Color of 2011: Honeysuckle

What do you think of Pantone's color of 2011 - Honeysuckle?

It's certainly vivacious and bright!

It reminds me of lipstick, a sunset, my sister, and of course flowers.

Having such an energizing color will definitely help people's moods, although it's probably best in small doses for clothing.

We saw this beautiful flower somewhere along Highway One in California last Winter. I'm not sure what kind of flower it is, but the shade is very similar to Pantone's Honeysuckle.

Gift guide: Cooking

I love giving gifts and the past couple years I composed gift guides with ideas for the holidays.

Here are some of the interesting cooking related things I've seen throughout the year.

There will be several more gift guides in the coming days and weeks.

1. Dr. Bird Juicer - A pretty hummingbird juicer to add some excitement to the mundane. (image imm)

2. Microplane Herb Mill - Quick and easy way to add fresh herbs to anything, plus fresh herbs smell delightful and I love microplane. (image microplane)

3. Lékué Decopen - This is a modern take on a decopen and had 4 interchangeable brushes, so you can make your meals look like the professionals. I like to write notes to Stefan on the edge of his plate. (image Lékué)

4. Quirky Waffler - This is in the pre-sale phase, because it was developed by an inventor. The waffle machine makes tiny cups, which can be filled with fruits or other breakfast delights. (image Quirky)

5. Jeni's Ice Cream - One of my favorites, and from my home state no less, is Jeni's Ice Cream. Even if Ohio isn't nearby you can order a few pints to have delivered. It's worth the splurge at the holidays and people tend to share edible gifts... (image Jeni's Ice Cream)

6. Carol Keys Measuring Spoons - Simple, yet beautiful and functional accessories to use while baking. (image imm)

7. Grass Holder - A fresh and beautiful place for letters or dishes. (image plastic land)

8. Norpro Bread Forms - An easy way to make canapés and shaped loaves of bread. (image Norpro)

9. Melamine plastic plates - 'Paper plates' that are great for a picnic or everyday use and recyclable as well. (image One Hundred 80 degrees)

10. Menu Stackable Cookware - Made by Christian Bjorn, these stackable oven dishes allow you to cook many things at one time and can go straight from the oven to the table. Form and function unite. (image A+R)

11. Bunny Dishrack - Chris Koens created this adorable dish rack, which would brighten anyones kitchen. (image design-3000)

12. Apron Cooking Guide - This is a great gift particularly for someone that lives abroad or does a lot of converting. (image John Caswell)

Happy gift giving!

absolutely beautiful

I've been loving Jamie Magazine since I was sent a copy by a friend.

Being a book lover I appreciate the luxurious feeling of the uncoated pukka paper mixed with the photos from David Loftus and the incredible fonts. It certainly makes for an insanely gorgeous magazine.

Unfortunately I haven't found the magazine here in Germany - even at the international booksellers. (I found this magazine here in Munich. You can purchase it at the Hauptbahnhof International Magazine shop for 10.50€)

Stefan enjoyed reading it too, and I'm all for anything that encourages him to cook with me! I may just have to get a subscription from the UK.

You can flip through some of the back issues here.

In case you are interested, here is a list of some fonts that are in the magazine:

Monte Carlo Script NF
woodtype URW D
Fedra Serif B
Quimby Mayoral, which I purchased today!
Soho Gothic
Meta Hairline

We'll be heading back to London in May and have already made reservations at the River Café, where he was a sous chef. I can't wait for a great meal and to pick up his newest magazine!

If you're in the US, you can even check out the Food Revolution and sign his petition for healthier school meals.

Color of 2010: Turquoise

Did you see Pantone's new color of the year? Turquoise!


I love this color. It has such a warm feeling and makes me think of a breezy day at the beach. If only I could feel the sun on my face.

While I was home I bought the red spice grinder that perfectly matches our little red refrigerator. They have such a creative product line.

The Pantone people haven't missed a beat either, because they have an ipod touch app for their tremendous color wheel called myPANTONE. I will be snatching Stefan's and using this when it comes time for decorating our new apartment.

