Have some heart

Happy VD, ya'll.

Matters of the Heart print by Ork Posters

Star Map Heart by selflesh at etsy

Beating Heart by L2 Design Collective

Ribcage with Heart by xlessthan3 at etsy

Heart Beat earrings by Melanie Favreau

From the Heart Card by farouche at etsy

All images / websites / content © their respective owners.

Cuddle me, O Canada

Nothing says "warm me up, you big hunky neighbor to the north" like a design based on Canada's classic Hudson's Bay Company wool point blanket, eh?

(P.S. Can't wait to bundle up and enjoy Vancouver's Opening Ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics tonight. Go team!)

Glacier National Park Blanket, $178, pendleton-usa.com

Vintage 4.5 Point Wool Blanket Pillow, $44.50, catnapcottage at etsy.com

Wool Blanket Blank Greeting Card, $3.50, Gold Teeth Brooklyn

Hudson's Bay Company Sea to Sky Throw, $150 (Canadian), store.hbc.com

Hudson’s Bay Company Point Blanket Designer Collaborations, arcadeagency.com

All images / websites / content © their respective owners.

Can I tell you a secret?

I recently met up in Manhattan with a girlfriend who works in the foodie world, and she let me in on a sweet (and spicy) secret: Union Square Cafe has some of the city's best most beloved bar snacks--and they're not easy to come by.

We were having a late lunch on a Saturday at the Vietnamese joint Bao, and afterward, had a little time on our hands. So, naturally, we decided to grab one more glass of wine (the best use of found-time in my book). She casually mentioned that she had "heard that Union Square Cafe had a really good bar." So we steered toward the cafe--and little did I know that we weren't going for the wine...we were going for the mixed nuts.

And oh, these aren't just any mixed nuts. These are nuts that you have to know about to even get a taste. For one, they're not on the menu and you can only ask for them at the bar. You also have to know that they're only made once a day, that they're served warm between 4:45 - 5pm, and that when they're gone, they're gone. But once you know about these scrumptious bar snacks, you know that it's totally worth all the hoops you have to jump through to get them.

Unless you're my friend. Being one of the most in-the-know foodies that I know, she also shared the secret to getting around all these complications: make them at home using the cafe's special recipe (which she also just happens to know).

And now we do, too. Enjoy!

Union Square Cafe's Spiced Nuts

Assorted unsalted nuts (cashews, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts)

2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Place the nuts on a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (or when you start to smell them). While the nuts are roasting, place cayenne pepper, brown sugar, salt, rosemary, and butter in a bowl. After nuts are roasted, pour them into the bowl and toss (the heat from roasted nuts will melt the butter). Serve. Swoon.

Will you be having the Chardon-Amy or the Cabern-Amy?

Here's what I love at a party: Me. Also, good friends. Fattening food. Fancy-pants wine. Great conversation. And a theme. A wonderful, wonderful blows-your-mind theme created specifically for you.

This week, my friend Leah hosted a small wine-and-cheese birthday party for me in her home. She's is an art director at a high-end magazine, and is one of those people who eats, breathes, and lives design. She's really, really creative, and sometimes, those of us who are lucky enough to know Leah get to benefit from her tremendous talent.

And--lucky me--I got some Leah-love this week! Take a look at these pics; not only did she create pairing menus and labels for all of the cheese, she also made wine charms (complete with proofreader's marks, a nod to my writing profession) and topped the night off with party favors: bottles of red and white wine remade with labels for "Cabern-Amy" and "Chardon-Amy" from "Red Pen Vineyards" and "White Space Vineyards."

I was just floored at the thoughtfulness and the cleverness. And more than anything, I was so touched to be surrounded by so much love. And cheese. And wine. And very cute fonts.

Thank you so much, lovely Leah.

(And sidebar: don't ya'll think she should open an etsy site or something?  Leave a comment--I know she's reading!)