Interfacing

Understanding interfacing at The Purl Bee

Messy Buns

Try this Messy Bun technique from Parisienne.

First and most important step: Make your hair dirty. “I wash my hair only once a week,” admits C. “When your hair is too clean, it won’t stay put.” After showering, she massages in either Aveda Pure Abundance Hair Potion or a homemade spray, made with one part sea salt, three parts water and a few spritzes of leave-in conditioner. “It makes my hair piece-y enough to work with,” she says.
Also of note: she recommends Rene Furterer Naturia Dry Shampoo with absorbant argilla to make it through the week between those shampoos.

Traveling With Baby

Stamp Pens
Drawing Pad
Geomag Toys
Reuseable Stickers by Eye Like
Video
Sippy Cups
Snacks
Wipes
Clothing for him and for you
Diapers
Play Doh

Wrap the toys

UPDATE: The sticker book was a hit!

Mava Cakes

The name alone had me interested.
"What is Mava?"
Tartelette's reminiscences about Mava, and Mumbai make them sound so enchanting. And her gorgeous photography sealed the deal.
Add these to the To Do list!

DIY Ice Cream

UPDATE: What I really "need," apparently, is the Pacojet (Model 16000). You will too once you read the linked article.

Image by Sur la Table.
I love the "ready-to-go" feature of Delonghi's machine, it looks like it could be a bit of a countertop hog and I am very protective of my cupboard and countertop space. Not to mention that I don't plan on making ice cream very often.
Cuisinart's is cheaper but you have to pre-chill the bowl for 24 hours. And there is that issue of kitchen real estate again.
And I already have the Kitchenaid mixer which makes their attachment the practical choice. It also involves a length pre-chilling of the bowl and the reviews for this one are mixed.

Don't lose Shelterrific's wonderful sounding Frozen Greek Yogurt recipe for ice cream!

Greek Yogurt Ice Cream
(Adapted from Restaurant As by Bon Appetit, originally posted by Shelterrific)

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup whole milk Greek-style yogurt
1 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 tbs lemon juice

For sorbet inspiration, click here.

Apocalypse Now

WILLARD (v.o.)
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right. Unless you
were going all the way. Kurtz got off the boat. He split from the whole
fucking program. How did that happen? What did he see here
that first tour? 38 fucking years old. If he joined the Green Berets,
there was no way you'd ever get above Colonel. Kurtz knew
what he was giving up. The more I read and began to
understand, the more I admired him. His family and
friends couldn't understand it, and they couldn't talk him
out of it. He had to apply three times and he had to put
up with a ton of shit, but when he threatened to resign,
they gave it to him. The next youngest guy in his class was
half his age. They must have thought he was some
far-out old man humping it over that course. I did it when
I was 19 and it damn near wasted me. A tough
motherfucker. He finished. He could have gone for General,
but he went for himself instead."

Sandbox

Pretty portable sandbox at Alison Montessori
Sand Table also at Alison or at Amazon
Little Tikes Water/Sand Table with a Rube Goldberg twist
Little Tikes Construction-themed Sand/Water Table
Step 2 Sand Table
Step 2 adjustable Sand/Water Table
Naturally Playful Sand Table with umbrella
Naturally Playful Sandbox with a temple aesthetic
Discount School Supply Table
Possible models for pick-up

The Knife

Pass This On » By Johan Renck from The Knife on Vimeo.

Hooked.
Also love their Hearbeats and You Take My Breath Away.

Terrariums

NY Times Article
Available from Twig Terrariums
Great source for supplies at Terrain, courtesy of Zephyr.

Keep Calm

The backstory.
Stamp it everywhere with help from Rubber Soul.
Personal favourite from JennieGee

Music

So that's how you add music files to a blog!


iLike for free playlists.

Mapa Toys

Image by Mapa

This tower is called Lucca and I love it.
You can buy it here.

Melamine

Image by French Bull
French Bull's melamine plates, platters, bowls, and more are SO colourful.
My excuse to buy them is going to be "to stimulate the Baby."

(Hurry! They're offering 20% off until July 21st. Enter FBSUMMER10 at checkout.)

Beat the Heat

Mugicha, Nata de Coco, and more at Tea & Cookies

Canisters, Part II

This is an update.
I finally got a few of Ikea's Celebra storage jars and I'm mad to get more. They're great!
Granted, they do not have pretty pears on them but they do have wooden lids with gaskets. In this regard, they remind me of the much more ornate Hornsea ceramic canisters.
The upside is still that you can customize them like at Design Sponge. I may get around to this but for now I am smitten by their simplicity of design, wooden lids, functionality, and, it must be admitted, price.

MoMA Dollhouse

Image by MoMA

Great, photo-heavy review by Petite Nouveau.
Buy it at MoMA or at Chronicle Books (hurry, Chronicle Books is offering 35% off till 07/28; enter FRIENDS at checkout)

Lunch Boxes Bags

Image by Skip Hop

Lunchies by Skip Hop
They have many styles and I personally like the owl but Dad feels the Monkey is more manly. They even have backpacks to match these Lunchies but Baby is a long way from needing one of those.

Dabawalla Bags
If you know what a dabawalla is, you have to give them points for the name.
They are also very clever with the names they assign the different styles of bags. They have some really wonderful graphics that remind me of the crafts you can find in vintage 1970's craft books.
If they had had a lunch bag version of the beautiful Elephant back pack, I would have snapped it up in an instant!

Violas

Viola cornuta ‘Black Magic' at You Grow Girl

Bush Hat

Tutorial to make the pattern and hat by Indietutes
Or buy the pattern from her Etsy shop.

Red Velvet [Cup]Cakes

Amped Up Red Velvet Cupcakes by Megan B. at Shelterrific

(Adapted from a recipe by the Magnolia Bakery)
Makes 2 dozen cupcakes

3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tbs liquid red food coloring (or 2 tbs food coloring paste and 4 tbs water )
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons red cocoa
1/4 cup natural cocoa (like Hershey)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 375F.

Sift the cake flour into a small bowl; set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and flufffy (with the mixer on medium speed), about five minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla (adding a bit of water if necessary to make a smooth paste). Add to the batter and beat well.

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat.

In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

Use two muffin pans, each with 12 muffin cups (1/2 cup each), and line each cup with a paper liner. Arrange the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Switch positions of the pans midway through baking. Bake about 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in the pan 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a rack before icing. To ice, mound a generous spoon of cream cheese frosting on top of each cupcake and use an icing spatula to make a swirl on top. If desired, decorate with sanding sugar.