Beautiful Life and Style

Monthly Archives: April 2012


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Artwork by: Winslow Homer

Last night I visited the MFA in Boston with Nicks mom. We had a great time exploring the new Contemporary Wing, the Art of Europe, and the rooms upon rooms of colonial furniture. But my absolute favorite floor is the 19th century and early 20th century galleries in the Art of the Americas wing. The MFA has a such a strong holding of these paintings- many of them by artists from Massachusetts and the city of Boston including one of my favorite artists- Winslow Homer. Seeing his work each time that I visit is like making a visit to an old friend. You didn’t miss them while you were apart, but the reunion always makes you happy and reminds you of your fondness…

You might not know him by name, but I will bet you are familiar with at least one of Winslow Homer’s paintings. Winslow Homer is best known for his scenes depicting American life. Unlike so many of his contemporaries, Homer was not sitting in stuffy rooms doing portraiture for the wealthy elite. He began his career as an illustrator for Harper’s Weekly and eventually branched out to other mediums, traveling around New England and the rest of the world. His scenes are of pastoral life and fishing towns. My personal favorite are the sailboats. He captures a simpler time in America, one that I think all of us wish to escape to, which is a large part of his paintings’ appeal.

a few favorites from the MFA’s collection:

This last one is absolutely one of my favorite paintings in all of the museum. “Gloucester, Mackerel Fleet at Sunset”. It is in an undecorated corner at the back of the room, but the glowing golds and purples draw you in from a room away. I am completely mesmerized every time I see it, and love to imagine sitting there at the time he was painting it, watching the sun set and the boats sail by.

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Easy Entertaining: Manchego and Walnut Stuffed Dates

Nick is the king of impromptu entertaining. And by impromptu I mean something like this:

Nick: “I invited 10 guys from work over”

Me: “OKkkayyyyyyy. When?”

Nick: “For the game.”

Me: “You mean the game that starts in a half hour?!”

-insert some yelling and scrambling to get ready here-

I know I’m tightly wound. I know I don’t HAVE to serve snacks. And they don’t HAVE to have a great cocktail to pair with. I mean with this little notice I barely have time to cleanup our tiny apartment. But I like entertaining! And while everyone always says “oh Erika I’m not hungry, you didn’t have to do all this!” the plate of salty sweet snacks is somehow always, magically empty by the end of the night. So, as frustrated as Nick makes me in these scenarios, at the same time, its because of him that I’ve amassed an arsenal of great snacks I can whip up in a flash. What a great guy right?

The point of this long lead in is that I’ve decided to do a new string of posts about impromptu entertaining. And trust me, I am no chef. These could almost be called “Appetizers for Idiots”- they will all be quick and easy, and hopefully without expensive ingredients. Let me know if you try and like the recipe!

Manchego and Walnut Stuffed Dates

I thought I would start with something simple. This recipe is almost as easy as reading the title. But these little delights are salty, sweet, small and dare I say- healthy?- a girl’s favorite kind of snack!

What you need:

  • Pitted deglet dates
  • Walnut halves
  • Manchego cheese

Hold the date upright and make a slice all the way from the top to the bottom on one side (read: don’t cut them in half!). The idea is to create a pouch for the other items to sit in. Next, cut a slice a small thin, piece of manchego. Stack the cheese and a walnut half in your fingers one on top of each other and then nestle them into the slit in the date. Repeat. Serve.

See? Being a hostess is easy! They look much more difficult (and pretty) than they are. If you don’t have time to make a ton, only assemble a few and put the rest of the ingredients (with the dates already sliced) in small bowls- your guests will figure it out.

Would you like a drink?

I think nothing is better with these than a glass of red wine- again- easy!


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One thing leads to a new discovery!..

One of my favorite restaurants recently tweeted about their new artwork by the talented Shelley Loheed. I don’t think its a surprise to anyone that I almost immediately (like i do for all artists i haven’t heard of) went to her website and checked out some of her other work…

This one I found especially striking. I really love the soothing yet tumultuous colors and brushstrokes and I think it is a style that could blend well with any decor. But of all of the work on the site, it ended up not being the paintings that was most drawn to. She also has an amazing portfolio of custom murals I immediately fell head over heels for!

This is an art form that I really had no idea existed. I mean I’ve seen murals outside, and I’ve definitely seen wallpaper and hung paintings on walls (obvi), but I guess I”ve never really thought about combining them into a one of a kind creation- especially in a private home. Whoever the genius was way back when, who took the idea of hand painted church ceilings and translated that into personally commissioned art, I thank you! I love the idea of being part of a painting- surrounded on all sides by a perfect scene or landscape.

I’ve gathered up a few more images from around the internet that I found completely drool worthy. Let me know what you think! Would you have an artist come and turn your walls into a canvas?

Can’t wait until the day I move to a place where I can paint the walls!


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Artwork by: Alex Katz

On Monday night I was lucky enough to attend the opening of Alex Katz Prints at the Museum of Fine Arts. I was not familiar with Katz’s work before but I am so happy that the MFA is hosting this exhibition! I fell absolutely in love with the bold colors and sharp line work. Katz is a contemporary American artist who’s most known for his printmaking- specifically portraits of his family and friends. His wife Ada is one of his favorite subjects and she was featured throughout the exhibit- almost always wearing a hat.

This last one “Orange Hat” is far and away my favorite- hats are such a great prop for portraiture and the navy and orange are absolutely amazing! A fun aspect of the opening party was that everyone was invited to wear their own most fabulous hats- and people really went to town with the idea! I saw everything from cowboy hats and newsies caps to Military hats and fancy fascinators. It was a really festive atmosphere. I felt pretty left out not have my own cocktail attire worthy hat- wearing one is such a bold fashion choice and I’m always too scared to take the plunge- but after coming across these images, I think I might seriously have to start looking!

So that was quite a tangent for hats, but my point being- if you are in Boston this summer, I highly recommend that you stop by the MFA for a visit to this great show!


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“Part of Your World”

I think every girl of my generation LOVED the Little Mermaid with a passion (seriously the songs… the characters… ERIC!). As a girl of 4 years old, so much like Ariel wanted to be a human, I SO desperately wanted to be a Mermaid! It was something I DEFINITELY would have traded my voice for- and I tried everything to make it happen: singing in the bathtub, swimming at the pool, staying in the ocean until near hypothermia (and my parents basically forcing me out of the water). Alas, no evil octopus/witch ever offered me the opportunity so yes, I am still human. BUT, since then, I have learned to scuba dive- which I’ve accepted is probably as close to being a Mermaid as I’m ever going to get.

Nick and I just got back from a trip to Cozumel for a wedding/ scuba diving extravaganza. Sorry to abandon my posts! But the weather was perfect, the bride looked amazing, and I LOVED every minute of diving. The fish and corals there were so colorful and fabulous! I’ve been quite a few places around the Caribbean and this was my favorite so far. So, as a first day back to blogging I’ve decided to share some of my pictures. Let me know what you think! More photos to come as we put them through photoshop!

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