Munich Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof (ZOB)

The Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof (ZOB) has opened right at the Hackerbrücke S-bahn stop and it is a very welcomed addition. I love seeing Munich modernizing it's image - at least with some new architecture.

This will serve as a bus station, but it also has restaurants and shopping. We decided to check it out today and were certainly impressed. It felt as though we were on vacation, because it was so foreign to us.

We had lunch at Vapiano, which is an open kitchen style restaurant that is actually branching to the US.

They have another location at Fünf Höfe, which is an equally as impressive design oriented restaurant and shopping area.

Here are a couple more photos, including the bus area, which is located underneath the shops and restaurants. It looks like next year we'll be able to entertain the idea of traveling by car, plane, train, and now bus.

Through the coming months we'll also often be traveling by foot, so I was really excited to get these adorable red shoes in a package from my parents.

I've never owned crocs - and I am one to agree most of them are heinously ugly on anyone older than 8. What swayed me was their lightweight and anti-microbial aspects, which will be nice for our trip.

(Thank goodness the rhinestone on the side is covered by my pants.) I bet you wouldn't have even guessed that they were in fact crocs.

Less than a week!

We went around town today collecting our last minute things. Here are a few of my observations:

I love MUJI (inside Fünf Höfe). It's a Japanese shop that prides itself on being no brand. All of the merchandise is simple and they have a wonderful array of everything you never realized you needed to stay organized. Their travel sized products and stationery items are among my favorites. They make packing so simple with their empty TSA sized 100mL bottles.

Everyone and everything is gearing up for Oktoberfest. I love seeing products suddenly having Bavarian spirit and lederhosen all over them. Even the Pixar movie 'Oben! (Up!)' is in on the fun with their ad featuring the herzen, roller coaster, and the sky swing. (It says: 'With so much fun you'll lift off') We're slightly behind on the times here - it opens tomorrow.

I noticed Ihr Platz located inside the Ostbahnhof (near the U5 Orleanplatz entrance). Under normal circumstances I really wouldn't write about a drug store, and I realize this sounds ridiculous, but it is open until 10PM - even on Sundays. Talk about revolutionizing shopping in Munich! Really, it's the little things here.

They even have a small grocery section where you can get milk and simple things past 8PM! I'm thrilled - even though I'll only be here for one more weekend this year.

New Hotel on the Market

I always stop at Viktualienmarkt to purchase berries and delicious foods. It's definitely a place where tourists and locals alike flock to for a quick lunch or specialty ingredients to make meals at home.

Right by the auction house there has been a lot of action for what seems like an eternity. A new chic façade has replaced the scaffolding and left a beautiful sight in its place - the Louis hotel. I'm glad that we finally have a design hotel here in Munich and what a fantastic location!

You can read a bit more about it at design hotels. I'm also looking forward to trying their new Japanese restaurant (Restaurant Emiko) and Asian Tea.

Hopefully we'll be able to try the restaurant out before our trip. It opens September 9th.

Can you believe we leave for our adventure around the world 3 weeks from today?

Railway city maps

Be still my little heart.

I cannot look at these maps without drooling. They are from 0 / 0 (Zero per Zero), and now I think I need them all - framed in a little corner of our apartment. They were designed by two Korean university students.

The illustrated maps and subway networks are just striking. The difficult part is that the fronts and backs and both gorgeous... how do you choose which side to display?

I'm sure they are also very useful for travel purposes.

Available cities include:
Barcelona
Hokkaido
Tokyo
Osaka
Seoul
New York City

SOUR '日々の音色 (Hibi no neiro)'

Mary Beth posted about this amazing video and I am just bewildered at the creativity and ingenuity behind it.

(video from Sour, via Mary Beth, via booooooom)

Oh how I can't wait to get to Japan in just a few short months on our around the world adventure. I'll update more about that soon!

the.

I've been seeing 'the.' on design sites for a while now... because of their anti-theft lunch bags, however I absolutely love their new framed objects.

Since I don't know that cleaning the vase would be so simple, I think I'd go for the book shelf. It would be so nice in a kitchen for a cookbook or in a little reading area. It's definitely a subliminal conversation starter.

I also love their walls notebook, which can inspire your inner graffiti artist. (Note the typical German Stabilo pens that we all love).

