I heart this red cake with pink icing. I have no idea how I feel about a strawberry cake, but the color combination is so happy. M won’t eat red food dye (it tastes funny to him) so I am not sure I could serve this in our home, although the coloring is from jello (yes, I know, not natural) and strawberry juice. I think I need to get a cake stand too. This cake looks all the more adorable perched above the table.
Monsters
I needed a smile today and these monsters were exactly what the doctor ordered. The rain and stress are starting to get to me a little. I am hoping to get back to a more regular schedule of blog posts so hang in there if you are still checking in!
Floating
I love this house by Rodales + Crecente. The way it floats above the ground, the huge expanses of glass, the indoor/outdoor space relationship, the floor to ceiling bookcases as room dividers with the huge pocket door, the bathroom… I love it all.
Hostel Environments
What kind of images come to mind when I say the word hostel? A room crammed with bunk beds, shared showers that require flip-flops, scenes from a recent horror movie by Eli Roth? You may want to give some hostels a second look. Along the lines of the Ace Hotel chain making its way to a city near you, these hostels are way cool with themed rooms, custom furniture, funky details, and your choice of shared or private bathrooms. Next time I am in any one of the cities listed in this article on Budget Travel you can bet I am going to be booking my room at one of these places. If it is good enough for Nathan Fillion it is good enough for me!
Vacation in Retrospect
After a week of biking, laying on the beach, grilling, puzzles, and hanging out with my family I am back at my computer catching up with emails and blog posts. Apparently LBI was the place for Brooklyn Bloggers last week. Who knew I was in such good company. We were fortunate to get in and out when we did. The traffic was bumper to bumper in the opposite direction practically from our house to LBI. My sister who is leaving for Australia in a few days (lucky girl!) and my cousin spent the 4th with M & me which helped extend the feeling of being on vacation. After we drove home, we trekked into the city for lobster rolls from Mary’s Fish Camp, (yum!) followed by cupcakes at Magnolia (although those were eaten in the morning because we couldn’t say no to the bread pudding at Mary’s) and then fireworks. Quite a packed day and a lot of fun.
The picture is from the Amateur Gourmet and if you are wondering what the deal is between Pearl and Mary’s Fish Camp Adam’s explanation will clear it all up for you. In my humble opinion, I say you can’t go wrong with either.
Shore
When I was young summer meant two things, week at the Jersey shore and two weeks in Beaver Meadow. As an adult I have had to make vacation decisions and my recent trips have taken me to far off places like China and New Zealand, leaving little time for the shore and upstate NY. This year I am kicking it old school. M&I are at the Jersey shore for a week with some family. Morning runs, days relaxing on the beach, evenings biking to get ice cream. While I love getting the chance to explore far off wonders, there is something to be said for being somewhere familiar. I have a chance to unwind, take a break and not feel like I might miss something if we aren’t constantly on the go. Breathe in. Breathe out. I could get used to this.
Safe Soap
I heart these soap knuckles. via
Great Outdoors
I live in NYC and I am not one of the lucky few to have a yard, balcony, patio or roof deck. On the opposite end of the spectrum, my weekend place is all outdoors with very little inside space (for now) so I am looking for inspiration on how to make it a fabulous place to spend my time relaxing. It just so happens that Apartment Therapy has the call out to readers to send their little slices of outdoor heaven. I am not quite ready to submit mine, but I certainly appreciate all the creative ideas. I especially like this deck with LED lights. Apparetly LEDs don’t attract mosquitoes like other lights, and I need all the help I can get in mosquito avoidance. If I am out for more than 30 seconds without Deet, I will be lucky to get away with only a handful of bites. String lights are one of my favorite ways to light a space at night. They are just the right glow without being overpowering.
DIY Shampoo
I recently made a change in my hair product choices. I stopped using anything with sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate or an ingredient ending in “one”. I did my best to choose products with ingredients whose names I could pronounce easily. I ended up with a very small bottle of clarifying shampoo, a larger bottle of conditioner and lotion. Yup, All I use in my hair after my shower is lotion. Want to hear something else you may not believe? I only shampoo about once a week. I have curly hair which is prone to dryness and frizz. I used to shampoo every other day, load on conditioners that promised to smooth the frizz and then goop on more conditioner, waxes, pomades, goodness knows what else. My hair is softer and less frizzy than ever and we haven’t quite hit the dog days of summer here, but I am feeling good about this new routine. Next time I need shampoo I am going to try one of these recipes. via image from corbis. my noni used to do this to my hair in the claw foot tub upstate NY.
Uniformity
From first through eighth grade I wore a uniform. Green plaid every day of the week. It made getting dressed in the morning easy, but it sure did get boring. I can remember how excited I was in seventh grade when I could wear a skirt instead of a jumper. That is how bad it was. Sheena Matheiken has taken wearing a uniform in a whole new direction. Starting with seven identical dresses, one for each day of the week, Sheena will be creating an outfit with “accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies” as a year long fundraiser for The Akanksha Foundation. You can see each of her outfits on her daily blog. If you are a fashion designer you may be able to collaborate with Sheena to create an outfit or donate your accessories. I only with I could have personalized my uniform like this!
iamlizbeth.com 
