The week before Christmas, I had a rare desire to bake: Christmas tree-shaped cookies, decorated with various tasty colorful toppings like rainbow sprinkles, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, crushed candy canes, crushed cinnamon candy, you get the idea. And so I went right to marthastewart.com to investigate cookie recipes. Did you know that the site features a different cookie each day during the holiday season? I think Martha should continue Cookie of the Day for the whole year. I personally would return everyday, or at least every week, to see what's new in the world of cookies.

We chose the Spicy Chocolate Sandwich Cookie, unsandwiched and unfilled, for our colorful cookie-cutter Christmas tree cookies. I became inspired to bake after I saw Martha create some overly-elaborate but quite wonderful gingerbread cookies with Isaac Mizrahi on the show. Poor Isaac could barely get a word in edgewise, but the cookies turned out fantastically. On our own baking day, I wanted to deviate from the recipe in all sorts of ways, because that is just my way, but my husband wouldn't let me. I did, however, add extra espresso powder and cinnamon when he wasn't looking.

The cookie project, which included gathering supplies and ingredients in mid-town Manhattan and two neighborhoods in Brooklyn, cookie-cuttering the trees, decorating and baking them (in our Brooklyn oven) took two rather full days. We walked many miles to buy a rolling pin, Christmas tree cookie cutters and parchment paper, burning off calories in advance of the tasting fun which was to follow. But after the baking was done, we were left a little cookied-out, with many more cookies than anyone could imagine. A little overwhelmed, we ate one each and decided they were a total failure. But after some distance from our mega-batch, we now think they are delicious, a bit quirky, but tasty. My husband thinks that Martha would not approve. I probably agree.

days later, the Christmas tree cookies, now accepted as valid,
proudly pose for a picture

The Story of Stuff is a compelling 20 minute presentation written by Annie Leonard. It is worth a watch. Suffice it to say, it might make you think about production and consumption in a new way.

I wanted to create a wintry scene for my jewelry display at the shopping event last week. So I hit the dollar stores for interesting display items. I found the gold frame, the glittery clear plastic Christmas trees, and the gold mini pine cones all at my favorite dollar store on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint. I had to alter each item to get it looking like I wanted it to, but I have tools. No problem.

The pine cones were originally attached to some rather unattractive giant ribbons. The Christmas trees were ornaments. (As you can see, I've been getting a lot of mileage out of those.) The frame was perfect as it was. I loved how the texture of the wood complemented each necklace. I removed the glass, cut some cardboard slightly smaller, wrapped it in "Stuf & Fluf' poly batting, and sewed on the silk dupioni. Crafty and fun.

And Fork: 100 Designers, 10 Curators, 10 Good Designs. Isn't this a great looking cover?

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire... Take a walk over to 5th Avenue and treat yourself to a bag.

Deeelicious.



By the way, this is my 900th Post. gee

New York always looks so great for the holidays. You can feel the energy of the streets intensify especially at dusk when all the lights start to twinkle. I like the holiday windows at the W hotels around the city, decorated with the plastic holly leaf sculptures. To me they look like a cross between holly leaves, flyswatters, and the modular seaweed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra which I have in my bathroom. I tend to like more abstracted seasonal design, so the modular holly leaves are right up aesthetic alley.

I decided when I woke up this morning that we should Deck our Halls* tonight after dinner. We have been having a rather ascetic holiday season with both of us getting the coughing sneezing stuffy head pounding headache sickness that always perfectly coincides with The Season. 'Tis the season to blow your nose a lot.

But anyway, I thought we should try to inject this week with some cheer, and decorate. So I spruced up the table to set the mood. And found a box of Christmas decorations for later merry-making. I really wanted to get a Charlie Brown Christmas tree this year, but I don't know if that will happen, as Christmas is only one week away, and I don't know that we would get enough mileage out of it. I saw three people carrying a Charlie Brown Christmas tree home on the L train last weekend. Poor little sad tree with only a few floppy branches to decorate and needles dropping everywhere. I immediately liked them. A lot.


*which I hope just means 'seasonal decorating' because that's all I'm trying to convey here.

My plants were looking a little more than a little sad this morning. In all honesty, they haven't been looking that great for the month of December, with the sun never shining on them anymore because of that depressing angle of light that never enters the house, and the heat-pumping radiator on which they sit with only a Lac Shelf from IKEA not really protecting them from cooking to death.

But this morning I decided to do something about it. I remembered that succulents are a forgiving variety that you can re-sculpt, and pretty much pretend that nothing ever happened. So after pruning, repotting and raising the leaves off the hot Lac Shelf by nesting them in decorative pots, I think they (and I) can survive the Winter. Remember, December 22 may be the shortest day of the year, but on December 23, the days start getting longer! I cannot wait.