They certainly have a lot of fun design items. If only my birthday was around the corner.

(images courtesy of the.)

Patriot Spirit

I just discovered the Obamicon.Me website. You can create works similar to those by artist Shepard Fairey. You can see his images on the left, and my stylized patriotic portrait on the right.

Happy portrait making! 

Pretty Reminders

I'm a firm believer in doing little things to make yourself and others happy.

Simple notes tucked into pockets, or into luggage, are bound to bring smiles to people's faces. I also think it helps to surround yourself with beauty - people who radiate happiness and make you feel good, as well things that brighten up life.

Being away from home makes me appreciate my friends and family so much more and to realize just how fortunate I am to have them in my life.

My family knows me so well and surprised me with the most thoughtful gifts for Christmas and my birthday. I would even go as far as saying it was one of the best and most memorable holidays for me. It was so nice to be home and have time with everyone.

A few of my favorite gifts that make me smile and think of everyone at home are a shopping basket, the classic style cafeteria trays, and further fueling my wanderlust is 'The Europe Book' by Lonely Planet.

My shopping basket makes grocery shopping that much more enjoyable and the reactions to it are priceless. The cafeteria trays make me think of cookouts and gatherings, plus they are eco-friendly. And I'm already reading up on Rome for our upcoming trip... and the smallest country with the lowest birthrate in the world - The Vatican.

And what do you know - as I was unpacking I found notes in my own luggage. What sweet reminders of home.

nativity

While I was shopping I saw the most beautiful nativity designed by a company called ˚es. It is very minimal and comes flat, in a mailer, for a simple, yet beautiful gift.

I'm sure it would even be enhanced with dramatic lighting. If you are lucky enough to live in the Munich area, you can find it at Magazin (inside Fünf Höfe).

(images ˚es)

Color of 2009: Mimosa

The color lover in me gets excited when Pantone announces their color of the year. It looks like in 2009 they are going for upbeat and cheery with the choice of 'Mimosa'. I'm in luck because I have a beautiful coat and hand bag in this exact color.

In other Pantone related things, how cute (and inexpensive - only $3.74! but, closer to $15 after shipping) are these coffee / tea cups and saucers from Fishs Eddy? I'm kind of hoping they still have them in their New York shop when we visit at the new year, because I hate ordering breakables and hoping they arrive safely.

I also love Ignacio Pilotto's 'rubitone' concept piece. What a creative guy he is.

It appears I'm not alone in my love of all things Pantone. Check out If it's hip it's here.

If I was an art teacher again, I would love the Pantone Flight Stools in a classroom. I'm sure that would never happen, considering the price, but they sure are beautiful.

That will be added to my list of dream jobs: forecaster of colors for Pantone. In the meantime I will simply admire all of their tints, tones, shades, and hues.

(images pantone, fishs eddy, Ignacio Pilotto, + BarberOsgerby / pantone)

Christmas cards

I absolutely love sending mail and my list for Christmas cards continues to grow.

For the past few years, I have utilized a service from the US post office called Premium Postcard. What I really love about this, is that you can personalize your cards, create mailing lists, and send them anywhere in the world for the low price of $1.12 each (or less if you buy them in bulk or when they have a sale).

It's also ultra convenient for sending birthday cards and scheduling mailings in advance, because they are sent from within the US, so there's not the additional transatlantic wait time if you're a tad late on remembering.

If you happen to receive this card in the mail you can act surprised! I will leave the message on the back a mystery for you.

Gift guide: Cooking

I absolutely love the holidays... it's great to get together with friends, family, and of course eat insane amounts of delicious foods.

Some people aren't as enthused about the holiday shopping, so I decided to compose a bit of a gift guide for some of my favorite areas. Today's is about cooking and food related products that have caught my eye and would suit a variety of people.

I continue to do a lot of my shopping in the US, simply because I can mail things directly to people there and not deal with wondering if Deutsche Post is going to lose something again. (I apologize in advance to international readers, however some of these companies may ship internationally.)

Happy Cooking!

