Archives for March 2017

03/23/2017

Ultimate Easter Basket

Forget the Easter basket spilling with flammable straw that takes months to clean up, create a display that looks so good you won’t want to eat the treats (but don’t do that). When browsing your holiday market aisle with an assault of colors so bright you need to wear sunglasses, the natural response is to stock up on all things spring and festive. Take the classic approach of this time honored tradition by focusing on chocolates created by artisans skilled in their craft and custom woven baskets that will have an appearance each holiday. We rounded up the best offerings in a few styles that will make the Easter Bunny envious.

A delicious mix of chocolates and novelties.

Begin with a solid basket, like this willow style with a cloth insert. Add shredded paper in your color scheme and style with Easter candies, pom poms and toys in likeminded colors.

Even grownups can look forward to receiving an Easter basket.

Using a fair trade basket as the starting point, pull from the colors and keep the styling simple. Surround with mini pom poms and chocolate Easter eggs to complete the look.

A simple basket with thoughtful touches.

This basket has a story. Made from 100% cotton rope in the Mountain Thread Company shop and studio in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, it shows the beauty in handcrafted work. Complimented by chocolate covered marzipan bars with packaging that recalls Easter’s past and inserted with a festive tea cloth, the basket has a soft appeal that will work past the holiday.

 

A free trade market basket shows a green approach alongside organic chocolates and toys that do not beep.

After a season of cold and dreary colors, a bright scheme is welcomed. A scattering of purple and orange carrots connect to the jewel tones of the African market bag. Add some gift items, like artful watercolors, that fit the look.

What you’ll need:

Gather quality supplies and candies that pack in more style than your local drug store variety. Begin with a festive basket, fill with colored paper or straw, and adorn with foiled wrapped candies and treats. Take the theme further with organic sweets and free trade wares that make a difference.

 

Resources:

White willow Easter basket: https://www.burtonandburton.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Branded&utm_term=burton%2Bburton&utm_content=burton%20%2B%20BURTON%20-%20E

Market baskets: www.BasketsOfAfrica.com

Blue rope basket: www.themountainthreadcompany.com/shop/colorful-easter-basket-with-handle

Stuffed bunnies, chicks: www.jellycat.com

Gold bunnies, carrots, bugs and bees, white truffle eggs: www.lindt.com

White chocolate bunny, dark chocolate purple carrots, organic filled chocolates, mini gift basket: http://www.lakechamplainchocolates.

Organic Easter candies and eggs: lilliebellefarms.com

Bunny Munny: http://m.rmpalmer.com/easter/

Yellow chubby bunny: http://www.thompsonchocolate.com/products-easter.php

Chocolate marzipan bunny bars: http://www.niederegger.de/en_GB

Mini pom poms, carrot garland: hobbylobby.com

Tissue, corrugated paper wrappings: www.nashvillewraps.com

Yellow pom poms, watercolor set: http://shop.eeboo.com

Organic jelly beans: https://www.jellybelly.com/online-candy-store

03/17/2017

Hello Tokyo: The Ultimate Bento Box Guide

Tokyo has the energy and sense of humor of a child who collects all things Pokemon or Hello Kitty. It is loud, bright and doesn’t take itself too seriously, where it’s okay to dress in colorful rain slickers or style your hair in Minnie Mouse buns. Dining also has that pop art appeal, even eating a bento meal makes you feel like you are part of a graphic novel. In Hello Tokyo author Ebony Bizys features crafts and ideas to animate your home in this quirky style. Here, she shares her tips on how to on create a bento box like a native.

A bento box is a fun craft that will get a lot of play.

Bento Tip 1

FIVES

You might be aware of the “five color rule” that says each bento (lunch box) should contain at least five colors; however, you may not know that the ideal bento should be constructed according to five sets of five rules. These are:

+ Five colors: aka (red), kiiro (yellow), midori (green), kuro (black), shiro (white)

+ Five cooking methods: niru (simmer), musu (steam), yaku (grill), ageru (fry), tsukuru (create).

