mirrormirror - Part 61

Gigantic Granny Square Afghan

January 12, 2010 By Paola 5 Comments

Today is the Minx’s fifth birthday. And so of course she comes bounding into our bedroom this morning full of energy and excitement and shouts about presents.

For some reason it seemed particularly dark and I felt even crapper than I usually do when it’s time to get up, but it had been raining all night, which would explain the darkness, and when I asked the Husband what time it was (he keeps the alarm clock on his side of the bed) he said ‘oh, it’s twenty past seven’. I felt so dreadfully unrested that I asked him to double check but he reassured me about the time and we hauled ourselves out of bed and downstairs to begin the unveiling of half a ton of Disney Princess/Calico Critters/My Little Pony crap tempered with the occasional improving book.

This process had been going on for about ten minutes and I was just about to start making birthday waffles when I happened to glance at the clock on the VCR. Which said 3:52. Yes, my Cambridge-educated Husband had got his long and short hands mixed up and we’d all got up at 3.35 am. And of course after that the Minx was so excited it took her ages to go back to sleep, and she woke up again for the final time at 6.30 am.

So if you thought that today there would be a moving eulogy to my five-year old daughter or even any substantive blogging at all, then, dear readers, you are very much mistaken.

Instead here are a few pictures of the Gigantic Granny Square Blanket I crocheted for the Minx’s new dolls house.

She had expressed some disappointment that the blanket provided (a thin scrap of dark blue jersey) was too small for the sofa bed, so I decided to make the dolls their very own gigantic granny square afghan. I was very pleased with how well the yarn went with the decor and it seems that the (rather creepy) dolls are too.

This is another step in my ‘teach yourself to crochet’ campaign. After a few false starts I can now granny square along fabulously thanks to the Purl Bee’s excellent instructions. I’m almost tempted to start on a full-size gigantic granny square blanket just for us.

The yarn is the scraps from my first ever pair of socks. It’s fascinating to see how differently the yarn works up in different patterns.

Carolina Leon Firrell – Hand Painted Porcelain

January 12, 2010 By Paola 2 Comments

It’s about this time of year that I start getting inundated with invitations to attend Maison & Objet in Paris. I’m not able to go this year, but as the business is growing it’s still very much on my to do list for next year.

Here’s who invited me today. Just loving the colour story on these. I’ll have to get a catalogue I think.

Jessica Eskelsen – Photography

January 11, 2010 By Paola 15 Comments

I love getting comments on the blog because then I get to read your blogs and you really a gorgeous and talented bunch aren’t you?

Last week ‘Jess’ commented about running, so I went to her blog and discovered that she’s a pretty amazing photographer. I love the moody otherworldly atmosphere she achieves. It’s ‘atmosphere’ that transforms a technically competent photo (like the ones I take) into something special and I’d love to know how to achieve it more often in my own work. Check out more of her beautiful photography here. {All photos below copyright the very talented Jessica Eskelsen}

Speaking of comments, I’d love to get more commenting/conversations going on this blog. That way I can have one of those blogs like Decorno’s where she writes nice short posts and then gets lots of lovely and interesting discussion from her commenters while she puts her feet up and watches telly.

What makes you comment on blogs? Are there any things that stop you from commenting? If you’ve been lurking on this blog but have never commented, why not? (<- she says, hoping to trick you into commenting 🙂 Is there anything I can do to encourage more comments on this blog? Won’t it be embarrassing if this post gets no comments?

Today I Am Mostly…

January 9, 2010 By Paola 2 Comments

…crocheting.

It’s going to be a tiny gift for the Minx’s birthday, of which more anon.

Calling All Stylistas

January 9, 2010 By Paola 2 Comments

While we’re in a photography frame of mind, I just wanted to highlight Holly Decor8’s Interior Styling group over on Flickr. She also talks more about it here. It’s a place to post up any pictures of corners of your home that you’ve styled and photographed and is hugely inspirational.

Anyone can join the group, and it includes some professional stylists, though be aware that Holly is curating the pool quite strictly and also making sure that images reflect her own particular aesthetic, which of course might not be yours.

Holly is also posting up a styling challenge every month which I’m hoping to do. January’s challenge is already up for the group, so make your way over there to check it out. I’ll post up my offering when it’s done.

Do let me know if you’re also going to take part. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Too Incredibly Cool

January 7, 2010 By Paola 2 Comments

parkour motion reel from saggyarmpit on Vimeo.

I like the music as well.

Today I Am Mostly…

January 7, 2010 By Paola 4 Comments

…watching the sunrise

Do you remember a couple of Januarys ago I started a photoblog called Today I Am Mostly? I didn’t have enough time then to keep it going then, but I’ve missed doing it so much.

