One of our favorite parts of any trip, and something we always set out to do is to enjoy good food!  New York is known for being one of the culinary capitals, and so we wanted to share just a few of the places we went to that we enjoyed on our very very short trip to the big apple.  So here are a few places that we found pretty darn scrumptous!

Clarks Restaurant is a classic New York City diner.  I actually remember going here with my parents on one of the trips we took when I was much younger.  The atmosphere is quaint.  But there is good food, good staff, and great coffee.  You can’t really ask much more of a diner.  But they give it to you anyways.  Kelli and I both got a version of the eggs benedict.  I went with the classic and Kelli got hers with avocado instead of ham.  But they were both delicious.  You know it’s a good diner when they know how to make a hollandaise sauce right! We actually went here on a last day we got to spend in NYC and it was a great way to end the eating adventure of the trip.    

Foragers market may appear just a little neighborhood market full of organic goods. But it also holds a small deli and a juice bar. Since neither of us could decide exactly what we wanted, we do what we usually do.  Share.  (Which has gotten a little bit harder since pregnant, with my appetite ever growing).  We each got a sandwich and went halfsies on both. Kelli chose the Roasted Pulled Pork Sandwich and I settled on the Rotisserie Chicken Sandwich. Both were packed with flavor and you have to love the bar seating that faces the street. Perfect for people watching in DUMBO.  On this particular day, there was a surprise rainstorm, and we could not help but gawk a little at the true New Yorkers walking the streets like it was nothing. Something us weather spoiled Californians don’t quite understand.

This is actually the first place we ate at.  After a long 5 hour flight, this pregnant lady was famished.  So after reaching Brooklyn Heights, we took a stroll down the street and stepped into Le Pain Quotidien.  We initially were brought in by the style that was just our taste.  Aged wood, chalboards, rustic art, and crates galore.  We were in love.  And so hungry we didn’t even care if the food was good.  But it was great!  Kelli was in the mood for a salad and ordered the Aged Goat Cheese & Arugula Salad.  It came with a side of assorted fresh baked breads which was delcious to pair with it.  The salad is very lightly dressed, but adding the lemon and a little pepper was really all it needed anyways for the goat cheese and arugula’s flavors to stand on their own.  I ordered the Grilled chicken & Smoked Mozzarella Tartine.  (For those of you who don’t know what a tartine is as we didn’t, it’s a sandwich served open faced).  Let me tell you, it hit the spot perfectly.  Pesto, mozzarella, arugula, bruschetta on fresh baked bread.  How could you go wrong? 

Something we did find slightly disappointing was that here we thought we had found this great NYC cafe.  But turns out it’s a chain.  The plus side, however, is that we have several locations here in L.A.  So you can try this deliciousness without the 5 hour plane ride.  And Kelli and I most likely will go back to remind ourselves how great this trip was! 

You may or may not already follow us on Instagram, but we are addicted. And we were Instagramming up a storm in NYC. Being that we had such a short trip (and that a certain one of us had very swollen feet), we did not carry our gear with us around the city, but used our iphones instead to capture as much as we could of our trip. So here is a little recap of some of our trip through Instagram.

Well right about now we are just getting back to normal life from a quick jet set off to New York.  We know we talk a lot about our love for Portland, and even for our home state California, but our love for New York runs pretty deep as well.  It’s such an epic city, full of so much personality and heart.  So we are bringing you a month of New York inspiration, trip pictures and a bit of travel tips too.

We were privileged to shoot photo and video for a very dear friend of ours.  Congrats Brian and Katsushya! We love you guys! Can’t wait to share their wedding very soon!

Well it’s time for our favorite segment so far, and the last post for this edition of Recyle With Style.  Trash to Treasure! It is true what they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  We are firm believers in this.  Sometimes when something breaks or is replaced with something improved, it can still be repurposed into something amazing.  Seeing as how all of my (Candis) stuff was packed up for moving, here are a few of Kelli’s repurposed finds, and some suggestions of where you can purchase similar things from Etsy.

