PHOTO OF YESTERDAY

ROOF TOP FARMS!! SIGN UP NOW!! STAY TUNED FOR SPRING 2010 SEASON!

Roof Top Farms... is one of the coolest things happening in otherwise toxic Greenpoint Brooklyn. Yesterday I went by for the last farm stand sunday of the season.. I love the concept I love the vibe I love the people there and I love what they are doing.. We should all be eating food grown a little closer to home.. Even a few of our local restaurants purchase produce grown from this wonderful urban farm... so .. reach out and sign up for spring 2010 announcements so you too can buy produce directly from the local farmers and support this amazing achievement in the local food movement.. volunteer to work in the roof garden, teach, or take a class.. it is a beautiful place with a wonderful view of the city and brings you... down to earth.. There are many things happening over the winter but the farm wont officially start growing again until May 2010 so stay tuned! sign up for their mailing list... support!! and if you live nearby check it out!!

Would you like to build cold frames? Organize neighborhood compost, or add your own? Jump in on 2010’s CSA? Please specify your skills and interests in your email to rooftopfarmer@gmail.com.

Positions in teaching and farming are available through the winter with Growing Chefs. Write growingchefs@gmail.comto get involved.

PHOTO OF YESTERDAY

Robertas 11/09.

Pimpin aint easy.. but that living room needed a bi*%ch slap!! Marla Weinhoff extends her hand and whips it into shape!!

Before After
Marla Weinhoff a truly talented and accomplished production designer with an amazing eye for interiors was being taunted by her husbands living room. She would wake up at night and hear it calling out to her.."Marla?? are you there?? Can you hear me? Help me! Fabulize me!"

It all started at The Modern Show where we saw the amazing sofas that inspired us.... From Rue Auber. Edward Wormely for Dunbar with original fabric from the 1960's by Jack Lenor Larsen. With a little encouragement from yours truly..she bought them!! And so the makeover started! The dominos fell one by one... the carpet... the coffee table, the book cases, the dining table, the chairs, and before we knew it... THE WHOLE LIVING ROOM!!

Marla always told me a carpet is the soul of any room. So we started at ABC Carpet. She showed our friend Paul photos of the sofas and he directed us to a large burgundy gradated silk and wool carpet.... A nice background to compliment the wild sofas. With two sofas Marla thought - two coffee tables for sure!! After looking for a couple weeks she realized it may be cheaper to fabricate.. so she did a sketch and she sent it to Raphael over at RG Tile. Fossil Black Marble.. beautiful!!

We all know decorating a room can be expensive so Marla had to cut corners where she could... I convinced her to go to Ikea where we found the Besta shelving system. They had narrow 7" deep shelves for the major amount of paper backs that had to be stored.. We stacked the shorter shelves on top of the tall ones to give a floor to ceiling custom effect for a fraction of the price...

The TV console is also from Ikea and added a fun pop of color while providing storage for the thousands of playstation controllers that had been found littering the house..

We all love a Saarinen but the real ones are so expensive, new they have a 6-10 week lead time! Who can wait for that!? Here is a reproduction of the original tulip table from Room and Board in black marble. Amazing photo of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page from Led Zepplin by LesGuzman.

the repro tulip chairs are from Shop Seating. Marla used beautiful leopard fabric to cover the seats of the chairs and give them a custom feel!! Another trip to ABC revealed this beautiful camoesque silk and wool carpet for under the dining table...

Before After

A tall red velvet curtain conceals a little nook for storage while adding height to this now pimped living room!!! Looking good and everyone enjoying!! Hottness!

PHOTO OF YESTERDAY

Photo compliments of Marla Weinhoff. From the set of Mr. and Mrs. Comfort shot by Richard Avedon for The New Yorker.

MONDAY MORNING CANDY!!!

LISTED! A WEEKS WORTH OF MEALS PLANNED ON ONE PIECE OF PAPER

Turns out my very good friend Angelika Winner sits down every Saturday morning and plans out an entire week of meals!!! She goes thru her recipes and her schedule and then creates a list of the meals, the ingredients, what she has to purchase at the farmers market, and what she has to purchase at the grocery store! Amazing! Who does this anymore?! Angie learned this technique from her mother who keeps it fresh by introducing new recipes all the time and rotating successful ones... This helps both of them conserve food and conserve funds. The recipes are always very vegetable oriented and take into account the season and what is available from local farmers markets. This way she supports local farms and the environment by purchasing things that have not been shipped too far or grown in a hothouse. Food with a low carbon footprint. I went with Angie to the Fort Green Farmers Market on Saturday to observe her in action...

The Fort Green Famers Market is picturesque. Set on a the edge of Fort Green Park between beautiful trees and rows of brownstones.

This is possibly one of the best small farmers markets in Brooklyn. It has everything you need: fresh local fish, meat, cheese, dairy, bakery goods, bread and a huge array of fruit and veggies.

