Gift Ideas - MORE Shameless Self Promotion!

 

Today's entry is about a little side business I started last year - as if I didn't have enough to keep myself busy...um...occupied...insane, YES, that's it! INSANE - but it's something that's near and dear to my heart.

For those who know me and Jae, my husband, you probably are aware of our passion for reading. Honestly, more Jae's than mine. He's voracious. I'm merely obsessed. Add this love of books to a love of design, a love of children and a love of clocks and this was destined to happen. Here is the mission statement that is included in my product:

With  Storytime™  Book Clocks I have found that a love for my favorite books from childhood, and a longing for the time to read them over and over and over again, have inspired me with the idea to re purpose books that are no longer readable while passing on the desire to read to a new generation.

I also offer some other options as well.

I can custom-make a clock for you using your favorite book or even search to find a title that you have always loved and create a one-of-a-kind timepiece from that volume as a gift for a friend or loved one, child or adult.

As with the books on display, the finished clocks are of variable prices, always taking into account the age and rarity of the book and the difficulty in the loving labor that is involved in its transformation.

I hope you enjoy these literary timepieces as much as I have enjoyed crafting them for you.

So, here are a few pictures of my clocks for you to peruse:

The House At Pooh Corner

GEOGRAPHY

Journeys in Distant Lands

(wall or stand)

The Children's Dickens

(wall or stand)

The Gorilla Hunters

The Wizard of Oz

Heidi

Fairy Tales

Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue

How Other Children Live

The Secret Garden

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

All of the clocks are quartz and run on one AA Battery (included) and every one is unique.

Please feel free to contact me at essessgee@aol.com and make sure to put the word Storytime in the subject to inquire about available titles and prices. Most all of the book clocks are in the range of $40 - $70 plus shipping.A wonderful gift for a baby shower, a child or for yourself.

Please tell me what you think about this unique product.

-SSG

One of my design projects...Shameless self promotion!

This information comes directly from my website, www.DaddysHomeInc.com

I am re-posting it here because it's so much easier to update things here so tell all your friends - especially those in need of design help.

How do we get the most out of the limited amount of space that we all seem to have?
Daddy’s Home, Inc. can help you overcome any of the storage and living space challenges you might have.

We will consult with you to determine what your personal needs are and offer suggestions that will make your home or workplace comfortable, organized and beautiful. Then, after those design decisions have been made, we can do the hands-on work to make them happen.
• Your home
• Our discerning eye
• Our workmanship
• Your new, comfortable, efficient environment

Steven Stein-Grainger

Steven has an eye for the beauty of his surroundings and an aptitude for the creation of order and aesthetic excellence where none existed before.

With a background, education and experience in interior design, theatre, costume and lighting design, he has found beauty in, and gathered inspiration from the environments in which we all choose to surround ourselves.

Being somewhat of a renaissance man, Steven has combined his design skills, his eye for space and balance and his abilities in hands-on work in upholstery, paint and color application and basic construction methods to give his clients the personalized attention that they and their spaces deserve.

Daddy’s Home, Inc. has become, for him, a rare opportunity to bring a level of comfort, beauty and order to many people that have needed a catalyst for their own creative instincts while providing them with guidance and ideas to make their homes and offices more efficient, more comfortable and more beautiful.

---

Services

Daddy’s Home, Inc. offers personalized services for any size dwelling; from the smallest studio apartment or office to entire homes.

• Interior Design
• Clutter Consultation
• Personal Shopping/Buying
• Floor Plan Consultation
• Custom Upholstery
• Custom Linens and Cushions
• Staging (To Resell Property)
• Organizational Implementation
• Handyman Services

Daddy’s Home, Inc. will work within your schedule and budget to solve the challenges that so many of us face in making – and keeping – our homes and work environments comfortable and aesthetically pleasing.

Contact:

Daddy’s Home, Inc.
484 W. 43rd Street Suite 5Q
New York, NY 10036

917.209.5621

Client Testimonials:


Steven,
I want to thank you for taking my newly acquired apartment from bare walls to a thing of beauty. Everyone who has visited has complimented me (meaning you) on everything from the color scheme to the accents to the overall concept. And it is such a warm, gemuetlich environment to live in!
Thanks so much,

Doug Futuyma, Manhattan
Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolution
State University of New York at Stony Brook

---

Steven did a great job of organizing my one bedroom apartment. He came up with creative ideas within my budget and was tremendous in putting a sense of order back into my life after a chaotic year.

Bruce G. Smith, LCSW, CI/CT
New York, NY

---

Steven,
I am forever grateful for the fact that you saved my tenuous sanity when I was dismantling my apartment for painting and then reassembling it! You may remember that in a halllucinatory moment I thought, as a 107 lb woman, that I could move everything myself; I called you in tears, and you really saved my life and my sanity. That time is coming around again and I will be in touch!
Thanks again for your hard work and your patience with me

Ilene
Ilene Miner, LCSW
New York, NY

---

Steven,
As a busy Photographer my life at home was chaos! I cant thank you enough for the re-design of my home/studio space. I can move around with ease, find what I'm looking for and enjoy coming home again.

