It's Darling...

Good morning, people! It's Friday...WOOHOO!  For me this was a very quick week, but I know for my dear hubby it was a slow one.  I hope your week has flown by and that you're ready for a relaxing/funfilled/crazy weekend.  Tonight the hubster and I are going on a date - thank you R for babysitting!  We're going for cocktails and a movie (which could be interesting).  He's trying to convince me to see Tron (on a DATE), and I might be convinced.....maybe.  Or maybe not.  Another contender is  Biutiful and that's it, really.  The Fighter isn't out until next week here (dying to see that).  Any suggestions of what we could see tonight?

Moving on...I thought I'd start your Friday off with some simply darling things.  :)  I saw this on one of my favorite blogs yesterday and I just had to share it - how sweet is this ring dish with a letter from Miss Monroe?  I'd love to add it to my vanity table:

Piglet - don't ask me why but this makes me think of you :)

Speaking of darling things, these make my list, too:

 Via

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I think I'd feel like Joan in this Mad Men-esque Anthropologie number - perfect for a woman with curvess

Made by my AMAZING and talented friend, Jennifer

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A childhood favourite redesigned with cupcakes, and tea?  Definitely darling.

Via

Adorable printable calendar, free to download via

The most adorable measuring cups via

Elie Saab, via

Speaking of a beautiful dress....

...I fell in love with this muted ensemble that Rachel McAdams wore in Morning Glory.  The movement of the dress when she was running was beautiful!  Of course, you have to have her figure to look like that in that dress!! :)

I hope your weekend is full of darling things.

Happy Friday, everyone!

i(rish) Luxury

Today, quite accidentally, I found this fabulous luxury goods website, The Luxury Emporium.  For you Irish readers, you'll be happy to know that Ireland's first luxury online boutique has arrived.  :)  It reminds me a little of eLuxury - remember that, female American readers?  

Anyways, I saw The Luxury Emporium featured in this month's Irish Tatler magazine and, naturally, had to chceck it out for myself.  What I found was  beautiful collection of luxury accessories - elegant shoes, sparkling jewelry, and beautifully crafted bags.  The owner, Lisa Caroll, launched the site in late 2010 and now she has free shipping world-wide - how great is that?!

Some pieces I'm coveting...

Giuseppe Zanotti

Lara Bohinc Lunar Clutch

Hello, leopard Giuseppe's

Lara Bohinc Cuff

Perfect Rupert Sanderson's for that trip to the beach I'm coveting.

A fierce Lara Bohinc clutch

Pauric Sweeney Madame Bag

Lara Bohinc Cuff

Hello, snakeskin (Pauric Sweeney) weekend bag.

Yet another Lara Bohinc - a belt, this time

Philip Treacy + Leopard = Yes, please!

Happy shopping!

Dinner Tonight (with Cooking Light!)

I love Cooking Light - did you know that?  I do.  It's fab!  I've never had a bad meal from their ridiculously extensive collection of recipes, and the ones I've chosen below are simply delicious!  I thought I'd share a three-course meal from the pages of Cooking Light that's delicious, easy to prepare and (most excitingly) healthy and low in calories and fat!

Fall Salad with Apples, Walnuts and Stilton 

OK, I know it's not fall anymore but this delish salad can do all year round with the appropriate adjustments!

INGREDIENTS FOR DRESSING
1 tbsp minced shallot
1 1/2 tbsp champagne or white wine vinegar (I used white balsamic)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 dried apricot, finely chopped (I didn't have this so i used about 1 tsp apricot preserves instead)
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt (I almost always use Kosher)
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

SALAD INGREDIENTS
2 C torn green leaf lettuce leaves
2 cups thinly sliced Belgian endive (about 2 heads)
1/4 cup (or 1 ounce) Stilton cheese, thinly sliced (I've used Stilton but also used Gorgonzola or crumbly goats cheese and both are delish)
1/4 C walnuts (I don't like walnuts so roasted pecans were my choice)
1 (5 oz) package of baby arugula (or rocket, if you're on my side of the Atlantic)
1 oz very thinly sliced prosciutto, torn
1 granny smith apple, cored and thinly sliced (pear also works well with goats cheese, but doesn't have as much of a sour bite as the granny smith)

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in the blender. When the blender is on, slowly add the oil.  When blended, stir in the salt and pepper. (note: I'd never done dressing in a blender before and it's amazing the difference - this is sooo delicious and definitely worth breaking out the blender for! I make a double batch and save some in the fridge for the next night, too)
2. Combine all the salad ingredients in a bowl and add the dressing.  Toss gently to coat.
3. Eat and fall in love! :)

Sausage, Tomato and Arugula (Rocket) Fettuccine

INGREDIENTS
1 (9oz) package of refrigerated fettuccine (or just cook it up as you normally would ahead of time)
1 tbsp olive oil
6 oz (uncooked) Italian turkey sausage (or if you live where I do and uncooked Italian sausage is hard to come by, follow this recipe to replicate it and use ground turkey instead of pork if you can get it.  Instead of cooking the ground meat in the skillet like that recipe suggests, I rolled the meat into tiny meatballs, which worked perfectly for this pasta dish.)
2 tsp minced garlic
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 cups baby arugula (rocket) leaves
2 oz pecorino Romano cheese, shaved

