enjoying the sunshine
One day I will revive Today I Am Mostly. I miss it.
Jean Pelle
Speaking of Jean Pelle, I absolutely love her stunning wooden candle holders (also in the roomset below). Made from hand-turned Douglas fir and 24 carat gold leaf, they’re treated with a flame retardant and then finished to a smooth polish.
Available from her Etsy shop, at $115 a pop. (She also has smaller, darker, not gilded, cheaper versions, but obviously Mrs Expensive Tastes here doesn’t like those ones so much).
Making a Chandelier?
One of my resolutions this year is to finally get the house sorted out. The major remodeling of the basement and kitchens that we planned will have to wait because of George Bush and Gordon Brown, but we ought to at least be able to get the house PAINTED. I mean, we’ve only been here two years.
Two things which really need to go are the two brass light fittings in the main downstairs living room. I presume they’re originals in the house and so must date from about 1912. This doesn’t stop them looking like strange brass jelly fish hanging from the ceiling.
As a Brit I’ve been taught to be respectful of original features, but I really can’t cope with these and the Husband loathes them. I mean look.
I would obviously like to spend several thousand dollars on two groovy light fittings but George Bush put the kibosh on those as well (he’s got SO much on his conscience). And then I saw this in Ready Made magazine.
Designed by Jean Pelle, they’re made from three light fittings, round glass bulbs and these gorgeous handblown ‘bubble’ balls from CB2. All tied together with bits of string. I even have an electrical engineer (turned online advertising guru) for a Husband, so we shouldn’t even get electrocuted.
My questions for you are as follows:
– Should I ditch the original fixtures?
– Where’s the best place to sell the original fixtures?
– Will someone really pay MONEY for them?
– Am I really going to have the patience to put these together?
– Should I even bother?
– Are they going to look like expensive fixtures?
– Or just like a hopelessly homemade bundle of balls tied together with string?
Answers on a postcard please.
We’ll be talking paint colours next. FINALLY, we’re going to ditch the icky egg-yolk yellow. Am beside myself with excitement. Some colour samples arrived in the post today. I just have to paint them onto boards and then we can have a chat.
Two Awesome Videos
Miniature Knitting
{via Abigail Percy}
Fun in Bed
Video for Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie {via Uncle Beefy}
Hat-Tastic
Feeling a teensy bit bored? Then why not pull out the photocopier paper and make yourself a hat. Which is exactly what Japanese hairstylist Katsaya Kamo did for Chanel’s Spring 2009 collection. I think this should be a Project Runway challenge. (Speaking of which, WHEN is it coming back?)
{More here}
Ginkgo Sock
I’m knitting some more socks. This time a rather fiendish Ginkgo pattern again from Violet Green. The pattern isn’t beyond me per se, it just requires ferocious concentration, and since I usually only knit in front of the TV, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to undo this.
Still it’s coming along slowly, and I thought it looked good with our new ‘button’ box from Habitat.
My camera is very sick (broken LED screen, focusing issues, erratic pop up flash) and has been sent to the camera hospital to get a quote for repair (which I have a horrible feeling is going to be astronomical). In the meantime I’m taking photos on my little point and click, which is not the same at all, particularly as I can’t remember how to work it. Oh I miss my camera so…
Victorian Colour
I’m not so sure about some of the textile choices in this English Victorian house – a bit too old fashioned for my taste – but I love the owner’s use of colour and the use of contemporary furniture contrasted with the house’s old bones. A couple of great Ikea hacks too.
![CropperCapture[27]](/images/old/6a00d8341c7dce53ef010536fe7844970c-pi.jpg)
![CropperCapture[28]](/images/old/6a00d8341c7dce53ef010536f5546a970b-pi.jpg)
![CropperCapture[29]](/images/old/6a00d8341c7dce53ef010536f5547a970b-pi.jpg)
![CropperCapture[30]](/images/old/6a00d8341c7dce53ef010536fe7854970c-pi.jpg)
The stair runner is made of Barnslig Rand rugs sewn together.
