one of my favorite things.....

this watercolor paper is by far and away the best i have ever used. its called "moulin de larroque"  200 lb. cotton rough surface paper, made in france and it is very hard to find, i am not even sure i know how i stumbled upon it,...you can find it here http://www.moulindelarroque.com/pages_ang/index.php i am asking for more this christmas, it came in a book of 10 sheets, it makes a very amatuer watercolor painter look amazing! the sheets are gorgeous and absorb the color beautifully...i have used many different papers, some very expensive and this paper is just the best. if you love to watercolor do not hesitate to purchase some, i know you won't be disappointed! enjoy and happy shopping!

another day with my lover......

wicked ice cream sandwich

mr. brainwash icons, spray can heart

nine for bloody mary's

growing up in brooklyn was fun and sentimental to me in many ways, it reminds me of family, and good friends,and tradition, i wouldn't trade it for anything in the world........but my one true love is manhattan....anyone who knows me  knows that i visit as often as my busy schedule allows. any excuse for me to drive out of jersey and through the tunnel is a celebration for me!...a few weeks ago robert and i went to see a fantastic exhibit called mr. brainwash icons. check it out here http://www.mrbrainwash.com/...this it was down in the very trendy meat packing district. i haven't been down there in a while and i was quiet impressed with how lovely it is with its upscale stores, fabulous resturaunts,and great bars...we visited chelsea market,which is a treat in itself....while robert ate a sushi feast, i ran from shop to shop and couldn't resist jacques torres chocolate shop and walked out with a sweet treat worth every single calorie...the wicked ice cream sandwich!...which is a ginormous icecream sandwich made on chocolate chip cookies that are laced with chipotle chocolate chunks,and these were no ordinary chunks...they are huge, like the size of quarters er only square!...check it out here...http://www.mrchocolate.com/. (i only ate half)....we visited a beautiful little bar, that called our names with promises of bloody mary's and an old ny feel that did not disappoint. i must say my manhattan never ever lets me down!

chelsea market

chocolate bark.....

i found this recipe in the october issue of bon appetit magazine. it looked too good to pass up, all weekend i baked to send out care packages to my daughter and her friends, and this was on my list.... first i chopped up all different candy bars, i used snickers,twix,kit kats, butterfingers and chocolate covered marshmallows. than i melted bittersweet chocolate, i used giurdelli chocolate morsels, they are delicious( they taste like dove dark chocolate bites!)...i melted mine in a pot on low heat, i poured them out onto tin foil and than topped it with all the chocolate bars and some fall colored M&M's and peanut butter M&M's....let this set for a few hours and than break into pieces.....heavenly!!!

dish washer decoupage...

i had decoupaged my dishwasher about five years ago,and i was a little sick of the image that was one there....i peeled it all off and than started again, only to hate what i picked next so i peeled that off too,and back to the drawing board!....i found these gorgeous napkins at the chelsea market yesterday,and was inspired!...napkins are great to decoupage with, first i peel the layers and there is usually 3 layers, i just use the image. thani used modge podge to adhere the napkins to the dishwasher....i its not completely finished i think it needs to sort of trim, but i will let this cure for a while before i add anything else...p.s. i did this all while running the dishwasher, hows that for multi tasking!

bench re-do

i finally got to some of the things on my to do list this weekend, one of them was to re upholster my antique bench. my cat thinks this is his scratching post,and ruined the burlap that i had on here previously.i purchased some new burlap for 2.99 a yard at my local fabric store.  i decided to stencil my burlap with a french stencil that i love. i used a chocolate brown acrylic paint. after it dried i stapled it to the exising bench seat and viola!!!

cooking zucchini blossoms

things in my life seem to be changing at a rapid pace,and they are not all happy changes....the one constant in my life is cooking, i mean when things seem really tough i get down and dirty in my kitchen...it instantly makes me feel better and i know that everything will be alright!...i recently bought some zucchini blossoms at the farmers market and i channeled my great grandmother and fried them up. they were delicious! 

  here is what i did...first make sure you wash the blossoms thoroughly to get out any little critters that may be living inside. pull out the stamen and the outer stem. dry with a paper towel and set aside. i made a simple batter with milk,eggs,flour,grating cheese, salt and pepper. the consistency was not to thick, but thick enough tostick to the blossoms.heat some  oil in a cast iron pot. when the oil is hot enough add your blossoms,turning until brown on all sides... i topped them with some fresh basil and served them right away....i think  great grandma raymonda would be proud!

not so mixed media monday.....

i have been going through a very rough time personally and so i have been utterly uninspired....i haven't done much art and i haven't cooked much in the past two weeks, but the other night i was inspired by a very large zucchini that someone gave me....i shaved the zucchini and some yummy carrots to make beautiful ribbons,and sauted it with some shallots and garlic...added salt, red pepper and lots of fresh basil and mix it with fettucini or linguini,whatever you prefer,top it with some grated loccatelli and you have the perfect comfort food!....cooking always makes me feel better,soothes me in a way that nothing else can...(i really am a frustrated  cook)....happy mixed media monday!