Miscellaneous Miscellany, wherein YOU + ME* grows by one!

Happy Wednesday! No, no, Elisabeth is still pregnant, but we would like to introduce you to our fabulous new addition, Mary Ellen (another ME!)! Mary Ellen (but you can call her Mary if you want to) wrote us an email a few weeks ago asking if we needed help at about the very second that Elisabeth and I were talking about how we needed help. Her email was witty and well-written, so you can imagine how when she told us that she has a background in both textile design (that's one of her designs above) and culinary arts, we were smitten. She is jumping in to our projects with unparalleled gusto, and friends, I am sure you are going to adore her just as much as we do. Here's a little introduction from Mary (she'll be knockin' your socks off tomorrow with a recipe for those teeny tiny cookies over on Brooklyn Bride!):

I love textiles, patterns and anything in repeat. I'm a pretty big fan of scandinavian art, liberty fabrics and the vibrant colors of central & south america. I am currently trying to overcome my fear of sewing, and attempting to try my hand at embroidery - (and not get pricked in the meantime). I enjoy browsing the new york public library digital image files and various photo blogs. Will travel far out of my way for a good cup of joe, but find it difficult to walk three blocks to do a load of laundry. I ride my bicycle everywhere I can - except when it's this cold out, brrr. Am a native New Yorker but I consider Copenhagen, London and Barcelona to be my adoptive cities. Obviously, I enjoy cooking and baking. Very passionate about foreign languages and cultures. I spend an hour every week volunteering at the International Center, teaching conversational English. Both rewarding, and fun!

I KNOW, right? She's the best. Here are some other things that are making me happy this week:

 

(Book Carving--Webster's Dictionary, Hokey Stokes on Etsy)

(Anjuli and Sam from max and molly on Vimeo)

Oooh, and be sure to check out this month's internet crushes, which is our version of a well-curated blog roll. Because let's face it, if we listed all of our internet crushes, we'd have to include all of you! Have a wonderful day, friends, and we'll see you back here again real soon!  

The Fastest Way To Warm Up

Whenever we write these glassware columns, either Miya or Elisabeth usually sends us a specific piece and we go from there, but this week they sent us a whole selections of things and told us to pick.  They made the crucial mistake of giving us choices.  We’re like two years olds, you should only present us two options: “do you want to wear your blue pants or your purple skirt?” “do you want an apple or an orange for snack?” “do you want to write about a martini glass or a champagne flute?”   

Give me all of these options and I get flustered and want to pick everything!  I pick the absinthe spoon!  Wait, then I can really only write about absinthe and that may cause me to have flash backs to my time in Prague when I drank some and then tried to put my pajamas on by putting my head through the sleeve and getting really confused…. Well, maybe I’ll write about these Cairo Beverage Dispensers, I once had an amazing Aqua Fresca out of a similar dispenser so seeing one makes me think of that…. BUT WAIT!   

Absinthe Spoon and Cairo Beverage Dispenser from Velocity Home

Then I see it, and I know.  THIS is what I’m supposed to writing about.  “Really?” you’re thinking, “Of everything you pick a tea pot?”  Yes, I do, but stick with me, because I have a really good reason.  About a month ago the Snowpocalypse came to Nashville (which means 2 inches of snow), so a bunch of us ventured through the snowstorm to Burger Up, the delicious neighborhood burger place.  On this particular evening, the bartender had concocted a whiskey winter warmer.  Everyone else ordered it, but I’m not that into whiskey usually, so I stuck with my wine order.  After taking a sip of one of their drinks I pushed my wine aside and ordered my own winter warmer (have no fear, I still drank the wine, I just saved it for dinner!).   

Readers, I cannot emphasize how good this drink was, it was just so warm and lovely and just what you want on a cold snowy evening (which I know you New Yorkers are having plenty of this winter)... And it involves a teapot, thus my choice this week.  I don’t have the exact recipe, and I can’t even give proper credit (bartender at Burger Up just doesn’t seem like enough) so you may have to tinker with the proportions of this, but it will be worth it.

