confessions of a shopaholic

recently i was introduced to everlane.com, a new retail experience with luxury items under $100. i purchased two t-shirts from them and i can't wait to order some more. they are soft, easy to wear and very comfortable.

i'm really excited to see what their new line of leather totes looks like when they release them this week! seems like it could be the perfect springtime accessory!

plus, they've got a great tumblr filled with gems like this photo below.

camp yale is the place to be...

in the summer of 2009, my sister mary beth started calling our house "camp yale", all four kids + seav were in little elm for a weekend and we just had the best time playing in the pool, in the lake, on the jet skis and would have done some archery if we had the bows and arrows! it is such a fun home to go home to, and it actually does feel like camp while we're all there, hence the name. it's all in the name...

well the name stuck, a Foursquare venue (with 65 check-ins) was created and now there are actual campers heading there for a week full of campy activities! they are arriving from Lansing and Vermont and will be there until sunday.

mom has all sorts of fun activities planned that you can follow on the Camp Yale blog.

and now some camp yale pics to make you all feel like you're there too!

1962?

i'm beginning to realize that my life goes through distinct phases. of course, everyone's does and i don't think my phases are anything especially special. really they are micro phases in which i focus heavily on a certain x, y or z.

this fall it was a decade: the 60's to be exact

once we got back from our honeymoon and settled back into regular life in the city i realized i was a little bored. of course i was doing all my fabulous cooking (sort of), but with no wedding details to focus on my brain was craving something else to be filled with.

i had reactivated my Netflix account and we had received Season 1, Part 1 of Mad Men, the hit AMC show. all i'd heard were fantastic reviews and the first thing people asked me after they found out i worked in advertising was if i'd seen the show. you can imagine the shame i felt by not watching, right? can't you?

needless to say, i ended up watching 4 of the 5 seasons in about 3 weeks. that is a LOT of tv. and if you've ever watched the show you know that there's not a lot that happens after you get passed the racism, sexism and crude behavior at work. but still, i watched until my eyes were blurry.

it was only the start of my 1960's obsession. i began to really think hard about how a woman's role in a marriage and the household - and therefore her life - had changed since then. thinking back to my childhood and thinking forward to my future married-hood i saw very little being in line with how Betty Draper lived her life.

(Photo courtesy of http://2sistersblog.com/)

once the Netflix discs stopped coming, i was left with a lot more time on my hands and wanted to dive into a really, really good book. based on a recommendation from a friend i picked up Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman (purchase here). it was also conveniently available from the NYPL and a quick easy read that again, really touched on the role of women in the 60's. granted, it was a specific woman, Audrey Hepburn, but still. the book really went into detail about how all she ever wanted in her life was a baby and a husband and how she almost didn't do BaT because she didn't want to give up her family life. quite a behind the scenes look.

i eventually got past my black cigarette pant phase, only to find this kissing blog which is just pictures of folks kissing and being in love. it brought me back full circle, and it's fun to look at.  it's funny how life looks when there's a similar twist on everything you're consuming.

red, white and quilts all over!

this morning, i got to work and saw an email from my mom. it was a link to a NY Times magazine article called: Seeing Red (and White) about the Red and White Quilt exhibit put on by the American Folk Art Museum at the Park Avenue Armory. 

the email read: 

Julia, You MUST go see this and maybe buy a few postcards for me - no books, please! KKLL mom

i replied with:

it ends tomorrow! and they are only open tonight until 7! if i can get out of work in time i'll see if i can grab some postcards. looks amazing!

mom replied with: 

Julia – you MUST absolutely MUST see this.  I  cannot believe how gorgeous it looks.

----
if you know my mom, you know that she never insists i do anything. NEVER! so i figured that this event was worth checking out. so i did. at lunch. check out the pics below! it was really incredible, and such a shame that it was only on display for 7 days.

    

and the oscar goes to.... the pizza

so last night the 83rd Annual Academy Awards took place in LA at the Kodak Theater and across the country on ABC.

i watched them from the comfort of my living room with my mom, Ann, and sister, Emily,  homemade pizza and a glass of wine.

wait! my mom and sister were visiting? nope, we just emailed back and forth through the entire show! except, i think mom was texting us for some reason. either way, this morning my inbox looks like this:

if you can't see it, those are all the emails (or texts) that were sent back and forth. pretty decent showing if you ask me!

now onto the pizza! my mom has made homemade pizza ever since i can remember and it's always a treat. so i decided to attempt my own version last night. i referred to my trusty "Joy of Cooking" and found an easy no fuss recipe.

1.3 cups of warm water ~105 - 115F
1 package of yeast (approx. 1.5 tsp)
3.5 cups of flour
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp EVOO
(1 Tbsp sugar) - this was not included because i prefer my dough to be a bit on the salty side

combine water and yeast in a mixing bowl until yeast is dissolved. add in flour, oil and salt and mix with bread hook until elastic and all ingredients are combined. transfer to a stainless steel bowl lightly coated with olive oil. let rise in a warm place until double in size.

after dough rises, punch down and divide into two balls. let each ball rest for 10-15 minutes lightly covered with plastic. then roll out into a 12" round and place on an oiled baking sheet.

then, simply don your toppings (i chose pepperoni) and bake in an oven at 475 for 13 minutes. voila! pictures below.

yummy wine with a funny drawing

Seaver, the pizza connoisseur

all the 

preparations

finished!

Cooking the cold out

Today in new york city it was 8° when I woke up. I can't say I've ever been in weather that cold. On my walk to work, I had icicles forming around my nose and breathing with my mouth open felt like biting into an ice cream cone, ouch! To add to all this, my office also had sub zero temps since the heat was off all weekend!

With no fire place there was only one thing I could think of to warm me up. Cooking!

On the stove currently is a 16 bean soup and a whole chicken in the crockpot! Both for tomorrow nights dinner. I already can't wait!

PS. This is the first time I've cooked a whole bird of any sort and I got a kick out of sitting it up in the pic.

Pps. If I can remember, I'll take after pics tomorrow night!

My quiche-terpiece

Easy, yet fancy feeling dinner. Only on the late side because of a late Monday at the office.

Made with Bacon, cheese, 3 eggs, cream, milk and secret seasonings!