froyo on a stick.

frozen peaks FroYo on a stick. yum!!!

cotton candy with rainbow sprinkles. 

Bleecker & Laguardia

image via frozen peaks

image via frozen peaks

tiny apartment: manhattan kitchen.

Living in Manhattan certainly has his advantages and conveniences, but one of the most compromised luxury of mine is definitely the space.  It can be very frustrating and challenging at times, but generally all worth it end.  I'm currently living in a 7-floor walk up (yes, you read that right) apartment bordering Little Italy, Chinatown, Soho & Nolita.  

When I look across the street I see Di Palo's Italian Meat & Cheese shop, to my left Ferrara's Italian Bakery,  I can hop down the street for a super cheap Chinatown massage (it's really not that shady)  or walk to the bank past a questionable fish market through a  sea of Chinese people freaking out over $2 socks from a street vendor. What's up with that?  And then of course all of your classic shopping on Broadway is just a few more steps the other direction where you will find things like Starbucks, TopShop & H&M.  It's really is a great location with so many different identities! I can't imagine living anywhere else. 

Which brings me to today's post.  Luckily my fiance is incredibly handy and he has the most innovative ideas when it comes to saving space.  He get's so creative that sometimes I don't even understand his vision until it's complete.  Having limited cabinet space he built a 3-tier shelving system with a pipe on top (see the last picture) to hang pots off it.  Basically everything in our kitchen is visible so I have to keep it aesthetically pleasing.  

Keep checking back for the rest of the apartment as I plan to photograph the rest soon.

There is 1 ikea hack that is pure genius.

SHOP SIMILAR

 Here are some of my favorite things in the kitchen, 

some of them aren't exact but similar... just incase you like what you see. 

1. Handmade Copper Tumblers 2. H2O Tumblers  3. Ikea Dinnerware  4. Warm Tobacco Pipe Candle 5. KitchenAid 5-Quart Mixer in Pistachio 6. Copper Pitcher 7. 100 Foods to Stay Young 8. Make Your Place 9. Meatless

my mint green metal canisters are sadly sold out but they were from pier1. 

if you are ever able to track them down they match the pistachio kitchenaid perfectly. 

4th of july. long weekend.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of july!

I shot this for GLOSSYBOX this past week in Washington Square Park.

Last month's box was a custom stars & stripes design. perfect for july 4th!

blackberry chia seed pie.

My first pie(s)! I was inspired by a pie recipe on the first year blog but made a few changes to the presentation & filling.  I love chia seeds (because they are so good for you) that I add them to everything and luckily it worked out will with the pie.

Crust

1 cup flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp butter, cut into small cubes

1 egg yoke

1 tbsp soy milk

Mix the flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and salt together.

Cut the butter into small cubes and add them to the mix too. Mix it all together with your hands.

Add the egg yolk and soy milk in as well. Once the dough is mixed, form a ball, wrap it and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Not longer as it will get hard. 

Preheat over to 350 degrees F.

Filling

2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries (organic)

1/8 cup sugar

1/8 cup flour

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp chia seeds

Egg Wash

1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water

1 tbsp sugar for sprinkling on top

In a medium bowl, mix the fruit, sugar, cinnamon, flour and chia seeds together.

Next, take your dough out of the fridge and (if you're making 4 mini pies like me) section it into 5 pieces. 4 for each crust and the extra for your star cut outs.  I didn't use a rolling pin for this recipe at all, I just used my fingers to mold the pie crust into the pie pan. I did add a little extra flour, but it was too sticky to use the rolling pin. Fingers worked just fine.

Split your fruit filling into your four mini pies and flatten out your extra piece of dough. Using a variety of star cookie cutters, start cutting out different stars in whatever size you like and mix and match till you get a design you like. I got my cookie cutters at Sur La Table for $6. 

After you're happy with your stars, use your egg wash and brush a thin coat on top and sprinkle with sugar. I didn't use nearly as much as the recipe suggests, but it's your world. 

Now just pop them in the oven for 20 minutes, 

let them cool enough to take them out of the mold and serve up your festive pies!