Sponsor Highlight : Dace

I am happy to introduce Black Eiffel sponsor Dace. I've previously mentioned them here, but wanted to let you know about their Spring collection and also their current promotion which is a free Dace illustration by Dallas Shaw with purchase. Again they've done such a great job with their photograph and styling -- love.




If you would like to become a Black Eiffel sponsor, email : blackeiffel@gmail.com for rates and more information.

fashionable premiere dresses

I thought that the nude-coloured Grecian-style Donna Kara dress that Jennifer Aniston wore to her opening premiere was gorgeous. I like, I want. Enough already with the fake publicity romance though!

On the other hand, there has been controversy over Sarah Jessica Parker's choice of dresses at another premiere. Some people think it's intricately beautiful, some people think it's hideous. I don't personally think its the worst thing I've ever seen. It's a bit frilly, but I might even wear it myself! What do you think?

Judy Kaufmann

Enjoyed seeing these etsy prints by Judy Kaufmann from Barcelona. Aren't they graphic and lovely?

Linnea's Lights

I received a Linnea's Lights candle in the mail the other day, and not only is the packaging beautiful, (including a sweet little matchbox under the lid) but the smell and way these candles burn is wonderful. Find them at these retailers. Next time I want to try Cassis, Magnolia, or Currant Rouge can't decide...

Bonus -- during the month of April Linnea's Lights is donating 10% of proceeds to Kyle's Treehouse for Autism awareness.

Homemade paneer

Much like baking your own bread, there is a huge sense of accomplishment to making your own cheese. Even one as simple as paneer.

{paneer}

Paneer is the fresh cheese used in many Indian recipes. It takes two ingredients that you can purchase at any minimart, virtually no skills, and very little time in the kitchen. If you serve it to people, they are almost universally awed.

{curds, whey}

You need: whole milk + lime juice. For every half gallon of milk you need the juice from one lime. Easy to remember, right?
Basic* directions: Boil the milk, turn the heat down slightly and add the acid, then stir and wait until large curds form and separate out. Pour it into a cheesecloth (I used a lightweight dish towel, because I don't have cheesecloth) and let it drip for half an hour. Stick in the fridge for a few hours to chill and solidify.

{paneer hanging}

We were having company, so I used a full gallon of milk and got a ball of paneer that I could cup with two hands, enough to make six good sized servings. Yes, it takes a lot of milk for not a huge amount of cheese. And it's totally worth it. We used it to make paneer curry with peas. It was delicious.

{paneer, cut}

Generally, I like my cheese salty, but paneer seems to be traditionally unsalted. And this is fine, really, because it's mostly used in dishes with tons of spice and their own dose of salt. But if I were to want to snack on it, I think I would add a bit of salt.

*For a wonderfully detailed description of the process, hop over here.

Update on the Spring Cleaning

Good morning, Sara Celi here.

The shelves in the garage are up, and they look great. It meant that this weekend, I started the task of cleaning out my second closet.

That's when I realized something.

For better or worse, most of us are carting around junk we don't need. As I pulled out box after box, I started laughing harder and harder. Why do I need old, empty boxes? Why was I still hanging onto old papers, or a microwave I didn't use?

The answer is probably harder than I want to explore. I remember when I moved into the place, I had extra boxes and stuff I knew I couldn't use. But for some reason, I didn't want to part with all of it. I wanted to save it. I felt like I might need the microwave, or use the old boxes, or need to reference the papers.

I haven't.

Instead of filling up the shelves with the junk, I just tossed it. A lot of it. I carted stuff down to the dumpster and left it behind for good.

You know what? It feels great.

The only thing I didn't toss is the microwave. That went in a pile for donation.

new mommy and daddy card designs

I will soon be launching a new line of mommy and daddy card designs! See above for Shanna's new mommy cards, hot off the press. Stay tuned for the new designs...

Stella McCartney for Gap

Here are my favorite looks from the new Stella McCartney for Gap Kids collection. A few others I wanted to add -- but they sold out way too quick!

Karin Nussbaumer

Today I am very inspired by the photographs by Karin Nussbaumer. I love how she creates stories within her work and portfolio. Check out the rest of her lovely work here. Don't these photos just scream Spring?

tiniest house in amsterdam

I totally forgot to show the picture of the tiniest house in Amsterdam!! Can't believe I forgot such an adorable mini-gem! Can you believe it is actually a house?? Can you even see it?!

