Wren's Nest

Anthropologie

When we were in NY, we stayed in Mid-town. I decided to mostly stay around there because I really wanted to walk everywhere and not take cabs, just to better get the feel of the city. So, after Tinsel Trading, I just started walking...with the intention of finding Rockafeller Center and the American Folk Art Museum...Low and behold...the motherload - I found it all at once and even better - I was taking a picture of the NBC entrance that they always show on 30 Rock (one of my favorite shows) - I turn and WHAT do I SEE, but...ANTHROPOLOGIE and not just any store - this one was magical inside. UNBELIEVABLE. I spent FOREVER inside. Art and books and funiture (and clothes and yes, I bought some), but it was just one of the most amazing stores I've been in - part store, part gallery. I loved it! I only have one shot of the inside (I felt weird taking pics and everyone was bustling around who worked there, so I didn't ask if I could - that's really not me anyway). But their window displays were beautiful, so I shot those. Enjoy!

 

You can't see the one in the lower right hand corner too well with the glare, but it was all these cool school chairs stacked into a tower - amazing! Would love to go back!

Tinsel Trading

At this time last week I was lucky enough to be in New York City!! It was my first trip there and I'm hooked! I'm an urban girl - I love cities and the freedom I feel when I'm in them. There's a wonderful anonimity when you're in a crowded city and everyone is doing their own thing - there was such a great energy to NY with all the hustle and bustle and I spend two days wandering around on my own.  I flew there by myself, got to the hotel by myself and was by myself during the days (I got to have dinner and evenings with my husband - with NO kids...SO fun and a much needed break).

We stayed in mid-town at a lovely place called 70 Park Avenue, we ate at an awesome steak house called Benjamin's (see that table on the left in front of the fireplace - that's where we sat!) on the first night and at an old school Italian restaurant (whose name escapes me) on the second.

On my first day I mapped out my walking tour and started at Tinsel Trading Co. Yikes!! It's amazing. I had met Monica, the owner at Wendy Addison's open house in Oct and she was there, so I chatted with her for a bit. This place is heaven...though I did wish I had had a friend with me to share the awe (but now I'll share it with you)! Warning: lots of pictures...these are all of Tinsel Trading - I'll share the rest tomorrow!

The front window...I almost walked right by!

Beautiful new ideas from Wendy Addison...

 

Sweet mittens...

A Glittery holiday...

 

 

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas...

More amazing Christmas decorations!

It's a blue, blue Christmas

Ribbons and trims galore...

Millinery and more millinery...

Split Pea Soup

New York pictures are coming shortly, but since I made this soup today...and I've promised the recipe more than once - here it is. It's from an old issue of Cooking Light (I think - not sure) and the picture is from the magazine. This is super easy and really good and all 3 of my kids will eat it!

2 ham hocks (about 1½ lbs.) or 1 large hamhock

1 lb. split green peas

2 large carrots, coarsly chopped (2C)

2 large celery stalks, chopped (2C)

1 large onion, coarsely chopped (1C)

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 32 oz cans chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried thyme

Rinse the ham hocks. Place in a 4-6 quart slow cooker (a large one), along with the peas, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, broth, bay leaf and thyme. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Using tongs, remove the ham hock(s). When they’re cool enough to handle, pick off the meat and discard the skin and bones. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup slightly to make it smoother (I puree it completely). Chop the meat into small pieces, return to soup and stir. Season to taste (mine never really needs salt). Yields: 6 servings

I like a little sour cream on top. Enjoy!!

Unrelated items

Like I promised...back to our regularly scheduled happy programming. It's good to get things out, though sometimes and you have all been so kind and lovely - I feel much better for having shared!!

A couple of things that are making me VERY happy today...my new denim skirt from Gap. I had a really hard time finding a jean skirt I liked and I'm pretty short, so length matters. I got this online ('cause they don't always have skirts for short people at the store). LOVE it!! You're probably getting sick of seeing my boots, but they are one of my favorite things, so I wear them a lot! A cute outfit can go a long way in making you feel good!!

 

 

Another happy thing - completely unrelated has to do with my love of cookbooks. I LOVE them...I am a little obsessed with them. I have lots of them - I like trying recipes out of them - the problem with that is that I rarely make the same dish twice. We have some old standbys (mostly soups and stews and crock pot type stuff) that I make quite a bit, but overall, much to my husband's frustration, we can have a meal he really likes and he'll ask for it a while later and I can't remember where I found the recipe! These particular cookbooks I read like novels. Tessa Kiros has the most amazing background being Finnish and Greek and living in Italy. Her cookbooks chronicle her travels in different countries and the food she found there. Great stories and great recipes topped off with AMAZING photos - amazing!!  I just got her latest book called Venezia Food and Dreams. Her others are Falling Cloudberries, Apples for Jam (which has my favorite cover of a book ever) and Piri Piri Starfish (which is about Portugal, where my mother's family is from and which I think I ordered from Amazon UK). If you get a chance to check these books out - you won't be sorry!