the haystack needle

tape a love note

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I created this easy, last-minute Valentine craft for Shelterpop. All you need is a little tape and a blank wall to create a super-sized message of love. It was fun to see Dan's face when he walked in the apartment and saw this surprise. Hope you have a sweet day! xo Jen

graceful gardens valentines

My favorite flower shop, Graceful Gardens in Williamsburg, has some gorgeous flower bundles pulled together for Valentine's Day. I'm in love with "the Shelley" above: anemones (my favorite), ranunculus, sweet pea, roses, wax flowers, and a tag with a line from P.B. Shelley's poem Love's Philosophy. 

Grace's take on a dozen roses makes even this girl (who's not a fan of roses) swoon. The berries and burlap wrap make the roses feel more wild and special. 

Organic roses mixed with peonies and wax flowers in a vase.

And a vintage chemistry set filled with flowers to say "we've got chemistry".

Happy weekend to you all! xo Jen

Images: Graceful Gardens

linea carta linens

I had Valentine's Day on my mind this morning as I just ordered this special something for Dan (no peeking, D!). And I keep finding myself drawn back to these napkin hearts, part of Diva's new textile collection for Linea Carta (huge fan). The reality is I have more tea towels and napkins than I have space for (and to be honest, don't host that many dinner parties.) What I'd really love to own is this delicate heart design on linen pillowcases or a set of sheets. So pretty. The entire line is worth a look. 

Image: Linea Carta

valentine cupcake toppers

Last night, I made cupcake toppers with my Paperfinger calligraphy love stamp, some Japanese tape, and toothpicks (Bryn's stamps work so well with their wooden handles). The plan is to bake cupcakes with Hershey Kisses inside and top each cupcake with a little love flag. Hope you have a sweet Valentine's Day!

See you next week! xx Jen

valentine bag

Need a last-minute valentine? I heart this valentine bag of goodies that Liz of Linda & Harriett whipped together — what a perfect gift for a friend or any paper lover. (Dan, that would be me, in case you didn't get the hint!) I'd choose the set of Paper Doll notecards to go inside. That super cute silkscreened pouch would be just right for stashing little projects when I travel. (Like yesterday, when I brought a bunch of cards with me to catch up on writing thank yous while I was waiting at the doctor's office.)

fun mail

Just wanted to share a few fun pieces of mail that were in my box:

Our friend Sue-Anne made this card for us (in honor of our first Valentine's Day as Mr. and Mrs.) She hand-stitched the heart and embossed the letters. This might be the sweetest handmade card I've ever received.

And these cards save the date for two events I'm excited to attend. My friend Jenn created this save-the-date with a Superhero theme for her upcoming wedding. I love it! She combined 3 photos in one — Jenn dressed up as Wonder Woman, her fiancé Pat wearing a Superman costume, and a backdrop photo of New York City. Jenn used Zazzle to print her custom save-the-date cards and loved the results — me too! Clearly you two were meant to be.

And David Stark is designing the open shinding of the newest West Elm to hit Manhattan. I'm excited to see the new uptown digs. The opening party will include a silent auction of one-of-a-kind furniture and objects that David's team created using recycled West Elm packaging materials. Fun!

best. brownies. ever.

With most cookbooks — even the ones you're excited about — do you end up tagging only a handful of recipes that you really want to try out? That's what I typically do, except with Jill O'Connor's cookbook, Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey Desserts from Chronicle Books. With this cookbook geared for the serious sweet tooth, I want to make every dessert — they all sound so amazing.

On Saturday, I made Dan a sweet homemade surprise for Valentine's Day. I went against my natural impulse to choose a recipe from the book which has a photo, because this brownie recipe sounded just too good. So here are my Heart of Darkness Brownies (topped with marshmallows, per recipe, and without which we actually preferred.) You'll see in the recipe below the fold that these brownies have every bit of goodness in them — from melted chocolate to Snickers bars. But my favorite revelation from making these brownies is that author Jill O'Connor is a genius for making her brownies in a cupcake tin. Baking these gooey brownies in individual tins saves you from messy cut squares — and they're just the perfect serving portion. These brownie cups score high marks for looks.

We've been indulging in the dark side of brownies all weekend. And from now on, I'm making brownie cups no matter which brownie recipe I follow. See below the fold for the recipe with my notes.