Lighting: love for bubble lamps

via modernica

I have always admired the nelson bubble lamps- you can purchase them at Modernica.  We have a saucer over our dining room table and it has changed the look of the entire room.  How cool is this cluster of various bubble lamps below? I used to only like the saucer lamp but the cigar pendant has grown on me.

via design sponge 

Momofuku Milk Bar

1.

My brother-in-law got me this cookbook for Christmas by Christina Tosi. I am so excited- especially since they have a recipe for a funfetti cake made from scratch.  I make a funfetti box cake for the little lady every year on her birthday, until I have time to baker her her "real" cake (read: a cake that takes more than 20 minutes to throw together). I have read the book from beginning to end, several times now and I can't wait to try some of the other amazing recipes like crack pie and liquid cheese cake. Now, I also really really want to go to NY and try out Milk bar ASAP. Does anyone want to join me?

Milk crumbs on the inside cover of her cookbook

Sas' Funfetti box cakes for her 1st and 2nd birthday.

Brunch: Genessee Royale

Genessee Royale has quickly become one of my favorite brunch spots in west bottoms aka the old stock yard district. The restaurant is located inside an old gas station and has a quirky shabby chic feel to it, with sparkly chandeliers on the ceiling and vintage frames on the wall.  The menu is simple and delicious. Next time you find yourself in west bottoms go check it out and try the Wolferman's English muffin- a more decadent and fluffier version of the generic English muffin- with home made strawberry preserve or the fried chicken and waffles.

Fun wallpaper ideas

How adorable is this wallpaper, designed by a Swedish graphic artist named  Lisa Bengtsson? The name of the wall paper is called "Tillsammans" which means "together" in Swedish. These twelve different doggie portraits could hang in your house too. You can buy the wall paper here from Huset shop.

Source 1. 2. 3. via Huset shop

Have a swinging weekend!

Photograph by the incredibly talented Silja Magg

Gardening

I have lived in apartments without a balcony- with the exception of our previous place in Seattle- for as long as I can remember. However, our new house has a good size yard.  I see vine ripened tomatoes, strawberries, butter lettuce and an array of fine herbs in my future.  I don't have a green thumb- to say the least- but I have managed to grow these beautiful soon to be Amaryllis'- and by growing them I mean watering them frequently. I really like the idea of having a planter like this in our yard to grow some amazing fruits and veggies. Besides some cool planters they also have this great outdoor dining set.

Pictures 2.3. 4. via scoutregalia

Tea Time .....

...little lady style

Before and after- the porch

It is 32 degrees and we are ready for summer!  Our patio furniture has arrived and there is a lot of it.  I think we will be able to make 2 separate sets out of the 8 piece set. One for the front patio and one in the back.  Now give me some sunshine please!

Before

After

Baking with the baby lady

Paul and I usually have a late night cup of coffee with something sweet. Since I had no cookies at home and I have been itching to bake something new, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try this recipe for cream cheese lemon bows. I had all the ingredients at home so it was fairly easy to whip up.  The hardest part was piping the batter into the bow shape because the batter was extremely stiff.  I ended up warming the batter, after I had scooped it into the piping bag and placed it underneath our warming lamp, for a couple of minutes.  The little lady carefully watched the mixer do most of the work and enjoyed a fresh out of the oven baked cookie!

p.s. How cute would Sas look in this adorable apron from anthropology  

Hallway color and decoration

Now that the dining room and formal sitting room have been painted, it is time to start thinking about the parlor and entry way.  I would love to continue to paint everything white- it looks SO good- but I think its time for some color. I came across this gorgeous wall hanging via bloesem living and I think this might just be the right piece of art for the hallway.  A touch of dutch with "the girl with the pearl earring" combined with a deep blue paint. You can buy it here.

via bloesem blog

via IXXI 

via IXXI

Boxing

I finally found a great class at a local gym in Kansas City, a boxing class. Twice a week for an hour and a half, I get tortured by doing an inordinate amount of push ups, sit ups and finally some boxing. It kicks my butt every single time and I am loving it. Thanks Scott Fitness & gang :-)

via sport wallpaper 

P.S. Obviously I look nothing like this picture, especially after 1.5 hrs of sweating...

Drinks!

I love fancy drinks, and more importantly, taking pictures of my fancy drinks.  I just unloaded my iphone from a gazillion pictures and found the following. Thankfully, I can remember where I had each one of them.

3 layered cocktail at Volt, Christmas 2011

Moscow mule at the beer kitchen

Peach Bellini at westport cafe

Liz' bloody mary at the farmhouse (how amazing does the caramelized pig ear look!)

Cocktails on our roof top deck

Strawberry cocktail, Christmas 2009 Palm Springs

Party Arty

Mr. P and I attended the yearly "party arty -all the worlds a fair" at the beautiful Nelson Atkins museum of arts this weekend.  The museum is simply amazing and has an incredible art selection, entry is completely free-except for special events. The party was a lot of fun. We got to dress up in our cocktail attire and danced the night away. Besides dancing, we had a chance to roam around the galleries and admire some of the amazing collections. Quixotic performed aerial acrobatics and they were simply incredible . All in all we had an amazing night.

Before and after- the fireplace

Happy Monday!  It has been a productive day so far.  I try to get at least the following three points accomplished every day: 1. look for work, 2. start a house project 3. take care of my little one (the first and last  ones are really a given).  Today, I tackled the fireplace for my daily house project (the litttle lady was taking her nap). The fireplace in our formal siting room is very manly. The hunter green paint that was previously there, together with the deep red faux brick and the heavy and stark wood mantel made it look very drap and did I mention *manly*. Just painting the brick with three coats of white paint livened it up-don't you agree? Next, I need a lesson in fire mantel decorating.

Before: hunter green paint

Little Nesso

I have been awaiting this day since Christmas.  I got Mr. P. a christmas present that had to be shipped all the way from Italy. It finally arrived!  A perfectly appropriate present for Mr.Dean Draper. I love it!

2. Roger Sterling on the set of Mad Men

3. Nesso Lamp

2. via ian claridge
3. via brands on air