Have a fun weekend!

It has been a tricky week, whew, you know the kind right? I am glad it is Friday! Here are a few of my favorite things I saw this week that brought a smile to my face...



My sister shared with me these fantastic video clips of 3 guys traveling the world and compiling all of their footage. Talk about increasing my wanderlust! This above one is Move, but you can watch  Learn and Eat too - they are all good. They are directed by Rick Mereki commissioned by STA Travel Australia.

Suitcase eyes from Muji, awesome! Available from select Muji stores. (via swissmiss)

These recipes look so good! 

Salmon with peach salsa from Caroline.

S'mores with a French Twist from Stephanie.

Tortellini with Lemon & Dill from Kelsey

Have a great one!

Also.. thanks to Blogger for making me a blog of note, and Say 100 and Dana Wood for the kind mention! I am honored.

Rad Cookies by Manjar

These quirky cool designed cookies by Manjar are some of the best I've seen in a long time. They made me look twice. Those cute cameras!

Photos from Manjar // via A Merry Mishap

Elegant Macarons : Theurel & Thomas

The design concept for Theurel & Thomas pâtisserie in San Pedro Mexico made me gasp. Anagrama did an amazing job designing the branding to exclusively highlight the macarons in a beautiful way, and to top it off they continued it into the retail space. Gorgeous!

All photos from Anagrama

Summery surprises

Have you been feeling the summer heat in your area? Whew, it was a blazing hot one for us this week! Here are a few things I spotted around the web this week that brought a big huge summer grin to my face.

I hope that you will have a great weekend!

1: Adorable Festive Fruit Labels by Amy Moss @ Eat Drink Chic
2: DIY Zig Zag Picnic Blanket by Kathleen -- get well soon Kathleen!
3: Cute Watermelon Cookies via HHH 
4: Pretty Summery Drinks by Angela

Avery Label Project + Contest

I am thrilled to share a fun project that I have been working on with Avery labels as part of the Martha Stewart Circle. Avery approached me to ask if I would like to create some labels as part of their Put Your Best Brand Forward Contest and being a big user and fan of Avery products, I was in.

The contest is about designing your very own brand of products using Avery labels and sharing your before and after shots for the chance to win $5000 and your project appearing in Martha Stewart Living! For all of you crafters out there, time to get your game on... this is a perfect way to get great exposure for your business, and there are secondary prizes as well. Read all the details for the Best Brand Forward contest here.

For this project with all of the BBQ's we've been going to lately, I wanted to make some homemade sauces like pickled relish, mustard, and ketchup and I've been experimenting with a lot of different recipes adding in my own flavors and adjustments here and there. Here are the baseline recipes of my favorites I've tried so far: pickled relish, homemade mustard and homemade ketchup. Do you have a winning recipe that you've tried? Do share! I have also been reading up in this book on how to can the sauces so you can make big batches and save some for later.

As for the labels, I designed them in Adobe Illustrator and with some mad math and ruler skills aligned them to the actual label sheet, using Avery's new square and circle label sheets (22807 and 22805). You can also create your own custom labels using Avery's templates or software or even download the templates into Word if you don't have the fancy design software, which makes it even easier!

Heading to your next outdoor shindig with your own custom collection of homemade sauces would be extra special don't you think? Or what about for a hostess gift? If your sauces are really great, how about even selling a set of them at your upcoming Farmer's market? It would be such a treat and unexpected surprise at the picnic table to have those store bought bottles replaced with these beautifully labeled sauces.

*This is a sponsored post for Avery in connection with Martha Stewart's Circle. I came up with the concept, design and photographs using their new Avery labels and these opinions are my own.

Nine Cakes

Speaking of Tara yesterday, she also shared with me a recent design projects which included the branding of the website Nine Cakes. Aren't those cakes gorgeous!


(Photos by Jen Huang from Nine Cakes)

Flag Cakes

While looking for a photo on my computer the other day, I came across these in my archives and thought they suited the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. I was cracking up over the top shot of my brother looking pretty unsure about his melting flag cake! My mom made some pretty creative and fun cakes for us kids growing up, thanks Mom. The photo of the 60-year-old is my Grandpa!