Roost Branch Tea Pot

Winter Warmer

Five Spice Simple Syrup*

Whiskey

Lemon Ginger Tea

Ginger Beer

Put  an ounce to an ounce and half of whiskey and a half an ounce of the simple syrup in a mug, pour in the hot lemon ginger tea from your adorable tea pot, add ginger beer to taste (I asked for extra ginger beer in mind since I LOVE ginger).  Sit back and enjoy while telling yourself that spring will be here soon.

*Five Simple Syrup is, surprise, simple to make.  Bring one cup of water, one cup of sugar and a tablespoon of five spice (use a lot in Chinese cooking, so you should be able to find it) to a boil.  Let simmer until all of the sugar is dissolved.  Let it cool and then strain it through a tea towel.  You can store it in a sealable container in the fridge!

Wink!

Hi friends, I hope that you had a fun weekend! We had such a wonderful week last week, which seemed to officially kick of the 2011 wedding season (we got to meet the BEST. BRIDES. EVER.), and all of a sudden, we're in for a month chock-full of bright and sparkly projects. Plus Valentine's day is right around the corner! Could February get any better (let's just ignore the 3 feet of dirty snow where there should be grass when we think about that, okay)? With everything looking so rosy and Valentine's day right around the corner, I thought I'd round up just a few of my favorite little happy & romantic things right now.

(wink necklace, kate spade)

Loving this necklace, and loving Kate Spade's new logo/branding. Any brand that can pull off cheeky and sophisticated is a-ok in my book.

(Pixie's Tweety Mini, Nadinoo on Etsy)

Let's just stop it with the geometric patterns, perfect sleeves, and spot-on colorway before someone gets hurt, shall we?

(Doll, RGB)

This is a perfect pink. Not so pink as to skew bubble gum, not so beige as to skew nursing home; I went a bit more daring with my manicure this week, but you can be sure that this is on deck for next week.

Okay, lovelies, Elisabeth and I are off to spend a lovely morning with our esteemed collaborator Trent, and then off to the Rue party this evening. If you see us there, please do say hello. We love meeting new people! The ladies at Jackalope will be taking good care of you tomorrow, and Meg let me peek into her kitchen whilst she was coming up with her recipe for Thursday, and I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed. We've got lots of other stuff up our sleeves, too, so be sure to check in early and often!

Party Favors for a Crafty Affair

Happy Friday, friends! Did you happen to catch us in the new issue of Rue Magazine that came out yesterday? If not, pop on over and tell us what you think. Since Fridays are gift day over here on YOU + ME* Equals, we thought we'd give you some party favor inspiration from our ridiculously fun Skill Sharing Jamboree featured in the magazine.

Let's say you're getting some of your besties together for a crafty affair. What can you send them home with as a thank you for being ever inspiring that also doubles as table decor?

The answer is a bevy of goodies no creative person should be without, but personalized so each guest feels special. This assortment includes:

Pencil cases handmade by (if I said us, it would be a lie--they were all Miya) Miya and customized with zippers to match each guest's color profile. You can't see it, but they have the cutest stripey lining ever. If you asked her, I bet she'd tell you how to make them because she's nice like that.

Personalized pencils! For this event, we happened to be partial to the white pencils from Oriental Trading Company because they have white instead of orange erasers, but their silver pencils or their bargain mega pencil collection in assorted colors could fit your party perfectly.

A large moleskine notebook! All creative people should carry around a moleskine notebook, so they always have a place to jot their musings when inspiration strikes. You can make it extra special by adding a library card pocket to the front cover (these are pretty intuitive to make, but you can also download a free template from Mirkwood Designs). It's the perfect place to keep business cards to give or those received. We personalized the contact information exchange cards with a customizable stamp like this.

Make sure to throw in some glitter and a washi tape set in each guest's favorite color. The very best place to get washi tape is from cute tape, but be warned, you'll probably be tempted by the adorable dispensers, wooden stamps, stationary, and other crafty supplies as well.

By the way, aren't the flowers from this event just to die for? Not everyone can hear phrases like "sophisticated color gradient" and "artist's palette" and make it happen without going CRAZY RAINBOW, but Sarah of Blossom and Branch sure can.

