my week in objects (mostly).

five little things that made my week.
{sorry about these enormous pictures. some weeks are just oversized}.

1. this frying pan.

{for coming back to life after the kitchen sink leaked all over you}.

2. this tea strainer.

{just a few dollars at a local shop and just right for mugs or tea pot}.

3. this sister.

{for flying up from asheville for a lightening-quick visit. can you guess who she's looking at}?

4. this cradle.

{and the tiny guy who sleeps inside of it}.

5. these paperwhites.

{for not getting completely shriveled when they had an unfortunate encounter with the radiator}.

other things:
a winter corsage.
i want to read this.
and this.
this is cheery.
love day gifties.

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birdland.

Friends, they have finally arrived. Yesterday afternoon I was crunched in front of my computer putting the finishing touches on a workshop that I'm giving today back in Providence when there was a sudden swell in the birdsong that typically accents my afternoon writing sessions. A shadow swooped in front of my window and when I peered out I saw not one, or two, or even three, but four house finches lined on my window sill waiting their turn at my makeshift feeder. I snatched at my camera and snapped these shots through our closed window, my little country heart full to bursting. Happiest wannabe birdwatcher in all of Brooklyn.

Now, how cute is that chickadee?

Details on making your own feeder, here.

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< two fifty: life in a tiny apartment.

Tiny apartments, not for the Jetsons only.

Last week's announcement that Mayor Bloomberg had selected a winner for his micro-apartment design contest has temporarily thrown tiny apartment living back into the public eye. The fervor hasn't reached the same intensity that it did this past summer when the contest was announced, but suffice to say that no fewer than five friends have emailed this video (or a variation) to me in the past week. It's not a new project, but clearly, people are talking.

I really admire the folks at LifeEdited (and not only because they once featured our tiny space). Their video of Graham Hill's Soho apartment is totally impressive and the space age-style transforming that the apartment can do is honestly mesmerizing. Pull out bunk beds for over night guests? Amazing. But, for folks who don't already live in small spaces I wonder if the emphasis on gadgetry ends up being equal parts inspirational and paralyzing. When I see the video and look around my own space, there's a part of me that begins to feel like long-term tiny apartment dwelling might only be tenable with highly designed furniture and moveable walls. 

To be clear, the site also focus on the more pressing issue of editing what you own (hear, hear). Their post about our space last summer was actually a testament to the idea that you don't need special furniture to make living small work. But I'm interested to know what you think. Do you guys live in small spaces? Do you have transformer furniture, or do you make like me and drag your regular old kitchen table out from the wall to make yourself a desk?

PS. If you're interested in seeing the extent of my own apartment transformer action, hop over to this morning's post on Vine...wholesome live-action, friends.

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desert (not so) solitaire.

It's the colors I like best. All those aquas and pinks and purples. I've never thought of myself as a pinks and purples girl, but one look at these desert colors and I'm feeling a change of heart. Two weeks ago I boarded the 4 train and rode an hour northward to the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. The trip didn't include a rucksack or stargazing or encounters with wild animals (unless you count the small humans in strollers). I didn't become the wizened desert woman of my dreams, but having even a small bit of time with some of these desert ladies was enough to shake some winter blues and encourage me to at least entertain the thought of saving for a plane ticket to see the real thing.

ps. More about my visit to the gardens coming up on Gardenista.
pps. If you haven't read Desert Solitaire, you might consider it. Top 20 favorite books of all time.

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penne with brussels sprouts.

Close to my sister's apartment in the East Village is Motorino Pizza. It's one of my favorite places to spend a cozy hour due in no small part to their brussels sprout pizza. It's rich and delicious, garlicky and savory in a way that makes you groan with delight on your first bite.*

Since I can't quite afford the luxury of a weekly pizza from Motorino, I've decided to make myself a variation in the form of pasta. I've made it twice in the past two weeks, once by cover of darkness on a weeknight when a quick dinner was in order, and again on a weekend with the intention of sharing it with you friends. I changed my method up the second time, and I'm beginning to think I might have been better off with the first attempt.  I'll explain both techniques and let you choose your own adventure. In either case, this is a terrifically easy and satisfying meal for winter nights.