We hope this month’s T42 Tuesdays have encouraged you to look at the trash a little differently and recycle not only in the normal ways, but in the ways that will make your home unique.

Kelli found this particular piece at a garage sale. (What a score!)  And it not only looks adorable next to her desk, but offers organization of her inspiration, pictures, and notes.  The principle idea is great too.  A favorite mirror or picture frame tragically broken?  Attach some wire to the back and use it as a fun piece of organization.  You can even find really intricate and beautiful frames that are inexpensive at thrift stores, and repain them to match the room to add an eye catching piece to the wall.

But if you aren’t feeling very creative, but still love the idea, here are a few on Etsy we found for you.

1) Vintage Framed Chalkboard/Pin Board

2) Jewelry Organizer Display, Earring and Necklace Holder

3) Large Custom Color Wall Organizer

So we love a bit of industrial chic in our places.  (We can’t help it, both of our dad’s worked in construction) Kelli found this old tool box at a thrift store, and cleaned it up (not too much though, a little rust and scratches can sometimes add character), and now uses it to house all her beauty goodies.  But really you could use it for any small trinket organization you may have a need for.  Your husband, dad, brother or grandpa may even be getting rid of an old rusted toolbox.  But just in case he isn’t, here are a few awesome ones on Etsy.

1) Large Vintage Cash Box

2) Retro Metal Toolbox

3) Vintage Metal Utility Tackle Tool Box

This is by far my favorite of Kelli’s items, because it’s quite genius and easy to find anywhere.  Kelli found this candle holder from a garage sale for $2.  It’s actually a candle holder but works great to hold all of your little jewelry items, and displays them so beautifully.  Here are a few similar ones on Etsy that we are now in love with as well.  TIP:  If there are spikes for the candles on the holders, you can use them to organize your rings, as long as you won’t prick yourself!

1) Mid Century Modern Teak Candle Holders

2) Mustard Yellow Shabby Chic Metal Candle Holder

3) Vintage Danish Candle Holder

So for our Recycle With Style section today, we decided to share one of our very own furniture makeovers.

As you know, I’m about to have a little girl.  So when searching for a dresser for her room, we found a style that had good bones, and was built well.  Unfortunately, when you add a budget into that mix, it does not always leave you with the most appealing of dresser, at least to the naked eye.  So the dresser was originally a little rough around the edges and definitely needed to be repainted.  But that’s where the fun begins for us. It’s what Kelli and I live for.  So with the meticulous help of my husband, Teiler, we were able to not only add paint that modernized the piece, but also create a chevron pattern along the top to add a little pop to this normal dresser.

So we thought we would share how we were able to achieve this look.

Thankfully the supplies are simple:  Tape of course, preferably one that will not bleed through,.  A ruler or measuring tape to make sure your lines are even, and mark them off.  And finally a pencil to mark the lines before taping them off.

Taping off your lines can be a little bit tricky.  Thankfully for me, I have a very patient and talented husband (who is a slight perfectionist when it comes to stuff like this), who took the time to do the hard work for me.  But here are the steps.

First you will need to determine how wide you would like the chevron stripes (we chose a medium sized stripe).  Next you need to decide the angle your Chevron will be (we chose about a 45 degree angle)

To make it even easier to create the zig zag pattern, you basically just need to choose what I will call the vertical points of the chevron.  Basically this is achieved by breaking up the surface into a few sections.  We chose 4 sections.  One in the middle and two on the sides.  This made it easy to alternate from and up angle to a down angle when marking off the stripes to make a perfect chevron.

I should warn you there is a little bit of math involved, just to make sure that the width and angle will not leave you with one skinny line at the end.  So just make sure the widths you choose for the stripes will even out to be esthetically pleasing.

This is the easiest of the steps.  As long as you have taped off properly there is really no way you can mess it up. Literally just paint.  TIP: Let the paint dry completely before removing the tape to help prevent bleeding in the paint.