Warmest Regards,
Thomas Bliss
Thomas Bliss Photography
IAAP AIA ASMP EP

RECENT PROJECTS:

This client purchased a one bedroom apartment in a classic prewar building on the Upper West Side of New York with the intent of having a pied a terre in the city for weekends and holidays. Already owning a home outside the city where he worked, he was interested in a chic, beautiful and new space so he needed EVERYTHING. We proceeded to provide him with all that was necessary from top to bottom.. all of the painting, renovations, color palette, furniture, artwork, housewares, window treatments, linens and accessories were discussed, purchased, built and finished for him to move in to a fully functional and beautiful space.

 

 

Living Area

 

Dining Area

Office

 

 

 

Bedroom

Bath

Kitchen

 

 

Foyer

 

 

Entrance Hall

 

 

Quite a challenge given the time and funding restraints, but with smart shopping, building rather than buying and careful planning the apartment went from completely empty to comfortable and stylish.

Valances were fashioned for the windows, a headboard for the bed, the floor of the kitchen that might someday be replaced was painted with industrial floor paint and then the grout hand colored (on hands and knees) with thick permanent marker.Cabinets were painted out and a new medicine chest replaces the original that was six inches wider than the new one. A little plastering never killed anyone!

His pottery collection has a home as do the baskets and masks and other artifacts that mean so much to him.

More projects to come. If you want to know how to accomplish any of these things, feel free to get in touch.

Never Too Early

It’s November and even though it’s only the first week, I think it’s never too early to start thinking about Thanksgiving. Not only the meal itself but the feeling it all brings.

Now, Jae and I have not always had the best of Thanksgiving holidays but I think I have a theory about the typical (or maybe stereotypical) dysfunctional get-togethers that has prompted us to come up with some very successful ways of celebrating.

Here’s what I think…When you’re visiting your family for a holiday, they’re likely to treat you and each other in the same way they dealt with you when you all lived together – which, for most of us is back before we left home for college and the great outside world – but they have that 17-18-19 year old you in their heads. Which of us is the same person we were when we were that age??

This theory brought us to an idea. Back when we lived in Chicago we decided that we were going to start a new tradition. The “Potluck Supper For Homeless Waifs”, a Thanksgiving feast for all of our friends (and new friends) who couldn’t get home to their families, whose families didn’t want them home, or who didn’t feel comfortable in their families’ homes.

Each person would bring their best dish to the party and I would make two turkeys (one regular roasted bird and one smoked – YUM) and we would have a party. No, not just a party…a PARTY!!

 The best part of this tradition is that, instead of fielding the usual embarrassing questions from aunt Marge about why you’re not married yet or dealing with all the family mishegas (grab your Yiddish/English dictionary) that can make a trip home so difficult, everyone – get this – WANTED to be there. Don’t get me wrong. There were family members at some of these gatherings too. I’m not against families, mine or anyone else's. We, none of us, had to be responsible for getting an entire meal on the table so it was always a relaxing, fun, wine besotted, laugh till you cry, never want to leave time.

So, just a little unsolicited advice from me to all….um…seven of you and anyone you pass it on to. Try to make this holiday a truly thankful one. One way to do that is to give yourself the gift of doing what you want to do with the people in your life with whom you want to share the time. I guarantee it will be one of the best experiences of your lives.

Think about it.

Tomorrow's Dinner

I can't tell you how much I like fall and winter - mostly fall, really. One of the reasons is that there are certain recipes that I love to cook that are just not suited to the summer months. Either they're too heavy or the slow cooking or braising process just heats up the house until it's just unbearable even with the air conditioning at full blast.
I'm making one of the best of these meals for dinner tomorrow and I'd like to share the recipe with you so you can get in on the autumnal flavor and comfort-food feeling of it.
Now, before I go on, I want to make something really clear. I don't use a recipe for most of the cooking I do at home and I rarely cook by taste anymore. After many years of study, training and catering experience I have learned that recipes only help if someone ELSE is making your food and I got out of the habit of tasting things all along the cooking process when I had to cater for groups. Every sip, bite or morsel that you taste is money lost from profits! I cook by smell and sight and experience. The only thing I do from written recipes is baking because that's all about chemistry and balance and needs to be precise.

So, here goes....let's make some OVEN BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIBS!

3 pounds beef short ribs
 Flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, for dredging
1/4 cup olive oil

1or 2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced

2 ribs celery (with leaves if any) chopped

1 parsnip, diced (trust me...even if you don't think you like parsnips)
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with side of knife
1cup dry red wine (use a wine you would actually DRINK)
1-1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can (14.5 ounces) whole tomatoes broken apart, with juices (I usually just open the can and use my kitchen scissors to cut the tomatoes in the can)
1 cup beef stock

2 bay leaves
1 bouquet garni - one sprig of fresh thyme, rosemary and a handful of parsley stems tied together. I usually use unflavored dental floss because it's strong and doesn't disintegrate during long cooking.
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste(I like a LOT of pepper)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Lightly coat the ribs with seasoned flour, shaking off excess. 

