monday links

It's my husband's birthday today, so I made him a batch of his favorite lemon bars- but made with key limes for a new twist. I always use this recipe for the Ultimate Lemon Butter Bar. It's a fairly involved recipe, but it yields the most delicious bars with a serious punch of tart citrus. Consider yourself warned: I brought these to a bake sale at work years ago, and two older ladies in my office literally begged me every day until I agreed to bring in more! This recipe doesn't make a lot, so I usually double it and make them in a 9x13" pan. Well, more specifically, I double the shortbread base and triple the lemon curd topping. If you want to try them with lime juice, I recommend using 2/3 lime juice and 1/3 lemon juice so they still end up nice and tart.

The Selby featured a home tour of John Derian's NYC apartment, and (not surprisingly) it's filled with an amazing assortment of unique and lovely things. If you're not familiar with John Derian's decoupage, visit his website and prepare to empty your bank account. 

Have you ever ordered from Golden Tote? It's a fun concept: you fill out a questionnaire about your style, pick out one or two pieces you like, and then they surprise you with up to five other items in your tote. My friend Kait is obsessed with it, and has got me thinking about giving it a try. The tote for April was released today, and some pieces are already sold out, but I've got my eye on this sundress for summer.


[Lemon bar photo by Carl Tremblay via Leite's Culinaria, John Derian home photo by The Selby,  sundress photo from Golden Tote]