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook refrigerated pasta according to package directions, omitting any salt or fat that is called for.  Drain but RESERVE 2/3 cup of cooking liquid.
2. While pasta cooks, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Remove sausage from casing.  Break sausage into bit sized pieces and add to pan. Cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble a little.  
3. Add garlic (make sure there's enough liquid or fat in pan so that it doesn't burn), cook 30 seconds stirring constantly.  
4. Add tomatoes, salt & pepper, cover and cook 2 minutes.  Mash tomatoes with back of a wooden spoon to break them up.  Cover pan, reduce heat to low and cook 3 minutes.  
5. Remove pan from heat.  Add pasta, reserved 2/3 cup of cooking liquid and arugula (rocket) and toss well.  Sprinkle with Romano cheese.
6. Eat and fall in love again. :)
   

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

For the delicious taste of fall allllll year round - which is perfect in my book!

INGREDIENTS
6.75 oz all-purpose flour (that's about 1.5 C)
1.5 C old fashion rolled oats (porridge oats)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C granulated sugar
3/4 C packed brown sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
3/4 C finely chopped dried apple slices
3/4 C chopped caramel bits or 15 small soft caramel candies (like the soft Werthers Originals)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C)
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with a knife.  Combine four and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a bowl and stir well.
3. Place sugars and butter in a large bowl, beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and egg and beat well.  Gradually add flour mixture, beat at a low speed until just combined.  Fold in apple and caramel pieces.
4. Drop dough by 2 tsp-fulls, 2 in apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment (baking) paper.  Flatten balls slightly with your hand.  
5. Bake at 350F (175C) for 9 minutes. Cool on pans for 3 minutes, then remove the cookies from the pans onto a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
   *Makes about 4 dozen cookies that won't add terribly to your waistline...unless you eat them all in one sitting, which might be hard not to do.  Good luck with that one!!

Whatever you're making for dinner tonight, I hope it's good.  Do give this a try, and let me know what you think.   You'll love it, I promise.

Got any good recipes to share with me?

These (Shoes) Were Made For Walking...

Hi friends!

I hope you all had a lovely and relaxing weekend.  Ours was both good and difficult at the same time - I visited my uncle who is very ill (your prayers for him would be greatly appreciated), and the rest of the time we spent relaxing with family.

Our little girl has just learned to walk and she's relishing this new independence.   Now that she's sure of her footing there is literally no stopping her.  Try to hold carry her?  NO!  Try to hold her hand?  HECK no!   Forget it.  This girl is blazing trails all by herself.  Just take a look at her on a walk with her Dad this weekend:

Sometimes I think my heart will just explode with love.

Have a great Monday, everyone!

Paris, New York Style

I love Paris (which, of course, you already know from here).  I love Manhattan (if you know me you know that already).  I love Lonny Magazine.   So when I saw this article in Lonny last week, mon coeur skipped a beat!  Designer Lynn Nigro created a chic, elegant, yet relaxed Parisian inspired retreat in Manhattan.  I'm not a fan of exclusively modern decor (it leaves me feeling cold), so Nigro's choice to incorporate classic design with antiques and contemporary finishes left me wishing this was my very own pied-à-terre.  Take a look...

 I love this room - it's so bright and airy.  She ran normal hospital tracks along the ceiling so that the curtains wouldn't interfere with the radiators along the walls.  {I never saw that done before until we moved into our current apartment - thankfully they thought of that here and it makes all the difference.}  And I just love that couch. 

That amazing '50s replica of a 19th Century Parisian map would be the perfect addition to my Parisian decor.  It's amazing and perfect for that space.  I love the turquoise touches throughout the apartment and the white, barely-there baby grand Steinway in the corner. 

The bedroom, I love it.

Oh hello there, tufted bench and zebra rug, would you like to come home with me?

The closet.  Did I mention the closet?  Lucite drawers - stylish and very functional.  Endless shoe shelves.  Plenty of hanging space and storage above.  Perfect!

 Oh leopard coat, how I wish you were mine!

 She shares my love of Dyptique candles.  They're in almost every room.

I have always loved built in bookshelves.  They add instant warmth to a room and are so functional as well as decorative.  I love that hers are not perfectly arranged.  It gives the room a warm and lived-in feel, which I think is sometimes hard to achieve in a room with a lot of antique pieces.

As this apartment is a rental (I know, seriously), they were unable to paint the dark wood cabinets.  However I think the turquoise toile wallpaper provides a lovely feminine balance to the strong masculinity of the dark cabinetry.  And I want that range right now!

Here are a few high street pieces, inspired by this apartment, that I think lend a little Parisian chic to any space (now if only they all shipped to Ireland):

Rochelle Nail Button Bed

Willow Sofa

Willow Cocktail Bench

Farrow & Ball Wisteria Wallpaper

Brass Coffee Table

Blue & Chrome Table Lamp

White Cow-Hide Rug

Siena Vase

Dyptique Candle in Gardenia (my favorite!)

Print of 1585 Paris Map

Silver-Plated Julep Cup

Palmer Stool

Petit Coterie "Paris No. 33" Pillow (today on One Kings Lane)