Apps and Apps

APPS!
If you're hosting the Turkey feast this week, or if you're a guest, you may need to have some great appetizer recipes at the ready.  Even though Thanksgiving dinner is typically huge, many folks make a marathon out of the eating, complete with apps earlier in the day to kick off the celebration.

For Thanksgiving, especially, I think appetizers should be super easy and nearly idiot-proof.  If you're the hostess, your kitchen is packed with all the meal prep and you don't need to be fretting over a platter of high-maintenance hors d'oeuvres.  If you're a guest who was told to bring an appetizer, you need something that can travel well and won't need any attention in your hostess' kitchen upon arrival. 

Dates Stacks

image via Lola Lobato

Slice dates in half lengthwise.
Sandwich in beween each halves a piece of walnut and a small slice of your favorite cheese (bleu is great, as is a creamy manchego!)
Stick a toothpick through the stack, or tidily pack on a dish with fresh herbs as garnish.  


Onion Mushroom Gruyere Tartlets

image via BrownEyedBaker

Caramelize 1 thinly sliced onion in butter over medium heat, adding thinkly sliced mushrooms, garlic and thyme after 20 minutes.
Unfold thawed sheets of puff pastry and cut out circles from the dough, placing them evenly spaced on baking sheet.
Dollop each round with the onion mushroom mixture, leaving a small border around the edge of each round.
Top each round with shredded Gruyere cheese, and brush the edges of the dough rounds with the egg wash.
Bake at 400 until the pastry is golden brown, about 15 to 25 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Serve warm or room temperature.


Insalata Caprese On A Stick

image via Pinmarklet

Use long, stylish food picks to layer mozzarella balls (use the pre-marinated ones), two leaves fresh basil and cherry tomatoes. 
Arrange all finished sticks on a platter, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Serve chilled.


Honey Walnut & Brie Tartlets

image via Joelen

Use prepared phyllo shells to fill with a heaping chunk of soft brie cheese.
Drizzle with honey and top with toasted crumbled walnuts.
Serve immediately!




APPS DUEX!
Let's talk about some awesome design-related iPhone applications.  For one, the app that Schumacher finally launched!  This is helpful app seems to be designed in the same style of the Kravet & Lee Jofa apps.  To the point, easy and full of inspiring photos.




Speaking of inspiring photos, have you downloaded the Remodelista app?!  Similar to the ever-popular Houzz app, this site's endless supply of fantastic photos will keep you busy and entertained on your iPhone.  via Remodelista.com/app

Lastly, give yourself the treat of the Design Icon app.  If you're a fan of midcentury modern design and love name-dropping your Breuers, Bertoias and Jacobsens, this is the app for you.  Part pop-quiz, part design lesson, the Design Icon app tests your knowledge of designer's product names, and design eras.  Currently there are apps for Iconic Chairs and Iconic Lighting, as well as a fun one on typography!  Lots of fun and sometimes a great challenge! via failforwards.eu

Happy App-ing!
Cheers,
Whitney

Hunting for Vintage

Been having a great time in Lexington, shopping the amazing vintage stores in town, and finding some amazing antique resources off the beaten path, too.

I've been redecorating a Guest Bedroom on a slim budget and blink-and-its-here deadline, so thrift stores have been my No. 1 source for unique furnishings and accessories for this room.  I've had a blast meeting many of the shop owners and salespeople at Lexington's thrift and secondhand shops, among them are the staff at Uncle Ray Jay's Furniture ReSellers, Room Service, Scout, Feather My Nest, Another Man's Treasure, and about 5 different Goodwill shops. 

But my absolute favorite shop discovery has been Street Scene, a fabulously put-together vintage boutique.  I walked in the store (which is so unassuming from the exterior), and nearly fainted at the girlie retro wonder of it all.  The store is arranged in half a dozen themed vignettes, with clothing, fashion accessories, furniture and home accessories staged to retro perfection.  It was as if Etsy morphed into a storefront and enveloped me into its well-curated quirkiness.  I whipped out my iPhone and used my favorite app, Camera+, to capture some of the goodness and share here.



