mirrormirror - Part 20

Easy Cake Decorating Idea

May 29, 2012 By Paola 52 Comments

I’m starting to think that Pinterest has pushed back the cause of feminism by several hundred years.

This weekend we were hosting a Eurovision party and since it also happened to be the birthday of one of the Minx’s friends who was attending, I offered to make a quick birthday cake.

And then I went on Pinterest, disappeared down the rabbit hole, and emerged to find several hours had gone by and the kitchen was totally covered with food colouring and buttercream. This is indeed a very easy frosting idea, but quick it is most certainly not. It was enormous fun to do though.

The Minx and I got a little carried away with the food colouring and made coloured layers inside the cake, which I think in hindsight was a garishness too far, particularly as they were not quite as subtly pretty as I was hoping It would have looked better just as plain cake with white buttercream inside.

But then garishness isn’t really a problem when making cake for an eight year old. Please excuse drunken pic below, but you get the idea.

Update: Several people have asked me to provide a bit more information on how I did it. I mixed up a big batch of vanilla buttercream (beat together 2 sticks/220g of room-temperature butter, 6 cups/640g icing/confectioner’s sugar, plus a little vanilla extract, plus a tablespoon or two of milk until the buttercream is soft and smooth).

Then I divided the buttercream into six and the Minx and I conferred long and hard over which colours to choose. I spread a very thin crumb coat over the sides to even them up and then used a #21 tip to pipe little rosettes onto the cake, making sure that I didn’t pipe the same colour in adjacent spots. And then kept going and going and GOING until every bit of the cake was covered.

Further Update: Thanks to the comments below, I’ve been able to track down the original source of the idea at I Am Baker. Thanks for pointing it out. The original pin I found was ‘uploaded by user’ and no source was indicated, so I’m glad to finally be able to credit the right person.

Food Photography Workshop with Andrew Scrivani

May 24, 2012 By Paola 6 Comments

At the weekend I popped down to San Francisco for the day. It was meant to be longer, but then it worked out that the Minx’s end-of-year performance was on Saturday afternoon and of course I couldn’t miss that.

But I also couldn’t miss a food photography workshop held by New York Times food photographer, Andrew Scrivani hosted by the wonderful Contigo, a Spanish restaurant in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighbourhood.

Andrew is the master of a more painterly approach to food photography – he focuses on perfect lighting, simple propping and graphic styling to make the food seem to leap from the page and which makes you the viewer wish it would leap straight into your mouth. Truly it’s food porn at its most succulently droolworthy. Luxuriate in his portfolio here and you will see exactly what I mean.

I met Andrew before when he came and gave short workshop in Seattle (which for some reason I forgot to blog) and I was really excited to see and hear him again. Andrew used to teach before becoming a food photographer, and you can tell. He’s infinitely patient and very good at explaining what he does. He went through a greatest hits slide show in the morning, explaining in great detail how he manages to achieve his shots (and imparting a whole load of new knowledge that I hadn’t picked up during the first workshop). Then we had lunch featuring the most incredible paella known to man, followed by an hour or two to play, with props and food provided by the restaurant. For the last part of the day Andrew critiqued our work, which was scary – I never want anyone to see my outtakes, let alone a professional food photographer, but obviously incredibly useful. And it was almost more fascinating and inspiring to see what other photographers were able to achieve with the same lighting, food, props and equipment, just by looking at things differently.

We learned that sometimes it’s good to go in close.

And sometimes we should look for shapes and colour.

Drips and oozes are always good.

Or else you could just focus on tiny details.

Flares and reflections on bottles add shape and interest.

And sometimes food is just too darn ugly, however much you try and brighten it up with props and garnishes and bright sunlight.

Make sure your board is clean and free of grease stains and salt (now you tell me).

And sometimes harsh backlighting is your friend.

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When in doubt about which picture to choose try a diptych (and yes I fell in love with a pot of pink curing salt).

A little bird tells me that Andrew will be giving a workshop in Seattle in June. Details have not yet been published but follow him on Twitter @andrewscrivani or on his blog Making Sunday Sauce for news. You won’t regret it.

Are You Over-Propped?

