P to the R to the OJECT

i was poking around the design blog world this afternoon and found carriecan blog, which has a tutorial on how to make the amazing lamp above. i see a weekend project! but not this weekend because i'm about to have some lovely ladies take over mississippi for 3 days . . . . . mothers, lock your sons and liquor up!

a plague cometh to mine house

i love weird old maps. well, i just love weird things in general, especially if i can frame them and call it art. it took me about 4.5 seconds to order and pay for this map when i found it on etsy, oh, about 2 minutes ago.

i took the liberty of posting a larger photo so you could all see the amazingness (and that is NOT my hand with the trashy anchor tattoo - the picture is from the etsy shop). do you see some of the icons used to express tropical diseases - feet with sores, a craggly hand, mites of all kinds and what appears to be a child with no nose. they do not publish maps like this baby anymore and i think that is a great disservice to the people who illustrate tropical diseases. oh MAN i'm excited to get this in the mail and frame it!

sometimes things only look good in photographs

when i moved in with the handsome and dashing man in my life, he didn't really own much. but among what he owned was a bike with one flat tire and a kayak (that is a whole other blog post). our room is a lovely light slate blue (handsome and dashing man calls it 'old lady hair' grey . . . did i mention he is also hilllllllllarious?) but for some reason i don't think putting the bike in the room would make it charming and parisian like this room on design*sponge:

bikes in rooms with lovely grey walls look charming in photos, but in real life it just means you trip over said bike every time you stumble to make coffee before your eyes are fully open.

since we are talking about lovely bedrooms, i really love this bedroom from the ladies who write nestled in. i might have posted it before, i can't remember, i'm a horribly forgetful blogger.

i'm really ready for it to be saturday

sometimes when it's a sunny friday and i'm sitting at my desk with no real end in sight, looking at summer dresses makes it a little better.

actually that was a lie. the only thing that would make it better is actually wearing a summer dress next to a swimming pool. but hey, i tried.

forever21 blue dress

gap tunic dress

red dress

baseball season

1909 and 1967 cardinals images

throwback thursday + baseball season = vintage cardinals photos. cardinals baseball season is right around the corner and i love me a man in a baseball uniform. i have big plans to throw on my 80's cardinals sweatshirt and attend as many games as possible this year. i am also going to try my best to convert lucia into a baseball lover.

throwback thursday is cool like the underside of a pillow

i love me some 'my love is your love'. whitney and bobby forever! (kidding). i also love me some of this:

D'Angelo - New Music - More Music Videos

throwback thursday is gonna do you right all night long this week.

throwback thursday 5

sorry i have been m.i.a. this week. work is insane and it will all be over tomorrow. here are a few track from 1998 to start off your day (that second video is for you kater). happy throwback thursday.

Whitney Houston - My Love Is Your Love
Uploaded by lilmarcus

yes, i like nerdy youtube videos

luca brasi sleeps with the fishes

etsy drawing

don't worry, i also think it's weird i find that hilarious.

time

systems of time

the weekend always makes me thinking about time, all the things i want to get done and all of the fun things i want to do. maybe i'm biased because the creator of this poster is my former design professor but i think this poster which combines systems of time is pretty spectacular. heather has a large print of it up in her house and it is beautiful. more of her work can be found on her website, sweetplum.com.

colonel, i do declare!

flickr image

in mississippi, the weather is pretty swell in march. granted an early spring does not make up for the early allergy season, painful summer humidity and over-abundance of republicans (i know that republicans don't have anything to do with the heat . . . but the elephant is a warm weather animal. plus you can't drive your gas guzzling hummer 1 foot without running over 15 of them so i just like to blame most of mississippi's deficiencies on their presence.)

but i digress. early spring means picnic season! there is a great article from last year where mark bittman named 101 fast picnic recipes and i want to slowly work my way through the list. bittman, you did it again.

and finally, tijuana picnic? what does that even mean? is it just me, or does it sound kinda dirty. like some frat boy would say - "damn that girl is fine. i'd totally do a tijuana picnic with her."

pizza

it has become somewhat of a tradition for n and me to make pizza. it is so fast and easy, not to mention super yummy, way better than frozen pizza and healthier than delivery. last night's dinner turned out great. it was a special occasion because n's brother was in town. we used the super easy pizza dough made from a box and of course did our own toppings. (i didn't get a picture before everyone dug in)

irish-ness continues

gold dipped clover necklace

i love this necklace from etsy, though it is a little out of my price range.

oh i see a pun coming your way

stirfry + throwback thursday = wok it out

get it?

