Here Comes the Guide

My friend Kara and I have decided to put together a little collection of guidebooks to some of our favorite cities. We are starting with the SF Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda), New York (including all boroughs), and Los Angeles, and we are looking for ideas and contributions! If you are interested in sharing some of your favorite places that you think we should check out, please email us at library.bird.guides@gmail.com, and we will send you a survey to fill out. (Please email rather than leaving comments here, thanks!)

Pillow Fight!

Okay, I'm starting to open up to the possibility of a splash of orange or two... and also considering this pillow (because I need more to choose from, right?), which is from Pillows and Throws.

Pillows I Wish...

Here are some more pillows that I love but that wouldn't fit in our living room...

From George Ryan, I love this horse pillow! I might have to buy it, even if it doesn't match...


Zebra pillow from Branching Out


Recycled sail pillow from Reiter 8


Cottage pillow from Olive Handmade


Leaf pillow from The Calaka Co.


Felted pillow from Papaver Vert


Hound dog from Karen Hilton


The entire "Misregistered" collection from John Robshaw


Hable Construction's lemon bead pillow at Weego Home


Another Judy Ross pillow from Weego


Some starfish from Hable Construction


Thomas Paul elephant from Pillows and Throws


"Large Pots" by Jonathan Adler, also from Pillows and Throws



Silk embroidered and crewel work pillows by Koko Co., also from Pillows and Throws


Indian appliqued pillow from Lotus by Loa


Alphabet Pillow from Room and Board

Pillows I Want

Now that we have our lovely new couch, I want to start beefing up our pillow collection (which currently consists of two pillows). Here are some that I have been eyeing...

These two pillows from Hable Construction



From the "Big Sur" collection at Jonathan Adler


A nice union jack from Karen Hilton Designs at Etsy


And some quilted batik from A Stitch in Dye at Etsy


This Judy Ross pillow from Weego Home


These little Dwell Baby pillows from Design Public



"Wild Grass" pillow from Lauren Saunders


This pillow from Target


And, of course, these ones from Lotus Bleu again...

Fresh House

Here is an idea for how to make your house smell really wonderful. I do it sometimes just because, but it is also really good for after you've cooked fish (you can use the peels from any lemons you've squeezed) or burnt something in the oven, or fried something in oil.


Just take a couple of lemons or oranges and slice them up, put them in a pot of water, and add a whole cinnamon stick, some cloves, some grated nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, or whatever else smells good in your spice cupboard (a few chunks of fresh ginger or a vanilla bean would also be great). Bring to a boil, close all your windows and doors, and let the steam fill your home.

If you don't have whole lemons or oranges, or if you happen to have some already-squeezed peels, those will work just as well. In fact, you can save any orange or lemon peels when you have them leftover from juice or another recipe, and freeze them to use this way in the future. I don't have an in sink disposal, but I have heard that putting a couple of citrus peels through one will do wonders for its smell.

At Last!

Our beautiful new sofa finally arrived today, and I am completely smitten. It's the Burke from Room and Board. It's only been here for a few minutes, so pardon the mess around it- I still need to rearrange some things to make it look perfect- but I couldn't wait to share!

Juicy Couture

Go ahead, ask me what I did today.


What's that you ask? Well, I spent my day juicing oranges and lemons to freeze for the summer. It seems a little strange to be putting up fruit for the summer, but if I am going to stick to eating seasonal produce, I know I'll be missing my citrus come July. I juiced Fairchild mandarins, Satsuma mandarins, Clemetina tangerines, navel oranges, blood oranges, and Meyer lemons, and I also froze blood orange segments for future salads, and Meyer lemon and tangerine zest.


It was a good day.

The Happiest Topiary in Town

For those of you already familiar with my obsession with topiaries, this post will come as no surprise. I stumbled upon these gems this afternoon and was absolutely delighted! I guess I'm not the only one who thinks shrubs have character.

Valentine Socks

I really like holidays. I could tell you with absolute conviction that the Fourth of July is my favorite. Or, Thanksgiving. Or, Halloween. But I would be remiss to omit Valentine's day, which I think of as a day of red and pink.


For most of the year I groan when I see holiday merchandise on display months in advance (who needs to buy Christmas items in September?), but as far as I'm concerned the Valentine merch could be out year 'round and it would still elicit squeals of glee everytime I catch a glimpse of it. I realized a while back that of all my socks, I wear red and pink ones the most, and Valentine's day is the perfect excuse to buy more every year. Not to mention oodles of red kitchen gear! Sigh...

Magnolias

I just saw this new Marimekko print on More Ways To Waste Time, and it reminds me so much of my own Magnolia card (below)! It's been raining like crazy around here, and I can't wait until the spring flowers start blooming.