K Sarah Designs

Etsy Shop Spotlight // Clare Elsaesser Art

Happy Friday and Valentines Day!!

I've been a huge fan of Clare Elsaesser's art for a while now, and I thought it was about time to highlight some of her work! She sells both original paintings and giclee prints in her etsy shop, and if you haven't seen her artwork before, I definitely recommend checking it out.

Here are a few of my favorites:

one //  two

three //  four

five //  six

seven //  eight

The mood of her paintings is sometimes light + whimsical, and sometimes moody, but all of her work has an easy, loose quality to it that I love. I also really enjoy her unique use of florals in her portaits... which happens to be quite appropriate for Valentines Day, too, am I right? ;)

Currently, I have a print of "Married to the Sea" hanging on my wall, and love it very much. The colors are so gorgeous in person!

 

Wishing you a wonderful Valentines Day and weekend!

Tasty Eats // Marinated Mushrooms

Marinated mushrooms will always and forever remind me of my grandmother, affectionately known as M.A. These mushrooms were M.A.'s specialty when I was growing up, and I don't think we ever had a holiday or celebration without these tasty little appetizers gracing the table.

M.A. passed away when I was in high school, and while there are lots of things I miss about her - most notably her sense of humor (and subsequent deep belly-laugh) - there are also lots of small things, like her famous marinated mushrooms. Unfortunately, I never did ask for her recipe, and I've regretted it many times over the years... So you can imagine my excitement when I came across this recipe recently!

I made a couple of adjustments in an attempt for it to more closely resemble M.A.'s version, and I think it's pretty close (and, at the very least, just as delicious)! If you like mushrooms, you will love this tangy, garlic + herb-infused mushroom recipe.

 

Marinated Mushrooms

- 1 lb. fresh cremini (or button) mushrooms
- 4 Tbsp. extra virgin oilive oil
- 3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
- 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1-2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 2-3 Tbsp. finely minced red onion
- 2 tsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns (optional)
- 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds (optional)

 

Clean the mushrooms, and trim the stems. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the mushrooms, and simmer for five minutes, or until tender. Drain the mushrooms. Place the mushrooms and the rest of the ingredients in a large jar (I used a large Weck jar, but a large mason jar works well too). Seal the jar and give it a thorough shake to mix everything together.

Let the mushrooms marinate at least overnight, and up to a week, in the refrigerator, making sure to give them a shake every so often so that they're evenly marinated. Serve in a platter or bowl, taking care to remove the black peppercorns and coriander seeds, if you used them. (*Note: It's definitely not necessary to use them - you can just sub in ground black pepper instead of the whole peppercorns + coriander seeds... in fact, I will probably do this next time, since biting into the whole seeds that I accidentally left in there wasn't ideal). Enjoy!

 

*Recipe adapted from Use Real Butter

Interiors i love // Patrick Dempsey's Malibu Home

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a nice weekend!

It rained the entire weekend around these parts, which was nice since we reallllllly need the rain, plus it provided the perfect opportunity to stay in and watch the Olympics. It also allowed for some extra pinterest action, which is how I came across Patrick Dempsey's Malibu home featured in Architectural Digest. I really love the 'California cool' feel of it:

 

 

 

 

 

It's sophisticated, with some great antiques + global pieces, but also cozy and kid friendly with an easy, laid-back style... To top it off, it's set against an interesting architectural backdrop, which is fitting, since the house was designed by Frank Gehry! It was one of Gehry's earliest houses (started in 1968), and as a self-proclaimed architecture nerd, I found that pretty awesome.

You know, it's kind of funny - when I was in college Frank Gehry's work was some of the most polarizing that we studied... People seemed to either really love it, or really not like it... I think this stemmed from the fact that much of his work disregards the 'form follows function' principle, something that's stressed to us on pretty much day 1 of architecture school. Rather than using layout, function, and materiality to inform the design, many of his buildings focus on the sculptural quality of the exterior skin... which is basically the opposite of form following function.

The Disney Concert Hall in LA and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao are two of the most obvious examples of this approach, and I have to think that everyone, regardless of whether you agree with his approach, can admire the unique beauty of them. I suppose my point in all of this is there's a reason why he's one of the most recognizable and highly-acclaimed architects of our time - he creates interesting, sculptural architecture that makes a statement, and in many cases, impacts a citys landscape.

Anyway... I didn't mean to get so wordy or go off on a Frank Gehry tangent! Clearly I'm still an architecture nerd, even if my focus lies in interiors these days :) But going back Dempsey's house - the interiors were decorated by Estee Stanley (whose work I featured here). She's brilliant at mixing textiles and textures, and it's really evident in this home. The outdoor space is equally gorgeous, with a huge organic garden and lush landscaping. Southern California cool at its best!

 

I hope your week is off to a great start!

*All images via Architectural Digest