One of my main resolutions for next year is to really work on my photography and sell some of it through the shop.
I really like the simplicity and ethereal quality of these photos by Kitty Rogers, available to purchase through her Etsy shop.
And most particularly I love her teeny tiny calendar – 12 little (business card sized) calendar photo cards on a tiny easel. In fact, I love it so much that I’ve just ordered one for daily photography inspiration.
{found via Lobster and Swan}
The air is buzzing with excitement (the Minx) and panic (moi).
The enormous Advent calendar stuffed full of tantalising little packages, which was sent by the Minx’s lovely godparents, is hanging up and revealing its secrets.
Christmas decorations courtesy of the Minx (with help from me on the actual cutting) are starting to go up
(for real proper grown up snowflakes check out Uncle Beefy, take a look at this incredible gallery of real snowflakes or make some on your computer here – the Minx and I have been having tons of fun with this little program and there’s no little tiny bits of paper to clear up afterwards).
New papier mache baubles from Crate & Barrel are on display.
And the snowflake garland I’ve been crocheting for the fireplace is now finished, blocked and ready to be starched and hung.
We’ve got a fun and festive weekend lined up. Our friend is visiting from Victoria and tomorrow we’re going to decorate the tree, do some Christmas baking, hopefully get to Urban Craft Uprising, go to a party in the evening, and then off, weather permitting, to Leavenworth on Sunday.
I hope you’re all less panicked than I am. What special things are you doing for the holidays?
One of things I like best about Facebook is how it lets you tap into your friends’ collective brains for ideas. Having reached a bit of an impasse on contemporary dolls houses – either too expensive, too not available in the US, too discontinued or too babyish, I made a plea on Facebook as a last resort before buying something a little more traditional.
Eliza Truitt, Seattle photographer extraordinaire, mentioned how much she’d enjoyed playing with her Lundby dolls house as a child, which she thought was still being produced. A quick search online revealed this, the Lundby Stockholm, an extremely desirable residence with lights (I would have KILLED for a light up dolls house as a child), two decks and a swimming pool in a drawer.
The absolute coolest thing is all the fabulous furniture which is available. Come and have a look around.
Lundby is a Swedish company that has been going since 1947. They make two other houses, each with their own furniture and lights, though you can also swap furniture between the houses. (I see the Gotland summer house in the Minx’s future). There’s even fabulous vintage furniture available on Ebay.
Lundby stuff is available in the US at Cheeky Monkeys, but it is ferociously expensive. A better bet is to do as I did and buy from the UK. Lundby stuff can be found on Amazon.co.uk though they won’t ship the actual house to the US. I ended up buying a ton of furniture from Creative Toy Den here. There’s even an Lundby advent calendar with dolls clothes, accessories and Christmas decorations for the house which I am itching to buy.
So that’s me sorted for Christmas then. If she’s very, very lucky, I might even let the Minx play with it occasionally.
Our favourite jewellista Abigail Percy and her beau Ryan Bell of Chick Stud Earrings fame have been working day and night (at least according to their Facebook status updates) on their new range of home textiles, based on Abigail’s stunning botanical drawings.
Their beautiful and unusual teatowels and scatter cushions are made from 100% cotton or 100% Pure Irish Linen, hand printed in the UK and hand-sewn in the duo’s Belfast design studio.
I love the colours they’ve used and they’ve done a fantastic job with the styling the images as well. Definitely thinking about getting some of these in the shop after Christmas. In the meantime they’re available online from Abigail*Ryan.
Shhhh. Don’t tell the Minx but I’ve Santa’s been shopping for a dolls house for her. Although I know full well that at the moment she would be most happy with some horrific Barbie affair, I wanted to get her something a more funky and cool, that she would appreciate more as she grew older. And let’s face it, this present is just as much for me as it is for her.
So the last few days I’ve been surfing round the rather exciting world of modern dolls houses.
Here are the ones I didn’t end up getting.
