CRAVE CRUSH the urban girl's blog to all that you CRAVE

Peek into the CRAVE Closet

February 25, 2010 by Sarah Clise | Comments (0)


Our very own Melody Biringer had her closet raided! MyCloset.com, a website dedicated to airing people’s dirty laundry (literally), recently featured the CRAVEcompany founder in its scintillating Celebrity Closets installment. Among the hangers and hampers, a myriad of wardrobe gems were unearthed from all over the world. Woolen leg-warmers from Amsterdam, Ilse Jacobsen rain boots from Seattle, a bold purple dress from Vancouver, BC… how can that much cuteness exist in one closet? Lucky for us, Melody divulged a few of her shopping secrets and we can all check out her fashion favorites for ourselves. Below check out some of her most-cherished boutiques.

Moscow (moscowdesign.nl)
Runstraat 8, 1111 AA, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Horseshoe (horseshoeseattle.com)
5344 Ballard Avenue Northwest Seattle, WA 98107

Lambs Ear (lambsearshoes.com)
3516 Fremont Place No.inesgloves.com Seattle, WA 98103

Ines Gloves (inesgloves.com)
Oudezijds Achterburgwal 132 1012 DV Amsterdam, Netherlands

JC Studio (jcstudio.ca)
46 West 6th Avenue Vancouver, BC V5Y 1K1

sonja | clothes to live in (sonjatacoma.com)
2701 N 21st St, Tacoma, WA 98406

Switch Shoes (switch-shoes.com)
7871 Southwest Capitol Highway, Portland, OR 97219

For a truly in depth look into the world of women-owned boutiques, check out the CRAVEguide for a city near you. These books are brimming with local women you need to know, whether you want to satisfy a craving for your closet, appetite, business, or piece of mind.

The Time Has Come for De-cluttering!

February 24, 2010 by Melisa M. | Comments (0)


February is on its way out and spring is just around the corner. That could only mean one thing. No, not warm weather, not blossoming flowers… spring cleaning! It’s time to de-clutter your house and if you wait any longer you’re going to regret it! But we all know that getting rid of clutter can be an intimidating task. It’s messy, it’s complicated and it’s exhausting. But the rewards will certainly outweigh all the work when you’re home is spotless and all your neighbors are jealous. So we’ve asked the experts and found some de-cluttering tips to help you get through the war known as cleaning!

This is what Austin Interior Designer Heather Blue Harkovich, of Heather Scott Home and Design, has to share on the subject:

The first principle is try to prevent clutter altogether.  It seems a lot of clutter comes from paperwork. When you bring in the mail (usually from the car or side door into the laundry room), have an area to sort it immediately and drop the junk mail and catalogs into the recycle bin, shredder or trash.  I suggest an organizer or basket in the area where you bring the mail in- put bills in one slot, put items you want to read later in another.  Do not bring the paper past that sorting area.  It helps to make that area look nice/fun with accessories, such as cute containers for pens, envelopes, stamps, etc.  Make the area a mini post office.

 In a family room a lot of times clutter comes from too many ‘things’- whether it is magazines, remotes or accessories.  Try to cull through the magazines weekly.  Have a storage area in another room for magazines you want to save or read again, and just leave out one or two.  Have a basket or lidded box on the coffee table or ottoman for remote controls.  Everyone loves framed family pictures, but when you have too many for the space, the area starts to look cluttered.  Also, people have a tendency to collect a variety of frame styles over a number of years.  The frames can get dated, so a home owner should take a step back and look at the picture frames with fresh eyes.  I recommend clients have a few (perhaps 3) coordinating frames in a particular area.  You can always take those extra photos and put them in a basket or scrapbook to sit down and flip through at any time.

 I highly recommend installing a closet organization system, such as California Closets.  It isn’t inexpensive, but you will feel like it is great money spent.  You can fit all your clothes in one area- versus having them spread out in coat closets or guest bedroom closets.  For one project, we hired ‘ The Clutter Consultants ‘ to come to the client’s house and organize the re-hanging of all the clothes into systematic categories. 

Here are some more great tips from Austin Interior Design Writer, Adrienne Breaux.

De-clutter: You’ve not only heard this organizing tip, you’ve probably seen it, read it and even experienced it yourself a time or two before. It doesn’t get any easier, but the number one thing you can do to get yourself re-organized is get rid of stuff first! Don’t try to tackle it all in one day—just take a room per week. Systematically go through every drawer, door, cabinet and even evaluate furniture to see if you need (notice I didn’t say want) an item anymore. Don’t stop to reminisce, and don’t second guess yourself.

