A Toy Hairdryer?

I've been on the lookout for a travel-size hairdryer. Last week I came across this BaByliss micro dryer in Marshalls for under $20, so I decided to give it a try. I have to say it works pretty well! It's certainly not the hottest or most powerful, but it has a nice concentrator and results in a non-frizzy finish. Many times hotels have a perfectly good hairdryer, but this will do in a pinch. When I was on vacation in London, the hairdryer was absolutely awful (which considering it was a nice, full-service hotel that was surprising); it took literally forever to dry my hair. And who wants to be wasting time primping on vacation when you can be having fun? Now that I have my teeny tiny toy-size dryer there will always be room for it in my suitcase and I'll always be prepared for a hairdryer emergency!

Boots: Sought and Found

I temporarily gave up on finding good knee-high leather boots, as I've yet to try on a pair under $400 that isn't big and saggy around my legs. Instead I found these mid-height boots by Born Crown at Nordstrom Rack. My pair is a lighter brown than those pictured and should look nice with jeans or navy blue cords. I like that they have a heel but are super comfortable and the leather is soft and buttery. Shopping success! (image-Zappos)

Perfectly Pink Friday

I'm in love with these pink chairs--

so charming and elegant!

Photo from House Beautiful, July 2009, designer: Jonathan Berger

Happy Friday!

What's in a name?

This post is a re-post from way back when I starting blogging. As nobody was really reading back then, you may be wondering where on earth the name "Pink Maple" comes from! I'm sure my love for all things "pink" has become pretty obvious by now, but what about "maple"?

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I thought it was a good time to share where the name Pink Maple Design came from. The 1950 children’s novel, The Pink Maple House, a charming story written by Christine Noble Govan, provided the inspiration for Pink Maple Design. It was one of my favorite books when I was in elementary school. I bought it at my library’s book sale for about 25¢! Sadly, it’s out of print now. The main character, a young girl named Polly moves with her family to a beautiful old home nestled in a grove of maple trees:

“. . . the maples had turned and were the loveliest shade of goldy pink, imaginable. The morning sun shone through the leaves. They seemed made of very thin pieces of some sort of rosy precious stone.”

The book recalls a happy, simple time when everything seems exciting. I hope that the designs featured in the Pink Maple collection evoke the same beauty and enthusiasm.

Work-in-Progress

How do you like the new Pink Maple Design business cards? Last year we just printed them ourselves, but after buying a domain name over the summer my mom and I decided "real" printed business cards were in order. They aren't professionally designed or anything fancy-schmancy like that, just designed by me using a template on the FedEx Office website and a somewhat artful photo I took of my mom's crocheted scarves.

The website is also just a designed-by-me work-in-progress. But it's sufficient for now atleast. The number one question we get from customers at fairs is what other fairs we'll be at. So right now the website has a list of all our fairs and a small sampling of photos. I still have to take photos of some of my newer headbands and migrate my custom wedding jewelry photos from my old Pink Maple Bride site to the new site. Everything takes SO long!!

Lilly Bargains

Lilly bargains at TJ Maxx today: I scooped up two of these memo pad sets for $6.99 each. TJ Maxx is funny; plenty of times there will be absolutely nothing of interest (today I went in for a set of pink hangers to display scarves at craft fairs), but every once in a while great bargains pop up that keep me coming back!

The Weekend

Friday night - Dinner

With BlackLabsandLilly and BeantownPrepster, where we all copied each other and had delicious prosciutto mac and cheese.

Saturday - Craft Fair
with my mother, I may be biased but I think her crocheted hats are gorgeous!

Sunday - Shopping
At the Kittery Outlets in Maine, where I bought the outlet version of these cords in black and brown.

How was your weekend?

Go Dark

Since it is October and Halloween is fast approaching, this week's "perfectly pink room" feature has gone dark--way dark. The House Beautiful website currently has a feature on "8 Black Rooms That Aren't Scary." What do you think, could you go dark?

This terrace room balances all the black with plenty of white and the fact that it is an outdoor room means lots of sunshine. Although if it were my terrace, I don't think I could resist adding a pop of color in the form of pink or red flowers.