Bozart Kaleidoscope
Designed Laurie Simmons for PMW Architects. I have wanted one of these ever since I first saw them but for some unfathomable reason they’ve been discontinued and are now only available on Ebay if you’re lucky. I may still have to buy one for myself one day.
Minimii Arne Jacobsen House
Minimii was founded by a Danish design duo who were looking for a contemporary dolls house and decided to build one based on Arne Jacobsen’s own villa in Charlottenlund.
The company will also be producing mini Arne Jacobsen furniture. Unfortunately the products are not yet available (due early 2010 and it looks from their website like they may be horrifically expensive).
The Dolls House Emporium – Ocean Drive
For a brief moment we considered braving the huge shipping costs and buying this from the UK. Fortunately it is not available to ship the US.
Plan Toys Green Dollhouse
Somewhat less esoteric is this dolls house which features its own wind turbine, solar panel and recycling bins. Not that the Minx would have any clue what to do with these features. We did consider this one, but in the end decided that, while it would be perfect for her now, it might seem a bit babyish in a couple of years.
We got something else in the end. I am beyond excited about it. Seriously and not sarcastically. More tomorrow.
These Jonsberg vases by Dutch design legend Hella Jongerius for Ikea PS have been all over the design blogs for years, and though I’ve always loved them they never seemed to have them in stock when I’ve been to Ikea (and I really couldn’t be bothered to make a special trip).
This past weekend we somehow found ourselves in Ikea and there was the pink one in stock, so I snaffled it up, all $39.99 of it. They also had the black one, but somehow I didn’t like it as much in person as I thought I would. I still would love to get the white one and also the terracotta, though I’m not sure they’re producing that one any more.
But the pink one makes a cheerful addition to the fireplace.
We are still in our pumpkin phase as you can see, though the Minx and I are making extensive preparations for the grand Christmas decorating day next Saturday.
The other two bits of incredibly thrillng house news (honestly how can you guys cope with the excitement?) are that (i) we appear to have chosen a colour for the living room walls. No more egg yolk yellow! (We will be discussing this more extensively later). And (ii) this afternoon we have an appointment with the architects to talk about remodelling the basement and doing something about our two kitchen dilemma. Will let you know what they have to say.
I’m still plugging away at my new fitness regime and so far have managed to fit in at least 30 minutes of exercise every day (except for three or four days around that very special time of the month).
I’m not convinced it’s having much of an impact on weight loss as yet, but I am certainly feeling FABULOUS, fitter than I’ve been since before the Minx was born.
In preparation for next year’s triathlon, I’m focusing this month on upping my general fitness and will probably do this next month as well, before moving on to more focused running, cycling and swimming training in January.
I don’t have gym membership – there’s just no way I’d be bothered to make my way to a gym every day – but have set up a small home gym in our partially finished basement. It’s not pretty, but it’s OK for 30 minutes a day.
Here’s a summary of the equipment I’ve been finding helpful so far.
EA Sports Active for the Wii Fit – fitness ‘games’ for the Wii Fit have come on in leaps and bounds (ha ha!) since the original Wii Fit game. This game doesn’t use the Wii Balance Board much but comes with an integral thigh holster for the Nunchuk, so it can measure running, jumping, squatting etc. It features a 30 Day Challenge – 20 workouts in 30 days - which I’ve been using as the basis for my month of workouts. Each workout includes lower body work – mostly lunges and squats, upper body work using the fit band that comes with the game, a few minutes of some fun activities such as boxing, dancing, inline skating, tennis, volleyball, basketball etc and a few minutes of running. Each separate exercise is only a few minutes long and each session features 18-20 exercises, so you get to do a lot of different stuff in around 35 minutes. It’s not a terribly challenging cardio workout, and doesn’t include any core work, but it does give you a good all-body workout in 30 minutes.
Pros I love how it mixes up different exercises every day, so you end up doing a different workout every day. But each day is based on the same core exercises, so you don’t spend all your time looking at the demonstration videos. You workout alongside a trainer who demonstrates the moves with you, it shows you working out on the screen (although my avatar lady is a little frightening) and it precisely reads the positions of the Wii remote and Nunchuk. so you can’t cheat on form or timing. The settings are nice and I really like music (but then I am cheesy dance music sort of person).
