Some of you may remember this post I did a while back with the amazing photos that The Selby took as part of the advertising campaign for Cole, Rodd and Haan. Well folks, he has gone and done it again.  This time, The Selby takes us on a beautiful tour of one of my all time favorite chocolate houses, Mast Brothers Chocolate.  Rick and Michael Mast are the handsome duo behind these delicious chocolates that are handmade in Brooklyn .   These boys are true artisans and are one of the few “bean-to-bar” chocolatiers, which means they own the entire process of making their chocolate from sourcing the cocoa beans from Venezuela, Ecuador and Madagascar to roasting, grinding, molding and eventually packaging it all up.  The Selby does a wonderful job of illustrating the whole process from start to finish, so please check out the whole series here.

Not only is this some seriously delicious chocolate (my favorite is the Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Sea Salt), but every bar comes beautifully packaged in Italian wrapping paper; it’s like unwrapping a gift each time.

You can find their chocolate at any of these amazing little shops:

A Little of What You Fancy 19 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, NY 11937
Bedford Cheese Shop 229 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Bierkraft 191 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Branford Green Grocer 1036 Main Street, Branford, CT 06405
Brooklyn Larder 228 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Dean & Deluca 560 Broadway, Manhattan, NY 10012
France 44 4351 France Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55410
Grab 438 7th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Marlow & Sons 81 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Miette Confiserie 449 Octavia Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94102
Murray’s Cheese 254 Bleecker Street, Manhattan, NY 10014
Park Slope Food Coop 782 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Provisions 150 Beekman Street, Manhattan, NY 10038
Rubiner’s Cheesemongers    264 Main Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230
Spuyten Duyvil Grocery 218 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Stinky Bklyn 261 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Stone Barns 630 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills, NY 10591
Urban Rustic 236 North 12th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Meet Cheeming Boey.  He draws on Styrofoam cups with a Sharpie.

Here is a section of an interview he recently did:

Q: How did you come up with the idea?

Boey: I had no paper while I was craving to sketch one day outside a coffee shop, saw a cup on top of a trash can, took it and started drawing on the surface. I had forgotten how well ink flows on the Styrofoam surface. Its got a completely different feel from paper. Initially it was just with a ball point pen, I later moved to sharpie because I had some sharpies on my desk at work.

Q:  Tell us about some of your favorite designs.  Why do they resonate with you?

Boey: I like the ones that are more personal, like a dining experience with a friend over sake and stories. I also like waves; hence a lot of my cups have a spaghetti-like, wave motif to it. One of my favorite Japanese artists who has influenced me heavily is Hokusai, and I think a lot about how he draws his waves when I draw mine.

Q: What is the longest amount of time you have spent on one cup?

Boey: 3 months. I don’t do initial drafts on the cups, so what you see is on the final product is the first pass. It takes forever to work on an elaborate piece because my next line could completely ruin the composition. Or I get nervous about drawing certain shapes. Or poses.

So sometimes I take hours to figure out the composition in my head, sometimes I don’t come back to it for months.
I have to also make sure the foam cups are absolutely lint/ hair free. They charge up easily and tiny hairs or lint can stick to it. And when the fine point on the sharpie catches one of these hairs, a thin line can suddenly become a broad stroke. Terrible.

This set of glasses consisting of a butterfly, spider and spider web are simply beautiful individually or as a prey vs. predator scenario. They were created by design group Propoganda, which was established in 1994 by of group of advertising executives who set out to instill the innate sense of Thai playfulness into every day products.

*via Mr. Matt Spangler via devincastro

While searching for a cake recipe for a recent dinner party, I came across Smitten Kitchen.  A blog that deliciously documents a woman’s mission to create simple, unpretentious comfort food in her 42 square foot nyc kitchen.  Her recipes are straightforward and the photography on her site  is bold and beautiful.  I’ve been eyeing her arugula, potato and green bean salad and her lemony zucchini goat cheese pizza.  Sounds like a perfect summer dinner on a hot day like today.

We’re big fans of whiskey.  I like Oban and D prefers a Lagavulin.  So when I came across these Whiskey Stones design by Teroforma, I was pretty darn excited.   Made out of natural soapstone from Vermont, they take advantage of the fact that soapstone has a unsual ability to conduct and retain coldness, making it a perfect solution for chilling our whiskey without watering it down.  Can’t wait to give them a try.

These lovelies, made of 100% wool, are crocheted by the amazingly talented hands of Sandra Juto in Gothenburg, Sweden.  I think I might have to get myself two pairs…

You can buy them here.

I love the small coincidences in life.  I came across these intricate and gorgeous terrariums at Paula Hayes’s studio on East 13th street in NYC.  When I went online to see more of her work, I discovered that in addition to her terrariums, bird feeders and silicone planters, she also happens to be a fellow Skidmore alum.

Paula has designed landscapes and gardens for a few lucky ones including renowned designer Jill Stuart and gallerists David & Monica Zwirner (who coincidentally represent Marcel Dzama.)

Enjoy the playfulness of Paula’s website here.

My dear friend Bryn over at paper tastebuds did a lovely post about Diana Yen and Lisel Arroyo, the masterminds behind The Jewels of NY, a blog that beautifully intersects their talents in cooking, photography, design and just overall gorgeousness.  Included with the photographs are recipes for those who want to try and create their magic.  Here you can find the recipe for the Chocolate Pots de Crème with Rosemary Whipped Cream pictured above  and below is the recipe for the beautiful Flatbread.  Enjoy!

Caramelized Fennel and Tomato Flatbread
Serves 2

1/4 ounce package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/4 cup for kneading dough
1 large egg
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 to 4 campari tomatoes, sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 of a fennel bulb, sliced, reserve about 1/4 cup fennel fronds
2 cloves of garlic, mashed into paste
1/4 cup fontina cheese, grated
1 teaspoon lemon juice
zest of half a lemon
fleur de sel to serve

In a small bowl stir together yeast and warm water, let stand for about 5 minutes.

Beat together egg, 1 tablespoon of oil and salt, set aside. In a medium bowl, add in 1 1/2 cups of flour and create a well in the center of the flour. Add yeast mixture into the well then add the egg mixture. Using a fork or your hands combine mixture until dough forms. Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead until stickiness is gone and feels smooth and elastic, adding flour as necessary. Add 1 tablespoon of oil into a bowl, place dough in oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

In a large skillet over moderate heat melt butter then add in the fennel, salt and pepper to taste. Cook and stir occasionally until tender and golden, about 15-20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F

On a floured surface, knead the dough and roll out to a 1/4 inch thickness. Roll the dough loosely around the rolling pin and unroll it over a 19-by 10-inch rectangle cast iron skillet. Brush dough with remaining olive oil then evenly distribute garlic paste, cheese, caramelized fennel, tomatoes, lemon zest, lemon juice and fennel fronds. Bake flatbread for 35 minutes until crust is golden brown. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and serve warm.