This kitchen is also quite chic I think.

But I this entrance hall is just a bit too dark for me. It looks very striking in the photo, but it could be very gloomy if the hall has no windows (such as an apartment).

Apple Harvest

Columbus Day Weekend in New England is THE time to celebrate fall--whether it be leaf peeping along a scenic route, decorating for fall with mums, cornstalks, and pumpkins, OR applepicking! Saturday I went to Smolak Farms in North Andover, MA with a group of friends: we traipsed through the orchards in search of the perfect apples and then enjoyed hot apple cider and apple cider donuts at the farm's shop. (Sorry no people-pics, my friends were blog-camera shy!)

What did I do with my bag of apples?

Apple crisp about to go in the oven:

This recipe is a little twist on a traditional crisp as it includes raspberries, it's from the Quaker Oats website.

Filling:
6 cups thinly sliced apples
1/4 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flower
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup raspberries (I used frozen ones leftover from my parent's summer garden)

Topping:
3/4 cup Quaker Oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8-inch square glass baking dish with cooking spray.
- To make filling, combine apples and apple juice in a large bowl. Then add brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Stir until the apples are evenly coated and then add raspberries. Spoon into baking dish.
- To make topping, combine oats, brown sugar, oil, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Mix well, then sprinkle evenly over the apple filling in the baking dish.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until the apples are tender. (As you can see from the pic, I used a round bowl and just left it in the oven closer to 40 minutes.)
- I ate it warm with a spoonful of cool whip.

Happy Weekend!

I am going applepicking tomorrow for this first time in ages. I can't wait! And rumor has it that the farm has the best apple cider donuts-yum!

What are you up to on this Columbus Day weekend?

Mini and Me

The J Crew 25% off coupon I received in the mail provided excellent incentive to update my fall wardrobe last week. I got a couple of much-needed new cardigans and shirts for work, as well as this Felted Wool Mini. Being on the tall side, mini's and me often don't work well together, but the cut of this skirt was surprisingly flattering and will pair nicely with a pair of tights. I've shown it in gray so you can see the super-cute pockets, although I bought it in black (which was on sale!)

I also tried on this corduroy skirt (Cord Atlee Skirt) in navy blue, but it had the unfortunate effect of looking like I was wearing a drawstring garbage bag. Definitely not the right fit for me! Although like the felt wool mini, I love that it has pockets; such a nice (and practical) styling detail.

Now all I need to do is find a new pair of tall, flat leather boots and my fall wardrobe will be complete! Have you seen any nice boots lately? What are you lusting after for fall?

Shopping: London-Style

I've just returned from a delicious brunch with friends at Gaslight in Boston's South End. Being too full of delicious food to do anything particularly productive (other than search for a recipe for the a-m-a-z-i-n-g shortbread bars served as a pre-brunch appetizer, apparently they are a Julia Child recipe), I thought it high time to share my London shopping adventures with you. I am also stuck home missing the last Red Sox game of the season, as poor Pink Maple Puppy had to have some teeth pulled on Friday so I am the designated dog sitter!

First, my most important London purchase, I finally bought Hunter wellies in aubergine (a nice, subtle purple) at Harvey Nichols and matching fleece socks.

I seemed to be in the mood for purple, as I also got a medium Longchamp at Harrods in Heathrow just before heading home. Given that there was no tax, just about everything at the airport Harrods was marked 10% off, and Harrods allows you to pay in US dollars so no credit card conversion fee, the bag was a great bargain at just $85.


I also bought so much tea for myself and as gifts, I was beginning to worry that customs would think I was some kind of tea importer! My favorites are Royal Blend tea from Fortnum & Mason, first made for King Edward VII in 1902, and Harrods English afternoon blend.



I also bought lots of little souvenirs: tea towels and Christmas ornaments from Buckingham Palace and Windsor castle, Liberty of London handkerchiefs that I plan to frame as part of a little DIY project, a Keep Calm and Carry On print from the Churchill War Rooms which is now hanging in my office at work, and pretty Christmas cards at the Victoria and Albert Museum. I love having a little something from each place I have visited on a trip.