TRENDSPOTTING | by KAT SPELLMAN

LET’S FACE IT, ALMOST EVERYTHING LOOKS BETTER ON A PEDESTAL: us women, our food, even soap and baubles. Take another look at those cake stands, vintage pottery, antique silver pieces and small pedestals shoved away in the cupboard, and consider them in a new light:

SOURCE: TARGET.COM

• Even something as simple as crackers can be an elegant addition to the table when marched neatly in a row on a simple raised tray.
• Fruit and veggies look like a still life when kept on the counter or kitchen island on a pretty tall tray. Purchase all of one kind, say apples fresh from this season’s harvest or simple lemons, for an especially sophisticated look.
• Earrings, bracelets, rings and necklaces will be worn more often when you see their dazzle in a sweet pedestal at the vanity or bedside.
• Bar soap next to the sink in a gorgeous little raised dish adds ritual to the washing, making it a pure little pleasure of the day.
• Even the day’s mail can cause pause when one passes by it shining from a sparkling silver tray on the entry table

In the words of the U2 song “Elevation” (be forewarned: gratuitous hyperlink to funny/lame/campy U2 Angelina Jolie music video), so many household items just seem to scream, “Elevate me!”

SUSTAINABLE LIVING | by CELESTE TELL

ROBERT F. KENNEDY FAMOUSLY ASKED US to not just “look at things the way they are, and ask why” but to “dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” And that is exactly what the Rice Design Alliance and Houston Chapter of the American Institute of Architects have done. In initiating the 99k House Competition, they have asked a very big “Why not?”

SOURCE: www.THE99KHOUSE.COM

The 99k House Competition asked architects all over the country to design a house that would cost no more than $99,000 in today’s dollars to be built in Houston’s Fifth Ward, an older, run-down and neglected neighborhood where foreclosures and vacant lots are common. Through this initiative the organizers hope to:

• Broaden awareness of affordable green building strategies
• Demonstrate that sustainable houses for less than $99k are possible
• Stimulate creation of replicable designs
• Build a site-specific prototype

I recently attended a local reception for the finalists and winning project. In order to achieve the rigorous program goals, each entry is chock full of innovative ideas and concepts. Some of these are generalizable, and others are context-specific to Houston, the Gulf Coast and the Fifth Ward.

I’d love to see more of this across the country. Different regions, climates and local culture would drive different design solutions. Fully developed, planned, prototyped, market-tested and taken to scale, ideas like these could very well reinvent the U.S. housing market. Boston. New York. Virginia. Atlanta. Miami. Detroit. Cleveland. Chicago. St. Louis. Dallas. Phoenix. Denver. Salt Lake City. Los Angeles. Oakland. Sacramento. Portland. Seattle. You get the picture.

And if anyone asks why, you know the response: Why not?

CONNECTIONS | by ROBIN AVNI

A RECENT VISIT TO ELLIS ISLAND yielded much more than the discovery of the date of Grandma Pepi Fuchs’ transit to a new world at the age of 23.  Accompanying her husband, Chaim, she had taken passage on the Noordam out of Rotterdam, Holland, and according to the ship’s manifest arrived in the States on September 29, 1913 — 86 years ago today.

© ROBIN AVNI

After my successful search of the archives, a tour of the museum was in order. Most fascinating was the room that showcased objects, artifacts and clothing that the new immigrants had deemed worthy of travel to the new land. As those who came through Ellis Island traveled third-class and steerage, they had limited funds to transport their belongings and had to carefully choose what made the journey. For many, though, all they had were the clothes on their back and what they could carry in one suitcase (with no easy handles and rollers).

What couldn’t they live without? Family photos of those left behind, a coveted feather pillow, their best holiday dress, important books (both religious and learned) and the family dishes. Artifacts used to steady to the soul, remind them of their legacy and act as a foundation for building their dreams.

© RALPH LAUREN

If you look close at the current passion for tribe and origin, you can see patterns and styles that are showing up in today’s fashions, housewares and everyday objects. A seasonal Ralph Lauren design looks like it walked out of the Ellis Island display case onto the runway.

Classics and traditional are having a good run of it right now — a rediscovery of what stands the test of time as well as the economy. But Ellis Island isn’t the only source: Any well-traveled artifact can offer the seeds of inspiration. I think Grandma Fuchs would have been jiggy with that.

PASSIONS | by JEAN GALTON

HOW COULD A FERMENTED DAIRY PRODUCT possibly be described as blissful? Greek yogurt breaks all the rules. Even in its nonfat version, this lavishly creamy yogurt is heaven on the tongue.