god i'm clever.

for the love of stir fry

last night i made stir fry for dinner, one of lucia's favorite meals. i didn't use a recipe but it turned out pretty de-licious if i do say so myself.

my recipe:
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
5 tablespoons of lite soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
1 teaspoon of honey
half of a red onion
3 small boneless chicken breasts, cubed
3/4 cup endamame
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 orange bell pepper, chopped
1 can baby corn, cut into pieces
1.5 cups brown rice, cooked

put oil, garlic, ginger, and onions in the bottom of the wok and saute for 2 minutes. add chicken pieces and cook through. take the chicken out and set it aside. add in the vegetables, soy sauce, honey and steam for 5 minutes, add chicken back in. cook to combine, 2 minutes.

throwback thursday 4

here are a few tutorials to get you goin' for the weekend. don't worry, i was just practicing these in my office with the door closed. let bullet time take us into the weekend!

How to Move Your Head in Hip Hop Dancing -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

How to Move Hips in Hip Hop Dancing -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

How to Move Legs in Hip Hop Dancing -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

throwback thursday gave you a reason to be a damn heathen

WAIT FOR IT . . . GET READY FOR THE CLAPS!! let's clap to the sae patio.

bembo's zoo

for those of you who don't know, bembo is a very famous typeface. bembo was commissioned by aldus manutius in the late 15th century to publish an essay by pietro bembo. the typeface was cut by francesco griffo, yada, yada, yada...anyways, bembo's zoo, which started as a children's book was turned into a super cool animation, in which an animal for every letter of the alphabet is constructed entirely from the typeface bembo. i highly suggest everyone check it out here and feel like a little kid again, if even for only a few minutes.

in a related note, the author of bembo's zoo has done some other pretty great prints. more of his work can be found on his personal website here.

helbotica by roberto de vicq de cumptich

golly i love a black bean

hola readers! i bet you were all sitting at your desks and looked down at your computer clocks and thought, "hey self. its 2 pm. i wonder what k had for dinner last night?" well let that thought not weigh upon your mind too long fair reader. we had homemade irish soda bread and black bean tortilla soup that would have looked like this if i had remembered to buy limes:

martha stewart, like always, did us no wrong.

so since i know that every single one of you pays attention to the smallest of blog details, i wanted to give you all a quick update. as you know, i declared it the summer of these sunglasses (and might have mentioned cary grant and sailing. or spencer tracey and polo. who knows):

forever21 sunglasses

turns out when i put on those sunglasses i look like my dad. not exactly cary grant on a boat, more like father kater on the baseball field. ladies and gentleman, 15 years before i declared these my new sunglasses, my dad declared these shades not just his new sunglasses but his forever sunglasses. also i can't decide if they look too irritatingly 'i have ironic sunglasses' and as anna knows, i really really hate that. can they even be cool if my dad wears them? smaller questions have eluded larger philosophers. i'll do some test runs and keep you all posted - oh, you don't worry about that!

thanks rafi

our friend rafi gets the credit for finding this. i wish it came as a poster or t-shirt or a mug or a mouse pad.

periodic table of typefaces

a scheme for green

happy st. patrick's day! at the very least, we're going to make irish soda bread tonight in celebration (and well, k really likes it). but what pretty green things can i find on the web?

i really want this:

eames molded plastic rocker

could actually get this:

tretorn rain boots

but could absolutely have this:

yum! ice cream!

great green things

an old irish blessing

may the road rise up to meet you.

may the wind always be at your back.
may the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
and until we meet again,
may god hold you in the palm of his hand.

jade heart earrings

dvf go green canvas tote

malachite rock candy bangle


green books found here and here

some things i'm digging on monday

alyson fox print- taking a walk


initial charm necklace


j crew dream cardigan

frye paige buckles boots


robot thumbtacks

little! baby! turtle!

baby turtle

things i am very excited about today:

1. my brand new (to me) mid century sideboard and my wonderful fella that lets me keep adding furniture to our apartment. pictures tomorrow i promise!

2. the most amazingst, wonderfulest, spectacular visit happening on april 4th. jackson, watch out!
3. little baby turtles pictures. because animals the size of your finger are cute.

spring is here

i'm casting off my jackets and scarves and officially declaring it spring. the weather is no longer allowed to dip below 50. hooray!

bonjour jean-david

thanks for reading our blog. we think you're pretty swell. have a lovely weekend readers!

green machine

this saturday kicks off the st. louis st. patrick's day celebration with the 40th annual downtown st. louis parade. this is followed by the dogtown st. patricks day parade on march 17. because i am irish and love celebrating this holiday, i am going to bake chocolate whiskey and beer cupcakes and proudly wear my cheesy kiss me i'm irish pin!

throwback thursday 3

a few more videos from 2001 to blow ya mind.




