Today I was working on a project, super focused talking to the camera when — BAM! — I had a Tobbe on my shoulders. It was so funny I had to share it with you. I suspect my cats really think I’m a walking tree. Just look at this photo of Lasse sleeping on my shoulders without a care in the world.
Ah, but they can get away with anything. I love them so much.
Ps. Do you like my shirt? It´s from C&A
I’ve been a fan of Eric Trine’s for a while. He lived in Portland for a couple years while he was in grad school, but he moved his family back home to Cali this past winter. I’ve been ogling his beautiful Rod + Weave leather strap chairs (the copper!!) and now I’ve got his powder-coated Octahedron Side Tables and Octahedron Ring Planters on my mind.
I love that Eric works in a really impulsive, hands-on way by just playing with his materials. I find it refreshing because I feel like a lot of people (including myself) can become overly earnest and stagnant when they overthink design. Sometimes it’s best to just torch the tutorials, guidelines, expectations and sentimentality and just make some stuff. More HERE.
Images courtesy of Eric Trine.
This past week caught up with a good friend of mine over lunch at a national chain Pan Asian restaurant (can you guess which one? Ha!). I had never been there before, so I was really curious to see what people love (or hate) about the place. I ordered the Kung Pao Chicken and quickly gobbled up the entire thing. I have to admit, it was good. It was pretty salty and I really wished there had been some vegetables in the mix, but it was good none the less.
Soooo, of course I had to make my own version at home! This is not a “copy cat” recipe for what I had in the restaurant because I purposely made the sauce lighter. The restaurant version was great, but I spent the rest of the day feeling like I had sucked on a salt lick for lunch. My sauce, while still salty, spicy, and sweet, is lighter and lets the flavors of the delicious vegetables shine through. Speaking of vegetables, I neeeeded vegetables! So, I grabbed some broccoli florets from my freezer and splurged on a red bell pepper for color and sweetness. So worth it.
I also kind of had a happy accident with this recipe. While testing sauce combinations, I realized that I had accidentally grabbed the oyster sauce rather than hoisin sauce out of my refrigerator. I made a second batch using hoisin like I had intended, but actually liked the oyster sauce version much better! Traditional kung pao doesn’t have oyster sauce, I’m sure, but it gave the sauce a wonderful depth and richness that the hoisin did not. Oyster sauce won that round.
Don’t be deterred by the many, many step by step photos for this recipe. It’s actually super fast and easy! Woot!
This has a whole teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes in it, so, you know… IT’S SPICY.
Make the sauce first, so that it’s ready to go when you need it. In a bowl stir together 2 Tbsp oyster sauce, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1 clove of garlic (minced), 1 tsp cornstarch, and 2 Tbsp water.
I also chopped my red bell pepper and sliced my green onions ahead of time. It just makes life easier sometimes. Cut one large red bell pepper into 1/2 inch pieces and slice two green onions.
And roughly chop 1/3 cup dry roasted and unsalted peanuts. Chopping them allows you to use less because smaller pieces will spread throughout the dish better than large, whole peanuts.
To make the coating for the chicken, whisk together one large egg, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, and a pinch of pepper until smooth.
Cut one large chicken breast (about 3/4 lb.) into very small pieces (1/2 inch or so). Again, having more smaller pieces lets you have a little chicken in every bite, unlike having a few large chunks.
Add the chicken to the egg mixture and stir until it is well coated.
Add 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. It’s very important to wait until the oil is VERY hot before adding the chicken, or else the egg mixture will just slide right off and make a pancake on the bottom of the skillet. You can test the heat by dropping a little of the egg mixture into the skillet. It should immediately poof up and sizzle furiously. Once the oil is very hot, add the chicken and spread it out over the skillet. Let it cook for a couple minutes, undisturbed, so the bottom can brown.
Once the bottom has browned, break up the pieces, flip them over, and let them continue to cook until they’re browned all over and cooked through. The small pieces also helps the chicken cook through relatively quickly. Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet.
Add 1/2 lb. of frozen broccoli florets straight to the skillet. They’ll start to thaw and cook at the same time. They will continue to cook as you add the other ingredients, so don’t try to cook them through at this point. Just cook for a few minutes, so that they are mostly heated through (a little cold in the thicker parts is okay).
Now add the diced red bell pepper and cook for just a couple minutes more, or just until the raw edge has been taken off. They should still be fairly crisp.
Add the chicken back to the skillet, along with the prepared sauce. Keep the heat on medium-high the whole time. Stir the ingredients together so that everything is coated in sauce. As the sauce hits the hot skillet, it will begin to bubble and thicken.
OMG, it’s already looking so delicious!
