Pretty Tables: Thanksgiving

I’m sure you’re thinking this (as I certainly do every year!), but I can’t believe it’s already Thanksgiving. This year it’s probably even more unbelievable to me since I’ll be spending it in 80 degree weather on the other side of the world. No matter. It's still Fall in my heart and I'm glad to share these lovely table decorating ideas. What will you be doing this year?



Images from: MySticKitchen // BlogNTell // Anne Sage // Kitchen Daily // Sunset

Sydney Picnic Company

Don't you wish you could just make picnics all day? And people would pay you for them? Well, I do. And so did the cutest couple around: Simon and Natalie. They've started a picnic-for-hire company in Sydney (Australia) and for a smallish fee you can enjoy gourmet food (they try to be as local and organic as possible) packed sweetly in a wicker basket with cutlery, dishes and lovely little extras like handcrafted menus and banners. You can also get blankets and cushions. Geez. Maybe they franchise.


Visit their site to see more pictures and learn more about their sweet company. Be warned, if you weren't hungry before you visited their site, you're going to be once you read all of the delicious foods they offer!
Through the Sydney Picnic Co blog I discovered these vendors for traditional wicker baskets and adorable vintage plate cake stands, and these super fun and super eco-friendly picnic boxes.


Baskets and cake stands are from Life's a Picnic and the boxes are from Boxsal.

Oh Amelie!

There's a sweet french movie called "Amelie" that you + I really love (or at least I do and you will). It's subtitled but a delight to watch and listen to and the soundtrack is gorgeous. As is the cinematography (how could it be anything but with Paris as it's backdrop?). Design*Sponge does a fun feature called "living in..." where they take screen captures of different films and then feature different housewares and fashion items that represent the film. They recently did one for "Amelie" you should definitely have a look.
Obviously the movie has inspired quite a few talented artists and in the June 2010 issue of Nonpareil magazine, a handful of creatives got together to create a party based on the movie. It turned out really nicely.



See a fun little video of the party here.
I've been waiting for the perfect post to incorporate these lovely designs from Emerson and I think they have that certain je ne sais quoi that goes quite well with this French party. They're really fantastic and Emerson herself (the blonde is her) is really quite funny. Go visit her.


Darling aren't they? I love the stripes with that big red flower! Perfect outfit for croissants wouldn't you say? Oui!

Delicious Delights

What's more lovely than cakes and bakery counters and gumballs? Paintings of such goodies of course. Wayne Thiebauld painted some really beautiful desserts in the 60s. He reminds me of Edward Hopper in his technique and in the overall feel. The paintings, although quite charming, have a sense of loneliness and want in them. But they are delightful aren't they?

If you thought those were sweet (pun intended obviously), you're going to love these dessert drawings from Mr. Andy Warhol. I've loved them for awhile and am glad to finally share them with you!

I love his quote on that glorious yellow cake "Food is my great Extravagance". Somehow I doubt that to be true, but it shows you how much he really loved the things he drew.
Who wants cake?
Sources: Artchive // IN // World Gallery

Cheers!

Time magazine online did a little gallery of "what booze looks like under a microscope". The alcohol is allowed to crystalize and then is magnified over 1000 times under a microscope. Amazingly this is what you get.




Lovely aren't they? See more here and here.
Have a good weekend! Cheers!

Sweet sweets

I have always loved a beautiful table. One of the first things I really remember admiring in a Martha Stewart Weddings issue was this gorgeous photo shoot that centered around an amazing strawberry cake table. I couldn't find the image to share with you, but I found plenty of other inspiring dessert tables. This is such a great idea for a wedding or a shower or an afternoon tea with the ladies.

Aren't they so fun? I love the vanity with the tiny fruit desserts and the wedding cake with the paper banner and macaroons. I think it's such a good idea to do a dessert table for your wedding instead of just the one cake. Then people can enjoy their favorite dessert - not everyone loves cake you know!

Images from Hip Hip Hooray // Swanky Tables // Amy Atlas

Sunday Suppers

Sunday Suppers is this amazing, lovely event that happens once or twice a month at a beautiful downtown loft in Brooklyn, New York. Fourteen to twenty strangers get together to learn from a local chef how to cook a meal using market fresh, organic ingredients. After the cooking, the group sits down to enjoy the meal together. What a great way to make new friends!




Oh boy did I have a hard time stopping with the graphics on this one! Sunday Suppers was started by photographer and stylist Karen Mordechai so of course all of the images on the site are beyond enchanting. The event encompasses my favorites: beautiful food, styling, decor, paper goods, aprons. And would you just look at how sweet Joanna Goddard (of a cup of jo) looks with her pregnant belly wrapped in a lovely apron. Gorgeous. Visit Sunday Suppers for more stunning imagery and delicious recipes.

Illustrated Recipes

Today we combine two of my favorites: fun illustrations and recipes. I don't actually do a lot of cooking, but I love cookbooks and recipes and beautiful photographs or illustrations of all that goes into creating in the kitchen. This is why I got so excited when I found the British blog recipe look. The creator of this resource invites anyone who has a recipe to share to illustrate said recipe and it'll get posted to the site. Fun huh? And you haven't even seen the products yet!

I've had this beautiful blackberry pie recipe for quite some time. It originally came from design*sponge. Aren't the colors glorious? I had it as my desktop background for awhile, but I got hungry every time I looked at my computer (which is ALL the TIME) so I had to change it. But it's gorgeous and worth sharing.

