Last week we enjoyed Eunice Moyle’s recipe for Eton Mess. This week, her sister, Sabrina (together they form Hello!Lucky) gives us an entertaining “vintage” red velvet cake recipe with wonderfully styled photos to fit the vintage grandmother imagery. No, you’re not going crazy, we featured Amy Butler’s favorite red velvet cake recipe, too! They differ slightly, especially the icing, but both deliver a delicious cake.

CLICK HERE for the full recipe after the jump!

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Peony: Take 1

You say Peony, I say Paeony - either way - the Greek myth goes down like this:
Asclepius was the god of healing and medicine. Peaon was his wingman. Peaon got so talented that Asclepius got all jealous. To save Peaon from Asclepius’ wrath, Zeus turned him into a flower; the Peony. Asclepius later got caught raising folks from the dead in exchange for gold. Zeus struck him down with a lightning bolt. I’m not sure who was left to do the healing after that.

Anyway now is the season for these showstoppers. We can get peonies year-round - flown in from New Zealand and Holland - but they’re not the same. Not as full, not as fragrant.

Two weeks ago the really good peonies starting showing. Varieties? Bowl of Cream, Big Ben, Crinkled Linens, Charles Burgess…shall I go on? Festiva Maxima, Felix Krause, Paula Fey, Pillow Talk. The price deflates this time of year from upwards of $15 a stem down to $6 or 7. You don’t need a lot. One or two. Unless you’re trying to appeal to an angry girlfriend (10 full-blown stems packs a wallop and makes a huge bouquet worth drooling over). Peonies are Chuck Bass’s go-to flower for when he’s told Blair Waldorf he doesn’t love her, when in fact he really does and decides to tell her he’s had a change of heart. (She never accepts.) Incidentally, a bouquet of peonies also makes for a good “hit-him-over-the-head” scenario, due to their relative lightness and lack of thorns. Petals slowly trickle out of freeze-frame as music gently rises.

But you’re not the type for drama like that, and probably just want something pretty for your table. Put some sprite or sugar in the water to feed the cut stems.

Peonies grow well in most temperate zones. The best site I’ve found for purchasing them (as roots, not plants) is Song Sparrow. There’s also a wealth of information on the Garden Muse’s blog here.

d*s reader dawn buscher sent in this great before & after. her husband purchased 4 metal barrister bookcases (designed to protect books and documents from fire) from the 40s and 50s and dawn decided to use one of them for a little makeover project. dawn refinished the bookcase unit, built a wooden top (painted to match the metal) and added hairpin legs to create a new media storage unit. great work, dawn!

jill crawford is a los angeles-based interior designer and graphic artist, and while typically she’s off working on amazing homes, hotels, pads or post-production facilities, today we have a special sneak peek into her own home. her current specialty is in large-scale graphic design for walls which are a fun and unique element in her spaces. check out the rest of her peek after the jump.  additional images of her home can be found here and don’t miss more of her work right here. [thanks, jill!] -anne

designer laura hoyer of open face sandwich sent in this simple but beautiful before & after. laura explained that her “blah” kitchen needed some TLC, but because she lives in a rental, her options were limited. so she decided to take inspiration from a new haven ikea store and print one of her designs, hang it over the backsplash and then cover it with plexi-glass for protection. it only takes a few steps, but the results bring so much more life to the kitchen. great work, laura! check out more of laura’s work right here.

dana d’amico has been designing for almost ten years now. her latest fulltime gig was with calvin klein home where her personal style and CK aesthetic really meshed - clean, modern, minimal and textural. and today we’re excited to share a sneak peek into dana’s beautiful home. definitely keep an eye out for for all her lovely tabletop/home products that she’s created over the years (they pop up around the house). and if what you see below isn’t enough, click here for lots more! stay tuned for another amazing peek coming up at 11! [thanks, dana!] -anne

I have been designing now for almost 10 years, as the work has varied it has always been related to interiors and the bulk has been tabletop products. Basically that means I have tons of home stuff….plates, glasses, barware, vases, candlestick etc….I love having options but storage can be an issue….

[above: I could use more space in the bedroom/studio.When I work on a project I totally spread out, make a mess….post stuff all over the walls…..the magnetic boards are great for that. Almost all the art in my place comes form an event at Artists Space (a non-profit gallery for emerging artists). They have an event called Night of 1000 drawings every year where all the drawings are donated and the proceeds go to the gallery. I volunteer and get a drawing in exchange. It’s great because the people who work there are awesome and I will always support the arts!…Duvet is CK, pillows are Soft Goods, Socktopus is one of my top bday gifts ever,thanks DLee!!! The print on the wall is from Doze Green one of my favorite graffiti writers, I got this at a dj battle where he was doing a live painting.

(photos by Maria-Teresa Capelle-Burny)

Credenza was a flea market miracle! I had my heart set on a credenza to solve my storage issues and help me appear more minimal….then one random Sat my friend and I came across my baby in hells kitchen…asked the price…heard $500….tried to walk away maintaining our cool…walked right back over paid for it and had it delivered to my place within 1 hour. $500 total. done and done!! OH and it also has a top piece which I now keep under my desk for storage but plan on using it together in the future…..I came across it at Las Venus for $4950…just the bottom part…..SCORE! Dansk 1963 Jens Quistgaard ….my friend is a total good luck charm! Cube tables are the work of my good friend Kai-wei ….he also made the candelabra. Our aesthetics really mesh and he is hilarious…

It houses my overflow of home goods, my dvds, some books & photos. The box peeking out I made at RISD in wood …it is filled with random toys that I’ve acquired over the years….kids love it! The squarish glass jug was a collaboration with myself and my glass buddy. We made molds out of wood and blew into them to get the shape and texture. Bowls are my designs for CK, filled with various driftwood from Puerto Rico, Block Island and random woods I’ve passed through.

Records were mostly found on the street (Ave B)…..the girl who was getting rid of them was actually helping me go through them, pointing out the jams (tons of classic hip hop, party jams & 80’s)…NYers…gotta love em!

The textured porcelain are my current project. This collection will be complete soon and I hope to sell it to specialty shops around….they were just shown at Bklyn Designs…exciting!

I am trying to collect wood tirangles, I got 2 at the flea in Budapest and one this winter at the Paris flea…I think they are beautiful and simple. The textile on the back of my chair I got in Japan at an antique dealer. I had an amazing time there buying inspirational samples for CK.

This winter my skateboard was just taking up space…I stacked some books on it and now have a rolling shelf….it’s awesome when I am working and I need to move things quick.