© ANGIE NORWOOD BROWNE

What makes it different than regular yogurt? Greek yogurt begins life as the same thing, but then it’s strained to remove some of the whey. After that, you’re left with a thickened, remarkable cream that makes standard yogurt seem watery and flavorless.

So, do like the Greeks and eat it for breakfast with honey and chopped walnuts, or even topped with spoon sweets (a kind of uber-thick preserve.). But my idea of bliss is plain Greek yogurt with sliced, ripe nectarines and a drizzle of maple syrup.  And in tzatziki, of course, that classic, kicky, garlicky Greek sauce.

FIND IT: Fage yogurt (from Greece) is available all over the country. Stonyfield Farms now makes its own Greek yogurt, named Oikos. And Trader Joe’s and The Greek Gods have several versions as well.

DESIGN | by DEBRA PRINZING

FALL IS GARDENING’S “UNSUNG” SEASON. Instead of winding down at summer’s end, plan and plant for dazzling seasonal displays that look their best in fall ― especially as your landscape responds to cooling temperatures and changing light.

OAK LEAF HYDRANGEA

Even if New England isn’t your home, you can enjoy a dynamic autumn color scheme with these ideas:

• Visit your local arboretum or garden center: Actually, do both. Take a stroll through an arboretum or botanical garden and you’ll see trees, shrubs and perennials in all their glory, not to mention their mature size. Specialty nurseries showcase fall interest plants, including ones you may not have seen before with unique bark colors, textures, berries, seed heads and ― yes ― flame-colored foliage.
• Decorate outdoor spaces with traditional fall hues:If the plant palette in your area isn’t particularly autumnal, add dazzling details in cinnamon, ochre or maroon, as in this gorgeous oakleaf hydrangea (above left). A coat of scarlet paint will instantly transform your front door.
  

  AUTUMN ASTERS © DEBRA PRINZING

  Refinish a stack of unused flowerpots with coppery spray paint, plant them with pansies or asters (above right) and transform the front porch into a harvest display.

• Collect and display gifts from nature:Who needs faux when Mother Nature’s gifts are readily available (and more beautiful)? Gather leaves and tie them in bunches to hang as swags across your front porch. Fill a wooden bowl or woven basket with pinecones, acorns or chestnuts collected on autumn walks. When the wind knocks branches off trees, bundle the twigs and stand them in a vase or urn.

Observing and marking the changing seasons is an important practice, especially for gardeners, cooks, environmentalist, or anyone who values the amazing natural world around us.

CURATING | by ROBIN AVNI

AS I ENGAGED IN THE SEASONAL RITUAL of switching over the clothes in my closet from summer to fall, my mind drifted to memories of my Aunt Sylvia ― a New York native who was my early guide as I began navigating the concepts of “style.” When she passed away a few years ago, my sister Sandra and I carefully sorted through a collection of fashion memories as we cleared out the walk-in closet in her Florida condo.

© iSTOCKPHOTO.COM

We sifted through the closets, drawers and storage boxes that housed sweater sets, pantsuits (Hilary Clinton had nothin’ on Aunt Sylvia), matching bags and shoes. We found clothes with price tags still on them. We counted 32 house dresses, representing her daily after-work transition as she would change into one at the end of each day (to wear between the time she arrived home and before she dressed for bed). We discovered organized drawers of undergarments and unearthed expensive scarves preserved in their original gift boxes.

Soon we were laying out her outfits on the bed, coordinating the shoes and the jewelry into her memorable ensembles. We’d take a moment to admire them before they were packed away into the boxes for charity ― a pause, a smile, a small tribute to her talent.

While certainly appreciative, my cousin Larry admitted if it had been left up to him he would have dumped all the clothing into several green garbage bags, dropped them off at Goodwill and called it a day. We stood there in disbelief. Unceremoniously dumped? Never. Touched by a maven’s influence, obviously only two sisters could give their Aunt’s carefully curated collection of clothes the proper goodbye that a lifetime of thoughtful fashion decisions deserved.

PASSIONS | by JEAN GALTON

THERE’S SOMETHING COMFORTING ABOUT CHICKEN AND RICE together in a pot. Even a simple version, with just chicken and rice, a hint of thyme and a scattering of peas, satisfies everyone, old or young. I do like it in its bare-bones version, but I love it with some salty pancetta, hot curry powder and diced tomatoes and beans. That’s my pot o’ comfort.

