Hey friends! Wow. Can you believe it? In a few weeks from now we’ll all be going tra-la-la-la-la. Ok, some of us already are. To gear up for the Holiday Season I created a playlist for West Elm! As you know, West Elm is my jam (well, everyone’s jam, really), so I was pretty stoked when they invited me to collaborate.

This playlist is perfect as an all-in-one option for your holiday musical needs. You can listen to it while cooking, eating, or relaxing with your friends, all cozied up with blankies. Listen to the full playlist on West Elm’s blog Front & Main.

Thanks for inviting me to collaborate, señores of West Elm :)

PS. to all of my non-american friends, you can’t listen to the playlist outside of the states because it’s hosted on Spotify, but you can take note of the up-and-coming artists. I’ll make a playlist on SoundCloud so we can all listen to them, woop!

a few weeks ago the guys from Acquired Taste Magazine – a Canadian food and lifestyle magazine – invited me to be part of #TheCoffeeProject on Instagram, which, as you may have figured out, focuses on the art of drinking coffee.

here in the west coast we totally love our coffee; on any given day you can toss a rock up in the air and chances are, you’ll hit a coffee shop.

obviously i wasn’t just going to post a picture of plain coffee, you know i had to take it to the next level, so i invited my vancouver buddy alicia carvalho to collaborate with me. she’s a talented graphic designer and lover of good type, so it was the perfect match.

together we created a series of 3 photographs for which alicia created the type, by hand, using coffee! yep, the type you see in here is either ground coffee or “coffee watercolour” (water + instant coffee). Paired up with her type, i styled the shots and well, here are the results.

three soul warming coffee recipes

triple dark coffee

this recipe is my absolute favourite, it’s the darkest of them all! it has chocolate, earl grey tea, and coffee. get a pot with enough water to make one cup of coffee. add a tea spoon of earl grey tea, a teaspoon of brown sugar, and as much coffee as you want (depending on how strong you like your cuppa). heat it up and turn off the heat as soon as it starts to simmer. add a few chunks of dark chocolate and let it melt. let it steep for a few minutes and strain it. serve with a splash of milk or leave it as is for a stronger flavour. *recipe adapted from lady and pups

sailor’s coffee

sail away to creative lands with this brew worthy of an explorer. super easy to make: make a cup of coffee and add a splash of spiced rum. done and done. if you wanna go a bit fancy, add some cinnamon! hmmm..can you feel the cozy heat?

a simple cortado

now this is something that’s kinda getting trendy in here (it’s kind of the shit in NYC), so you’ll probably see more of it later in the year. a cafe cortado is basically an espresso with a bit of warm milk. the ratio is crucial though, otherwise you’ll end up with a cafe con leche (super mild coffee with milk). i like using a 1:1 ratio of coffee and milk. to make it, start by preparing a cup of espresso, while that’s going, heat up your milk and foam it (with a machine or one of those little foamers). slowly add the milk to the espresso and voila! so good. wanna go the extra mile? add a touch of fresh ground nutmeg on top. yum!

easy, yes? ok, all this coffee talk is no good when i actually don’t have one in my hand, so, wanna go grab one?

Styling: The Artful Desperado
Typography: Alicia Carvalho

Dudes! ok. brace yourselves. a giant wave of awesome stuff from down under is about to hit your screen. it’s gonna inundate your rss feed and any other places where i post my stuff. don’t fight it. just take it in, all in.

k, so i’m still working on my back-from-australia posts (holy shit, it takes a lot of time to select the perfect photos). so in the meantime, i’m gonna share with you artful things from the land where the ‘roos roam free. first off – the coolest of them all – the design files 2013 open house.

as you may know, the design files is one of australia’s most loved design blogs, i mean, how can you not love it, it’s bursting at the seams with colour, creativity, and beautiful photos. well, apparently, that’s not enough. so what’s the next logic step? bring all this radness into the real world with an open house where EVERYTHING you see in it is for sale. kind of a dream home that you can buy in pieces.

they started this project in melbourne (the coolest city on planet earth – sorry NYC, but it’s true) back in 2011 and obviously it was a total success. now, for the first time, they’re hosting two open houses! one in sydney and one in melbourne. like whoa.

