coffee + cashmere

Paris wins.

2009-09-07T10:33:00.000-04:00

Style, food, language, romance, history... Paris has the best of it all.

And now even their websites are amazing! Check out Poilane, where you shop online by dragging items from the shelves. Bread shopping has never been so entertaining.

I also love the bread cushion.

Just loafing around, French-style.

Time after time.

2009-09-02T21:01:00.001-04:00

Watches are a challenging accessory. Either too utilitarian or too flashy, they have been also been rendered virtually obsolete by omnipresent cell phones.

However, I love these tough yet feminine versions that are equal parts timepiece and statement jewelry:

Oak, $120

We've come a long way from the Swatch!

Flaggle Rock

2009-09-01T11:30:00.000-04:00

A new way of looking at the flags of the world, courtesy of Shahee Ilyas.

It turns out that I can barely identify flags in real life, much less in pie chart form. Visit the charts here.

via Black Eiffel

Nesting instinct

2009-08-31T21:42:00.000-04:00

The 'nesting instinct' describes the compulsion to settle into one's home with the intention of laying a bunch of eggs that eventually turn into a gaggle of peeping birds. However, I think it might also apply when the bird feels the compelling need to go back to its mother's nest to take a break from city life and watch an uninterrupted stream of reality tv from the couch.

My mom should have been a museum curator, a Hollywood set designer, or some sort of eBay guru. She has the ability to find unique items that she incorporates artistically into everyday life. Instead, my mom was an elementary school librarian, which means that I had a far more stable upbringing than I would have with those other options. Dang.

Anyway, I tried to capture a few photos of her latest finds -- pardon the blurriness and unflattering lighting.

Bubble bath bottle

Mural of Italian countryside in the powder room

Copper touches

When did people stop embroidering stuff? These 'Mr. and Mrs.' pillows are adorable.

Erm... but they were also on my bed. Thanks for the hint, Mom.

Beautiful old prints in the guest bathroom, the colors are so vibrant in person.

Cool glass paperweight - part of a collection.

It's rare for a home to feel fresh and interesting when there are a lot of antiques around, but she manages to do it. It feels like every object there has a story.

Which makes sense, given her profession.

It's not shellfish if you share

2009-08-28T11:22:00.000-04:00

We met up with friends for happy hour at Urbana in the Dupont Circle Hotel Palomar, where a variety of oysters on the half-shell are $1 each, and a couple of $5 glasses of wine (or prosecco) will keep them company upon request.

Because bivalves, bubbles and bellylaughs do wonders for the complexion.

Liberian Lemonade

2009-08-26T23:02:00.001-04:00

So we’ve all heard the expression “making lemons into lemonade”, but Lovetta Conto takes things to a whole new level.

Designer of Akawelle jewelry, Conto is a Liberian raised during the civil war who took bullet casings:

… and made them into this inspirational jewelry:

All proceeds go to support the Strongheart House, where orphaned or displaced refugees can live, get an education, and learn life skills.

Making bullets into jewelry – now that’s a sweet twist.

Easy brie-zy beautiful

2009-08-26T12:49:00.000-04:00

Let's start with the fact that this recipe calls for a half a pound of brie. Well, no. It doesn't call for that much, EXACTLY. But that's the size Whole Foods sells brie in, and I couldn't very well just eat the extra by the big blobby fingerful. (Ahem).

Plus, it was my turn to make dinner, I had a whole cauliflower to do away with, and I wanted it out of the fridge. If I'm going to eat cauliflower, there needs to be a pretty significant incentive. Epicurious offered up a recipe for risotto with cauliflower, brie and almonds. Ding!

One of my favorite aspects of Epicurious is the user reviews. How disappointing is it to try a new recipe and have it fall flat? Sad. The reviews help avoid this.

The reviews for this recipe indicated that the recipe was good, but a little bland. I hate bland. I am an anti-blandite. This led several key modifications:

1. To intensify/improve the flavor, I roasted the cauliflower (toss with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, in the oven at 500 for 25 min), rather than pan fry it.

2. Sauteed 2 diced shallots in butter and olive oil before adding in the risotto.

3. Doubled the amount of thyme, and added 2 whole cloves of garlic in the broth.

4. Added chanterelle mushrooms to the risotto as I added the broth. The mushrooms were dried, which required soaking them in hot water for 30 min before tossing them in with the rice.

5. Topped with a little chopped Italian parsley (hey! this isn't healthy, is it?)

I served the risotto with a simple green salad with a champagne vinagrette, the acidity and cleanness of which provided a welcome contrast to the richness of the rice.

The verdict? DELISH. This was a huge hit, and will certainly make into high rotation this winter; only caveat is that it's relatively labor-intensive and a little hot for a work-week dinner in August. But if one recipe can provide an antidote to both cauliflower AND February, you're working with some powerful stuff.