The Morton Salt Website has an interesting section called Household Tips. I rather like it. They list 19 alternate uses for salt, including household cleaning hints, and even art projects. Take a look. My favorite idea is the natural air freshener, using an orange rind and some salt. What a great idea! I am off to buy an orange and some salt.

Just cut an orange in half,
remove pulp,
fill the peel with Morton® Salt.
It will provide a pleasant, aromatic scent anywhere in your home.

My most recent acquisition: this beautiful crinkle-cut 50s planter in speckled mint green. Isn't the shape great? I have a small (developing) collection of these ceramic planters. At least they don't take up too much space. I think the most I have paid for one is $5. This one was free!

I read in Blueprint (by the way, can you believe that Martha Stewart's Blueprint magazine will close after the January/February 2008 issue?? That was a shocker. I kind of wanted to work there... I guess not.) Anyway, I found a wrapping idea that I liked in the magazine that involved tying ornaments in with the ribbon. I found these Christmas trees and snowflakes at my usual haunt... Yes the dollar store. I think it makes a nice presentation.

Happy Birthday to my Blog! You are two years old today! I want to thank you, dear Blog, for all the good times we have had together. Some 800+ posts later, we are still going strong. So here's to more good times together in our third year! (toasts with the bialy)

And many thanks to all of you for reading and commenting! If you only knew how long it took me to stage this photograph of the lit bialy. I think I will tell you all about it. But first, take a look at my first post on this day, December 15, 2005, at 9:59 PM.

So about the photo: I had been hunting since November for the perfect '2' candle at every dollar store in my neighborhood. I finally found this one at the dollar store that is furthest away, but who cares, I love the rainbow action. And then there was the issue of the cupcake. There are no cupcakes in my neighborhood for some reason. I thought of buying a babka, because who doesn't love a babka? But instead I went with a bialy from Kossar's, which happened to win 'Best Bialy' on my blog back on March 2, 2006. Hey that gives me a good idea for a funny photo series. Stay tuned.

I have been doing a whole lot of writing blog entries in my mind lately, instead of actually writing them. I have been rather occupied with the Website and fashion design aspect of my online empire instead. 'Tis the holidays after all, and I was designing lots of new pieces for yesterday's In Good Company event. But I feel a writing surge coming on. Stay tuned. Oh no, I hope I haven't built it up too much.

What's new on the rack: the wood link and leather necklace, the satin top,
the satin dress, the black & silver dragon silk skirt, the hibiscus skirt,
and the songbird necklace (with a special price for the holidays, thru jan 1)

Yes I am sure you want to know all about the In Good Company Holiday Sale last night, which perfectly coincided with the snow storm, which in NYC, was really just an icy rain, and then a rainy rain, and then no rain at all by the time the show was over, thankfully for the cab situation on the way home. I was dreading waiting in the pouring rain with all my merchandise trying to hail a cab. But it all worked out, and I had a really great time showing my new designs at the Holiday Sale. Amy and Adelaide of In Good Company are two amazing people. I feel really lucky and happy to know them. If you knew them, you would agree.

By some amazing stroke of luck, I got to show in my own private room. After I set up, I didn't really ever want to leave. It was like my own little boutique. Pretty fab. I wish you could have been there. Here are a few pictures to give you the flavor. As for the shopping part, you can go to my Website. Some of the new designs are up on elaineperlov.com already, with more to come!

Shoppers enjoyed the show special

The entry to my private 'boutique'

[page print from zoozoom.com]

Published: Zoozoom.com, The Zoo Daily
Read it on Zoozoom: click here
Writing: Elaine Perlov
Photo: Courtesy of Amy Bengston



Amy Bengston's collection of wood inlay jewelry is a feast for the eyes.



If you cannot view on Zoozoom: click on the image above
To read more of my articles for Zoozoom: click here

I am doing the In Good Company holiday shopping event next Thursday evening, 6-9pm. You won't want to miss it. Click the invitation to view details.

Today is the first snow of the season, so I made a new index page on elaineperlov.com to commemorate the event, and highlight some of my new designs and old favorites. The idea of the page is this: if you read across each row, you can see an OBI BELT and necklace suggestion for each top. In the third row, our new HIBISCUS SKIRT can be worn with either top. Enjoy clicking around the site. The repeating snowflake is laser-cut plexi, like the necklaces on ACCESSORIES 2.

I just found these drawings I made of the ROSES T and ROSES TANK. I forgot I even made these drawings. I kind of like them. I drew them by hand, scanned them, and colored them in Photoshop.