Monthly Archives: September 2012

Things We Like: Country Living Magazine Chose Our Bed!

Post by Kyle St. Romain.

Earlier this year, Country Living Magazine took a different approach with its House of the Year Project. Instead of designing one single home, its designers set out to create three unique spaces: an outdoor kitchen, a guestroom, and an entrepreneur’s studio. The event sets out to show the world an “idealized version of country living”, and who wouldn’t want an escape from the city. It’s a great way to remind New Yorkers that there’s life outside the city, and that it’s available in high fashion too.

The rooms were on display earlier this year from May 17 to 23 at the base of the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan.

What we liked most about this event is the choice of bed. Country Living designer Thomas Paul chose our special single “X” Campaign Canopy bed to be the focal point for his vision of the ideal bedroom cottage, and we couldn’t be happier.

As a way to add to the room’s camp-like feel, Mr. Paul draped the bed’s iron frame with simple white curtains. His philosophy is that “A lot of fabric around a canopy bed can seem old fashioned,” but that using very plain curtains is a perfect way to bring the tent indoors without feeling too stuffy. Curtains also look great on canopy beds in more traditional bedrooms, as the flowing fabric makes the room more visually interesting and accentuates the canopy frame’s clean lines.

If you’d like to read more about the event, be sure to pick up a copy of the September issue of Country Living Magazine.

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Breakfast in Bed: Zucchini Harvest Pancakes

Post by Alison Hein.

Time to pack up the beach chairs, get sweaters out of storage, and go back-to-school shopping. It’s also time to say goodbye to fresh, homegrown fruits and vegetables. But, in between the first frost and the last tomato, a harvest bounty of zucchini still thrives in neighborhood gardens. The fruits of this hardy, prolific vine have the tendency to ripen all at once, leaving us with the quandary of what to do with this over-abundance.

A quick look online yields a multitude of savory summer squash options – cut in rounds and served over pasta; sliced ribbon-thin and quickly sautéed with yellow squash, carrots, and lemon zest; or carved into little boats and stuffed with seasoned breadcrumbs and mozzarella cheese.

There are also many, many sweet zucchini bread and muffin recipes out there. I’m sure you all have your favorites. But what about pancakes? It might seem like an odd notion at first, but you may change your mind after digging into your first feathery light, green-specked flapjack.

Reminiscent of zucchini bread, these pancakes have an appealing, sweet hardiness – the tender squash providing both depth and moistness. I like to shred the zucchini finely enough to cook quickly, but large enough to retain texture and color. If you shred and freeze zucchini in small batches, you can enjoy harvest breakfasts in bed all year long.

Zucchini Harvest Pancakes
2 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup zucchini, finely shredded
4 ounces (one half stick) butter, melted and slightly cooled
Additional butter for frying

Preparation
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in large bowl. In separate bowl, stir together milk, egg yolks and vanilla. Gradually add milk mixture to dry ingredients. Fold in zucchini. Slowly add melted butter to batter. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into batter. Place pan or griddle on burner over medium to medium high heat. Melt a small amount of butter in the pan for the first pancake. Ladle batter by ½ cupfuls into pan and cook until small bubbles appear throughout pancake. Flip once with spatula and continue cooking until golden brown, one to two minutes, adding more butter and adjusting heat as necessary. Keep warm while making the remainder of pancakes. Serve hot with real maple syrup.

Makes 12 to 14 4-inch pancakes

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Bedroom Design: Fit For a Queen

Post by Erin Sears.

When I was a girl, I never wanted to be a princess.  I wanted to be QUEEN.  With red hair, pale skin, and the middle name Elizabeth, I was sure I was a royal descendant.  The meager contents of my current bank account not withstanding, I still believe in decorating on a large scale.  Your home and your bedroom in particular, is a reflection of who you are as a person.  At home, you have the total freedom to surround yourself with furniture and objects that inspire you and make you feel good.  Why play small?  Go for it!  Good furniture is an essential investment that will pay off for years to come.  You don’t have to look far for this kind of luxury.  The Charles P. Rogers website can provide you with many stunning options. I still want to be queen and this week I’d like to highlight some beautiful beds that could make you feel like royalty as well.

First, the new Tansy platform bed in white leather.  Gorgeous! A perfect place to wake in the morning prepared to meet your royal subjects.

Tansy Leather Platform Bed

Nothing says drama and opulence like a canopy bed.  For real.  If we’re being honest, a lot of us dreamed of having a bed like this when were kids.  You’re a grown up now, so it’s time to make those childhood dreams a reality.  This one is the Cairo Canopy Bed with Bell Top.  I like it with the finial option.  If you’re going to do it, you might as well go all the way, right?

Cairo Bell Top Iron Canopy Bed

Finally, we have the Marseille Bed in the black and gold finish or antique white.  It’s the perfect way to display your coat of arms with pride.

Marseille Forged Iron Bed

All beds can be found on the Charles P. Rogers website and are offered at a variety of price points that won’t empty your kingdom’s coffers.  May you and yours have a wonderful nights rest. Sincerely, the QUEEN

Source for all photos: www.charlesprogers.com

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Bedtime Stories: Orangutans are ticklish

Post by Mark T. Locker.

Orangutans are Ticklish : fun facts from an animal photographer by Steve Grubman with Jill Davis.

Fast fact: Orangutans are ticklish. This is important survival stuff and I recommend you remember this. Also, if you see a hippopotamus yawn, he’s not sleepy so don’t go cuddle up with him. He’s liable to bite you in half!

These are a few of the tidbits of information provided in this big, colorful book compiled by veteran animal photographer Steve Grubman. Each page features an awesome giant photo of an animal accompanied by factoids that will amaze and inform parent and child alike. You will finally know decisively whether that’s an alligator or a crocodile you are running from. And that ant problem in your backyard will be solved in a day by a hungry aardvark, who will eat 50,000 of those lemony critters in a day! The pictures are, of course, great and the information is brief but very interesting.

My only complaint: No one seems to have a conclusive answer as to whether zebras are white with black stripes or vice versa. I’ve heard compelling arguments on both sides of this very serious issue and this book only adds more fuel to the fire.

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Movies in Bed: Supernatural

Post by Mark T. Locker.

As the first leaves start to change and the apples begin to ripen on the trees, I return to my favorite autumnal events. One of such is all things spooooooky! My most recent spooky favorite is the TV series “Supernatural”.

Though, to be honest, I watched this all through the summer too!

For those of you who enjoyed the X-Files episodes that weren’t laden with government/alien conspiracies (there were at least a couple outside of that theme!) and watched for the monsters and beasts, Supernatural is a good surrogate. The theme is simple: brothers Dean and Sam Winchester are the sons of a demon hunter. Although Dean always hunted with Dad, Sam is reluctantly drawn in when their father goes missing. Anyways, that’s how it begins. You know how these multi-season shows go: one premise leads to another until the whole underpinning story is more or less unrecognizable from the original plot line. Nevertheless, it stays excellent. And what for me separates good from really good shows is keeping it from taking itself too seriously. Supernatural is always peppered with a good dose of humor, and actually funny humor at that.

And cheeseburgers. Seriously, don’t watch this if you are on a strict diet. Dean eats terribly; there paper-wrapped burgers being shoved down his maw every episode. And boy do they look good!

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