![CropperCapture[31]](/images/old/6a00d8341c7dce53ef010536f5549a970b-pi.jpg)
The round bed was apparently sold in Ikea but I can’t find it on the current website. There’s one for sale here. The owner of the house made the round headboard for her teenage daughter’s room. I would have KILLED for this bed when I was a teenager (except for the surprisingly nasty Lulu Guinness bed linen).
{All house photos from Living etc.)
Domino to Close?
Look here (though I can’t read the full article Decorno links to as I’m not a subscriber to WWD).
I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s been really dreadful recently and the articles have only been good for ‘Go Fug Your Room’ posts. I’ll miss the website though.
I do wish the editors of shelter magazines stateside (which are all closing rapidly) would take a look at their British counterparts, such as Living etc, Elle Deco and even Ideal Home. All fabulous, and none, as far as I know, in danger of closing.
Living etc. there’s a huge gap in the US market now. Come and launch here!
UPDATE: Here’s the full text of the WWD article, again courtesy of Decorno.
Domino magazine will cease publication, it was announced today by Charles H. Townsend, President and CEO of Condé Nast. The final issue will be published in March 2009.
“This decision to cease publication of the magazine and its website is driven entirely by the economy,” Mr. Townsend said. “Although readership and advertising response was encouraging in the early years, we have concluded that this economic market will not support our business expectations.”
Domino was launched in April 2005. The magazine’s current ratebase is 800,000.
Condé Nast, a unit of Advance Publications, includes twenty-three consumer magazines, Condé Nast Digital, the Fairchild Fashion Group, Parade, the Condé Nast Media Group, and the Shared Services Centers.
Recession-Busting Italian Lentil & Bacon Soup
Italians traditionally eat lentils at New Year as they’re supposed to bring wealth and good fortune. So make this incredibly delicious, nutritious, quick, easy and CHEAP soup and I guarantee you’ll have no money worries whatsoever this year. (We’ve been eating LOADS.)
This recipe is one of my own devising, so it’s all a bit approximate.
INGREDIENTS.
1 onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic
2-3 tablespoons tiny cubes of bacon (experiment with this, pancetta would be what the Italians would use, we’ve had great success recently with maple smoked bacon. The little packets of cubed pancetta you can get in the UK would be ideal.)
1 tub of good tomato pasta sauce from the chiller cabinet (about 16 fl oz/500 ml). In Seattle my favourite is Cucina Fresca’s Marinara Sauce.
1 carton chicken broth (32 fl oz/ 1litre) or equivalent of chicken stock made with a cube for those of you in the UK who don’t have access to such a thing
1 cup green lentils (don’t use any other type of lentil. Puy lentils are the best.)
Finely dice the onion and sweat it down in the olive oil until soft and slightly golden. Towards the end of the cooking time crush the garlic and add it to the pan. Continue cookng for another few minutes, being careful not to let the garlic and onion brown, and then add the bacon. Continue cooking until the bacon starts to brown. Then add the tomato sauce, the chicken broth/stock and the lentils.
Simmer until the lentils are cooked, about 20-30 minutes. I like mine slightly al dente. Season with salt and pepper, then serve. If you haven’t used maple smoked bacon serve with a swirl of olive oil and lots of grated Parmesan (if you do use the maple smoked bacon I think the strong flavour of the bacon is too much for the cheese but you may beg to differ).
I keep Parmesan cheese rinds in a plastic bag in the freezer and it’s good to throw one of these in with the stock and sauce for extra richness and depth of flavour. A couple of handfuls of spinach leaves thrown in at the end are also a good addition.
Tees Made
If your daughter is as obsessed with bright colour as mine is then I suggest taking a look at Little Overcoat on Etsy.
Made by a woman living on an island in Puget Sound, just a short boat trip from Seattle, these tees and dresses are patched together from vintage and recycled materials, with some new European prints added to the mix.
There are also some boys’ designs and some women’s tees and skirts which I am VERY tempted by.
