Summer Skirts

The best summer days are spent on the water, in a boat, feet buried in the sand, with a pretty pink umbrella drink in hand, head tossed back hair in face road trips, a good read accompanied by blissful warm breezes. Seattle has none of this right now, it's cold and gray, the entire city is lacking Vitamin D and sun rays so I set my gaze on happier sunnier things, like hunting for the perfect summer skirt and accessories for our new living room! Enjoy:

From Park and Cube. Maybe with this skirt I can float away to Rio, or Nice, perhaps Bora Bora?


American Apparel Skirt from Karla's Closet hose posts, are impeccable as are her outfits, she has skirts galore. Am envious and amorous of her collection and her taste!


This could be the go to item for the summer. Lingering Rays skirt from Anthropologie


Skirt from Duskjacket Attic,wouldn't it be so perfect for work?




{Click on photo to enlarge)
Beyond skirts, I fell in LOVE with this print at Made by Girl from a Coisas Da Doris, a shop in Brazil.

STYLE MAKERS: J. Crew's Mickey Drexler in the WSJ

Have you seen the Wall Street Journal article on J. Crew's CEO? It's pretty inspiring. He turned around Ann Taylor, GAP, and is now making history for sequins and the casually well dressed at J. Crew. There's also a hilarious video of his staff on their take of their character of a boss.


Photos courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.

A Conversation on Cool

Known for the iconic black and white tres cool photos of the famous, glamorous trend setting class, one of my favorite blogs The Impossible Cool with sultry, sexy, and the untouchable element of 'I don't give a damn, but you know you want to be me because you know I look good' photos and quotes like the image above, and quotes like:

“In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Now, there's more of where this goodness came from. TIC has released a new blog: A Conversation on Cool. More carefree, more interactive, a sunnier disposition of the style makers of former generations who we all wish we could be. And whose unattainable style we still copy in our time.

Below are some favorite images and quotes from the site. Enjoy! And join the conversation.

Always keep your face toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you. ~Walt Whitman

This has got to be my favorite Marilyn Monroe photo.










All images from: The Impossible Cool and Conversation on Cool

LOVE: Friends

Hello, hello! How have you all been? I'm sorry that it's been so long. So crazy busy. Just when I think I cannot work harder, I am proven wrong. But the summer months are approaching and I am very happy about this, though Seattle appears to be ignoring this fact. It's been a rainy June thus far. I must perform an anti-raindance if things continue as they have been. I wonder how that would look. Hmmm. The coming of summer is also a time for goodbyes. My good friend Ryan is leaving Seattle to pursue his second year in pharmacy residency at Duke, and I shall miss him. I became friends with him in pharmacy school, though I had seen him in a couple of my undergraduate classes. He was a go-to friend, the guy that will make you smile when life feels dire. Ryan also has an incredible knowledge of music and food, and just is all-around fun. Hi-jinks and adventures always ensue with Ryan.

I lack the intelligence and the words to be profound, but I will say this: friendships are just about the best things ever. Friends add a richness to life--they are the spice and sugar that enliven and enlighten everyday, normal, ho-hum events to lasting memories. They are also the salve and helping hand, when life is just a little too hard. Reflecting on Ryan's leaving, I must say that I am so grateful for the friends that I have and have had. In fact, I am pretty sure that any anti-raindance would involve kicking up one heels and dancing with a friend.

Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not all still friends.--Unknown

If there ever is a tomorrow when we're not together...there is something you must remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart...I'll always be with you.--Winnie the Pooh

The best things in life come in threes, like friends, dreams, and memories.--Unknown

Friends are the Bacon Bits in the Salad Bowl of Life--Pizza Place Sign

Thank you Ryan for inspiring this post! I'll see you soon!
--J

LOVE: This kitchen

It is the kitchen which makes me first fall in love with a house, and where I envision most of the living to happen. The home of photographer Dan Martensen and artist Shannan Click would be a great muse for creativity in the kitchen, on the canvas, or in the pages of my journal.

In the kitchen, plentifl counter space, natural wood and bar seating welcomes entertaining and allowing the chef (say me) be a part of the party while whipping up some delish eats.


I love the open space, the exposed woods, the relaxed decors and architectural detailing.

This feels like a home for open living. With your heart wide open and your creative spirit awakened.

Even the garden has an untamed loveliness. Carefree and beautiful, the way life should be.

All photos from the Selby.

EATS: Brunch is the New Lunch!

(Top photo via poopoorama on Flickr, the rest are the writer's own unless mentioned.)

The scrumptious symphony of savories and sweets, melting yoke succumbing to the gentle white membranes of a well poached egg swirling in hollandaise sauce, for these and so many more reasons, March is my month of brunches. It is the meal I most look forward to, appearing only during the calm weekend days when we can savor without being rushed. Above is my favorite pick of the month: the duck confit hash at Bastille, new French cuisine made of potatoes swimming in a slow cooked duck confit sauce braised to perfection topped with a perfectly poised poach egg and rosemary from the restaurant's rooftop garden. This is the slow food movement singing to me on a plate, sustainability at its best, and weekend living as we want it to be.


