original image via
Happy Weekend
Rumor has it this weekend the temperature will finally be cool enough to enjoy some alfresco seafood feasting. So you can find me sitting on patios with lobster cracker in hand and a smile on my face for the next two days, with a brief excursion west to the British food import store. At which point my anglophilia will be on full display as I geek out over authentic British snacks for the Olympics opening ceremony ( I can not begin to tell you how excited I am!). Have a wonderful time friends, see you next week!
original images: via | via | Bacon Bloody Mary recipe
Make It Better
I wish I was the type of person who made everything at home, from scratch, just on principle. But, I’m not. There are some things I just won’t fiddle with at home. French fries for example (nothing beats the frozen kind), or Nutella (how do you improve on perfection?). I’ll engage myself in jiggery pokery of the culinary kind only if I can do it better on my own.
When I see a $14 bottle of corn syrup laden, artificially flavored simple syrup? Well. We can do it better on our own. One cup of sugar, one cup of water, bring to a boil. Simmer until all sugar crystals have dissolved. If you’d like a flavored syrup add mint, lemon peel, lavender, whatever you can dream up, at the beginning and simmer away. Let cool, strain into an airtight bottle, store in the fridge. No corn syrup, nothing artificial, certainly not $14.
Stainless Steel Water Pitcher | India Tree Caster Sugar | Giara Hermetic Bottle
Punting Down The River
I’ve had some (limited) experience with canoes on lakes and rivers, usually consisting of 10 minutes of enjoyment followed by an hour stuck in the bank weeds, followed by me swearing to never step foot in a canoe again. Kayaking is a sport, and I am nothing if not un-sporty so that is a no go. But punting! This I could do for hours on end. As exhibit A please notice how fantastic that punting gent looks in his hat and blazer, and (more importantly) as exhibit B please notice the champagne coupe next to him. Any outdoor activity one can do with cocktail in hand is my kind of good time. Especially if it involves a legitimate reason to wear a boater hat.
Brixton Hat | Suoli Mini Dress | Alfredo Haberli Champagne Coupes | “Best of British” Bracelet | My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse | Playing Cards | D. R. Harris Lip Balm and Cucumber and Roses Milk | Sperry Top-Sider Marin Flat | Willow Picnic Basket
Marylin Audrey Jackie
At some point every summer my husband tries valiantly not to harm himself out of boredom as I put on sunglasses and ask: “the Audrey, or the Jackie? Audrey? Jackie? Audrey?…“. So far the answer has always been the Audrey. I suppose one must mature a bit and graduate to the Jackie. Ashley Brooke Designs has obviously read my mind with this adorable print and card set, for once I don’t have to choose, I can have them all!
”Don’t listen to anyone. Trust what gives you pleasure. Trust the emotions. If you love something but can’t explain why, that’s enough.“
~ Calice Becker