This is one of those design ideas which seems so obvious you wonder why no one’s thought of it before. Dutch design company Demakersvan combines the ancient craft of lacemaking with industrial chain link fence.
Demakersvan’s website is here. Their ‘Lace Fence’ website is here. And you can even buy lace fence in various panel sizes here.
It’s making me want to build a dark wooden wall somewhere in my garden, just so’s I can install a lace fence trellis.
I made a traditional English Easter Simnel cake to eat this weekend but I’m not going to have time to get the recipe up for you until early next week. Still here’s a pretty picture for you, and whatever and however you’re celebrating this weekend (our Easter is rather heathen and chocolate-fuelled it must be admitted) have fun!
So I was browsing through Tula’s ever-fabulous blog the other day when I came across a link to NYC-based online shop Blue Tree and some limited edition hand-crocheted vegetables.
They’re OK, I thought, if you like that sort of thing, and the carrot would probably make a cute present for your Easter Bunny, and then my eye happened upon the price.
$525 for a whimsical crocheted carrot? WTF?
Now the carrot is comparatively large (43 inches) and you don’t have to tell me how long crochet takes, and I’m all for craftspeople being paid an honest wage for an honest day’s toil.
But seriously, $525 for a crocheted CARROT? Or am I being stingy?
It’s spring, when a mother’s fancy lightly turns to how the heck are we going to decorate eggs to put around our Easter tree THIS year.
Here’s a selection of egg decorating options from my ‘Celebrations’ Pinterest board. I haven’t yet consulted the Minx on this weighty matter though.
From Martha Stewart. I think I’d be making these if I’d got the neon thread in time.
From Stylizimo. There are loads more egg decorating ideas on this gorgeous blog, but there’s no way the Minx and I could do anything this detailed and beautiful.
From Home Made Simple. Not entirely sure I can convince the Minx of the intrinsic chicness of black eggs.
From Crafty Endeavour. Starched embroidery floss eggs formed around mini-balloons. Not sure the Minx (or I) have the patience for these.
From Better Homes and Gardens. These could be a contender. They fit right in with the polka dot trend and all you need is a hole punch, some double-sided tape and some glitter.
From Fabulous K. I think these might be my favourites, if I can get the right paints together in time.
And now I’m eggs-hausted. If you’ll eggs-cuse me.
So as mirrormirror begins its quest for world blogging domination, I thought it was about time I brought in a new office manager to get things organised round here.
Remember when I pre-ordered a Joan Holloway Barbie doll? AGES ago? And how I was looking for a suitable mid-century Barbie-sized 1:6 scale chair to sit her on? (Which was not an incredibly expensive Vitra Miniature)
Well when I was in New York last month I finally found what I was looking for in the MOMA shop – a 1:6 scale Panton chair (also available online at Lexington Modern in a variety of colours).
So today I finally unpacked Ms Holloway from her cardboard coffin and brought her in to kick some ass.
 |
 |
Unfortunately I hadn’t reckoned on the fact that she doesn’t have jointed knees, so after all that she looks rather ridiculous sitting on her Panton chair. And her skirt is so tight it rides up and shows the tops of her stockings. Not that I expect the real Joan would have minded that though.
Maybe I should have bought her the Vitra Miniature Saarinen Womb Chair and Ottoman after all. (Haha! No. Have you seen the price?)
I have to say that the attention to detail on this Barbie is wonderful, from her carefully painted finger and toenails, to the seams in her stockings and her exquisite jewellery. I’ve never had a Collector’s Edition Barbie before and I adore her.
Just before spring.
It’s been a day of soft April showers here in Seattle and I thought I’d share pictures of another such day we spent a couple of weekends back in Portland’s Japanese Garden.
Of all the Japanese gardens here on the West Coast, Portland’s is by far my favourite. Not as flashy and gaudy as San Francisco’s, but bigger and more peaceful than Seattle’s, Spring had not yet fully sprung when we went, though everywhere soft young leaves were starting to peek through, as the hailstones fell and the sunshine glinted through the raindrops like so many crystals on a chandelier.
Some places are good for the soul.
This week on Pinterest we’ve got spots before the eyes.
DIY tags with transparent polka dot stickers from Tokketok via Cinzia Ruggieri.
Iphone wallpaper from Gallery Hanahou via Ricki Mountain
DIY tablecloth from Oh Happy Day via Cinzia Ruggieri
Funfetti Layer Cake from Sweetapolita via Grace Kang.
This idea for pre-sorting your laundry is INSPIRED. I just wish I had an empty closet where I could do this in our house.
From Brick City Love via Shauna Christensen.
I just wanted to let readers in the Seattle area know that I’ll be teaching a baking class at Book Larder on April 30th entitled Baking in Translation. I’m nervous already, so it would be wonderful to see as many friendly faces as possible in the audience. And of course, if you’re a Seattle blog reader, do come and laugh at my funny accent, I’d love to meet you.
The class has arisen from the occasional blog posts I write lamenting all the difficulties I’ve had over the past five years translating British recipes into American and vice versa.