And here is the finished product.  We could not be happier with how it turned out. And I can’t wait to put this in Eliza’s new room.  Which I’m sure we will share when it is done!

It’s April and officially spring! And that means that Earth Day is coming up. (April 20th) This has inspired our T42 Tuesday posts completely! You may not know this about us but we are a touch on the hippy side.  We are true believers in recycling, but maybe not in the traditional ways you may think of. Recycling does not just apply to our plastics and cans.  It’s about appreciating the old things and not being so quick to throw things away.  It’s about seeing the beauty in something broken, or as we say often, somethign that has “good bones.”  The saying is very true for us, “one man’s trash, is another man’s treasure.”  And that explains us perfectly.  We are thrifters.  We revel in the vintage, the old and the reclaimed.  We love the smell of old books, chipped paint, and rust.  We truly believe that a house is not a home unless you have added character through aged things.  So we wanted to share a few of these loves with you this month and even take a special look into our personal recycled finds.  Hopefully this will inspire you to “recycle” and take a second look at that trash pile.

To start this month off we wanted to share a way we find some of our vintage goodies.  ETSY.  Many of you probably share this love. So here are two shops we love, and a few items we would recycle into our collections.

Kelli’s Pick:

Bellalulu Vintage is such a unique etsy shop. Their logo says it all…. vintage + industrial + retro + primitive + antique + flea market finds. That is exactly what you will find at their store. You can tell each item is hand picked and truly an antique treasure. They also photograph each piece in a way that helps you visualize it in you home and think of ways you can easily repurpose them.  Here are a few items I’m currently in love with from their shop:

(1) Vintage Wooden File Drawers Anything vintage that can be used for organizing has my name written all over it. I can’t help but picture how cute this would look on my desk, or anyone’s desk for that matter. I love the mismatched handles and the imperfections of the wood and paint adds character.

(2)  Vintage Kodak Tank This is such a neat find! These old Kodak tanks were used for film developing. I loved how she repurposed it as a plant stand, but really there could be so many uses for this.  And it can truly be appreciated by anyone with a love for photography.

(3) Vintage Wire Basket  I love old wire baskets.  Especially when they have a little rust on them to show their age. This one stands out as unique to me because I have never seen one with such an ornate shape. This would be a cute addition to any home office and great for organizing.

Candis’ Pick:

LoVintage Finds is such a cute little shop.  I basically want to buy everything they post and could see it in our very eclectic house.  They also photography everything is such a delightful way to really show off the pieces and their unique details.  (Photography is obviously something that would draw Kelli and I into any shop!)  I also love that their pricing seems to match the pieces well.  The worst thing is when vintage is too expensive to afford.  But their prices are very reasonable for each item.

(1) Vintage Glass Lamp  I’m in love with this lamp, and you may see it in my house soon.  Like I mentioned earlier, this lamp has good bones.  Something you do want to be careful about though when purchasing old lamps is the wiring.  Make sure you have a friend that could replace it if needed.  A good lamp base is always a good find for a room though, since you can add a modern shade, and change up the shade throughout the year if you wish, to really add even more character to the piece and your room.

(2) Vintage Replogle Lighted World Globe   I have always wanted one of these since I was a little kid.  So this may not be so much a recycling thing, as a vintage item I want.  But I had to share it anyways.  It is so unique and shows why we love antiques so much.  They really don’t make these the same anymore, so it becomes something truly special.

(3) Vintage Printers Drawer  I have somethign similar to this in my office, as you will see when we share our personal finds, but is a great addition.  I love that you can repurpose it like a shelf, to add decoration and organization in an office, or you could put it in a larger drawer to organize as well.

We hope this inspired you to check out Etsy and fall in love as much as we have.  Stay tuned for more Recyle With Style goodness for the rest of this month!

Can you believe it’s April already? We sure can’t! But we have a great month of fun for you this month. In honor of earth day this April 22, we are having a month of our own earth friendly recyclables and tips. So stay tuned and see what we have up our sleeve!