ideal nursery design

It's too late for me, I think, but I'm dreaming about the perfect design for a nursery and it would have one main feature that mine does not: A sink with a cabinet under it by the changing table. It would be so much easier to bathe baby, wash hands, get a dab of water for a sponge bath if the sink were right there. The extra storage under the sink would be great for diapers, garbage bags, wipes and formula bought in bulk.

I'm just saying. If you look at the picture of my changing table below, you will see that it is sorely missing a sink to the left of it.



PS: please excuse the stray socks under the changing table...baby was sleeping nearby so I didn't want to wake her w/ too much styling...

Animal Prints

These animal photos are amazing! From Sharon Montrose's Etsy shop--I first saw one of a baby basset hound on A Cup of Joe.

The Best Snowglobe Ever

My friend Margaret Sweet made snow globes for Christmas presents. Genius! Above is the one she gave me...with penguins and some sparkly seaweed in an old spaghetti sauce jar. She says the trick is a drop of glycerin in the water. Also, she uses two kinds of sparkles for snow, as they fall at different rates. Below is the snow globe during a blizzard:

Pantry Basics

If you asked me what I thought the most important pantry items were I'd say: lemons, garlic, onions, a chunk of parmesean cheese, loads of organic frozen peas and corn, a good spice rack with saffron, a variety of rices, ginger, honey, and molasses. Anyway, no one asked me, but that's what I would have said.

At the risk of drawing too heavily on yesterday's NY Times, I wanted to share this article by Mark Bittman about stocking a pantry. I like it because it's about keeping things simple, yet making things really good and indulgent...if that makes sense.

The picture above is from the article yesterday...I see they have a leg of Spanish ham which of course every kitchen should have though few rarely do. My dream kitchen would have one hanging from the ceiling in the larder.

Are there any other basics for the kitchen to add to the list?

Photo: Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times

squirrel cassarole

Where to begin? I saw this article in the NYTimes about how squirrel meat is all the rage in the UK. For real. Some phrases in the article that caught my eye in particular were: "...held a squirrel tasting..." and "served with watercress 'to evoke the treetops.'"

This is of particular interest to me because we have cheeky squirrels around our house that I fantasize about trapping but am too chicken to actually do anything about. These squirrels sit by our front door waiting to be fed! They approach humans for snacks rather than flee from them in terror. No kidding, I've had to hide in my car from a particularly cheeky squirrel. So you can understand the appeal of turning the tables.

I wonder if W will want to try some squirrel pate, he was certainly keen to eat whale in Iceland despite my threats to notify Greenpeace. Will anyone who has tried squirrel please report?! I think there's a recipe in the old version of The Joy of Cooking. I'll have to check.

Guest Room on Design Sponge

Ohohoh, I'm just catching up with things...I'd wanted to say how excited I was to have our guest room on Design Sponge in November. Yay! I love Design*Sponge. The sheepskin rug and orange and white bed spread and pillow case are from Ikea. The dresser is from the Container Store (I don't think they carry it anymore), and the armchair was in my mother's nursery, then my bedroom when I was a baby. I had it slipcovered by Versailles Upholstery in NYC, they did a great job.

Designing for the Times

I thought this article in the NYTimes yesterday was interesting and spot on--the headline is Design Loves a Depression.

It's all been too much. Give me a few classics that will last over time.

While pregnant, I was overwhelmed with all the stuff people said I had to buy. As it turns out some of the stuff is necessary (crib, changing table, bottles, pacifiers, etc) but some just isn't. Instead of buying a bottle warmer appliance, I put bottles in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes. That, or I leave them on the radiators. And I'm happy to say there's one less appliance in my life and on my countertop. Two less if you consider that we don't have a microwave and don't think we need one.

Heading into the New Year, Zen Simplicity is my mantra, and my goal is to take good care of what I already have. Bring on the new design, I just hope it's useful and made to last.

[photo from the NYTimes: Left, Tony Cenicola for The New York Times; right, Museum of Modern Art]

Cartoon of Note

I just stumbled across this old New Yorker cartoon. Isn't it funny? It's one of my favorites. Maybe it's appealing now because I'm sitting in front of the fire enjoying a glass of red wine after nearly a year of abstaining what with babies and such. Que Viva.

Christmas by the Sea

I love this salty Christmas business. It's so cheery to see the lights at the end of the docks.

Happy New Year!