
whew! it’s been a long week and i’m feeling a major sense of TGIF today. before i head off i wanted to wrap up this week with these paper chandeliers from designer lena corwin. inspired by the traditional polish paper chandeliers that are popping up around the web these days, lena’s versions will be for sale ($35-$65) at the brooklyn flea design co-op next weekend, and every saturday after that from 10-6 (this week’s fair was canceled due to rain). the design co-op will feature work from lotta jansdotter, wayne pate, wren handmade, and more. if you’re in town, be sure to check out lena’s new work and everyone else’s at the flea. until monday, i hope you all have a great weekend! below is a summary of this week’s highlights:
*ps: we’re still looking for some fantastic before & afters for the d*s book. we’d love to see any projects that will be finished by the end of the month- just shoot me an email right here with your images!*
- new d*s video: diy sunprint corkboard and tray how-to
- new city guide: amsterdam!
- past & present: rococo + modern rococo roundup
- living in: two for the road
- biz ladies 09: successful project management
- new sneak peeks: whimsy & spice, nicole hill gerulat, casey green of fossil, jennifer anderson
- new diy projects: sunprint corkboard + tray video, wallpapered cabinet doors, kate’s acorn bird feeder
- new before & afters: becca’s chair + rebecca’s nursery, jennifer’s nursery + sabina’s cabinet, cindy’s sewing table + gail’s window, tina’s home + lisa’s kitchen
- we like it wild: farm to table (carrot and flower arrangement)
- small measures with ashley: green fashion
- new recipe: in the kitchen with emma of dulcinaea baking’s savory scones
- cookbook reviews: scones + more
- dear d*s q&a: faux-wallpaper ideas and reader advice
- new d*s guest blog: design posts from elisabeth dunker
- misc.: d*s holiday table setting in house beautiful, tie-dyed tea towels from flowie, ceramic lights from naochina, marianne hallberg ceramics,

October 16th, 2009 - 01:00pm

Whether you like sweet scones like the ones Chris Chun offered up for us a few weeks ago or the savory ones from this week, there’s nothing like having something great to go with them. Amy Azzarito suggests fried chicken with this week’s savory scones and Damon Lee Fowler’s Fried Chicken: The World’s Best Recipes (Broadway Books) is a great resource if you’re looking to head in that direction. But, if you don’t have $210 to buy that out-of-print first edition (Glad I got my copy at cover price 11 years ago!), have a look at this week’s books which can help you make something to go on your scones, or with them.

CLICK HERE for Kristina’s cookbook reviews after the jump!
read more …
October 16th, 2009 - 12:00pm

i met emma as we both frantically took notes during survey 1 in the history of decorative arts and design program at parsons. i remember standing next to her at the photocopy machine that very first semester when she told me that she really wanted to be a baker. my first thought was ‘what are you doing here?’ closely followed by ‘wonder if she’ll bring treats to class?’
emma graduated from parsons in may and has managed to marry her two loves – she teaches the history of decorative arts to aspiring interior designers and she just started dulcinea. in addition to making specialty cakes and baked goods for order, the cornerstone of the business is emma’s weekly delivery of baked goods, which are inspired by the best seasonal produce available. it’s a csa for baked goods! (wouldn’t it be the perfect gift for a new mom or newlyweds?) although after sampling way too many herb and gruyere scones, i can safely say that this is a gift that would make anyone smile! -amy a
CLICK HERE for the full recipe after the jump!
read more …
October 16th, 2009 - 11:00am

Once upon a time, I was a real fashion fiend. Obsessed with clothes, I hoarded copies of Harper’s Bazaar, continually redressed strangers on the street in my mind, and fretted for hours about what I’d wear to school the next day. I took all of the costume design classes my small, public liberal arts university offered, read fashion designer’s biographies, and even aspired to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology and soak up all of the fashionably turned out eye candy the Big Apple has to offer. [image sources clockwise from top left: dawndh, your green review, greenloop, inhabitat, jane goodall]
My preoccupation with fashion was nurtured by my mother. Her closet and it’s accompanying ever-expanding accessory empire is the stuff of legends. She is the sort of woman who has a purse for every occasion, an earring for every fashion whim, and who never met an animal print she didn’t like. In high school, when my fashion cravings really began to kick in, it was her closet I’d regularly raid. I’d curate outfits like I was putting together an installation for the Met. My budget was limited, so mom’s closet was a saving grace. So were thrift and consignment stores. My local Salvation Army store knew my fashion preferences so well, they’d set aside items for me. I wore vintage gowns (REALLY vintage, as in, 1920’s) to my junior and senior proms, both found for bargain-basement deals tucked away in dusty antique stores.
Although I eventually moved into the natural food and lifestyle career path and away from haute couture, I still remain committed to certain aesthetic ideals. Durability and, whenever possible, sustainability now top my list of fashion musts. Fortunately, a number of “green” designers are moving to the fashion forefront, taking to runways on the local, national, and international level. Recent New York , London , and Paris Fashion Weeks presented a number of eco-chic designers,while Portland, Oregon showcased green fashions on a smaller scale.
CLICK HERE for the rest of Ashley’s post on green fashion after the jump!
read more …
October 16th, 2009 - 10:00am

in honor of today’s new recipes and cookbook reviews i couldn’t resist adding these beautiful illustrations by blexbolex for i know how to cook by ginette mathiot. phaidon bought the rights to this classic french home cooking book and assigned one of my favorite bloggers of all-time, clotilde dusoulier, to oversea an updated american version with illustrations by french illustrator blexbolex. with over 1400 recipes and pages upon pages of gorgeous illustrations, what’s not to love? click here to order online. thanks, sonya!



October 16th, 2009 - 09:00am