Happy last Friday in July!

Oh how I'd like to be blogging from there! Have a nice weekend!

Pendleton for Urban Outfitters

The August issue of Vogue has an article about the return of the classic brands in home and fashion, including Pendleton, maker of wool blankets and other items for 100 years. So I was pleasantly surprised to see the new handbags by Pendleton at Urban Outfitters. There are three different sizes: a small cross-body at $48, a bucket bag priced at $258 , and a weekender bag at $198. They all have the signature blanket look. Love them!

Fish Tacos

Still on a cookbook kick: even though I talked about always using Epicurious, yesterday I pulled out my Susan Branch "Summer" cookbook for some inspiration. She has so many great ideas for using the fresh seasonal produce from our gardens and farmer's markets and I've never been disappointed with any of her recipes.


I actually didn't follow Susan's recipe exactly...I was going to do my own thing but it turned out the package of flour tortillas I brought home had a great fish taco recipe on the back, so I used their marinade and I'm really glad I did - it was great!


Here is my pasted-together final version:


flour tortillas
tilapia filets
fresh lime juice
dried oregano
chili powder
fresh garlic
olive oil
fresh tomato or fruit salsa
avocado
sour cream


Combine the lime juice, herbs, garlic and olive oil in a small bowl and brush onto both sides of the fish. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes up to several hours. Grill tilapia until flaky and opaque. Pile all ingredients into a warmed tortilla. *I use lots of cilantro in my homemade salsa, but if yours doesn't you might want to add some  fresh cilantro to your taco for the freshest taste.


It didn't occur to me to take a photo, so I'm cheating and using one from Google Images that looks a lot like mine did!

Sophie Dahl

I haven't bought a new cookbook lately, because as much as I love them, I tend to get most of my new recipes from the internet. It's so easy to search Epicurious for anything you need! But I do enjoy reading cookbooks for pleasure, and Gwyneth Paltrow just reminded me (in her blog; we're not BFFs!) there is a new one I really want to get: Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights.

Sophie is the granddaughter of the author Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and a former fashion model. She's married to singer Jamie Cullum, one of my favorite musicians -- unfortunately he is about two feet shorter than Sophie, which makes for some odd photos of the couple!

Here is a recipe for cinnamon roast peaches with vanilla yogurt as printed in House Beautiful, and another for buckwheat-cheddar blini with smoked salmon as printed in Food and Wine. 

The book also includes lots of stories about Sophie's life and is illustrated with her own sketches. I'm headed to Border's soon to pick it up!

Bedroom by Target

Time for another fantasy room furnished entirely at Target.com.  This time I took a shot at a master bedroom, and found lots of great, high-end looking items, rounded out by a gel fireplace with bookshelves (I did not know they made such a thing!).

Reader Discount at Jules Reid!

Dear Readers,

Just for reading my blog, you can receive 25% off at Jules Reid! Just type in blog25 at checkout! Hurry, the discount applies this week only!

Happy Fourth!

Here's some All-American gorgeousness from Ralph Lauren, the most American of American designers:

Happy Independence Day!