Lastly, stir in the chopped peanuts and sprinkle the sliced green onions over top. (and you can turn off the heat) YUM!!
Please and thank you!
The post Kung Pao Chicken (and vegetables) appeared first on Budget Bytes.
Now this, this deserves to be called food porn! In the wake of the tragic 2011 tsunami that hit Japan, ad agency I&S BBDO and seaweed shop owner Umino Hiroyuki designed a series of laser-cut seaweed to help boost the weak sales of local nori manufacturers.
‘Japanese people are eating less seaweed than before and I wanted to do something about the decline in demand, make some waves in a positive way, said Hiroyuki. ‘I wanted people to know how interesting and appealing seaweed is, not to mention delicious’.
Called ‘Design Nori’, each intricate pattern carries design elements from traditional Japanese art and history. Each sheet symbolizes a wish for the victims of disaster-struck areas: Cheery Blossoms for beauty, Water Drops for luck, Hemp for growth, and Turtle Shells for long life. One can’t help but be amazed at the amount of detail that can be etched on something as flimsy as nori. Anyone who can appreciate beauty will have a hard time eating these sushi visually-striking sushi rolls!
The post Designer Nori: laser-cut seaweed with stunning geometric patterns appeared first on Lost At E Minor: For creative people.
The Ringtool is a compact toolkit that lives on any standard keyring. Hardened stainless steel (strength + corrosion resistance) means it’ll withstand a rough and tumble world. It has five different Hexheads, a Flathead and Phillips Driver, a Torxhead, and two Spoke Wrenches, so it’s a good choice for any cyclist that would rather not lug around a bigger toolkit.
– Made in the USA
– Lifetime warranty
Features:
-Bottle-cap opener
-3mm Hexhead
-4mm Hexhead
-5mm Hexhead
-6mm Hexhead
-8mm Hexhead
-Flathead Driver
-Phillips Driver
-Torxhead T25 Driver
-Spoke wrench for 130” (3.30mm) nipples
-Spoke wrench for .136” (3.45mm) nipples
Updated price and link; originally posted May 1, 2014.
Moniker is a new San Francisco-based studio led by Brent Couchman. I’ve always been a fan of Brent’s work—see here, here and here—so I’m not surprised that the studio is already producing tons of great work for clients both large and small. In particular, the few projects below happened to catch my eye.
Up Global is a non-profit based in Seattle, Washington offering resources and support to entrepreneurs at all levels. The company was formed after a merger between Startup Weekend and Startup America, President Obama’s initiative to accelerate entrepreneurship throughout the nation. Moniker worked closely with the Up Global team to create a visual identity system for the newly merged company.
Tidepool is building a platform and suite of apps to make type 1 diabetes management more effective. By connecting separate devices and resources, Tidepool is putting critical information into the hands of the people who need it most: patients, their families and their doctors. Moniker worked with Tidepool to develop a visual identity system—based on the idea of connecting the dots—across their entire brand communications.
Teddy’s Nacho Royale is a Mexican restaurant on the Menlo Park campus of the most famous social network in the world. Moniker developed the visual identity, signage and interior graphics with a nod to local burrito joints, while incorporating their internal culture throughout the restaurant.
For more from Brent, Grain Edit also recently published an in-depth interview, giving more insight into his background, the new studio set-up and his design process. So be sure to take a look.
Nobody quite knows the origin of the saying “Alliteration Inspiration on Design Work Life is my favorite design column and I bet the author is super rad as well” as it’s become such a common part of the English lexicon. While we research that further, you should study up on the ten works below to meet your inspirational quote-a for the day.
What are you doing reading this? Hurry up and get to the ten pieces below for some inspiration, quick!
How stunning is this 3D printing pen? It allows you to doodle in the air! Imagine the possibilities!
UPDATE: My studiomate Jen just pointed me to another 3D printing pen already available at the MoMA Store. Different brand. Same concept.
(thank you Fredrick!)
this beautiful spring we are having has me thinking of beautiful, blossoming colors. this moroccan home seems to play into every color craving i have been having lately.
i personally believe that you can never have too much tile or beautiful shades of blue/green.
no surprise the owners of this home also own a beautiful tile company, popham design.
the pops of orange are pretty fantastic as well!
xo mrs. french
via the ever lovely homelife
With spectacular views of Ibiza’s west coast, Villa Terramar is a vacation home like no other. The ultra-modern, two-building residence is split over several floor-like layers and sits within the natural habitat that surrounds it over the beach of Cala Tarida. With a quirky and super fun color palette, the unusual design, by Andres Jaque Architects, forms to the sloping lot it’s nestled into. For this month’s Destination Design, we explore the colorful wonderland that is Villa Terramar, which we originally discovered back in 2010.
