my kid is funny...

so funny that a couple of my friends started a twitter account for her and demanded that i start tweeting the things she says.  at first i thought it was a little crazy but it has proven to be a nice way to collect all of her quotes in one place, instead of the scraps of paper i usually record them on.  so, check out my funny kid at tula_says.

north carolina modernism

cassilhaus designed by ellen cassilly of ellen cassilly architect

when i moved to an area in north carolina known as "the triangle" from chicago i thought i would be a little bored with the architecture.  at first glance the sprawl of homes and the fledgling skylines in the triangle cities of raleigh, durham and chapel hill were not impressive but I soon began to learn about the pockets of loveliness that are hidden all around as well as the fact that we have the largest number of modernist homes aside from l.a. and chicago.  here is just a handful of the beautiful modern homes in the area which are all designed by local architects.

shamlin residence designed by randy lanou of studio b

lanning residence designed by tonic design

the phil szostak house designed by phil szostak of szostak design

thomas and kay crowder residence designed by thomas crowder of ARCHITEKTUR

strickland-ferris residence designed by frank harmon of frank harmon architect

do you know of any hidden pockets of modernist architecture?

images: james west for cassilhaus, lanning residence, thomas and kay crowder residence and strickland-ferris residence; studio b for the shamlin residence and casey laborde for the phil szostak house.

just splendid

jeni's splendid ice creams, a lovely cookbook filled with artisanal ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet recipes, crossed my desk a couple weeks ago and i had to bring it home.  the funny thing, of course, is that i am a vegan and will never eat many of these recipes myself but i can admire a good cookbook when i see one.  plus, there are a handful of vegan sorbets (such as the black plum and black currant lambic sorbet) that are very tempting.  the book is authored by jeni of jeni's ice creams based in columbus, oh, and she breaks the book into seasons with the winter season including a clever influenza rx sorbet which  promises to "clear nasal passages and soothe the body" with ingredients such as citrus juices, ginger, honey and bourbon.  too funny.

when i visited jeni's site i was really impressed with the presentation and was instantly drawn in by the wonderful food film about jeni's shop by george lange.  mmmm...see below.


Good Time from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams on Vimeo.

dear anonymous.

swimmer vivian lundman, 1926. chicago daily news.  courtesy of the library of congress.

thank you for the vintage bathing cap left on my desk.  it was quite a funny surprise this morning and something i have wanted for a while, actually.  i have questioned everyone i work with mercilessly and just can't seem to figure out who you might be.  so thank you.  
love.
-juli

so many vegetables...

roasted vegetables on french bread, by juli

so i scored a csa produce box from a vacationing friend which is both awesome and intimidating because i suddenly have a handful of vegetables that need my immediate attention.  as much as i would love to venture into some new recipes, i just did not have the time or the extra necessary ingredients tonight so i opted for my favorite: roasting with olive oil, salt and pepper.  yum!  so simple, yet so good.

scenes from a life...

fourth of july block party, by juli

when my daughter looks back on her childhood i hope my photos help her to remember just how beautiful and dear these years are to both of us...her experience and my witness to it.  we live in the moment and so often let them pass, i hope to capture whatever i can to help us both remember.  today this one is my favorite.

father's day

here's to my short daddy, who always asks, "how's the weather up there?"

by juli