America in My Book

I thought this was an interesting and amusing map of the United States, from a Californian's perspective.  Some of the stereotypes are hilarious (and arguable).  We do have ourselves some dive bars in the Midwest, but not too many serial killers, we can thank BTK for that one! I think it would make a great conversation piece.

Source: etsy

-Whitney

Art Fair

This weekend is the Brookside Art Annual, April 29th-May 1st.  This is one of three that goes on in Kansas City and its a lot of fun because of the eclectic crowd that Brookside brings.  "The Brookside Art Fair is known for its festive atmosphere, hospitality, convenience and has become a must-attend event for artists and art seekers alike."

link

Here is just a taste of the artwork (mainly paintings) that I saw last year giving you an idea of what to expect

Barnes Studios

R. Michael Wommack 

Michael Mckee

Check out the artists that will be there this year and hopefully you will find your favorites and some inspiration.

-Meg

8-5 Style

For those of you who have to dress "business professional" for work like me, know that suits are not the most flattering and feminine thing we like to wear 5 days out of the week. In my 2 short years in the real world I have discovered some ways to make the "business professional" suit or dress look cute and make you feel feminine, while still meeting office requirements.

Pair a plain black dress up with a blazer and a long necklace

Tuck in a colorful and comfy t-shirt, a fun belt with a black blazer and black pants

For Fridays, a skinny black work pant, with a longer white tunic with flats and a scarf still says you're in working mode, but ready for the weekend.

-Brooke

Front Door Flare

The doormat is one of the first things that people see when they come to your house, besides the outside of your house of course. It should express your personality and sense of style, giving guests a little hint of what they will see inside.

colorful, floral welcoming from Pier 1

 

 

beachy welcoming from Pottery Barn

 

classic welcoming from Ballard Designs 

K9 welcoming (and possible warning) from Bed Bath & Beyond

my personal favorite, from Garnet Hill

 

appropriate for our house, but it may scare guests away, from Wisteria

What's your front door flavor?

-Whitney

Shivering Spring

Spring has yet to spring-up in KC and I am not happy about.  I think that the only thing that will get me out of this cool weather funk would be one of these fabulous Spring Sweaters and a nice big bowl of Rachel Ray's Spring Vegetable Soup.

via top shop would look cute with pale pink shorts

via piperlime *it's now on sale*

via nasty gal

 via free people

Throw one of these great sweaters on, grab your soup bowl and forget about the frigid weather

-Meg

Lollapalooza 2011

The 2011 20th Anniversary LINEUP has been revealed! This year's lineup is awesome as always! Make sure you check it out!

Lollapalooza is a 3 day music festival that takes place in Grant Park of Chicago, IL. This year will mark the 20th Anniversary and will take place August 5-7, 2011. Lolla has multiple stages that span across over 115 acres and an ever-more diverse array of 130+ artists.

Lollapalooza is a MUST and I look forward to it every year!! This will be my 4th year and every year it gets bigger and better!!

Here are some pictures from Lollapallooza 2010!

The group walking into Lollapalooza on the first day!

BFF's at Neon Trees

Temper Trap Show

After the Kaskade late night show

-Jane

Fantasy Fountains

An outdoor water feature is something that I would love to have someday HGTV shows you how to "Make a Modern Splash" in your backyard

source : HGTV

-Meg

Mozzarella, Tomato and Avocado Salad

This is a quick and easy salad that is very delicious! We had it for dinner with grilled chicken, and it's also great on toasted baguette slices as an appetizer. I found the recipe here, and I knew it was a must try!

Ingredients:

1 container cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 carton fresh mozzarella cheese pearls, drained

1 avocado, peeled and diced

1/3 cup basil, julienned

2 tbs fresh parsley

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive

salt and pepper

baguette-optional

Globe Trottin'

I have a thing for globes lately and these are by far the best I have seen! Dr. Seuss quotes on a globe I mean you couldn't ask for anything better.  The artist who creates these lovely works of art is from the Bay Area and her blog shows you the whole process of working with vintage globes and adding recycled material to make each one unique.  Ah I want to be her, ok just owning one of her globes would be fine also.

Handmade Vintage Globes 

-Meg

Mashup Monday

Hope these help you get through this rainy day!

MOVER SHAKER- Youngin on His Wife (Wiz Khalifa vs Alex Winston vs Star Slinger)

DOSVEC- Ooh Ahh Home (Diddy Dirty Money ft Skylar Grey vs Grits)

FAROFF- Mashed Girl (The Temptations vs Cee-Lo Green)

LETHMOJOE- Machu Picchu Goes On (The Strokes vs Lupe Fiasco)

LOBSTERDUST- Roll It (Yeah Yeah Yeahs & A-Track vs Salt-N-Pepa)

Enjoy!
-Whitney

Easter Orzo with Smokey Tomato Vinigrette

I follow Giada De Laurentiis on Twitter and earlier this week she posted her Easter Menu, it all sounded delicious but I was really excited about her side dish she posted, an orzo with a Smokey Tomato Vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

1 pound cherry tomatoes

1 pound orzo pasta

Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves, torn

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon smoked salt*

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

*I found the smoked salt at a local fine gourmet cooking store called The Better Cheddar

Laura Little's

I got this little guy today as an Easter present from my boss. It turned my terrible, horrible, no good very bad day into a terrible, horrible, no good bad day!

How cute is that?! And delicious too. It's from a little candy shop called Laura Little's in Prairie Village. They have chocolates, fudges, candies and gift boxes. Great gift ideas for Easter, birthdays, Mother's Day, teachers, etc. and it's local! Try them out, you won't regret it (or maybe you will, because you will be hooked!)

-Whitney

pretty penny says happy thursday

only one more day until the weekend.

