Juniper Designs

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed that the look has changed just a bit - cleaner - simpler {my mantra of the moment}.  Posts have become a bit less frequent as well - this is all in attempt to simplify and streamline my life.  My husband and I were recently blessed with the news that we are expecting a third child in July - although a bit of a surprise - a joy nonetheless.  As such, I felt a deep need to slow down.  I hope you continue to join me at this leisurely pace...

{image from the 2007 Letterpressed & Hand Painted Calendar by ilee}

and the hills were black...

We had such a wonderful time in the Black Hills and Badlands – the girls were fantastic and handled the drive beautifully – and for someone who told her husband, “What on earth could I possibly spend money on there?” – I was proved delightfully wrong.  The area is bursting with amazing antique malls and some very cool Western shops where I finally treated myself to a pair of Frye Campus Boots.  So good to be home though… have a lovely weekend - & to those of you who celebrate, l'shana tova!

wishlist item of the week: gray matter

Eileen Gray could easily be identified as one of the most influential women of the Modern movement.  As an artist, furniture designer and interior designer in the 1920’s, she was heavily influenced by the Modern Dutch movement of De Stijl and drew on the geometric forms of the movement as inspiration in both her furniture as well as her interiors.  In the late 1920’s, Gray began to concentrate her efforts primarily on architecture – her work was represented by LeCorbusier’s “Pavillion des Temps Nouveaux” and much like LeCorbu, her work during the time has become synonymous with Modern design.  One such example of this cross over can be seen in her celebrated side table – pictured here with LeCorbu’s LC2 Armchairs.  Though the overall form is rather straightforward – it’s execution is flawless, resulting in an iconic piece that has – and will continue – to transcend time.   Needless to say, it is on my wishlist…

{image from DWR}

open to sponsors!

Athena Says in now open to sponsorship!  For an extremely low rate you will receive a 150x150 ad space in the sidebar for one month and a dedicated post during that run.  Both businesses and blogs are welcome to be sponsors!  If you would like more information, please click the “Athena Says” button under ‘Email Me’ in the left sidebar – thank you!

thank you!

I want to thank Holly of decor8 – one of THE most indispensable design resources on the web – for choosing ‘athena says’ as her blog of the week!  Thank you and I feel so honored!

ThisNext...

I just want to thank the ever-haute Kristopher Dukes and Aunt Beep for their lovely words about this blog on ThisNext – thank you so much – I am a frightful shade of pink {blushing, of course}!  Make ThisNext a daily-read – filled with uber cool finds for all lifestyles, it is the place to see what truly will be Next!  And be sure to check out Kristopher's blog - WWD named her one of their Top 10 Fashion Bloggers - she is the quintessential barometer of what’s haute – and what’s not.

29 July 2001

It was so hot that day – East Anglia is infamous for their cool, wet summers – not that day.  Five years ago I wed my beloved in front of my dearest friends and family in a small garden on the grounds of a 1,000-year-old watermill turned Inn.  Looking back it is not necessarily the heat I recall so intensely, but a blur of activities and the feeling that my life was beginning anew.  So thank you for joining me to plant trees in Israel – out first date could not have been more romantic – and thank you for not only the last five years, but for the exquisitely beautiful daughters we share and for a lifetime of unseen adventures to come…

back to the kitchen...

We are rediscovering our kitchen – it is a nice little space - cramped for my taste but such is life in a house built in 1926.  After stripping out the two layers of linoleum to reveal distressed wood floors, I painted the bottom cupboards a glossy black, ripped off the doors on the upper cabinets and added a fresh coat of white paint and painted the walls a delicate purple-gray.  We added an oversized antique chandelier some friends had given us, and a beautiful deep purple and maroon area rug we bought in Turkey.  Now it is definitely more me – we did this a year ago – in the majority of that last year I have either been pregnant or with a newborn – can everyone says “take-out” with me?  But I have returned – baby steps mind you – to my cozy little Parisian-apartment inspired kitchen.   As our five-year anniversary approaches this Saturday, we have been reminiscing about our wedding and that happy day at a quaint little Inn called Tuddenham – we dined there often after our day and I always, always, always ordered the Banoffee Pie.  One of the girls at the Inn was sweet enough to obtain the recipe for me before we retuned to the States – but it has been sitting in my recipe book now for nearly three years.  So, in honor of our anniversary, I thought I would give it a go… and it was divine – and a beautiful mess as I don’t think I let it set-up long enough!  Here is the recipe if you would like to try it out – it is a bit time consuming but oh so worth it!

Banoffee Pie!

2c graham cracker crust

1 stick butter

2 14oz. tins of sweetened condensed milk

4 large bananas

heavy cream

sugar

_____________________

- Pour graham cracker crumbs into large bowl

- Melt butter and pour over crumbs – mix until combined

- Add to pie dish and press out to form crust

- Let the crust set-up in the fridge for at least 2 hours

- Meanwhile, peel the paper off the tins of condensed milk – bring a pot full of water to a boil and drop tins in – make sure water is completely covering them

- Boil continuously for 3 hours

- After 3 hours, pull tins out with tongs and let cool completely

- After the tins have cooled open and pour into prepared crust – it should be a warm, rich caramel color – toffee!

- Thinly slice bananas and completely cover the top with slices

- Whip cream and sugar to create whipped cream – spoon the cream over the bananas

- Let it set-up in the fridge for at least two hours (overnight is better) and garnich with banana slices before serving

so tired...

Ayla has finally started sleeping through the night – I say finally as if she should have been doing this a month after she made her arrival; the thing is about second babies – you forget everything from the first time around!  I think I had convinced myself that Adie was sleeping through the night at a month old!  Is that possible?  I don’t know – I don’t remember.  Just a few short nights ago we moved Ayla from the bassinet that was tucked between my husband and I in our bed to her crib – I thought I would be sleeping better – but now, I lay awake listening for the faintest fuss.  So as fatigue truly takes a hold of my body, I thought I would just post some beautiful images I found at papa stour…

what is in a name?

You may notice the new name of my blog – “athena says…” – this change is the first step in super-secret squirrelly stuff in the works for next year.  But more than that it is a true reflection of who I am.  You may have noticed from my jewelry collections that I am a bit obsessed with mythology and the goddess concept; Athena – whose name is so ancient it has never been translated is the deity, of wisdom and war.  Her symbols include the sword and shield as well as the owl – but it is the serpent in which reared its great head next to her statue in Athens – it is the serpent that symbolizes the strength and wrath of her power and the concept of rebirth.  So on that note – I shed my proverbial skin to create something new…