Neha Leela

Nothing serves as stronger impetus for me to pick up the blogging slack than wedding talk.  So though I can’t promise flowery language this late in the evening, I had to share pictures of the stunning shower I just attended for my friend and Robinson-to-be, Hanna. The hostesses, her sister (Leigh from NellaPasta)  and step-mother (Lisa from Nest Millerton) combined foodie and design forces to throw a grand and somewhat gluttonous afternoon party, fit for gourmands.

Of all the events leading up to the big day, I favor the showers – a time for the women in your life to gather and wish you well.  I have an admiration for age-old traditions and superstitions that survive centuries: bridesmaids acting as scribes and the gift ribbons collected feverishly and creatively strung together for a motley makeshift bouquet for the day of the rehearsal.  There’s something feminine, lavish and energizing about the whole thing.  Even more so when its a group of wonderful, talented women,  noshing on a spring spread in Lisa’s coral grass cloth (read: amazing) dining room, at a table, set with the sweetest, elephant tealights,  swathed in glamorous crystal stemware and anchored with an ample array of peach roses, mandarin tulips, hydrangeas and hyacinth.

Made all the better, when you’re celebrating the absolutely happiest bride.   Han – Congratulations darling, hope you had a wonderful day.

Without an ounce of a sommelier’s wisdom, I’m having a mini-wine tasting tonight.  Which in reality, is a glorified name for an evening with girlfriends and an excuse for bottle of wine each.

In hindsight, I wish I’d ordered these tags from Papermash, that are so sweetly tongue in cheek and perfect for someone like myself, who orders riesling with steak and finds this completely unoffensive.

When I started my first blog (Simply’s predesseccor – My Cuppa’ Tea- now, extinct) in 2007,  it was not only to entertain my journalistic fantasy  but to leverage the social web for its true purpose and namesake.  Though My Cuppa’ Tea eventually fizzled,  I still maintained my eagerness to meet other  design and style obsessed and food and travel enthusiasts and did so quite succesfully through other digital means, Yelp and Twitter — not to mention, the real world.

I decided this year to re-start the blogging adventure with the same hope as before. Last night marked my first opportunity since starting Simply to meet other Bostonian bloggers in person.

Red Plum, a savings and deals site that spans home, beauty and gourmet, used the square shaped 4th floor of the Liberty Hotel  to lead Boston based lifestyle writers around a line up of affordable holiday gift and decorating inspiration.

We started the evening on a sweet and bubbly note with a sommelier led tasting with Andover-based Wine Connextion. Tablescapes came next and Ikea alleviated my typical disdain for Sandra Lee-esque table tops with a festive decor that was simple and tasteful.  My favorite of which was their use of  woven ratatan placemats, earthy ceramics topped with a  starkly contrasting white faux Lily, tied together with a handwritten tag to make this arrangement welcoming and elegant.  

The rest of the setup showcased stationary, scents and other stylish goodies for gifting.  Among those that caught my eye, was the  2009 collection of notecards from my  long-time favorite in letterpress design, Linda & Harriet.

While noshing on mushrooms swathed in puff pastry, salted lamb and brie doused in lavender chutney (did I mention the bubbly?), we talked  blogging, social media, fabric, brunch spots and must-reads. Lots of thanks to Red Plum and Starving Artist, The Clean Plate Club, Petey Pumpkin and Annelise Normand for the conversation and celebration of the things we love.

I could spend hours poring over prints and personal affects at antique stores, rummaging for pieces that recount old stories.  But, to reverse this and take a nostalgic lens to a new and personal story can prove more difficult.  I didn’t think it at all possible until a friend (and bride-to-be) passed along Joel Serrato’s work. He single handedly dispels a personal, pre-existing disinterest in wedding cinematography.  This disinterest most likely, attributed to too many a montage laden with animation, saccharine soundtracks and artless exchanges caught on camera.

Joel’s videos, rightfully dubbed “vintage” because of the film and camera used, capture celebration with an air of nostalgia.  His focus is not on the masses, but instead on the details (I was enamored with the video below because of the different antique plates at each placesetting, the scattered parasols and the dramatic chandeliers).  The result: a tasteful and romantic patchwork of only the most genuine and natural of moments. 

ainjil + chris from joel serrato on Vimeo.

