christmas cheer in three easy steps.

{step one}

{step two}

{step three}

design inspiration

we just got word that we can stay in our current apartment, so that means i finally get to start redecorating plans! i need all the small space inspiration i can get for this teensy tiny 'winged 1 bedroom'.

apartment therapy has a great 'small cool spaces' series, like this williamsburg apartment.

home sweet homes #1-3

we've been moving around quite a bit lately. all the long-term leases we've seen seem too small, too old, or too far. but in the meantime we've had some amazing temporary homes that we've been sad to leave every time!

#1: we started out in adorable brooklyn heights with this view:

#2: then we had a brief stint on the UWS with this lovely puppy:

#3: now we've moved to this beautiful upper east side apartment where we're hoping we can stay for awhile!

sketchy miami

daniel and i spent a lot of time in wynwood this weekend: at panther coffee, the wynwood art walk and food truck rally, and my personal favorite - sketchy party #2.

sketchy miami is the brainchild of the beached miami blog, and has only one goal: to create a sketch of every person in miami. get it? sketches? sketchy? yeah. as part of this effort they have hosted two fantastic sketchy parties, where people from across miami can come to eat, drink, and be sketchy.

sketchy party #2 took place this past friday at the bakehouse art complex, which is amazing on its own. there were nearly a thousand people and what seemed like hundreds of artists there of all ages and backgrounds to sketch the people of miami. one woman even stitched her sketches into fabric with a sewing machine that she casually had on-hand.

we followed up the sketchy party with a midnight showing of 'troll hunters' at the nearby o-cinema. troll hunters is amazing and exactly what it sounds like - a film about norwegians that hunt trolls. epic.

panther coffee

along with my half-hearted attempt to eat healthier (these were my downfall), i also fully intended to kick my coffee habit this summer. this was made infinitely harder by the opening of panther coffee, a new cafe and specialty roaster in the wynwood arts district.

you can watch the beans being roasted right next to the counter, and the coffee is amazing. it's so hard to say no to an afternoon iced coffee when it's this good!

espresso blondies

i told myself i would eat healthier after tuesday's insanely indulgent food truck invasion. obviously that is not happening. last night we whipped up some chocolate chip and espresso blondies that were amazing. we adapted the recipe from smitten kitchen, which always gives me great results.

we made two batches - one chocolate chip, and one chocolate chip espresso which just requires a simple addition. here's how to make both.

{what you need}
1 stick of melted butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
for the espresso variety, add 1 tablespoon espresso powder (we used 2 tablespoons and they turned out very strong)
{what to do}
mix melted butter and brown sugar
beat in egg
add vanilla (and espresso powder if you like)
stir in salt, flour, and chocolate chips
pour into an 8x8 pan or muffin tins
bake at 350 for 20 minutes, and let cool
note: the espresso powder can absorb a lot of liquid, so if your batter is a little thick or dry add some milk until it is smooth and creamy

{batter should be smooth and creamy}

{we used muffin tins to make cute single servings}

{delicious}

food truck invasion

every tuesday night miami has a huge food truck invasion at tropical park. there's music, tables, chairs, and lots of food (about 25-30 trucks). we went last night and may have ordered wayyy too much food but it was so delicious.

{the view at tropical park}

{waiting for alcapurrias from rincon del coqui}

{amazing short rib cheesy spicy tater tots from dim ssam a gogo}

{crowd at sugar rush}

{deep fried oreos and chocolate oreo shake from sugar rush}

"a place for your rice, your cornflakes, your noodles"

searching for small space inspiration for our soon-to-be apartment, we came across this hilarious video of a man in a 258 square foot apartment. the apartment is actually amazing (it's modeled after a boat) with hidden kitchens and beds and tables and closets. it gave us some good inspiration for how to maximize our space, but more importantly, it is oddly endearing and gave us a lot of laughs. we may or may not have watched it twice in a row the other day.

gourmet twist

this week we've had fun putting a little twist on the classics. they're just as simple to make, but have that little something extra to impress a crowd.

