Here We Go!

blue skies, blue waters, sunny days.

on sunday i return to turks and caicos.

this time, with aaron at the gansevoort.

...........
  

Rhinebeck, NY

on saturday morning we rented a zipcar and drove up to rhinebeck with poppy.

our destination was the whistlewood farm bed & breakfast.

the blankets were pendleton, the antlers were real,
and there was a fireplace in our room.

when we arrived, our hostess lou was baking an apple pie.

we went and explored the farm, and poppy met her first donkey.

but she spent most of her time with jake the bernese mountain dog.

we visited the vanderbilt mansion at hyde park.

and had a bonfire after a delicious dinner at terrapin.

in the morning we had a sunny breakfast.

and then slowly drove back to the city.

...........

 

Speaking of Cookies

 
growing up, we had a yellow lab named sam.

sometimes if sam was really good, she'd get an oreo.

a carob, dog friendly oreo from three dog bakery in newport beach.

last week i was in dallas for work,
and was very excited to find a three dog bakery in nearby south lake.

poppy got two oreos, a carob dipped cookie, and a carob dipped pretzel as her souvenirs.

sebastian got nothing.

..........

 

Boater Cookies

at some point my sister gave me a whoppie pie pan.

i have never made whoopie pies.

but i do, occasionally, use the pan for baking normal cookies.

the result, (if you over-stuff each little "compartment") is a sort of muffin top cookie.

they are rounder, more even, and thicker, and have a crisp little ledge around the edge.

the kind of look like little boater hats.

..........

  

Also Found

in the garden of earthly delights, by sebastian via the amazing google museums project.

look at that resolution!

..........

  

Found

billie, the woman who we adopted poppy from, 

found this adorable crew along a highway in texas. this photo kills me. they look posed!

know anyone who wants a puppy?
they're retriever mixed with huskie, and have amazing light/blue eyes.

and they'll be available in 4 weeks.
see their photo profiles, and more available pups, on billie's page here.

..........

 

7 Months Back

this was june, but it was only just scanned in by our
(very talented photographer) friend ryan muir.

today was 53°. can't we have a picnic?

...........
 

Today Magazine

love these cover shots of "ladies doing activities" 

("she's tops in this vacation sport!")
which we ordered for the real news set.

they're from today magazine in the 40s, 50s, and even 60s (see sparkler twirling).

new goal: to swim while maintaining perfect bangs.

.........

 

Like a Little Bit of Summer

looking particularly delicious today in 53° weather, wouldn't you say?

..........

 

New York in the 1980s

new york, as presented in steven siegel's flickr set,

will always make me think of the city as my dad knew it.

he headed west to california in the early 70s, but whenever i speak to him about 

my new york, he is quick to recall danger and grit.

is it wrong to find the tarnish lovely?

..........

   

TV Table

this was a fun side project at work, designing the table for a new tv show 

that launched on wednesday, "real news from the blaze."

external set designers had been asked to work on the project, but came to the producer 

with a very slightly modified copy of bill maher's table (and wanted $10k for it).

we built this table for less than half the price.

the books came from books by the foot at the strand, 

and the builders chopped them down so they are actually only about 2" thick each.

..........

 

Nico's Mug Shot

nico is getting a passport. 

can you believe this boy is only 4 months?

..........

   

Float

louis vuitton got this one 100% right.

.........

 

The Weekend

saturday we woke up to snow. 

and sebastian made us a swiss-inspired breakfast.

it was poppy's first time in more than an inch of snow.

she loved it.

sebastian and poppy took a nap.

 we made popcorn chicken and de-barked broccoli stalks 

(one of my favorite veggies) for dinner.

 poppy got a bath.

poppy dried off.

and mccall, grace and kathleen came over for dinner,

and kathleen brought this perfect little cake from two little red hens.
i guess it's winter after all!

..........

  

WRK Design + City Grit Supper Club

for christmas betsy surprised me with a city grit dinner for four.

the dinner she chose couldn't have been more perfect: jim n nick's bbq from alabama.

jim n nick's is in the process of launching its own heritage hog program, and last night 

we sampled just about every part of one of their incredible berkshire pigs.

just as surprising as the supper club however, was where it is held.

wrk design is a design shop and services company
(they designed the earnest sewn stores) 

that has set up in an old school house building in soho on prince street.

(note: i actually bought the school chairs that are in our apartment 

from that school when it closed shop a couple of years ago)

the shop is warm and rustic and quirky, and just the kind of place you want to
spend hours in... staring at everything. the city grit/wrk partnership is a wonderful
excuse to do so, while eating creative cuisine from around the country.

..........

 

top photo mine. others from wrkdesign.com

Dogs of WWII

love this slideshow on business insider, 

featuring photos from l. douglas keeney's "buddies: men. dogs. and world war ii"

look at these little guys playing their parts.

poppy would like very much to be sent up in a parachute.

..........

 

Vintage Book Dock

i returned to work today after a few days in texas, 

and found this amazing gift from mike tucked into my desk.

its an old hardcover victor hugo book that has been converted into 

an iphone/ipod charger. they are made by rich neeley on etsy.

my coworkers spoiled me this christmas with the most thoughtful, purely "jackie" gifts.

could not be more grateful.

............
 

Bo Ssam

on sunday, inspired by this amazing new york times food photo 

(and the corresponding recipe) sebastian made bo ssam.

a 7.5 pound shoulder sat in a cup of salt and a cup of sugar over night,

and then that shoulder sat in the oven for 6+ hours.

the result was some of the best pork ive ever tasted, 

super juicy and encased in a sweet and salty crust.

six of us devoured almost the entire thing, wrapped (per the recipe) 

in bibb lettuce along with rice, scallions, kimche and special sauce.

it was a meaty meaty weekend.

..........

 

Buttermilk Channel's Duck Meatloaf

brooklyn has an ever increasing number of amazing restaurants, 

and thanks to the new brooklyn cookbook, now many (70) of their recipes 

can be made at home. after swooning over (and gobbling up) 

buttermilk channel's duck meatloaf a couple of months ago, aaron and i decided

to try our hands at recreating the delicious dish on saturday night.

the meatloaf was a mix of fresh ground duck breast (and fat) from the butcher, 

homemade bread crumbs (thanks sebastian), an egg, thyme, yellow raisins, 

parsley, and not much else. the individual patties were placed on top of a 

puddle of celeriac-spinach puree, crowned with a homemade spanish onion ring 

(first time i've made them! so easy!), and topped with a duck jus.

just perfect.

............