Shopping hiatus, week six

So, if you happen to be smack dab in the middle of a shopping hiatus, and you run out of toothpaste, please just go to the drugstore. Or maybe even order it online.

Do not go to Target, especially when you have spent the last few months studiously avoiding every ad and blog post where someone mentions the Liberty of London collaboration. Because they hide the toothpaste in the back of the store and put the Liberty pieces on every endcap of every aisle.

{liberty of london at target}

You start thinking that you might actually want kids, if only to put them in smocked floral dresses. And about how a ceramic canister (surprisingly good quality in person, btw) would really be very useful. And a summerweight scarf would be perfect, even if you are not really a person who ever remembers to wear a scarf unless you are freezing. And, in a truly sad show of desperation, you attempt to convince your boyfriend that he would really love wearing a floral tie. But you'll settle for him wearing the tie with cars on it. (I received an unequivocal no on both counts)

I did not purchase anything (except toothpaste). But I did go home and lovingly caress my actual Liberty fabrics, which are still waiting to be made into something special. I think loving Liberty prints is an individual thing - you are either obsessed or pretty indifferent. Clearly, you know which camp I fall into. It doesn't matter how overplayed they get, I'll always love them.

Puppy Mill Petition

Hi, it's Sheila.

Our viewer, Kristen Fox-Angel asked me to pass along information about a meeting this Saturday, April 3 with regard to Puppy Mills in Ohio. She's part of the Ohio Coaltion to Ban Dog Auctions, a group which seeks to stop puppy mills in Ohio.

Kristen says Ohio ranks 7th in the nation in the number of puppy mills, and she says, "A lot of people have no idea how incredibly cruel these facilities are for the animals." A town meeting at the Sharonville SPCA on April 3rd at 10:00 a.m. will give those who attend information on puppy mills and the petition drive underway to put this issue on the ballot in Ohio.

Kristen is passionate in fighting for the cause, saying, "I have noticed that when I begin describing what happens (at puppy mills), I often get the response, 'Stop I cannot hear that.' If no one hears about it, it will continue."

The Ohio Coalition to Ban Dog Auctions is working toward a law to make it illegal for anyone to auction or raffle a dog in Ohio. It also would prohibit bringing dogs into the state for sale or trade that were acquired by auction or raffle elsewhere. The Coalition plans to gather the more than 120,700 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters by December 1 to place a measure on the November 2011 statewide ballot. The ballot issue would give Ohio citizens the opportunity to end dog auctions and raffles. As of today, the group has received more than 7,000 signatures from 64 counties.

You can find out more about the effort by visiting the website,
http://www.banohiodogauctions.com/

The photo I used on today's blog is from the Humane Society website from a puppy mill in New Jersey. You can learn more about its nationwide efforts on its website, http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/

Easter, last year

Quick bonus post!

I just realized I don't have any Easter content planned this week (um, it snuck up on me and I'm not ready and we're going to be forced to go low key) but if you're gearing up for it you might want to take a look at last year's posts.

There's an idea for an alternative to the usual Easter basket (read the comments for amazing reader suggestions on non-crappy things to put in baskets), a look at my Easter tree (which is up again this year) and some pretty pictures of dyed eggs.

Katie Herzig

Last week, I came across the beautiful voice of Katie Herzig. I got goosebumps when I heard the above duet with her and Matthew Perryman Jones. Hear more from her here. Happy Music Monday!

(ps. Has anyone else had issues with Blogger today?)

cool photo styling

Look at how super neat these photos are! The kids are pretty cute too. I think my favourite one is the skiier. They are from photographer Tim MacPherson {via Designaside blog }. Check out the photographer's website; he has some interesting advertising campaign photos.

The weekend, briefly

Another busy weekend, helping out with a few renovations at the family home. Or, Dustin helped renovate. I cooked and stocked the fridge, mostly because I am afraid of power tools (which is completely rational when you grow up with two woodworkers in the family - if you'd spent as much time as I have in the ER, watching hands get stitched up, you'd be wary too). And food always comes in handy.

{circe, waiting}

{brick + stuff}


{pendant light}


{cacti, unpotted}


{cauliflower prep}


{circe, tired}

It should be noted that Circe is far more fond of the kitchen than the woodshop so we got to spend quite a bit of time together this weekend. And she does in fact eat cauliflower, but only once it's roasted.