-Meg



Martha Takes Egg Decorating to a New Level

Looking for a new and different way to dye or decorate Easter eggs this year? Leave it to Martha! She's got over 60 ways! Some of my faves:

Some of these looks like they could take some time, patience and a steady hand! Good luck

-Whitney

                        





  

Celebrity Pools

Dippin' in style. Check out how these celebs swim at home:

Actors Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor's home in Hollywood Hills

 Cindy Crawford and husband, Rande Gerber's infinity pool at their Malibu home

My little brother is coming home!

I have been religiously watching the clock today (though it is NOT moving fast enough)...waiting for it to hit 4:00pm so that I can head to the airport. I am flying to San Diego today to greet my "little" brother (or should I just say younger brother, since he's about a foot taller than I am) as he returns to Camp Pendelton tomorrow night, after fighting the war in Sangin, Afghanistan for the past 7 months.

Alex is the one on the far right.

I think this picture was recently taken in Afghanistan (I found it on his facebook).

Alex is a 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine (3/5) "Darkhorse." English please you say...the 3/5 is comprised of 5 units, H&S, India, Kilo, Lima (Alex's unit) & Weapons. The 3/5 is a battalion composed of infantry Marines and support personnel. Infantry battalions are the basic tactical units that the regiment uses to accomplish its mission of locating, closing with and destroying the enemy by fire and close combat.

This has been a hard 7 months for my family and also anyone else who has a son, brother, nephew, grandson, etc. in the 3/5 battalion. This battalion has seen the most casualties in the decade that we have been at war. But the good news is that the 3/5 is almost HOME!!!

This video will give you an idea of what life has been like in Afghanistan.

- Jane

Wish I May

How amazing is this lawn chair by designer, Victor M. Aleman.

The name, LOOPITA BONITA, is as amazing as the chair!

Source: Coroflot

-Whitney



Wannabe Jetsetter

I am heading off to Chicago for the night and I am in the search of the perfect overnight duffel, these are all my favorite and I wish I was a real jet setter so I could have all five...

1. Stripes  2. Floral Burlap  3. Blooming Yellow  4. Skulls and Floral  5. Metallic 

-Meg

Ina's Weeknight Bolognese

Let me start by saying, this is a must make! I found this recipe in Ina Garten's cookbook barefoot contessa how easy is that? Bolognese sauce is a meat-based sauce usually made as a tomato sauce (no, we don't eat  dog at our house). We made this Sunday night and it was pretty easy and very flavorful!

Ingredients:

2 tbs good olive oil

1 lb lean ground sirloin

4 tsp minced garlic (4 cloves)

1 tbs dried oregano

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano (we used Hunt's)

2 tbs tomato paste

kosher salt & black pepper

3/4 pound dried pasta, such as small shells (we used penne)

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Concerts of the week

It's spring! The weather is warmer, the flowers are blooming and everything is starting to turn green again. I love spring time!! But not just because of the flowers and green trees...I love spring because it's concert season again!

This week/end there are quite a few awesome shows that you do not want to miss out on. I am extremely bummed that I will be missing all of them...if I can't enjoy them, at least someone should!

Arcade Fire with the National: Wednesday, April 20th at Starlight Theater.



Foals with Freelance Whales, The Naked & Famous: Friday, April 22nd at The Beaumont Club.



Pretty Lights: Saturday, April 23 at The Midland Theater.

- Jane



100 Greatest Cooking Tips

A very useful list from Food Network.... 100 GREATEST COOKING TIPS (OF ALL TIMES!) These are some really great tips. A few that were new to me, and I will definitely try:

* For an easy weeknight meal, save and freeze leftover sauces from previous meals in ice cube trays. The cubes can be reheated in a sauté pan when you need a quick sauce. -David Burke

* Don't overcrowd the pan when you're sautéing — it'll make your food steam instead. -Ryan Poli

*Season all of your food from start to finish. Seasoning in stages brings the most out of your ingredients and gives you the most flavor. -Jose Garces

* When making mashed potatoes, after you drain the potatoes, return them to the hot pan, cover tightly and let steam for 5 minutes. This allows the potatoes to dry out so they'll mash to a beautiful texture and soak up the butter and cream more easily. -Wolfgang Puck

-Whitney

Crazy Cool Celebs at Coachella

This past weekend was the Indie music festival Coachella, in Indio Valley, California.  It is the main music fest on the west coast and every year there are a ton of young and fresh celebs.  This year was no different.

 Camilla Belle is boho chic in a tan vest and eyelet top

Whitney Port in blooming floral shorts

Nicole Richie showing off her stems in cutoffs and a great Mulberry top

Kate Bosworth so patriotic in Topshop

and last but not least Rihanna (my personal fave) representing in camo

source : InStlye and USmag

Coachella is definitely on my bucket list and I am hoping one day to jam in the desert with all the beautiful people.

-Meg

Mashup Monday

Having a serious case of the Mondays today. These mashups are helping me get through the day, hope they will help you too!

XAPHOON JONES- The Jackson Pit (Michael Jackson vs Passion Pit)

VICO ONO- Drop it Like a Ghostwriter (Snoop Dogg vs RJD2)

ROBIN SKOUTERIS- Barbra Streisand Strikes a Pose! (Madonna vs Duck Sauce)

D.EVELOPED- Bring Em Home (Edward Sharpe vs T.I.)

VICO ONO- Finally Moving Big Boi (Big Boi vs Pretty Lights)

-Whitney

Shop Local

Speaking of colored front doors, there is a super cute new business in Kansas City called Pink Front Door. They sell gently used furniture that they have refinished and hand painted.

 

 

  

These are a few of my favorite pieces that I found on their facebook page. What a great way to turn your hobby into a business, and a local business at that. We love shopping local!

-Whitney