in/on just about anything.  These shredded sprout salads with apples and hazelnuts are the fresh green dishes that every table needs!

- In need of a squash dish?  A plate of Crusted Butternut would also fit the bill!

- Home baked Dinner Rolls anyone?  Make them gluten free so everyone can enjoy!

- Maybe you want to do a non-pie dessert?  There is no doubt in my mind that this Bourbon Pumpkin Cheescake with Sugared Berries would get raves.  It's goreous!

- This Baked Pumpkin Sour Cream Pudding sounds like a winner too.

- When you have Turkey leftovers (or in my case Tofurky leftovers) get wild and try a Ruben instead of the classic turkey, cranberry sauce and gravy sandwich.  Gotta try this one!  I love Rubens.  Love.  Love.  Love!  Have it with another couple leftover-treats: a Pumpkin Pie Milkshake and slice of Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake!

Holiday Card Swap!

I love this idea!  For more details visit Brooklyn Bride.  On a sim note, have you already picket out your holiday cards?  I was scouting the tables and shelves over at Paper Presentation on my lunch hour one day last week.  I also did quite a bit of Etsy reconnaissance.  I'm liking this snowflake, these pine cones or possibly one of the NYC themed cards at Moontree Letterpress (that one of the dog park is soooo cute)!

Image by Scout's Honor Co

Pretty (cool) Picture/ Grady McFerrin

I was instantly a fan or Grady McFerrin. He's got loads of great stuff on tumbler too.  He describes himself as, "[someone] who’s kind of obsessed with all things “Olde”.  (See why I'm a fan?!)  He's also a southern Californian residing in Brooklyn.  (Bonus points!!!)  I really like these patterns and wine labels!

Found via Where The Lovely Things Are

Four for Friday

Have a lovely autumn weekend-before-the-big-one.  (The big one being next week's 4-day weekend!)  I'm going to help my lil sis look for winter coats.  (It's getting chilly here!)  I also want to do some trial-baking/cooking so that I'm prepared for next Thursday.  I also need to re-pot an orchid, clean my floors, work on illustration projects, plan a holiday party and do a few loads of laundry.  All that jazz will not be happening.  But acnowleding to-do's get's me one step closer : )

Enjoy your weekend and today's FfF! 

- I discovered  Real Sustenance while looking for vegan GF cornbread recipe.  This website is packed full of recipes I need to try!!!

- Lottie Loves features the cutest and quirkiest posts.  The awesome DIY crafty projects are by far my favorite things within!

- Sweet Paul's holiday edition is out!  There are tooooo many goodies within; the canning/jarring article is aaaa-mazing and I'm in love with this 'Scotty trimmed tree!

- I'll be lurking around Darkroom for a while, pining after things I don't need and wont allow myself to buy.  If I were going to splurge... I'd go for this hand-knit pouf, this scarf and these necklaces!

Etsy Love/ Odd & Old

French nicknacks!  Vintage enamel ware, retro handbags, aged treasures for every corner of your home!  I especially love this orange clutch and these hair pins.

Found via Automatism

Ballet & Chloe

Two of my favorite things; Chloe apparel and a pas de deux!  Found via {frolic}

Trinkets/ Gustav Reyes

Gustav Reyes pieces transcend jewelry, they are wearable art!!!  First, I will admit my bias: I've been a fan of wood ornaments for-ev.  But, these are incredibly sophisticated.  Not your run-of-the-mill cheap-o bangles.  I want to stack a couple of these and wear them out to holiday parties, the ballet, a special date with the BF... of course I'd also be wearing them all day at work.  All day.  Maybe everyday.  Cuz they're edgy, modern and effortlessly cool.  (Plus, I get kicks making all the chic galls in the design office envious.  Keehehe.)

Found via Wit & Delight

Type Happy/ Holt

I'm such a sucker for all things floral.  Isn't this just the prettiest decorative typeface?!!!  I love the "L" of lupine blooms and the "J" made of strawberries (in case you're a bit confused, strawberry is jarðarber in Icelandic). Font creator, Stella Björg says the letters are based on the flora and fauna of Ugluholt (Holt for short).  Check out more of Björg's work on Behance.

Found on Typography Served

Parisian Pictures

As promised, here are a few of my favorite photos from the trip!