the haystack needle

wood & wool stool

We received an amazing surprise in the mail this week, all the way from Amsterdam. I was speechless and jumping up and down with excitement. I'm sure you can imagine. Our dear friend Liz commissioned one of Ingrid's Wood & Wool stools as a wedding present for us. I still can't believe this handmade treasure is really ours! When it comes to your wedding, I'm sure you're with me that having the people you love most around you for the day is the biggest gift ever. Liz even shared a special reading during our ceremony. And I feel especially grateful to have had Liz as part of the super group of friends and family who arrived early to the wedding to decorate the barn (without their amazing help, the details would have never come together.) But back to this stool. Isn't it the sweetest? I especially love the colorful pattern of the crochet top and the faded green recycled wood legs.

 

Liz asked Ingrid to carve our wedding date on one of the stool's legs. I'm so blown away with all the thought behind this gift. And I love imagining how this special stool will be with Dan and me no matter where we call home.

Ingrid, if you're reading, thank you for all the love you put into this handmade stool. I'm so thrilled to have a piece of your work in my home. Liz, wow — what a surprise. Thank you so much for this incredibly sweet gift. We love you.

ps. You can see a peek of our wedding Wood & Wool stool when it was made in Ingrid's studio!

hot lemonades

Since Sunday, I've been dragging with a cold. Actually, it's only 40 percent of a cold at best — I'm winning the battle! — and I know it's all because of my mom's hot lemonades. Growing up, the cure for colds and sore throats in my house was always my mom's hot lemonade. It's so simple. Boil water. Squeeze of one fresh lemon. A spoonful of honey. When I've had a sore throat, this drink is the one thing that soothes my scratchy throat. It's also works miracles with colds, the flu, days when you feel achy, and I like to make one if I'm feeling in a winter funk. Make a hot lemonade for your love who's under the weather, and you'll be a hero. (Dan always get a hot lemonade when he's sick now.) So on Monday, I stocked up on organic lemons and faced my cold armed with my mom's magic cure. Today I'm feeling almost 90 percent. What's your go-to cure when you come down with a cold?

hampton chutney

I'm ever thankful to have inherited my dad's olive complexion, which plays nice with mister sun, but I'm not delighted that unhealthy gums also managed to get passed down in the genetic code. Every meeting with my dentist comes with a bundle of nerves. Lately, the appointments have also been shining a mirror on my shortcomings: namely, lack of sleep (which apparently affects your gums!). Today's dentist appointment left me feeling like a failure patient and spinning with hunger (even though I'd eaten a good breakfast.) So before heading back to Brooklyn, I made my way over to my favorite lunch spot in SoHo: Hampton Chutney. Their seasonal dosa filled with roasted beets, butternut squash, and goat cheese (topped with my pick of cilantro chutney) filled me with a renewed spirit. All better. Sometimes a good meal saves my day from complete ruin.

{photograph by Keisuke Omi}

cubbie organizer

I wanted to make room in my little workspace for a vintage Elna sewing machine to come out of hiding. I'm determined to face my fear of threading the sewing machine and move onto sewing victory number two. But first I needed to clear up space — my crafting table was forever covered in supplies. I searched flea markets and junk shops for a while, but then I wound up finding my solution at Pottery Barn. My new cubbie organizer has keyholes in the back, which made it easy to mount in the wall. I love it — super functional and just my style.

vintage shops in williamsburg

A small hunt on Craigslist brought me to Severely Vintage and Sit and Read Furniture — two Williamsburg showrooms filled with industrial relics and vintage furniture. They're in my neighborhood! I have so much around me still to explore – can't wait to visit these showrooms in person. This 6'3" tall green chalkboard (for sale) is amazing. I wish it were in my budget as it's so hard to find a super-sized chalkboard (and I personally prefer the old school charm of green chalkboards over black.) When I peeked through the collections on both sites, I have to say that the prices are not bad (considering it's New York, after all) — especially when you compare them to similar vintage goldmines like Factory 20. And in general, I haven't had a ton of luck finding much in the way of industrial style furnishings on eBay — though maybe I'm not looking in the right places.

shake shack on a snow day

Last week, I found myself near Madison Square Park as it started to snow. I headed over to Shake Shack and treated myself to a cheeseburger for lunch — walked right up to the window as there was no line! I love how you can get away with so much on a snow day. I snapped this photo of their globe lights twinkling outside in the snow.

sailor knot dog collars

We've had a puppy boom among our friends. Over the weekend, we met Katie and Jim's little Peanut (a Goldendoodle) and Kelly and Scott's Stanley (a Bichon). Peanut discovered that she's not the only dog in the world, the two pooches had the most adorable chase, and we shared an amazing Sunday roast at Scott and Kelly's (Stanley even got treated to some lamb.) I remembered these super cute sailor knot collars from Mascot. Aren't they fun? They remind me of the Nantucket knot bracelets (you can find in color now) that were glued to my wrist for many summers at camp. 

ps. The photo below was taken with my new camera. Instant love.