Polaroid Pearls and Photo Swaps

April 2, 2008 By Paola 2 Comments

I was sad to hear that Polaroid was no longer going to make cameras or film, because somewhere deep down I had a vision of myself one day taking gorgeous photos like these.

Digital cameras just can’t get close to this sort of softness and subtlety. Of course now I want one more than ever.

The photos come from Jen of Fieryeyed Photography who writes the blog Nectar & Light – truly one of the most beautiful blogs on the web.

Jen also runs a monthly photoswap through her site The Photo Trade. The rules are simple. Give her your name and address and she will tell you the monthly theme and match you up with your swapees. Get your picture in the post before the end of the month and then wait for the postman to deliver wondrous things.

I joined in for the first time this month and this is what I sent to Susannah on the theme ‘Morning Ritual’ (I’m very glad that I didn’t know beforehand that she is a freelance photographer).

And these are what I got back from Christine, which are currently looking very beautiful thank you on my inspiration board.

I think there was a teensy bit of confusion on the monthly theme, as I was told ‘Morning Ritual’ but lots of other people had ‘Green’.

Anyway, you’ve got until April 4th to sign up for this month’s swap, which is on the theme ‘A Faerie Tale Told’.

Updating to say that my breadbin photo made ‘Explore‘ on Flickr! The first time anything I’ve taken has done so.

Come Into My Garden – March

April 1, 2008 By Paola 6 Comments

Quick! *Rushes to get the March update in before April*

Spring has indeed sprung and the garden is looking fab at the moment. All the back-breaking effort in the autumn (oh my goodness, I nearly said ‘Fall’), planting daffodil and tulip bulbs is really paying off.

The star of the show is the shade garden at the back under the tree, which is bursting with daffodils and hellebores. Hellebores, how much do I love you.

The first tulips also bloomed this weekend – a sweet lipstick pink called (I think, I forgot to make a note) Elizabeth Arden. You’ll notice that I’ve put in a wigwam to grow peas though nothing much is happening a present. There’s parsley, rocket, red oak leaf lettuce and broccoli for harvesting in the little vegetable patch though, and the Minx and I recently sowed carrots, radishes, spring onions and more lettuces.

The tulips in my pots are looking beautiful already, I just love them next to the watercolour-splashed pansies, which have been going strong all winter.

Next month I foresee painting in my stars. I ordered these Adirondack chairs off Ebay hoping that the colours wouldn’t be quite as sickly as they looked on screen and lo and behold they look exactly like the Easter Bunny has just barfed all over the patio.

Go Fug Your Room

March 26, 2008 By Paola 12 Comments

This room graced the March cover of Elle Decor magazine and I hesitate to include it as a Go Fug Your Room candidate because I like the unusual colour scheme very much indeed.

But I looked more closely and realised that I didn’t really like any item in this room. Every piece is just that bit too ornate and fussy for my taste. Too much piping, gilding, carved wood, embroidery, stuffing, inlay, pattern and stuff. Each of these pieces would probably work fine on their own as accents amongst plainer pieces, but together for me they all add up to just, well, too much.

I’m intrigued to know what you think, as I suspect that this room is really more ‘American’ in taste and I’m planning some blog posts about the differences between US and UK interior design.

Here’s the poll – if you feel like saying where you’re from in the comments that would be great.

Lisa in India

March 26, 2008 By Paola 1 Comment

Photos of the ‘Holi’ festival from Lisa’s blog

OK. This is completely and utterly off-topic, but my friend Lisa from Victoria BC is now in India and she’s started a blog about her travels.

Which I strongly advise you to check out if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to leave your job and go wandering for a year. Fabulous and fascinating photos too.

I’m knitting socks!

March 23, 2008 By Paola 3 Comments

I think there comes a time in every knitter’s life when they consider whether to knit socks.

I think socks come more naturally to Americans than the British because Americans are far more used to knitting ‘in the round’ on circular needles. In the UK I think I’m right in saying that more people knit, as I do, on long straight needles (which are very difficult to find here). So the idea of knitting on four tiny double pointed needles scared the heebie jeebies out of me.

But one of the things which is so inspiring about Yarnstorm’s book/blog are the fabulous socks she turns out and when I came across this crazy yarn, I decided that the time had come for me to learn.

Thank god for YouTube. The basic sock pattern they sent with the wool was completely incomprehensible to me as I’d never even watched anyone knit socks before and couldn’t even fathom out how to set up the needles. YouTube truly is a fabulous resource for knitters and I found this series of tutorials particularly clear and useful.

I’m loving watching the yarn resolve itself into skinny stripes. The colours graduate through all the warm colours of the spectrum and I love the way they play off each other to create different, unexpected, combinations and textures. I thought the socks might end up too garish for words but they’re actually almost subtle. And the Minx is very, very jealous indeed.

I’ve actually nearly finished the first sock and am totally addicted. There’s enough mindless knitting around the circle that I can knit in front of dreadful reality TV and enough complicated stuff to ensure that I don’t lose my mind with boredom. And they’re small enough to pander to my project ADD.

I’m knitting socks!

March 23, 2008 By Paola 1 Comment

I think there comes a time in every knitter’s life when they consider whether to knit socks.

