Wall Letters

Now that we've got clothes in closets, knives in knife blocks and at least some of the books on bookshelves, it's time to move on to some of the more fun elements of making our house home...nesting, decorating, beautifying... making this place ours.  The longer I live in the rooms here, the more ideas I have of what I'd like to do to make them prettier.  One thing I am a tad obsessed with for the baby's room are wall letters.

Did you watch 9 by Design on Bravo this spring?  Not surprisingly, I did, and I developed a huge girl-crush on Cortney Novogratz (gorgeous, calm mother of 7, with serious style...LOVE her) and a lust for their eclectic-chic design esthetic.  The photo above is from their dining area.  They found different letter prints and had them framed in lightboxes to spell "family."  I love the colorful pop and point of interest they provide on the gray wall.  And  you often see letters employed in childrens room design...

...as seen here with this lovely selection from Pottery Barn Kids. I kind of have a love-hate relationship with old PBK.  I love some of their thematic decorating ideas (I am particularly smitten with their little boys' surfer room), but I hate their prices, and think that sometimes they take the matchiness to a bit of an extreme beyond what I can stomach.  But, I love the idea of wall letters, and of spelling lil' J's name out on the wall above his dresser.  There's just a big, long, empty space there, and he is so into words and reading that I think it would be a fun way to translate that into our decor.   But, I feel that little Tristan's letters are a bit austere.  What to do? Enter one of my favorite design websites Apartment Therapy Ohdeeoh:

I LOVE this fun wall of eclectic letters!  Novogratz meets PBK meets SMJ!  We don't have wall real estate for a whole alphabet, but I think finding his name in quirky letters would be a great little scavenger hunt and fun way to eventually personalize his room.  Care to join me?  If in your greater New England or interweb adventures, you happen to encounter a very cool J, H, D, A and/or U (word scramble time! AND scavenger hunt!  How fun am I this morning?), please drop me a line and let me know!  I am on the hunt and am not afraid to get crafty with a paint brush!

What's your favorite eclectic, affordable room decorating trick?

Celebration Cake

So much to celebrate... after a Herculean unpacking effort over the weekend, our new apartment finally feels like home.  I love our new neighborhood so much.  Baby J is officially walking.  The heat wave has broken with a glorious summer thunderstorm (love those).  My sister is here!  And life is good.  What better way to celebrate than with cake?   Would you like the hands-down best cake recipe in the world?  Yes?  Well, here you go:

Photo by cake goddess and wine-making genius Haley

Celebration Cake

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup dry white wine (never use anything you wouldn't drink!)

2.5 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1) Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour 9-inch round pans.

2) Beat the sugar and eggs together with an electric mixer.  Add oil, wine, flour, salt, baking powder and vanilla and beat.

3) Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean.

And the best part, the Icing

Ingredients

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

1) Melt butter and chocolate together over very low heat, or in a double boiler.

2) Remove from heat, add vanilla.

3) Add sugar, beating gradually until combined.

Allow the cakes to cool completely before removing from their pans and icing them in layers.  I say without compunction that this cake is THE BEST.  It is adapted from the Great Yellow Cake recipe in the Silver Palate New Basics cookbook, that 80s classic which is full of gems from all of our childhoods.  This cake is the best thing to come from all three of their volumes as far as I am concerned.  How often do you find a winning cake recipe that doesn't involve a lick of sifting, obscure ingredients, or undue fuss?  This celebration cake is an all-time crowd-pleaser, delighting even those people who claim to only like pie (I don't believe you).  Try it and let me know what you think... you won't be disappointed!

Cheers!