Every week Angie plans her dinners as well as her lunches making a large tray of pizza that she can take in for lunch. The highlights for this weeks meals were: Brussels Sprout and Bacon Tart -a recipe her mother had sent her. YUM! Winter Greens with Marinated Mushrooms and Walnuts, You Won't Believe its Not Mashed Potatoes (made from cauliflower!), Chinese Dumplings, and a delicious interpretation of a potato tortilla - another recipe from mom! Angie was kind enough to translate it from german for us here:

I am inspired by Angie's approach and like the way she keeps it as local as possible. It is a pretty amazing accomplishment for an urbanite these days!!! Thanks Angie!!

CIRKUS CIRKOR PRESENTS INSIDE OUT: LET GO OF YOUR PURSE AND STOP DRAGGING YOUR HEART AROUND

I mean really, this woman was holding onto her purse and dragging that heart around almost the whole performance... You could hear a general exhale from the audience when she finally LET IT GO. The Cirkus Cirkor performance last night at B.A.M. was packed full of amazing achievements of physical strength and discipline... but I was moved by the story and the theatre of the circus... The show began and I started wondering... should I really have left my warm comfy apartment??? By the end of the first act I was drawn in... The circus has an interesting structure with archetypal characters each possessing their own special skill and a general build up that reminded me of a firework display. bang bang BANG BANG BANG! But beyond the tricks, the stunts, the feats of courage, and vigor... the message of this show was... LET GO! DONT HOLD ON SO TIGHT! PLAY!! Like a circus performer each one of us has our own special talent, something we can contribute, something we must always explore. There is no judging in the circus.. just be yourself... let go of your purse and stop dragging your heart around..

PHOTO OF YESTERDAY

Photo by meggomatic. Look at that fab collar!!!

POST BIKES BROOKLYN GETS A LITTLE MAKEOVER BY ARTIST RYAN HUMPHREY

My homies over at Post Bikes got a nice make over by artist and rider Ryan Humphrey of Humphrey Industries..... The place looks hot. Stop by! BMX specialists but catering to all styles... sales, repairs, clothing, events, and blog. They like bikes. They like bike stuff. And we like what Ryan Humphrey did...

ARTIST: RYAN HUMPHREY

on the ole willib water front when there was still burned out cars packs of dogs and the "park" was abandoned land...

SHOUT OUT TO BROOKLYN!! MARTHA STEWART VISITS MY HOOD AND MY HOMIE JOEL HOROWITZ OF PEOPLES POPS

Well HOT DAMN my neighborhood property value just went up!! The Martha Stewart Show came for a visit to Brooklyn and hit up a few of my favorite places...... The show focused on the local food movement exploring the close connections between growers restaurants distribution and the enthusiasm of eaters who want to know where their food comes from. Martha visited two places across the street from my house on Broadway in Williamsburg - Marlow&Sons and Marlow&Daughters - a fantastic restaurant and butcher shop specializing in local food, Marlow gets much of their produce from Rooftop Farms in Greenpoint which literally grows produce on a warehouse rooftop and supplies many local restaurants and shops - I buy this produce everyday and it is amazing..... Next stop The Brooklyn Flea where Martha tasted every edible thing available!! .... A friend of mine Joel Horowitz and his partners David Carrell and Nathalie Jordi sell their own home made Peoples Pops at the Brooklyn Flea - gourmet popsicles made from fresh local fruits and herbs in interesting combinations like "Sweet Blackberry & Cantaloupe," "Watermelon & Basil," "Roasted Apricot & Lavender Holyfield," and "Crazy-Ass Sweet-Cream-Corn & Blackberry."

And a clip of Martha with my friend Joel Horowitz and his partner David Carrell of People's Pops....

Well i love food and i love brooklyn so THANK YOU MARTHA!!!

WHAM!! MY MORNING DANCE ROUTINE

A throw back but damn with that hair and those moves.... WHAM!!

FIFTIES MANIA: A DECORATIVE TIME CAPSULE

My dear friend Arthur MacDonald has a decorative obsession with the fifties. He has toiled for years over his west village apartment creating his own manifestation of fifties decor... He has hand painted faux wall papers and linoleum flooring, installed faux brick walls and custom made bamboo room dividers, meticulously restored furniture and lighting, and sewn draperies from vintage fabrics... Arthur has done it all himself... and of course with a little help from his friends.. I mean REALLY!!!! SOMEBODY SHOOT A MOVIE IN ME!!!

"Lighting is the liveliest of the home decorating arts, and, by it's nature, the most important. It is also the most neglected. Without imaginative, creative lighting, even impeccable decorative instinct and the finest furnishings fail to attain glorious realization. Lighting is the touchstone, the unifying and vitalizing force, where even ordinary rooms are startlingly transformed, and special rooms achieve sudden, striking distinction!" - Arthur MacDonald

Dirty Martini Anyone?

Here we see the inspiration developed at a very young age... and as we know the home we grow up in shapes us for life!! Arthur below with his bothers and sister....

For location inquiries please contact meghan@meghanduran.com