The Glass Family

Oklahoma, it turns out, is no hotter than Washington, D.C. in June. With humidity, it's all relative. What you will only find in Oklahoma, however, is an epic antique/vintage shop called A Treasure In Time. I adore this store, from the old Pyrex percolators to the brassy mirrored perfume trays. The only thing I couldn't find in this two-story shop was a marble bust. Otherwise, I hit the glass dish jackpot.

I made it home from Ada, Oklahoma with these beauties tucked into my bag.

What I had to go without included this pink dream...

and these slurpee colored jewels.

Like glistening candy.

Croquet?

Every now and then, something comes around that reminds me that Washington can be fresh, and even lighthearted. The upcoming Seersucker Social promises to be just that kind of afternoon. Hosted by Dandies and Quaintrelles, who brought us the DC Tweed Ride last fall, the Seersucker Social begins with a bike outing, and the parade of foppish bicyclists decked in vintage-minded gardenwear will end their tour at Hillwood Estate for a leisurely afternoon of lawn games and spirits - the drinking kind. Grab your parasols and bow ties and meet me by the fountain.

photo by Joshua Yospyn for Dandies and Quaintrelles

You Should Be Listening to Wolfmother

Since I mentioned that I love the Gorillaz track that features Little Dragon, surely you guessed that I am also listening to Little Dragon's last album Machine Dreams. I was humming this first song all day at work, and the second track just makes me break down and dance every time, no lie.

Little Dragon - Feather

Little Dragon - My Step

Some people call it Swedish electro pop, but that makes it sound challenging when it's so lush and funky, like early Goldfrapp.

Speaking of challenging, I am a huge fan of Of Montreal. There is no in-between with Of Montreal. You love it or hate it. I'm listening to this track as I write because my husband is away and it makes him very cranky. In fact, when I went to listen to Of Montreal after hearing their recent collaboration with Janelle Monáe, I discovered that all of their albums had been deleted from our computer and I had to re-download them. What a hater; I would never do that.

Frankly, I should not have been so surprised to see Janelle Monáe and Kevin Barnes collaborate. Both have ties to Georgia, a rogue state when it comes to music. Both are theatrical in dress. Janelle wears tuxedos exclusively, in solidarity with the uniformed underclass (think janitors with generic name patches). Kevin wears his fashion like David Bowie or Adam Ant in their face painting days. Sometimes he doesn't wear clothes. As for creative talent, on the scale these two trying new things, these two are weighing in

Be ready for the first minute of the song because it's choppy and Barnes sings in his most biting voice , but I forgive it all for the reference to Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The song completely shifts at 1:03, so wait for it.

Janelle Monáe - Make the Bus ft. Of Montreal

Cooking for a Reason

For the last few weeks, I have cooked more veraciously than normal. It started with a dessert party. I wanted to have some friends over for drinks on a Friday, but didn't have time to throw a full-on dinner party. To entertain, I decided to put my new stand mixer (classic Kitchenaid!) to the test, and offer dessert with drinks. Ok, I went berserk and made Mascarpone Chocolate Toffee Bars, Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake, and Peanut Butter Cookies with Blackberry Jam. Served with prosecco and a juicy rosé, I only regret that I forgot to eat a proper dinner.

Most recently, I attempted a savory Cantal cheese tart that was rich and buttery, a perfect compliment to the slightly acidic dilled white bean and grape tomato salad I served alongside. And I cannot get enough harissa these days, that mind-opening North African chili paste! This recipe for carrot salad with harissa, feta, and mint had me chatting up random friends of friends at a Memorial cookout about Tunisia and Parisian grocery stores - pardon me - markets.

With all the recipes I have tried since that dessert party - and I haven't even mentioned half of them, like the cioppino - the one I keep craving, is the one I made up. Know that when I say I made it up, I'm talking about the equivalent of inventing a type of sandwich. I riffed on the classic peanut butter banana smoothie and came up with the PBJ Smoothie!

If you also want to fill goblets with PBJ Smoothie, try this:

PBJ Smoothie, for two
Combine the following ingredients, liquid first, in a blender and blend to the brink of smooth

4 oz blueberry juice
4 oz vanilla soy milk
1 frozen banana, sliced
8 oz frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons peanut butter

Pep Talk For a Porch Fix Up

It won't be so bad. The prep work is minimal - no prime coat needed, just a good soak. And, it will breath fresh life into your backyard while giving crisp, clean lines to the house profile, just like the new roof did. A two-tone paint job will keep it interesting, and the cool hues will keep it understated. Imagine how much pleasure it will bring you when, during the reign of mosquitos, you and your friends spend summer evenings out there, protected by the window-screens you built.

That's me talking myself into painting and screening the back porch over the next week, starting tomorrow after work. Doing a project of that scale after a work day takes willpower, especially when other tempting activities lurk about, like dinner. It helps to break the scope of the work into stages that can be achieved in a few hours, without compromising your entire evening.

Before and after photos of the living room project help me get psyched up for the porch project. Let me share them with you. We even painted the fireplace, after some inspiration from Young House Love.

Before

After

Can you find the hiding kitty?