Heat Wave Dinner

The heat wave continues, although it seems to be abating a bit today.  Last night, though, it was the end of a long, hot day, and my whole being felt sticky and impatient.  Neither the husband nor I felt inspired to do any cooking whatsoever, and he stated a strong preference for not turning on the oven or stove at all, which was just fine by me.  I honestly could have skipped dinner altogether and just sat in front of a fan with my eyes closed instead, but an active day had my stomach rumbling, and she needed to be fed.  Nights like these call for easy, ready-in-minutes, from the fridge/freezer, no fuss meals.  Here's what I had:

My newest obsession: a Morningstar Farms Tomato and Basil Pizza Burger, which is essentially a veggie burger with a lot of flavor and flare.  I love the cheesiness and Italian zest of these burgers, and they have great nutritional stats for a speedy din (120 calories, 10 grams protein, 6 grams fat).  I served mine on a piece of Trader Joe's Garlic Naan, which we had leftover from a Quickie Indian dinner we had a few nights ago, cut in half and fashioned into a bun.  I spread it with goat cheese, added a handful of baby spinach, and I'll tell you what: it was absolutely delicious, and ready in less than 5 minutes.

On the side, I had grilled zucchini, summer squash and red onions.  This is one of my favorite things to do during peak veggie/peak grilling season.... the husband was manning the grill making some ribs for 4th of July, so I quartered a ton of veggies, tossed them in olive oil, salt and pepper, and put them in the queue for him to grill while he was at the helm of the barbecue anyway.  We had a few of these on the side of the ribs, but the majority went in a Tupperware to be used all week long.  I've tossed them into our green salads, served them along side some orzo salad (hence the little piece of runaway orzo in the forground), and used them as a side.  There's nothing better than having a bunch of grilled veggies on hand!

A jackhammer has just awakened Baby J from a brief morning nap, so it is time for our day to truly begin.  I see many iced beverages in our future.

Brilliant and/or slightly insane Stay Cool Tip

The heat wave continues, and I forgot to share my favorite totally free tip for staying cool with you last night.  As it is now pushing 90 degrees before 10am, I thought I'd share bright and early.  Here it is: sing Christmas carols.  You heard me.  I'm talking Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman type crooning.  Preferably at the top of your lungs while sipping ice water.  I defy you not to feel a little chill in your bones as you trill out "Jack Frost nipping at your nose..."  I swear, it works wonders.  The baby enjoys it too.

Don't you feel cooler just looking at that?

Yes, I'm Jewish.

Have a good one, peeps.

Hot Times, Summer in the City

Dudes.  It is really flipping hot here in Beantown.  Guess we picked the wrong week to move away from the beach.  It is the kind of muggy, oppressive heat that pretty much incapacitates you and makes your limbs feel like lead.  I am so happy to be back here, and have so much to download about the move, the new 'hood, and a tasty little 4th of July beverage I concocted and dubbed "The Freedom Fizzy", but I'm sorry, right now I am too hot to put that many coherent sentences together.  And any recipe I would write today would go something like this:  Turn on stove.  Decide you'd be insane to cook in this weather.  Turn off stove. Eat cold cereal for dinner. Finish with ice cream. So instead, I've decided to bring you...

SMJ's Guide to Ways to Keep Cool in Boston for $10 or less

When packing up for the beach is not an option, these are our next best ideas...

1) The Children's Playspace at the Atrium Mall is awesome.  Tidy, well-appointed and filled with fun kids and awesome moms and caregivers all looking to stay cool, this was a perfect place for Baby J to get out his morning antsies today.  There is a lounge for resting and snacking, a bathroom pimped out with a super-nice changing table, and plenty of sweet, sweet air-conditioning. Normally, I despise malls, but today, I was loving that cool air, and even the soothing, ambient mall muzak.  (Cost: As long as you can keep your wallet in your pocket as you pass Crewcuts, Baby Gap and, most dangerously for me, the huge, gorgeous Anthropologie mothership that is right next door, this play experience is totally FREE).

 Baby J in "Stroller Parking" at the Mall.

2) Large iced coffee from City Feed and Supply, my fave new neighborhood coffee and lunch joint.  Doors open at 7am, which is a blessed thing when you've been up most of the night and since dawn (someone is still adjusting to sleeping in his new home).  The coffee is fair trade and fantastic.  (Cost: $2.57 for the coffee, but neighborhood gossip, fabulous people watching and sweet, sweet air conditioning are all FREE)

3) Three words: Ice Cold Grapes (Cost: about 3 bucks for the organic ones at Trader Joes's, but sharing them with the baby is priceless).