Cons All the squats, lunges and upper body work get a bit samey after a while, though not enough to make me give it up. I think the squats and lunges in particular have done wonders for making me feel fitter. There are some higher impact exercises (such as jump squats) which are not good for me as I have a bad knee. You can avoid them in the workout if you want, but it would be nice to be able to choose a ‘low-impact’ version. I usually end up doing those exercises on my little rebounding trampoline (also the running sections).
I also sometimes end up getting tangled in the wire between the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk. Would definitely suggest getting a wireless Nunchuk for this game. Finally it’s sometimes difficult to get the machine to register that you’ve completed a move – the remote and Nunchuck have to be precisely aligned – this is frustrating at first and though I’ve learned how to do most movements so that they register, I can’t for the life of me get it to read my ‘Fast Kickbacks’ (but looking round the web, I’m not the only one).
Here’s what GeekSugar has to say about it.
My Fitness Coach for the Wii
This is more like an interactive DVD than a true game. You don’t use the balance board at all or the Wii remote very much and there’s no way it can check your form or timing. What you get is a very pleasant trainer who puts together a specific workout for you every time based on the equipment you have to hand (you can tell it if you have a step, hand weights, fit ball etc) and your previous feedback. You can also choose which areas to focus on and how long you want to work out for. I usually tell it to focus on cardio and core (to make up for the limitations of the EA SportsActive) and end up with a pretty strenuous step aerobic workout with lots of ab work – very similar to going to a step aerobics class. (If you don’t have a step it will still devise a thorough aerobics programme for you).
Pros
It’s a good workout. I’ve been doing it once or twice a week and it’s like being able to pop into a class at the gym. It definitely gets me sweating and my heart pumping. Amazing really for a machine. There are lots of different exercises built in so no two workouts are the same, though there are no fun little games.
Cons
I used to be a bit of a gym bunny so I can follow all the aerobics and step terminology, but I think you’d find this really difficult if you haven’t done step or normal aerobics before. The machine doesn’t measure whether you’re doing the moves correctly though, so you can just bounce about if stuff gets too tricky. It suffers from the same high impact issues as the EA Sports Active, but I get round those by doing some stuff on my rebounder or else just making the exercises low-impact. As I said the machine doesn’t check. Finally you need SPACE. Space to do all the grapevines etc, but also space to keep your step etc. close to hand. There are no pauses in the cardio section, so you can’t keep pulling out your equipment.
Here’s what IGN has to say.
My only piece of true gym equipment is my Concept 2 indoor rower, which I have used in a desultory fashion on and off over the last couple of years, mostly to row for 20mins while watching episodes of Sex and the City (which is about as much as my brain can get round while rowing). But basically I find cardio workouts both tedious and hard work.
Over the last week or so though I have been incorporating a Cardio Coach mp3 into my workout and my attitude is transformed. These ar e basically a series of mp3s for your Ipod where coach Sean O’Malley takes you through an interval workout set to music. You can use them on any piece of cardio equipment or even when running outside. You exercise using a heartrate monitor to take yourself to four different levels of perceived exertion, so it doesn’t matter how fit or unfit you are, you can tailor your workout precisely to your needs. (For the record I do the warm-up at between 120–125 bpm, the level 2 ‘cruise control’ portion at around 140 bpm, the sprint intervals at around 155 bpm and then nearly kill myself going over 160 bpm in the short Level 4 section).
I currently have volume 1, but am going to download the rest. They are currently on special offer on the website.
Pros
It hurts. This is a hardcore workout, but I feel a huge sense of achievement and really energetic afterwards. The time also seems mysteriously to fly by – O’Malley talks just enough to keep you motivated and the music fits perfectly. I really can’t recommend these highly enough.
Cons
It hurts.
Flicking through some recent magazines, it seems that texture is making its way back into interiors with a vengeance.
