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The Taste of Fall

Once the weather starts getting cold and I say goodbye to iced coffee for 8 long months, I find adding a little chai helps make morning coffee slightly more interesting. With that in mind, I found a recipe for chai pumpkin loaf and thought it sounded like a perfect way to combine a few fall favorites. Not only was the outcome delicious and moist, but the recipe is very easy, which in the baking world I am a huge fan of. There are two steps, combine and bake. That, I can handle. 

2 Eggs

1 and 3/4 Cups Flour

1 and 1/2 Cups Sugar

2/3 Cup Pumpkin Puree

1/2 Cup Butter, melted
1/2 Cup Chai Tea Concentrate (I actually would add more next time)
1/4 Cup Buttermilk
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Cloves
1/8 Teaspoon Ginger

Preheat to 350, combine all ingredients and whip together until smooth. Bake for 1 hour.

Original recipe found here

Farmer's Quesadilla

This is actually something I made last weekend but haven't gotten around to posting it until now. Will and I were going to the farmers market almost every Sunday and having these delicious quesadillas from one of the stands and we realized it was crazy easy to make. So last sunday, we did just that. I cheated a bit and bought Trader Joe's cooked baby beets, but other then that everything was fresh. We made them with beets, endive, spinach, tomato, onion, garlic, mild cheddar and a tomato basil tortillas. Delish.

Admittedly not great photos, and I sadly burned mine a bit, but you get the general idea.

Smith Tower

My co-worker sent me this article today and sort of blew my mind. I had no idea someone lived at the top of Smith Tower, and in an amazing pyramid apartment! How awesome!

Lawrence Seattle

A project I'm working on at DEI just launched one of it's components, a style blog! Check it out here

Before & After :: The Hart Front Yard

Will just completed a project he did for Sarah's parents and I couldn't be more excited to show it off. Paul and Faith were kind enough to contact Will with the task of revamping their front yard and after a month of planning and hard work, the final product is quite impressive. I'm excited to see it in person, hopefully next summer when it's grown in and in full bloom.

Thank you again Harts for giving Will the opportunity to get his hands dirty!

Monday Color :: B+W

I saw this on decor8 and it reminded me of my poor calendar that's been rolled up in the corner since we moved. I really need to find a spot for that guy, it's an awesome piece of functional art that shouldn't be hiding. I also love the colors in this room, or lack there of. There's something to sophisticated about a black and white room, and I love the unexpected pop of yellow and pink, very cool.

Beyond Nerdy

My score... no big deal.

you know you want to play, go on...

a few things

that made me smile this week

found here and here

Paper Invites

Getting an invite in the real mail is just so much better than an e-vite, it's such a nice little surprise, I've almost forgotten how it feels. And it of course doesn't hurt when it's something you designed ;)

excuse the terrible photo...

Nice Package :: Hot Dang Grain Burgers

Very inspiring packaging design, not only because it's done in a style I love, but because it's for veggie burgers but doesn't have the hippy-dippy granola feel to it. Don't get me wrong, that ascetic can be done well, but it's refreshing to see something different.

via lovely package

Postal Pix

For those of you like myself who are unabashedly obsessed with iphone picture apps, you're gonna love this one. Postal Pix takes your beautiful square (or any shape) photos that are flying around cyberspace, prints them and mails them to you for crazy cheap! The 4x4 squares are 33 cents each and shipping is about 2 bucks. My order arrived on my desk this morning and I'm very happy with the quality, granted the paper is a little thin, but you get what you pay for.

Monday Color

Weather wise, it's actually quite beautiful today, and just the opposite of this palette, but there was something so cozy and soothing about this photo, I fell in love with it. Might have something to do with the fact that I'm sitting in front of a heater, or that I've had my grandma's knits on the mind lately, either way it makes me want a ginat sweater and a fire place, stat.

image found here

Happy Friday

And suddenly, it's friday. Happy weekend!

Exploded Camera

That's about all I can about this. Pretty awesome, right? By photographer Tod McLellan

Watch Me

I'm trying to find an excuse to buy this for myself, but have yet to think of a good one. Is it legit to celebrate half birthdays? Sure, why not...

City Living

Whenever I get the "man I wish I had a house" feeling, I see an amazing open loft and do a complete 180. This is one of those lofts. Open, airy, bright, industrial; drool-worthy.

image via desire to inspire

Album Art

I've never heard of the band, but their beautiful album art makes me want to look them up! Very cool.

Diggin' These

Simple wine labels by STVK

Monday Color

image found here

When it's Grey Out

Any excuse to drink this would do, but let's blame it on the weather this time.

1. Throw every thing apart from the brandy into a pot and simmer for 45-60mins – or until the flavors of the spices come out.
2. Add the brandy and serve hot.

recipe found here

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I Heart NY

Ahhh New York, you were amazing. After 5 days, I think I gained 10 pounds, but it was well worth it. Then again, we walked our asses off, so that must have made up for it, or at least that's what I'll continue to tell myself. Luckily for Will and I, we were being toured around the city by a woman who loves food just as much as we do, and was more than happy to schedule our day around pork buns and pizza.

Of course we barley scratched the surface, but if you're heading to NY any time soon, there are a few places you must stop at:

Katz's Deli (I'll have what she's having)
Russ and Daughters (Bagels and lox)
Grimaldi's (Authentic NY pizza)
BaoHaus (The most amazing steamed buns you will even encounter)
McSorley's (Oldest bar in NY- nothing but dark beer, light beer and sleeves of saltines, don't let the angry Irish man scare you, he's actually very nice)
Brooklyn Flea Market (Amazing vintage pieces, handmade jewelry, and a ton of food stands. I bought a necklace and ate 4 different pork sandwiches, if that says anything.)

Thank you Sarah for making our NYC weekend wonderful!

Mantutino

Simply amazing images from Spanish photographer Eleazar Lazaro Guerra

Time to Embrace the Inevitable

Fall is here, which usually means I'm just getting starting with my 8 months of complaining. Mostly about the rain, but just generally about how the days of sitting in the sun are long long gone, and it makes me want to cry. While that's all still true, I'm going to make a point to try and not let the weather suck the life out of me this year by attempting to embrace the weather. The plan? A lot of crock pot use, pumpkin patches, pies, and a shopping list that includes very large sweaters and a pair of these:

That should hold me over for at lease a little while...

Image found here

We're Baaaaack

Back to reality after an amazing trip to NY, where I took about 900 pictures, which I plan on posting very soon. In the mean time, here is an awesome Manhattan guide book I just found, and a dorky picture of Will and I.