This house looks like the kind of house you’ll want to bring a bunch of friends along with to party and relax with all week long. Luckily, the place sleeps eight within its four bedrooms.
There are multiple outdoor spaces for relaxing so you can lay back and peep the sandy beaches in the not-so-far distance. If you’d rather stay inside, there are floor-to-ceiling glass windows for gazing from the interior.
All of the glass blurs the division between outdoors and in so guests feel like they’re living in the natural surroundings.
There are two pools, one infinity pool that sits right off the main living room and kitchen areas, while the other, smaller one is below the main house.
The interiors keep the same color scheme as the exterior – the floors, walls, and ceilings are all the eye-catching aqua. It definitely gives off the beach house vibe, doesn’t it?
No matter what bedroom you’re in, you have similar, drool-worthy views.
I love how they didn’t disrupt the landscape too much because they kept the original trees and built the house around them.
What: Villa Terramar
Where: Ibiza, Spain
How much? Entire home from €430 a night or €3010 a week
Highlights: Plenty of space for your family or group of friends with stunning views over Ibiza’s west coast and two pools to lounge by.
Design draw: A quirky and colorful villa with a completely unique design that you’ll never forget.
Book it: Go here to book it.
Go virtually on vacation with more design destinations right here.
Halloween may be months away, but I’m in love with Chris Dedinsky‘s personal project Monster Alphabet, a screen printed poster featuring illustrated monsters for each letter of the alphabet.
Chris’s illustration style and use of texture come together perfectly for this piece, and I can’t get over his monster choice and clever execution for each letter.
I’m thoroughly enjoying the work of Andreas Wikström, a graphic designer hailing from Sweden.
There’s more to explore on his website, so get to clicking!
Something about Miss Lotion’s illustration style feels nostalgic. To this child of the ’90s, her work conjures mental images of Nickelodeon and Highlights magazines, of character tees and public murals. All personal responses aside, Miss Lotion builds worlds with an widely-appealing charm.
Miss Lotion is a moniker for Louise Rosenkrands, an illustrator based in Copenhagen, Denmark. This badass lady creative has worked with a variety of clients, from Norweigan Magazine to Urban Outfitters to Converse. Here’s just a few favorites:
View more of Miss Lotion’s illustrations on her portfolio. And speaking of murals, Miss Lotion has some great mural work of her own.
These concrete and wood lamps by JinSik Kim and YuHun Kim are pretty special; you can position them different ways and group them together in multiples for modular arrangements. There’s the B35° Lamp, the B35°L Lamp, and the B30° Lamo, all of which have polygon shaped bases. Take a look at the images below to see the possibilities of mixing a few together for a stronger statement.
Designed by JinSik Kim, YuHun Kim.
Material: High-strength Concrete
Design Date: 2014
Production Date: 2014
Edition: Open Edition
B35° Lamp (Small), $235.00
B35°L Lamp, $375.00
B30° Lamo, $375.00
Jimena Azpeitiate lo prompro?
It must be a pretty hard time for the guys over at Swedish ice cream maker, GB Glace. Their newly-released popsicle, X-Pop, has taken on X-rated proportions as customers are likening it to a penis rather than the intended rocket shape. Marketed for kids, the popsicle has a yellow, pink, red, orange shaft that leads up to a creamy tip. After a few minutes of sucking, X-Pop bursts out a creamy liquid oozing from within.
This development must be hard to swallow for GB Glace, but they’ve taken a hard stance on the issue. ‘In several interviews they continue to claim that they have no idea what people are talking about’, Swedish journalist Erik Carlsson told the Daily Dot in an interview. ‘They just see it as a normal popsicle’.
The post Suck on this: a popsicle that looks like a dildo. It even explodes in your mouth! appeared first on Lost At E Minor: For creative people.
Jimena Azpeitiawhy dodi?? why??? que vengan los de las kilts!!! JAJAJAJAJA
Would you like some window cleaning? How about some panache with that? Well, you can now engage the fun and friendly services of Men in Kilts, which promises ‘proud, kilt wearing professionals’ who will turn up at your residential or commercial property and clean away.
Founded by Scotsman Nicholas Brand in Canada over a decade ago, the fun branding has now allowed it to become a franchise across North America. Just one thing though: you’re not supposed to peek.
The post Seriously, why clean your windows when men in kilt can do it for you instead? appeared first on Lost At E Minor: For creative people.
Hot Sauce and Panko in Richmond, San Francisco, could possibly be the best place in the world to have a food coma. The joint (they hate being called a restaurant) has a rotating menu of insane culinary creations, the headliner being the ramen wings.
