Something Beautiful Journal: bonus recipe

This house and its beautiful landscape was constructed from scratch. Not one tree stood on the site.

With its old, plush-looking landscape however, it has a naturally-established look, as if seeds have scattered with the winds across the grounds.

What now has the appearance of an Italian Style farmhouse or old Tuscany estate was carefully constructed by a team of professionals led by Saint Dizier Design with attention to detail:

creation of elegant rusticity, “a balance between dress-up and relaxed, a hodgepodge very carefully orchestrated,” according to Jacques Saint Dizier, of Saint Dizier Design
use of fieldstone that might have been dug from local earth
capture vineyard panoramas, he raised the residence three feet to allow for stone terracing. "I’ve always felt that terracing merges architecture with the landscape,” he remarks, “so that you’re not sure where the stone walls become house.”
anchor the house with an array of gnarled trees with languorous branches as thought they've survived a hundred summers, reports landscape architect Frederika Moller
surround the property with masses of Teucrium and other herbs, confirming the house’s wine-country setting
construct a bocce court (a long-time Italian pastime activity)
reinforce viewing areas of the 200 acres of grapes

Click here to continue 'Italian Style Farmhouse Designed To Look Old' Article and see Bruschetta With Swiss Chard Pecorino Cheese Bonus Recipe

Article Continued From Main Post, Click Here

Objects of art are sometimes awfully energetic - for being inanimate objects, of course.

We know clay is not alive, as in, clay is considered a non-living material. However, when clay is sculpted into a form, it can take on its own unique personality. Knowing how objects interact wi

th us and our surroundings can be enjoyable as well as helpful in the creation of beauty.
This object, this ceramic piece, caused the stir. Looking through a Guild Catalog,

I saw the object WAS that cannonball girl. I was seven years old. It was MY curled-up body. My knees drawn tight to my chest. I could feel the impact of hitting that water. I was under the warm summer sky. I felt the SPLASH! It was me, me, me. There is nothing like a cannonball! For a split second, I was the art.

Objects can have so much energy that there are times when we become one them, such as with Marie E.v.B. Gibbons’ “Cannonball Swimmer.“ I melt with it. When we can see and fuse with an element of beauty, either natural or man made, this energy is unique and can make for special moments. The Cannonball art piece is not just a beautiful sculpture, rather I know Gibbons’swimmer intimately, she now has her own personality.

With objects that we already are endeared to (such as a framed photograph of a friend or an unique art piece that embodies a passion) we can make sense of this energy. If we place a cherished photograph on a small table, among a displayed collection of items, the strength of its energy makes it seem larger than it really is. The perceived size

of the object is changed by its energy.

Recognizing how we interact with our surroundings, it's understood that what we see can affect the quality of our lives. Objects that we use in our environment are not seen in isolation. We must endeavor to place items as artistically as our eyes & our brains are capable of. If we want to consciously create a restful room, for instance, we will reduce items that individually and collectively cause tension to the eye.

Objects can cause emotion. The more we learn about their essence and the energy they give off, our world and how we see it and enjoy it is improved. In learning to recognize and more fully appreciate our surroundings we are more able to create beauty in our own lives.

This article is one in a series of Design Concepts, to go to the entire list, click here. Bedside table photo is from House Beautiful, framed horses (no longer available) are from Pottery Barn.

Mini Black Bottom Cheesecakes Bonus Recipe From Food And Wine

These yummy desserts are from Food and Wine’s Grace Parisi and they're a favorite dessert to make any time of the year -- and a hit everytime!

Ingredients

Vegetable oil spray

24 plain chocolate wafer cookies, preferably Nabisco*

3 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, melted

8 ounce(s) cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup(s) sugar

2/3 cup(s) fromage blanc (6 ounces), at room temperature*

2 large eggs

2 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup(s) seedless raspberry preserves, warmed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups and spray the cups with vegetable oil spray. In a food processor, crush the chocolate wafer cookies. Add the butter and process until fine crumbs form. Spoon the chocolate cookie crumbs into the prepared baking cups and press with the bottom of a glass to compact. Bake for 5 minutes, or until almost set. Leave the oven on.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth. Beat in the fromage blanc, then add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

3. Pour the cheesecake batter into the baking cups, filling them three-quarters full.

4. Bake the cheesecakes for 15 minutes, or until slightly jiggly in the center. Remove from the oven and spread 1 teaspoon of the warmed raspberry preserves on top of each cheesecake. Transfer the muffin tin to the freezer and chill the cheesecakes until set, about 15 minutes.

5. Remove the cheesecakes from the pan and peel off the foil baking cups. Transfer the cheesecakes to a platter and serve. The mini black-bottom cheesecakes can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

* Substitutes, you can use crushed Oreo’s instead of chocolate wafers and mascarpone cheese instead of fromage blanc (since they are impossible to find at a regular grocery store), but they still come out pretty amazing!

This recipe will become a staple in your home!

[image source: Food and Wine]