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It’s Starting to Look a Lot Like Christmas

December 19, 2009 By Paola 3 Comments

We’re off to Whistler on Sunday to spend Christmas there with friends. It will be the first time we haven’t gone back home to the UK for Christmas since we came out here, and I think we’re all feeling a little nonplussed (Christmas and England very much go together for the Minx).

It will also be a little strange to leave Seattle, especially now that the house is looking so festive and cosy. But we’re all looking forward to snow and skiing (the Husband and the Minx) and relaxation and knitting and reading (me) and seeing Whistler in all its pre-Olympic finery.

I had the tripod up so I thought I’d take some pictures of our decorations. It’s all a bit of a mish-mash but I’m so fond of all the individual elements.

What with owls, wooden deer, a new little bird (from Amy Ruppel) and various snowy/furry things our mantelpiece has inadvertently taken on a bit of a winter woodland theme.

In pre-Minx days our tree was quite strictly silver, gold and crystal, but it’s become rather more eclectic and colourful over the last few years. I was going to tie some big bows on it in an attempt to bring it all together, but that just didn’t happen this year.

Gingerbread men and candy canes now mingle with a little embroidered horseman from the V&A (known affectionately as John of Gaunt – my ultimate fictional lustbunny from Katherine).

Each member of the family has their own embroidered and sequinned initial.

Here’s the little baby carriage we bought when I was pregnant with the Minx.

And there’s the little baby angel we bought the year after.

This frankly creepy creature – known as the Candy Cane Child – was picked out by the Minx when she was two and is adored by her more than all the other decorations put together.

While I am a sucker for tiny 18th century shoes.

Looking at these photos, I have made one definite resolution for 2010. NO. MORE. EGGYOLK. YELLOW. WALLS.

Better Late Than Never – Hella Jongerius Jonsberg Vase

November 30, 2009 By Paola 1 Comment

These Jonsberg vases by Dutch design legend Hella Jongerius for Ikea PS have been all over the design blogs for years, and though I’ve always loved them they never seemed to have them in stock when I’ve been to Ikea (and I really couldn’t be bothered to make a special trip).

This past weekend we somehow found ourselves in Ikea and there was the pink one in stock, so I snaffled it up, all $39.99 of it. They also had the black one, but somehow I didn’t like it as much in person as I thought I would. I still would love to get the white one and also the terracotta, though I’m not sure they’re producing that one any more.

But the pink one makes a cheerful addition to the fireplace.

We are still in our pumpkin phase as you can see, though the Minx and I are making extensive preparations for the grand Christmas decorating day next Saturday.

The other two bits of incredibly thrillng house news (honestly how can you guys cope with the excitement?) are that (i) we appear to have chosen a colour for the living room walls. No more egg yolk yellow! (We will be discussing this more extensively later). And (ii) this afternoon we have an appointment with the architects to talk about remodelling the basement and doing something about our two kitchen dilemma. Will let you know what they have to say.

Vancouver and Visas and Wearstler and Wanders

October 29, 2009 By Paola Leave a Comment

Can you believe it’s been three years since we first got our visas for the US?

When we first came out to Seattle we assumed that definitely be back in the UK before our visas ran out. But here we are three years later, happily settled and with no return to Europe in prospect, needing new visas. You have to leave the country to get them renewed so we’ve driven 150 miles up the freeway to spend a few days in Vancouver.

Here are a few pics from a gorgeous autumnal walk we went on yesterday in Stanley Park.

And here are a couple of links which might be of interest until I’m back properly in front of a computer (on Friday).

First up Alexandra from A Bit Late is not impressed with Kelly Wearstler’s beach house. While I don’t think I hate it as much as her previous effort (she appears to have given up raiding the British Museum) I’m not sure it has a huge amount to commend it. I haven’t yet seen the Metropolitan Home feature though.

Also our friend Marcel Wanders has apparently designed a range of Christmas decorations for Target here in the US. I had high hopes for these as he’s done good stuff before for Habitat in the UK but really, with the exception of the big red, white and silver column candles which I may have to acquire, he was phoning this in without even bothering to switch on the phone. BO-RING.

Harvest

October 26, 2009 By Paola 3 Comments

In which I rescue my poor bedraggled little saffron crocuses from a weekend of heavy rain and pick out the saffron stamens. Take that $25 bottle of saffron from the supermarket!

I think I’ll make risotto.

I’ve not yet actually cooked with my home-grown saffron, so if we are all poisoned I’ll make sure someone lets you know…

Harvest

October 14, 2009 By Paola 1 Comment

Or fences that grow apples.

Look what we’ve been picking recently! Small, perfectly formed, and just the right size for the Minx’s lunchbox.

I first got the idea to use espaliered apple trees as fences when we visited the tulip festival back in 2007 and they’d used them to fence in the car park.

Here are our two just planted espaliers to the left of the picture below back when the garden was new in August 2007.