Know who you are: People create messes in different ways. Some people are dining room table pilers. Others are leave-a-trail-of-stuff-as-they-walk clutterers. Still others let chores pile up until the tasks seem impossible. Knowing how you create a mess is your first line of defense. Do you pile everything onto your hallway table as soon as you walk in the door after work? Move the table. Do you always leave your shoes and coat in the living room? Incorporate a basket to stash your stuff. Always losing bills? Place a mail sorter right inside your door for immediate filing.

Do the daily 20: Any search on the Internet will give you tons of great organizing ideas from customizable cubbies to under the bed storage to pricey and detailed closet hardware. If so much of this is available to us, then why are we still such a mess? Because many people don’t invest the time needed in keeping themselves organized. After dinner or right before you leave for work in the morning, set the kitchen timer to 20 minutes and use those organizing tools you already have in place—place loose paper in your filing systems, put laundry in hampers, rearrange your shoes on those expensive shoe racks you bought. You’ll surprise yourself with how much time you actually do have to devote to organizing even when you think you don’t have a minute left in the day to spare.

Know the zones: An old trick I use in my own life is paying special attention to a home’s main zones. These are spots in the house that when clean, even if other parts of your home are a mess, will make you feel like you are cleaner and more organized than you really are. Some examples of the zones: the kitchen sink, the couch, the dining table, the bed and the bathroom counter. So what’s the point of only organizing a few spots in your house? Well, if you really don’t have a lot of time in your day, spending your 20 minutes on zones will be a good start in organizing your whole house. And, believe us when we say that a house that even just seems more organized will make you feel a ton better, and make you want to organize more!

Home is Wherever You Hang Your Hat

February 23, 2010 by Lynn Edwards | Comments (0)



For those of you who have read my Rachel Ray blog you know I’m culinarily challenged, but love those food shows. I’m equally as inept at home design & décor but I love me some Design on a Dime (although I don’t actual DO either). I love the word “home.” I grew up in a small rambler with seven people, one bathroom and no dishwasher, but it was home. My Dad still lives there and it’s amazing how it feels sleeping in that house. It’s awesome when we all go home with our families, the bathroom line is just a little longer now with 23 people. After college I became a vagabond and lived all over the world, followed by 18 years as an army spouse. The Army has this cute little sign that says “Home is where the Army sends you.”

Needless to say, my “home” has been a stinky room the size of a closet, a grass hut in the middle of a rice paddy, an apartment on the 75th floor, a condo near a strip mall, a large sprawling tudor style, and approximately 5000 hotel rooms. I love all that cool stuff you get for your home when you get married but I made a critical mistake and had a really small wedding. Turns out I received three place settings of my formal china. When we’d have another couple over the fourth person had to eat off a plastic power ranger plate. I’m so home décor challenged I have lived for months with no pictures on the wall, have gone 20+ years without buying window treatments and I don’t have more than two bath towels the same color. When people ask me what “theme” I have decorated my homes I answer with a mid-modern century “pot pourri”.

As a joke one year my friends bought me an entire set of holiday plates. I now have salt & pepper shakers with snowmen on them…so stinking cool! I think chicks that wear hats are fashion forward stars, those with holiday-themed china are domestic goddesses….now I’m one. There are some staples I love that seem to make a house a luxurious home…a million pillows on your bed & lots of thread count sheets, a system to organize your plastic wear & lids, real flowers on your kitchen island, and that’s living. Oh, and whoever invented that electric fire place switch needs a raise…big time! I love huge tubs but have spent little time in them. The time I did spend was usually jockeying around to get comfortable around all those hot wheels in there with me. I did build a water feature on my deck once. I loved it, yeah for Lowe’s. I looked like a landscape architect genius just by putting part A into part B and firing up the hose. It was great to fall asleep to but it made me have to get up and pee all night long.

Oprah says make your home an oasis…take a look around and think about what you can do to make your house a little more “homey”…even if it’s just a $2 apple pie scented candle.

Put a Spring in Your Step with these Hot Colors

February 22, 2010 by Madeline C. | Comments (0)



When we think of spring we think of pastels and floral prints, but those just seem a little too passé and boring. What will you be wearing this spring to spice up your wardrobe? Here are some of the color trends that you won’t want to miss out on. Pick up a few bright accessories that are both trendy and timeless.

Turquoise – We’re pretty sure this is on EVERYONE’S hot-list, along with other aqua-colored hues. This vibrant color turns every outfit up a notch, making you just exude that cool confident aura that will make you the center of attention. Splurge on a Jamie Joseph brightly colored stone ring. We love this Sea Blue Chalcedony Ring for a beautiful eye-catcher.

