Play Your Cards Right
Posted on | May 1, 2012 | 12 Comments
I have some awesome news for you today. I was recently given the bad ass opportunity of designing a greeting card that is going to be printed and is available for purchase. Designing stationary and paper goods has always been a secret dream of mine so I jumped at the chance. I designed a birthday card which is now for sale on Jack Cards. Jack Cards is an amazing website that keeps track of all the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. in your life, reminds you to buy cards in advance and sends the cards directly to you. All you have to do is sign and send them. It’s a pretty genius concept. We all intend to send real cards and would do so more often if life didn’t always get in the way. With Jack Cards you’ll be totally on top of your card sending game.
I’m beyond excited about this and I hope you’ll all go buy one (or eleven) immediately. I would totally owe you one (or eleven).
The Jealous Curator (with help from Victoria of sfgirlbybay) and Inward Facing Girl also designed cards for Jack Cards. Heck, buy ‘em all!
Simple Spring Salads
Posted on | April 30, 2012 | 3 Comments
Happy Monday, my friends. Check out the Simple Spring Salads slideshow I curated over at Kirtsy. I could live on only salads. True story.
Garnet Pilaf from Sprouted Kitchen
Blogger Crush: Chris from Man Made DIY & Curbly
Posted on | April 26, 2012 | 2 Comments
Hip hip hooray for a new Blogger Crush. And a special one, to boot. This is my first solo male Blogger Crush. A few weeks ago I featured a man (William Brinson) as part of a couple (The Brinsons, obviously) but this is the first man who can claim to be one of my Blogger Crushes all on his own. Can you imagine his bragging rights?! Dear readers, meet Chris of Man Made DIY and Curbly. I know Chris from Alt Summit and he is a doll. Man Made DIY is a one-stop shop for all things manly, crafty and cool. I really love this blog and I’ve personally decided it should be required reading for all the men I date (I’m still figuring out how to implement this plan, stay tuned). And Curbly is a home improvement and DIY empire that will have your potential project list growing at an alarming rate. So, Chris is kind of a blogging star and he’s got phenomenal taste. Oh and in case that wasn’t enough, he’s also smart, clever, and totally adorable. And he makes a terrific drinking partner and has promised me a whiskey tutorial next time he’s in NYC which I fully plan on taking him up on. I’m so glad he stopped by and be sure to pay special attention to his answer to question nine. I rather loved that one, I think you’ll see why.
Cupcake Basics 101
Posted on | April 25, 2012 | 13 Comments
Going to take a quick break from Thoughtful Eating today and discuss something of utter importance: cupcakes. This past Sunday I was lucky enough to get to take a cupcake making classes at the truly awesome ButtterLane cupcake shop in the East Village (seriously, totally kicks Magnolia’s ass). I found out about the class through CourseHorse which is a genius new website that connects New Yorkers with all sorts of interesting classes around the city. There were many course offerings on the website but Cupcake Basics 101 worked best with my schedule. And it’s a class about cupcakes so, duh.
The class consisted of about 12 people and was held in the ButterLane classroom. We split up into groups of about four and each group took care of one of the cupcakes and one of the frostings. The cupcake choices were vanilla, chocolate and banana and the frosting choices were vanilla, chocolate and cream cheese. I ended up at the banana cupcake table where we took turns dumping ingredients in and watching the kitchenaid turn the ingredients into a beautiful banana batter. While they were baking we made the frostings and tried them all, several times obvie.
After all the frostings were made and the cupcakes were done baking the instructor spread them out on a big table and demonstrated how to frost the cupcakes and make the signature ButterLane swirl. She told us to set aside our best swirl attempt because there would be a contest and the best swirl-er would get a prize.
Well. You’ll never guess who won. That’s right not only did I come home with NINE delicious cupcakes but because I did the best job of nailing the signature swirl I also came home with a ButterLane gift certificate. Pretty talented lady, huh?
I want to thank CourseHorse for sending me to the class free of charge. It was a great time and I’d highly recommend it. Because I can bake, the class felt a touch basic however it was still a fun way to spend an afternoon. The only thing I’d say is bring a pal along because the more the merrier, right? It might even be a fun date activity. And if you live in the City definitely check out CourseHorse and see what classes pique your interest.
I’m eyeing this or this for my next learning adventure.
springtime cheers
Posted on | April 24, 2012 | 9 Comments
I had a Pimm’s Cup at brunch on Saturday and I was reminded of how perfect that cocktail happens to be. It’s light and refreshing and just plain ol’ delicious. I’ve never made one of my own but after a little research on the internets, turns out they are super easy to make. It’s just Pimm’s + fizziness + garnish. And I love fanciful garnishes. That’s it, I think this will my be go to cocktail of spring. Now if spring could just show up for good then I’d be all set. Have you identified your go to cocktail of spring yet? Do some soul searching and get back to me, this is important.
This Pimm’s Cup recipe seems perfect.
{image from pictures and pancakes}
