enormous champion

Super cuteness by Enormous Champion. Love the colorfully painted sides and modern interpretations of animals. Quirky and fun! The kangaroo reminds me of my Australian adventures.

via enormous champion

in a jam

Ever since the strawberry post I've been craving homemade jam and have been perusing the web for homemade recipes. And then I came across a new blog via Style Me Pretty called Sunday Suppers, which features great recipes and food styling and there it was. This post had me drooling over buttermilk biscuits. But the thing about the biscuits that really had me going was the super simple recipe for the accompanying jam butters. Just mix jam and good quality butter and voila! You've got yourself a sweet breakfast. Pictured here are strawberry, apricot, and blueberry butters. Such beautiful summer colors. Almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

And almost as if they were reading my bloggy mind, they also posted a menu with zabaglione and strawberries.

image via sunday suppers

letterpress art

Letterpress is an art in itself, but I love when it is done as an actual art print. These lovely prints are available in limited editions at Sycamore Street Press. I love the whimsy and color combinations in both of these. Baby blue and red? Cute. And the blue and green gradient on the second print is beautiful and saturated.





via sycamore street press

naturally occurring awesomeness

Sometimes it just astounds me when I see patterns and intricacies in nature that seem absolutely impossible to dream up. It makes me very certain that there is a God out there, and he's crafted us so carefully and wonderfully ... with finely drawn lines and beautifully chosen colors. I came across these shells that are sold at this online shop (it has an ironic name, however), and they were just so indicative of the creativity of our Creator! Brilliant!

And wouldn't these photos make great prints? I'd love to hang them in our bathroom.

all images via evolution store

wonder foodie: zabaglione at home

When the hubba and I want to go on a date night, one of our favorite places to go is a local Italian restaurant. And when we go, I always get the Zabaglione with mixed berries. It's a light, delicious, and slightly nutty custard made with eggs, Marsala wine, and sugar.

It seemed pretty simple, so I wanted to try to replicate it at home. We had a post-Memorial day dinner yesterday and I gave this recipe a try, adding a little less of the Marsala to cut down on the alcohol flavor. And it was a success, though I think I'll add even less Marsala next time. But it was a nice combination of sweet blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries with the smooth zabaglione and freshly whipped cream. Mmmm, summer is coming! I can feel it. Two berry posts in a row! Parting fact: the french word for zabaglione is sabayon!

wonder foodie: sweet strawberries

I truly enjoy shopping at the farmers market on Saturdays. It's something of a guilty pleasure when I get to go, usually I sleep in a bit and slowly get ready for the day. We hop into the car, bring the dog with us, and decide on the way there where we'd like to eat afterward. Perusing the stalls is a feast for the eyes, even though some say our market is smaller than others they've seen. Some of our favorite things to purchase are oranges, fresh herbs (like mint, parsley, chives, basil), roasted corn, fresh naan bread, and strawberries. Oh, the strawberries.

I recently discovered a farm stall that is now my favorite - they specialize in berry varietals, and strawberry is a major crop. And it shows. Yerena Farms, or FeNella Organic has the sweetest strawberries I've tasted. And the best part is that they sell all over the Bay Area, even at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. The thing about fresh food that is so inspiring, is the hard work and knowledge that it took for that taste to be delivered to our mouths. To hear about some of the ins and outs of farming, check out this audio interview with Poli Yerena of Yerena Farms.

My appreciation for farmers grew even more after visiting our friend's farm. So as I enjoy berries this week, I'll be reminded of the labor of the farmers that picked them. And aren't the berries just plain beautiful in the spring sun?

Forgive the missing basket in the photo above, that was due to the one I bought!

a little soundtrack: floating feist

I'm digging this sweet song by Feist - it's worth it just to watch the first minute and a half for the magical little touches. Toast with wings, drawing on a necklace, flying out windows, floating on air - then after that it gets really catchy and fun! I couldn't resist a song called Mushaboom ... I'm the self-proclaimed queen of making up words after all.

This link has moved, watch the video here