So You Wanna Be a Star!!

Fox19 held auditions for the show "Glee" over the weekend.

Hey everyone. Rob here.

The turnout for the auditions was huge. Hundreds showed up for a shot to become a character on the show. It was held at Tangeman University Center on UC's campus.

Fox19's Rontina McCann interviewed two friends who came from Tennessee to audition.

I don't sing or dance but stopped by the support a friend who was organizing the event. I did sing during a talent show in high school one year. I was so bad, no one would look at me. I was so bad, I was embarrassing the people in the audience. Therefore, I have a lot of respect for people who can sing and dance.

One judge said, there is a lot of undiscovered talent here in the tri-state. However, they had the tough job of narrowing the field to 10 finalists. Those 10 people move on to the next round of competition along with another 9 who will be chosen from web auditions. Fox is holding these open auditions to cast 3 new characters on the show "Glee."

Break a leg.

Easter Bunnies & Chicks

Hi, it's Sheila.

A lot of people will have ham on the menu this Sunday for Easter, and you may not know that you can buy your ham at a local turkey farm, Tewes Poultry in Erlanger. At Thanksgiving, cars line up to get into the farm for fresh turkeys, and their delicious turkeys are available for Easter too.

The family business was founded in 1911 a hatchery with incubators in the basement of John Henry Tewes, Senior's basement. And an Easter tradition started there in the old days when Mr. Tewes patented a process for coloring the feathers of baby chicks with vegetable dye. The process enhanced the hatchery's profits, and kids in the Northern Kentucky still wake up on Easter morning to find baby chicks and ducks from the Tewes Farm in their Easter baskets.

The chicks sell these days for three dollars apiece, and the ducks sell for five dollars. The Tewes' also sell live bunnies for 20 dollars. The chicks and ducks sell out fast, so you may want to call ahead before making the trip to the farm.

These days the farm is run by Dan and Darlene Tewes, and it's one of the largest producers of poultry in Northern Kentucky. They have a great vegetable garden too, and I thoroughly enjoyed some of their tomatoes last summer after Rob, Frank, Meghan, Bruce, and I shot our Chicken Dance video there for the Oktoberfest contest.

Bébé no. Deux

We are very thrilled and I'm happy to share with you readers that things have been a little different around our house, because little bambino number two is on the way! We had a ultrasound a few weeks ago and I was glad to see all the fingers and toes were there. We will find out shortly if it is a girl or a boy -- I will keep you posted.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Happy Moments...

Great quotes to remember seen at I Can Read.

Beautiful Umbrella image Anna posted from Allure Magazine.

The entire sneak-peak over at Design Sponge of Emersonmade -- ahh that pantry! Their whole home is lovely beyond words.

Roxy Marj illustrated a great image of Ray Lamontagne --- love. His voice soothes me.

Coming across this beautiful website - Green Kitchen Stories and green juice recipe posted by Ellie over at Mint. Hope to make this weekend.

Cool limited edition fabric from the Victoria & Albert Museum to celebrate their Quilt exhibition.

I love this coffee sack basket from Brin and Nohl shared by A Merry Mishap -- adding it to my wish list.

City Secrets Books

I enjoy reading other people's opinions about things, and these City Secrets Insider's Guide books are right up any 'guide book' lover's alley. They are compilations of short essays written by award-winning novelists, writers, poets, directors, producers etc... all revealing and recommending their favorite forgotten, underappreciated and little-known movies and works of literature. They would make a perfect gift for many people on my list that are tricky to shop for. I received them in the mail the other day and was really delighted with their content.

You can find City Secrets Movies and City Secrets Books and the rest of the series including City Secrets travel titles here.

baby bloomer bump update + maternity clothes survival guide

Here we are already...another Baby Bloomer update! I'm six months this week. My 'crumb-catcher' is growing daily, and I keep asking myself: "How can I possibly get any bigger?"...only to get replies of "Just wait..."!

A while ago I posted about my quest to stay stylish while preggers on a budget, and I just wanted to follow up as I have become a bit of an expert since then. For those of you soon-to-be yummy mummies in the Toronto area, here is what I have found!

