to-do list tattoo

As we’ve been struggling to modify hack Omnifocus,our overly complicated task management software and tailor it to our needs, we came across this fab to-do list tattoo. Just fill it out with a pen daily and wash it off at night. It reminded us of our more primitive – and less permanent – solution: of making…

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reminder: ‘the improvisational cook’ book giveaway

We been KNOCKED OUT by the responses we’ve gotten to our teeny, easy contest to win a free, inscribed copy of Sally’s The Improvisational Cook. Check out the Comments following last week’s bookgivaway announcement to read some of the great, imaginative improvs reader’s have done in the kitchen. The deadline for entry is Thursday, April…

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the secret of white painted floors

We’ve always loved the white painted floors that are especially prominent on Scandinavian design blogs and magazines, like these from the home of Danish stylist Sidsel Zachariassen.  We wondered  what the secret is to making them both pristine and durable. We found the answer in a Dwell slideshow about the smart, frugal renovation of a…

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swell rigged kitchen island on sawhorses

Faced with the possibility of camping in a kitchenless space, we’ve been thinking about ways to forge a makeshift kitchen. Lately, we’ve come across a number of kitchen islands made out of sawhorses and a slab of wood. Although they have a pleasingly ad hoc feeling, sawhorses naturally seem to possess a low-key architectural aesthetic,…

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stripping things to their essence (le corbusier)

We stumbled on this image of the great architect Le Corbusier painting a fresco in the nude. in Le Corbusier: A Life. He was staying at legendary architect Eileen Gray‘s Villa E-1027 in St. Tropez, in 1927. You can almost feel the Mediterranean breezes. To us, it is a reminder of “flow”, of following ideas spontaneously…

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stout + ice cream floats (for grownups)

The other day we were browsing through Leite’s Culinaria and stumbled on Coleman Andrew’s “recipe” for an ice cream float made with Guinness Stout. It fits fine within the “ice cream with flavorful alcohol” theme we are partial to, vanilla being a perfect foil for the chocolatey/spicy/bitter/maltiness of stout. (Our Amontillado Milkshake walks a similar…

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cool finds + good value, for home

Over the past week, we’ve stumbled on some very cool housewares with all the qualities we value:  simple, well-designed, enduring, and good value. Our favorite is a charming geometric textile made of pieced Tyvek by Woodnotes that can be used as curtains, partitions, and table decorations.“Flake consists of snow flake like pieces which are joined…

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book giveaway: ‘the improvisational cook’

We’re giving away a free copy of Sally Schneider’s award-winning cookbook The Improvisational Cook (inscribed by the author if you like), widely viewed as THE book about improvising in the kitchen. “Schneider gives cooks the know-how to embellish, adapt, change, alter, modify and experiment in their cooking with plenty of encouragement and helpful information. Here…

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inspiration journals: walls, books, software…

Annaleena’s Hem recently published a whimsical “inspiration” wall, a styled visualization of a very practical process. She taped up clipped-from-magazine images of ideas for redecorating, and called it “Collect Your Dreams”.  Says Annaleena: Something I often say to…those who are renovating is to tear out pictures as you like, it can be inspirational images of…

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how to remember anything

There’s been a lot of press lately about journalist Joshua Foer’s book Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. We’re sure that’s because forgetfulness is the curse of our age. Foer thinks it’s NOT because our brains are overloaded, but because we’re not really paying attention. The book outlines methods you can…

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alt flower arrangement: a little vase of herbs

We love this alt-flower arrangement spotted in Remodelista’s post about Sitka & Spruce, a restaurant in Seattle: herbs – here, thyme and rosemary – in a little vase. (A pretty glass would do.) This would be especially great in high summer when herbs are abundant, fragrant and often in flower. We found this nice looking set…

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