Light Pink – More specifically, champagnes and corals are two “light pinks” that won’t have you gagging on pastel and cotton candy. Champagne is the closest you can get to a nice neutral color while adding a little pop! And for coral, try some of Cara Lyndon’s hairpins, we recommend Coral Wheel . Whether your hair color is light or dark, this feminine flair will turn heads.

Yellow – In every shade and size. Add a dash here or there or a big bright bag to have everyone around you smiling. Evoking sunshine and happiness, everyone could stand to integrate this cheerful color into their wardrobe or even their home. Try a bright throw pillow to add to your living room, we like the yellow Gloria pillow from Henry Road. The great thing about throw pillows is, when spring is over, you can just throw them back into the closet until spring comes again!

Interview with Amanda Brown & Lizzie Joyce of Spruce

February 19, 2010 by Melisa M. | Comments (0)


Amanda Brown & Lizzie Joyce own a company called Spruce. Spruce was created to bring an updated approach to upholstery.  Spruce works with you to create a custom look for your personal style and space.  In between client projects they find furniture and fabrics that bring out the best in people and have these pieces for sale.  They sell fabrics and teach monthly weekend upholstery workshops.

How would you describe your business in 3 adjectives or less?
stylish, individualized, renewed.

What are your most popular products or services?
Custom upholstery services with design consultations.

People may be surprised to know…
We started our business in an un-air-conditioned warehouse where we froze in the winter and baked in the summer.

What was the inspiration or motivation behind starting your business?
We originally wanted to do a furniture retail store, selling furniture we found and re-designed.  We had a hard time finding an upholsterer to work with, so we took the professional classes offered at ACC and decided to do it ourselves.  By the time we finished the classes, we already had business!  We saw the need for a stylish, custom upholstery service and decided to run with it.

Who is your role model or mentor?
We draw a lot of inspiration from the creative energy in Austin. Being around so many others who share a need for unique goods and services, encourages us to go beyond the traditional role of our business.

What mistake have you made in your business that you will not repeat?
We let our communications with eachother slip and started assuming things. We do our best now to keep our communication lines open so we always know what’s going on with the business and eachother.

How do you spend your free time?
We spend our free time relaxing!  Lizzie likes to go to the Austin dog parks with her 3 dogs.  Amanda enjoys weekly game night and catching up on design blogs and magazines.

What is your indulgence?
Beer-thirty!  Well, we do love a good beer, but we might have to say sleeping in on Sunday and Hey Cupcake.

Where is your favorite place to go with your girlfriends?
Vivo!  You can’t go wrong with good Mexican food, a strong margarita and a lush rose to go. 

Where is the best place to get a pedicure?
Nails of America!  It’s just so easy.

Where is the best place to get a manicure?
We’d love to hear what others have to say!  Our manicures last about 6 hours, so we pretty much skip them.

Where is the best place to find gifts?
Mercury Design Studio because they have great, unique items that people want to hang on to.

What is your favorite salon?
Birds Barber Shop because you can go after work without an appointment!

Where is the best place to buy shoes?
Now that Fetish is gone, the Nordstom shoe department.  You can always find something good there for any outfit you might have.

Where is the best place to buy clothes?
Some of the most stylish ensembles reside at Bows & Arrows. You also can’t go wrong with Anthropologie.

Who is the best local designer or artist?
Julie Speed’s work startles and intrigues the viewer with its unorthodox subject matter and requires contemplation to understand the meaning of her work.

What is the best gym or fitness club?
Pure Austin because of their great cycling classes, their top-notch trainers and the great environment.

Best Places to Find Baby Shower Gifts

February 17, 2010 by Melisa M. | Comments (0)


At some point everyone needs to find a baby gift for a shower, and often times it’s last minute. If you’re looking for something really special we’ve found some stores for you to browse that are really worth a look.

Izzy and Ash 
3663 Bee Caves Road, 2C
512.306.8780 
izzyandash.com

Izzy and Ash is original style for original kids. Their vision is twofold: To offer infant and children’s clothing that inspires everyone to honor the free spirits of children and to remember that playful abandon of childhood, but just as importantly to provide children’s fashions of outstanding quality and style. They offer the latest trends in designer infant and children’s clothing from both European and US manufacturers. If you’re looking to find some seriously adorable and surprisingly stylish clothing for the new bundle, Izzy and Ash is the place to look. Your gift is sure to stand out among the rest.

