mipmup.

a few more favorite things.

you all know my friday favorites, but this holiday season i had some items i couldn't tell you about because they were gifts. gifts that were somewhat tough to part with. lucky for me, i didn't have to part with all of them because three of my favorites were given to my better half so i have easy access: "the silver spoon" published by the dreamy phaidon press, a highly-rated peppermill from unicorn and these ceramic "paper" coffee cups by jansen + co.

"the silver spoon" is the first english edition of a 50-year-old classic italian cookbook and over the weekend, i had the opportunity to make two dishes from the book. the simplicity of the dishes (sausage meat with horseradish and green beans with garlic and bread) and the ingredients are the reason i love cooking italian food to begin with. there are over 2,000 recipes, so i'm eager to dive in deeper. (i do think it's curious that phaidon published it; it doesn't have the same feel of their other incredibly arty books.) visit phaidon's silver spoon microsite for recipes and chef menus. about 25.

my better half hates our perfex pepper mill and i'm not entirely clear as to the reasons, but there it is. i did some research at cook's illustrated and found that the unicorn pepper mill was recommended and i can understand why. it's nearly a perfect grinder and i love the texture of the pepper is gives. my only complaint? i do not love the design (i much prefer the aesthetics of the perfex) and since it's plastic, it gets slippery if you happen to operate it with damp or oily hands, as does occasionally happen in my kitchen. 34.

i immediately fell in love with these cups and the store that sells them, rockett st. george in the uk. the simple design, the little surprise quote on the bottom, their very uniqueness. i paired this gift with a stovetop espresso maker so my better half could enjoy a cappy at home. and the store's customer service is excellent. when the box of cups arrived damaged, the company refunded the cost of the order. i can't wait to order more! (how cute are the little ones, too?!) £19.50.

photo credits: powell's  .  rockett st. george  .  unicorn

friday favorites.

here are my favorites for this week.

• stacked squares earrings. these ronni kappos earrings are made from vintage german glass. i love the colors and the design is gorgeous. 90. 
  

• an attractive cat lounge. my better half wants to get one of those awful carpeted cat loungers/trees for our cats and i've been standing firmly against bringing such an eyesore into our home. when i saw this, i believe i have found a lovely compromise. now, if only i had a spare  290.

• leaf suitcase. while i'm fairly certain this luggage wouldn't be practical (white and canvas?), it's rather dreamy methinks. 228.75.
  

• pretty pink coat.  i don't speak danish, but i think i could figure out how to order this little darling just fine. dkk 1999 (about 352). 

• seahorse necklace. i have a thing for seahorses. i don't know why. i just do. 26.

mipmup's friday favorites is a weekly look at fab-u finds. g'ahead: subscribe to the friday favorites feed.

photo credits: greenergrassdesign.  a+r  .  marstrands  .  ro 

the honorable owlie.

my obsession with owls is currently being satiated via this blog. is there anything better than an owl ambassador? i didn't think so. find out how to get one.

photo credit: kwoozy.

not dazzled.

recently, i tried out zazzle, a company that creates customized products using your images, for a project i had and i must say, i cannot recommend them. while the user interface is intuitive and quite easy to use, the final product (a postcard) came back in extremely poor condition. the image was pixelated to the point that i wondered if they had anyone reviewing for quality at all. also, the order took much longer to process than the company promised, which delayed my client's deadline (christmas). if anything, this is the time to shine, not to fail a new customer miserably. i ended up having to reprint them at my local printer instead at 1/3 the cost. i will say that they offer a guarantee, so i had no trouble returning the postcards, which was a relief.

that said, while they espouse the following philosophy, it would be helpful if they lived it, too:

"we are passionate about producing on-demand products of extraordinary quality with unprecedented speed. the combination of high-quality raw materials with proprietary printing and manufacturing processes give customers the quality they demand.

as an alternative, i can say the quality of a calendar i saw recently produced by photoworks.com seemed exceptional. heavy paper stock, too. most of all, i like the fact that they have unique, non-cheesy designs for their products.