© ANGIE NORWOOD BROWNE

Curried Chicken and Rice

Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 50 minutes

Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, hacked into 2-inch pieces with a cleaver or chef’s knife
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup diced pancetta or thick-cut bacon
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
2 teaspoons hot curry powder, preferably Madras
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
8 ounces string beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper and brown half the chicken in the saucepan, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Stir in the pancetta, onion, yellow pepper and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the thyme, curry and jalapeno and stir 30 seconds. Stir in the rice until coated with the spices. Pour in the tomatoes and broth and bring to a simmer.

Place the chicken on top of the rice and cover. Cook over low heat 20 minutes, stir in the beans and cover and continue cooking until the rice is cooked and beans are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

CONNECTIONS | by SHERRY STRIPLING

OF THE MANY GOOD TIPS for working toward an empty email inbox, the most useful to me is mustering the discipline to control how often I check email.

© iSTOCKPHOTO.COM

If I check all day, the emails stack up. I glance at them, grab the highest priority (or most easy to accomplish or most interesting), and then hurry back to the task or project that my mind keeps chastising me for having abandoned. The result is emails that don’t get the attention they deserve. I’ve read the emails but not acted on them, which leads them to linger and breed ― more than once into the thousands.

But by setting specific times aside for email, the emails become My Next Scheduled Task. That releases me to concentrate, increasing the odds I’ll make the appropriate decision and move on.

Two keys:

1. Make one of four common decisions, from a focused state:

• Delete it
• Answer it immediately
• Put it in an Action folder, making a note on your To Do list of the action or information needed
• Tag it with extra identification (if your email program allows that) and archive it

2. Trust the search function:

• Keyword searches also automatically check emails that have been “archived” in many email programs, which can be as effective as searching individual folders
• Folders have a downside: They are not exact: “Should this email go in the Purchases or Office Expenses folder?” “If this email provides my aunt with my friend’s address, should it go under Family or Friends?”

The blissful result:

• Higher productivity
• A sense of being in control ― for once
• An inbox that is emptier, if not empty

PASSIONS | by DEBRA PRINZING

MORE THAN EVER, we view our gardens as havens. Sanctuary gardens offer occupants a soothing place to meditate, seek solitude and escape from life’s pressures. Serene landscapes are the antidote, both for you and your loved ones, from stresses in the outside world.

© DEBRA PRINZING

There’s something instinctive about our desire for respite in nature. When you provide the garden with a bench or chair, there’s a chance you might actually sit down. Even if you don’t use it as often as you wish, the presence of a garden bench is like having the promise of rest, a symbolic “pause button.”

A garden bench can be elaborate, made from cast iron or stone. It can come from the unpainted furniture store and brightened with a brush of color. Or it can be a wicker armchair you’ve dragged outdoors to situate beneath the canopy of a shade tree or a beach umbrella.

Give yourself the challenge of sitting down — outdoors — for a few moments each day. If, like me, you’re an obsessive multi-tasker, then SIT on your bench while doing something else (open the mail; call your best friend on the cell phone; or flip through the seed catalog).

Pretty soon, your “date” with the garden bench might become less task-oriented.

Maybe, instead of “doing,” you’ll try “being.”

Being quiet.

Being observant.

Being attuned to your senses of smell, sight, and hearing as you absorb the wonder of nature around you.

Maybe the minutes will stretch into a half an hour.

The art of unplugging is easier said than done. But if you have a garden bench, I promise you, that gift of rest will be a little more attainable.

DESIGN | by KAT SPELLMAN

EVERYONE’S PULLED TISSUES FROM ’EM: those boxes strife with garish colors and busy design adding to a room’s visual clutter. No matter what one’s design aesthetic is, whether contemporary or cottage, it’s rarely enhanced by a busily decorated tissue box.

© iSTOCKPHOTO.COM

I’ve discussed the demise of Target’s fashion-forward plain white, grey and black tissue boxes from a couple years back and it turns out plenty of folks have ideas on how to make cold and flu season a little less ugly.

The best solution? For facial tissue giants to go ahead and create a line of boxes with solid colors and no decoration. But until then, “decant” that Kleenex (the rectangular boxes work best) and stack the tissue neatly on a plate, board or tray. Top the tissues with a smooth stone or pebble. Or spring for a decorative cover that’s subtle and in a material that enhances your décor, be it wood, metal, porcelain or — as is the case of this cool one made in Japan — acrylic.