Stencils

I have some old lamps in my apartment I want to fancy-up. I bought gold and purple spray paint and I've been trying to figure out how to use it. I was thinking stripes, or just a gold base and the rest purple. While brainstorming and searching the internet, I found this great website, Whitewall and Co. They have awesome stencils. Since I'm trying to be cheap now--I'm about to be unemployed--I may do my own stencil. If you want to do that, trace a pattern you like and put it onto some card stock. You can copy fabrics or wall papers or make up designs--simpler/bigger is much easier. For those who don't want to take on the task, try this website. You can use the stencils on walls or lamps or headboards...

Lupa

Yum!! Maybe you've heard of Lupa already--I'm sure you've heard of Babbo. Lupa is one of Mario Batali's less expensive restaurants. It's right nextdoor to delicious Tomoe sushi on Thompson street. You have to make your reservation like a week in advance, and even then it might be at 9:45--so plan ahead. I went with my boyfriend after Christmas and we got what I would consider the best table, by some stroke of luck. We were in the quieter back room in a corner banquette, so we were next to each other but looking out on the room. We had rosemary focaccia and yummy olive oil to start. I had the Buccatini all'amatriciana which was AMAZING. Definitely get it! He had the ricotta gnocchi, which was also great--light and fluffy, putting the usual heavy potato gnocchi to shame. I was too full for dessert, but I almost got this amazing looking ball of icecream covered in chocolate and rolled in hazelnuts. While writing this I'm kicking myself for not trying it. Next time! But definitely try Lupa--it's great.

Cardboardesign

I know it's been forever--holidays and busy at work. For our shoot last week we had this great cardboard chair and palm tree and I checked out the website that made them. It's called cardboardesign and they're really cool. They have tables and chairs and toys etc. The chair we had was pretty comfortable and held up to 300 pounds apparently. It's a fun present for someone because they're easy to paint and decorate. Also good for a casual, modern room. I'm eyeing the toddler chair for my niece--look at the pictures of it painted. That or the playhouse. Browse around--it's fun to look at.

More soon...