{burgers&fries}

for father's day, my dad just wanted some good old burgers and fries. so, we picked up some of his favorite sirloin burgers from fresh market, along with some alexia's chipotle sweet potato fries.

to top things off, we sauteed mushrooms with rosemary and thyme, caramelized onions, and added some delicious gruyere cheese.

the result was a savory, juicy, flavorful burger that everyone loved.

what you need:
sirloin burger patties (fresh, not frozen)
onion, cut into thin strips
sliced white mushrooms
rosemary
thyme
onion buns (or kaiser rolls)

{grilled cheese}

when nobody felt much like cooking on wednesday, we decided to whip up some good old grilled cheese. instead of a white bread/american cheese combo, we used delicious multigrain bread, havarti cheese, thinly sliced granny smith apples, and a little sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg.

the result was delicious but so sweet it could almost be dessert!

what you need:
multigrain bread
sliced havarti cheese
granny smith apples
nutmeg
cinnamon
butter for the pan

any other gourmet twist ideas?

from the drafting table: hello + amish white bread

this will be the first of the celebrity posts from the other half of the blog. virginia is the brains behind the thing as the natural documenter, but the other half shall make his presence know. and so we begin with a particular interest of mine, baking bread!

while i lived in rome for four months in college studying architecture money was tight. vegetables were inexpensive, so they became a mainstay, and meat a budgetary victim. the other go to item was bread. it was cheap, beefed up the mass of any meal, and was south of two euros per delicious loaf at the family bakery on my walk from piazza navona where i lived to campo d'fiori where i took classes. but a bag of flour was 60 cents and water was free! i bought two bread pans at the casalinghi (translates to "the housewife store") and, a dozen or so batches later, i've never looked back.

this was the first recipe that i tried and it is still my favorite. it gets devoured by virginias, roommates, and family alike whenever it's made, and makes a mean french toast. in the end did it really make sense to spend three hours baking two loaves of bread to save a euro? not really, but there's something satisfying about it. and it left more money for wine.

daniel's amish white bread:

2 cups warm water

2/3 cup white sugar (if you use this much it comes out really sweet, i usually cut in half)

1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

6 cups bread flour (once you know the texture the dough is supposed to have, you needn't actually measure out the flour, just keep adding until it has that proper doughy texture)

1. in a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. allow to sit until yeast resembles a creamy foam (usually about 5 minutes).
2. mix salt and oil into the yeast. mix in flour one cup at a time (if you have a sifter, sift the flour as you add, but it's not necessary). knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. place in a well oiled bowl and turn dough to coat. cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour (don't stretch this too long, but the more it rises the fluffier it will be)
3. punch dough down (it fills with carbon dioxide as the yeast eat the sugars). knead for a few minutes and divide in half. shape into loaves and place into well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. allow to rise for 30 minutes or until dough has rise 1 inch above pans.
4. bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

p.s. to the men out there, the womenfolk find a man that can bake a good loaf of bread irresistible...

sunny days

summer sun is perfect for beach days with friends. i'm looking forward to many more of these over the next few months.

{palm trees & cloudless skies}

{bikinis & aviators}

{toes in the sand}

a little bit of nyc in mia

as i count down the days until the big move, i've been finding little ways to experience nyc here in miami. lucky for me shake shack recently opened down on lincoln road. it was just as delicious as i remember, and i can't wait for more from madison square park!

i had: the shack burger with lettuce, onions and pickles!

while daniel's away...

we have very serious skype sessions about the blog.






























come home soon please!

morning glory

there is truly no better way to start the day than with a delicious breakfast
of fresh fruit and greek yogurt.

here's what i include:

chobani plain non-fat greek yogurt
fresh blueberries
fresh slices strawberries
a sprinkle of granola
a drizzle of honey

design inspiration {part 2}

these pops of color, also via apartment therapy, are my dream. i love everything down to the lomography cameras on the mantel! i wonder if this would work as well in a teeny tiny new york apartment?

design inspiration

the apartments in new york seem to be getting smaller and smaller (as the rents get higher and higher), so i was thrilled when i came across this small space maximizer on the upper west side from apartment therapy. i prefer a little more color in my surroundings, but this really reminded me what beautiful things you can do with a tiny space. (hint: as long as you have no clutter)







i wonder if i'll be able to get my living room that beautifully simple. i wouldn't mind having a little dog like that too!

trial run: color coded bookshelves

color coded bookshelves have been popping up everywhere lately, but i never completely saw the appeal. my bookshelves, however, are now packed to the gills and started to look a little scary, so i decided to give it a try. the result is much more simple, appealing, and even calming.

this is a great and completely free way to add a new twist to something you already own!

first, separate your books into groups: black, white, warm colors, and cool colors.

then, order them by color and intensity. for example, deep red -> bright red -> red orange -> orange -> yellow.

i chose to break up the colors with a shelf of white, to avoid a rainbow effect.

enjoy!

and here's a little close-up from my desk.

sunglasses from bcbgeneration

mug from anthropologie

and of course, my beloved holga