La Taberna del Alabardero Huevos Rotos-“Broken” Fried Eggs Over Shoestring Potatoes and Mushrooms served table side during happy hour but I think it would be a scrumptious dish for brunch.


Some delightful selections with a beautifully made cappuccino at Bakery Nouveau including a twice baked chocolate croissant, crisp fresh BLT with bread just pulled from the oven and quiche Lorraine.


At Monsoon, swoon worthy baked eggs with shiitake mushrooms, mustard greens, bechamel, smoked bacon and parmesan and below, oxtail pho with hon shimeji, oyster, and shiitake mushrooms.

(Photo above by +russ on Flickr)

And ofcourse, the heaven of brunches, the mecca of eggs benedict and the weekly union of the best there is in scenery, seafood and brunch culminates at Salty's on Alki. With a heady amount of eggs benedict, omelet, salmon, pastries, pasta, seafood options, from cupcakes to bagels and biscuits and gravy, there is probably not one brunch craving you have Salty's is not able to fulfill.


You can barely make it out, but beyond these windows are views of the city's skyline against a backdrop of water and blue skies.


Scrumptious little morsels of joy, passion fruit and mango baked with love and tenderly scooped into mini crumbly tarts.


Enjoy and good eating!

Golden Syrup

Growing up, the best way to describe me was awkward. Really skinny, messy hair, metal braces with mini-springs to correct my bite (crossbites are just about as awkward as you can get, just FYI), and glasses. To top this off, my awkward phase didn't end in high school. Oh no, it extended well into my undergraduate years (minus the braces and glasses, thank goodness). In my second year of college, I got a part-time workstudy position, doing some web support. And that was where I got my first exposure to what I can only describe as British nonchalant cool. All this happened in the form of my office mate, Carrie. She was getting her masters in Art History, but prior to this she had worked in New York for Conde Nast. She was just about the coolest thing on the planet. And in addition to this, she was incredibly nice to boot. Some people are just so damn lucky. The department that I worked for often had shindigs that involved food, and during one particular event, Carrie made flapjacks. Nope, it's not what you're thinking (if you're American, that is). Flapjacks on the other side of the Atlantic are an oat-y, buttery, chewy cookie. Quite tasty (though, to be honest, have you ever known anything that was buttery and bad?). Since then, I have tried to find recipes for this treat. Unfortunately, all of the recipes I found required this thing called golden syrup. Some recipes suggested using corn syrup as an alternative, but typically my results from these recipes turned out pretty awful.

I forgot flapjacks for awhile. Until I got my latest issue of Bon Appetit. And lo behold, Molly Wizenburg, of Orangette and A Homemade Life fame wrote about flapjacks in her column! So, keeping to theme of this supercool post, I must give a shout-out to Molly. What a fantastic writer and cook! And because of Molly, I got thinking the following: well, Molly lives in Seattle. I live in Seattle. Molly made flapjacks with golden syrup. There has got to be someplace in Seattle where I can get my little hands on some golden syrup. And yes, indeed, Metropolitan Market has golden syrup! Listed below is the recipe that Molly used. Praise the Queen. Now, if I could only get my hands on some self-rising cake flour so that I can make some rock cakes, I'd say we were ready to have an Anglofest.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/4 cup golden syrup*
• 2 1/3 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant or old-fashioned)
• Pinch of salt

• * A type of syrup popular in Great Britain; available at some supermarkets, specialty foods stores, and British import shops.

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan. Combine first 3 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until butter melts, sugar dissolves, and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Add oats and salt; stir until coated. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and spread out in even layer.
• Bake until top is golden (edges will be darker), about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 5 minutes. Cut into 4 squares; cut each into 4 triangles (mixture will still be soft). Cool completely in pan before serving.

Enjoy! --Jean

STYLE: Hats and Scarves Are What I Loves

I love this image. It encompasses everything I love: dining alfresco, dressing for yourself and not for everyone else. An external expression of internal bliss.

Recovering from a delicious four day weekend, my uniform of choice for all four days are: tights/skinny jeans, hat, scarf. It speaks of a bohemian life, living for the moment, appreciating what is and not wanting or desiring of more than just being. It is what I wear when I feel most myself and free spirited. Below are more inspirations from the Sartorialist. Enjoy.

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

Though working on my very own inspiration board, this mood board creates such an inspiring space from a cool and simple palate.

Mercedes Benz Museum Tornado.
An internal ventilation system built to form an artificial tornado.


Artificial glaciers, artificially maintained deposits of snow/ non-electrical ice reserves


A renovated fisherman's cottage turned cozy haven, reading nook included.


An artistic palate. How lovely is this home in Brussels?
The painted pillows are genius!


Lovely clothes from Toast, loving the yellow necklace and relaxed settings. How I swoon to unwind in a room full of hammocks!


The ooOO chair


Recipe of the week for gray cool Spring days: Tortellini Sausage Soup