Bookshelves!

One of my favorite design elements..not only are they completely functional, but bookshelves are a great way to personalize your space and bring in great color.  Historically the fireplace is the heart of the home, but I would say bookshelves run a close second.  Here are some of my favorite..

image from lonnymag

Love this classic cubby style shelving.

image from living etc

The symmetry makes your stuff look perfectly put together.

image from designsponge

Modular cubby shelves on wheels, perfect for apartment living.

 image from designsponge

An entire bookcase wall..heaven.

image from living etc

 Someday I'd like to have a little book-reading nook.

image from designsponge

Love the easy look of the rustic reclaimed shelves against the brick. 

image from lonnymag

And also the chic, polished look of the mirror backing and paneled 

cabinets. A formal but flashy look that really expands the space.

image from living etc

For the truly dedicated..color coordination. 

Doesn't even need to be real, still cute.

Maybe one of the first bookcases to ever catch my eye..look familiar?

I immediately ran out and bought lots of magazine holders. 

Recently I've Come to a Realization..

The weddings that used to fill my calendar are slowly being replaced by baby showers.  I guess this is only natural, but for someone who used to love buying wedding gifts, I struggle with what to get moms-to-be.  The idea of giving someone a diaper genie or breast pump just seems boring and maybe a little weird..so over the last couple weeks I've been gathering gift ideas meant to be fun, educational and inspire creativity, or at least look really cute in the nursery.

Available at Uncle Goose

Educational and good looking, perfect.

Available at Design Public

Something soft and cozy to wrap the little one in. 

Available at Brook Farm General Store

 Handmade wooden logging truck, super cool.  

Available at BabyRoom

Colorful nesting birds, adorable and interactive 

Available at Dwell Studio

Wooden puzzles, a timeless classic.

Available at All Modern

So many different Flensted Mobiles to choose 

from, all handmade.  (This has been my go-to 

shower gift for a couple years now) 

Available at L'Occitaine.com

Pampering for the Mom and the Baby.

Available at Velocity

I mean, this little fella speaks for itself.

Available at Areaware

What new born doesn't need a gold pickup? 

Who's Cooler Than..

Eero Saarinen, one of the leading figures in American 

Mid-Century modern architecture and furniture design, long

time Charles and Ray Eames collaberator and

my personal hero.

 Aline Saarinen Collection, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution C:1958

 Shown above sitting on one of his own creations..  

The iconic Tulip Chair .

Image from: Eero Saarinen, An Architecture of Multiplicity

And here (the spitting image of my grandfather) 

 Saarinen relaxes on his other classic, the Womb Chair.

I've never sat in one, but they look so very comfortable.

 

TWA Terminal, Idlewild (now Kennedy) Airport 1962. [Ezra Stoller © ESTO]
My favorite of all his projects, the TWA Terminal in New York, was 
recently renovated and now supposedly serves as an entrance to JFK's

 JetBlue Terminal, though I've yet to figure out how to get inside..

Open to the public just last spring, Saarinen's Miller House 

in Columbus Indiana, epitomizes Mid-Century residential 

design.  Love the sunken sitting area and multi purpose 

storage on the back wall. 

And of course the St. Louis Acrh. 

On all of my cross country adventures I never passed through 

St. Louis.  Someday I'd love to take the elevator to the top.

And most importantly, here in my own home town 

Eero Saarinen's Klienhans Music Hall.  Yeah Buffalo.

Light up boys, you've earned it! 

 Saarinen shown here with Charles Eames (right)

Such a great shot, from a great blog..

It's September..

And though it's still a bit warm for fires (high of 82 today) I needed to share our latest addition here at 22 Irving, a new wood burning stove!! It's smaller, more efficient and way cuter, can't wait till October.

old stove

new stove

so huge

so compact

PS we'll be patching and refinishing our wood floors in two weeks, which will pretty much complete our work on the house..crazy.  Kind of sad it's all over.  Ahh memories.

Buffalo Show House

Photo taken by Forest Productions and Photography

GF Pie Take Two

It's June 20th?  My last post was almost a month ago..where does the time go?  I guess I got a bit carried away with summer and all of its projects and activities.  And while we're on the subject of neglected hobbies, since the very sad realization of a gluten allergy my kitchen-aid mixer, cake pans and rubber spatuals have all been collecting dust. But like I said, it's June, and the bounty of the Farmers Market's strawberries and rhubarb gave me that little nudge I needed.  So here we go, GF pie take two. 

For my first flour-free pie attempt I used Bob's Red Mill 

all-purpose gluten free flour mix.  Some people like it, but 

I found its consistency a bit sandy.. this time I used a pie crust 

specific mix given to me by my mother-in-law, purchased 

from the SillyYak Bakery in Madison Wisconsin.

 The weird thing about the recipe printed on the bag
was the 1/2 cup of shortening it called for.
I'd never used the stuff before.

But I'm certainly open to trying new things these days, so I
threw it in the cuisinart along with two tablespoons of
butter and a 1/4 cup of milk. 

The dough seemed dry so I doubled the milk but it was still nothing 

I could have rolled out, so I just pressed it into the bottom of the pan.  Boo.

Though a bit discouraged, I spooned in the filling:

Strawberries, rhubarb, lemon juice and zest, sugar, 

cornstarch and a pinch of salt.

And opted for a sprinkling of oats, brown sugar and dollops of butter
as a topping. I guess it was sort of a hybrid pie/crisp.  

After about 30 minutes a familiar sweet fruity smell 

filled my kitchen.  I felt hopeful.

And in the end, the GF pie wasn't bad, it was almost good actually.  

But I still have a lot of learning and experimenting to do... 

And in the End..

I tired my best to be prepared for the madness I know was coming in April and May, but alas, I was not.  The inevitable last minute scramble happened, things didn't fit or work (or both) I almost broke a toe and I didn't sleep for about a week.. but in the end I finished setting up my room and the Show House opened its doors.  Now, for the entire month of May, my space will be toured by visitors from all over Western New York, so exciting and so surreal.  As is this.   

I had photographers take some shots with their 

fancy wide angle lens, but just to give you all an idea 

I took these quick pics on my phone.

Here's my goofy rendering.

And the map! 

(or source of sleepless nights)

So worth the insomnia..

Really ties the room together, don't ya think :)

Flags!

The West Side Bazaar, a project my mom's been passionately involved with for a couple years now, finally opens its doors tomorrow.  The vendors at this small indoor outdoor-style market are selling goods and cooking delicious food from countries all over the world.

To help with the window display I printed out  

 all 21 flags of the countries represented, and laminated them.  

Never thought I'd ever laminate anything, funny.  

 Then I strung them together with some twine

 And there you have it.

 

Love the woven basket bowls.

 If you're in the area go check it out this weekend! 

Congrats to everyone that worked so hard putting the bazaar together, 

Buffalo's very lucky to have you.