all the products displayed in the house are carefully curated by the design files team, and they’re nothing short of amazing. they have people of the caliber of esther stewart (paintings above) who we all love – oh! and whose work I got to see in person!! gah! – there’s also established aussie talent like beci orpin and harvest textiles, and many other up and coming gems.

what i love about this is that they are promoting local talent, peeps down there are totally into supporting their own. just the way it should be!

i selected a few favourites for this feature, but feel free to peruse the full list of participants on the design files’ open house page. talk about inspiration! Are you lovin’ it?

art by kirra jamison

leather goods my mademeasure

neoprene tote by witu (i so wanted to get one but the store were i found them was closed, womp womp)

art by miranda skoczek

art by laura jones

lovely design by stampel

Oh holy sweetness. I got a eye candy for you to indulge. Literally.

Joël Penkman is a New Zealander that has a soft spot for food and British culture – see tea cups below, aaaah-mazing, right? Oh and she’s quite serious about her craft and makes each paintings from scratch, that means preparing gesso boards and making the paints as well. Talented much? Absolutely!

Obviously since I’m still suffering of the southern hemisphere fever, I thought this artful feature with a kiwi artist would be the perfect ending to the week. See you on Monday with a fresh load of new content!

G’day mate!

Ok sorry I just had to do it. Dudes, I’m back! I cannot believe it. I’m pretty sure there’s some weird time vortex Down Under, ’cause seriously, time went flying! I guess that’s what happens when you’re having a blast.

Aside from being jet lagged like a zombie, my head is spinning around with ideas, photos, memories, and everything in between. I have tons of things to share, but not just the usual “oh look I went here, and here and there”, I also have some cool tips and a few lessons learned along the way that will hopefully help you too (creative lessons, nonetheless).

Australia is insanely cool. I had this preconceived idea that it would be like going to space (super long, painful flight) and nope. The flight felt the same as me going to New York (even though it’s obviously not the same distance) and it’s oh so worth it. I am hooked and already plotting future plans to go back! (oh hell to the yes). So, hang on tight ’cause there’s lots of content coming your way! (australian, artful, DIY, food, the works!).

PS. The photo above was taken while I was trying to figure out how to work my iPhone underwater in a reef, ha! A bit of a pretty accident, no?

Hey! So As you can see I haven’t posted anything this week. And I have a very VERY good excuse. You see, last week I was part of this awesome project created by Lowe’s in New York. Basically we got to design and style a room from start to finish. One of the coolest things I’ve done lately!

Now, I am leaving Down Under in a day! AAH! Yes, I mentioned earlier this month, I am going as part of #GoAustralia. So between designing a room, flying to the other side of the country, trying to catch up with the blog, plus my full-time job, plus, plus…well, you get the picture – I literally have an overflow of to-do tasks and very little time to get them done. So posts will not happen for the next two weeks.

So yes, I am still here, but will be on a – very much needed – blog break. Yes. A MOTHER FUCKIN’ BREAK!!! I never thought I’d say it, but yes, I’m gonna try really really hard to avoid peeking my head in here. Maybe one last post before I go, but that’s it. I really want to disconnect and stay away from the interwebs as much as I can so I can soak up the culture and the cool aussie vibes without any disruptions. Pinterest will still be there when I’m back so whatevs. (It better be!). Oh, and I’ll also write a MAJOR catch up post with all the latest happenings I haven’t been able to share with you.

I will however, continue to instagram whenever possible. That’s like, totally ok because I’d be documenting the trip. Right? So hey, while I’m away why don’t you pop by on Instagram and say hello! Yes?

Art by Daniele De Batte

Another guest blogger?! Yes! Today’s post is brought to you by the one and only Mr. Billy Bills from Wit & Vinegar. Everything this man bakes or cooks is drool worthy – especially this doughnuts! The mic is all yours, Billy.

Hey guys! Billy here, guest posting from Wit & Vinegar. I was super happy to guest post for Gab because this place is awesome, obvs, and that’s what friends are for. My thing is food so I’m bringing you one of my current obsessions: Baked doughnuts.

I asked Gab if there was anything in particular he wanted me to bring and he said whatever I wanted but hint hint cozy baked good. I instantly had an idea for some baked chocolate doughnuts from another blogger friends new book, mainly because they taste fabulous aaaaand they’re gluten free. So, DOUGHNUTS FOR YOUR GLUTEN FREE FACES. The flours should be fairly easy to find at a natural foods store or Amazon.

