Paper or…
November 15, 2015
You know I can work a classic Kraft paper shopping bag six ways till Sunday. But, this waxed canvas market bag takes simplequietmodern to a new level. Easy care cotton canvas hand coated with organic beeswax. Perfect for carrying all the quince, apples and persimmons you’ll be cooking up during the holidays and leaving the brown bags you’ve been recycling available for the wrapping of gifts come December.
Top photo:https://food52.com/shop/products/718-waxed-canvas-market-bag
others: gp
It’s not over till it’s over
September 7, 2015
While Labor Day may mark the unofficial end of Summer, it’s actually not over until September 23rd. So, today, my time will be well spent flat out on one of those lounges indulging in a bit of vitamin D therapy or refreshing myself in the cool depths of that slate lined pool. Topping the day off with a simple alfresco dinner and an evening fire at the pool house and I’ve put together the perfect holiday stay-cation.
Photo via: http://cabbagerose.tumblr.com/post/128362395033/green-glass-tile-cd-poolhousemarc-merckx-via
A Bushel or a Peck
August 23, 2015
Tomatoes, corn and summer stone fruit. Now that we’re well into August they’re ripe for the picking. Is there anything better on a hot summer day than a BLT for lunch or dinner? How about the simplicity of corn on the cob or maybe a new riff like a charred corn salad? Or, savor peaches and plums in a pie or crostata…maybe whip up something new like a plum caramel to serve over ice cream. The early gifts of summers harvest are waiting at a farm stand near you. Sounds like a little road trip to the country is in order.
Top to bottom:
Bushels of heirloom tomatoes waiting to meet up with bacon and lettuce on a nice chunk of ciabatta.
Sweetcorn by the truck load. While corn on the cob is nice, this Charred Corn Salad with Lime, Chili and Tomato knocks it out of the park. Really, I can’t stop making this. Photo via Food52 http://food52.com/recipes/17913-charred-corn-and-avocado-salad-with-lime-chili-and-tomato
A handful of late Summer plums, a little sugar and a vanilla bean is all you need to whip up a batch of Plum Caramel…simple. http://food52.com/recipes/37359-creme-fraiche-plum-cake-with-plum-caramel
All photos ( with the exception of the charred corn salad ) by gp
Road Trip!
August 2, 2015
What better way to spend a gorgeous Summer day than a road trip. A micro vacation if you will. With perfect temps, blue skies and an early start, todays destination: the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I concentrated on the Sculpture Garden… 30 acres of meandering walkways, plantings, meadows and waterways. Around each turn and down every path I experienced another of the world’s most significant works of outdoor sculpture, each expertly presented within a site and plant environment specifically chosen to compliment it alone. A unique museum experience to be sure.
top to bottom:
“Cabin Creek” Deborah Butterfield
A cooling rock falls along the way.
“Plantoir” Claes Oldenburg
iPhone snaps: gp
Forecast: H O T
July 30, 2015
When the temperatures reach into the 90’s a pool looks awfully inviting. And, there are none more inviting to my simplequietmodern mind than this beauty…the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for his 1929 Barcelona Pavillion. If you’re in need of a little modern pool inspiration, here it is.
Photo via Gardenista http://www.gardenista.com/posts/20-best-architectural-swimming-pools-minimalist-new-modernism
A Complete 180
July 26, 2015
You can’t get any further from Winter’s icy grip than the middle of July. A near ninety degree Sunday calls for a simple plan, spending as much time as possible outdoors. Maybe a little yard work, to bring that Spring clean-up back on schedule, followed by a big slice of watermelon. Perfect.
photos: gp
Crossing The Line
July 19, 2015
On many levels. As I wrote in an earlier post, if black fences make chic neighbors…what does an ugly fence make? You decide. Picture it. Finally, a gorgeous summer day and you’re seconds away from your idyllic wooded yard at the end of a long one…gentle breeze, birds singing…a hint of pine in the air and the gentle tumbling of the river. As you turn that last corner… B A M! I nearly drove into the ditch. Drunken fence posts. Everywhere. WHITE PVC fence posts. It was like a punch in the face. Could it get any worse? You’ll see. Apparently nothing sets off a quiet natural setting of mature Austrian Pines, White Pines and Birch like a boatload of white plastic. My neighbors must have been binge watching the DIY network with a case of beer when they came up with this plan. And, the myopic installer must have been nursing a hangover himself while drilling the post holes, clearly crossing the property line and coming dangerously close to the gas main. As is often the case we are asked to ” suck it up” or file a lawsuit. Lovely. You mind your own business and live a simplequietmodern life and now you‘re sh*t outta luck? In one fell swoop some douche changes the entire complexion of a neighborhood…the aesthetics, the property values… and everyone else is supposed to roll over. Yeah….that’s not gonna happen. All that comes to mind is E-I-E-I-O ! In the meantime I need to focus on something else. Something simple, something quiet, something modern. That’s better…the Dresner House.
Top three iPhone snaps: gp Photos of the Dresner House via Plastolux
A Little Privacy, Please
July 8, 2015
While a fence can provide a little privacy where it’s needed, sometimes something more substantial is required. A solid wall comes to mind. But, something with a bit more panache…something with a style reminiscent of early mid-century residential architecture. This example by Kennedy Nolan Architects elevates the lowly concrete block to another level entirely. That’s a lot of style, texture and pattern based simply on a $1 brick. Brilliant.
photo: http://www.kennedynolan.com.au/
A summer breeze…
June 26, 2015
a great view and a tall cool one. The only thing missing is a place to relax and take it all in. That’s exactly what Thomas Lee thought when he set out “planking” together what would come to be an icon of Summer while weekending in the Adirondacks in 1905. Many incarnations of this classic design have evolved over the last one hundred plus years, but none compare tho the elegant simplicity of the original. The Westport Chair…inviting you to kick off those flip-flops and sit a spell.
photos via Gardenista and Remodelista.
Sweet and Simple
June 22, 2015
Pound cake. Does it get any better? Well, maybe it does…like this version using brown sugar found on Food 52. Add some berries to complement it’s moist texture and caramelized flavor and you’ve got dessert covered. Sorry, Sara Lee.
The recipe found here, http://food52.com/recipes/36103-brown-sugar-pound-cake ,was adapted from one found right on the package of Domino Sugar. While it calls for dark brown sugar, I also made this using light brown sugar and found the result to be even better. You might want to make two , one to snack on during the day and one for later.
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