Happy Thursday! A few weeks ago my darling Jewish boyfriend, Dave, and I had a combined Greek Easter/Belated Passover holiday dinner.

We've been having many conversations lately about what it means to have a reformed interfaith relationship and this was our first attempt at really coming together and combining our two family traditions. We both dug out our family recipes, I got on the phone with my Uncle Greg for grilling instructions, and we spent two full days preparing for our giant feast. Our friends arrived one by one, I put on Shovels & Rope (because obviously that is the perfect Greek Easter/Passover music), we poured wine, and it began.

After some of the more complex discussions we've had about what our possible, future family would look like we took all that we had learned thus far and came together and shared our favorite traditions with our nearest and dearest. We spoke Hebrew and Greek and ended the night with our favorite American dessert, s'mores.

By the end of the night, we were all making plans for the next one.

Enjoy!

stephania

In just four days Colleen and I will be in Miami celebrating our 30th birthdays with our original Thursdays crew, Emily and Kate. After a crazy week in Austin shooting street style at SXSW and running the NYC Half Marathon I could not be more excited to have a cocktail with the ladies with the warm sun shining on my face. After some much needed girl time, I'm hopping on a plane to meet Dave in Culebra, Puerto Rico. Now Miami and Culebra aren't exactly the same kind of vacation so in order avoid packing a suitcase that's impossible to carry (and getting that look from Dave), I need to figure out some essential getaway gear that translates from flashy over the top Miami to low-key, romantic Culebra. Here are a few of my favorites that have made it to the top of the list. You can find more on our Pinterest board here.

1. Mara Hoffman 2. Steven Alan 3. Madewell  4. Dolce Vita 5. Elizabeth Cole Jewelry

Tie Up Your Room with a Little Trim

by Sara Lowman

I thought I’d share a detail that I sometimes work with because it might help some of you looking to make curtains work with your room scheme. I had a client who loved a fabric that we wanted to use for curtains, and while it was beautiful, we needed a way to tie it into the rest of the room. 

I’m not one for frills or unnecessary decorative details, but I thought that by adding a tape (basically a gros-grain ribbon), it would help to bring the scheme together. By adding the tape to the leading edge or the bottom edge of the curtains (or both), it makes them feel a little bit more special and allows you to be more creative with your fabric choices. I think we were successful, and I hope you do too. 

Room Scheme: 

To bring more color to the curtains, we added Gros-Grain (aka a tape):

I like to add the tape to the leading edge and bottom of the curtains:

It’s a little detail that really helps to bring a room together. In this case, we used curtains in place of closet doors to add softness and a textile layer to the room: 

Mocha Brownie Pie

by stephania stanley (adapted from The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook; 2000

Note:Feel free to experiment a little with the garnish. I used peppermint chocolate to garnish to add a little something to the sweet whipped cream. 

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl combine brownie mix, 1 tsp of vanilla, and egg whites.  Stir to mix.  If you are using the instant coffee granules, combine 2 tsps of coffee granules and 2 tsps of hot water in a small bowl.  Stir until granules have dissolved and add to the brownie mixture.  If you are using the strong coffee, simply add two tsps of the coffee to the brownie mixture.  Stir until smooth.  Pour mixture into pie crust and bake for 25 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean).  Remove from heat and place in the fridge.

While the brownie layer is baking, use an electric mixer to beat the milk,  1 tsp coffee (granules or brewed), vanilla, and pudding mix in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Next fold 1 1/2 cups of whipped cream into the pudding mixture.  After the brownie layer has cooled down to at least room temperature, gently spread spoon the pudding mixture over the brownie layer.  Combine the last tsp of coffee (granules add to one tsp of hot water or simply add brewed) and fold into the last 1 1/2 cups of whipped cream.  Gently spoon the coffee whipped cream onto the pudding layer.  If desired, use a vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls from the chocolate bars.  Finish the pie by garnishing with chocolate curls.  Serve immediately or store in refrigerator until ready to serve.  

Happy Wednesday!

This week we're all about Our Favorite Things. We love supporting local boutiques, farmers markets, butchers, and most especially bakeries. In fact I love our little artisan bakeries so much that I did an entire roundup of my favorites a couple of years ago. In the last year or so, I've really grown to love biscuits. As simple as they are, I really look forward to heating up a butter biscuit from my favorite local bakery, Bittersweet, smothering it with jam and pairing it with a mug of French pressed coffee. For this week's Food Network post, I wanted to find a recipe  that I would realistically want to make during the work week, wasn't too unhealthy, and was just sweet enough to satisfy my relentless morning sweet tooth. After spending a little time on the magical World Wide Web, I found it - Biscuits stuffed with strawberry jam and whipped cream.

Enjoy!

This week we're all about winter survival. We only have a month or so left of the really cold weather, so this week we're sharing our favorite winter survival tips from comfort food recipes to our favorite home decor ideas.  

Today I'm sharing Our Favorite Things: Cute Bedding. I've been on the hunt for a new duvet cover ever since Ophelia was big enough to hop onto my bed and snuggle into my white duvet cover.  As cute and cuddely as she is, the shedding and tiny foot prints that she leaves behind is driving me nuts. After I came home to a giant black ink stain at the foot of my bed and Ophelia looking up at me knowing full well that she was in a whole heap of trouble, I decided it was time to start the search for the perfect new duvet cover. Here are a few of my favorites that I've come across in the last few weeks. 

Do you have a go-to spot for bedding? I would love to hear any suggestions! 

xo,

stephania 

1. Vivian Ikat Duvet Cover - Pottery Barn  2. Organic Seedling Duvet Cover - West Elm 3. Monogram Duvet Cover - Jolie Marche 4. Metal Stripes Billy Bedding - Zara Home 5. The Lafayette Green - Crane & Canopy 6. Grey red plaid linen bed - Nurdanceyiz