Ding is a beautifully simple smart doorbell that allows you to talk with the person at your front door from anywhere in the world. The sleek doorbell button attached near your front door, the modern chime sits or hangs anywhere in your home, and the free app lives on your phone – it’s really easy. Ding comes in a selection of colors to match your decor, and of course can you silence the chime if you need some quiet time.
Happy Pi Day! I’m celebrating this amazing holiday with Smooth Chocolate Pie with Irish Whiskey Whipped Cream, mini versions actually because everyone knows smaller equals more fun to eat. The Irish Whiskey Whipped Cream also makes this pie the perfect dessert to make for St. Patrick’s Day this coming Friday, or you can eliminate the alcohol if you’re serving children. So whether you whip it up today or later in the week, I promise you’ll love it!
For the pie
• 12 mini graham cracker pie shells (store-bought or homemade)
• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 1/4 C cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 C whole milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 6 1/2 oz finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Combine the dry ingredients – sugar, cornstarch, and salt – in a medium saucepan. Add milk and egg yolks, then whisk together. Stir continuously over medium heat until bubbles form and liquid thickens to the consistency of pudding (7-8 minutes). Remove from heat, then add chocolate, vanilla, and butter. Stir until combined. Spoon into pie shells or small bowls if preferred, chill for 3 hours.
For the whipped cream
• 1 C heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp Irish whiskey (i.e. Jameson)
Refrigerate a metal mixing bowl for 10-15 minutes. Pour sugar and Irish whiskey into the bowl, using a hand or stand mixer combine. Add heavy whipping cream to mixture and mix on medium-high unit stiff peaks form.
Serves 12. Enjoy!
I’ve been on the hunt for some hooks to hang my bath towels on and have rounded up some of my favorites to share. Because of the metals and finishes on the fixtures, as well as other materials in the room, I’m leaning towards #4, #5, or #10. Which is your favorite design?
1/Birch Coat Hook 2/Brace Wall Hook 3/Brushed Brass Double Hook 4/Clara Single Wall Hook 5/Leaning Edge Wall Hook 6/Plywood Wall Hook 7/Print Hook 8/Q-Hook 9/Wire Hook 10/Woodblock Wall Hook
Posted In accessories, house and home, living, round up, series
Brooklyn-based Coil + Drift was founded in 2014 by John Sorensen-Jolink, an acclaimed modern dancer-turned-designer. The studio creates contemporary furniture, lighting, and accessories with a focus on form, sustainability, and function. Sorensen-Jolink taught himself how to design in an attempt to further understand space and the objects within them. I’m looking forward to keeping an eye on what is for sure an up and coming brand!
The Mara marble serving collection from Hawkins New York is flipping gorgeous. Each piece is constructed from a solid slab with copper circular foot details, and while I’m partial to the pink the green and white collections would mix in quite nicely. Thinking outside of the kitchen, the trivets and bowls would be great for display purposes as well – candles, perfume bottles, etc.
If you can use a little extra luck lately, check out these Good Luck Charms. A beechwood wishbone, a four leaf clover, and a feather that can be bought separately or as a bundle together would be great to keep as a collection or gift to friends and family.
It’s March!!! Time to update the ‘ol desktop calendar.
This is a new series that I’ll be sharing on the last day of each month, a collection of favorite things that I’ve been using in my everyday life that I hope you’ll love like I do. These can be beauty products, recipes, accessories, whatever. Just a chronicle of great things!
1/ Oregon Chai Sugar Free Chai Tea Latte Concentrate
I’m diabetic and have been missing chai lattes since my diagnosis almost three years ago. While grocery shopping last month I found this sugar-free concentrate that I’ve been using to make dirty chai lattes (coffee + chai) and get my fix.
2/ Makers of Wax Goods Wood Wick Bourbon Candle
Sometime last year I picked a smaller size of this candle at Marshall’s because I really loved the packaging, but I feel even harder for the scent itself. Since then I’ve been addicted and have this candle in three rooms of my house!
3/ Dr. Jart+ Water Drop Hydrating Moisturizer
My skin has been flipping out this winter – flakey and breaking out. I’ve had to amp up my skincare game in a big way and this moisturizer is my latest discovery. It’s so lightweight, is absorbed immediately, and makes my skin feel plump and nourished.
4/ Scentered Therapy Balms
Part of my bedtime routine, somewhere between feeding the cats and reading Twitter one last time, includes the Sleep Well balm. I just rub some on my wrists and breathe deeply in and out five times. During the day I rely on the Stress Less to help keep me focused.
5/ First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Hydra-Firm Sleeping Cream
I alternate between three different moisturizers depending on how my skin is behaving. This one is great to put on before going to sleep when I’ve had an especially stressful day and maybe haven’t eaten the best.
6/ Sephora Collection Lotus Face Mask
For Christmas my friend sent me a package full of different sheet masks and this one has made me a devotee. (You can actually get two uses out of sheet masks if you put them back in their package and make sure it’s tightly closed.)
7/ Herbivore Botanicals Jasmine Body Oil
Again with the dry skin. This body oil is super pure and smells heavenly, so much so that I skip the perfume on days I wear it.
8/ Fashionable Mini Tirhas Saddlebag
This bag was a Christmas gift from my stepdad that I’ve been carrying every day since. I’m a longtime fan of Fashionable and the quality of this piece is outstanding.
9/ NOW Rosemary Essential Oil
I’ve been adding this rosemary essential oil to my diffuser every afternoon before turning it on for an afternoon pick-me-up. It makes the entire first floor smell so fresh and clean.
A few weeks ago when I was in Palm Springs I attended a roundtable discussion led by my friend, Monica Lee. In it she talked about embracing your senses and using them to broaden the world around you, both for well-being and creative purposes. Lately I’ve found myself creating a bubble of health and positivity, and this idea of hers fit in seamlessly with the salt lamp and essential oil diffuser I’ve made room for in my daily life. Our senses are the way we experience the world, why not – literally – stop and smell the roses more often?
I asked Monica if I might share her idea with you, so we created a download that you can print and follow each day this March, it even includes a few thumbnails of her beautiful paintings. Each task is short and meant to be enjoyed while making you take notice of the things that might normally slide by.
Download the 31 Days of Senses calendar, then head over to Monica’s portfolio to see more of her feminine, romantic paintings and read about her outlook on art.
The packaging for Just Spices is lovely on many levels. Each can is made of paperboard, an aluminum lining, and an extra membrane for freshness. Sunlight can affect the flavors of spices, but this packaging is 100% protected for optimal preservation of the USDA organic goods enclosed. And lastly, my favorite part – the portraits. Each one tells the story of local cooks who helped develop what’s inside.
