Yearly Archives: 2012
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.
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!
Things We Like: Veranda Magazine + Charles P Rogers Wing Bed
Post by Kyle St. Romain.
This October, Veranda Magazine is featuring a Charles P Rogers Ultra White Wing Bed in its upcoming spread on upholstered beds. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering our Wing Bed has also appeared in earlier editions of Architectural Digest and Country Living Magazine. They just can’t get enough of our beds!
Classic wing back chairs, characterized by subtle curves, inspire the Charles Rogers Wing Bed. It features individually applied nail heads that trace the contours of the bed, and add a hand-finished quality. The Charles P Rogers Wing Bed comes in two colors: Ultra White or Chestnut Brown to match any bedroom design.
If you haven’t considered an upholstered bed before, you should. Upholstered beds fit nicely with almost any décor, and make the perfect focal point for your bedroom; a true statement piece. Upholstered beds also come with the added bonus that they can be reupholstered, which allows you to change the look and feel of your bedroom without having the replace the entire bed. However, if you’ve taken the plunge to buy a high quality upholstered bed, chances are you’ll want to leave it just the way it came. The Charles P Rogers Wing Bed is one of those beds you probably won’t want to change: they come upholstered in top grain leather, which will be hard to improve upon.
Have you spotted any of our beds featured in magazines? We’d love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments below.
Breakfast in Bed: Chestnut Poached Eggs
Post by Alison Hein.
When new inspiration is needed in the fashion world, designers look to the past. Suddenly, “retro” means “in style,” hemlines swing dramatically up or down, and department stores are filled to the brim with tie-dyed or shoulder-padded outfits.
So, I thought, in our new gluten-free, paleo world, why not apply this concept to food? You may recall I very recently shared a recipe for Chestnut Pancakes, a gluten-free, earthy delight. Since that time, I have been doing a lot of research. You may not know that this country was once filled with mighty Chestnut trees, tall giants reaching as high as 150 feet, and as broad as 14 feet in diameter. Sadly, blight destroyed 3.5 billion American Chestnut trees during the first 40 years of the 20th century.
A lot of information, I know, but here’s where I get back to food – many older American pre-blight cookbooks contain recipes for chestnut dishes. I turned to one of my favorite old cookbooks by Sarah Tyson Rorer, published in 1912. Sure enough, I found (old) new inspiration and adapted this Chestnut Poached Eggs recipe from her original.
Roast chestnuts and purée them yourself, or take the easy route, and purchase canned. The purée quickly cooks to the consistency of hot cereal, like cream of wheat or rice. Topped with a steamy poached egg, a scant portion of rich, nutty chestnuts is surprisingly filling.
So why not give something “new” a try, for a retro, yet in-style breakfast in bed?
NOTE: Good news! Several foundations are working hard to develop blight-resistant varieties, and to restore the American Chestnut to its natural habitat in our Eastern forests. Many chestnut growers are popping up on the West coast as well. If you would like to read more about chestnuts, take a look at my chestnut article (http://mixerupper.com/2012/08/01/chestnuts/ ) .
Ingredients
1 ½ teaspoons butter
½ cup chestnut purée
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
Dash of white pepper
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ teaspoon dried parsley, finely crushed
Preparation
Melt butter in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add chestnut purée, milk, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth, and heat until warmed through. Mixture will be the consistency of hot cereal such as cream of wheat or rice. Reduce heat to low, cover and keep warm while poaching eggs.
Eggs should be as fresh as possible for perfect poaching. To poach eggs, fill a heavy saucepan with enough water to cover eggs (3 to 4 inches) and heat until very hot and simmering, but not boiling. Break eggs into individual small dishes. Or you can use an egg poacher. Carefully pour the first egg into the simmering water. Immediately use a wooden spoon to wrap the cooking white around the egg yolk to prevent the white from feathering. Repeat the process with the second egg, and cook for about four minutes, until the white is firm but the yolk is still soft. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and drain. Trim edges if necessary.
Spoon chestnut mixture evenly onto two small dishes. Top with poached eggs, dust with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.
Makes 2 servings.
Bedroom Design: Mapping It Out
Post by Laura Cheng.
When I was young, my parents had a large wall map of the United States in the office with thin, flagged pushpins of all the places that we had travelled to. Year after year, it was a wonderful sight to see the map overcome with pin holes, sometimes running out of room to insert a pushpin where the cities were close together (ie Fort Worth and Dallas). Maps make fantastic bedroom décor because they remind me of my past travels, or unique places that I have yet to travel to. Besides the memories they elicit, I drawn to their intricate designs, which bring a striking graphic artform into the bedroom.
Traditionally, a map is framed onto the wall. However, when shopping for map décor, I like to think off the wall. Map motifs can be found on headboards, as a welcome surprise in a nightstand drawer, and even handsomely stitched on a quilt.
This headboard is transformed into a statement piece with decoupage medium. The bold colors of the map make it one of a kind furniture item. This bright, vibrant visual is made the center of attention by keeping the rest of the bedroom fairly simple. By choosing a map of an area with personal interest, you can go to bed dreaming of all the places that have been travelled or will be travelled to.
Source: http://www.bhg.com/blogs/centsational-style/2012/08/11/decorating-with-maps-globes/
For a more subtle integration, install “map liners” in your nightstand drawers. Each time you open them, you will be reminded of great places. A favorite paper map can also be adhered to the bottom and sides of a drawer as an unexpected and novel way to decorate your bedroom. If you don’t already have a favorite map, it’s a great way for wanderlusts to start collecting them on their next trip. Or for those homebodies, skip the been there done that, and join your local AAA. If you’re a homeowner, get a survey of your home. If you’re a programming print the Matrix screen saver. Maps can be of many things, including blueprints and even so much as cryptic computer code.
Source: http://simplifiedbee.blogspot.com/2011/04/decorating-ideas-using-maps.html
For an unforgettable memory, get a custom stitched map quilt. For $450, the creative folks at Haptic Lab will design you a limited edition quilt of a major city. I am partial to this one of New York City.
