Not So Ordinary Things

Ever heard of Los Angeles-based artist Andrew Lewicki?  Me either, until I stumbled upon a review of his work on one of the design blogs I follow. Interesting stuff, isn't it? The Oreo cookie manhole cover is definitely my favorite. There's something about imagining a handsome, sweaty, McSteamy kind of man crawling out of the ground with a gigantic cookie shell like this one that makes me smile.

Louis Vuitton waffle maker. 

Accordion Obscura

The Weekend in Pictures

1.  Escargot from RN74
2.  An unexpected Saturday morning shoulder massage from our kitty, Bella
3.  You only live once.  So true!
4.  Fresh, homemade bouquets. Daisies, chrysanthemums, roses, carnations and more.
5.  First sign of grapes growing in our front yard
6.  A night out at the theater - RENT!

Friday Funny

The missed dock jump. A classic summertime failure.  Happy Friday everyone!


P.S. The only thing damaged in the making of this film was this guy's dignity.

Wedding Preview

It's wedding time again. Hooray! I get to do what I love and make somebody else's day special. You can't beat that feeling.  Luckily, the bride for this wedding was very easy to work with and gave me complete freedom to do whatever I wanted so long as I added yellow gerber daisies and "some white flowers for contrast." I'm pleased with the results and I think the bride will be too.  

I'll be sure to share photos post-wedding. Professional photographers have a way of making my arrangements look like works of art! Until then, here's quick preview of the bouquets:

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Feed the Squirrels

We have a walnut tree in our backyard which means that come fall, our lawn is bound to be a walnut paradise. Every squirrel's dream! I don't mind. In fact, I like the idea of having a little fun with it. Something like this hilarious Big Head Squirrel Feeder would no doubt be entertaining.

The World's Most Expensive Cupcake

They call it The Golden Phoenix and it hails from a bakery in Dubai. It's made from the world's finest chocolate and real, edible gold flakes and goes for the shocking price of $1,050! Can you imagine?

You can see how it's made here.

Friday Funny

This pretty much sums up how I'm feeling going into the weekend. How about you?

Geek Alert! Social Media Attire

Geekologie has an interesting sartorial-inspired post honoring all the colors of the social media rainbow. What does that look like? It's kind of cool, actually. I never realized how Where's Waldo-esque Pinterest colors were. As Geekologie points out, an outfit like that could double as a Halloween costume so that's a bonus.

Mixology Monday: Stout Floats

After working in the yard the other day, I was craving a nice, cold beer. I also wanted something sweet.  Solution? A beer float! I've seen them in restaurants and in magazines lately and they look delicious. The most popular version seems to be combining a stout with salted caramel or vanilla bean ice cream.  There isn't a standard recipe to follow since everyone prefers a different level of sweetness, but if you have ice cream and beer floating around (pun intended), mix 'em together and see what happens. Cheers!

Felines in Film

Do you love cats? How about cats in films? If you can answer yes to both questions, you're in luck my friend! The first ever International Cat Film Festival will be taking place on August 20th in Minneapolis this year. Though the entire festival is only expected to last an hour, I think it's a great idea and wish I could be there. Curious to see what comes out of it!

Physics Gets Animated - Higgs Boson Explained

Have you heard all the recent buzz over the newly discovered "God particle"? Admittedly, I'm more of an artsy, right-brained kind of person so I found a lot of the articles and press coverage for it difficult to follow. This animated cartoon does a nice job of summing it all up!


The Higgs Boson Explained from PHD Comics on Vimeo.

Love is Forever

Sometimes you read inspiring stories of love that unexpectedly take your breath away. This L.A. Times story does just that:

Joe was married to Eileen for 40 years before ovarian cancer claimed her life in 2002. Ever since her passing, he's taken to placing ads in the L.A. Times newspaper, once on her birthday and once on the day she died. He'll say things like, "Happy birthday, Ei. Let's go shopping at Loehmann's. We miss you a lot." It's his way of showing that even though she's gone, he still grieves for her and loves her very much. 

What a touching reminder that love truly is eternal.

Mixology Monday: Irish Coffee Pops

If you believe this article, popsicles are the latest trend to hit the bars this summer.  Personally, I love the idea and I hope it's not just a passing fad. I love the idea of having a nice after dinner drink and a dessert all wrapped into one treat. If you care to give the new trend a whirl, here's a great recipe from Gilt Taste for Irish Coffee Pops:

Irish Coffee Pops

• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup of strong cold coffee
• 3 tbs simple syrup
• 1/3 cup of Irish whiskey
• 1 cup whipped cream
• 1/4 cup of chocolate covered espresso beans, finely chopped
• Popsicle molds
• Popsicle sticks

Combine ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking together the vanilla yogurt, cold coffee, simple syrup and whiskey. Fold in the chopped espresso beans.

Gently swirl in the whipped cream for a marbled effect.

Fill in the popsicle molds and insert a popsicle stick into each. Freeze for 6 hours and enjoy!

4th of July Roundup

It's Thursday, friends. Rejoice, the weekend is almost here!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July. We had the day off from work so we decided to fill it with exercise. We started the morning off with a 9am jog around Green Lake (our backyard), then took a 2.5 hour walk to Gas Works park to check out the crowds gathering for the fireworks show. By the end of the day, we'd ran and/or walked 10 miles! Needless to say, I'm pooped, but it was a fantastic day!

                  

The view of Mt. Rainier from our deck, pre fireworks.

Enjoying a snack on our back deck. 

From our deck, we had a great view of the fireworks show on Lake Union. 

The Perfect Brunch Food?

A week ago, I had myself a little baking extravaganza that resulted in a chocolate bourbon pecan tart and something equally drool-worthy called orange marmalade bread pudding. Sounds delicious, right? Some tempting photos are below. Here's how it's made:

Make sure you have:

• 1 loaf of challah or egg bread sliced into 12 pieces
• 6 tbsp of unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 3/4 cups of whole milk
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• Whipped cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter a 9"x11" baking dish.

Spread the challah slices evenly with the butter. Cut the slices crosswise in half and lay in the baking dish so they overlap slightly.

In a bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, milk, cream, sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. (This will look just like french toast batter). Pour the mixture evenly over the bread and let stand for 30 minutes so the bread soaks it up. Occasionally press down on the bread for added absorption.

Bake the pudding for 30 minutes. While baking, warm the marmalade in a small saucepan over medium to low heat until it liquifies. Remove the pudding from the oven and spread the marmalade sauce over it. Return the dish to the oven and bake until the top is crispy (about 10 more minutes). Remove from oven and let cool. Before serving, add fresh whipped cream.

Fresh out of the oven! Add fresh whipped cream and it tastes like a creamsicle.

A closer look at the texture. It's a creamy, citrus-flavored delight.

Mixology Monday: Secret Starbucks Menu

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. We had a blast doing some indoor skydiving, checking out a classic car show and puttering around in our backyard. Plus, it didn't rain much so we'll call that a double win!

In today's mixology tip - have you heard of the secret drink menu at Starbucks? It's been around for a very long time, but I only found out about it recently. Here are some of the drinks you'll find:

Raspberry Cheesecake - White chocolate mocha with raspberry shots and whipped cream.
Zebra Mocha - White chocolate mixed with chocolate mocha.
Cake Batter Frappuccino - Vanilla frap with vanilla bean and almond flavoring.

Don't they all sound wonderful? Remember this the next time you're in a Starbucks!