Please DON'T knock my socks off.

Lately I've noticed some attention being paid to knee-highs. What age do you think is too old for pulling off this look?(Photos via Copenhagen Street Style)

Got Le Creuset?

I used to have their whistling tea kettle in cobalt blue. Very nice--though it eventually ceased to whistle.

[**By the way, some of you may be interested in reading last week's New York Times article about the expense of eating with celiac disease.]

(Photo via Apartment Therapy)

Weekly links

Hope your weekend is going along swimmingly! Here are the links...

turn plastic colanders into hanging spheres at The Sampler via Curbly

make gluten free diver scallops grilled on rosemary at MyRecipes

learn how to apply dewy make-up at Cupcakes and Cashmere

hang a frame without leaving a mark at Apartment Therapy

make a recycled wine bottle torch at Gerardot & Co. via Craftzine

learn 10 ways to customize a rental at Apartment Therapy

turn Saran Wrap tubes into napkin rings at Merriment Design via Curbly

(Photo via weheartit)

Brooklyn Penthouse on the Market for $765,000 (It has one bedroom.)

OK. Let's see...how do we sell this one? The building is pet-friendly, has a live-in super, AND there's a bathroom to go with your bedroom. Killer views of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
(Photos via The New York Times)

I have something in common with Meryl Streep.

Glamour Magazine's September issue is on newsstands today and has a fun food piece with the women of Julie & Julia. First, I'm thrilled to report that most of the recipes featured in the article appear to be gluten free. For example, Ms. Streep's tarragon chicken salad and mushroom risotto, and Amy Adams' guacamole, are naturally gluten free. (Just be sure to use GF mayonnaise, sour cream and chicken stock.) There's also writer-director Nora Ephron's 10-minute spaghetti dinner recipe in which spaghetti and breadcrumbs sans gluten may be substituted. Love the 10-minute part.

Now for the similarity between Meryl and me. She writes:

"I am a terrible cook. I can cook, but I fear that, as with video gaming or hard-core rap, I have no natural affinity...I’m in direct line with my mother on this one: She had a needlepoint pillow that read, I’m making my favorite thing for dinner: reservations."

I do love rap though.

(Photos via Flickr)

Weekly links

Hope you're having a lovely weekend. Here are the late links...

turn old Frisbees into new bird feeder at Make-Stuff via Curbly

make gluten free watermelon gazpacho at Karina's Kitchen

discover 40 ways to carve a watermelon at Watermelon Lovers via Curbly

make your own chandelier style earrings at Kotori

turn cardboard tubes into a chandelier at Instructables via Craftzine

turn crap into a craft station at Craftynest via Curbly

spruce up a picnic table at Apartment Therapy

(Photo via weheartit)

Top 5 Reasons to Advertise on Absolutely Not Martha

#5 Your ad will receive greater attention (than on other blogs) and not get lost in the clutter of numerous ad buttons.

#4 Your ad size will be 150x100, larger than ads on most other blogs.

#3 ANM enjoys a diverse readership which continues to grow.

#2 Attractive rates

#1 You LOVE Absolutely Not Martha.

So feel free to email me (Jackie AT VanillaSpoons DOT COM) if you're thinking about advertising on Absolutely Not Martha.

(Image created by JKLDesign)

A random recipe for gluten free grown-up fig cookies

I usually save the gluten free recipes for Weekly Links or my other blog Vanilla Spoonfuls. But here's one from 101 Cookbooks that I wanted to post here. And now.FIG SPREAD (start 24 hours in advance of the cookies)
1/2 pound dried figs
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup port
1/4 cup meyer (or regular) lemon juice

To prepare the fig spread chop the figs into quarters, removing any knobby stems that might remain. Put the pieces in a medium bowl or Mason jar and cover with the liquids. Soak the figs for 24 hours, or at least overnight. Before you make the cookies, drain the figs of the liquid, except for a few tablespoons. Put the figs and remaining liquid in a food processor and blend to make a thick paste, somewhat like a tapenade consistency.

FIG COOKIE DOUGH
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
scant 1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons molasses

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium-size bowl. Set aside.

Put the softened butter into a mixer. Add the brown sugar and cane sugar to the butter and cream together. Cream until well blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times if needed.

Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses. Mix until blended. Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Split the dough into two pieces, wrap each in plastic and then refrigerate the dough for at least one hour. This is key with gluten free doughs.

After you've chilled the dough, roll out half the dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a Silpat or piece of parchment paper. Slather the fig spread over the surface of the dough, stopping just shy of the edges. Roll out the second half of dough to roughly the same size as the first. Lay it over the fig spread. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal in the fig spread.

Slide the baking sheet into the oven for 15 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the dough isn't browning too much. Remove when the edges are just starting to get nice and golden. Let cool for 10 minutes. When the cookies have cooled, cut the edges off to make straight lines. Slice the giant cookie into small squares.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

By the way, the answers to yesterday's Map That Outfit!:
1. Paris
2. Milan
3. Rio de Janeiro
4. Copenhagen
5. New York

(Photo via Flickr)

Map That Outfit!

The cities are: New York, Rio de Janeiro, Copenhagen, Paris and Milan. Answers will be posted tomorrow.Which outfit best describes your style this summer?

(Photos via The Sartorialist and Copenhagen Street Style)