And then I found this charming "Chai Tea" recipe from a funny little lady named Lucy (I found this via greenwala though). Read it, it's clever.

Speaking of clever and things you must read, look at these funny little "recipes" from Laura George. Recipes for enjoying a banana and relieving stress. (If you can't read it let me know and I'll translate. So. Stinkin. Cute.)

Chocolate Bar Packaging

I'm a sucker for good packaging and for anything sweet (you too?) so these chocolate bar wrappers are right up my alley.

I was very disappointed in my planning this morning: that I didn't have any chocolate in my house when I sat down to put this post together. Hopefully you won't be in that same situation (although I must say the exceptionally sweet and delicious watermelon I settled on was delightful). Most of this chocolate can be purchased online if you can't find it near you. Sources: sweeteeth // askinosie // theo // rococo // eugene and louise // fling // alice // mast brothers

Outdoor Dining

After a long (cold!) midwest winter, I want to do everything I can outside. Which includes battling the bugs and the wind and the occasional raindrop to enjoy the company of friends around a nice meal. As of yet, I don't have any way to do this in my back yard. But I hope that will someday change and I'll be able to play hostess in a space like this.


(sources: from top left and clockwise— design*sponge, tec pataja, once wed, rightbank, better homes and gardens, domino via rightbank, once wed) I'm a "goes-together" but doesn't perfectly match kind of gal and I adore (and own) all types of random dishes, so this aesthetic really appeals to me. I love the different glasses and plates and containers of flowers. There's such freedom in simply putting down your mix of dinnerware and calling it done. Trust me, if you believe they coordinate, so will everyone else.

Use what you've got, but if you need some additional pieces or are new to this idea, check out some of these lovelies. Wouldn't that owl pitcher (01) be fun with lemonade or pansies? The cutlery (02) from modcloth is sold as a completely random assortment (and is always out of stock because of it's fabulousness) but doesn't it give you the justification you needed to pick up that random spoon you loved at goodwill or a tag sale? To me, plates + bowls (03, 05) are the easiest and most fun to collect—there are so many charming prints. Outdoor dining is incomplete without candles, and these jars (04) hang easily from trees and look like little fireflies. Why don't I already own these stumpy salt and pepper shakers (06)? They'd be right at home with my other silly shakers. An outdoor friendly side table (07) is nice because you aren't constantly running inside to grab things. And if it's filled with lovely glasses like these, (08, 09, 10, 11) what could be better? Now, go plan a menu...

Happy Easter

In honor of all of the chocolate I'll consume on this most sugary day, I thought I'd feature the enchanting Mast Brothers chocolate factory in New York. It's the only bean to bar chocolate factory in the city and these pictures from the Selby beautifully show their process.



And thankfully they pay attention to their packaging! It's absolutely perfect.

Hope the bunny brings you some of these lovely goodies!

A Votre Sante

I took a few years of French but didn't retain much, so I don't want to give you the wrong impression with the title of this post... I absolutely had to google "french version of 'cheers'". And "a votre sante" is what I got. This apparently means "to your health" which is quite a lovely sentiment, don't you think?

Another thing I don't want to mislead you about is my wine knowledge (of which I have none). But I couldn't possibly focus a week on Paris and not talk about wine, so, here we are. I've loved these photos from Flickr user tompalumbo for many moons and am so pleased that they fit with this post so well! They're from Paris in 1962 and they are exactly what I picture when I think of Frenchies (can I call them that?) drinking wine— a dimly lit cafe, bow ties, brooches and kissing.

Since I don't know a thing about wine, I am forced to judge a bottle by it's label. And I would absolutely purchase these lovely bottles from designer Thomas Berthon. He has a beautiful grasp on typography and does such a nice job with layout and color. Speaking of color, isn't that pink rose wine so charming? I'd hate to drink it!

And these from designer Hanna Backman, and from labels Hold Up and Fat Bastard are so witty and fun! I heart the moustaches and that sweet hippo!

And finally, I discovered an online winery that offers any wine you can imagine and gathered a collage of labels for you to enjoy. So, enjoy!

Patisserie

I've been reading a charming book by Debra Ollivier called Entre Nous (which means "between us" in French). The book chronicles her decade spent in France after she (a Californian) married a Frenchman and made the enviable trek to Paris. She writes casually but with authority and has managed to explain some of the things that have always intrigued me about French women: their style, their relationships, their ability to enjoy dessert without guilt...
When I think of French pastries I envision Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst lounging among tiered confections and fresh berries. She looks like a lovely dessert herself.

I've seen a lot of french macaroons lately—I take them to be the new cupcakes as far as trendy baked goods are concerned. There's one French patisserie in particular that serves lovely macaroons (and is responsible for that glorious mint green cake above). Laduree offers a wide variety of flavors (like orange bloom, chocolate with lime and mango with jasmine) pictured in this darling illustration.

These desserts are so elegant and understated from blogger Sooishi. Wouldn't you love to pour yourself a cup of coffee and bite into that crispy meringue? Or slice into that rhubarb pavlova? I was unfamiliar with pavlova but apparently the base is a meringue which is then topped with whipped cream and rhubarb resulting in a crisp outer shell and an interior similar to marshmallow. Sounds heavenly!

Of course it's not all whipped sugar and decadent cakes. The French often eat an elaborate cheese plate as the finale to a three-hour long evening meal or will end with a flaky tart topped with fruit fresh from the local market or maybe a puff pastry with creme and raspberries.

Whatever you're indulging in, be sure to compliment with a glass of le vin. Bon appetit!