TBD Archives - Page 3 of 4

Currently Enjoying…

June 9, 2011 by Renee Claire

Another quick check-in. It's been family-intensive over here: my aunt visited on Tuesday, and tomorrow we're heading out for a family reunion at Guntersville State Park. Good times! Some other things we're enjoying:

Cheap Movie Tickets

Grottu22

Living Social has another 2 tickets for $9 deal up, so click on over. I actually squealed when I saw the deal on a friend's Facebook post; summer's my main movie-going season, and sweet mother is it expensive. The fine print says it doesn't apply to IMAX or 3-D movies, but I used the last coupon for the 3-D IMAX version of Thor (blergh), so…maybe?

Trader Joe's

Oh, I love Trader Joe's. It was love at second sight, but that doesn't make it any less sweet. Recent successes (above):

Frozen croissants (both plain & chocolate)
Bagged salad (mache & the spinach/cranberry/pecan salad kit)
Sweet & spicy pecans
Kerry Gold unsalted butter
Frozen pear tarte
Frozen garlic naan

The croissants are probably my favorite find; I've heard them compared favorably to Williams-Sonoma's frozen croissants, which are about 3 times more expensive.

BOOKS!

I recommend all of these! Top row: Gideon Defoe's The Pirates!, Nick Hornby's Housekeeping Vs. The Dirt, Georgette Heyer's The Unfinished Clue, Winifred Watson's Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day. Bottom row: Dorothy L. Sayers' Strong Poison, Guy Delisle's Burma Chronicles, Barbara Pym's A Glass of Blessings, Elizabeth Von Arnim's The Enchanted April.

They recently closed the biggest Borders in the Atlanta area. Towards the end, as the sales got better and better, my mom and I went every Friday to leisurely pick over the store's carcass, making intense decisions over whether or not to buy X book now, or risk losing it by waiting for a deeper discount.

The above pile cost $39.32, with individual discounts of 60% to 70% off. I bought a comparable stack every week, even though I couldn't afford it and certainly don't need more books. I now understand the manic helplessness of gamblers and other compulsives. It is not pretty.

Have a great weekend (and drop me a line if you have any book or Trader Joe's recommendations)!

Map Wall Art Inspiration

April 28, 2011 by Renee Claire

I’ve posted before on certain dream house must-haves (see: bookshelves, hidden gardens). Another item for the list is “maps as wall art.” Below are some of my favorite map decor images, including one from my house. I hope these will inspire you too!

Wall Map Inspiration

Design*Sponge featured this cute D.I.Y. cork map project by Halligan Norris.

Wall Map Inspiration

A beautiful map in Lonny Mag. The apartment belongs to designer Lynn Nigro and the map comes from Côté Jardin Antiques {via This is Glamorous}.

Wall Map Inspiration

Repro antique map of Amsterdam, from my house.

Wall Map Inspiration

Image from Steph Davlantes’ studio (I love the idea of a map collage wall, and that Oceans print is gorgeous).

Wall Map Inspiration

Design*Sponge featured photographer Jess Loraas’ place, which has this custom Paris map (print done by Rollout).

Wall Map Inspiration

A giant reproduction antique map of Paris from Restoration Hardware.

Wall Map Inspiration

I love this image, but can’t find the original source, even with TinEye. Please leave a comment if you know who to credit {found here, via pinterest}.

Oh Happy Day turned me on to this huge National Geographic world map, a bargain at $100. The National Geographic map store has many great choices, as well. Below is an “action shot” of the map, via Honestly, WTF.

A great idea from Better Homes & Gardens. I’m not sure where I found this first, but the first time I saw a credit for it was on Say Yes to Hoboken.

At $150, the Hammacher Schlemmer World’s Largest Write On World Map is another budget-friendly option. The bright colors make it popular for kids’ rooms; above, the map in a gym/office featured in New York Magazine {via swissmiss}, and on the cover of Room for Children {via Babble}.

A romantic image from Alice Lane (featuring their Margaret bed), photo by Nicole Hill Gerulat.

Finally, a map triptych featured on Ballard Designs (product photo no longer on site).

Want more inspiration? Check out this map of Africa; these maps used as blinds; an Elle Decor map store round-up {via Babble}; this children’s map wallpaper; and this room with map-wrapped rafters.

O.O.P. Wonders: Château Cuisine by Anne Willan

March 23, 2011 by Renee Claire

Here’s a new series for Book Wednesday: O.O.P. Wonders, featuring cool books currently out-of-print. I’ve posted out-of-print favorites before; this just makes it official. First up is a childhood favorite, Château Cuisine:

The book, a mix of coffee table travel book and cookbook, is by Anne Willan, the founder of the renowned La Varenne cooking school. Willan’s a fascinating figure in her own right, a somewhat less-heralded, British Julia Child. For many years, she ran her cooking school from the Château du Fey in Burgundy; that building is included here, along with 33 other châteaux from all over France.

As a child, I remember marveling at this book’s fairy tale architecture, country landscapes, and slightly bizarre French country dishes. Chicken in cider jelly? Pan-roasted wood cock? Tarragon liquer?! I could only dream of what these things tasted like, and in my dreams they were spasm-inducing delicious.

The book has held up well over the years (it was published in 1993, making it an unbelievable 18 years old), although the photos by Christopher Baker have a rich, pre-digital quality:

I have never tried the recipes, having always found them intimidating. Looking at them as an adult, however, the difficulty level seems on par with Julia Child’s recipes, i.e., more labor-intensive than your usual week-night dinner, but not French Laundry impossible. The dishes are very traditional French:

Seriously swoon-worthy, right? I’ll give one of the recipes a go soon, and update here when I do. Used copies of Château Cuisine can be purchased at Amazon; also see Anne Willan’s website for more on her books.

Hidden Green Spaces & Walled Gardens

January 28, 2011 by Renee Claire

{via the new domestic}

Last year, I posted on my biggest apartment must-have, bookshelves. A close second on the do-want list, though, is a miniature walled garden.

My personal ideal garden is this one, from a rental house we stayed at in La Bastidonne (Vaucluse/Provence):

From the front door to the front gate.

Definitely prefer the overgrown look to manicured lawns and shrubbery. It wasn’t deliberate here, though–the neighbor’s son could only tend the garden a few hours each week.

Outdoor parties are the best. Faces blurred to protect the innocent (except for my little brother, Rodrigo, who is not innocent and whose expression in this photo cracks me up).

A final one of Rodrigo, at the small table near the gate. I liked that this garden had several distinct sitting areas to break up the space.

Below the cut are more garden inspiration images. They’re taken from late night Tumblr/Pinterest raids, and therefore missing some attributions. Please comment if you know the missing credits:

[Read more…]

Anatomy of a Christmas Party #3: Gingerbread Cookies

December 23, 2010 by Renee Claire

From left to right: Target 8-piece cookie cutter set, $6.99; Betty Crocker decorating tips, gingerbread cookie mix (with egg + butter), & white, green, & red icing; grocery-store-brand red hots & sprinkles.

Decorating gingerbread cookies is awesome, but making gingerbread cookies? Not so much. Year after year, I'd follow recipes to the letter, only to pull out a pan of hard, over-spiced sadness. So this year I just used Betty Crocker everything (plus cheap Kroger "decors"), and the result was a hit.

Pre-bake image. Love these cookie cutters!

I was extra impressed with the Betty Crocker gingerbread cookie mix. The cookies did taste like they came from a mix, but only slightly. The balance of spices and chewy texture were excellent, and best of all, it was easy. I know there's been a backlash against "easy way out" cooking, but sometimes a girl just wants to throw a party.

Tragically, these were all decorated by adults.