1. Buddha Bowls- I think it is fantastic for versatility - for soup, cereal, and drinks, with an ergonomic fit with the added function of your hands. Also comes in a smaller 'baby' version. (image flavour design)

2. Tastebook - this is a really inventive and fun way to present heirloom recipes. It would be especially fitting for a bridal shower. What I also love about being able to put your own recipes in, is that you can also put your own photos in too. (image tastebook)

3. Precision Spoon Scale - while I am not a chef, I can see a myriad of ways this could come in hand in the kitchen. Not only that, it also switches between grams and ounces, which is so helpful if you're using a variety of recipes or live internationally. (image thinkgeek)

4. Flor de Sal d'es Trenc - I realize if you even remotely read this blog you might realize I have a salt obsession. Contrary to popular belief, all salts are not equal. What I love about these is that they come in a variety of enhanced flavors and it's not something people typically purchase for themselves. (image flor de sal d'es trenc)

5. Microplane graters - These are a major life saver if you are grating anything. You won't know how you lived without it. I use mine for cheeses, chocolates, and zests from limes or other citrus fruits. (image microplane)

6. Vosges chocolates (and cookies!) - These are fantastic for people who are adventurous with chocolate. The combination of flavors is never dull or lacking variety. I've also had the cookies (which I love) and the drinking chocolate (which is very rich). (image vosges)

7. Bubble scrubber & Equal measure measuring cup- Totally frivolous, but it helps to make cleanup and cooking a bit more fun. The measuring cup has equivalents to random measures, such as the volume of half a human brain. (image world wide fred)

8. Design House Stockholm carrie basket - This little basket definitely makes grocery shopping more fun and you can use it in place of plastic bags - everyone wins! It comes in white (my favorite), black, and green. There is also a bike basket in the same style. (image design house stockholm)

9. Days ago digital day counter - This seems like such a basic idea, but it's so easy to forget how long things have been open in the refrigerator this makes everything easier. (image how many days ago)

10. Blue leaves flatware - designed by Jean Pradelle. These are available at one of my favorites in Amsterdam - Egg Mercantile or stateside at Tabula Tua (image blue leaves)

11. Alessi Mediterraneo Fruit Bowl - I obviously have a thing for red (hence my red refrigerator), but this bowl is just so simple and beautiful. (image alessi)

12. Herb Savor - a great product that allows you to keep herbs fresh longer. (image herb savor)

Other great sites for food and cooking related gifts:
Sur La Table
Le Sanctuaire
Williams Sonoma
Cooking.com
Chefs Catalog

Check back in the coming days and I will have more of my favorite gifts for the year. 

Audi

Today we went to Ingostadt to pick up our new Audi. It was quite a production and they really went above and beyond to cater to our every whim. Even little details like a bottle of water were placed in the lone cup holder, and they took our photo with the new car and presented it to us minutes later.

We started with a tour of the museum, which housed a large range of cars. My favorites are always the concept cars where there is more attention paid to details and they are more unique.

We even saw the car from the Will Smith movie iRobot. It looked very sophisticated and high tech. I can't even imagine what people would think if they saw that driving down the street. According to our dealer it's not so sophisticated underneath.

Stefan was so excited to get our car that we chose to have lunch, then pick up our car, and finally go on the factory tour.

Our names came up on the screen and we were slightly surprised to also see Bayern Munich's own Lukas Podolski and Prof. Dr. Fritz Scherer - both from Bayern Munich. It appears they were also getting new cars today.

After being taught exactly how to work the car we were allowed to drive it out of the show room and park it among a sea of Audis that others had picked up. We commented on how well ours stood out among the rest and how beautiful it was. I figure it's similar to looking at babies in a nursery and knowing yours is the most precious.

What surprised me a little bit, after going on the Porsche tour in March, was that Audi does so much with machines. Stefan and I stood in awe and wonderment of how these machines work and who exactly designs them or puts them together. One was capable of creating as much pressure as 120,000 people jumping at once. This machine is what they use to press the steel / aluminum to create various parts. They said it's similar to an earth quake and had to be stabilized 60 meters underground. The Ingostadt factory is the same size as Monaco and has as many workers as Monaco has people.

