One drink, two ways

Ever since I bought this enormous bag of lavender, I've been looking for every excuse to use it up.  I found a recipe for a delicious lavender lemonade from The Kitchen is My Playground. How cool is it that lavender can make pink lemonade like this?

Lavender Lemonade

Source:  Adapted from A Taste of Lavender: Culinary Delights from Mountain Farm compiled by Linda Thompson & Marilyn Cade

For 2 quarts:

4 sprigs fresh lavender (flowers & stems) or about 1 T. dried lavender flowers

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 c. fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)

1/4 c. fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

2 quarts water

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a large saucepan.  When sugar is dissolved, remove from heat.  Add lavender, lemon juice, and lime juice.  Cool to room temperature, strain, and chill.

Serve over ice garnished with lemon slices and lavender sprigs.

Granted, by itself this is a delicious summer beverage and couldn't be easier to make. However, I cannot resist the urge to add liquor to this. Here is my cocktail recipe for the end of summer:

Alicia's August Cocktail

1. Pour 1-2 fingers of whiskey (however much you're comfortable with, but not too much!) into a glass.

2. Fill the glass with lavender lemonade, but leave an inch at the top.

3. Top off with club soda.

4. Optional, but you should, garnish with lemon and lavender.

Enjoy!

We can't all be this flawless

My queen, Kerry Washington, for Vogue Italia. 

Fictitious Dishes by Dinah Fried

Moby Dick

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Catcher in the Rye

Source

In the Navy

I recently painted My boyfriend, on his day off, recently painted our bedroom navy blue. It is a color I picked out after being inspired by J. Crew's creative director Jenna Lyons' chalk black bedroom, something I've been worshipping since the first time I've seen it.

At first he was worried, but since we had two gallons of the stuff, we had to commit. Two coats later, it's amazing! I'll be sure to post pics once it's finished, but for now I can only provide you with some inspiration. Enjoy!

apartment therapy

Carrie Bradshaw's bedroom in Sex and the City

An awesome bathroom.

Just Tell Me That You Want Me

I have to say, I am excited for this! In case we are just now meeting, I love -- LOVE -- Fleetwood Mac. Every time I listen to them, I think, Why do other bands even try? Luckily for me, another thing I love is indie music, whatever that means. So here is the meeting of both of those worlds. Not surprisingly, many indie rock bands have drawn inspiration from the flawless Mac (especially Best Coast), so this makes sense. Just Tell Me That You Want Me: Tribute To Fleetwood Mac comes out August 14th. The tracklisting and "Think About Me" by the New Pornographers below:

01 Lee Ranaldo Band Featuring J Mascis – “Albatross”
02 Antony – “Landslide”
03 Trixie Whitley – “Before The Beginning”
04 Billy Gibbons & Co. – “Oh Well”
05 Best Coast – “Rhiannon”
06 The New Pornographers – “Think About Me”
07 Marianne Faithfull – “Angel”
08 Lykke Li – “Silver Springs”
09 Karen Elson – “Gold Dust Woman”
10 Matt Sweeney And Bonnie “Prince” Billy – “Storms”
11 Washed Out – “Straight Back”
12 Tame Impala – “That’s All For Everyone”
13 Craig Wedren with St. Vincent – “Sisters Of The Moon”
14 The Kills – “Dreams”
15 Gardens & Villa – “Gypsy”
16 The Crystal Ark – “Tusk”
17 MGMT – “Future Games”

source

Happy Father's Day!

Earlie Hudnall Jr. (b. 1946), The Guardian, 1990

Joan Didion: The Efficient Traveler

Speaking of traveling and packing well, here is some inspiration for preparing for your summer travels!