Friday, October 29, 2010

Friday Finds: Scarves and Other Neck Warming Devices

It has been a really busy week for me.  My clothing chooses were usually thrown together at the last second and go for comfort and ease then style (no one wants to see the combo I did today...yikes).  But my trusty collection of scarves have saved the day, instantly transforming any outfit from boring to simply styled. 
With this busy week has brought little time to for me to wander the virtual aisles of Etsy, but when I was trying to think of what I wanted to search for I couldn't leave my favorite accessory out of the mix. 
The scarf is not only my go to accessory it has an amazing way of warming my entire body with just a few wraps around my giraffeish neck.  And now that it is getting cold outside I will be wearing one almost everyday.  Thank you scarves and all you other neck warming devices.  This Etsy Friday Finds is for you.


  1. Orange you Happy
  2. Cool Grey
  3. Vents and Buttons
  4. Milk Chocolate Glitter
  5. Hoodie Scarf
  6. Tie me up in a bow
  7. In the leafy tree tops
  8. Loopy
  9. Collar
As I searched for new and interesting designs I kept finding myself landing on this designer.  I only included a couple of her items, but she had some unique styles.  Check out more here.

Lost and Found: Ansel Adams Street Prints


photo credits: LA Public Library

So apparently the LA Public Library has been hiding a gem or two from the public for awhile.  Donated to the Library in the 1960s, this collection was then considered only worth 100 bones to ol' Adams, while the Library were very generous in appraising the value at $150.  NPR was generous enough to enlightened us of the appallingly undervalued prints Wednesday with their article by Claire O'Neill.



Check out NPR's article here: Ansel Adams, Street Photographer: 1940s Los Angeles

More images here: Ansel Adams Lost Los Angeles Found

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Ingrid Michealson Covers REM

Ingrid Michaelson never disappoints. Brunette and I were able to be part of the lucky few (sort of few, it was a sold out show) at In the Venue Wednesday night in our lovely SLC.  Ingrid is one of my favorite artists.  Her shows are always awesome and her 2010 show was no different.  Among all her magical moments of wit, funny charm, and stunning vocals she mesmerized us with a cover of the REM song "Nightswimming."  She preformed it originally for an REM tribute concert.  Check out the performance below (this is neither the SLC concert nor the tribute performance, but it is the song as it was preformed Wednesday night).  We love you Ingrid and so does Leann Rimes.


Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Hot Ears: Andrew Bird

Photo credit: Cameron Wittig www.andrewbird.net


The much anticipated (at least by me) instrumental Useless Creatures LP by Andrew Bird is out today on Amazon and Itunes. A mix master loopist, whose strung out tunes organically grow from album to album, the Bird never leaves me wanting.

Purchase here:
$6.99 - Amazon
$7.99 - Itunes

Satellite Image Prints

A friend in my design class showed me Jenny Odell's satellite prints  and I was instantly fascinated by them, especially because she has a Great Salt Lake print.  Each of the prints was created by using satellite images of objects such as swimming pools, freeway, parking lots or boats.  Below were a few of my favorites, but check out more on her website.  Also check out her other work including the amusing book, Travel by Approximation, based on the road trip she took virtually or her SketchtypeTM fonts.


125 American Swimming Pools

81 Square Miles of the Great Salt Lake
(each square represents exactly one square mile of the lake)

Approximately 1,326 Grain Silos, Water Towers, and Other Cylindrical-Industrial Buildings

Monday, October 25, 2010

SLC Cooking Classes

A few years ago I was looking for something unique to give my older brother for his birthday.  What do you get for the guy that "doesn't have everything," but who seems to want nothing?  How about a little sister-brother bonding in the kitchen. 
I grew up wanting to be a chef (bring on memories of hours play with my Fisher Price kitchen and making concoctions while watching Julia Child).  My big brother has become the family chef, making delicious dishes from gumbo to sushi.  So I  thought a cooking class from Sur La Table would be perfect for us, two food lovers.  I signed us up for the Knife Essentials class since what man doesn't like to wield a large butcher knife. We had a fun evening learning about all the different types of knives, their uses, best brands and we even made dinner using our knife skills (yes they taught us how to wield those super sharp knives safely).
I just received the fall cooking class schedule and I'm excited to take another class.  And to the gentlemen out there, this is a great date idea.  They have special "date night" classes which are sure to win you bonus points with your lady.
Check out the local Salt Lake City cooking classes from Orson Gygi and Sur la Table.

Orson Gygi Cooking Classes

Sur la Table Cooking Classes in SLC

Friday, October 22, 2010

Oh Happy Friday

It should be a great weekend of weddings and concerts and maybe even a REI Garage Sale and a Black Diamond Gear Swap thrown in there as well.  Here's hoping that all the rain this weekend results in at least rainbow.  Check out these cool photo from mackin ink.