All the photos you see here and in our Rue spread were taken by superstar photographer Trent Bailey.

We hope your weekend is full of coziness and creativity!

Gimme S'more(s)!

 Y'all, I love twitter (do you follow us? we're @youplusmestyle). The other day, a certain someone mentioned something about wanting s'mores. Which got s'mores stuck right in the forefront of my brain. And I remembered that you can make them in the microwave, which seems like it would be an awesome solution to the no campfire conundrum, but there are two things that have always bothered me about that method. A) you have to put your marshmallow on a cracker to keep it from gooey-ing all over your microwave, and said cracker gets soggy, and b) what good is a marshmallow if it doesn't have a nice crispy shell?
So folks, I pulled out my trusty creme brulee torch thinking I was going to add a crispy crust after the microwaving, but in this, as in so many other processes in life, I learned that the simplest solution is the best. If you and your broiler (or the broiler in your toaster oven!) have been estranged as of late, I suggest you rekindle your relationship, because he is the key to unbelieveably good wintertime s'mores.

Variations on a Theme: S'mores

Theme: 1 marshmallow, milk chocolate, and graham crackers
Broil your marshmallow sitting on one of your graham crackers. It will take around 2-3 minutes, depending on your broiler. Check often, and you may want to turn over your marshmallow mid-way. Resist the urge to put your milk chocolate in the broiler, because it will get too melty. And you will be sad. Not that I speak from experience.

Variation 1: 1 marshmallow, milk chocolate (I tried this with dark, and I thought the chocolate was too bitter as compared to the ginger), candied ginger, and ginger crisps (make sure they are crispy ginger cookies, not chewy ones!)
Broil your marshmallow sitting on one of your ginger cookies. When it's done, add candied ginger and chocolate, and smoosh together into a whole bunch of yumminess. This would have been a million times better with a cardamom marshmallow from Whimsy and Spice.

Variation 2 (this one is ridiculously yummy): 2 marshmallows, dark chocolate, 1T peanut butter, and 2 butter crisp cookies.
Broil your marshmallows on one of your cookies. While they are broiling, give the other cookie a nice smudge of peanut butter (don't be stingy!). When your marshmallows come out, assemble your s'mores, and devour like a pack of ravenous dogs with your husband. Repeat an embarrassing number of times.

I hope this keeps you all set until it's time to build campfires again. Be sure to check back tomorrow, when Elisabeth will be rounding up gifts! Have a great Thursday, and for all of you stuck in the snow, keep warm!

Wednesday Miscellany

So sorry for the radio silence yesterday, but you would not believe the day we had. It was like a soap opera over here, complete with mistaken identities, evil twins, and women lounging in silk pajamas while sipping cocktails in the afternoon. Ok, maybe our day didn't include all of that, but at least one of those things dominated our attention for the day.

Here are some of the other things that have been keeping us occupied this week:

Be on the lookout for the new issue of Rue tomorrow. Guess where we'll be? That's right, inside!

Have you favortized yet? Do it, you won't be sorry

The perfect valentine's gift for the typeface geek in your life

Welcome to the online magazine world, Matchbook. We're looking forward to getting to know you!

I have to share a little story to put this next goodie in context. Despite her current love for an enormous Bernese Mountain dog, my mom was adamantly opposed to pets while I was growing up (my sister may have had to wear an apron and oven mitts while holding the class hamster when it was her turn to take him home for the weekend). I, however, was desperate for something furry and cuddly of my very own and I happened to be equipped with an overly vivid imagination. For the sake of context, I will overcome embarrassment to admit that I plucked a pussy willow from a floral arrangement, swaddled it in a very tiny fabric scrap, and placed it in an empty matchbox where it remained for at least a month as my "pet" (it was fuzzy, ok?).

Maileg, sister in a box

Although my two year old daughter Claire has both a dog and a cat to call her own, I couldn't resist buying her this unbelievably adorable mouse in a box as a souvenir from Park City (I bought it at this fantastic boutique). The photo doesn't even come close to expressing the sweetness of the itty bitty mattress, pillow, and blanket accompanying this mouse in her matchbox bed. Claire adores her. The rest of the mouse family can be found here.