+ Five flavors: shiokarai (salty), suppai (sour), amai (sweet), nigai (bitter), karai (spicy)

+ Five senses: miru (see), kiku (hear), kyukaku (smell), ajiwau (taste), fureru (touch)

+ Five viewpoints or outlooks (gokan no mon): a set of Buddhist principles on the appropriate state of mind when consuming food I have a little “bento” drawer in my mini Shimokitazawa apartment. It’s full of cute accessories that inspire me to make bento boxes: bento dividers, bento belts, bento patties, sauce containers, and onigiri (rice ball) wrappers.

Follow the five color and idea rule to a successful bento.

There is another entire cupboard dedicated to furoshiki (wrapping cloth) used for bento wrapping. I also have a collection of bento lunch bags and bento freezer packs. When you buy refrigerated goods from fancier supermarkets in Tokyo, you often receive little refrigerator packs taped onto the cold goods. These reusable packs are great for keeping your bento fresh. You can also buy cute versions of these, such as heart shaped cold packs with sparkle dust inside and so on.

A bento is composed with a thoughtful assemblage of accessories.

Many Japanese stores, such as Daiso, sell a large range of bento accessories and essentials, such as seaweed punches, picks for small vegetables, and other obento items.

Look for Bento pieces online or make a trip to Japan where they are plentiful.

Bento Tip 2

BENTO DIVIDERS

Separate items in your bento with colorful dividers. Colored faux grass? So cute! This little fake lettuce divider has small perforations, allowing you to fit the divider perfectly to your bento box. For a more eco-friendly version, pick up silicone dividers such as the lilac doily option shown below.

Bento dividers are a colorful way to keep foods separated.

Bento Tip 3

ONIGIRI WRAPPERS

There is nothing more pleasurable than biting into an onigiri with crunchy seaweed. In order to keep the seaweed crunchy, you’ll need to pack your onigiri in one of these wrappers, which keep the rice and seaweed apart. Imagine this cheery little face waiting to greet you at lunch!

Even a bento box can benefit from styled accessories, like this onigiri wrapper that keeps rice fresh.

Bento Tip 4

BENTO PATTIES

Bento patties are a fantastic and colorful way to keep your obento ingredients separated and fresh until you are ready to enjoy your obento.

Divide each little osozai (side dish) with a bento patty. Try mixing a variety of colors and patterns. I’ve found some in sweet patterns such as gingham, stripes, and polka dots. If you have a green osozai, such as spinach or lettuce, try using a contrasting patty for aesthetic effect. You can also find silicone versions of bento patties, which can be reused without any reheating issues.

Bento patties act as miniature plates and are can be reused.

Bento Tip 5

BENTO PICKS

Bento picks can help to arrange little items—such as a cube of cheese, a small roll of ham, a mini tomato, or a pickled vegetable—and keep them in place in your bento. They also make eating these items a lot easier. The variety of bento picks available in Tokyo is enormous, but you may also be able to find some at your local Japanese market.

Stylish picks for smaller items jam in more color without taking up space.

Bento Tip 6

SUPERMARKET OBENTO

A delicious and convenient obento is never too far away in Tokyo. Most supermarkets and convenience stores sell colorful and inexpensive obento at all hours of the day. Many department stores have a basement food level where you can find delicious obento. These are called depachika obento: depa is short for “department store,” and chika means “basement.”

It’s ridiculous just how tasty, cheap, colorful, and presumably healthy(ish) these obento are!

An obento fix can easily be granted in Tokyo, where supermarkets and convenience stores offer them at all hours.

Bento Tip 7

OBENTO FUROSHIKI

Furoshiki are cloths used to wrap many objects, particularly obento. They are such a pretty way to transport your lunch, and provide a lovely little impromptu tablecloth, too. There are many types of furoshiki and various ways of wrapping them. In true Japanese style, there is an entire art to furoshiki wrapping, and you can find many tutorials on the Internet.

Furoshiki wrapping cloths is another accessory to add more style and function to your meal.