Heat the oil over high heat in an ovenproof dutch oven large enough to hold the ribs in one layer.

DON'T CROWD THEM

Brown the ribs  on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove the ribs and reduce heat to medium. 

Add a bit of butter to the oil and let melt.

Add onions, carrots, celery and parsnip to the pan and saute gently until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. 

Add the garlic and saute one more minute. 

Pour in the wine and deglaze the dutch oven, scraping any browned bits in bottom of pan. 

Add the tomato paste and stir well to combine. 

Add the remaining ingredients, then return the browned ribs to the pan, making certain they are on the bottom in a single layer.
Cover the dutch oven and place in center of 350 degree oven and cook for about 2 hours or until the ribs fall apart easily with a fork. 

Check about every 30 minutes and add more wine and or stock if the level gets low.
Remove ribs from dutch oven and set aside. Also remove bouquet and bay leaves. You can leave the garlic if it hasn't already dissolved during cooking but it's sweet and non-offensive now...COOK's TREAT!

Skim any visible fat off the remaining sauce. If desired, further reduce the sauce over high heat. 

I usually serve with smashed potatoes but it's equally good with pasta or rice, ladling plenty of sauce over all.

You don't need a lot of meat in this meal; it's pretty rich. But, holey moley, it's good. Enjoy!

If you decide to make this dish I hope you'll comment on it. I'd love to know what you think.

So, let's talk about our current digs.

We've had a few apartments since moving to NYC everything from a two bedroom sublet on the Upper West Side, a one bedroom in Midtown one block from the Broadway theater that I was working at when I did Sunset Boulevard, a huge studio and a one bedroom in the same building (which is now torn down) , a studio as big as a postage stamp and now, o wonder of wonders, a large one bedroom in a high rise that is subsidized by the government for people in the arts. We were on a waiting list for a long while for this place and, MAN, is it worth the wait!

We're so lucky to have this space and I have had a great time designing the interiors. It's comfortable and spacious and it serves a LOT of purposes in our busy lives. The best part is that there is always someplace to go for quiet alone time and, after living together for as long as we have, that alone time can come in handy.

Our bedroom is big enough for a high king sized bed and a comfortable chaise and with a gigantic mirror on one end, seems even more massive and luxurious.

I chose deep, rich colors along with warm earth tones with a lot of different textures, a leather wrapped bed and the coolness of black steel and glass bedside tables to keep us happy and well supplied with reading matter and anything else necessary for a restful night.

The wall color in the living room is one of our favorites by Behr Paints. It's called Peanut Butter and that's exactly what it looks like. But the amazing thing is that it changes color with the lighting; getting warmer and more golden. The sectional sofa is not set against the wall. I pulled it out about a foot and placed can lights on the floor shining up on a set of opera posters that we've had since our San Francisco days. I love the dining set that I found - first at twice the price at a furniture store here in New York and then after a goodly amount of searching, at half the price online. Sure, I had to put it together myself, but I love doing that stuff so it was definitely worth the savings. Furniture AND entertainment all rolled in one! And the wedge shaped stools are very comfortable and slide out of the way giving this set a perfect footprint for apartment living.

The shelving units along the left side of the photo (IKEA) have since been modified with four square, hinged stretcher frames covered in red acoustical burlap. They cover all of the books, cds, music, dvds, stereo equipment and surround sound speakers without blocking the sound and keeping everything looking sleek, uncluttered and neat and give me easy access to the shelves.

The room divider is also from IKEA. Built from two different pieces stacked on one another, it creates more of a hallway feeling going to the bath and bedroom and holds two layers of books and objets - one layer on either side.

At the turn of the hallway I've places a floating shelf with Buddha statue Jae gave me as a gift lit with a dramatic uplight. Underneath are two upholstered cubes that we have stored for extra seating but inevitably end up as perching spots for our little guys, Jack and Sam as they do what cats are meant to do....watch everything. the hallway is finished off with four framed and matted black and white photos by our friend George Pfoertner; pictures from a journey with a group of doctors to document the humanitarian work in Ecuador.

Our kitchen is so much bigger than that one in Chicago I told you all about but, as in any NYC apartment, storage space is always at a premium. I took care of part of that problem by putting all my herbs and spices in magnetized tins that I found at an office supply store and sticking them to the side of the refrigerator rather than taking up space in a cabinet.

Those cabinets that are over the fridge are so often unusable so I decided to take the doors off and paint the backs the same color as the walls turning them from unused cabinets to display shelves for a collection of chinese porcelain pieces.
The entrance wall is covered with vintage covers of Gourmet magazine that I put in clip frames that I found online by the dozen at a great place.

And the pantry door is painted with blackboard paint for messages, shopping lists and the occasional recipe. It's flanked by a magnetic knife rack and a watercolor portrait that my mom painted. Over the stove is an inexpensive towel bar which I installed to hold the covers for pots and pans.

 

So, that's the story in pictures and prose about our current abode. I've tried to create a sleek, clean-lined place where we can be comfortable, where I can teach and where I can bring design clients (and prospective clients) that looks more expensive that it actually was to do. There's nothing I like better than a bargain and when it works the way I plan it.