I love the way that knitted or crocheted items add softness, comfort and intricate detail to a space. I seem to spend far more time than is good for me on Ravelry nowadays and here are some of the patterns and projects I’ve been ogling recently. If only I had more knitting time. (If you spent less time pissing about on Ravelry, you’d have more time to knit. Just saying. – Ed )
From left to right starting at top left
– Crochet your own placemats. Pattern here.
– Knit your own covers for paper lampshades. Info Interweave Knits.
– Knit a cute little teapot cosy (available as a free Ravelry download here).
– The pattern for the Jacquard cushion can be found in Glamour Knits At Home. Photo credit here.
– Blue and white Delft Pillow by Eunny Jang, also in Interweave Knits.
– The crocheted and starched lampshade is inspired by Marcel Wanders Crochet Chair. The Ravelry project page is here, unfortunately there is no pattern. I ADORE this project.
– Another paper lampshade cover from Interweave Knits.
- A close-up of the crocheted lampshade above
– Cute and practical little coasters by the Purl Bee.
– The pattern for the Matryoschka cushion is available for download from elf518’s Etsy shop.
– The pattern for the Puff Daddy stool is available here. Also featured by Apartment Therapy.
– Pattern for this fabulously striking ‘Metafourmosis’ Afghan/wallhanging is here. Do it in colours to complement your decor.
– Another paper lampshade cover from Interweave Knits.
- A really cute little ‘gingham’ dishcloth. The Ravelry project page is here. Again there is no pattern available, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to figure it out.
– Striking retro potholders made based on this pattern. Photo credit and inspiration here.
– Lampshade from crocheted hexagons, which will apparently be published in a book called ‘Crochet Revolution’. I can’t find details on Amazon, though the Ravelry page is here.
– The pattern for this bathmat is from Knit 2 Together. UK peeps, do you remember Tracey Ullman? She moved to the US and started writing knitting books.
– Minimalist crocheted lampshade from the same people who brought you the Puff Daddy footstool.
– If you’re feeling really bored, why not crochet your own lacy curtains? The pattern is here.
– The MOST amazing knitted bookcover. Again there is no pattern, but go to the Ravelry project page here, marvel at the close-up pictures and see all the work involved.
Or, food styling is INCREDIBLY hard.
Remember these? I got some for the store, but then needed to photograph them in all their glory, so I became a food stylist for the weekend.
In order to keep more control over colours and styling etc. I decided to make my own cupcakes (this was quite probably a mistake). So I baked a batch of these (my go to cupcake recipe) and mixed up several batches of standard buttercream in vanilla, chocolate, pink and extremely pink.
I realised that I would have to improve on my usual rather haphazard cupcake icing methods and decided to get some proper equipment. An online search took me here – I can highly recommend this kit although it’s just a nice piping bag with four large nozzles.
Finally I needed a plain cupcake stand that wouldn’t detract from the cupcake wrappers themselves. Martha Stewart and Macy’s came to the rescue with the perfect stand which was even on sale.
Then followed several hours of icing and re-icing cupcakes, arranging them and rearranging them on the plate, cursing profusely when I got icing over everything and taking a million photos.
And then several more hours with Photoshop, cropping and brightening and lightening and blurring the background and eliminating icing smudges from everything.
Here are the results of literally hours of work. It always looks so easy when you see it in the magazines.
You can buy the cupcake wrappers here. To get free shipping anywhere in the world on any order that includes cupcake wrappers, choose the ‘Free Shipping (with Offer Code)’ option and enter the code ‘MIRRORMIRROR BLOG’ in the ‘how did you hear about us’ box at checkout. Please buy loads and make all the time and effort worthwhile.
This loveseat in a recent Elle Deco UK really caught my eye.
Beirut-based brand Bokja specialises in taking vintage furniture pieces and re-vamping them with gorgeous and unique 60s and 70s textiles and tapestries.
Matthew Williamson is apparently a customer – I’m wondering whether Williamson’s tapestry sofa and mirrored armchair are from here.
Bokja’s one-off pieces are available from The Quirico Company. Here are some more stunning pics from their website.
