A Farewell to Wheat

Out of the blue, I learned I have an allergy to gluten...sure, there are worse things a doctor could tell you, but man this news hit me hard.  Now I'm no meat and no wheat, no one will ever have me over for dinner again..

In an effort to pick up the pieces and move on I bought some gluten-free flour and apples and decided to bake a pie.  At first everything seemed like it would be ok..I made the crust, wrapped it in plastic wrap and refrigerated it, but when I tried rolling it out it kept crumbling on me.  

Finally, I somehow forced the bottom crust into my 9'' pan and filled the shell with the apples (coated with sugar, cinnamon, lemon and dallups of unsalted butter)

The top was even more of a challenge, but after some serious tinkering I thought it looked pretty presentable.  As I brushed on my egg wash I felt hopeful my first gluten-free pie experiment would be a success.

Till it came out of the oven.

Looks like there's been a drought doesn't it?

It was impossible to get a decent slice, as soon as my knife hit the crust the entire pie collapsed.  The good news is it tasted OK.  I've only begun my crusade as gluten-free baker..

Fun with Acrylic

I have a feeling what I've seen of Toronto's design stores has been the mere tip of the iceberg, but we did stumble across some great spots during our last visit. 

So far Machine Age Modern, where I found these amazing chairs, is my fav.  Love how the wood legs warm up the acrylic seat, these little gems would look perfect pulled around a kitchen table. 

I'd never seen this acrylic spin on the classic Eames frame before.  I'll have one of each please:)  Two of the more typical acrylic furniture pieces are the..  

 Waterfall Coffee Table

Perfect for a cramped Manhattan apartment.  I love how they completely disappear in an interior space.

image from Decor Pad

image from Decor Pad

And the iconic Ghost Chair.

Love the mix match of styles in the kitchen below.

image from Decor Pad

Image from theLENNOX.com

 

Now this I think is just silly, but could probably work in the right setting, I guess?

And I do appreciate the acrylic play on the Chiavari Chairs 

seen at every wedding you've ever been to.

These would really expand the space in a cramped seating area.

Jar Crazy

I've gone jar crazy in the kitchen..it's starting to look a little apothecary, but I love our new pantry set up.  I think I actually motivated myself (weird) with my Container Store post, soon after I was online ordering 16 gallon jars.  

It wasn't until the boxes arrived later that week that I realized how many jars 16 actually is. 

It was like an entire army.

Soon after the jars arrived, I popped over to Lexington Co-op to stock up 

on the following: Rice (brown and white), Wild Rice, Flour,

 Sugar (brown and white) Israeli Couscous, Quinoa, Lentils, 

Split Peas, Barley, White Beans, Kidney Beans

It's so much easier to fill your own bags from the 

dry good bins at the co-op. It will mean less time spent shopping 

for tiny and expensive pre-packaged bags of quinoa 

or beans and less waste.

But more importantly..I love the look.

Ohhh Canada...

Since living in Buffalo, John and I have loved taking weekend trips to Toronto. It's a mere hour and forty five minutes away and has an exciting variety of restaurants, museums/galleries and interesting little neighborhoods to visit and explore.

We get our Brooklyn fix in the Queen West neighborhood where

we found the amazing Drake Hotel.

Here's some shots of the very tiny but stylish "crash pad" we stayed in.

Loved the luggage racks and woven nylon bench.

Across from the bed is the three sectioned bathroom area

who's only privacy comes from the sliding frosted glass panel. Yikes.

Shot of the hotel's cafe.

And cute shop next door. Loved the Drake.

And loved our insanely delicious dinner at Local Kitchen.

Don't I Know You..

You know when you've seen something around..but you don't think about it much until one day you start to google and suddenly you're obsessed? No? Well that's what happened to me with these blue, yellow, red and green stripes. They went from kind of familiar to iconic within a matter of minutes.

Canada's Hudson Bay Company point blankets date back to the 1700's and are to this day coveted around the world. While in Toronto we walked by an entire multi-striped window display and like a moth to a flame, I walked into the store. John stood by patiently as I touched, photographed and swooned.

The blankets come in many sizes, but I love the smaller throw

version with the fringe. I'm thinking it might look perfect

draped across the bed in my show house room.

Also really loved the sweater.

And the SIGG water bottle.

Almost bought this little tote, mostly because it was the cheapest item

on display, but I have too many totes..so I exercised restraint.

Good for me.

Before we left for Toronto I saw these paintings on Brook Farm General Store's blog Stacking Shelves which is what really began the whole familiar stripe curiosity.

I've had an internet crush on Brook Farm General Store for a while now, next time I'm in Brooklyn I'm going to make the long awaited pilgrimage to see the store and Jamie Douglas' work in person. Love the wooden spoons too.

Another Brooklyn gem, Sit and Read is selling this mid century modern

armchair upholstered with a vintage point blanket. Yowsa.

While We're on the Subject

Eames chairs are all over every design magazine and blog I read. It's actually shocking when I find a spread I like that doesn't have at least one chair designed by Charles and Ray. Do I think this is overkill? Well if I wasn't so obsessed with all things Eames, I might think so..but I am, so I don't :) Whether fiberglass or plywood these timeless chairs look good in any room, except for maybe the bathroom..but I'd probably consider it.

A substantial enough arm chair to stand alone

in the corner of your living room.

Image from Living Etc

Or armless and grouped together around a rustic wood table.

Image from Living Etc

Love the mixing of blue, white and green around the table. Really love.

Image from Living Etc

Perfect pulled up to a desk in your home office.

Image from Design Sponge

Or just thrown about, with no specific purpose because you're that cool.

Image from Dwell Magazine

Love the contrast between the crisp pristine white table

and the weathered, warm plywood chairs.

Image from This is Glamorous

A nice pairing against the wall in your hallway..

under your Diane Arbus collection.

Image from This is Glamorous

Love the easy versatility of the plywood lounger,

seen here grouped with different chairs.

Image from Dwell Magazine

Rockin' in the corner of your bedroom, cozied up with a nice pillow.

Image from Living Etc

Rockin' in front of your fireplace, heaven.

Image from Design Sponge

A rocker and an elephant, a seriously lucky child.

Image from Little.Lovely

Who's Cooler Than..

Charles and Ray Eames.

If you ask me this photograph of the two of them is enough to prove my point, but just incase you were wondering why else I think they're the bee's knees check out their..

Innovative, fun and inspiring molded fiberglass chairs.

Practically perfect plywood chairs,

and tables.

My favorite of their plywood creations, the child size elephant.

Beautifully carved walnut spinning tops,

and stools.

Series of short educational films,

the most famous being Power of Ten.

Give it a watch, what else are you doing?

The home they shared in California

Case Study House #8

The pair lived and worked side by side for over forty years

until Charles' death in 1978,

Ray followed exactly ten years later to the day.

John and I try very hard to be like them.

photo taken by Gigi Gatewood