Below is the "recipe"**, which is perhaps better classified as an "encouragement to experiment with something you'll probably quite enjoy":

Ingredients:

3/4 lb pasta (James and I eat pasta like we're prepping for a marathon, so feel free to adjust if 3/4 lb for two seems extreme).
12 (roughly) brussels sprouts
pecorino cheese
mozzarella cheese (or fior di latte if you're not too lazy or too cold to walk the extra 10 blocks to the fancy cheese shop)
2 garlic cloves (or to taste)
red pepper flakes (to taste)
salt (to taste)
olive oil

How-to:

1. Start by peeling your brussels sprouts. You can chop them if you prefer, but I really like the thinness of the individual leaves. If your sprout has a particularly dense root, you can lop it off to help peel away the leaves. Once you get to the very tight layers in the center, you might decide chopping is the way to go. After you've disassembled your sprouts, give them a thorough rinse.

2. Here's the adventure part: The first time I made this recipe, I roasted my disassembled leaves with sea salt and olive oil on a baking sheet in the oven. The thinnest leaves crisped right up, and after cooking them for about 10 minutes at 350 F, I did a quickie broil, watching carefully to be sure they didn't all end up black. They were delicious. (I sauteed garlic and red pepper flakes together in a separate pan, stovetop). This time, to save myself a pan to wash, I roasted my sprouts on the stove in a large skillet with garlic and red pepper. I got a sear on some of the leaves, but the sprouts were less crispy than they were in the oven, and I think I overdid the garlic. You've been warned.

3. While your sprouts are cooking, boil your water and cook your pasta (I used penne) until it's al dente. Again, to save myself a dish, I strained my pasta using the lid of my pot. Besides meaning that you don't have to wash your colander  this method has the added advantage of making it easy to save some of the pasta water. (If you use a colander, make sure you reserve at least a 1/2 cup).

4. Once your pasta is drained and your sprouts are crisped, add them all together (if you use the first method, make sure you've also sauteed some garlic with red pepper flakes and add those to the mixture, too). Next, add your cheese. I cut my mozzarella into small chunks and grated my pecornio, about a half cup of each. Bottom line: add as much or as little cheese as you want, but use your pasta water to help combine everything in to a delicious gooey mess.

*The original pizza includes smoked pancetta. Feel free to add it if that's the sort of thing you enjoy...
**If you prefer a less talkative recipe, the New York Times published a variation, here (with pancetta).

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my week in objects (mostly).

1. this onesie for a nephew, drying on a radiator.

Some weeks, there can only be one object that really matters. Just one object for me to use to convey the enormity of an occasion so huge I can't quite wrap my head around it and so perfectly normal that it's hard to imagine the rhythms of life before it happened. There are two new lungs breathing this same air with us, and a new load of laundry filled with tiny things. Spectacular and usual, both at the same time.

Oliver, I am so glad you're here.

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snowbirds.

Have you heard that it's been cold in New York? Yes, yes you have. It's all anyone's talking about and I won't deny, it's freezing! There's snow expected tonight and even though I know that city snow has nothing on country snow, I am so excited. Since returning from our wintry trip upstate over Christmas, I've been hoping for a good snowfall in Brooklyn.

Almost as much as I've been missing the snow, I've been missing the winter birds that went along with it. My father-in-law has an elaborate set-up of birdhouses in the backyard and I promise we spent what must have been hours just watching the winter residents flit about. Turns out adulthood has made me no less eager to be the first in a crowd to identify a species. In case you are curious, and even if you're not, I present to you: a chickadee, a red-breasted nuthatch, and a titmouse.

When I got back to the city, I decided to try to recreate the experience outside our apartment window. Rather than investing in the palaces that my father-in-law has set up I decided to make one myself. My feeder is Smalltown, USA to my father-in-law's Dubai, but it's doing quite well. Now, if only our neighborhood cardinal would come over for a bite to eat. Doesn't he know it's rude to ignore an invitation?

UPDATE: A how-to for the feeder that I made is over on Gardenista.

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