4) Another Trader Joe's related three words: Indaba Sauvignon Blanc.  Served iced cold 'round quitting time, there is nothing better. It goes very well with almost any cheese and crackers, or chips and salsa, and it pairs well with a nice green salad, which is a great dinner option in this weather... I'm loving baby greens with sliced strawberries and orange peppers, crumbled feta and balsamic vinaigrette. (Cost: Less than $6/bottle from TJ's!!! And I swear it doesn't taste like it. Not bad for a crisp and drinkable white which "shows focused dried herbal flavors with an accent of tart citrus and a fresh and lively aftertaste."  Indeed.).


5)  The Boston Department of Conservation and Recreation maintains several "spray decks" for kids in parks across the city, the most famous of which is the Frog Pond on the Boston Common.

I am still getting over my personal fear that these places are nothing but festering tetanus swamps, and I have some time to continue letting that notion go, as Baby J is still just a bit too small to fend for himself in one of these aquatic free-for-alls.  However, there are two of these beauties within 5 blocks of our house, and all the kids in them look cool, calm and comfy.  As soon as his walk is a bit more steady, I can totally see us being spray deck junkies.  (Cost: Free + $10 co-pay for tetanus shot).

The weatherman on the evening news said that today was the hottest day Boston has seen in the last decade or so, and that the heat wave isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so I sense a series coming on here.  Stay tuned for more heat remedies, and several ideas for amazing whole-dinner salads, which we are seriously rocking around here these days.  There's nothing better than a complete and delicious meal which involves little to no work around the stove.    

That's all for now.  The sun has set here, and so have the last of my functional brain cells.

Stay cool, my friends.

And the winners are...

Happy Friday!  I can't think of a better way to kick off a sunny holiday weekend than to give away 2 gorgeous prizes to 2 gorgeous SMJ readers.  The Random Integer Generator at Random.org has helped me select the recipients of our beautiful Amy Dunn clutch and wallet. 

 The Dewdrop clutch goes to anonymous/hpw (comment #15).

and Angella (#13) the wallet is yours!

  And if you did not win, don't despair...Amy's creations can still be yours!  

Visit her Etsy shop and fill your cart with her reasonably priced and beautiful wares.  

Mamas shoppin' mamas is an economic theory I can get behind.

Thanks for playing and have a wonderful 4th of July!

Oh, and check out the fine print... 

So, my attorney (aka The Husband) suggested I "disclose my giveaway policy" to you, my loyal readers.  In the interest of staying in good standing with my legal counsel, here it is:  when I do giveaways, I assign a number to each commenter based on the order of comment.  Then, when it is time to select a winner, I use the Random Integer Generator at Random.org to select a winner or winners.  I enter the range of numbers (1 through 25 for this giveaway), the number of integers I'd like generated (2 for this giveaway), and I hit "get numbers".  I count down which commenter corresponds to the numbers spit out by the Integer Generator, et voilà! This is how I choose my winners... totally impartial, totally random, totally monitored by Mr. SMJ, Esquire.  I knew those 3 years of law school would come in handy at some point...

Things I am Loving Today

1) That our move is over!  Since my last post, we have finally moved all of our things from Vermont and Maine to Boston and are here at last!  There are still a million boxes to unpack and tiny chores to attack, but we are home sweet home and it feels so good.

 Our neighbors' hydrangeas....so gorgeous!

2) Living near a Trader Joe's again.  TJ's, I will never move more than 30 minutes from you again.  I've missed you so.  My fridge abounds with TJ's loveliness, reasonably priced and delicious all.  Baby J gives two thumbs up to the peanut butter sandwich crackers.  Delish.

3) My new work station.

4) My afternoon snack.

5) How many of you have entered the Amy Dunn giveaway!  Isn't her stuff fantastic?  You have 24 hours left to leave a comment on the post below for a chance to win her darling clutch or wallet.  I'll be randomly selecting two winners tomorrow! 

I am totally worn out but totally excited to finally be here.  

I can't wait to share our Boston adventures with you!