Currently: January 31, 2003
I HATE my office area with a white hot passion and I have decided that I need/want some sort of bulletin board thing. I have piles of paper and other crap that I keep shuffling around from location to location hoping that they will magically land in a hip storage container and all of my problems will be solved like falling dominos. I really like this system from The Pottery Barn, but I think that just one cork board would do for now (but not an $80 one, mind you.) I have also always loved this ribbon bulletin board as well. This one is not bad either. I also really like these chicken wire looking organizers. Too many choices. Do they make red chalkboard paint? Anyone seen it?
My friend Trina sent me a link to a chocolate company Vosages Haut Chocolate, that I had seen in a Lucky Magazine and Victoria Magazine (yes, I read that one occasionally). I love the truffles! What an imagination. Being a Chocolatier would definitely be fun. I had actually thought about taking that route in life a few years ago when I was thinking that I was going to be a pastry chef. I guess I still could! Speaking of Chocolatiers, check out Richard Donnelly. I first heard about him when I lived in Santa Cruz. I would drive by his little shop everyday wondering what kind of magic was going on behind the door. How could it not be good with the word "Chocolate" on the sign? Finally someone told me about him and that he makes great chocolate. Which he does. It's such a romantic job, kind of dreamy in the way the movie "Chocolat" is.
Update on the crumb cake. It was pretty good. If you make it, just keep in mind that it may look like you have hardly any batter and too many crumbs, but it works out in the end. As I was standing there staring at the pan wondering why I hardly had enough batter to even cover the bottom, I remembered that I saw the crumb cake segment on Martha once and could swear that the person making it warned about this very thing. At least I convinced myself I had and went forward.
Update on the comforter. VERY nice. I need to make a duvet for it pronto. The fabric of the comforter makes "crinkly" sounds whenever you move, and that took some getting use to. It's so loud in the still of the night when you get up for a glass of water. CRINKLE! CRINKLE!
I found a set of Go Fish cards that I NEED to have. They are by an artist named Richard McGuire. Fabulous.
I am going to make this crumb cake today. I was getting crumb cake and coffee cake confused, I thought I wanted a coffee cake, but I knew that what I was craving had that streusel-type topping.
My fabulous (hopefully) comforter should be at my door this week. I think that I am going to make a plain ivory linen duvet cover, as opposed to something with a pattern. I am finding it hard to commit to a color, as I am more and more drawn to the "white on white" look I see in magazines. I can always jazz things up with the pillows right?
I have seen these great felt photo books all over the place..in Lucky and US weekly. I have been thinking of making something like this to cover up my ugly phone book.
ooohh...and these WineSmarts cards! These are just what I need. J comes home and talks about Barberas and Mouvedres and it goes in one ear and out the other. I just cannot seem to retain any of that information (probably because when it comes down to it, I really don't care.) I just wish I knew it, but I don't really want to learn it.
Kim sent me some of the greatest links:
• These felt Space Bug pillows. They look like something out of an Atari game from the 80's. Also on this site are felt Pixel People bags. These crack me up so much. Fabulous.• The felted fabric on this site is so beautiful and so amazing. Make sure you check out the fabric lines on the left navigation bar.
• And then there are these fabric bottle covers that are just so...I don't know..."Why didn't I think of that?"
On a totally unrelated note, did you watch the Golden Globes? I personally think that Sharon Stone was either: A) going crazy, B) on something, or C) all of the above. Also Lara Flynn Boyle's outfit was hideous in my opinion and I was embarrassed for her.
J handed me a section of the Wall Street Journal yesterday that had an article about all of these websites that have an excess of products that were bought for the December Christmas rush that never happened. So now they are selling things really cheap. Featured in that article was this down comforter on SmartBargins.com. Yes I bought it. I have never owned a down comforter, and I keep meaning to buy one. If all goes well and I am pleased with the comforter, then I think I will buy some sheets at a later date. I'm pretty excited, because now I get to make a duvet cover and pillows. And a dust ruffle.
I have also been thinking about getting this pattern from Amy Butler. All of her patterns are great for that matter.
I feel like baking something today. I have thought about trying my luck with foccacia, but then those cakes from yesterday's entry sort of make me want something sweet, like a coffee cake with a crumbly topping. I can't decide!
I was starting to fret a little about my next book reading choice. I am usually not a reader, and I have a hard time finding things I like, but after reading the Harry Potters, the Tolkien books, then a biography on Marie Antoinette, I have gotten into a lovely reading pattern with no TV and chamomile tea. It's quite nice and I don't want to give it up. I'll admit that I am a science fiction nerd, and things like Oprah's book club type books do not appeal to me. So I am very excited about Karan's entry concerning Ursala le Guien. Those books sound right up my alley.
I had my nose in a book (The Hobbit) all weekend and feel a little out of touch with the rest of the world. I had a dream the other night that Harry Potter and I were being chased by Vampires, and I was waving my wand around and screaming nonsensical magic-type words at them while Harry Potter was just standing there doing nothing. I was a little annoyed with him when I woke up.
I was reading the February issue of Lucky magazine this weekend, and they featured Lily Field Cakes. I feel like I have seen these before, but can't remember where. At any rate, I think this is a wonderful example of someone taking that step from idea ("Hey, lets make cakes with flowers on them and put them in pretty boxes") to reality. I think my favorite is the Nootsie Tah.
Debra emailed me with a link to the most AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL candles I have ever seen. Joan of Arte Candles. There are so many wonderful ones, that it is hard to pick my favorite. I quite like the horns, all of the woods, the kelp forest, and these, just to name a few. I would love to see how they make them.
I hope everyone had a wonderful, happy holiday. I sure did. I am back from Wyoming which was very cold and very windy, and if you have ever been there then you know what I mean. My parents gave me fabulous gifts, including a purse that my dad made for me and a whole box full of Eva Zeisel pottery. Score! I had a nice visit. With all of the traveling I got a chance to read all of the Harry Potter books and I am completely and utterly hooked. I am now thinking about this next year and what it will have in store for me. I don't want to make resolutions per se, but goals I would like to accomplish. I guess that would be a resolution, wouldn't it?