The Apartment by The Line

It's not every day that you find yourself presented with the opportunity to snoop around an incredibly beautiful apartment in SoHo. However, last Wednesday that's just how I spent a perfect hour of my afternoon. The stunning space I visited is located on Greene Street and is home to a very exciting and unique project. 

Created by the talented Vanessa Traina and Morgan Wendelborn, The Line is an online boutique that sells high-end fashion labels and furniture. More recently, however, their online store extended into a dreamy SoHo offline space.

Welcome to The Apartment by The Line. 

The Apartment by The Line is unlike anything I've ever come across before. Not only is this apartment truly inspiring from an interior design perspective, but it also happens to be shoppable. 

Everything that you see in the apartment is available to purchase, from the shoes in bedroom to the pictures hanging on the wall. Even the toothpaste on the bathroom cabinet is up for sale. This place is truly unique and very cool.

On top of being a showroom and a store, The Apartment also plays host to workshops, dinners, screenings and talks. If you're lucky enough to be living nearby, keep an eye out for upcoming events. 

The Apartment by The Line is open Wednesdays noon to 8 p.m. and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and by appointment.

Location:

76 Greene Street

3rd Floor

New York City, NY 10012

Photos all my own.

Doggy Halloween in NY..

Yes, you read the title right. This blog post is coming to you from NY.. and it features dogs in Halloween costumes. 

Moving to NY has been a huge dream of mine for quite some time, and a few weeks ago it became a very exciting reality. The past few weeks have been a surreal and hectic blur of apartment hunting, Ikea trips, assembling furniture and learning how to find my way around this amazing city (Google Maps is my savior!).

In between all of the chaos, I was especially excited to experience New York in the Fall. The weather in October was absolutely perfect - lots of sunshine and the loveliest warm weather. This, mixed with the leaves changing colour, made for the most stunning scenes in Central Park. 

Of course, being in New York in October also meant that I got to experience Halloween here... and it did not disappoint. 

Cue the 24th Annual Halloween Dog Parade in Tompkins Square Park - the ultimate in dog fashion events. 

Brace yourselves....

Photos all my own.

Recipe: Crumpets

Crumpets have got the be the most quintessential British afternoon tea time treat. I, however, think that they definitely deserve a spot at a breakfast or brunch table. They're typically much smaller than their American pancake cousins but they share lots of the same ingredients and make for an equally, if not tastier, breakfast-time treat.

In recent years the traditional crumpet has undergone a bit of a makeover. Nowadays, the crumpets that you come across in supermarkets tend to have a spongey, chewy consistency with lots of holes on the surface. These crumpets come from the Victorian era and use extra yeast in the recipe (which explains their holey appearance).

The recipe I'm using makes the traditional crumpet, often known as flat griddle cakes or Scottish crumpets, and is the type of crumpet that you'll typically come across if you're ever lucky enough to visit a Scottish tea room.

This recipe definitely beats the Victorian one in terms of taste and ease of making. The fact that there's no yeast in this recipe means that you can pop the batter straight onto the pan as soon as you've mixed it up.  

These amazingly tasty creations are usually served warm, straight off the griddle pan, and are typically eaten with a little spread of butter and sprinkle of sugar. Absolutely delicious.

Here's all you need:

•  4 oz flour
•  1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
•  1 teaspoon cream of tartar
•  1 tablespoon sugar
•  2 teaspoons cooking oil
•  1 egg, beaten
•  approx. 1/4 pint milk

Method:

1. Sift the flour with the bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar into a mixing bowl.

2. Stir in the sugar, oil and the beaten eggs. Gradually add the milk and beat until everything is combined. You should be left with a fairly thick batter.

3. Heat the griddle or frying pan until hot. Grease it with some sunflower oil. 

4. Drop the batter onto the pan, a spoonful at a time, leaving space for the batter to expand. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and the underside is golden. Then flip them over and cook the other side.


Serve with butter, sugar, maple syrup, yoghurt.. or whatever takes your fancy!