Maternity Clothes Survival Guide
I didn't really want to spend too much money on a maternity wardrobe, but I still wanted to look nice! I would recommend looking in your closet to see what you already have, as I've been able to use a lot of pre-peanut clothes - dresses that either have an empire waist, or are made of stretchy material. Long tank tops and t-shirts are great and I can't recommend leggings enough! So good to wear with dresses, tunics and long sweaters and very comfy too. Don't forget to pair them with boots! Boots always make an outfit look good. Or else, in the summer, a nice pair of flats would do quite well.

In addition to using what already existed in my closet, I did get quite a few maternity basics: jeans, some shirts and dresses as I've had a few fancy functions in the past little while. Here are some of my recommendations!

Some stores I've had luck with:
Thyme Maternity - They are ok, but I found their sizing doesn't fit me that well. I got a nice shirt there though.
Motherhood Maternity - Same as above; I got a simple black dress there but the sizes don't fit me too well for some reason.
H+M - I got some jeans there and some shirts. Their maternity section is pretty teeny, and you really have to go on a bit of a treasure hunt! But definitely reasonable in price.
Old Navy - Their maternity section is piddly, but with the advice of a friend, I found that their 'regular' line of clothing is roomy enough for a blossoming belly. Check out their sale racks for long shirts and dresses.
Bella Band (www.ingridandisabel.com) - I got one of these hoping I could just wear some of my older pants or jeans and 'close' them with the band. However I soon realized that my old pants didn't make it very far up my new heftier thighs and hips! I use it now to cover my belly if some of my old t-shirts or tank tops are too short! They can be purchased online, or at pretty much any maternity or baby store.
Bella Mom Maternity (www.bellamom.ca) - In the plaza just outside Vaughan Mills Mall, this store has some beautiful clothes! A bit out of my price range, however I did get a dress there for a wedding. They have designer jeans there too like Paige jeans, and Habituals that apparently you can wear post-peanut! I would recommend checking them out.
My Bump Maternity (www.mybumpmaternity.com) - Located in the Beaches, this store is much like the store above, a lot of really nice things! I got a light summer dress there.

Other stores that I haven't shopped at, but sound pretty good:
Belly (www.bellymaternity.ca) - This is in my old neighbourhood of Mount Pleasant, between Eglinton and Davisville. And I will admit that way before I was pregs, I would visit this store as it always had very cool clothes in the window. Not really in the 'economical' range, they carry high-end designer labels like Diane von Furstenberg, if you need some fancies.
Evy Mama (www.evymama.ca) - I haven't been there but it looks good!
Target (www.target.com) - I haven't made it down to Buffalo to check it out, but apparently they have a pretty good line of stylish maternity wear, and no doubt very affordable.

Some online stores:
There are tons of online stores out there, and I have to admit that I haven't bought anything online yet. But here are a couple that have been recommended, or that I have found:

A Pea in the Pod (www.apeainthepod.com)
Haute Mama (www.hautemama.ca)
Euphoria Maternity (www.euphoriamaternity.com)

I hope this helps! If you have any other suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments section. Have a wonderful weekend!

Do You Want to be a Star?

Do you want to be a star? Who doesn't right? Hi, it's Meghan:)

This weekend is your chance to try out to be a cast member of the hit FOX show Glee. Live auditions will be held March 27th, from 12pm-4pm (PLEASE NOTE AUDITIONS WILL BE HELD ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE BASIS), at Great Hall in the Tangeman University Center on the University of Cincinnati Campus.

Here's some inside scoop:

Among the judges...FOX19'S Steve Oldfield. He's a Hollywood expert and will know if you have the "it" factor. FOX19's Stefano DiPietrantonio. He's a talented singer with his own CD and will know if you got the pipes.

Also your competition will be from out of town too. We got word that a lot of wannna be stars are flying in from around the country to try out. So get there early and make Cincinnati proud! Good luck!! Click here for all the details!

Friday flowers

Tulips, three ways.

1. Freshly arranged, in just home from work light.

{tulips, map}

2. Same day, 28 minutes later, in sharp shadows of early evening light.

{tulips, map}

3. After three days, minus four minutes, drooping but still beautiful.

{tulips, map}

*edited to add sources of various things - the footed glass vase is from the thrift store (probably not really vintage, but one of my faves), the clock was a lucky flea market find (even though it picks up time quickly and we have to adjust it every couple weeks), the various ceramics are all made by D, including the awesome faux-styrofoam cup you can just barely see in the last picture, holding pencils, the map was purchased at a vintage store in Prague.