Designer Eating by Marije Vogelzang

Crossing design and food Marije Vogelzang looks at food through a very creative perspective. Her long list of accomplishments include designing dinner parties and eating experiences, a product line full of quirky cool edibles, social projects for hospitals and restaurants, a couple books that I hope to someday get my hands on, and a restaurant with two locations in Amsterdam called Proef! I am very happy to come across Marije and her team's work, it is phenomenal eye candy that is conceptually inspiring.

(all photos from Marije Vogelzang)

Our new favorite pancakes

Over the weekend we made these pancakes from 101 cookbooks a favorite go-to site for yummy healthy recipes and this recipe sparred with our other favorite healthy pancake recipe and came out victorious. They were fluffy, tasty, and somewhat healthy as far as pancakes go. If you like blueberries, the syrup is delicious too!

The secret I think is the white whole wheat flour. I love that stuff, because you get all of the nutritional benefits yet it isn't as heavy as the normal stuff. Speaking of flour, other ones I like are whole wheat pastry flour, and buckwheat flour and I haven't tried it yet, but I have some whole wheat spelt flour in my pantry.

Have you tried a variety of different flours? What is your favorite? Oh and do you have a favorite pancake recipe? I'm all ears....

Bouchon Bistro

   

My husband and I are currently on a little vacation, our first getaway in well over a year! We are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary and since we had to stay fairly close to home due to my husband's job (he could be called back at any time) we decided to hop on down to Vegas. Yesterday we went to brunch at Thomas Keller's Bouchon and it has to be one of my favorite spots in this sparkly, over the top town. It is very elegant and I loved the charming French paintings on the wall. Oh and the food --  amazing! I've had this place on my list for quite a while and last time I thought the kiosk bakery was it, but I'm very happy to find out there is an actual bistro thanks to Bonnie. We will definitely be hitting this spot every time we come this way. What are your favorite must-hit spots in or near Vegas?

Photos by Black Eiffel

Meal in a Jar

Ideas that are simple, clever, and something that I would actually do, make me smile. I've been crushing on all things glass lately and have 'passed on' and tossed out most of our plastic containers. Aren't these 'Mason Jar Meals' the ticket for upcoming picnics?!


Photo & concept from the Decorated Cookie > via Kate + Kelly

Alinea Restaurant

I just added the Alinea Restaurant in Chicago to my foodie dream list. Do you keep one of those? A list of places both elegant and causal that you want to try locally and around the world? What is on your list?

At Alinea there is a 12 and 23-course experimental menu where the food seriously looks like little sculptures created under the direction of the amazing chef Grant Achatz. It would be an evening that would knock my socks off! I believe you have to reserve months in advance but wow... what a place to try. Have any of you lucky readers been there?

Read and see more here.

photos from Alinea

Egg Dyeing 101 App from Martha Stewart Living

I was just talking to my husband the other day about the many beautiful and functional apps the Martha Stewart team has come out with lately and bingo, in my inbox this morning I heard about another one that I wanted to share with you! Hello Egg Dyeing 101 App, we're so happy to meet you. This App is hands down a complete paradise for a person who loves to dye eggs.

It includes egg basics, techniques, instructions, gives resources, and even video clips that show you cool things like how to blow out an egg. This app puts many of those great Martha Stewart Living Easter Egg ideas right in the palm of your hand allowing you to replicate them with pizzazz. I'm in love with the way they share how to marbleize, mask with lace, make creatures and more! What is pretty snazzy is that it is only $.99 and you can find it in the app store right here.

For those of you who don't have an iPhone or iTouch and want to learn how to dye your eggs like the cool photo on the right above see the instructions from the app below...



Choose two or more dyes in hues that work together.

1) Start with an egg dyed in a pale color.

2) Dip the bottom of the egg into a darker dye, partly submerging it and holding it upright, until desired color is achieved. Remove egg, blot with paper towel, and set on a pin-board to dry, 10 minutes. For a two-tone egg, stop at this step. Or, if desired, turn the egg over and repeat, dipping the top in the same color, but leaving a band of the original color in the middle.

