shel

I like Shel Silverstein

shadows

one of my favorite blogs to get inspiration from is color me katie.

Recently she traced out some quirky shadow figures onto black paper and pasted them around brooklyn, waiting for a passerby to merge with their new shadow.  Very fun...

oh, and I forgot to post this picture around Easter.  When I came back over I forgot about brining back a few boxes of peeps to play with.  Boo :(

tuesday inspiration: audrey always

I know I have posted her before, but there is something about the lovely Miss. Tautou that never tires.  I wait with baited breath for her next beautiful performance...

bunny of the week 8

I found this picture awhile ago, a bunny take on Hokusai's iconic Japanese wave painting, Beneath the Great Wave of Kanagawa, below...

to bunny or not to bunny?

weekend home style: colorful beds

With the beginning of beautiful sunny weather still continuing, I thought it would be safe to publish this collage of bright, cheerful colorful beds.  It's amazing what some bright pillows and blankets can do to an otherwise colorless room.

'cause sometimes only two have to know

astrology

since I was young I always had a healthy dose of superstition from my Dad's side of the Jewish gene pool.  My grandmother was extremely superstitious, believing in vampires and werewolves (which required my Dad to wear garlic around his neck for awhile), spilling salt, breaking mirrors, and other such things.

My superstition is more of a mild dose, but I still religiously *knock on wood* in order to not jinx anything.  If, impossibly, there is no wood to be found, I rap on the nearest head I can find, why, I do not know.  

Another thing I believe (some of the time) are horoscopes/astrology.  I can remember around 12 years old looking up the astrological signs of different family members and friends and seeing how much they did match the descriptions.  And then when I got interested in boys, I would put our signs together and see if it was a fit or a disaster (not that I would actually follow the premonition, I was always a believer in the scientific method ;) ).

Anyway, when I saw these magazine scans, I thought, yes, astrology and fashion.  That's for me.

These four are the ones relating to me (on the cusp) and my best girl friends, but you can find the rest of the scans here.

tuesday inspiration: elettra wiedemann

daughter of isabella rossellini, 

with that european flair

bunny of the week 7

from the movie Miss. Potter :)

love

camera cake

I found the pictures of this camera cake on flickr, and I think it is very inspired.

and red velvet inside, yum!

tuesday inspiration: olive

because sometimes it's not just about style, 

it's about how much love, optimism, happiness, and beauty that you have in your heart.

audrey and pet

I want a pet deer like Audrey... but where would you keep it?

bunny of the week 6

tea for one bunny

In honor of Easter, yesterday we made Hot Cross Buns, but with an 'x' design instead of a '+'.

They turned out super yummy and moist.

before going in the oven

after being cooked

warm and ready to eat

we also made our own candied peel, which ended up taking most of the afternoon, but turned out quite nicely and very sweetly

Hot Cross Buns

Recipe adapted from ‘Modern Classics 2′ by Donna Hay.

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

½ cup caster sugar

1 ½ cups (375ml) lukewarm milk

4 ¼ cups plain flour, sifted

2 ½ teaspoons mixed spice

2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ cup mixed candied peel, finely chopped

50g butter, melted

1 egg

2 cups mixed dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants)

Crosses

¼ cup plain flour

2 tablespoons (40ml) water

Glaze

¼ cup caster sugar

30ml water

1 teaspoon powdered gelatine (dissolved in a 1 tablespoon of water)

1) Place the yeast, two teaspoons of the sugar and milk in a jug or bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. The mixture will start to foam, indicating the yeast is active.

2) In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices, sultanas, mixed peel and remaining sugar. Add the butter, egg and milky yeast mixture. Mix using a butter knife until a sticky dough forms.

3) Knead the dough on a well floured surface for 8 minutes or until elastic. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and allow to stand in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls.

4) Grease a 23cm (9 inch) square cake tin and line with non-stick baking paper. Place the dough balls in the tin, cover with a tea towel and set aside for 30 minutes or until they rise.

5) Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). For the crosses, combine the flour and water and using a piping bag, pipe crosses on the buns. Bake for 35 minutes or until well browned and springy to touch.

6) Prepare the glaze in the last 5 minutes of baking time. Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Add the gelatine and cook for 1 minute.

