Ahhh, the unofficial start of summer is finally here! After months of above average high temperatures and global warming we can all sit back and rest easy. Time for less clothing, more barbecuing, and all things chilled and refreshing. To get you started here are 47 types of ice creams, gelatos, frozen yogurts, and sorbets. (I know, I’m sort of impressed too.) You can check out last summer’s ice cream roundups here and here if you’d like to add some more fuel for the fire. Click on the image to be taken to the recipe source.
All photos and recipes copyright of their respective source unless otherwise noted.
I knew one day a giveaway would come along that made me absolutely green with envy. Well friends, here it is. Not only do you have the chance to win two tickets to the HOW Design Conference next month in Boston, you’re also eligible for a $100 discount on the individual full conference rate when you use the exclusive code CRUSH*!
HOW Design Conference is happening in Boston from June 22-25, and you’re invited to be a part of the Design Revolution! You’ll get four days packed with creative inspiration, expert information on communicating with your clients, from-the-trenches advice on growing your career, cutting-edge software instruction, plus a wealth of innovative ideas and great design work. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet and mingle with some of the industry’s most revolutionary design thinkers like Chip Kidd, Joseph Duffy, Debbie Millman, David Sherwin, Armin Vit, and Christopher Simmons, just to name a few. And be sure to head to the HOW Design Conference Exhibit Hall where you’ll find leading industry suppliers with all the products, services and resources you need to stay on the cutting edge. Plus all the free samples, goodies and giveaways aren’t so shabby either! If that doesn’t get you chomping at the bit, I don’t know what will.
For complete session descriptions, speaker info and everything else you need to know about the HOW Design Conference, including a quick and easy registration form, visit www.HOWconference.com.
To Enter:
1. Leave a comment telling me who your design hero is.
2. Make sure the email address you leave is valid. (For notification purposes only.)
3. Do it all by Monday, June 4th 2012 12am CST.
This giveaway is closed. Congrats Katie O.!
* Discount cannot be combined with any other discount offers, including student and group rates. Cannot be used in conjunction with The BIG Ticket registration option.
Please note that Design Crush will receive a small compensation for each ticket purchased through the discount code. View complete giveaway rules and disclosures here.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen clay wind chimes before, and now I can’t get enough of these pretty small disc chimes from Pigeon Toe. You even get to choose the color of the cord. I think I’d hang them inside in front of a window, couldn’t risk these beauties break in this rough Oklahoma wind!
Today Rachel Shingleton of Pencil Shavings is welcoming us into her colorful Oklahoma City home!
Color plays an enormous role in our home. When we first moved in, everything was in builder beige, and I felt myself cringing at how blah everything felt. Slowly I’ve painted room by room. I realized one day that I wanted my home to feel like an Easter egg: softly colored with eggshell texture. My favorite room in the house is our formal living room, painted in a Robin’s egg blue. My son’s artwork is framed in the corner, and I love the additional color it lends to the room.
Undoubtedly one of my favorite corners is my side of the bed in our pistachio green master bedroom. The ginger jar lamps were a find – a pair for $10 – at a local antique shop. Paired with new shades, they instantly pulled our room together. And, occasionally, it also works as a necklace display for those pieces too large to put in my jewelry box. On the wall hangs a mirror and two vintage Chinoiserie-inspired plates from my parents’ house.
Does this count as a corner? I was absolutely thrilled when we moved here 4 years ago to have a genuine entry. I think an entryway can be so crazy versatile. Right now, my vintage campaign desk (an eBay find!) lives here along with a lamp my husband gave me right before we got married. I love to switch up the items displayed – and of course, my subtly striped walls make me happier than a bird with a french fry!
Upstairs in my office, piles of colorful Alexander Girard pillows compete with the equally-bright Amy Butler patterns on this vintage French chair, another antique store find. Eventually I’d like to recover this chair to go with the pink-and-grey/blue colorscheme I’ve got going in here, as seen by the pink lamp in the corner.
Finally, another corner in our living room. Inspired by blogger Jenny Komenda at Little Green Notebook, I decided to make a skirted table. I love that it’s form and function – it hides a multitude of crafts/sins underneath it! The plates on the wall are gifts from my husband over the years. The Chinoiserie-inspired pillow is Thomas Paul and the chair was from a Saks Fifth Avenue that went out of business. It was painted Pepto-Bismol pink and I spray painted it cream.
Baggu just does it right. Every time. Check out their latest product release – leather loop keychains and wedge pouches! That yellow is practically screaming my name.
Man, do I love berry season. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. All of them. And I can never resist picking up a carton or two when I walk by at the market. Last week my poison of choice were some huge blackberries. (They were as big as my thumb, I swear.) It’s been a no-days-off kind of time around here, so I didn’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. I opted for this berry galette that’s super quick and easy, the balsamic gives it a savory sort of kick.
EASY BALSAMIC BERRY GALETTE
• 1 pint berries (I used blackberries)
• 2 Tbsp sugar or honey
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 pie crust – from the refrigerator section or your own rolling pin
• 1 egg, beaten
• honey
Rinse berries and place in bowl, coat with sugar or honey and add vinegar. Refrigerate for an hour or so, until the berries release some of their juices. Grease or use cooking spray to coat a cookie sheet, place your flattened pie crust in the center. Drain the berries and place them in the center of the pie crust, leaving a 2-inch border around the edges. Fold in the edges of the crust in and pinch together where they overlap. Lastly, brush the top and sides of your unbaked galette with egg. Bake for 40 minutes at 375º or until edges are golden brown. Once done baking, allow to cool on a rack until room temperature. Cute into pieces (serves 4) and either drizzle with honey or top with vanilla ice cream (or both!).
Turkish bath towels remind me of summer, plain and simple. They’re super light and absorbent and just so colorful and happy looking. You may want to make a note on your wishlist that there’s a boat load of reasonably priced ones over in Bath Style’s shop. Just in case.
Picture it. You’re sitting in your cubicle on another boring (snore) conference call. You’re daydreaming of what you want to be doing instead. You know you have the creative skills to pay the bills, but you’re maybe not so sure about how to get from point A to point B. Enter the Create + Connect Project!
I’m thrilled to be teaming up with a handful of incredibly talented and inspiring peers who have all gone through the transition themselves. The Create + Connect Project is specially tailored for for creative types who want nothing more than to follow their passion. There’s no better time than right now to go for it – trust me when I say no one else is going to do it for you. (Now I sounds like a faux motivational speaker!) You can take the first step and sign up right here*! The first module starts Wednesday, June 6th and program registration if open through May 31st. You’ll find me during the last module on Creating a Community of Raving Fans. Let us help you turn your passion into profit!
* Should you click and sign up, I will receive a small fee. It all keeps Design Crush going.
