The highlight of my day today was making a set of cards using one of artist Ed Roth's stencils from his book, Stencil 101. For this card, I used gold acrylic paint on a bright fucshia handmade paper.

Interwoven Globe

Recently I had the opportunity to write a piece for Maharam Stories, the blog of one of my favorite textile companies well known for contemporary design, interdisciplinary collaborations, and modern branding.

Click here to check out my piece on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibit, Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade 1500-1800.  

Mid-18th century Indian palampore, or bedcover

For "ties that don't suck," check out Cyberoptix Tie Lab for fun, well-designed, hand screen-printed men's accessories. I bought one for my brother-in-law last year, and apparently he wears it to every event. Here are a few of my favorite designs from their collection.

Constellation necktie

Ahh, the end of a Monday. Tonight I'm winding down by shopping. Or, more specifically, window shopping via the internet. I'm the best dressed in my imagination...

A piece by Mona Baltazar, jewelry designer, rock star mom and incidentally, my hair stylist of six years and counting (Let me tell you, this woman cuts a mean pixie). I love the simplicity of the wood and metal elements, and the kind of tribal, urban nomad aesthetic of her line. 

I've never been one for stones, but I fell for the modern look of this piece by Beach Bones jewelry at the Renegade Craft Fair. 

Renegade was not a great place to shop for clothes, but still I managed to shimmy myself into one of Elizabeth Suzann's minimalist pieces (sadly, it did not come home with me). This washed silk blouse is the perfect canvas for all the bold jewelry I covet. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know Thanksgiving was last Thursday, but for me the holiday ends today with this bowl of turkey soup, the last vestige of our feast. 

Admittedly, I was too caught up in the flurry of cooking/eating/cleaning to document much, but I thought I'd share this recipe for Pumpkin Pie, courtesy of the Food Network's Alton Brown. I ended up double the proportions and skipping the brulee, but it still turned out amazing. Everyone loved the gingersnap crust, and the fact that the pie itself wasn't too sweet. Definitely a recipe I will save for next year, or maybe even sooner to warm up a winter night...

Pumpkin Pie, from Alton Brown's recipe on www.foodnetwork.com
Ingredients
Crust:
6 ounces gingersnap cookies
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 ounce unsalted butter, melted


Filling:
16 ounces Pumpkin Puree (Alton Brown might be horrified, but I used canned pumpkin)
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk

Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust: Combine the gingersnaps, brown sugar, and ginger in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the cookies are fine crumbs. Drizzle the butter into the crumb mixture. Pulse 8 to 10 times to combine.

Press the gingersnap mixture into the bottom, up the sides, and just over the lip of a 9-inch glass pie dish. Place on a half sheet pan and bake the crust for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool crust at least 10 minutes before filling.

For the filling: Bring the pumpkin puree to a simmer over medium heat in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the half-and-half, nutmeg, and salt. Stir and return the mixture to a simmer. Remove the pumpkin mixture from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

Whisk the brown sugar, eggs, and yolk until smooth in a large bowl. Add the pumpkin mixture and whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the prepared filling into the warm pie crust and bake on the same half sheet pan until the center jiggles slightly but the sides of the filling are set, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack for at least 2 to 3 hours before slicing. Pie can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance. Pie is best the day after it is made.