Take a moment today to snuggle your pets or place a treasure in a matchbox. We wish you a lovely day!

Welcome Back!

Welcome home from Alt, everyone! If home is the east coast, then sadly your greeting was pretty frigid. There are many things I absolutely love about living in New York, but winter is not on that list (I'd tell you about the list on which it is prominently featured, but we try to keep our language clean over here). Despite the bone chilling weather, I'm excited to be back and ready to put all that Alt inspiration into action.

For those who couldn't make it, here is a little recap:

Melissa made these business cards out of a stamp of her writing

- I took a calligraphy class from the adorable Melissa Esplin of I Still Love You. With more practice, I think I'll be able to write pretty things for special occasions. I'll probably leave the addressing of large quantities of envelopes to the professionals though (it may have taken me a full hour just to trace the alphabet). You should absolutely hire Melissa to write gorgeous things for you (although she has an excuse if she doesn't get back to you immediately--she's expecting a baby in the next few weeks).

- Joslyn of Simple Lovely was also in the class and I was thrilled to finally meet her. Yes, she's as gorgeous and stylish as you'd expect from her blog (and extremely nice to boot).

- I went to a fantastic round table with Joy of Oh Joy! and Meg Mateo Ilasco of Mateo Ilasco. First of all, if you're trying to make it as a freelancer and you haven't bought Creative, Inc., get thee to a bookstore immediately. Second, these ladies are the superstars of creative freelancers and they are just full of information and inspiration. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to learn from them and the other amazing women at our table.

Paul/DJ Spooky in the South Pacific where he is setting up an artists' retreat

- Can I admit that I'm kind of in love with DJ Spooky? That man is insanely smart and he is working on some mind blowing projects.

Wendy and Tyler travel all over the world, so no matter where you live, you could (and should) hire them

- I took a tabletop photography class from Wendy and Tyler of Blue Lily Photography. Not only did they make me laugh the whole time, but they went out of their way to work with all the students individually on whatever camera problems were plaguing them.

- Some of our bestie blog friends were listed as best up and coming blogs. Congratulations to Ashley and Aron of Hither and Thither and Michelle of Pretty Mommy! We couldn't agree more!

- Tina Eisenberg of Swiss Miss gave an incredible closing keynote speech. It's rare that someone is so candid about her experiences and lessons learned.

Jessica in action

-  The lovely and talented Jessica Peterson took a group of us on a photo tour of Salt Lake City that ended with an impromptu trip to Park City for lunch and some Sundance action.

That's me (courtesy of Jessica) all preggo in Park City

That's a whole lot of gushing for one day, but I'll be sharing some other miscellany from the trip on Wednesday. It's good to be home.

Valentine's Day!

Okay, I'll admit it. I used to be one of those people who sulked around on Valentine's Day and wore black and protested the whole damn thing. And I'll tell you what. I still am not sure about choosing one day to let your significant other know that you actually like them. But, I am way, whole-heartedly all about love, and no longer feel like Valentine's Day needs to be about romantic love, so it turns out that now it's one of my favorite holidays. Go figure, right? We've got some more Valentine's Day tricks up our sleeves, but I thought I'd kick off the whole push to Feb. 14th with a few ideas of some special little ways to say "I love you!" to folks whom I adore.

(Loving stamp, Paperfinger)

For Meg, an avid blogger, an amazing cook, and a style connoisseur, I would totally get this stamp. Except I think that her monitor would be covered in ink within 15 minutes of her opening it. And when I went over to her house, I would stamp it all over everything she owns.

(I love you necklace, Jess LC)

For Robyn, a brewery owner and staunch New Englander, who almost never says "I love you" and who, after my being part of her family for coming up on 8 years, still recoils when I try to hug her (I, being Californian, totally hug people when I meet them), I would get this necklace. It says "I love you," but in Braille, so that no one has to know that she's wearing a mushy sentiment around her neck.

