Watermelon Ice Cubes

This is a great one my mom taught me. For super summery drinks bring out watermelon ice cubes. So easy!


Scoop out a watermelon and put chunks in blender.
Blend until liquefied (only takes a few seconds).
Optional step: pour through wire strainer to get any chunks.
Pour juice into ice cube trays and freeze.
Once frozen, transfer to freezer bags and store for up to a few months.

Throw a couple of cubes into a glass of lemonade, or in your favorite combination of fruit juice and seltzer. Here's a great summer drink that's both pretty and yummy.

In a glass:
3 watermelon ice cubes
1 oz. light rum
1 oz. coconut rum
fill glass with equal parts orange juice and lime (or plain) seltzer
Garnish with a lime round or a wedge of watermelon.

Enjoy the last bits of a great summer!

Fresh Salsa

I've been so lucky this August because every time I see my parents they hand me a big bag of fresh tomatoes from their garden. They're great simply drizzled with balsamic dressing.

But my favorite thing to do is make salsa. I live for salsa. I dream about it. All of my favorite restaurants are Mexican because they serve chips and salsa. Because of this I know what I like. Also, I used both red and yellow tomatoes, which look fancy.


Lesley's Fresh Salsa

2 large tomatoes or 3 medium size ones diced
6 or so cherry tomatoes quartered
1/4 cup red onion chopped
1 jalapeno chopped
1 habanero finely chopped (try half first, if it's not too spicy, add the rest)
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice from half of one lime
a little salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for about an hour. Great with chips. Obvi.

Outfit for Early Fall

One of my favorite blogs is The Sartorialist. It's all gorgeous photographs of fashionable people. It's a great place for men's fashion and to see people who have true style and not just trendy clothes.

Photograph: The Sartorialist

Early fall is a funny time of year, fashionwise. It's warm enough to wear the same clothes as in August but the pull of fall clothes and new combinations is hard to resist. I usually end up wearing my favorite summer pieces that I'm not ready to put away, and cold weather outfits that are too inspiring to stay in the closet. One summer "trend" that I love is nautical. I like how the above outfit shows how it can transition into fall. I have some high-waisted wide-legged jeans that I think will look great with a striped shirt like that. Layers can be added depending on how cold it is. Some long chained necklaces will top it off beautifully.

In the meantime I'm wearing as many of my fun summer outfits as possible!

Tomato Fest

Eric and I went to visit my parents this weekend on Cape Cod. They grow great tomatoes which are perfectly ripe right now. My mom made the most beautiful platter of green, yellow and red tomatoes, red onion, basil, and goat cheese. She covered it in plastic wrap and let it sit for about an hour to let the flavors really mingle. It was fantastic.


They also grow different kinds of hot peppers which we dared each other to eat. It, inevitably, ended with us all giggling and wincing in pain. I always have the best time when we visit.

Pink wristlet project

This is a fun little pink wristlet I made from some silk fabric I had:



The blue lining is silk too. I got about 2 yards of it for $10 at a flea market and use it ALL THE TIME.


I made it on the machine and even played with pleats to make the bottom have more volume than the top. It's (again) kind of Lily Pulitzer looking. I just couldn't resist using the green zipper with the pink. It's like a watermelon on a clear blue day. What could be better?!

Before and After: Painted Box

This was the old box I bought at a yard sale:


And here it is now:


I love goooooold.....
The design is a zoomed in view of a modern take on classic brocade. Or, as I call it, a doodle.

The box sat unfinished for a few weeks because I couldn't decided what to do for the lid. I was going to finish it with a glossy coat all over, but I like the way the gold shines against the matte turquoise. Pretty pretty pretty.

Button Collection Avalanche!

I have more than this, but it's the bulk of my button collection. I love to dump them out like this because I always find ones I never remember seeing before.

One collection...

I like to collect funny deer things. I particularly like deer/household item hybrids such as the deer vase and deer bookends. I'm not really looking to add to my collection but if I come across something really special, how can I say no?


I don't think they're creepy. Why would you think that?


OK, maybe some are a little creepy but that's part of the fun.

Another restaurant?!

Yes. And it was awesome.

My friend Trevor works at Toro in the South End (corner of Washington and Mass. Ave next to Mike's Diner). Even though he works at Toro he never really gets a chance to eat their amazing food, so my friend Beth and I met him for drinks and Tapas on the patio.

Drinks wise, Toro is known for their Sangria, but they also have great wine and cocktails. I had the Summer Smash which included Hendrick's Gin (my favorite!) with cucumber and mint. Crazy good.

OK, here's the thing: back in middle school when, like, 90 percent of the students signed up for Spanish, I signed up for French class. So I was in the one class of kids repeating, "Ou est, Jacque? Jacque est a la piscine avec Madeline," while the other 5 classes of 13-year-olds were making "Devil's eyes" and learning the Mexican hat dance. I'm still not over it. Anyway, for that reason, I don't remember the Spanish names of the plates and will describe them in English. Starting with...

Corn on the cob smothered with cheese and spices! And shrimp with a sweet and spicy creamy red sauce! And in a cross-town date-wrapped-in-bacon smackdown...date, stuffed with an almond AND stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon! OK, I must admit that the cheese adds a certain something. But the value at Orinoco is superior (4 dates for $4 vs. 2 dates for $6. Ouch.) but still-cheese. We had green peppers roasted in salt and olive oil and cod cakes with a fried candied lemon peel garnish. Everything was fantastic and just the right amount to share with friends.

There is typically an hour wait (even on a Monday) so when you go plan on having a drink at the bar while you wait for your table. It's a great date place because of the fun of sharing all of the dishes. The decor is simple which is fine when all you can do is look at the food glistening in front of you.

Oh, and Churros. Churros, people!