112 - Peaches N Cream - 112 - Peaches N Cream

ode to heritage 1981

dear heritage 1981,

when forever 21 first launched their secondary labels i have to admit i did not love you. you looked like cheap, bad hollister and that's lame. it's not totally your fault, obviously forever 21 decided to put lots of energy into making fab twelve by twelve dresses that looked like bcbg but cost $30. but i want to apologize for writing you off instead of getting to know you. you turned me around in the past months when you decided to make cheap basics that look like they are from the latest built by wendy, toast or wikstenmade. be still my heart. so, i've come around and here is my love letter to you. please accept my apology and take me back.
love,
kate

the plaid shirt, cardigan, tee and tunic dress are all from heritage 1981 and are less than $25. i am also declaring these sunglasses (also from forever21) my new summer look - provided i don't look beyond stupid in them! aren't they just cary grant on a sail boat? l-o-v-e.

throwback thursday- things that should never come back in style

throw back thursday naturally gets me thinking about the good old days of umbro shorts, topsy tail hair-dos, and pink hightop converse. there are however a few fashion items and styles that should never ever come back.

1. jelly sandals
i will admit, i wore these first beauties at the ripe old age of 9, but every year it seems that designers are coming out with their own version of the jelly sandal.

the classic jelly sandal

tory burch jelly

2. acid wash jeans
these jeans do not look "surprising fresh paired with an embellished jacket". the only place these jeans belong is on 90210 back in 1990.

balmain spring 2009 ready-to-wear show in paris

3. the hipster look
no offense to ed maltby, who actually is hipster and can pull this trend off. kater said it correctly, if you can buy it a hot topic, it's not cool anymore.

the velvet underground

agyness deyn

throwback thursday's gonna play this vandross and you're gonna take your pants off

i can't think of a clever title about wednesdays

good afternoon lovely blog readers! didn't anna have a lovely time in new york eating cookies? laura, aside from being h-o-t hot is the best pastry chef in the whole world, so you know those cookies were lip-smacking good. sadly, i don't have any exciting trips to post but i am excited to surprisingly have tonight free. i plan on spending my free night making parmesan chicken, watching the west wing and toiling away at my first attempt at a rib stitch. one day i want to be able to knit booties like these - aren't they adorbs? how are you spending your wednesday night?

etsy slippers

the big apple, and other delicious treats

hello! i have returned from my week long trip to new york and i am back into the swing of normal, everyday life. thus, it is time for me to get back to blogging...

rather than bore you with all of the details of my trip, drinking tea (about 5 gallons a day), eating cookies (for breakfast every morning) and walking a gazillion miles, i have decided to let the photos do the talking.

my first morning in new york, laura and i got tea at amai, where her friend from the fci, does all of the baking. at amai, all of the tea is kept in an old library card file cabinet. i am now obsessed with finding a library card file on craigslist.

every morning, i walked to one girl cookies, where laura works and had tea and breakfast.

the outside of one girl cookies.


the seating area which is enclosed by a garage door that they open in the summer time. :)


the front counter, as seen from my "usual" table in the corner.


my typical breakfast: earl grey tea, lemon bar, coconut bar, lana cookie, juliette cookie.


my hostess, best friend, and baker extraordinaire, laura.


jen, eating a late dinner at s'mac, which only serves macaroni and cheese!


napoletana, delish!

i was lucky enough to have wonderful friends to escort me around the city and take me too all of their favorite places like mcsorley's old ale house and pdt.

at mcsorleys they only serve 2 kinds of beer, light and dark. the beers are 2 for 4 dollars, so naturally you need to get one (or 10) of each.

pdt offers a small selection of very unique drinks, one of which includes bacon infused bourbon.

i was told on the first day that we needed to eat at fette sau and it did not disappoint. this butcher shop turned bbq joint, serves a select menu of meats each night, along with a handful of sides and draught beer and cider, all on an aluminum tray covered in butcher paper.

the menu at fette sau


my tray of food

jen, russ and i walked over the brooklyn bridge on the nicest day of my visit.

on my last day in nyc, laura and i went downtown to the moma. it was wonderful to say the least.

laura infront on an exibit of esquire magazine covers


the view from the 3rd or 4th floor

while it may not be in the cards for me to live in new york city, i know that i will visit often. it truly is one of the greatest cities.