 

(Kimono style robe, Plum Pretty Sugar)

For me (oh, come ON, I love me!), someone who almost never treats herself to really luxurious things, I would get this robe so that when I have to go change a poopy diaper in the middle of the night, at least I can look (and feel!) good doing it.

And here's a treat for you, dear reader! Our fantastic friends, Sierra and Juliet of the acclaimed Poppies and Posies, are offering 10% off their super special custom Valentine's Day arrangements for our readers. Get one for yourself, get one for your bestie, get one for your super-awesome neighbor who babysits for you in a crunch, or for your UPS delivery person who seeks you out on the street to tell you what time he's coming. It's all about finding love in unexpected places, folks.
We hope you have a lovely weekend, and we can't wait to see you back here on Monday (cross your fingers for an Alt recap from Elisabeth)!

Queenie Cooks: Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

Winter in the northeast can be a rough time for vegetable lovers. By the time the middle of January rolls in, you're looking at a market full of roots and tubers, sometimes with some wintry greens like kale or escarole thrown in. Sometimes, though, you get lucky - and by lucky, I mean you spot some Brussels sprouts amongst the celery root.

Such was the stroke of luck I experienced this weekend. I decided I would do something a little different with part of my haul. I typically go for roasting - either on the stovetop on in the oven - but, today, I thought a little salad action seemed right.

I paged through my new favorite cookbook, The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual, sure I remembered seeing their shaved brussels sprouts recipe somewhere in there. And, lo and behold, there it was on page 74! The recipe called for Castelrosso cheese, but I decided I could sub in the Pecorino I had in the fridge without compromising the integrity of the proceedings.

Aside from the cheese and the sprouts themselves, the recipe only has four ingredients: lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. It is simplicity itself, which appeals mightily to me these days. After all, why trouble with a whole heap of work when five minutes of slicing and whisking leads to such bright, happy flavors? Why, indeed.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Pecorino
Adapted from The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual

1 pint Brussels sprouts
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt, plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino cheese

Trim the Brussels sprouts and remove the tough, outer leaves. Slice in half lengthwise, then slice crosswise as thinly as possible. Place in a large mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Add the dressing to the sprouts a bit at a time, stopping once the sprouts are just the other side of lightly dressed. Toss to combine evenly.

Divide the sprouts between two small bowls. Top each with a sprinkling of sea salt, several grinds of pepper and half the cheese. Serve immediately.

The dressing and sprouts can be prepped separately up to 24 hours ahead of time, then combined just before serving. Just be sure to cover both tightly and refrigerate.

Serves two as a side.

Happy Hump Day!

Hello again, friends! How is your week going? Elisabeth and I are having a super fun week. We've heard from so many folks this week; it just warms our little hearts to hear from you. She is off to Alt tonight, and I'm staying here to hold down the fort and enjoy being home after what seems like forever being away. Even though we got in yesterday, I just now had a chance to move some pictures off of my camera from California. I love this one of Emi on the swings with my dad at the playground near their house. I'm so lucky to have opportunities to work on both coasts; now all I have to do is figure out a way to work near Jordy's parents too, and we'll be all set.
Here are some things that are making me way happy this week:

(Circus Bear, Loitering Press)

These cards are made by a public school teacher who teaches in Brooklyn. Those are some lucky kids.

(both photos by Sean Dagen Photography)

We had the absolute pleasure of working with Sean Dagen in California, and his portfolio is to. Die. For. Grab a cute little hankie before you go and check him out, because you'll need something to wipe the drool off your face with.

And here's a sneak peek at what we shot with him; these florals are by my wonderful friend (who I met because I hired her to do the florals for my own wedding) Traci Terrick. And you think those are pretty? Just wait until you see what Traci has up her sleeves.
Ta ta, dearies. I hope you all have a lovely day. Again, for those of you headed to Alt, keep an eye out for Elisabeth, and be sure to say hello. She's got some rockin' business cards on hand printed by yours truly, so see if you can snag one from her. See you on Friday (Meg is about to rock your world tomorrow--she's got some goodness on hand that makes me want to run to the market right this very minute)!