JRD Studio

Food as Art: Cookies

2008-03-18T09:51:00.000-04:00

I came across this great blog, Kuidaore, via OhJoy this morning and am totally in awe of these cookies! The decoration rivals some of the best textile/pattern design out there! And to think- all perfectly "drawn" with icing! Now... I wonder if they taste as good as they look!

Wanted & Found: Crib Bedding

2008-03-12T10:59:00.000-04:00

Banana Fish: Ashbury, Cocoa and Latte Bedding Sets
(what I wanted!)

Skip Hop: Geo Jax, Circles and Mod Box Bedding Sets
(I bought Mod Box!)

CRB arrived in early January and I knew he would be sleeping next to me in a co-sleeper for at least 6-8 weeks so that gave me a little extra time to find the perfect bedding for his room. Truth be told, G & I did very little to his room before his arrival besides paint the wall in mint green and build his crib. We had also purchased a simple wooden dresser from Ikea that we painted white to match his crib. During the 9+ months of being pregnant I lusted after Banana Fish bedding for my baby-to-be. However, they were not in my price range. So, the search began for great bedding at a great price. (Not easy!!!) I knew I didn't want anything with a "character theme" and I thought a simple polka dot or stripe would be easy to come across. Not so! (Had CRB been a girl it would've been a bit easier!) I had looked at Babies R Us before since I had gotten a lot of gift certificates there- maybe I didn't see it, maybe it was sold out- but when I returned in February to get a much needed rocker, I found the perfect set! I bought the "Mod Box" Style and ended up going with a "green" theme for Cooper's room. "Green" meaning different shades of the color for accents and art! His room is still under construction but as soon as it's photo-worthy I'll post 'em!

Atlanta On Our Minds

2008-03-11T17:49:00.001-04:00

Ok. So, I haven't posted since October of last year... that's because... I had a baby! (more on that later...) I wanted to let you female Atlanta locals in on this women's networking group called Atlanta On Our Minds I am going to check out next month. The organizer describes the group like this, "Whether you are a single gal starting in a new career, a mom that needs a hand or some advice, or a business owner thats looking to grow your business we would LOVE to have you!!" If you are interested please leave me a comment and I'll get you all the information! So far the group seems to be shaping up nicely with real estate agents, financial "people", interior and graphic designers and more! So, if you're looking to network- join us!

Eat: Taste of Atlanta 2007

2007-10-07T18:09:00.000-04:00

This weekend {10/13 & 10/14} check out the Taste of Atlanta held at Atlantic Sation! Check the link for a complete list of participating restaurants & cool cooking demos. Tickets are $25 ahead / $35 day of so if you think you want to go, grab your tix now. The entry fee will get you "10 tickets" and food items will be "priced" from 1-3 tickets... There's a good chance you'll buy additional tickets- I never said this would be cheap! Enjoy!

J. Ritter Designs at Poppytalk Handmade

2007-10-07T17:53:00.000-04:00

The great Poppytalk Blog just launched their new online site- Poppytalk Handmade on October 1st! It's full of great handmade things for your home or yourself! J. Ritter Designs could not be happier to be a part of this great idea! Check out our "table" here.
Jan {of Poppytalk} has been religiously posting about great handmade finds on Etsy {and other locations on the www} and decided to consolidate her findings in this great new site. She found that many of her "finds" sold out completely after she posted about them! If you're in the market for something unique for yourself or a friend- definitely check out the new site!

My yoga mat is my second home

2007-09-07T08:43:00.001-04:00

So when my beloved mat was literally disintegrating onto the floor of my new yoga studio and leaving little blue pillies all over my back during class I knew that it was going to be time to part. In all honesty, the mat had distinct hand and feet prints permanently etched into them from the wear. I bought this mat in Philly at my old beloved studio and even went so far as to ask the owner to ship me a new one because this mat that I owned is made in Germany and no on-line retailer seemed to be carrying it... And, Steve's price was totally right - he sells them for $35. {So, if you live in Philly and need a mat hit up PPY!} Anyway, I'd been eyeballing the Jade Harmony Mats that my new studio sells. But at $56 I'm thinking- what is the extra $21 for- cool color options? {My old mat comes in blue or purple- period!} While these Harmony mats have a wide variety of color options- sure to please! At a quick glance these mats physically looked different- they had a smoother surface to them. As an avid power yogi I'm concerned with function- not fashion- there can be no feet or hand slippage- period! Long story short- I got tired of e-mail/phone tag with PPY and with shipping I was looking at close to $45 so I decided to take a chance on my new teacher {whom I totally HEART by the way} and take her recommendation of the Jade Harmony Mat. I got the chic color of the season- chocolate {of course} and laid it out for trial #1. All I can say to end this post is I have a new favorite- it may be more $$ but it's totally worth it! And you get your choice of colors. I'll never go back! My hour and a half of heaven two to three times a week just got dreamier!

No Green Thumb?

2007-09-07T05:43:00.000-04:00

Don't worry! These flowers require assembly but no water to survive! I'm one of those people that always wants to add the bouquet of fresh flowers to my cart at the grocery store- and sometimes I do! But, more often then not that $20 goes towards dinner... So, I've been checking out these paper flower kits at paper source and martha and I think I am ready to tackle one! Beautiful pops of color for my growing collection of vases with no need to worry about water or replacement!