PerriBerri
2805 Bee Caves Rd. #414 
866.873.2229  
perriberri.com

You can find plenty of adorable clothes at PerriBerri as well, but you can also find a lot of other baby essentials as well as non-essentials. PerriBerri sells a wide variety of blankets, towels, rompers, baby carriers and unique toys.  Everything in their store looks like it was picked with extra consideration of cuteness and uniqueness. The great thing about PerriBerri is that they also have clothes for women, if you’d like to treat the new mother with something special for after the birth. Comfortable and classy is the trend in the women’s store and the combination is sure to please any new mother with all the work she’s got cut out for her.

Due Maternity
3801 N Capital of Texas Hwy 
512.306.8022
duematernity.com

At Due Maternity you can find what you’re looking for—from stylish maternity clothes to nursing and skin care, all in one place. Due believes that today’s maternity isn’t about covering up or dressing down. It’s about fashion without compromise. Comfort without sacrificing style. And it’s all about showing off and letting the whole world know you’re pregnant. At Due you’ll find clothes and accessories you’d wear anywhere, anytime, but designed for this one special time in your life. They have just about anything you could possibly look for that has to do with dealing with pregnancy and becoming a new mother, like Incredibly cool collections of stylish maternity clothes, diaper bags, jewelry, lingerie, beauty products and nursing supplies that have been hand selected to delight and adorn.

I hope this helps in your search for the perfect baby shower gift!

A New Twist on the Theme Song

February 15, 2010 by Jade S. | Comments (0)



A Theme Song. Normally when you think of a theme song you think of the first 30 seconds of a TV Show or news broadcast. That annoying thirty second melody that plays over and over in our heads days after we have watched the show. But this week we take a new look at the theme song. We asked around on Twitter and Facebook and came up with a fabulous list of songs people consider their “theme songs” for life.

These are songs that lifts you up and makes you feel good. Songs that starts a fire and keeps you going. Songs that you dance around in your bedroom listening to while you sing into your hair brush. These are the songs that define us. Everyone has one hidden some where inside of them. It might be your phone ring or the song that plays in your headphones while you work out or before a big meeting – whenever you use it and however it makes you feel we thank you all for sharing your themes.

Here is a complete list of the suggested theme songs:

For your listening pleasure go to the complete playlist on the blip.fm page titled CRAVEThemeSongs.

And next time you need a pick me up or inspiration, crank up one of these tunes and sing out – you might be surprised just how good it makes you feel!

Interview with Kerry Rupp of Holiday Golightly

February 12, 2010 by Melisa M. | Comments (0)


Kerry Rupp is the owner of Holiday Golightly; your ultimate Girlfriend Getaway resource. They take the research and planning out of your busy hands and book fantastically unique getaway trips that match your group’s interests and style. In addition, their site is loaded with free advice, insider info, gossip and sleek trip tools – including the popular Divvy It Up tool that splits expenses after a trip. Here’s is what Kerry had to say about her fabulous business.

How would you describe your business in 3 adjectives or less?
Guaranteed Great Getaway

What are your most popular products or services?
The ladies love our trips to Tuscany & Umbria in the Italian countryside: lounging at the villa, joining a truffle hunt, taking cooking classes and indulging in an delicious dinner with wine pairings, prepared and explained by a local celebrity chef.

People may be surprised to know…
Girlfriend getaways represent four percent (4%) of all US travel spending. Only twenty-four percent of US women have taken a girlfriend getaway in the past three year but thirty-nine percent PLAN to in the next three years.

What was the inspiration or motivation behind starting your business?
A friend told me she and her sisters had the time, money and the inclination to take a girls’ trip together, but they just never got organized and did it – whereas she thought I could “write a book on the topic”. I realized I really could create a business doing what I was already doing for fun, and help women take much-needed trips that so many women neglect to do for themselves.

What mistake have you made in your business that you will not repeat?
Assuming that people will do what they say they’ll do. Actions speak louder than words.

How do you spend your free time?
Traveling, of course!

What is your indulgence?
A monthly massage with Moe at Milk + Honey Spa. (And who am I kidding? I’m constantly indulging myself with travel…)

Where is your favorite place to go with your girlfriends?
Martha’s Vineyard in the summertime, Vail in the wintertime!

Where is the best place to get a manicure and pedicure?
Polished – chic atmosphere, convenient to home!

Where is the best place to find gifts?
Sanctuary on Bee Cave – Hanna has fantastic taste and a beautiful assortment.

What is your favorite salon?
Still figuring that out – miss my stylist in Seattle ….

Where is the best place to buy shoes?
DSW … because with my darn 10-1/2 size foot, it’s not about which shoes I want, it’s about which brand even MAKES my size!

