the haystack needle

gingham plates + spring cleaning

Just wanted to share that I'm selling the gingham enamelware plates we used at our lobster bake rehearsal dinner, in case if you're in the market for a cool set of plates. I added them to 100 Layer Cake's marketplace. These metal plates are large, dishwasher-safe, and perfect for summer parties. I'd found them through Pottery Barn, and they were the perfect dishes for the lobster bake we hosted at Dan's family camp in Maine. If you're interested, feel free to email me. Thanks!

Also, for those of you in the area, I'm clearing out some of the stuff in our apartment to make things easier for us now that Juniper gets into everything. I have a Jonathan Adler lamp with a wallpapered shade, a few vintage suitcases, a small vintage chalkboard, a Heineken Beertender (also used at our lobster bake!), a bunch of frames (mostly without glass), and some vintage accessories. If anything sounds interesting to you, email me and I can send you images. I'm pricing everything low — just would like to find homes for everything. 

UPDATE: The gingham plates have sold! But the lamp and a few other items are still available.

Thanks! xo Jen

rainbow carrots

Last week when Juniper and I ventured into the city, we popped into the Italian food megastore Eataly and browsed its impressive produce section. I stumbled upon rainbow carrots. I honestly was unaware that anything other than an orange carrot existed before then. But there on the shelves were pretty bunches of purple, orange, and yellow carrots. I decided that Juniper was going to enjoy some rainbow carrots for dinner. I made up a recipe, riffing off of a carrot puree in my go-to cookbook for making baby food. Basically, I steamed the carrots in the microwave in a bowl with a little water (I was rushed for time — you could also cook the carrots on your stovetop.) Then I put the cooked carrots in the blender with a big dollop of plain (full fat) yogurt and a tablespoon of butter. The result was a pink puree that tasted super yummy, rich, and creamy. Juniper loved it. Favorite dish she'd eaten in a month. I'm thinking of making a few batches of rainbow carrots to give out to Juniper's playdates in the neighborhood. It's the perfect Easter treat for babies, since the puree turns out pastel pink, but — unlike jelly beans — this is ok for babies to eat. For us grownups, I bet rainbow carrots would look so pretty in a big spring salad. I would also love to try the carrot puree paired with fish (a white fish, like grey sole, would be delicious).

ps. For anyone local, I've spotted rainbow carrots in Greenpoint's organic market, The Garden. 

Photo from my iPhone. 

postcards and living in the moment

The weather here has been outrageously warm. Buh-bye winter — I guess we'll never see a true winter snowstorm and below-freezing temperatures this year. These 70(!) degree days are even more awesome with an almost-9-month-old. Juniper loves the swings in the playground, and I'm spending as much time outdoors with her as possible now that the weather doesn't require a bajillion layers of clothing.

One gift that Juniper has given me is the ability to live in the moment. Having a baby really makes you be present in what's happening right now. Logistically, you never know what your baby is going to be like on a given day — happy, sleepy, fussy, eating like a champ or not wanting any of the foods she loved yesterday, clingy and teething, you name it — and you just have to roll with it. And babies have this magical way of loving what's happening in the moment with all of their little hearts. A simple game of peekaboo or belly kisses and she gets this look of sheer joy on her face and giggles so that it's hard for me to ever really have a bad day.

That carefree way of living in the moment is why I've always loved sending postcards when I travel. There's not a lot of space to fill. There's some artsy fun image on one side that makes you happy. And it's you writing about what's happening to you right now. Sometimes just a couple sentences. Years ago, I'd heard about someone writing postcards to themselves when they're on trips, so they get the postcards after they're home as a special memento. I've done that a few times. It's a sweet way of reminding yourself when you're back home in the slog of things that you loved that passion fruit ice cream cone that you ate on the beach. Dan and I don't have any trips planned yet. But with Juniper, every day out honestly feels like an adventure. So I've decided I'm going to write myself postcards this spring and summer while she and I are out and about in the parks and exploring the city. I'm packing a few postcards and stamps in my bag so every so often I can write a few sentences about a little outing we loved and stick the postcard in the nearest mailbox. I'll probably put the postcards in her baby book as a reminder of our summer together. I'll definitely need one to commemorrate Juniper's first lick of ice cream. 

Here are a few postcard sets I'm crushing on: a pack of summer letterpress postcards and bon voyage postcards that feel very summery. 

ps. One of Juniper's first swing rides.

Images above:  The Printing Museum, One Fine Dae and my iPhone.