If only this was always the case.  The weekend behind me,  after madly swiffering and lugging boxes of leftover Oktoberfest off the roof, I was consumed by mild dread for tackling the fridge of leftovers.  But alas cleanout turned to cupcakes, when I couldn’t bear to part with the pot of cider, that had been adoringly attended to with cloves, nutmeg, all-spice and cinnamon for my weekend fall festivities.

Knowing fully well I’m utterly incapable of making the cider doughnuts that I crave every autumn (i’ll leave that to the experts), I went for the next best thing that cider, sugar, eggs, flour and spices could be.  Add this to the lengthy list of reasons fall is oh so sweet.

Spiced Cider Cupcakes

(adapted from Coconut & Lime)

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 2/3 cup flour
2 cups traditional apple cider (mine was spiced prior to taste)
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 tspn salt, nutmeg, all-spice, vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, mix butter and sugar. Add eggs, beat well. Add the baking powder, salt, nutmeg, all-spice and vanilla. Stir. Add the flour and then mix apple cider. Fill each lined cup 3/4 way full. Bake 25 minutes.

Under the guise of being “healthy”, in lieu of frosting, I used a liberal dollop of strawberry rhubarb jam to add a sweet topping.

I can’t claim to have an ounce of a sommelier’s wisdom, nor can I rightfully call myself a wine enthusiast. In honesty, I fall for packaging and then affordability. Under $20 and a striking label? Sign me up!

Climbing four flights of stairs, I wasn’t thrilled the last time I had to stock my wine fridge. And when entertaining, as you all know, a couple bottles just won’t cut it… at least not for me and my friends. So I was thrilled with Real Simple’s most recent “problem-solving” product: Red Truck’s new mini-wine barrel, housing four bottles in one eco-friendly, $30, photograph-worthy AND light package. Red Truck wine can now claim not only to be vintage in its wine but also its packaging.

Once I got past the immediate memories of bud light keg parties from college, I began imagining these barrels nestled outside, next to a pumpkin and squash laden meal or in the summertime, perched near a picnic blanket for an evening barbeque. I’m usually a riesling girl and have a tough time jumping on the red bandwagon (or truck- in this case) but for this, I may make an exception.

Cheers!

Woke up to signature september crisp chill, so it felt only right to celebrate with a butternut squash and green apple inspired lunch on the roof for one of my friends to kick off an afternoon of pampering in the city.

I made a creamy butternut squash soup with with crusty baguettes and a side of a green apple & walnut salad. I love having the mums and root vegetables on the table to evoke even more autumnal bliss.

We just finished up and are off for an afternoon of salons, shopping and south end exploring; Hope everyone is having an equally savory saturday!

Butternut Squash Soup

1 can of butternut squash puree (I cheated, I know)
2 tblspns of butter
2 cups of chicken broth
cumin, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup each diced carrot and onion
1/2 cup half & half

Heat butter in large pot. Cook carrots and onions for 3 to 4 minutes. Add butternut squash puree and stir. Stir in chicken broth and season with salt, pepper, nutmeg & cumin. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Stir in half & half and cook and continue to simmer for 15.

Apple & Walnut Salad

Fresh greens ( I choose spinach)
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1 apple
Balsamic vinagrette, to taste

Place spinach, walnuts, apple, and cheddar into a bowl. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette, and toss.

… No man does. That’s his. ~Oscar Wilde.

Its 650 am and I’m relishing what has come to be routine in the new house. Yoga at 545 and then watering the window boxes nestled outside my living room and the planters on the roof deck. I suppose its the closest I can get to channeling suburbia in the heart of the city.

When growing up, whether I was leaving or returning, wide-brimmed sun hat fixed on, my mother was arranging and re arranging slabs of slate around a coy pond, embedding phlox so it perfectly cascaded around those slabs and battling stubborn weeds. Since at that time, I probably would’ve thought phlox was some variation on a spread for a bagel and could’ve sworn those weeds were actually flowers, I don’t think my mother or I wouldve ever pictured me with a green thumb.

And now I’m getting ahead of myself, claiming to have a green thumb. But while I dote on the lavender and english roses outside my window and tie and retie the clematis to the trellis that borders my roof, I have a deeper understanding of the coy pond and the phlox. It was not just a project, hobby or a means of passing the time in “action” acton, massachussets. Its done with the sincere wish that whether the flora and fauna is for two acres or 350 square feet, it’ll be acknowledged or appreciated by someone.

It sounds wishful and whimsy, and I know you’re thinking (and I agree) that I have friends who wouldnt be able to tell you there were even flowers up there, but my mother always will.

My breakfast nook.