Tea Time with Mazama

I recently became aware of the new Portland based company Mazama and instantly fell in love. Started by a talented group of designers and crafters, they make the most beautifully hand-crafted ceramic drinking vessels. So when they asked if I wanted to put together a little post on their blog sharing how I would use their mugs I immediately obliged. Because I'm pregnant I was a little limited in my drinking options but decided on a lovely tea time with cookies. So simple and special, recipe below.

Tea:
I bought a delicious loose leaf tea from a favorite fair trade brand of mine called Marble and Milkweed. But you can also easily buy and mix your own bulk loose leaf tea.

Cookies:
Old Fashioned Lemon Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened
2 large eggs
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside.

Put sugars and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed 30 seconds. Add butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon juice. Reduce speed; gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.

Scoop dough using a 1-inch ice cream scoop; space cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten cookies slightly with a spatula. Sprinkle tops with sanding sugar.

Inspired Office Space

Just a quick little post this afternoon since I'm hard at work with the finishing touches on the next Rue issue which comes out tomorrow!! I can't wait for you all to see it. But speaking of hard at work I thought I would share this super inspiring office space via Design Sponge that I instantly fell in love with recently. Enjoy!

Wes Anderson Inspired Lookbook for Need Supply

Have you guys seen this amazing lookbook shot for Need Supply? I'm kind've a nutty Wes Anderson fan so of course it was right up my alley. But how can it not be? it's the perfect mixture of prep school style and geek chic! You must check out the entire lookbook.

 

Ceramics

I love these overhead images of organic ceramic vessels shot by Dietlind Wolf, such a stunning eye for color and shape. They kind of remind me of how my mom and I shop when we are in a beautiful interiors or home goods shop, we always pick things based on how they look with other items, placing them next to each other and creating our own little diorama of the perfect combination of items, even though we know once we get home they rarely will be used in that perfect visual representation. I suppose that is the talent of a really good stylist, creating a story with items that would not capture your attention quite the same way if standing alone.

Grrrrr

Just some halloween inspiration for those of you who are super crafty and have some extra time on your hands. via pinterest

Deconstructed Salad

Some of the most stunning food styling and photography I've every seen. I challenge anyone to not want a salad after seeing it like this. featured in Sweet Paul magazine, which is, by the way, one of the best online magazines out there.

Sang An

I think the imagery by Korean born, American educated, photographer Sang An, is some of the most beautiful and innovative food styling and photography I've seen in awhile. It's so minimalistic and graphic, he also does stunning work in interiors and still life, but I just love his food photography so much I had to dedicate an entire post to it.

What Katie Ate

With the holidays coming up I've been poring over my cookbooks and cooking blogs to find recipes and inspiration for the many feasts I have planned in my head. One of my favorite resources to find inspiration is at What Katie Ate, a food blog by Sydney based stylist and photographer Katie Quinn Davies. The imagery on her blog is incredibly tantalizing and most of the posts include corresponding recipes or link to where you can find them. Highly recommend visiting if your feeling stressed out about your own holiday cooking plans.

Table-Top Floral Arrangements

With the holidays fast approaching I thought it would be nice to share some beautiful floral arrangements to brighten up any table. For someone like me who doesn't have the time or the money to have fresh cut flowers year round the winter holidays offer a special occasion to splurge on decorating, also it has the added bonus of giving you a little reminder of spring and growth and that one day the outdoors will live again. Most of these images come from the always amazing designsponge blog.

Annie Larson

I'm so excited for this mornings post because I'm featuring the amazing knitwear designer Annie Larson, who surprisingly grew up in the neighboring small town to me in rural Wisconsin, she also knew and played with many of the kids I grew up with so it's weird and kind've unfortunate that we never met as kids. These days Annie is living in Minneapolis and after a 3 year stint designing at Target, is now focusing on her own original designs. What I love about Annies work is how fresh, colorful and unique it is, while at the same time integrating the look and feel of more traditional Scandinavian textiles. She has a lot more images on her site that you can ogle over as well as an online shop, I'm currently eyeing a new winter hat for myself.

Anthropologie Catalog

If you haven't seen it yet, here's a peak at the newest Anthropologie Catalog, it's so gorgeous, as usual. Could the cover model be any more striking? Also doesn't it seem like it would be such a fun job to work as a stylist or set designer on one of these catalogs? 

Jouke Bos

I'm really taken by the striking images of Dutch based fashion photographer Jouke Bos. He does over the top in such a fresh way. The stylists and make-up artists he's working with are obviously very talented as well.

Japanese Food Styling

I am smitten by with these images of Japanese food styling. It's so intriguing how even with their food the japanese are so elegantly simple and structured, also the fact that I could probably not identify half of the dishes peaks my adventurous spirit, I wish I could try them all. You can see more from this particular stylist (who's name I couldn't read because it was in Japanese) here.