Sweet Tooth Satisfied

2007-09-07T05:34:00.000-04:00

Sweet Pockets, say no more! Atlanta's first cupcake shop looks mighty enticing. In my never-ending search for "cool spots" in this city I stumbled upon this place via the web. I haven't made it in person- but I have a good feeling I'll be in there in about 6 days when the need for celebration with a candle calls! Their flavors are quirky in title but perfect in ingredient! I'm pretty sure I'll be glad Lennie- once an architect- gave up drafting for baking!
Raz Taz {chocolate cake with raspberry filling & raspberry buttercream frosting}
Midnight {chocolate cake with chocolate frosting}
Strawberry Wawa {all things strawberry}
I'll be sure to let you know which flavors I go for and how they taste!

Eat: Tapas at Eclipse di Luna {ear plugs not included}

2007-08-25T09:03:00.000-04:00

I've been to a few tapas restaurants in my day... Taberno de Haro was a favorite of mine when I lived in Boston & worked in Brookline... a few weeks before I moved to ATL I checked out Isla Ibiza in Northern Liberties {Philly} and had a pretty good meal. Last night G&I and 2 friends hit up Eclipse di Luna in Miami Circle ATL {amidst expensive antique row & home accessory shops.} We attempted reservations which were booked, so we opted for putting in our name over the phone which guaranteed us 30 min. off our wait time. {We were all curious as to how this exactly worked...} Sure enough, there was a 1+ hour wait and we were sat in about 40 minutes... not too bad... Here's my first impression of the place: pre-dinner:
It seemed like we had found the "it" spot for a Friday night. Now, maybe it's the fact that I now live in the suburbs, and I went from a five minute walk to a bar in Philly, to a 25+ min. drive to the "hot spots" here in ATL, but I was feeling like I forgot how to hit the "it" spots! YIKES!!! And, I also felt old... maybe that's the married in me I'm just not used to yet!!! So, here we were- amidst the "it" crowd- some of us sipping $9 margaritas the rest of us LOVING our seltzer & cran! There was a live band that kicked on about 9:30pm... they sounded great from our outside stance. Once inside, and seated in the front row... they were a bit loud for our taste. Still sounded great, but when you can barely talk to the person next to you, forget about a convo with the friends across the table! Oh well... we survived! On to the food: of course we ordered a ridiculous amount of plates... and, as usual with tapas- the first 5 or 6 are devoured in seconds and you're thinking, wow, this is great- but I'M STARVING! After plate 10 or 12 I was feeling my jeans tighten for sure! The highlights for us were the spicy cheese sause that accompanied the potatoes {Patatas Bravas con Romesco Spiced Potatoes with Romesco $3.25},
the chorizo with peaches {Chorizo y Durazno al Brandy Grilled Chorizo with peaches & brandy syrup $4.50}, this amazingly spice chicken dish {Pollo a la Parilla Grilled Chicken breast with tomato, onion compote & avocado $4.25} and the eggplant empanada type dish {Empanada de Berenjena con Queso Roasted Eggplant Empananda with drunken goat cheese & spiced caramel $3.95}. And check out those prices. We also ordered dessert {not necessary} and walked out of there at $40 ea. which included the tip... Not bad I'd say... According to C&G the sangria was good... though they kept going for those $9 margaritas... boys...
All in all, it has been one of my favorites so far in ATL. I'll think twice about going again during the live music time if I'm in the mood to chat- but I think a table not so close to the band would have been just fine...

Check This Out: Cool Site, Cooler Products!

2007-08-09T07:52:00.000-04:00

Every so often the name Kate Sutton appears on a blog or in a design blurb because her work is so varied, great & popular! Somehow, yesterday was the first time I was linked over to her website which I just love! {In a day when so much time is spent surfing the web it's just so nice to come across something so simply refreshing!} Not to mention, the work on it is so inspiring!

Ponies are a Girl's {and Guy's} Best Friend

2007-08-05T08:06:00.000-04:00

In keeping with the animal inspired week- you must check out the new styles over at moonblood.
Personally, I'm lusting after lascaux calvary and nature dot {both shown above.} Why I've only bought these T's as gifts for others I'm not sure. It's definitely time to treat myself! {Guys, don't be jealous, these T's come in men's as well!}

Animal Kick

2007-08-03T08:02:00.000-04:00

Animal Illustrations have been on my mind as of late {and I'll be sharing more about this obsession soon!} I'm into giraffe's, elephants, sheep... it's a combination of wild and farm! But, what I'm really looking for are brightly colored, silhouetted, patterned, fun interpretations of furry creatures! I checked out Elsewares and Etsy and found a jackpot of cool products!

shown above:
giraffe card
studio salad plates
knitted woodland animals
owl tray
woodland critter illustration

New Address, New Blog

2007-08-02T15:24:00.001-04:00

Welcome those of you who traveled here via my old spot: bittersweetdesigns. And welcome and hello to those of you who are new to me, my work and my blog. I have been trying to figure out how to get this thing going full-swing and one thing that I really wanted to do was start fresh! New name, new layout, new labels & columns! You know how sometimes you just have to throw away some "junk" to start new? Well, that's how I felt! Here I am, a north east girl in southern belle country- feeling a little out of place... what a better way to get into the groove then to start to fill my blog with the cool things I've come across here in ATL as well as some insider info on my new home line; J. Ritter Designs.

Enjoy!