my new favorite burger.

the hubby and i went to a new place in santa monica called sonoma wine garden. he had the burger and i had a lovely salad with nectarines and burrata. was fabulous. but what i found most interesting was that they put a beet on their burger. i hate beets. hate beets! but i saw it on his burger and thought...hmmmmm....i get it. ketchup is sweet. beets are sweet. i think i see where they are going. i tried a bite, and was won over. so last night - i tried it myself. with bison. to me, ground bison is a winner. its not as gamey tasting as bison steak. and its a leaner meat than cow. its great. here's how to cook a bison burger a la martha. (cooks a little differently than cow cuz its so lean). anyways - i love blue cheese on a burger. and i thought it would be an awesome contrast to the sweet beet. in my opinion, i was right. blue cheese, bison and beets. thats it! no sauce or lettuce or any thing else. - my new favorite burger.

lashes

i love mascara. and fake eyelashes. and green eyeshadow...but thats another post. point is....au natural lashes are not my thing. i like va va voom lashes. hello i'm here lashes. look at my lashes lashes. and i love products that help me get that.

i was turned on to revitalash by a school friend 2 years ago and i havent put it down since. that stuff WORKS. i'd try latisse, except my revitalash works so well... its like steroids for your lashes.

and i feel naked without mascara. i love mac zoom lash mascara except that it has a tendency to flake. i love lancome but its wicked expensive. and then the other day i was in cvs and the lady who worked in the cosmetics section advised me to give this a try. its called falsies by maybelline. i was skeptical, but she said if i didnt love it i could return it. so i made the jump. lo and behold....love it. and the price. love that too. it lengthens, and then lengthens some more. and separates, and adds some generalized (not clumpy!) chutzpa to your lashes. thank you cvs lady!!!!!!!!!!

on a side note....why is it that for every mascara ad, the advertisers are CLEARLY using fake eyelashes. i've never met a human with lashes that look like this......even with some awesome mascara. i love that the maybelline website thinks that ANYONE would believe these eyelashes are simply the work of falsies mascara. and i love the disclaimer under the photo "Erin’s look is enhanced in post-production."

THe Cancer Cards

i feel like these days, everyone knows someone who has cancer. One of my favorite girlfriends went through years of cancer treatments with her mom before losing her to breast cancer 3 years ago. this girlfriend of mine learned that a get well card barely hits the mark when it comes to well wishes for a cancer patient and developed

www.thecancercards.com

Here are a few i like...

the inside of this one says "I'd much rather have a martini"

this one speaks for itself

and this one says "Bald is buddhaful."

So - if any of you know someone who has cancer or has recently been diagnosed, lets give Jenny our business and buy a card that actually means something to these patients.

La Grande Orange

Restaurant review: La Grande Orange

Loved it! not too expensive, great food. fun atmosphere...

highly advocate this place if you are in santa monica!

1950's glendale house

oooooo......loving this.

I want, i Absolutely must have an original rockwall/fireplace when i grow up.

Love the floor to ceiling windows.

Love that the windows look out on to nature and this cool patio...

Love that its been untouched since it was built in the 1950's. (well, except for a little cement going to the front door and some landscaping.

found on LA TIMES

shelves!

i want this. only the furniture maker is in australia. mark tuckey.

house tour on apartment therapy

this house tour is one of my all time faves. love the bright colors. love the classic details. i've been wrong before....but i think with her color and appliance and hardware and material choices in the kitchen and bathrooms, these arent likely to go out of style or grow tired on the owner any time soon. and i loooove love love the orange!

cool kitchens

All from Coastal Living...

best use of 178 square feet

There was an article in the new york times about this kid.

...a 25 year old in brooklyn, who got a job as a junior designer by sending in pictures of his apartment. he may be my new hero. what an awesome use of 178 square feet! genius. seriously. even though i usually hate clutter...and excess. this guy has found a way to fit so much in one little space, and do so well!

and i now thnk every white bathroom needs a midnight blue ceiling. what a difference!

valentines day gift

here's the diy

Coconut macaroons

I think i mentioned when we went to Seattle this past July and ate our way through the entire city. Really - we ate our way through Tom Douglas' restaurants. We had been watching "The Best Thing I ever Ate" on the food network and his restaurants kept showing up. So we just ate at all of them...over the course of a 4 day trip. To this day, if anyone is on their way to Seattle I tell them, at the very least, they MUST eat at Serious Pie. (ANYONE can find a minute and the budget to get pizza right?) And if they can find the time, Dahlia Lounge and Lola's will not disappoint. And one of my favorite memories was eating at his fish restaurant, Etta's. We were sitting near the front of the restaurant and a Golden Retriever stopped outside the front door, and the hostess brought him a treat. Apparently, that happens every night. I mean, seriously, does a place get more charming than that?

Anyways - i also LOVE macarons (the french style), and coconut macaroons. And this morning i was reading this AWESOME food blog, Orangette, when the subject of macaroons came up. After some internet rambling, i got here....

Turns out, Tom Douglas makes coconut macaroons, but looking over the recipe, and the picture, these look like the perfect hybrid between macarons and macaroons. Recipe is below....got it from here. Making these today.

Coconut Macaroons à la Dahlia Bakery


Adapted from Tom’s Big Dinners, by Tom Douglas

2 large egg whites


A pinch of salt


2/3 cup granulated sugar


2 Tbs unbleached all-purpose flour


1 tsp pure vanilla extract


2 ¼ cups sweetened shredded coconut (Seattlest prefers Baker’s “Angel Flake” brand, no doubt full of chemicals, but delicious)

Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or, alternatively, in medium mixing bowl with handheld beaters nearby. Beat the egg whites on high speed until they hold stiff peaks. Gradually add the sugar, and continue to beat the egg white mixture for a minute or two, until it is glossy and smooth. Add the flour and vanilla, and beat the mixture on medium speed to just combine. If you are using a stand mixer, remove the bowl from the machine. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the coconut into the egg white mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for 8 hours, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray the paper with cooking spray; alternatively, line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat, in which case you won’t need to grease it. Fill a small bowl with warm water, and set it nearby.

Using a round tablespoon-size measuring spoon, scoop mounds of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. About 12-15 scoops will fit on a standard sheet. Do not flatten the batter; you want it to bake as a small mound. After each scoop, swish the measuring spoon in the bowl of warm water; this will help to keep the spoon clean and allow the sticky coconut batter to release from it more easily. When you have filled the baking sheet, bake the macaroons for 18-20 minutes, or until they are golden. Allow the macaroons to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes; then transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Repeat the process with the remaining batter.

The finished macaroons will keep nicely for a day or two in an airtight container at room temperature, or for a couple of weeks in the freezer.

swing chair and cool light

if only i remembered where i found this beauty

this is probably in gweneth paltrow's loft. i love the idea of a swing chair! found it here.

the above 2 i found at table tonic. makes me want a cowhide rug. and bright colored furniture. and that first couch. or just the whole room. cool blog too!

Simply grove and Jay McCarroll

Found this the other day and love her blog! and her house. and her!

Simply grove.

Love the all white.


love the metallic lamp. love the graphic bedspread
love the chair. and the mirror. and the table. and the way she put it all together.

okay - i have a penchant for the handmade. this is from jay mccarroll. remember him? 1st winner of project runway? anyways - i just love this pillow.

mairo

large pattern prints from the swedes.....llllove these...

all found at mairo