This year I’m determined to really work on my photography and photo styling, so I thought it might be a good idea to revive TIAM. I’m not going to commit to every day, but I’m hoping to post two or three photos every week throughout the year. I’ll post them on ‘mirrormirror’ and also to www.todayiammostly.com and to my Flickr page f you want some unadulterated eye candy.

I’ve also retrospectively published a picture here.

A New Me – January 2010

January 7, 2010 By Paola 9 Comments

November December January

Not sure what these pictures prove except that I need to wash my hair. It looks like I’m a little blurrier round the post-Christmas edges but not by too much.

Well, last month was a DISASTER.

I got sick with the mother of all colds and felt absolutely dreadful in the run-up to Christmas and couldn’t move without exploding into a hacking heap of mucus. And what with mirrormirror busyness in the run up to Christmas and the Minx and the Husband being sick and getting under my feet, I think I’ve managed about five days of exercise in the past month.

And of course on top of that was all the Christmas food and alcohol and candy and parties and chocolate and entertaining and comfort eating because I was miserable with my cold and PORK PIE from the British shop in Vancouver etc. etc. And yes, I do know these are all excuses.

So I was absolutely terrified to step on the scale this morning, and seriously considered skipping a month. Instead, knowing how heartbroken you would all be if I did, I took my courage in both hands.

And the scales said 172 pounds (12 stone 4lbs) AGAIN. Which makes this the first Christmas since I was about three I think that I haven’t put on a ton of weight. Which I actually consider to be a bit of a result, as I was convinced I had put on around 5lbs.

Anyway, this unexpected semi-good news has boosted my morale enormously and I’ve managed to get back into my exercise regime as of Monday. As well as Wii-based strength training and Cardio Coach rowing I did my first ‘Couch to 5k’ Podcast this morning. These podcasts are designed to be used with Cool Running.com’s Couch to 5k regime, which if you do it 3 times a week over a period of 9 weeks, gently eases you, through a combination of walking and jogging, into being able to run a 5k.

Just think, by mid-March I should be able to run 5k in 30 minutes, which, if you saw me creeping along the Burke-Gilman trail like a geriatric buffalo this morning, is a little hard to believe. I like the podcasts as they eliminate all need to time yourself with a stop watch or anything – you just follow the recorded instructions -and I like bouncy the techno-dance music which keeps me motivated. I started using them last summer but had to give up after two weeks because of crippling plantar fasciitis. My foot is feeling a lot better now, but I’ll be doing lots of my plantar fasciitis stretches (pulling my toes up and back towards my shins) to make sure.

Does anyone else what to ‘Couch to 5k’ Along with me? I promise you couldn’t be a worse runner than me IF YOU TRIED.

Nook Review

January 7, 2010 By Paola 11 Comments

So this year I decided to ask for the new Nook e-reader from Barnes & Noble as my Christmas present. I’ve been avidly using both Amazon’s Kindle for iPhone app and Barnes & Noble’s E-reader iPhone app (both available for free) and decided it was about time I got the real thing.

After reading many reviews we decided to go for the Nook rather than the Kindle 2, though it was a bit of a gamble as the Nook is brand new and was only delivered to stores just before Christmas so it was impossible to do any sort of real-life comparison.

I chose the Nook mainly because a) it wasn’t Amazon, with whom I have a love/hate relationship b) its Android operating platform allows for future software updates which means it can be upgraded without buying a new machine c) it allows you to ‘lend’ books out to someone else (though only for two weeks) d) it reads PDFs, which will be great for knitting patterns and other stuff. Synching with the Barnes & Nobel iPhone e-reader is apparently coming soon, and will be delivered via a software update.

I don’t have a Kindle 2, so can’t compare it with that, but I can compare it with er, an actual book. And so far I’ve been very pleasantly surprised.

The Nook screen comes in two parts. The upper ‘e-ink’ screen which is where you do your actual reading and a colour touch-screen below which is where you navigate. To ‘turn the page’ you push small buttons on the sides. There has been some grumbling online about how slow everything but this was apparently solved by a software upgrade that was waiting for me when I unpacked my Nook. Certainly I have no complaints. The touch screen is pretty good, though not quite as responsive as the iPhone and ‘page-turning’ is MUCH quicker than turning the page on an actual book.

The grey e-ink screen is at first somewhat disappointing for someone who is used to spending all day gazing at a bright computer or iPhone screen, but it is designed to be easy on the eyes, easy to read and economical on battery life. I have to admit that when I’m reading it I sometimes forget that I’m not actually reading a real book – I’ve even caught my eyes wandering to the left to see what’s on the ‘other page’.

Another huge advantage is the size and weight. It’s about the same size and weight as a small old-fashioned cloth-covered hardback (an illusion which is also fostered by the cheap cloth-covered cover we gt for it). I like to read in bed and it’s really easy and manageable, moreso than the actual book would be – I’m currently reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, which apparently clocks in at 560 pages and 1.9lbs in real life.

In short, I’m a complete bookworm and I’m sold.