The Beahive

WANTED: Housewares

A few things I've had my eye on lately.

From Anthropologie:

   

 

Gilt, Handheld Tea Bowls.

Can't have them.  I'll break them too easy, or, they'll live forever in my cabinets - too precious to use.

Jayne Sofa, Hawaii.

Frankly, I'm not a huge fan of this sofa's lines, or of the fabric on it's own.  But, for some reason, I think they are an unbelievable match.

From Rare Device:

Mason Vase in gray and yellow.  Sugar and Creamer Set.

Wow!  How innovative - I've never seen a sugar and creamer set quite like this one.

And, the Mason vessel is lovely, don't you think?  I just love the yellow.  It's rustic... but modern, too.  Plus, it's from Brooklyn, and I happen to have a thing for that borough.

Long Island

Reilly 003
Originally uploaded by CaitlinRosanna.

This is the home that I, for the most part, grew up in. I was actually born in Brooklyn, where both my parents were born and raised as well as three of my four grandparents, and my sister was born on Staten Island - even though my dad refuses to admit to that year of his life. My other siblings were all born in this town, although only one of them has lived his entire life in this particular house. Still, it's where almost all my childhood memories are... where I learned to ride a bike, where I got my boot stuck in the roots of a juniper tree during the blizzard of '96...or'93?  It's almost at that time when I'll be only a visitor.  How strange and exciting?  But also a bit sad.

A Home Tour

A mini-tour of my apartment - just the living room and kitchen:  Flickr Slideshow; Flickr Photos.

A Dinner Party

I threw a small dinner party this weekend for a few of my friends who visited from Long Island, the Bronx, and New Haven, CT. 

Actually, the visitors from NY spent the weekend, the girls from CT came only for the dinner party.  It was really wonderful - I love having visitors!  I had recently rearranged furniture in my apartment and couldn't wait to show off the new look.

I used a recipe for Nigella Lawson's Vodka-marinated Steak, with which she suggests serving plain boiled potatos with a sprinkling of dill.  But instead I peeled a strip from tiny red-skinned potatos, steamed them, and just melted a little butter on top.  As a request I roasted some asparagus with some olive oil, sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper. And I also made a potato and red onion salad.  It was divine! (If I don't say so myself..)  The steak was the absolute best part.  The marinade is vodka and olive oil with fresh parsley, lots of thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic.  Nigella says it's at its best when left in the marinade for two to three days; although I only had it in the mix for a few hours, it was one of the best marinades, and subsequent sauces, that I have ever had.  It was a totally new flavor for me.  The steak was sliced very thin, but there was nothing left at the end of the dinner.

Anyway, the recipe can be found in Feast by Nigella Lawson, and I highly, highly recommend it.

After the [fabulous] dinner, we immediately ventured out for dessert crepe's at Thayer Street's Creperie where I got the "Betty" as I always do - a boring but delicious crepe with just butter and sugar.  Back at the apartment, a heated game of Apples to Apples that I lost, miserably. 

Next weekend, my mom is visiting with her friend and possibly her daughter, and the following weekend I am headed to Brooklyn for a friday to sunday babysitting job looking after my 5 year-old cousin, Ryan, and her 6 month-old puppy, Molly.  I have no time to sit and fiddle properly at the brand new Viking sewing machine that Santa brought for me...

John

My apartment is a small one-bedroom on the first floor of a converted house.  It's on the east side of Providence, which means it is a, and is surrounded by, very old building(s). I suppose it is because this house has been converted that it hasn't been christened with a historical society plaque, but the house next door has: Built for James Barney, 1834.  And, I can therefore speculate as to the age of my own apartment's building, since the two homes are so similar (minus a bit of upkeep on our part).  But, even if I didn't have the 1834 figure, her age certainly shows.

One of my favorite parts of living here are these old hardwood floors.  Granted, they aren't in tip-top shape, and they may need a buff and a wax and maybe even some replacement.  And, sure, every now and then a pin may pop up into the sole of my barefooted feet from the deep, wide crevices between floorboards, and maybe I've had to hammer a couple of the ancient square nails back in, but I just love them.  I've never seen such wide-planked floors.  The house I grew up in was from the early 30's - that's 1930's, not 1830's.  This is an entirely different experience.