We will cover weighing ingredients in metric versus measuring with cup measures; differences in terminology and vocabulary, such as flour and cream equivalents; where to source strange ingredients in the Seattle area and what to substitute if you can’t get hold of them, and discussing things like pan sizes and oven temperatures. Please come armed with any questions that have been bugging you and we’ll try to cover them all.
While we’re chatting, I will be showing you how to bake a classic English Victoria sponge (measured out in metric) and, if we have time, English flapjacks, using weird British ingredients like porridge oats, golden syrup and sultanas. There will also be treats available to taste.
I will be putting together a detailed hand-out containing all my hard-won knowledge which will be yours to take home, and by the end of it, the world of British cooking will be your oyster and you’ll be buried knee-deep in the Guardian’s food website and ordering obscure English cookbooks from Amazon UK.
Tickets cost a bargainaceous $25 and can be ordered here. Spaces are limited to 24. Oh and if you haven’t been before, you will adore Book Larder so come armed with lots of money too.
The pictures are from last autumn when I made five Victoria sponges for Seattle’s annual Will Bake for Food event (click through and you’ll see one of my sponges out in the wild).
Planning a trip to Portland any time soon? A couple of Fridays ago I headed off down the I-5 at the crack of dawn in search of hipsters, birds, excellent food, perfect coffee, imaginative shops, and no sales tax, and was not disappointed. The Friday was spent shopping with girlfriends, then the Minx and the Husband drove down to meet me and we stayed on for a great weekend.
If you’re thinking of going to Portland, here’s what you should do.
Firstly make sure that Myra of Seattle Bon Vivant and Lilian of Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs are with you. These ladies sure know how to eat and shop and they’re fabulously fun company too.
When you arrive head first to Barista in the Pearl District for one of the finest cups of coffee you’ll have anywhere (and I live in Seattle), together with an extremely acceptable almond croissant.
You’ll need fortification before browsing through the crazy that is Cargo. Just round the corner from Barista, Cargo calls itself a ‘showroom, flea market, and international bazaar’ and features bizarre and beautiful finds from Indonesia, China, Japan, Thailand and Mexico. I guarantee you’ll find nothing in here that you need, but plenty that you’ll want. I bought some antique scissors and a small lucky waving cat charm for the Minx’s backpack. See what I mean?
Next cross the river and go to The Meadow in North Portland’s Mississippi district. This tiny shop sells salt, flowers, chocolate, wine and bitters, all personal passions of owner Mark Bitterman, author of the wonderful cookbook Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes
I met Mark when he came to Seattle and, together with Myra, hosted a creative and delectable salt-based dinner.
This shop shouldn’t work, but it does, beautifully, because so much knowledge and passion has gone into the carefully curated selections. Just look at those walls of salt and chocolate. I was tempted to buy a block of pink Hawaiian baking salt, but our kitchen has enough clutter. One day.
I contented myself with a big bag of sel gris instead.
Then head off for lunch at Pok Pok, which serves carefully authentic regional Thai and Vietnamese streetfood under a heated awning.
For some reason I didn’t manage to take any photos here. However, here is Lilian’s detailed review, with a ton of photos. Like her I would have been happy to eat the phat si ew, a classic dish of stir-fried rice noodles, succulent Carlton Farms pork, Chinese broccoli and egg, all day. Pok Pok is a fun, enjoyable place for a Portland pit stop, with great food and a buzzy atmosphere, deservedly a renowned Portland hangout.
After a hearty lunch it’s time to start shopping in earnest.
First go to Flora which sells a girly selection of scented candles, jewellery, stationery, art, apothecary items and general nicknackery. I came away with a gorgeous fig-scented Tatine candle. I wasn’t familiar with this range before, but loved the simple glass containers and the beautiful perfumes. The Minx also liked Flora very much when we went back the next day.
Then head over to Canoe, by way of glorious yarn shop Knit Purl. I forgot to take pics again, but did come away with two skeins of gorgeous naturally-dyed laceweight linen yarn. One has to have priorities.
Anyway, back to Canoe. This shop has a wonderful selection of modern tchotchkes and home accessories, chosen with taste and flair. The Husband particularly liked this shop when we returned the following day and it’s a particularly great place to browse for gifts for men. I ended up with a new litter bin, a pink piggy bank for the Minx and some little glass bowls.
After visiting more shops that I’ll get to in part 2 of this guide, we finished up at modern furniture shop Hive before settling down for a very well-earned and again excellent coffee at Cafe Allora, a little bit of Milan in downtown Portland.
Finally we braved the immensely long line at Ken’s Artisan Pizza. We had to wait for over two hours, fortunately seated at a back table where we could drink plenty of wine, but the pizza was worth it when we got it, which means it’s VERY good pizza indeed. Particularly the bacon pizza. Man, that was yummy.
The Minx and the Husband made it down the freeway in time to join us for an extra bacon pizza and dessert and we then waved goodbye as Myra and Lilian headed off into the night. I was left wondering why I don’t do day trips to Portland more often.
Find out what the Minx, the Husband and I got up to in Part 2.
I’m seeing it a lot at the moment - a warm, sophisticated, not-at-all-girly shell pink, which is almost a neutral.
Sunglasses by Stella McCartney (I have a pressing need for these). Room shown in Dutch interiors magazine VTWonen.
