5 things [and a question]

1. october’s issue reminded me of why i periodically tolerate reading vogue: miranda brooks’ bucolic yet restrained landscapes. the garden shown here is from a project in montauk but she has some wonderful urban projects to browse as well.

2. blu dot is my go-to for thoughtful and (relatively) affordable design. i love the copper version of their real good chair - it looks like a million bucks (but is only $299).

3. one upside to working for super chic, design obsessed bosses in their live/work setup is getting schooled in the best home goods. one essential piece for the upcoming cold weather months is anything from the kobenstyle line by dansk. try making carbonnade flamande, a belgian-style beef stew, in the 6 quart pot. we spent sunday night making it (using gluten-free flour and beer, adding mushrooms for good measure) and the rest of the week eating it.

[sidenote] any other suggestions for good dutch oven recipes? i’ve (finally) enabled disqus so non-tumblr readers can easily chime in, too! (please do - if you’d like to!)

4. huset is usually my scandinavian mecca for all things home and kitchen but i recently noticed this gorgeous laser cut dress ($243) for my closet. it’s simple and versatile with just enough detail to take it a step beyond ordinary. for those days when you need to look sharp but are feeling a little lazy (like, all days between monday and friday, personally).

5. a good friend of ours has been working for the art start-up, art.sy, and since they do a better job of explaining it… “it is a free platform where you can discover, learn about, or collect art.” they are currently in private beta but you can request an invite here. my browsing and ‘collecting’ allows me to follow what i love like ‘waterscapes’ (subject matter), ‘large-scale photography’ (genre), etc. and then leads me to pieces like this oil painting ‘pylons and bayonne’ by diana horowitz. as an art history major, i love that as i search what i already know and love, art.sy links me to ‘related’ genres, artists, etc. which are new to me. beautiful and educational.