Wednesday's Own... Things We Love

                                    

                                          Baltimore icons.

Favorite book from our favorite press.

Having a reason to get out of bed: To look at it.

Office Space

Suspended Tissue Poufs

Baltimore Who's Who Map

SOGH Painting and Bamboo Reed

It's not always easy to make your work space your own. After a recent office move, it seemed natural to redo the new digs, and we added color, humor and local flavor to create a little professional oasis.

We whipped up a few tissue paper poufs using bright green, purple and yellow with their alternating pastel shades. They hang above the desk and are placed perfectly to catch mid-eye roll.

Tom Chalkley is a local cartoonist who created a caricature map of Baltimore's finest. We found this one for under $30 at the Charles Village Barnes and Noble. It's a silly conversation piece but has also proved to be a wealth of Trivia Night information. (Montell Williams AND Edward Norton are from Baltimore. And they make very handsome bobble head cartoons.)

We were gifted this SOGH painting, but you can grab one on a quick trip to the American Visionary Art Museum for under $20. The artist works at Side Show (the coolest museum gift store ever) and we're willing to bet he'd be happy to chat about his wood block paintings.

The Onion mug was supposed to be a present but was "left behind" during a holiday gift exchange and now loyally serves as a green tea container and daily reminder.

Shades of Gray

(Image courtesy of RealSimple)

Maybe it's conditioning from all the rain we've been getting in Baltimore, but we're starting to warm up to gray. October's Real Simple showcases gray as the new base color and it's pretty fabulous. The layout features color accents that pop next to gray, and the floor length yellow curtains above are perfect with this shade. (Though we'd probably nix the Lucite table and waiting-room sofa.)

Fall always feels like the perfect time to re/decorate... a rich gray would look fantastic on bedroom walls, don't you think?

Let Them Make Cake!

We have to admit: We almost like making cakes more than eating them. Almost.

We recently whipped up this devils-food-with-vanilla-icing-and-fondant cake for a co-workers birthday and were quite pleased with the results. Duff may be the badass cake maker of our fair city, but we're willing to bet our marshmallow and powdered sugar fondant would impress even him. 

To level the playing field we'll leak the recipe after the jump. 

You Gotta Lotta Moxie, Kid

(Image courtesy of ban.do)

(Image courtesy of Steve Madden)

(Image courtesy of Hendricks)

(Image courtesy of shopbop)

The Fall TV season is in full swing and although we have our usual favorites (helloooo Mad Men) there's a new kid in town. HBO's Boardwalk Empire transports viewers to prohibition era Atlantic City where the gangsters are as prevalent as the illegal booze. Thanks to our new weekly addiction we have been absolutely obsessed with the unpolished sexiness of the roaring twenties. Our hearts are still tucked away into Joan's curve-hugging dresses, but we're romanticized by slinky dresses, over-the-top head pieces, and gin-soaked parties that last til dawn. 

So fashion a gimlet, and slip into one of our fabulous flapper picks guaranteed to make you the cats meow.

Shoot 'em Up

We know college is over, but sometimes it's nice to update old favorites. WTMD's First Thursday's concert plays right outside our window, meaning early each month we can count on a bevy of visitors. Typically we just grab some beer and wine and hope it doesn't run out, but for the most recent concert we decided to prepare with an adult take on a college staple. 

We give you: The Hello! Shooter.

There is something far less gauche about slurping vodka-soaked Jello out of a fruit rind as opposed to a jagged Dixie cup, wouldn't you agree? 

(Plus they were super fun to make.)

The Hello! Shooters were a big hit. Easy to make, easy to serve and fun without being (terribly) tacky. If you're feeling nostalgic, directions are after the jump.

Wednesday's Own... Things We Love

Finding friends in unexpected places.

Creative planting.

An Inspired space to read.