Photos all my own.

Recipe: 4 ingredient cookies

4 ingredients. 15 minutes baking time. Soft, chewy, deliciously healthy-ish cookies that are incredibly easy to make.

....did I mention you only need 4 ingredients?

I came across these beauties on The Sweet Life and thought they looked too easy and tasty to pass up. 

Here's all you need:

• 1 and half cups of oats (approx 130g)
• 1/3 cup of peanut butter (85g)
• 2 bananas (mashed)
• 1/4 cup of chocolate chips (45g) (I used chopped up Cadburys - trumps chocolate chips every time)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350f/180c/gas mark 4

2. Mix your mashed bananas, peanut butter and oats in a bowl. Make sure they're all combined and mixed well.

3. Fold in your chocolate chips.

4. Drop spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for about 15 mins, just until they begin to turn slightly golden.

 These little bites can be stored in an airtight container for a few days but they're definitely best eaten warm out of the oven.

Tuck in and enjoy!

Photos all my own.

Recipe: Superfood Summer Salad

I am a massive salad fan. In fact, I'm generally a fan of any dish that involves mixing together lots of different flavours and ingredients. This particular salad does just that and makes for the perfect summery salad. It's so delicious. It's also packed to the brim full of superfoods, making it a gold-star healthy dish on top of all of its tasty accolades. Winning all around.

Full credit for this wonderful concoction goes to Allegra McEvedy, who is the foodie mastermind behind the Leon restaurant's cookbook.

Here's what you'll need (serves two):

• 2 tablespoons quinoa
• 1/2 head of broccoli
• 2 salmon fillets (or chicken, or anything else you fancy)
• 2 handfuls of rocket
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach
• tomatoes
• 120g frozen peas
• lemon
• 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• a sprinkling of alfalfa sprouts
• a drizzle of aioli (recipe at end of blog post)
• 2 tbs of toasted seeds (I used sesame)
• a sprinkling of parsley and/or mint
• I also added some feta and would highly recommend

Method

1. To begin: marinate your meat

If you are prepared enough in advance, I'd recommend marinating your salmon or chicken. Place the meat into a mix of olive oil, lemon juice and garlic cloves, and sit it into the fridge for a few hours.

2. Cook the quinoa

Put 80ml of water into a pan and bring to boil. Cook the quinoa for approx 10 mins. Turn off heat and fluff with a fork. Then leave to cool.

3. Cook the broccoli

Cut the broccoli into small florets (a.k.a. little mini trees) and drop them into a pan of boiling water to cook for 3 minutes. Drain and run under a tap of cold water to cool.

3. Cook the salmon

Now it's time to cook the meat - be it salmon, chicken or whatever other protein you decided to add to the mix. I BBQ'd my salmon. The Leon recipe suggests grilling it.

4. Build your salad

If you're good at multi-tasking you can be doing this while everything else is cooking. 

It's time to build your salad: toss the leaves, tomatoes, feta, broccoli and peas in the juice of half a lemon and the olive oil.

Lift the mix onto whatever dish you're going to serve it all on - be it one big bowl or individual plates. 

Next, add the quinoa and alfalfa.

Finally, add the salmon, and top it off with a drizzle of your homemade aioli (recipe below) and a sprinkling of the toasted seeds and herbs.

.......Bon appétit!

  

To make the aioli

What you'll need:

• 1 egg + 1 egg white
• 4-5 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 120ml sunflower oil
• 200ml thick Greek yoghurt
• Juice of 1/4 - 1/2 lemon
• dash of salt to taste

1. Using an electric mixer, whizz up the eggs and garlic for a few minutes until pale and fluffy.

2. With the machine still going, slowly drizzle in the oil.

3. Turn off the machine.

4. Gently stir in the yoghurt and finish with lemon and salt.

(FYI - this should last in the fridge for up to a week and is great with lots of other dishes - think as a side to roast potatoes hot out of the oven)

Photos all my own.