Each machine strategically punched holes into things and lifted the various heavy car parts. I was quickly reminded why I hate sci-fi things... they scare me. It's intimidating to see what people are capable of creating. It makes sense that cars are expensive after the tell you about a multibillion Euro machine. They also said it takes 4 billion euros to research and develop a new car. I can't really comprehend that.


My favorite area is inevitably the color. Our guide even said a German singer had visited and asked them to match a shade of nail polish for her car color and they happily obliged. We went with the more traditional 'lava gray', which Stefan kindly allowed me to pick.

After a long Audi filled day the car dealer called and asked us to stop by to show him the car on the way home. He gave Stefan a nice pen set. I'm sure they are hoping to make life long Audi customers out of us.

I have to say the Porsche tour was more impressive because we could see people making the cars and the production wasn't as immense. I'm sure that would make my Dad proud. Regardless, we are very happy with the new addition to our family.

Dream kitchen

As of now, we're definitely making the most of the city life. We live small, we live simply, and we live well below our means. It's really quite nice. It also means we must be very particular about the things we decide to fill our small space with and I am always thinking ahead.

Slowly we've been working on updating our apartment to make it more of our own place. I absolutely love looking at inspirational images and wondering where life will take us. In the meantime I often gather things that are meaningful to me. Some we are able to incorporate now - like our new fridge that arrived this morning!, and other things we'll have to hold off on... like a subway tile back splash in the kitchen.

I also love the fact that Stefan continually is commenting how much he loves our refrigerator.

Not only do I want my dream kitchen to have a subway tile back splash, but I want the entire kitchen to have a very slight subway undertone. I have a cookie jar, à la my Grandma, that my sister gave me a few years ago. It is a London underground sign. She also recently showed me the beautiful Parisian subway dish cloth, which I have added to my wish list.

Isn't it lovely to surround yourself with things you enjoy and to look forward to?

Here are bits of the master plan...

The subway tile kitchen belongs to Genifer Goodman Sohr, who is a well known stylist. I saw these images on her equally talented friend, Sara Hicks Malone's blog Party Perfect, and I can't quit thinking about them. They also match our table and chairs that we recently purchased.


I promise I'm not on a French kick, but I also love the work of antoin + manuel, a French design duo. And continuing on the subway theme, they have a lot of beautiful pieces including one aptly titled RATP (Parisian Metro), Carte Intégrale, 2005. Their website is a real treasure trove for design lovers.

In other things French... I was overjoyed yesterday when I was in town shopping for a few things and found two things I have been dreaming about. Originally I had see them on uncommongoods and the Moma Store, but today I found them here in Munich.

I really love Revol French porcelaine - it's minimal, very resistant, and simply elegant. Some of their pieces are quite classic, while others - like the the things I bought today, are slightly comical. They keep things interesting.

They have an entire line called the Recycled collection. I love the curving ruffle lines of the 'pommes frites' dish - and the crumpled tumbler is just cute and fits so nicely in my hand.

The best design advice is to surround yourself with things that you love and I can really attest it adds to my happiness.

Red refrigerator

We have been in the market for a new fridge for a while. I love Smeg refrigerators and was so happy to find a similar version for slightly less.

Our big red retro friend will be moving in sometime next week!

It's from gorenje, which used to make Siemens refrigerators. Good enough for me, it's energy efficient, not noisy, and ultra cute.

Sorry the photo isn't the best... I was a little excited.

Cincinnati Friends

Sometimes I really miss Ohio... especially when I see new and exciting cutting edge things that take off a little bit of the working class right-wing persona that Cincinnati embodies.

I am really happy to see that it is growing into a more creative place. Two weeks ago it was listed on design*sponge and now this...

If I were home I would not miss the The Mad Tea {Towel} Party. It opens this Friday from 6-10pm at the Nicholas Gallery. The towels shown here are designed by Sigrid Calon a Dutch designer. I really wish I had seen them during our recent trip to Amsterdam.

The show includes 25 artists and designers from around the world and some very striking tea towels. I really wish they were available for purchase online.

Maybe... just maybe - someone can stop by and make me a little more envious. Please let me know if you do! The show runs through the 25th of July.

(image: nicholas gallery)