Photos courtesy mackin ink

Friday Finds: Etsy and The Mustache

This is for Heidikins. She liked the mustache necklace so much (I'm assuming from her comment with the XOXO) I decided to dedicate this week's Etsy finds to Heidikins' love of facial hair and search for the best Etsy has to offer of The Mustache.
Oh and needless to say this is just a sample of the stache offerings. You can find the little lip tickler on everything from mugs to t-shirts to underpants (the underpants made me giggle and a little scared, but it isn't included below because we're keeping this PG).

  1. Neck and Lip Warmer
  2. Shave That Stache
  3. Drop a Note (Stache)
  4. Moosestache
  5. For the Little Mustache
  6. Mustache Anytime and Anyplace

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Water Magic


Quite the amazing installation PSA by BDDP & Fils.  Quite the surprising ending.  Found via: Black Eiffel

CHECK IT: The Last Wild Mountain

A new rock climbing film is in the works (actually I'm sure there are a bunch in the works, but this one I just read an article about). The film: The Last Wild Mountain Portrait of the American Climber. Mostly complete, the filmmakers are showing a "preview" to audiences in Golden, Colorado November 16 to "get feedback and feel the response of the climbing community." Who's up for a road trip? But if not, hopefully the film will show at the Banff Mountain Film Festival when it is complete complete.

Check out more on the film's website http://www.rockadventuremovie.com/ and trailer below.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

HEAR ME OUT: An Instant Day Brightener (Guaranteed!)


"Rosie and Me" - Bonfires



"The Tallest Man on Earth" - Wild Hunt


"Frightened Rabbit" - Nothing Like You




"Slow Club" - It Doesn't Have To Be Beautiful

Just a little love for your ears.

Oh My Goodness, These are Delicious

I found this delightful recipe for Raspberry Friands on What Katie Ate. What is a friand? I don't even know how to pronounce it, but they are the most delicious dessert I have ever made. Brunette giggled that I baked something I can't pronounce, but they looked cute and they called for an ingredient (almond meal) I had never heard of so I wanted to give it a try.
Luckily we have the internet...need a little more info on friands.

I was a little nervous about how they would turn out because the recipe's measurements are in grams. So I am saving you the trouble of figuring it out. See my measurements in cup below (feel free to double check my work).
I didn't have a friand pan, so I just used a mini muffin pan and adjusted the bake time (bake for about15 min). The first batch was a little difficult to get out of the pan (cut-around-the-edge-and-scoop-out type of difficult). The second batch Brunette suggested using mini muffin cups (Brunette is so smart). If you cook the friands a little longer you get a nice golden brown top which is slightly crunchy which we fought over like we fight over the corner piece from the brownie pan.

Note: Use fresh fruit. I used up all my fresh raspberries, but still had extra batter so I used frozen blackberries. The blackberry friands taste just great, but they don't look as good because the blackberries thawed and kind of looked like they melted, creating a runny black smear.

Note Note: I found almond meal in the bulk area of Whole Foods.

My American Measurement Recipe (can't promise anything)
10 egg whites
1 1/3 cup butter (melted)
1 1/3 cup almond meal
3 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup flour

Monday, October 18, 2010

Don't steal my lunch!

It has been a long time since someone stole my lunch from the work refrigerator.  The last time was a "so-called" rescue attempt.  Blonde thought she was saving my life by stealing my Red Bull and maybe she was.  Needless to say I have since stopped drinking Red Bull and there are no more 36 hour no-sleep marathons.
So what should you do if you suffer from my-lunch-is-always-missing syndrome and the reason is not a concern for your life (because really can you fault them for being heroic)?  I'd recommend picking up a few of these Anti-Theft Lunch Bags. No one will want to touch your lunch if it looks like you are a careless chef who has let a thick layer of green fuzz consume your turkey sandwich.


Friday, October 15, 2010

Friday Finds: Etsy Bags

I love bags.  Purses, messengers, backpacks, duffel bags, coin purses, wallets - you name it I have at least one of each and most likely more.  But you can never have enough, right?  Sadly, I store my bags in a large box in my closet, except the outdoor bags which get stored in the outdoor gear room (everyone should have a gear room - it's fun).  Only when I get really bored of the "current" bag does it get rotated out.  I need to come up with a better way to switch bags out on a more regular basis.  Until then, below are some of my favorite bags (most of the purse variety) from Etsy that are making me very sick of my "current" purse selection. 

Bubble Photo (A real bubble)

Here's another great photo idea for the next time you are playing around with the camera.