I was gonna go with a simple chocolate ganache for some choc on choc action but I had some of my favorite salted caramel sitting in the fridge that magically made it’s way to the top of the doughnut. I’m pretty sure that’s how unicorns are born.

I topped the caramel with some chocolate jimmies, but top them with whatever you want. Toasted pecans or macadamia nuts would be awesome, or toasted coconut or cocoa nibs? Just throw whatever your little heart desires unless it’s pretzels. I already took that ride for you and nothing happens.

Baked Chocolate Buttermilk Doughnuts with Salted Caramel

Doughnut recipe from Baked Doughnuts For Everyone
Salted Caramel slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

FOR THE DOUGHNUTS

- 1/2 c oat flour
- 1/2 c sweet rice flour
- 1/2 c pure cane sugar
- 1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 T almond meal
- 1 t baking powder
- 1/2 t salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 c + 2 T buttermilk
- 1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
- 2 T oil
- 1 t vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease your doughnut pan.

Combine the oat flour, sweet rice flour, cane sugar, cocoa powder, almond meal, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, mixing well. In another bowl, whisk the eggs together. Then whisk in the buttermilk, applesauce, oil, and vanilla extract.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a large wooden spoon until just combined, being careful not to overmix (stop when you no longer see dry flour).

Spoon the batter into the doughnut molds, filling to just below the top of each mold, 1/8- to ¼-inch (3 to 6 mm) from the top. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until lightly golden brown around the edges. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Slide a thin spatula around the edges of the doughnuts to help loosen them out. Then place on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully before topping.

The standard doughnut pan makes six doughnuts. I found no problem having the batter sit while six baked, then I just baked the other four when those were done.

SALTED CARAMEL

1 c white granulated sugar
6 T butter
hefty pinch of salt
1/2 c + 2 T heavy cream

In a very large pot, melt the sugar over high heat, stirring to make sure it all gets cooked evenly. once melted, cook until it becomes a dark copper color.

Add butter and salt and stir until butter has melted, remove from heat and add heavy cream. This will get frisky with you at this point and bubble up. This is why you should use the large pan. Whisk caramel until nice and smooth. Lasts up to two weeks in the fridge.

TO ASSEMBLE DOUGHNUTS

Make sure the doughnuts are cooled completely and make sure the salted caramel has cooled slightly, then add salted caramel to a small saucer. Carefully dip the doughnut into the caramel, then set back on cooling rack. Sprinkle with topping of choice before caramel sets.

In and all over my face please! This doughnuts are seriously sinful. Perfect treat for the holidays! Thanks a bunch for your awesome styling and recipe Mr. Billy. Guys, for more eye and mouth candy visit Wit & Vinegar.

Today’s guest blogger is the always sweet and cheerful Erin from artsocial. As you can assume, Erin and I share the same love for art and design and her latest Art Crush is totally going to my favorites!

Well hello! Erin from artsocial here. I’m so stoked to share one of my Art Crushes with you. Let’s get right to it, eh? Friends, meet NYC-based artist Brea Souders.

Brea is totally speaking my language: flowers, art historical references, pops of color, simple works with complex explanations. My contemporary art lovin’ brain is about to explode.

Although they seem different, all of these works are from the same series, Counterforms. In this series, Brea explores the many places in Europe where she has ancestry. Whaaat, how? Well, I’m glad you asked. The very top image Sunburn in Naples, for example, refers to her desire to really OWN her Italian ancestry but her inability to do so because of the Irish skin she also inherited. I feel ya, girl. I last approximately 20 minutes in the sun without some 85 SPF (yep, it goes that high).

Other photos include objects she found while researching her lineage in France. Because of digital enhancing and manipulation, her photos can start to resemble paintings. Pair that with unusual compositions and seemingly random objects? The final products are awesomely mysterious and surreal, don’t you think?

Check out more crush-worthy artwork from this series here!

Woweee. What did I tell ya, such a good art find, right? Thanks so much for sharing your latest Art Crush, Erin! And dudes, pop by artsocial for more arty gems like this one.