Magic Dress

More colorful than the little black dress. More sophisticated than the basic black dress. More "I feel pretty" than any ordinary dress. This is THE magic dress for the summer of 2009. This dress is going with you to two weddings, a party at Navy Pier, the Tom Jones concert at Ravinia, the big charity event (you know, the one you agreed to co-chair in a weak moment last year) plus the quiet get-away weekend with your husband up in Lake Country.

... Yes, this is the dress. You will introduce it to both your high healed rock-star black shoes and your Tory Burch ballet flats. They will all get along. They will all work in perfect harmony to make you look good. All this little dress asks of you is that you twirl around in it once or twice so it can show off its full potential. That's really not too much to ask--after all, this is no ordinary little dress...

Lemon Lime Summer Party Dress. Also available in Bluebell.

S, M, L, $86.oo.

Hurry, hurry, the parties are coming!!!

P.S. Tom Jones WILL love this dress. {click here} See him at Ravinia Festival Saturday, July 11, 2009

Maine Dish

For all of you Clever Girls out there itching for a new recipe, may I offer you the Maine Dish.

For years the Broccoli Waldorf Salad at the always super tasty Damariscotta River Grill in Maine has haunted me. In the long stretch of dark winter days, I crave this tasty, crunchy, tantalizingly simple side dish that I always enjoy whenever I visit the coast. However, I could never quite put my finger on what exactly made it so good. Many times I have tried to re-create this at home to no avail--something was missing--but what? It took Robin Jones to crack the code.
Robin, a dear friend, and year-round resident of Maine, had strong cooking roots from the deep south. Leave it to her to figure out what I had been missing...the secret ingredient if you will...maple syrup! What follows is the perfect side salad, inspired by the River Grill, and perfected by Robin. The apples make it tart, the broccoli gives it crunch, the Cranberries add a chewy texture, and the dressing is light and refreshing--not heavy at all. Super simple. Super good.

Cranberry Broccoli Salad

12 to 14 ounces of raw broccoli floret's cut into bite sized pieces

Cut 2 Granny Smith or your favorite apples into small pieces (I leave peel on)

Chop about 1 cup of carrots

A couple handfuls of dried cranberries

1/2 - 3/4 cup of mayonnaise

2 - 3 tablespoons of real maple syrup

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

Enjoy!

Serendipity

One of the greatest things about sudden, random free time is taking a ramble; just jumping in the car and seeing where the road takes you. On one such day I found myself at a little gallery located in an historic barn in Michigan. While meandering about, I came upon a beautiful display of jewelry and was smitten by a pair of earrings in blue and chocolate colored glass. I, of course, had to make them mine. While chatting with the gallery owner, she told me they were by an artist from the Chicago Suburbs. Western Springs to be exact. Humm...guess where I'm from??? So, as often happens, one thing led to another, and it turns out I live only a few short blocks from the designer Donna Sauers.

Happily, we have carried Donna's beautiful glass jewelry work from the very beginning at Clever Girl, and she now even works at the store. (Talk about artist in residence!) Additionally Donna does many art shows around the Midwest.

Clever Girl is pleased to host a two-day trunk show on May 8th and 9th, featuring the jewelry of Donna Sauers. This show is just in time for Mother's Day, and we will have extra stock on hand to insure a wide selection. Please join us for this very special event.

Please call the store directly if you have any questions: 708.246.5050
Click here for more information on Donna.

Happy May Day!

When I was a little girl, my mother and I always made a May Day basket for my Grandmother. A May Day cone is actually a more accurate description. Mom helped me cut a circle out of paper, and decorate it with cut~outs and drawings of flowers and birds. We carefully rolled it into a cone and tied on a pretty ribbon handle; then we filled it with daffodils. Grandma lived right on our block, so we would sneak over and leave it on the handle of the front door as a suprise. It was a charming project done in celebration of the full fledged arrival of Spring.

To this day, I love a vase full of the seasons first daffodils with their happy flower faces. Perhaps you can celebrate this May Day with a friend or family member. Make a little basket, enjoy a picnic, or simply take a walk and look for the daffodils and other flowers that are celebrating Spring. Our own local flower shop here in Western Springs, Stems and Twigs, has buckets full of charming flowers to savor. I think I'll pick up a bunch today in celebration of May.

La Arrival of L'Argent

So...if you've read this blog at all in the past, you're aware of my candle obsession. It's not a secret. Lately I've been on overdrive due to the gorgeous new line we have recently gotten in from Seda France.
L'Argent, means silver in French, and has been regarded since ancient times as a precious metal. This collection is a new level of modern luxury, with crocodile patterns on the classic Pagoda box packaging and six new fragrances. Siberian Palm, Belgian Marigold and Imperial Boxwood are already strong favorites at Clever Girl, and many customers are falling in love with the African Violette-- The French are a fan of this light and lovely scent, and I know it's going to catch on here in a BIG way. Seda is well know for the high quality of not only their candles, but their packaging as well. These are truly a ta-da type of gift.
Finally, saving the best news for last, there is a mini size candle in this collection that makes the perfect favor at a dinner party, or a sweet thank you for a friend. These are definitely the kind of thing a true Clever Girl keeps on hand so as to be prepared for any and all gift giving needs!