May 23, 2012 By Paola 9 Comments

This article which appeared in the New York Times last week has caused a lot of controversy out there in the blogosphere and touches on stuff we’ve been talking about recently. The author, with a hint of self-deprecation, gently criticises those who style their homes to within an inch of their lives and fills them with ‘props’, such as vintage typewriters which look pretty but which are never going to be used.

You used to see it a lot in homes which were styled for interiors mags or had been pulled together by an interior designer and filled with objects, art and even books, which had been chosen for how they looked in the space and not for what they meant to the inhabitants.

But now in these days of interiors mags, design blogs, books about design blogs and, heaven help us, Pinterest, design trends and ideas seem to appear, become ubiquitous and turn into clichés in the blink of an eye. As this also fascinating article in Vanity Fair has it, so many of us now;

‘have become amateur stylists—scrupulously attending, as never before, to the details and meanings of the design and décor of their homes, their clothes, their appliances, their meals, their hobbies, and more.’

There has been an inevitable backlash from bloggers, and lots of heated discussions on Facebook etc. – after all what’s wrong with wanting to create a beautiful and carefully curated living space?

For me part of the key is authenticity – by all means colour code your books if it’s easier for you to find them that way; display your Le Creuset pots with pride if you actually use them for cooking and revel in that inherited Arco lamp that fills you with memories of a favourite aunt.

And yes, stubbornly continue to enjoy your owls even after 81% of your readers have told you they’re over as a design trend.

But at what point does today’s pretty object turn into tomorrow’s ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ poster? How do you decide what objects to give houseroom to? And what mistakes have you made – barcarts and globes that just gather dust; trendy paint colours that now make you cringe; objects that you bought on a whim because you saw them in a design blog, but have never really fitted into your home?

The writer of the article lists – extremely weird – design clichés here. Some like the bar cart I can totally understand, but fresh flowers, a cliché? Seriously?

Fan Bingbing at Cannes

May 21, 2012 By Paola 6 Comments

Last week Chinese actress Fan Bingbing won the Internet.

Firstly she gets to be called Fan Bingbing; secondly she gets to put tassels in her hair and look stunningly beautiful, not utterly ridiculous: and thirdly she got to wear one of the most exquisite dresses I have ever, ever seen.

Her glorious embroidered dress by Christopher Bu was inspired by a Chinese porcelain vase from the Qing dynasty and tells stories of the Four Beauties of Ancient China. Her hair is worn in the style of a young noblewoman from the Tang dynasty.

She and the dress are so freakin’ beautiful that I want to hang her on my wall.

WTF Friday: Tom Cruise for W Magazine

May 18, 2012 By Paola 18 Comments

I have no words.

Discuss.

Teeny Trend: Colourful Circles

May 17, 2012 By Paola 3 Comments

Oversize necklace by LeJu available at Boticca.com

Details for cool DIY paint chip art project from The 3Rs Blog.

Fancy Hotel of the Week: Four Seasons Seattle

May 16, 2012 By Paola 5 Comments

When the sun does come out in Seattle there is no more beautiful place on earth. The unfortunate thing is, that, unless you have your own yacht, there are not so many places to just lounge and enjoy the view.

Yes, there are the lakes and the cold ocean beaches, but there are very few loungers and margaritas types of places, and, as you have probably guessed, I am very much a loungers and margaritas type of girl.

So when it became apparent on Thursday that temperatures were set to soar in Seattle for the Mother’s Day weekend, we decided to throw caution to the wind and book into Seattle’s Four Seasons hotel for a ‘staycation’. The Four Seasons is unusual for Pacific Northwest hotels in having an outdoor infinity pool, with breathtaking south-west facing views out over Elliott Bay to the Olympic mountains beyond, which reminded me of the similar views we had from our downtown apartment when we first moved to Seattle.

The pool area also features a hot tub and fire pit and is protected on three sides by the hotel and other high rise buildings, so I would imagine that it would still be very pleasant in the cooler months of the year.

The beautiful spring green planting creates a little rooftop oasis and exactly matches the beautiful spring green umbrellas, which looked amazing against the blue sky and turquoise water.

The pool itself is heated to 85 degrees and also gently salinated, which makes the water deliciously soft and somehow bouncy, and there was plenty of room for the Minx and the Husband to practise their synchronised swimming routines.

Inside the décor is luxurious, clean and contemporary, with an emphasis on natural stone and woods, soft autumnal hues and organic shapes, with lots of interesting artworks and glass.

