recipe per week

I've always admired someone who can cook. I've never really had the talent and I'm too timid to try something/buy something new. I think I hesitate in thinking that either the ingredients will be too expensive or that I'll just ruin it.

But as my interest in design blogs has grown, so too has my interest in finding great recipes. I have an enormous recipes folder and at least 3 applications on my iPhone (which is cool by the way) to help me find new recipes. So I got to thinking, what if I just push myself to make one new recipe a week. It could be from cookies to pasta, but 1, single recipe that I've said to myself, 'I need to bookmark this. This looks good.' I need to take it out of just the files and into my kitchen.

With that said, I'm going to try to do this once a week. It will probably start this week as I plan on making THESE cookies in the not so distant future. I won't and simply cannot be one of those awesome foodie bloggers that takes pictures of all of my creations, but I will try when the occasion strikes. But I will certainly link to recipes as most of the awesome foodie bloggers have done all the grunt work for me.

Wish me luck!

Also, let me share this fantastic illustration from Julia Rothman, whom I love, depicting my new absolute favorite snack. This and greek yogurt with honey are my new obsessions.

Collage fruit basket

So I have this friend, who is an amazing photographer. I’m not a photography snob by any means – I couldn’t distinguish the lighting used or how different lenses create different textures – but I do know the difference between someone who has talent and someone who just has a fancy camera and a pretty flower within reach. And let me tell you, my girl has some talent! You can see for yourself HERE or follow her blog HERE.

So when I moved into this new apartment I really wanted to display some of her work. I was trolling through her site when I found this picture:

I just loved it so I requested that if she was bored sometime that she take MORE fruit pictures for me to hang up in my kitchen and as awesome friends do, she came through!

I love it! It adds a modern, fruity flare to my kitchen. I especially love the picture of the pears, they seem to have so much character!

Thanks Em! And to everyone else who may be near the Ohio area, hit this girl up for photos!

measuring with style, duos

In a follow up to THIS post, I did end up making another visual measurement picture. This one is a little more convoluted, but is actually pretty handy as I've referenced to it twice already.

8 oz = 1 cup
2 Tablespoons = 1 oz
3 teaspoons = 1 Tablespoon (You might not be able to see it, but there are small white "teaspoons" tucked inside the tablespoon.)

I currently have these images printed out and above my spice racks.

This is what you do when you work at a university and it's summertime. Well, this and rent lecture halls so that you and your co-workers can eat breakfast and watch the world cup on the screen projection.

GO USA!!

stepping up technologically

Let me preface this by saying, a year ago I didn't believe that I needed a phone with internet. I absolutely did not need to check my facebook page or email every 20 minutes and I certainly didn't need to be one of those people who has their back arched and head faced down every second of the day.

But moving to Providence and being on my own has meant that I get lost. A lot. And I really need something that gives me an address and directions at the touch of my hand. Yes, I could ask for directions, but Rhode Islanders are all locals (once you leave the main city area), so their idea of giving directions is, "You turn left where that old Dunkin Donuts used to be and then go straight until you hit Bob's Furniture and then you'll see it when you pass the new Dunkin Donuts." It's actually pretty humorous (I've seen ads for Kohls that have the address then underneath say, "behind the old paper mill"), but it's not an accurate way to get me to where I want to go.

With that said, I ordered the new iPhone 4 and I plan on going crazy with apps and videos and music. So there. Convictions be damned. I'm excited.

In that spirit, I thought I'd post some cute iPhone wallpapers that I've found. I've seen posts for cases and accessories, but I don't have an adorable puppy to put as my background, so I'll have to make due with these:

For some like me who are so micromanagerial (should be word so I'm keeping it) that you need a constant reminder of where you are in space and time, Able Parris, is a collage artist who has created some great collages for your desktop or iPhone wallpaper that you can change every month. It'll be too late for me to use this one on my new phone, as I won't likely receive it until close to July, but I love the squid and clown fish! (link to download this HERE)

He also has some general ones if you're not too keen on being reminded of the month, like this one which reminds me of when my grandmother and I used to bird watch out her kitchen window. Golden finches were always my favorite to spot.

Another great source is Poolga, which is a collection of artists works specifically for your iPhone, iPad or whathave you. Here is a small sampling of my favorites:

Sometimes I just love the girly and excessively ornate.

In contrast to that, this simple little submarine picture is adorably plain.

This may be the first wallpaper that gets to grace my new phone. I love the urban spring feel.

I'm so obsessed with maps. I don't know what it is (perhaps that micromanagerialness manifesting again?) but my bedroom is already turning into a gallery of maps, why not my iPhone?

There are so many different wallpapers on this site. I can't wait to get my phone so that I can use some of them!

measuring with style

I’ve been very slack on updating. It’s not that I don’t have things to post, I’ve just been pretty lazy about it. So I’ll start up again with an quick post about this great way to remember kitchen measurements that I found HERE.

If you’re like me, then you can never remember how many cups are in a gallon or pints in a quart, but with this quick image it’s much easier to figure things out. I made my own image below:

4 Q(uarts) in a G(allon)
2 P(ints) in a Q(uart)
16 C(cups) in a G(allon) --- It's so quick and versitile!

I would be a happy camper if this image caught on! Right when I saw it, I immediately wished I knew a friend with a printing press that could make a simple print of this for me. I could definitely see it in my kitchen as a classy measurement reminder (along with the images that I’ll be putting up that my oh-so-amazing-friend, Emily, took for me; but more of that later). As for now, it will have to go as a print-out on the side of my fridge.

Anyone else know of some great measurement tips like these for the kitchen?