Burger of the Week #133

For Halloween this burger is in disguise as a pizza! Make your own Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza with help from this recipe! 

The Party Goes On

I went to a Fiesta party last week... at Ace Hardware no less. The place was packed—the amazing gimmick of it being that they had sent out invitations with codes on them, each redeemable for a certain piece of Fiestaware. And with my love of colorful dishes, there was no way I wouldn't be there. 

I came home, with a bright blue pitcher (major score!) And in my excitement I started googling Fiesta and found this great CBS Sunday Morning clip about the American-made, fourth-generation, family-owned brand. 

77 years later, and they are still hand-making this rainbow of dishes the same way they did back then. Party on, Fiestaware!

Burger of the Week #132

What bothers me most... is that mustard might be touching and ruining that donut...

Occupied

Ever been on a long flight stuck sitting through a bad movie and suffering from lack of leg room?

Well, Nina Katchadourian spends her flight time in the airplane’s lavatory taking selfies... in the style of 15th century Flemish paintings. Her series, dubbed “Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style,” puts tissue toilet seat covers to a new use.

I'm inspired now to find new modes of entertainment on my next flight!

Burger of the Week #131

My mouth is watering over this Hamburger Branding by Turkey-based designer Burcu Imda.

Hamburgerfonstiv uses fonts to create a hamburger branding system that describe the elements of the meal. 

Growing on Pinterest

Oh Pinterest, how you waste my days in the most wonderful ways. 

Came across this masterful family trees by French Artist Maissa Toulet, and pinned by Diva Smoker Bohemian. Absolutely love the collage-like approach and the use real natural elements. These are the most poetic trees I've ever seen. 

I had started trying to notate our own family tree a few years back, and the diagram got rather twisted and daunting. Unfortunately it didn't look this nice, and I never completed the project. One to be revisited someday, most certainly. 

Chuckle Time: The Art of David Olenick

Stumbled across artist David Olenick and had a good afternoon chuckle over his illustrations and commentary! Here's a few of my favorites.

You can shop David Olenick on Threadless and Society6, but for sure check him out on tumblr!

A Taste for Art

For the art-loving over-achiever, Caitlin Freeman, pastry chef at the Blue Bottle Café in Oakland, CA has a challenge for you. Check out her book of Modern Art Desserts. 

Each recipe is based on a piece of art in the San Francisco MOMA collection, taking inspiration from some of modern art's most revered artists—Warhol, Matisse, Lichtenstein, Mondrian. Most are impressively, complicated construction projects (that intimidate me to no end!).

And in addition to being beautiful, they look hella tasty!!

Dressed in Transparency

The most intriguing piece I saw at ArtPrize wasn't so intriguing until second passing. In a small photography studio on Division hung 12 sheer dresses. At first I just thought they were pretty/interesting dresses, but once the artist, Clare Murray Adams, handed me the "key" I was enthralled.

"In Her Closet" is an installation of twelve organza dresses addressing the transparency of one's identity; characteristics of the human condition that one might not think are obvious but are usually readily apparent to others. Grounded. Guarded. Wounded. Fragile. 1-Dimensional. 

The sheer fabric reveals the physical structure of the dress, as well as the emotional structure of a person. "In Her Closet" refers to personal attributes one might often try to hide.

The nature of the hanging dresses allowed you to walk amongst them and interact with these feelings. It was an encompassing and moving departure from the crowded streets outside. 

Burger of the Week #130

Today we honor a man who claims to have eaten 12,000 Big Macs over the last 30 years. Averaging a hefty 10/week, 64-year-old Dennis Rosenlof from Salt Lake City, Utah eats one or two Big Macs every day, with the exception of Sundays, when he takes a day of rest from the Golden Arches.

As ridiculous as it sounds, Rosenlof actually eats 700 calories fewer than the average American man on a typical day, and he has a respectable cholesterol level of 200!

Red Carpet Reading Material

Kate Spade never ceases to delight. As an avid book reader, I am in love with the book clutches that recently appeared on her website. Check out the model with Age of Innocence, I love how natural it looks to hold a book!

What looks like an actual book, is actually a practical accessory. The Portrait of a Lady reveals what can be hidden between the pages. 

Apparently this isn't a new idea, as celebrities like Michelle Williams have already been spotted with literary clutches (only makes me love her more!)

And if you don't have 300+  dollars to spend on a wallet, there are some lovely (affordable) finds for book clutches on Etsy! Like this one from RokkiHandbags.

AND, because I have a small obsession with card catalogs and drawers that can be labeled, I'm enthralled by Kate Spade's Required Reading Clutch. Who comes up with these things!

Starch Marks

For any potato lover, there's a wonderful surprise waiting for  you at this year's paper show. French paper manufacturer Arjowiggens has released an exciting 7-color spread as part of their Curious Collection.

What makes it so special? The Curious Matter Chippers are all coated using a by-product of the food industry—spherical particles of raw potato starch.

The result is a very surprising tactile experience. And they are all specced for various offset, digital, letterpress and lithographic printing. 

Each color is named after a rare variety of spud. I haven't given the swatches a taste-testing yet... but it's only a matter of time!

Chinese Ravioli?

It isn't very Martha-like to suggest a shortcut. Which is why when she suggested making ravioli from egg-roll wrappers, I thought, hmmm. 

I gave it a try. And while it wasn't an overly quick assembly process, it was faster than started from scratch and did work, and was fairly tasty. (Martha's shown.)

It was fairly messy, and it is absolutely necessary to seal the enclosure completely. It works better if you adhere with water, not unlike working with clay (I promise it tastes nothing like clay!). (shown uncooked)

Find instructions for Martha's Wild Herb Ravioli from egg roll wrappers here (on her beautiful new beta site!)

Tidying Up Life

On my last birthday I was given the book The Art of CleanUp: Life Made Neat and Tidy, and where most people may think, 'how ridiculous!', my inner OCD did backflips—order, structure, parallel lines!

The artist behind the book, Ursus Wehrli, is a "left-handed, broad-thinking, professional typographer" who finds delight in tidying up daily situations.  

The book is wildly imaginative and appreciates bits of humor. Deconstructing and organizing parts is such a fascinating manner of looking at situations! It's so simply, yet wildly original, and taps into an innate desire to be organized!

See Wehrli clean up works of art as well!

Burger of the Week #129

I've said it before, but it's still true... not necessarily for wearing.
This is the All the Fixin's Dress from Modcloth.