P.S. There's also a nifty travel candle that's the ideal way to take a tiny bit of French luxury with you wherever your winding road may lead...happy trails!

Bunny Basket

A tiskit, a tasket, some goodies for your basket. May we suggest a few clever items that the bunny might like to bring...

Bunnie slippers~ Yes, a bit obvious, but they are so cute.

Faux Chocolate Rabbits~ 100% darling and calorie free!
A new hat~ What could be better for spring?
Geography Sweaters~ in a seasonal spring color...
Big Buddha Bag~ All new styles and colors have arrived!

We have dozens and dozens of new spring arrivals, and are ready to "hop" to it and help you select all of your special gifts. Don't forget the hostess either~surely she deserves something eggstremely eggciting!

Mother's Day Jewelry

And now...our latest great find..."Chic~Lit" jewelry has arrived. It's your turn to play designer!

Step 1-Choose a handmade glass bead color. Step 2-Select the name, date or word you want on it. Anything you want (there are some restrictions on word size) will be hand stamped onto a sterling silver band and wrapped around the bead. Step 3-To finish it off, decide if you want a necklace or a bracelet.

There is no limit to what you can say--part of the great design challenge is to see how clever you can be with a few words. Of course, it's great for putting names and birthdays on too! The colors range from earth tones to punchy brights. It's a great way to put a little self expression on every day. P.S. Attention Mothers...ready or not here it comes. Time to make the reservation for brunch and start dropping hints. Mother's Day is Sunday, May 10th. Like all good things, this jewelry takes a little time to arrive, so best to order early-send him in NOW!

Michigan

Greetings all! Went off on a "ramble" this weekend to Michigan. 100+ inches of snow this winter has broken every record on the books, and kept me away from our little lake house. But no more-loaded up the dogs, and off we went. Going around the lake encountered a "whiteout" and had to share the road with a snow plow, but nothing really stuck-thank heavens! The eagles have returned to the lake, and are pulling out fish every day now. The deer continue to nibble the ewes around the house-much to the dog's distress-and a very loud owl has moved into the tallest of the pine trees. Always amazing to observe the constant wildlife activity up there.

I had a chance to visit one of my favorite places Blue Star Antique Pavilion and poke through all 100+ booths for a few treasures. Saturday was gloomy and overcast and still quite chilly, so it was the perfect place to spend an afternoon-new items are brought in daily by the dealers, and it's never the same place twice. You really have to go around several times to take it all in. Among my finds are a bunch of great vintage bottles-my latest obsession-and, a terrific vintage set of carnival game pieces. I think they'll make a neat jewelry display-stop in to see them if you're curious-they make a great visual!

We had friends over for a boisterous Chili dinner and sat around the fire catching up on all the latest gossip on the lane. Biggest news: The communal pet goose, Gus, has been taken by our rivals one road over. We hatched our (brilliant) plan to recover him fueled by lots of good wine. Stay tuned...we'll either get Gus back or all end up in the county jail together. Maybe I should stash some bail money just in case...

Kim's Clever Cake

The Clever Girls here at the store truly do live up to the title. Case in point: Kim's Chocolate Cake. This is the best-ever-piece-of-homemade-goodness-you'll-ever bake. And it's quite simple to make too; pastry proficiency is strictly optional. Now, Kim found this little gem of a recipe in an old file of clippings from newspapers and magazines. Being a good and righteous clever girl, she'd like to give credit where it's due, but there is no chef or date on the little torn out piece of paper. Therefore, if in the early 90's you invented this magic cake let us know, and we'll be happy to give you the accolades you so richly deserve. As it stands, our Kim the Clever put that little scrap to good use, and life is all the tastier for it. So, here it is: The Best Ever Chocolate Cake. Made and loved by clever girls everywhere...

Chocolate Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Baking Time: 55 minutes

Chilling time:30 minutes

Yield: 15 servings

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 1/2 tTeaspoons baking soda

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 cups sour cream (not non-fat)

1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 t. vanilla

FOR CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup whipping cream

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut into small pieces

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, coca, baking soda and salt into bowl of electric mixer; stir in sugar. Add sour cream, butter, eggs and vanilla. mix together in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed; increase speed to medium. Beat about three minutes. Transfer batter to greased and floured 9-by-13 inch pan; smooth batter with batter with spatula.

Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.

For frosting, stir sugar and cream in heavy 3-quart saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer 6 minutes; remove from heat. Stir in chocolate and butter until smooth; stir in vanilla. Refrigerate until set but not solid, about 30 minutes. Beat with wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Spread on cake.