Horseback Riding Outfit

jacket. blouse. pants. saddle. boots.

Oudry

I love these paintings by French artist Jean-Baptiste Oudry.

  This would be amazing in a den/office with walnut paneling.

globes

 

This is one of the more fabulous displays of collections I've seen.
Also this idea for a headboard is gorgeous. A way of bringing nature to urban spaces.

scanned from Elle Decor.

pastels

 With spring on the horizon, I want to paint all of my walls pastel.

Love the combination of soft walls and light floors.
living room scanned from Domino.
kitchen from Canadian House & Home

Chateau Neuville

How gorgeous is this Chateau? I was lucky enough to visit once when I was in Paris, and can't wait to go back someday.

 

 

To find out more, visit their website here.

life sized photos

I came across a website called Surface View on a blog and was amazed at the scale they were offering images (up to six feet in some cases). They have quite an extensive classical art collection, but I love all of their Slim Aarons photos. Plus you can customize the size of the print to fit whichever space you need art for, and can choose from a mural or a print (on canvas or as a poster) or make it into window blinds. I would probably pick one of the following, then I could always pretend to be on vacation...

Pick your own wall art here.

Coq au Vin

With the weather being so cold, I was craving something warm and hearty, so I thought I'd try Williams-Sonoma's Coq au Vin recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 bottle (750ml) Pinot Noir
• 5 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, plus 2 Tbs. finely chopped parsley
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 leek (cut lengthwise)
• 6 oz. thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 3 1/4 lb. whole chicken legs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 lb. small button mushrooms
• 3/4 lb. shallots, halved
• 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbs. tomato paste
• 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 3/4 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces 

fresh carrots & boquet garni

browned chicken & cooked mushrooms

thickening the sauce & adding the final parsley

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

In a large saucepan over high heat, boil the wine until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Place the parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs and bay leaf against the cut side of the halved leek and tie with kitchen twine. Set aside.

In a 5 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Discard all but 2 Tbs. of the fat from the pot. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Set the pot over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, brown the chicken, turning once, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.

Discard all but 2 Tbs. of the fat from the pot. Return the pot to medium-high heat, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter. Add the garlic, tomato paste and flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the reduced wine and the broth, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Add the bacon, chicken, mushroom mixture, carrots and bouquet garni. Cover, transfer to the oven and bake until the chicken is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Transfer the chicken to a plate. Skim the fat off the sauce, set the pot over medium-high heat and simmer until the sauce is thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Discard the bouquet garni. Return the chicken to the pot. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

recipe from here.

current obsession: hot water bottles

As the temperature has dropped to a level us Californians are unfamiliar with, I have discovered the amazingness that is a hot water bottle. I asked for one for Christmas and it has hardly left my side since. I have the Restoration Hardware one, but these others are super cute as well.

top to bottom: one, two, three

Music

My friend forwarded this video to me and I love everything about it: amoeba, jason schwartzman, curating a collection of music for your child. Music was a huge part of my childhood, although my parents didn't put this much thought into it.

Star Wars Travel Posters

As a huge Star Wars fan, I was so excited when I saw these posters by Steve Thomas.

You can view more of his work here.