Cute little kitchenette vignette!
And, are you kidding me with that chair? It was meticulously recovered in soft red gingham. YES!

A Halloween-themed vignette with 70s furniture and tons of gilded frames on the wall.



Another Halloween-y vignette near the men's clothing section.  Lots of vintage cool men's hats, btw.



The back of the shop, which is huge and so pristine, you'd think all the items were brand spanking new. 



You know I almost convulsed at the sight of all this glassware. 
Too bad I didn't bring an extra suitcase on my trip to fill with these goodies..  I love cocktail glassware!!!



A dressmaker's form was recovered in peacock blue satin and is used to display an insane amount of brooches and pins.  Steal this idea for your boudoir!

  

I really, REALLY loved this campaign-style bamboo tray table.  Wouldn't it make a fabulous nightstand?  And how rad are those plaid pillows?!




This table lamp is so haute. 



Bins filled with decorative handles, pulls, knobs and finials. 
And with prices much cheaper than that store that rhymes with Quanthropologie.



I die.  This patio furniture set would be so cute in a kitchen. 
And all those tabletop goodies are totally Mrs. Roper cool.



If you're in the Lexington area, you must check out Street Scene.  There's a treasure at every step in this shop, and the ladies on staff were so sweet and super stylish.  They recommended some of the other vintage shops that I visited this week (and mentioned above), and were so gracious while I gushed about their fab shop.  I didn't buy anything for the Guest Room makeover, but I managed to buy a purse for myself.  How does that always seem to happen?!? I was there with only 20 minutes before I had a meeting, so I couldn't shop for too long, but I'm going back before I leave town! 

Cheers,
Whitney

Found Goodies...

I found a wealth of goodies on the internet today.  I share this wealth because I'm a generous soul who knows that you, like me, feel fantastic when new design/architecture/décor/real estate/entertaining brain candy is handed to you on the silver platter that is a glowing laptop monitor.  Mmmmmm. 

BARKITECTURE! via katiedid

Live ON the Beach in the Hamptons for less than $1million! via Curbed

There's a DURALEE fabrics outlet on Long Island! via Effortless Style

This easy chicken recipe rocks! by Georgia Pellegrini via Tasty Kitchen

Made Goods Debuts New Mirrors! via Cocozy

Natural Curiosities sent me a note that they'll be at Booth 47008!  Art, décor & accessories abound at the NYIGF

What would you do to make this otherwise-ordinary home shine within its arbor-rific vibe? via Jentrified

Don't waste the plinth/toe-kick space in your lower cabinetry! by The Family Handyman via Pinterest

I am a published photographer! via Gilroy Dispatch. Thanks to my trusty iPhone and Camera+ app, I am quite proud of this accomplishment.  And, yes, the Gilroy Garlic Festival is amazing. 

Happy interneting, my friends!
Cheers, Whitney

A Still Life

I've been away.  Have you noticed?  I'm out of the hideous heat wave, away from my City.  Not that I'm bragging.  But, really, I kind of am bragging. 

During my travels, waiting at various airport terminals, I developed a hardcore crush on the iPhone app Camera+.  It's a photography dummy's best friend forever, and ever ever.  Developed by a a brilliant team of technicians and photographers, the program allows me to take pics on my iPhone and tweak them afterwards, as if I had masterly planned out the aperture and exposure settings beforehand.  Pretty darn nifty. 

Below are three pictures of the same scene, with three different post-treatments. 

Limestone. Avocados. Lemons. Peaches. Limes. CLARITY treatment.

Limestone. Avocados. Lemons. Peaches. Limes. VIBRANT treatment.

Limestone. Avocados. Lemons. Peaches. Limes. SUNKISS'D treatment.

This still life is what I'm doing this week.  Photographing it.  Drinking it.  And, probably eating it.
Cheers,
Whitney