Hello Tokyo is officially available on March 28.

Hello Tokyo is your guide to this spirited lifestyle.

03/15/2017

Homemade Snow Cones

When life gives you snow make snow cones. Such is the motto I practiced when you experience the arrival of crocuses one week and then faced with a record blizzard the following. With only so many sled runs and ice forts to create when school is cancelled, we used our snow for an alternative kind of treat.

Turn snow into a delicacy with hand made snow cones.

What you’ll need:

Fresh snow

Vitamin Water (any flavored powder or liquid drink works)

Gummy vitamins

Cupcake holder

Directions:

Scoop a ball of snow into a cupcake cup holder. Add flavored water. Garnish with a gummy bear. Enjoy.

03/10/2017

Ultimate Wallpaper Guide

Wallpaper has evolved from manor house motifs and the loud prints of a Palm Beach cocktail dress (though we love those too.) Updated selections will give any room pizzazz. Choose from a colorful tableaux resembling Andy Warhol’s take on wildflowers to artistic compositions a muralist would create. Installation options also vary. There is the classic pasted paper method or–renters and dorm residents take note–self adhesive varieties.

Forget the artwork, the floral infused color of this design direct a room’s theme that is both modern and personalized.

 

  1. NYC Water Towers by Tom Slaughter 2. Parisian Dandelions 3. Connect Wash on White 4. Cloud Garden 5. Hoya 6. Hydrangeas 7. Jungle Dream 8. Small Flowers 10. Drawing Cactus Pattern 11. Lovely Gingham 12. Confetti 13. Pina 14. Cactus Spirit
03/01/2017

The Art of Adding Wallpaper – Finer Things by Christiane Lemieux Part II

Congratulations, if you read past the headline and are considering wallpaper in your home, the treatment will place you in a stylish coterie. Papered walls have glamorized rooms throughout history, shifting a functional room into a descriptive art piece. It’s not a simple addition, permanently sealing a print to your room’s wall is a decision as weighty as converting a shed or leaving the animal shelter with a new pet. While trends evolve, wallpaper styles adjust to the times but they will always add to a room’s gushing with love factor.

Fabric is used as wallpaper above the fireplace. The pattern, texture and color creates a layered contemporary classic at London’s Ham Yard Hotel. Copyright by Horst P. Horst / Vogue / OTTO / Conde Nast

In Christiane Lemieux’s latest design book, The Finer Things, she devotes a section to wallpaper. Lemieux is a proponent of quality and personalized style, dressing a room in a sophisticated look like a Parisian wearing a hat.

The Gottwald bathroom in Richmond, Virginia, is not your typical bathing experience. The addition of wallpaper with blended pieces amps the luxury factor, creating a design more expected in the lobby of a lux hotel. Courtesy of Bunny Williams.

Lemieux Guidelines: What You Need to Know About Wallpaper:

  1. History: Wallpaper descended from tapestries, which were used to warm up the interiors of those drafty old homes.
  2. Why It Stuck: A more decorative, affordable option than weighty works of art.
  3. Enduring Evolution: Still holds the same composite as papers dating back to the 17th century, just updated with the trends.
  4. Composition: When selecting papers, research on how it was made–hand painted, wood block, silkscreen techniques–or current developments like digital printing.
  5. Installation: Begin by priming the walls beforehand the way you would with paint, which allows the paper to adhere correctly. Though wallpapering a room is an intricate process that is more involved than coating a wall with paint, a project where considering an expert is a sensible expense.
  6. How Much Is Needed: While square footage in relation to the amount in a roll will make you dust off your math skills, err on over buying. Wallpaper will be cut and tossed due to the complexities of a room’s layout from the doors, windows etc.

The size and simple quality of this rouge grass cloth print by Phillip Jeffries is a simple installation that brings in a unique element to the room via the tactile feel and shade. Copyright by Benjamin Benschneider / OTTO

The Finer Things. Copyright © 2016 by Christiane Lemieux. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

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