Navy Bean: July 2011

Monday, July 25, 2011

Land's End Home

Have you checked out the Land's End Home collection lately? They have some great nautical items on sale right now:

Brenton Stripe Throw, $39.99

Copper Harbor Throw Rug, $15.99

Oversized Stripe Decorative Pillow Cover, $11.99

PS... I didn't get to Smorgasburg this weekend. Unfortunately 100+ degree weather and food don't really mix so I'll have to check it out on another (cooler) Saturday.

Friday, July 22, 2011

This heatwave makes me wish for a pool. The worst thing about living in New York City in the summer is the lack of access to them. You can go to a pool if you're loaded and have access to private clubs with roof top pools or you could battle the city kids in the overcrowded public pools, but there's nothing in between. Sigh. So to further torture myself, here are some of the pools from our trip to Bali... and notice how they're all practically empty. If only teleport existed.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Smorgasburg

This weekend I will be hitting up Smorgasburg in Williamsburg. As the title says, it's a Flea Food Market (with over 100 vendors!) and I can't imagine anything better to do on a Saturday morning.

I will definitely be chowing down on one of these puppies- a stroopwaffle ice cream sandwich from The Good Batch- and there's even an Etsy booth that sells housewares. I will be sure to post next week with a full update and pictures!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Downsizing

One of my absolute favorite paper/card/gift stores in the city Is Kate's Paperie. However, I recently discovered that Kate's Paperie has shut down all of it's NYC locations and re-opened a small flagship store in SoHo. It turns out that Kate's has run into some financial trouble according to this article by Crain's New York. Apparently sales have dropped as much as 50 percent since 2007 due to online competition by websites such as Etsy. This makes me really sad, especially since my dream is to have my own stationery store. I guess it's impossible to compete with cheaper vendors who don't have high rent costs. And I while I still think stationery is valid in this world of email and text, I'm not sure if most people appreciate the $5 letterpress card. What do you think? Are stationery stores a dying breed? Do you frequent them often or do you buy all of your stationery online? Is price a factor or do you make your decisions based on quality of design? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Monochromatic Fruit Salad

I've been craving watermelon like crazy so yesterday I picked one up from Fairway. I didn't realize though, that I bought a yellow watermelon. Have you ever heard of these? I don't think I've ever seen one before!

Anyway, it's delicious, just like regular watermelon and it looked so festive cut up with yellow pineapple. I love the monochromatic look. You could add some peaches and mango to continue the yellow theme.

And this got me thinking about Martha Stewart's version of green fruit salad from their latest August issue. It is made up of kiwifruits, green apple, honeydew melon and frozen grapes. I think this looks absolutely beautiful.

Red fruit salad could easily be made with red watermelon, strawberries, raspberries, and cherries. And finally, I found this picture on Pinterest. What a great way to serve your monochromatic fruit salad!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Diner en Blanc

Did you see the New York Times article on the Diner en Blanc in Paris? Thousands of people converged in the plaza of Notre Dame and the courtyard of the Louvre, all dressed in white, to dine together. Everyone brings their own tables and picnic dinners. The most astonishing thing is that it is like a flash mob, suddenly everyone arrives and three hours later, the spaces are empty and left in immaculate condition. Now it looks like New York will have it's own turn at Diner en Blanc on August 25th at an undisclosed location in Manhattan. I've already signed up on their online waiting list!