Happy St. Patricks Day!

I literally forgot it was St. Patricks Day until I got to work this morning, oops.
It must be the Italian in me.

To all those celebrating today have fun and, most importantly, be safe!!

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New York Tank House

Loving this renovated tank house by architect Brian Messana. That place must be flooded with sunlight on days like today :)

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Hipster Traps

Hipsters...we know them, we've seem them. But now people are trying to catch them.

Artists Jeff Greenspan and Hunter Fine were spotted around NYC setting up these
'hipster traps' - containing items like PBR, American Spirits cigarettes, a fixed-gear bike chain, and wayfarer sunglasses.

te he he.

Read more here.

Raindrops

 

I never buy nice umbrellas because I inevitably misplace them. But, if I were to snag one I think it would be this cute raindrops umbrella by Michael Christoff.

Hope everyone stays warm and dry today!

Berry Obsessed

Blueberries, blackberries, you name it (and if it's a berry) I like it! I simply can't go food shopping these days without buying one pack of each.

The last two weekends I woke up craving french toast but alas, had no maple syrup. Considering this excess of berries I found myself with, I decided to try my hand at a simple blueberry syrup.

The results? Delicious! And oh-so-easy...

Want to try? Here's how:

Ingredients (for 2 servings):
approx. 1/4 cup water
             3/4 cup sugar
             1/2 bag frozen blueberries*
             Fresh raspberries
             4 slices whole wheat or multigrain bread
             3 eggs
             Bit of Canola Oil (optional, but it makes the toast a bit crispier)

(*Note: You can easily use fresh blueberries but the frozen bag will last you longer. Also - I like a lot of berries in mine but you can scale down if you want.)

1. In a pan, combine water, sugar, and blueberries, over medium heat.

2. Stir occasionally - over time the mixture should start to thicken. I usually eye-ball it to know when it's done, but it should appear thicker and the berries will have become soft making the sauce turn a darker color. When it doubt just leave it on the flame for a bit longer. (And don't worry - even if it's a little thin, it still tastes yummy. I mean, come on, it's sugar, water, and blueberries.)

3. Prepare french toast using a bit of the canola oil - I'm taking a leap an assuming most people know how to prepare French Toast.

4. Once toast is done scoop blueberry sauce onto toast and garnish with raspberries.

5. Eat, be merry, enjoy the rest of your day :)

and, Voila! 

Tales from the Weekend

Mike and I went on our first bike ride of the season on Saturday. We decided to ride on the streets along the perimeter of Prospect Park, as opposed to going into the Park (which we've done a million times.) Along the way we made a few pit stops and all-in-all it ended up being a pretty sweet afternoon.

Pit Stop #1 - Prospect Park Zoo to take a quick look at some critters...

Red Panda

North American Porcupine

We also saw two sea otters "doing the deed" which was uncomfortable enough to watch, let alone take a picture of, so you'll have to use your imagination for that one. But, it certainly made our little detour an interesting one.

Pit Stop #2 - Farmer's market, where Mike got some organic honey and I grabbed some fresh focaccia (which we ate for dinner - YUM!)

Onion Focaccia

Final Pit Stop - Flipter's for burgers... then headed back to Mike's apartment for an afternoon nap. Quite the lovely day :)

Yesterday was work, work, work - but I'm happy to report my professional website is now up and running.

What did you guys do??

Now & Later

Hello, and happy friday!


Now:
I'm admiring David Orias's wave photographs...

...and wondering how strange going to a McWedding might be.

Later:
I'm making eggplant rollatini. Yum.

I'm also hoping to spend some time in Prospect Park with Mike and eventually get some work done - on both my professional website and an art group I'm starting (more to come on that!).

Enjoy your weekend!

Dream Decorating

I can't wait to own a place so I can 'get my decorate on.' My first order of business? - Installing these amazing natural Bolefloors...

They're so custom looking! What do you think? Do you dig 'em - or are you a slave to the straight line?? :)

Happy Birthday!!!!

 

No one knows which is which

 

Bobby then Danny

Danny then Bobby

A BIG Happy Birthday(!!!) to my little brothers who turn 19 years old today.
Man, I'm getting old... But anyways, I hope you guys have as good a day as this guy :)
Love you!

Lego Film Parodies

Legos are right up there (at the top) with Lincoln Logs on my nostalgia list, so I was delighted to find that someone is using them in these cute Lego film parodies.

Check out a few more here.

Picnics in the Park

This amazing picnic trunk makes me ache for warmer weather, my boyfriend, and a romantic midnight dinner in Prospect Park. Ahh..


(Buy it here)

DrinKlip

Who doesn't love a good, colorful, space-saver for their desk?

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How hard can it be?

This morning I was excited to stumble across this cute story of how a team of scientists and engineers used over 300 helium balloons to send this little yellow house 10,000 feet in the air. The experiment was a recreation of the flying house in the Disney Pixar movie Up  - check out the video here.

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Now & Later

As a new weekly staple to LA DE DA I'm happy to kick off the first 'Now & Later' - where I'll give you a little glimpse into what I'm up to today and the rest of the weekend.

Hope you like!

Now:

I'm designing and listening to this...

Pinch me!

I never thought I'd blog the day where I got REALLY excited over a set of coasters!
That's right... coasters.

They're packaged as miniature industrial palette boards. How awesome!

Buy them here.

Enjoying the View

Photographer Gerco de Ruijter uses his camera kite to take amazing and abstract-looking pictures of dutch landscapes...

...while the blog Architectural Puddles displays (as it's name suggests) photos of puddles reflecting urban architecture...

Pretty interesting takes on pointing a camera down at something, and two very different outcomes. 'Gotta love perspective.

My (possible) Film Debut!

Mike and I are about to have some dinner and watch The Bourne Identity (with Matt Damon) which just made me realize I have yet to announce some very exciting news! This Friday, the movie The Adjustment Bureau comes out and you may know that Matt Damon is starring in it - but what you don't know is that SO AM I! Well, maybe, it's yet to be determined.

Last year a co-worker and I finagled our way into becoming extras when they were filming across the street from our office. We got into two solid takes where Matt walks right passed us - so I really think we have a fighting shot of being in the movie.  Here's hoping!!

In the meantime, check out the trailer and the picture from that day on set :)

(Me, Matt Damon & Becca)

P.S. - if it turns out we did make it into the movie, there will be a very exciting follow up post! So stay tuned!

Transitional Wedges

How cute are these canvas wedges from Dalaga? They're just perfect for the Winter/Spring limbo that is March :)