More Cooking In Translation – Hot Cross Buns

March 22, 2008 By Paola 6 Comments

My photo of the buns

It’s funny how important the ‘old country’s’ food traditions become when you move abroad. Hot cross buns are now available all year round in England and are no longer such a big deal – though I still remember fondly feasting on hot cross buns for breakfast on Good Friday morning and being excited because my father was home on a Friday (Good Friday is a public holiday in the UK).

But here they scarce as hens’ teeth and need to be sought out even at Easter time. And even when you can get them, they’re somewhat spoilt by having an cross piped on them in white icing. Which is OK as far as it goes but means you miss out on the essential splendour of toasting the buns and serving them oozing with butter. They’re supposed to be hot. (The clue is in the name).

So yesterday the Minx and I set to work. Having had only mediocre success with the usually reliable Delia in the past, I used this recipe from the BBC website which came highly recommended by some food blog or other (I’m sorry I can’t remember which).

And then I came across my usual raft of translation issues.

I couldn’t find a source of fresh yeast (a big fat boo to the Essential Baking Company – I’m not linking to them – who refused to sell me any) so substituted one of those little sachets which seemed to work fine.

‘Mixed spice’ is a unknown quantity here. I had to look that up on the Internet, to find that it’s a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg with possibly some cloves and ginger. So that could be recreated.

Mixed peel, however, was impossible to track down. Chopped, candied citrus peel turns up in all sorts of British home baking and is traditional in hot cross buns, even though the slightly bitter flavour is disliked by many and the peel if often picked out.

But who knew? I made the buns without and although they tasted wonderful that slightly bitter edge was definitely missed.

I followed the recipe and piped on crosses of flour and water paste which are then baked in the oven so they form an integral part of the bun. And then we gobbled them up, hot from the oven, with plenty of butter. Although the Minx proved how American she has become by requesting a ‘cold crossed bun’ sic.

The Minx’s photo of the buns taken with her new camera. We were both so proud.

Hooray!

March 21, 2008 By Paola 7 Comments

Much jubilation in the household today as we have just learned that the Minx has been accepted at the local French immersion school and, come September, will join their petite maternelle section and be taught 80% in French. The school itself is lovely with small class sizes and a real family atmosphere and the Minx loved it to bits in her ‘interviews’.

I studied French at university and can speak it pretty well, but even after twelve years of study could never match the effortless bilingualism that tiny children can muster if taught early enough. We’re absolutely thrilled that she’s going to get this opportunity and happy because it also means she will receive a rather more Euro-centric education than she would have done in a normal American school -useful for when we decide to return. And even better, it means that going to live in France in a few years is now a possibility.

Having said which, it looks like we might be staying in Seattle longer than we originally thought as the chances of her getting such a good education back in London are zero. And the thought that the Minx’s education is now sorted for the foreseeable future is a very relaxing one.

And yes, I do realise that we are just one big hideous ambulatory middle-class parental cliche’.

Seattle Design Meet Up – Matte Stephens

March 17, 2008 By Paola 5 Comments

So, get this in your diaries pronto quick. The next meet-up will be on April 16th at Velocity’s new location in South Lake Union and the guest speaker will be Matte Stephens!

Images from Matte’s blog

Matte is moving from Alabama to Portland, Oregon, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to welcome him to the Pacific Northwest and hear him talk about being an independent artist. John from Velocity has been a long time stockist of his work, so we will also be able to get a retailer’s perspective.

I’ll post up details here closer to the time (when they’ve actually been finalised). Please contact me here if you would like to be added to our event mailing list.

Here’s a bit more scoop on Matte, who has been taking blogland by storm in recent months.

Podcast on Design*Sponge: Matte Stephens and Irving Harper

Podcast on Decor8: Matte Stephens

Matte’s Etsy shop

A Bag with Bangs

March 17, 2008 By Paola 3 Comments

In general I’ve found it better to use words like ‘elevator’ and ‘eggplant’ (rather than lift and aubergine) round these parts in order to have any chance of being understood. I still though, find myself far too embarrassed to say ‘bangs’ (the American word for a fringe of hair over your forehead). I mean, where on earth did that come from?

I’ve just finished the Minx’s little messenger bag – and contrary to normal experience, I’m not so very fed up of knitting that I never wish to pick up needles again. In fact I’ve just started a new project.

The bag was the perfect way to get back into knitting – easy enough to knit mindlessly, while the moss stich embellishment I added was just enough to stop it becoming unbelievably tedious. The best bit though was making the fringe (PLEASE don’t tell me Americans call a fringe on a thing ‘bangs’ as well), which I’d never done before.

After knotting it all up I was supposed to give the bag a hair cut and make the fringe even round the bottom. As you can see I didn’t really succeed (the right hand side is definitely longer than the left) but I was terrified of getting into one of those haircutting situations where you keep cutting at it to make it even and end up with a fringe (or indeed bangs) that look like Herman Munster’s (the Minx has a permanently wonky fringe for the same reason).

The only downside with this bag is the garter stitch strap. The Minx’s first action was to put a heavy jigsaw puzzle into the bag and it stretched so much that it hung somewhere around her knees…

I’ll try and get a photo of Minx and bag to post up, so you can see the full effect.

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