Subtle Color in the Kitchen

As you're all well aware of by now, I lean quite toward the minimalist persona. Recently I've been seeing a lot of bland toned kitchens, and I'm smitten!! I've always loved the crisp and classic freshness of a white kitchen, and the warm and textured vibes of a wooden kitchen, but now I'm veering toward the immaculate cold and earthy cement and concrete kitchens (weird, I know!). Anyways, if I lived in even the most amazing cold and colorless kitchen, I'd imagine I'd add pops of subtle color to the heart of the home via colored tools like these:

Ladies & Gentleman Studio Colored Serving Utensils, from $35

Cutting Edge Series Colored Cutting and Serving Boards, from $12

Opinel Colored Knife Set, $68

Festive Threads: Yair Emanuel

Happy Monday, Mamas! Thought I'd jump straight into the week through a little window of holiday past, and share some of the most beautiful Judaic silk embroidery that can surprisingly be found at many Judaica stores across the country.

My sister-in-law (thanks Masha!!) brought back some Challah covers from Israel last year, and while I'm not usually the biggest fan of Judaica gifts - I was smitten by the vibrant and colorful ethnic embroideries of Yair Emanuel. It's quite amazing how much life can be brought to the table through one piece of practical art! Plus, setting up the tablescape for a party is much simpler when you can follow a general color lead. And Emanuel's pieces offer just that - a tremendous color scheme.

The cover I got is called "Creation", and features bright various hues of silk thread beautifully stitching out the 7 days of creation onto raw cotton; lending the already-ethnic art that much more raw authentic validity... Feels like a little piece of Jerusalem.

P.S. The paper goods are Caspari - always beautiful!

Chag de Fleur

These sugar flowers have got me in a tizzy! Just imagine a two-tiered cheesecake decked out in sweet and sugary summer florals.... Now breathe. :)

Divine, no? Quite like this holiday itself.

Wishing all you powerful women and mothers an intensely glorifying and peaceful Torah reception.

Chag Sameach everyone!! xx

Weekend Round-up!

Happy June weekend, ladies!! I'm feeling the season all around, and love getting gifts of weekly seasonal fresh flowers (thanks love!!). Gladiolus like these would make for a lovely buffet table arrangement by adding height and color to the food layout, don't you think? I'm sure you are all in a recipe/tablescape buzz right about now, getting ready to ring in the summer holiday via dairy deliciousness! Thought I'd take a minute to link some of my favorite things around the web this week...

- The most adorable kids craft/play idea for Shavuot!

- I need to remember this more often...

- My latest article for the Algemeiner: Born this Way?

- New on the Market: modern House Numbers @ Heath.

- Simple + Charming + Convenient DIY for Father's Day gift.

- HOTmilk Maternity/Nursing Bras ridiculously reduced at Zulily!

Some holiday-relative posts you may have missed:

- Cultivate social conversation at the table via big buds/low florals.

- Idyllic Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Also, for those of you who asked for a white cream sauce recipe when I posted this pasta dish, the most important part of any cream sauce is a good Roux for the Béchamel (white cream sauce). I learned this technique within the first few months of marriage (while watching much-too-much Food Network!), and it has come in so incredibly handy so far, and I've used it countless times since then. Here's the best step-by-step directions! I personally use that starter recipe + a cup of grated parmesan cheese and some crushed garlic cloves. From there you can add to what you'd like it to be (mushroom cream sauce, white wine reduction, salmon, pink sauce, florentine etc.) Enjoy!!

Surreal Ceramics

I totally have a thing for ceramics that are made in the image of iconic objects (like this coffee mug, and this white vase). Here are a few things I have wish-listed for the summer season in the kitchen: Dreaming of serving up some Shavuot ice creamery in these ceramic cones!

Stashing fresh Farmer's Market berries in these ceramic berry baskets.

Sharing a ceramic diner basket of sizzlin' french fries on movie-date-night-in.