Photos by Richard Heeks
Find tips for capturing these images on Photojojo

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Eat SLC: The Park Cafe

Last summer a friend and I went to lunch and he introduced me to The Park Cafe. We sat out on the porch on a beautiful summer afternoon eating our omelets over looking Liberty Park.
Today we headed back to The Park for another round. I ordered the banana pancakes (feeling very Jack Johnson today). They had 2 options: short stack or tall stack. I am not a huge meal type so I ordered the short stack. Short is a fair description for the pancake's height, but not their overall size. These things were HUGE. Two banana pancakes arrive and completely cover our table (ok maybe not the table, but my entire plate). Needless to say I only ate one (even with the help of my friend). Large helpings are not uncommon at The Park. Food is diner style, simple and delicious.

My Banana Pancake Goodness
The Park Cafe is only open for breakfast and lunch and is located across the street from Liberty Park. Play ultimate frisbee at the park in the morning then head over to the cafe for a Spanish Omelet or Michigan Hash.
It is always busy, but the wait for a table is fairly short. The atmosphere is lively and chill. Chill in the fact that you pick your own seat and menus are placed under glass on the table. You will get good service, but they won't bother you a lot which is something I love. Tables are close together, but it just adds to the relaxed urban feel. Great place to hang out with a few close friends.
Don't go if you are an uptight diner, want servers to ask you "if everything is good" every 2 seconds, need your meat cut for you, or if you are bothered by the guy next to you who may have just been playing ultimate frisbee at Liberty Park.
Join their facebook page and see daily specials before you go.

The Park Cafe
604 E 1300 S
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
801-487-1670

Hours: Daily 7am-3pm

Adorableness


Forgot to add this to the Concert Round up yesterday!  Menomena at Urban Lounge tomorrow (Friday Night) at 9 pm.

Thanks to my other lovely redheaded friend I also bring you this adorable music video.  Halfway through is possibly the cutest thing you will ever see.  Worth the wait, believe me.  See you at the show tomorrow!

No Carve Pumpkin Ideas

BBR is really getting into the spirit of Halloween this year. We have been doing craft after craft decorating our house. I for one am not good at carving pumpkins although I love cleaning them out. There is something fun about getting that squishy, stringy, slimy pumpkin guts between your fingers.
So I have been looking around for alternatives to carving a pumpkin.
Painting Pumpkins with Style


No cleaning out guts for this carving

Glitter Pumpkins - go crazy with different colors!

Not Even a Real Pumpkin

Forget the knife - Traditional Painted Pumpkin Faces
For the True Artist - Gold Gilded Pumpkins

For the Kiddies - Dress Up Pumpkins

Just Add Ribbon Pumpkins
Masquerade Pumpkins

Sew Pumpkins

Have fun with halloween pumpkins without dressing up in the "don't-care-if-they-get-slime-on-them" clothes and putting down layer after layer of newspaper.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Directionless.



I have no sense of direction. Neither did my great-grandmother. I learned that I had inherited this lack of an internal compass from her when she died six years ago. My grandfather gave the life-sketch segment at her funeral and at one point he mentioned that she was directionally challenged. She would get lost for long periods of time, but always claim to know exactly where she was and be rather stubborn about it (oh that feisty grandma of mine).

After years of denying my lack of direction sense, I felt endeared to my great-grandmother for our shared weakness and finally accepted it in myself.

And that is where REI comes in. A store of wondrous possibilities. REI teaches outdoor classes of all sorts, this is really so that you will learn a new skill and spend money at their store on equipment for your new hobby. Well, it works, and also I am a sucker for these sorts of things—I can’t tell you how many times I have wanted to buy something from an infomercial.

So, if you’ve ever wanted to try something new in the field of outdoors, try a class at REI. Most classes are free but some have a reasonable fee. You can take classes on road biking, mountain biking, photography, outdoor cooking, backpacking, kayaking, and anything in between. These classes are listed on local REI store events pages. This link will take you to the Salt Lake City REI events page.

My sister and I decided to take a map and compass class a couple of weeks ago so that we can use an external compass for lack of an internal one. Embarrassing side note: this does not come easy for us as we once got lost on an orienteering course at a local park. But we will not be discouraged and we took the most basic beginner’s map and compass class at REI.

We learned such things as how to get our bearings, to set the declination, and to figure out where we are on the map by triangulation. Our heads were swimming with information and I can’t wait to try to put this new information to practice. I’m going to try out that orienteering course at the park again. I’ll let you know how it goes. If you don’t hear from me in a few hours, maybe you should come find me.

October Concert Roundup

Good morning fall. Thank you for bringing us a delicious bout' of musical delights. I appreciate the concern for my cultural well being.

Upcoming bands visiting us til' the end of October:

FUN: October 16, In the Venue $15

Did any of you become diehard fans of The Format in college like me? Did you find yourself screaming "....she says she's leaving on a Sunday. I don't care, I need to know where to turn..." on a summer's eve with the windows rolled down nightly when your good ol' Dashboard just didn't cut into your lonely heart like it needed to? Well so did I, until they ripped that heart right out of my chest and broke up.