7) Brush the warm glaze over the buns while they are hot.

happy easter

Have a very, very Happy Easter!

... and some matching bunnies and kittens and puppies just because...

weekend home style: swedish living

This home feels very Swedish to me, that perfect blend of homeyness and simplicity.

The dark/light contrasting paint only works with that big window letting in all the light and the sloping ceiling, but I like it; that and the elevated bed.

That chair with the owl pillow always reminds me of swedish design, they're very comfy too.

I like the rustic table and burnt orange rug.

I always have thought that it would be nice (if you have room for a dining table) to have one with benches instead of individual chairs; it lets more people squish in and makes nice clean lines.

What room would be complete without a cat on a rug?

I like how the paint everywhere is a bit unfinished, but in a good way, not in a falling apart way.

Cool shower curtain.

You have the feeling overall that they found stuff on the street or in charity shops and just made it work, like this metal hoop shelving thingy.  I like it.  I also like how there are plants in almost every picture.  Plants/flowers lend life to any home.

All images from Design*Sponge again.

rock 'n' roll

We decided to see a movie last night and as soon as I saw that this was in theatres I wanted to see it.  The Boat That Rocked is based on a true story from the 60s, when the British government controlled everything that played on the BBC radio.  These stations played a pitiful 45 minutes a day of new pop/rock that the 60s are now known for. 

To counteract this, pirate radio stations popped up, based on boats anchored in the North Sea, and began to broadcast to the pop/rock-hungry masses. A war (complete with a great soundtrack of music from '67-'69) ensues between the brash, eccentric crew of rock and roll DJs and the straight-edged, type-A British government officials.

Here's guessing who wins... ;)

* soundtrack includes: The Kinks, The Turtles, Martha Reeves, Beach Boys, The Who, Otis Redding, The Troggs, Boxtops, Tremeloes, Cream, Hendrix, Procol Harem, Supremes, Cat Stevens, Moody Blues, Dusty, Lorraine Ellison, The Isley Brothers, and much more

back

back from cambridge full of chelsea buns, hot cross buns, tea, lasagna verde, stir fry, cheesecake, more tea, rich scrambled eggs, and sweets...

feeling quite full.

in a nice way :)

toodles

Off for a few days for early Easter shenanigans... 

I'll keep my eyes out for bunnies in quaint country England...

In the meantime, remember to stop and skip through the flowers...

tuesday inspiration: isla fisher

one of my favourite red-headed actresses...

more bunny monday

Fifi posted a few outfits on her blog today and there were two that I thought were incredibly beautiful and spring-y.

I love, love, love this bright green Ossie Clark trench.

It looks nice and slouchy, just my type :)

And this Giambattista Valli dress would be perfect for a spring-time tea party,

or just for enjoying a warm-weather stroll in the park!

bunny of the week 5

* I've been doing a lot of baking so this image seems appropriate...

weekend home style: apt living

this apartment was on design*sponge this past week or so.

it feels very much like our type of living to me.  small.  simple.  quirky.  homey.

I also like all of the woodworking details (as I type this, SJ is using a plane on his wood box project... we are crafty peoples).

I hope to one day have wood flooring.  The house that I spend most of my young life in had beautiful wood floors that my Mom painstakingly restored.  These floors remind me of waking up in winter and placing bare feet on smooth, worn, wood.  

And who doesn't need/have a bike in a bedroom and a large pot of coffee on a comfy bed?

Perfect.

Clean, bright kitchen.  There should be wood floors in here too though...  

I like the copper base pans on the wall, but only if they are functional as well.

Yay to gas stoves!  After living and cooking in homes with both gas and electric stoves, I 10000% prefer gas stoves.  They always dispense heat evenly and make a pot heat up much more quickly, which makes dinner happen much more quickly as well :)

I like this table made from the rich coloured wood and the contrasting wood chairs.  The other week SJ showed me where he gets his wood-- from a hidden-away lumberyard in Hammersmith that has woods from all over, even America and Africa.  They also sold cheap bags of sawdust that has been squashed into discs.  What you would use these for, I'm not sure, maybe gardening?  But they could make a cool project nonetheless.

They said that this hutch was replicated from old chicken coops.  It's actually from Sundance, one of my favourite companies.

Now, off to finish our own projects...