lesson learned yet again: when it counts, go with the tried and true.

indie rocks.

this year, most of my gifts came from indie artists i found at etsy, but i did buy a few things from mega-corporations such as barnes + noble. the difference? all of my etsy gifts arrived on time and in perfect condition. i'm still awaiting two gifts from b+n and cooking.com, which acts as a distributor for other companies such as jessica's biscuit. a wee bit frustrating to say the least and my lesson is learned: smaller is better. period. and many of the gifts i bought from these indie shops were extremely hard to part with! i felt great supporting them and knowing that these gifts were unique and created with love.

among my favorite artists:

• social studies. i grabbed one of their plush toys made from a recycled tee. suh-weet!
• angela liu designs. excellent quality bags and pouches with lovely fabrics from which to choose.
• seamripper. snagged a little owl pouch that i really, really wanted for me-self! tdf!
• mpatrizio. i'm a little obsessed with this artist. i love everything she creates, including this extra-tasty ice cream journal i gave to a friend. i think i must order the stickers.
• not too pink. check out the love birds tree print. is there anything better?
• blissful. purchased a handmade scarf and pink clutch with quality that was quite impressive.

merry merry.

a very happy christmas to you!

(um, photo cheat alert. it's from last year due to no tree-buying this year!)

last minute.

things i did today:

• started my day off right by happily listening to chow magazine online editor jane goldman diss rachael ray on today's episode of "good food."
• shopped at the farmers' market early-early to beat the crowds. that said, my favorite farm ran out of arugula before i got to them. argh.
• visited whole foods for one (out of season) item (don't lecture) i couldn't find at the market.
• made a flourless hazelnut cake, nopales, spiced poached pears, gingerbread cookies, a double batch of (bittman) brownies, six sets of two different body products , a custom gift certificate, holiday gift tags.
• soaked corn husks for tamales (that's tomorrow).
• wrapped all presents.

i think i'm officially tired.

oh! progress on the decorating front: my better half purchased a wreath today — half off!

friday favorites.

here are my favorites for this week.

• village bag. i don't really know what "eco-friendly" leather may constitute, but i do like the bag! 288. 
  

• martha apron. another example of an item that really should be available in adult sizes. 26.

• booties. adorable. what else is there to say? 24.
  

• sea nymph earrings. delicate and beautiful $au40. 

• fleur de lys wrap. i'm all about the wraps. 72.

mipmup's friday favorites is a weekly look at fab-u finds. g'ahead: subscribe to the friday favorites feed.

photo credits: isabooties .  modamuse  .  darlybird  .  roots  .  hazel

vintage christmas.

i am having serious heart palpitations over all the vintage christmas goodness going on at this flickr pool. since i don't have any of our christmas stuff out yet (hey, i still have four days), i won't join the group just yet. i plan on taking photos of all of my mom's most excellent retro decorations on christmas eve and then maybe i'll join in. i just hope she has them out this year so i can covet all evening!

image credit: neato coolville.

easy giving.

i was not about to send the diabetic brother-in-law a batch of cookies with 28 g carbohydrate and 10 g fat each. scrambling at the last minute to ship out the gifts amongst the persistent sounds from our roofers, i decided to make something with the walnuts i bought from my favorite farmer last week. something sans sugar. and apparently, walnuts are good for diabetes! this recipe took me all of 15 minutes to make and would be an excellent host gift. even if they're not diabetic.

spiced walnuts
3 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground corinader
pinch cayenne
1 1/2 cups walnut pieces
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

combine oil and spices in a large skillet. heat over low heat until the oil is quite hot but not smoking. remove from heat.

add walnuts and stir until all the nuts are coated. spread onto parchment-lined shallow baking pan. bake at 300º for 10 minutes or until crisp. keep a close eye on them so they don't burn.

sprinkle with the salt and allow to cool completely before storing in a covered container. keeps for one month at room temperature.

fills a one-pint ball canning jar.

credit: adapted from this recipe.