Depending on the week, you could help yourself to a serving of the following: an egg, waffle, and bacon sandwich; prosciutto-wrapped wings smothered in bacon jam; a pub steak sandwich topped with jalapenos, cheddar, and BBQ sauce on telera; and a rare-roast beef, bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. Are your bellies grumbling yet?
The ramen wings are the latest to follow in the footsteps of ramen-inspired food, one of which, is the ramen burger. If you want to try out the ramen wings, six pieces cost $6.99. We haven’t tried it out yet, but wings and ramen, what could possibly go wrong?
The post Move over ramen burger, here come ramen wings appeared first on Lost At E Minor: For creative people.
Beth Galton has dissected all types of food to show us their cross-sections in pretty impressive detail. Now, with the help of food stylist Charlotte Omnès, she has applied Rothko-like strokes to delightful effect on everything from P&J canapes to ketchup-spattered cold cuts in her Series of Textures project.
These would go so well with Caitlin Freeman’s modern art-inspired sweet bakes.
The post Abstract art paintings masterfully painted with food appeared first on Lost At E Minor: For creative people.
Carpets, cushions, sofas, funky lamps, coffee tables and all: when IKEA opened a new store in Tokyo near Tachikawa station, it decided to launch the store by giving the monorail a makeover with its home decor and furnishing products. There is but just one question on our minds: where’s the bed for a full-length subway sleep-in?
The post IKEA meets monorail in Japan, transforms it into comfy pad appeared first on Lost At E Minor: For creative people.
After French photographer Jolipunk was refused a picture while on his travels, it made him ‘think about his role as a photographer in today’s world, and he realized that many of his peers tend to exoticize and objectify people in the countries they travel to’. So what did he do? He started taking photos of locals all flipping the bird. Jolipunk has traveled through Jordan, Cuba, Peru, Turkey, and Bali, taking these pictures.
From capturing the most stoic men flipping us off, to fun-loving locals eager to give the finger, these photos make for both a hilarious and fascinating view.
The post Photographer takes pics of nothing but locals flipping the bird appeared first on Lost At E Minor: For creative people.
The Gap: A new typographic interpretation of Ira Glass’s iconic quote about the creative process created by Daniel Sax.
(via Colossal)
I shared an Instagram of Ella (7) knitting a few days ago and one of my followers left a comment saying I should look into arm knitting. A quick Google search let me to the above YouTube video. Looks fascinating, no? Also, lots of arm knitting stuff to find on Etsy.
I love the internet so much!
Tickle is an app (concept?) to help you escape awkward situations. Using your phone’s accelerometer, Tickle can sense awkward gestures, and in turn, generate a phantom phone call to allow you to gracefully excuse yourself from whatever awkward situation you’re in. This made me laugh and double check if it’s not April 1st.
UPDATE: It’s a joke. Bummer.
Since we last featured Tyler Gross‘s illustrations, he’s churned out some killer new work that further showcases his hardcore halftones and strong style.
Be sure to hit up his website and check out more of his latest work in its natural habitat.
Jimena Azpeitiate recomiendo me regales la pink jaket de zara ;)
pietro russo’s diamond-shaped divider.
this is one of the more genius and well-designed room dividers i’ve ever seen. the library diamond-shaped Design by Pietro Russo is simply stunning. it sent me on a hunt for other great divides — glass room dividers are also quite beautiful — i’d be quite happy in any one of these glass houses.
david karp’s house via t magazine.
kitchen dining room, photographed by Heidi Lerkenfeldt.
Mogeen Salon & Hairschool by Dirk van Berkel, via retail design blog.
Pernille Vest photography for elle decoration.
milk magazine, photographed by Louise Desrosiers.
i had every intention of posting a beautiful home like i do most tuesdays and then came upon this fireplace adorn in this tile and my whole plan changed.
i have had the pleasure of featuring made a mano in the past and it is absolutely my pleasure to feature their stunning handmade tiles yet again...
i need to head out on a hike...this beautiful spring day is calling to me...
xo mrs. french
If “rad” were a design discipline, Barcelona-born Sergi Delgado could teach a class on it. His illustration, lettering and typography work all fit a cohesive style that go together sensibly while remaining entirely unique.
Be sure to check out more of Sergi’s work on his website.
Here’s a planter that alludes to the traditional shape of the humble terra cotta pot, however, rather than hiding the dirt and roots, it puts the plant’s root system on display for all to see. And, there’s a handy function not immediately apparent: the clear body also acts as a water reservoir that supplies up to four weeks of water.
by Boskke
Cube Large Planter, $35.00: 6.1 x 6.1 x 5.9 (h) inches
Cube Small Planter , $19.00: 4.6 x 4.6 x 4.5 (h) inches
