I've been a little distracted lately organizing my Flickr photostream. Flickr is such a microcosm of talent and beauty - it's easy to be swept away.

This past weekend I attended a Summer's Eve Dinner to benefit Slow Food Chicago. The menu was ode to the heirloom (so much meaning in this word) tomato covering such tasty creations as mini BLTs, light-as-air tomato foccacia and a basil & garlic tagliatelle worth stuffing oneself for. There were a couple of local farmers present to discuss their growing practices. I was especially interested in a remark about understanding the intelligence of a seed.

If you haven't experienced the pleasure of a Slow Food event, look up your local chapter.

Have you ever heard of:

* Chocolate and Apple varieties of mint?

* Basil seeds (which when soaked in water, develop a translucent coating and make a sweet & intriguing cocktail garnish)?

* an Alaskan Klee Kai?

* Blueberry-Mint or Apple-Sage sorbet?

* Pea shoots?

All small & delightful discoveries during my weekend, which you can experience, too:

* Mint varieties through Three Sisters Garden. Seasonal home-made sorbets from Seedling. Both vendors at the Green City Market.

* Spring mutter paneer (curried peas with Indian cheese in a creamy tomato sauce topped with fresh pea shoots) and Bollywood Rehab cocktail (effen vodka, passion fruit puree, Darjeeling tea, basil seeds, and mint) at Veerasway.

mango & blueberries over french toast = yum.

I was in New Buffalo, Michigan this past weekend coordinating a roof-top wedding at the Marina Grand Resort. I hope to share some photos of the happy couple soon.

While there, I enjoyed the container-garden installations greeting guests at the entrance of the hotel created by local designer, Marco Alexzondra of the Susan Fredman Design Group:


I popped in to meet Marco and found a connect-the-dots moment while looking through his portfolio of work - back in November of 2008, I bid on his tablescape at the DIFFA Dining by Design event!

Marco is a definite professional inspiration as is Susan Fredman's Harbor Country store, At Home with Nature.

Another wonderful weekend in Harbor Country, Michigan. Part business, part pleasure (dinner with friends, a small-town carnival & collecting pebbles in my Nature Girl bag).

The gifts of summer are upon us - long walks, flowers, sand underneath your feet, messages on the beach...

Savor every moment!

Tonight I attended an event in the beautiful courtyard of Design Within Reach's Chicago Tree Studio. Tara Heibel (owner of the urban dweller's go-to gardening boutique, Sprout Home) demonstrated techniques for planting container gardens while her audience sipped on spiked lemonade.

My camera died before I could snap some photos of the demonstration and I was disappointed I couldn't capture Tara's beautiful enthusiasm. There are some people that you can see are truly alive from their passion for what they do. Tara definitely showcased that energy as she joyfully described her choices for an edible container garden - scented geranium, purple basil, bay tree, root beer plant (!) and french tarragon.

She just might have motivated me to get my hands dirty!

What a fabulous weekend.

The Modern Wing at the Art Institute opened (Magritte, Leger, Miro, Kandinsky, Klee, Matisse - oh my!). Amy Krouse Rosenthal gathered a "Lovely" group together at a North-side space owned by Chicago's European Coffee House, Julius Meinl. Dined with a new and lovely friend who introduced me to radishes with salt and butter. And walked through the tranquil beauty of Rockford's Anderson Japanese Garden with Sandi.

Guest room linens at HeeJai's
Some things I learned this past weekend from my dear hostess-of-a-friend, HeeJai:

* Arugula + EVO oil + orange slices + dates = a lovely salad
* When making cookies, bring your butter to room temperature
* Angelfood cake + fresh lemon juice "icing" = syper yum
* A coffee-press = sophisticated caffeine
* A stack of magazines = easy entertainment for your house-guests

This past weekend HeeJai & I attended the Chicago Chapter of DIFFA's (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) Table Hop & Taste event. Some of Chicago's best restaurants were on hand to create tasty appetizers while attendees browsed 11 x 11 dining installations with a focus on exceptional table-top design. I was so impressed! My favorite was centered around the book, Inspired Styles. (Click on collage to enlarge)

What a great idea to create off-beat and whimsical centerpieces using cylinders filled with everyday objects that lend color and funk - crayons, colored sugar crystals, spools of yarn, mini gold safety pins, etc.

Sweets are always on my mind and I found this Mad Hatter's installation inspiring for a future winter-sweets party.

The Benjamin Moore room was exceptional - the entire house-like room was lined with paint samples!

Can you imagine the riot this room would create for kids? The small details in the room - like the party horns and placecards - were also created from paint chips.

Doug Wilson for Design Within Reach featured a cover from the New York Times magazine as the room backdrop, which I found also makes a fun photo backdrop (another future party idea).

Moving this weekend.

Goodbye Lakeview, hello South Loop!

Farewell, dear craft nook.

Taking a week off from blog-land to unpack and get settled.
I leave you with this:

"The bad news: there is no key to the universe.
The good news: it was never locked."

- Swami Beyondananda

"The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."
- Eden Phillipotts

Sandi and I attended a group bird-watching event this past weekend. We were the youngest people in the group and by far the most antsy. Although 15 minutes behind binoculars following the melodic swooping of a swallow was a bit much, it was a sweet little reminder of the importance of slowing down once in awhile.