3) To further enhance the pattern, turn the egg on its side and dip it horizontally, until desired color is achieved. Remove egg, blot, and set on a pin-board to dry. Repeat as desired.


“Photos from the Egg Dyeing 101 from Martha Stewart Living App. Copyright © 2011, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.” * I did receive the $.99 app for review purposes, but was not compensated for my personal opinion which is my own.

Dinner in the Sky

If heights aren't your thing then this probably isn't for you, but several months ago I bookmarked this site called Dinner in the Sky and am now just revisiting it. Have you seen this? Would you be up for having a dinner or event way up high? Since it is available in over 30 countries around the world, there are many possibilities -- where would you want to dine in the sky? What a lifetime experience this would be, doesn't it look so magical!



Photos: from Dinner in the Sky

The Anatomy of a Cupcake...

How brilliant is this?! Allen Hemberger and Sarah Wilson created The Anatomy of a Cupcake Chart as a birthday present for a girl named Lesleigh. They also now sell it as a print, sweet!

(photo + poster from Allen Hemberger  - via That's Happy > Oh Cupcakes)

Salad Toppings

My last suggestion for how to use Weight Watchers new cheeses (see previous posts here) is in a yummy salads. Do you ever come up with different salad combos? My husband thinks I'm hilarious for sometimes putting everything but the kitchen sink in them, but salads are great place to put in some power veggies and fun ingredients. Unless I am going with a particular recipe, the salads I make are usually different every time. This one has cucumbers, pinto beans, tomatoes, carrots, arugula, baby spinach, and some Weight Watchers cheese. I like how you can add flavor with their cheese without the extra fat and calories and it is nice to throw a little more calcium in there too.

What do you put in your salads?

Spinach Artichoke Dip

 

As I've been playing around with Weight Watchers cheeses I experimented and came up with a recipe that I thought you might enjoy, a lower calorie spinach artichoke dip option. Instead of adding more cream cheese and mayo I substituted some Weight Watcher cheese wedges and it turned out pretty great. I will be making this again for special events as a lighter alternative. See the recipe below and check out other ideas I've mentioned here and here. What is your favorite Superbowl Sunday or hang out snack? What about a lighter snack, do you have a favorite?

Ingredients:
9 oz frozen spinach, chopped, thawed, and drained
14 oz jar of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
8 oz low fat cream cheese*
1/4 c low fat sour cream*
1/3 c parmasean cheese
3 Weight Watchers Garlic & Herb wedges
4 green onions minced
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 teaspoon of salt
other spices as desired... I added a touch of cayenne, garlic powder etc..

Directions:
Saute onions and garlic until soft.
Combine everything into a bowl and stir well.
Put in oven safe dish and bake for 30 minutes at 350 or until bubbly.

Enjoy with crackers, veggies or anything you wish.

*You can easily substitute low fat for nonfat, I'm just not a biggest fan of nonfat.

Enjoy!

(photo + recipe by Rachel Jones - B*E)

Happy February

Wishing you a Happy February with colors of red and pink. What do you think about Punxsutawney Phil, will he see his shadow tomorrow? Has anyone been to the actual ceremony in Pennsylvania, I think it would be a riot. Read about it here.

1: Two Tone Satin Sash
2: Lacoste Watch
3: Spade Bon Shopper
4: XO I love you card
5: Je T'aime Sweatshirt
6: Heart Cake Tutorial via Oh Joy's Pin
7: Quince & Rose Candle

Smoothies

This last year or so I've been hung up on trying different smoothie recipes and green drinks, so when the January issue of Whole Living came in the mail the cover instantly resonated with me and I discovered 25 great recipes from their website that are helping me mix it up. I've tried a few and I can't wait to try more, today I made the Banana-Peanut Butter but switched out milk for almond milk. I am a big almond milk fan, have you tried it? What is your favorite smoothie / drink recipe?

(individual photos from Whole Living; collaged by B*E - Aren't the smoothie colors fun?!)

Feeling Fruit Inspired...

1: Cast Iron Apple Pot
2: Blabla Kids
3: Amazing Drink Boxes student work by Yunyeen Yong