Inge Vincents Ceramics

Spring is here in New York and flowers are in bloom.  I can not wait for coffee on the balcony in the morning, and for fresh flowers from the farmers market all over the apartment. 

Inge Vincents' a Danish Ceramist whose pieces are modern, detailed and simple. Her focus is on the lines and the shapes instead of focusing on color. Her vases are beautiful pieces of art that can stand alone without feeling the need to compete with those fresh farmers market flowers.

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Bit and pieces from the weekend

This weekend was absolutely gorgeous, and I took full advantage of it by running the dog in the woods, taking runs on the water and just walking around the city. We finally replaced our old coffee table and could not be happier. The new table fits in with the rest of our pieces and opens the room up, which is important for small city living.

One of my favorite foods is in season, rhubard, and I have been adding it to quinoa for dinner, salads for lunch and today in my baking. I spent this afternoon making rhubarb and marzipan muffins, a recipe a friend in Denmark gave me when I was there last May.

Elderflower Syrup

I grew up on Saft which is a delicious flavored syrup that you add water to in sweden, the end result being a somewhat watered down juice. One of the flavors that I loved was elderflower, so for this spring I decided to attempt to make my own elderflower syrup. Elderflower syrup can be combined with water for a refreshing drink or to cocktails or champagne for something a little more sophisticated.

The first problem I ran in to was that elderflowers are not grown locally, so I had to order them online (thank you amazon). Once you have the flowers, it seems relatively easy to make the syrup with a few ingredients, water, sugar and lemon. I mixed a few recipes up, so we will see how this turns out, however here is one that sounds simple. More to come in a week when said syrup is ready.

Tikau Shop

Tikau is a Finnish company that combines Scandinavian design with Indian craftsmanship. All of the images below are from their site directly unless otherwise mentioned.

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Homemade Aquavit

I would call this semi-homemade aquavit as I did not start with potatoes, but with a bottle of Vodka. I have been in an aquavit kick over the past year, enjoying it in small doses with appetizers or after dinner. With Spring finally showing its gorgeous face, I decided to make a more spring/summer flavored aquavit. I used a liter of vodka, 1/2 cup of dried prunes, 1/2 cup of dried apples, 2 star anise, about a teaspoon of cardamom pods and 1/2 cup of dried turkish figs. I've bottled it and am storing it in a cool, dark cupboard. Can't wait to try it in three weeks.

Creating an entryway when you don't have one

Like most Manhattan apartments, mine does not have a true foyer or entryway. When you walk into our home, you walk straight into the main living space. Most of the pieces in the apartment are rectangular or simply have straight lines, so my thought is that if I put in a small round rug when you walk in and change the recessed light to a round pendant, it will create a small space on its own.

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Erik Jørgensen Furniture

 I am still on the hunt for the perfect coffee table to put in front of our sofa, however I wouldn't mind some of these pieces in my living room as well. Erik Joergensen furniture manufactures have been in business for 50 years working with iconic furniture designers such as Hans Wegner and Poul Volther. Here is a very small sampling of their offering.

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