This is the aftermath. A new collaboration from The Format's frontman Nate Ruess and the songwriting skills of Steel Train's Jack Antonoff and Anathallo's Andrew Dost. It's not quite the same as my uber delicious pop The Format but it'll do.

Blitzen Trapper: October 19, 7 pm Urban Lounge $12

If you haven't heard the illustrious alt-country experimental pop that is the BT than make sure to get yourself to their show next week. Although the Urban Lounge is quite honestly one of my least favorite venues (can we say horrible sound mixing, and the excessive amounts of drunks that ALWAYS get in fights?) I will be sure to venture over because my devotion for Blitzen is real. And I have never seen them live. Even though they have frequented SLC quite often.

Jonsi: October 22, 7 pm The Complex $23

Go the solo album of Jonsi (from Sigur Ros) will blow your mind. Go--->listen to it right now. Not quite pop, rock, electronic, but a gorgeous collaboration of it all, this album leaves nothing to be desired.

Never seen anything at The Complex though... anyone know anything about this venue?



The Weepies: October 23, 7 pm The State Room $Sold Out

This husband and wife duo haven't toured since 2006 so no wonder it is sold out. Worth scrounging around on KSL or Craigslist for a ticket though, I can assure you. And plus it is at The State Room which is by far my favorite venue...


Of Montreal: October 25, 7 pm In the Venue

Why does the cold countries bring us the best indie pop? Norway's best for sure...

I keep listening to "Gronlandic Edit" over and over and over....



Ingrid Michaelson: October 26, 7 pm In the Venue

With her new single "Parachute" out and about, Ingrid has once again convinced BBR that she is the queen of girl-pop-lyricist-mastermind-pianist genre and our go to girl for road trips, sob sessions, work commutes, apartment cleanings, camping trips, workouts, etc. Did I miss anything?

Seen her twice and still going back for more. Come on, you know you want to join the cult. It's impossible to stay away.


Anything I missed?

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

WEAR: TIGHTS

Recently, I've been intrigued with wearing dark tights and pale shoes...  Or really just tights with anything.  Something about cramming my legs into cozy warm individual blankets gives me reason to celebrate the upcoming change of seasons.


Aubin & Wills


Banana Republic

J.Crew

J.Crew


The Sartorialist

I know brightly colored opaque tights have been all the rage but apparently I am more seduced by grey and other neutrals.  What is it with me and grey?

Monday, October 11, 2010

Create It: Candy Corn Garland

Every 6 months me and my sisters get together to do a little craft. This year my mom and I came up with the same idea, triangle flag garland.  We each had a little different idea of what to do, but since I don't have kids (she found a cute garland for a kids room), we opted to do a Halloween garland.

Candy Corn Halloween Garland
Step 1: Gather supplies




You will need:
  • Burlap fabric
  • Template (make your own)
  • Orange, yellow & white paint
  • Paint brushes
  • Twine
  • Sewing machine
  • Newspaper

Step 2: Cut out triangles
Create a template, but cutting out a piece of thick paper into a triangle.  Your triangle can be whatever size you want.  Ours were about 12 inches from bottom to tip.
Using your template cut out burlap triangles.
Tip: Use straight pins to hold the pattern on the burlap.  I could only cut out 2 at a time, but if you have better scissors you might be able to do more.

How many to cut?  This depends on how long you want the garland and if you are going to space out the triangles.  I did 2 different styles.  I made one where the triangles were touching and 2 others that had about 6 inches between.  A great idea is to lay out the triangles along the wall or mantle you will be hanging them from (don't forget to leave room for draping).

Step 3: Paint
Candy corns have 3 colors in order from bottom (thickest part) to top (thinnest point): Orange, yellow & white. Be creative here.  My sister did a lot of white.  My mom wanted each candy corn to look the same.  I wanted to use bright colors while they opted for rustic colors.  You can also be heavy on the paint getting a more solid color or you can be light so you see more burlap.  Don't worry about perfection.  It looks good with a little variety.
Don't forget to put your newspaper down so you don't make a mess on your table.

Step 4: Dry
If you go light on the paint they dry very quickly.  Most were dry before I finished painting the next one.  But make sure they are completely dry before you throw them into the sewing machine.


Step 5: Sew candy corns to twine
Using a zigzag stitch sew the triangle to the twine.  I made 3 garlands of different lengths, on the first one I sewed the twine to the back of the triangles so it would be hidden, the next 2 I sewed it on front.  I preferred the front, but either looks good.



Step 6: Love your creative self & Decorate
You are finished, now find a hallway, staircase, mantle or wall to decorate with your new candy corn garland.
Drap along a table edge

Hang from the ceiling