Mano Bello ~ featured artisan

When I came across Mano Bello I immediately fell in love with these beautiful handcrafted  leather flowers. They look so soft and elegant in some of my favorite hues. The above brooch is a rich passionate red that would make any outfit look very romantic.

This belt in a muted cocoa color is also one of my favorites. Three roses attached to a long belt that can be wrapped around several times and tied in the back is a definite eye catcher !

Here is a close up of  a dusty taupe colored single rose necklace. You can clearly see the natural texture and suppleness of the flower. Doesn't it make you want to reach out and touch it's soft petals ?

This belt has a more rustic and relaxed look.  It has a wider distressed deep chocolate brown leather wrap around belt that is adorned with a large ruffled rust colored leather rose.

I highly recommend that you visit Mano Bello's shop on Etsy where you'll find beautiful handcrafted leather belts, handbags and accessories in an array of wonderful colors. There is also a blog : News from Mano Bello  http://manobello.blogspot.com

all pictures and links are clickable

La Buena Vida

La Buena Vida is a blog by Nicole Franzen about food, photography, travel and design. Nicole is a food/ lifestyle photographer based in Brooklyn New York who loves to travel and explore new places. She invites us to follow her on her photographic journey. There are so many wonderful recipes on her blog with great photographs, I hope to share many of these with you like todays :

Roasted Baby Artichokes

Ingredients
1-2 pounds of baby artichokes
1 lemon
parmesan
sea salt & pepper
olive oil

Method

Only buy very fresh artichokes, best when they are in season. To clean artichokes; remove outer tough leaves, using a peeler clean the stem if needed and cut in half. To keep artichokes a vibrant green color place in a water bath with lemon juice. Dry and place artichokes on a sheet pan. I find that the smaller artichokes dont have the spiky hairy center the way the larger ones do. So I didn't remove the center and just roasted them whole. If there seems to be that fuzzy center use a small spoon to scoop it out before baking. Drizzle artichokes with a little olive oil, sea salt and pepper.

Place in a preheated 400 degree oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes until tender, turning a few times to ensure even cooking. In a small bowl add the zest of one lemon, the juice of half and drizzle in olive oil. Season with a little salt. When artichokes are finished, leave to cool. Plate the artichokes and drizzle the vinaigrette, and top with shaved parmesan. The addition of fresh herbs is nice.

Take a moment to visit La Buena Vida blog HERE or click on the links or picture above : )