Where is the best place to buy clothes?
Boutiques, baby! I love the dresses at Maya Star in SoCo.

Who is the best local designer or artist?
Still learning …

What is the best gym or fitness club?
Town Lake Trail – great people watching and the leash free area where I can let the dog loose so she can run as fast as she can (which is way faster then me!)

Valentine’s Day – Pink Themed Recipes

February 12, 2010 by Madeline C. | Comments (0)


There are so many pros to going out to dinner on Valentine’s Day and we can think of a lot of cons to staying in and cooking. But with the following recipes, staying in and making a home-cooked meal with your sweetheart might just look like the best idea ever!

Rack of Lamb with Herb and Olive Crust
For a pink themed menu, let’s start off with a delicious lamb recipe. It comes from Caroline in Chicago’s blog (hwhippedtheblog.com). Our mouths are watering already!

1/3 cup coarsely chopped olives – kalamata, picholine or Manzanilla
1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh thyme
2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
2 racks of lamb (7-8 ribs each, trimmed or frenched)
salt and pepper
3/6 cups breadcrumbs

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine olives, parsley, thyme, garlic and red pepper in a food processor or mortar. Make a rough paste. Stir in mayo. Set aside. Trim lamb so only a thin layer of fat remains. Heat a heavy skillet (NOT a nonstick) over high heat. Season racks with salt and pepper. Set in skillet fat side down and cook for about 2 minutes. Spread breadcrumbs on a plate. Coat the surface of the lamb with the olive paste then dip in the crumbs to coat. Put bone side down in a roasting pan. Cover the bone tips with foil so they don’t burn. Roast until instant read thermometer is 120-125 degrees for rare or 130-135 for medium. It will cook another 5 degrees when out of the oven. Let the lamb rest for 5 minutes. Cut apart between the bones and serve.

Strawberry Cupcakes
Amy Sherman, a San Francisco-based author, writer, and developer of all things food, shares an amazing strawberry cupcake recipe on her blog (cookingwithamy.blogspot.com). Cupcakes and strawberries are the key to any beau’s heart.

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 large egg
6 ounces Dannon® All Natural Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt (or any other fruit flavor of yogurt)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced

Frosting:
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 fresh strawberries, about 2 Tbsp. mashed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. With an electric hand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg, Dannon® All Natural Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt and vanilla, blending until smooth.
2. Measure the dry ingredients into the bowl and blend, then fold in the strawberries.
3. Divide the mixture equally between the 12 paper-lined cupcake cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
4. Beat together butter, powdered sugar, and mashed strawberry in medium-size bowl until creamy and smooth. Chill frosting for 15 minutes or until thick. Frost cupcakes with a spatula. Keep cupcakes in the refrigerator loosely covered.
Yield: 12 servings

French Kiss
To accompany your beloved meal (cupcakes are a meal, right?), the Wedding Paper Divas have some suggestions for romantically festive drinks (blog.weddingpaperdivas.com). May we recommend the French Kiss? It’s just the perfect shade of pink to match your cupcakes…we mean cheeks!

Âľ oz Chambord
Âľ oz Peach Schnapps
Âľ oz Vodka
Splash orange juice, pineapple juice, cranberry juice
Serve straight up in a martini glass

Let Them Eat Cupcakes!

February 10, 2010 by Madeline C. | Comments (0)


Okay so we are pretty sure everyone is thoroughly obsessed with cupcakes. There might still be a couple out there thinking, “Cupcakes? Really? I don’t get it!” Well here are a few bakeries that specialize in cupcakes that just might make those few finally “get it” and jump on the cupcake bandwagon!

Wicked Cakes
Austinite Nicole McGarry bakes all the traditional flavors of cupcakes and then some. Personally, we are dying to try their snicker-doodle flavor. One of our favorite flavor cookies but in cake form! How could anything go wrong? Sounds perfectly delicious to me. Check out their gallery online. They just look so adorable (as cupcakes should)!

L’s Cupcake Cafe
L’s Cupcake Cafe will deliver cupcakes to your home! Think about it, you don’t even have to leave your house and Voila! dozens of cupcakes at your door. Their decorations are understated, as well as their frosting, making them so much easier to bite into. Just like homemade, but better, Laura Lively’s cupcakes are made from scratch after you order them! Not to mention, they have a mini “popper” size–perfection.

Delish
Delish is certainly a perfect name for this cupcake shop. With their tantalizing title and brightly colored sign, it’s just so inviting.  Lisa Matulis’ creations won’t leave you disappointed when you go inside, either. Cookies and Cream Cupcake, yes please! And maybe a cold glass of milk on the side, pretty please?

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