Springville

Took a road trip recently with some friends looking for a wedding venue that's on the rustic side. We were looking for a barn, but didn't find quite the right one. We did, however, get to spend the day in Springville, CA. We found a little burger place to eat at and had deep fried mushrooms and onion rings. It was hot and we had a great time.







I'm getting excited for summer road trips, picnics and popsicles.

The images above are the Springville Ranch but the barn unfortunately isn't available for rent.

House of Honey

Stumbled across a new(ish) showroom in South Pas called House of Honey run by Tamara Honey. I remember seeing some interiors a while ago on Design Sponge that were a good mix of traditional regency with some modern flair. The showroom is a little more ornate and glammed up than is my personal style but I appreciate the eclectic mix she has going on and how well she does this look. Also, the walls are the most perfect grey and she makes me want gold everything.

But I especially love all the different wallpapers in the store (can anyone tell me where the trees are from?) and how she blends patterns without it getting to be too much.

See a whole slideshow of the store here and some examples of Honey Interiors design work.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

The cousins have all left and I'll admit that I miss them. The house has been bustling for the last two weeks with multiple pots of coffee brewing each morning, laundry humming away, beds in the living room, lots of people eager to play with hazel and no shortage of fun things to do.

But what they left behind (besides, obviously, some great memories and seeds planted for future reunions and trips, etc.) is some Mexican Hot Chocolate. Lily and Owen have been traveling the world the last 3 years and they came here from a month long stint in Oaxaca. So they brought the most delicious hot chocolate with them and we enjoyed it (oh did we enjoy it) and luckily there's plenty left to fill the the new quiet in the house.





For those that have never had Mexican Hot Chocolate it is an incredible blend of chocolate and spices that makes for a much more grown up flavor than traditional cocoa. The Aztecs and Mayans considered it a sacred drink and it was brewed and consumed unsweetened as part of ceremonies. Ours was premade, we just melted the bars of chocolate into milk on the stove. But if you aren't as lucky, you can follow this recipe which calls for cloves, nutmeg, chili peppers and cinnamon.

Cousin Reunion

Things are going to be a little slow here for the next couple of days. I'm deep into a long overdue cousin reunion. We just got back from the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs which continues to be awesome and perfect. I'm also loving this camera app for the iphone. I resisted for a while because it was too hyped, but it's basically awesome, so I gave in.

Marinated Artichokes at Gjelina

Had the best meal at Gjelina the other day (check out my last favorite meal there). We got a spot on the patio for lunch (my second lunch of the day to be exact) so Em and I shared a couple of dishes. The oysters were good, the beet and avocado salad was good too. But the Marinated Artichokes with Burratta and Crunchy Shallots took first place. Hop over here to hear me take a stab at how to make it yourself.

I love the design aesthetic of Gjelina though it's way too noisy when it's packed. Always try to get a table outside (tip: go early).





Here's info on Gjelina in Venice.

Vegetable Garden

Wow, remember when I first planted the vegetable garden? Well look at it now! The lettuce wants to bolt, the cilantro already has (oops) and the squash are sending up blossoms (which can only mean one thing). It's moving faster than I thought and I now wish I had made a bed about double the size. I had no idea that this one would get filled up so quickly!

Updated Photo Site

Phew, it's been months in the making, mainly due to my reluctance to make decisions, but finally by newfangled website is up with more photos and a new layout! Check it out here: laurejoliet.com.

I'm still tweaking some small things (like the, ahem, bio picture) and there were photos I wanted to include but didn't, so those might get swapped back in when I'm tired of looking at these! I also plan to add a gallery that's just food photography.

Chocolate Chip Guinness Ice Cream

My friend Ethan lives close by and has the habit of making ice cream. I know, it's tough having friends that make ice cream all the time. Well, earlier this year I forwarded him this recipe for Chocolate Guinness Ice Cream from my hero, David Lebovitz, and he made it and we ate it and we swooned. The Guinness gives a depth to the chocolate that is subtle and offsets the sweetness just enough to make you want to keep eating the entire batch. So I recently requested more and this time I participated. Also, this time we added chocolate chips at the end.


We assembled ingredients.


We fired up the Il Gelataio 800 (I know, what?).




And we made some ice cream.


It was so good.

Next time we're going to try to make Nutella Ice Cream.

Here's the Choclate Guinness Ice Cream recipe, just add some chocolate chips at the end to make it like ours. Prepare yourself, it is so good.

P.S. I'm playing with the look of At Home, it might change around a bit, or it might stay like this!

Individual Blackberry Bourbon Slumps

I spent yesterday afternoon making these bad boys. They were so good and so easy. Just grab some fruit and whip up a batch (and keep some of the bourbon for sipping, too). Recipe is here.

Weekend Inspiration

I was out and about a lot this weekend and picked up little bits of inspiration:




I adore these red shiny stools at Heath Ceramics. They look like Science Lab stools that they painted themselves. I want a counter height something just so I can have some of these myself. (also, check out the great show by Kristen Wicklund that's at Heath for the next month).

I love large scale photography in white frames:


Saw this at Ten Over Six and was inspired. I have so many photographs begging to be made larger. Plus I just heard that you can get great poster sized prints at Costco for something like $15 (does anyone know about this?).

My grandmother's orchids bloomed under my mom's care and now I have them displayed all over the house.



The PCC flea market is great! I went for the first time and although I didn't buy much, I loved walking around (it's free) and taking it all in. Some of it is in a parking structure, some of it is outside, it's lower key than the rose bowl (and there isn't as much furniture) but there's tons to dig through and lots of nice people. I loved this Arts and Crafts style needlepoint but it was, sadly, out of my price range.



I'm hosting a little cousin reunion in 2 weeks (my American family is not that big and the 6 of us cousins live spread out between Alaska, Boston and Northern California). We plan to BBQ and just hang out and I really want to get some frosted globe lights like these for the backyard.



More on this soon, but the LA Garden Show at the Arboretum was awesome. I loved this garden by The New California Garden Association of Professional Landscape Designers:



Phew, more soon, but for now want to get to bed so I can read a few more chapters of this book.

Chocolate Whiskey Pots de Creme

Joanna over on The Kitchn posted about these Chocolate Whiskey Pots de Creme and since I happened to have heavy cream in the fridge, I made them within hours of her post. The recipe is simple, rich and delicious. It was a total hit with everyone who tried it.

The technique is similar to a creme brulee: you simmer cream on the stove and then mix in chocolate. Let it cool slightly and then slowly add it to egg yolks and honey (and even though I'm not a huge fan of honey in general, it made the pots creamy and sweet without being too sweet). You can use a fancy chocolate, but I'm a big fan of the Trader Joe's chocolate in the brown wrapper.

Here's the full recipe.

Happy Weekend!