That first year they sure did look pretty but the one apple they produced was eaten by our garden squirrel.

This year, however, look what we got.

The extremely cool thing about these espaliers – as you can just about see from the picture above - is that each of the four branches has a different variety of apple on it. The Gala and Granny Smith apples in the top picture both came off the same tree.

Getting Old

September 18, 2009 By Paola 9 Comments

It’s my birthday today and Seattle is rewarding me with the most glorious sunny day imaginable.

The long hot summer of 2009 continues its magic, I’ve picked myself some flowers from the garden, and I’m feeling very lazy, very grateful and very content.

Real birthday celebrations are happening tomorrow, so I can spend the day with Minx, and then on Monday both the Husband and I are taking a day off to go on a very exciting hot date, of which more anon.

See you on Tuesday!

Cute antique milk bottle vase is from Casapinka’s fabulous new Etsy store.

Go Love Your Sofa – Babette

September 16, 2009 By Paola 8 Comments

So here are more details of the present I’m planning to make for the new sofa.

This project has been percolating for a long time, ever since my friend Heidi from Peacock Modern showed me the pattern at the beginning of this year. It’s the reason I’ve been teaching myself to crochet and desperately trying to finish my existing big projects (I’m still ploughing through both the blanket and the lace wrap). And I’ve spent the whole summer collecting Koigu KPM sock yarn – picking skeins up cheaply on Ravelry and scouring and stalking online stores for sales and special offers.

Buying everything online has made for mistakes (which I’ve sold on) but also some happy accidents – ‘ugly’ colours such as mustard and burnt orange –which I would never probably have picked up, but which, in the spirit of Noro, I’ve kept on and which I’m hoping will give the whole thing more interest and depth.

Here’s what I’ve collected so far.

And here’s what they’re going to be.

Babette. How I love this funky modern take on the classic granny square blanket. How I’m looking forward to playing with my own colours to create a harmonious whole. How terrified I am of actually crocheting the thing and sewing it together.

If you too are foolish enough to want to embark on this, the pattern is here, there is a helpful Babette group on Ravelry, and a Flickr gallery full of Babette inspiration.

Ta-da!

September 11, 2009 By Paola 11 Comments

So here is the new sofa in situ. It is as comfy as hell, IMMENSELY practical, extraordinarily well -made and we are thrilled to bits with it. Thanks Couch Seattle!

You will note that we’ve also taken your advice – you were right of course – and bought a new rug for that end of the room so that the coffee table sits on it correctly and moved the green rug to the dining area. We also moved the green curtains to that end of the room to give a bit of colour and raised the curtain pole so that they hang better and give more of an illusion of height.

Things Still To Be Done About Which We Need to Talk

– Paint the walls. I have a completely different colour in mind from the last time we discussed this and am going to get samples this weekend.

– Reframe and move the artwork. Commission or buy huge and expensive piece of art (ha ha! – Ed) or at the very least do SOMETHING with the wall above the sofa.

– Replace (or possibly just paint?) the incredibly ugly door on the left which leads straight out onto the porch.

– Do something about the light fixtures, about which we have still done nothing since last we spoke.

– Crochet the sofa a beautiful present.

– Learn how to style photos better and at least smooth down the cushions on the couch before photographing it.

There is much to discuss and much to do. But we are getting there slowly.

The weather is supposed to be glorious this weekend which I suspect will be the Seattle summer’s last hurrah. So we are going to go out and PLAY!

Harvest

August 5, 2009 By Paola 6 Comments

Our lavender bushes at home have been pretty spectacular too (though I forgot to take photos when they were at their peak, so you’ll just have to imagine them). In the recent dry weather (no meaningful rain in Seattle since mid-May!) the flowers have been drying on the bushes and I’ve been collecting the dried flowers, because it seemed like the right thing to do.

But I don’t really have any idea what to do with it all. I’m not really the sort of person who makes lavender bags (though maybe I’ll knit some). According to all these links, I’m supposed to be making lavender sugar, lavender lemonade and lavender oil; using it in cooking; making lavender teabags to put in the bath; using the oil to heal burns and wounds and making eyebags from lavender, flaxseed and rice. As a linguist, I am intrigued to note that the name lavender comes from the Latin verb lavare ‘to wash’, so it’s obviously well worth putting in the bath.

Has anyone else got any good ideas? I particularly want to try using it in cooking, so any good recipes would be much appreciated.

Life is a bowl of…

June 29, 2009 By Paola 5 Comments

This is probably around a quarter of the cherries we’ve pulled off the tree in the last few days and there’s still more to come. We’re eating till we’re fit to burst, giving them away and made an immense clafoutis at the weekend (which I didn’t get a chance to take pictures of before it was gobbled up). We’ll also be making jam before long.

But, I think we’re still in need of cherry recipes. Any good ones?