In the lobby, slatted wood walls are juxtaposed with intricate stone floors and striped carpets to give a clean, modern almost Asian feel.

Oh and the breakfast wasn’t bad either.

We were also really impressed with the welcome given to the Minx. When we booked they asked for her name and age, and there was a welcome pack waiting for her in the room, with a little treasure hunt questionnaire for her to complete.

It’s the first hotel we’ve ever stayed in which provided a mini kids robe and slippers, to the Minx’s enormous delight and to cap things off, they also gave her a little pink sock monkey, from which she became inseparable. And yes, I do know that my daughter is INCREDIBLY spoiled.

Here is ‘Chaussette’ lounging by the pool.

We left feeling incredibly relaxed and asking ourselves why on earth we haven’t done this sooner. Truly that view is good for the soul. Four Seasons Seattle, we will most DEFINITELY be back.

Thanks once again to the lovely Sheri at Pacific Northwest Journeys for arranging our stay. We paid for the hotel room ourselves.

Go Fug Your Kitchen: Sophie Conran’s Bayswater Flat

May 10, 2012 By Paola 3 Comments

Sophie Conran is yet another child of British design royalty Sir Terence and his second wife cookery writer Caroline Conran. Sophie is maybe not quite as famous as her brothers Jasper and Sebastian (whose Notting Hill house has already had the honour of featuring in GFYR) but still has serious design chops as the designer behind the Sophie Conran for Portmeirion dinnerware and a newish range of wallpapers for Arthouse among many other food and product collaborations.

Her Bayswater flat is not really interesting enough for a whole Go Fug Your Room, as most of it is blandly inoffensive and seems to have come straight out of the pages of ‘Fuck Your Noguchi Coffee Table’.

Collection of mis-matched white jugs. CHECK.

Collection of mismatched white vases. CHECK.

Saarinen Tulip Chair. CHECK

Arco Lamp AND Arne Jacobsen Series 7 Chairs. CHECK and CHECK.

Saarinen Tulip Chairs and Tulip Table. CHECK and CHECK.

Utterly hideous pink walls. CHECK.

Er, excuse me?

Apparently Ms Conran let her daughter chose the wall colour, an evil which has been compounded by picking out the ornate mouldings in stark white, making the whole thing look like a particularly tasteless wedding cake.

So, in the run up to Mother’s Day, I’d like to ask the delightful mirrormirror commentariat two simple questions. Is this kitchen fugly and should kids ever be allowed to make décor decision not immediately pertaining to their own bedrooms?

poll by twiigs.com

In previous Go Fug Your Room news, around 30% of you liked Adam Levine’s house (and weren’t influenced in any way, shape or form by his cute smile. No sirree). Around 30% of you thought it was fugly and 40% of you were meh on the whole thing.

Pinterest Take 5: Persimmon

May 10, 2012 By Paola 6 Comments

I bought an orange, or, more precisely, that orange-veering-to-coral-pink known as persimmon, sweatshirt last week. At least five people have since told me that it is the ‘colour of the season’.

All I know is that if you have boring mid-brown hair and pale skin with a warm undertone as I have, there is no more flattering colour on earth, and you will have to rip this sweatshirt from my back.

It’s been popping up all over Pinterest too.

1. Bottega Veneta Silk Chiffon Colour Block Dress at Net-A-Porter via Anne Deotte

2. Jasper Conran for Wedgwood Kilim Teacup and Saucer via Mackenzie

3. Labyrinth Persimmon Pillow by Dwell Studio via Bibi Rogers

4. Fleuvog Sandra shoes via Casapinka

5. Peach, Strawberry and Vodka Popsicles by Endless Simmer via Kimberly Taylor Not quite persimmons I know, but the colour is persimmon perfection and they did seem a little more seasonally appropriate.

That Was The Week That Was: California Spring Break Edition

May 7, 2012 By Paola 2 Comments

Oh goodness, it’s been ages since I did one of these. I’ll fill you in with Spring Break pics today and then maybe do another one towards the end of the week.

Not sure if anyone else likes them but it makes me happy to keep this little visual diary. Our Spring Break was a week of soft clouds and soft pastels, sea creatures and great food, with quite a lot of knitting thrown in.