shelley jane ahrens | a collection

A is for Autumn

2011-09-19T15:56:00.000+03:00

Hello beautiful readers and friends,

I am sorry I have not written in such a long time...
The reason is a mixture of travels {campervanning in Cornwall, tenting and car boot sales in the New Forest, exploring the Isle of Wight, Barcelona, Lisbon and eating Portuguese pastries on the coast at Sao Martino da Porto}, lots of freelance design work, working on Scout and Rose, having a rest from being online in the after hours.This weekend we went to Reading to play Scrabble, eat scones, drink good coffee and cycle along the Thames Path to Henley. Oh. My. Goodness. Autumn arrested me in all her honey-coloured and sticky-toffee-pudding glory...again this morning when I went for a run along the Thames Path near my home, it dawned on me:I absolutely love Autumn.

Especially:
the Toast Autumn collectioncaramel apples,
wearing a snug scarf again,
getting the knitting needles out,
capes,
oh, the leaves and all their colours,
a pint of ale in a warm pub,
early morning sunshine and chilly air,
hot soup,
Hunter wellies on long walks through puddles,
the colour of the sky,
runner beans from the garden.

The Autumn palette makes me want to paint, crochet, knit, go shopping for gorgeous vintage finds at early morning, chilly markets where I can indulge in a tea and a bacon bap, and bake yummy pear sponge with warm custard. I am reading through Sophie Dahl's Autumn chapter and feeling very inspired. Have a peek at Design Seeds for snippet palettes to inspire you this season.

Standing on the Rooftop

2011-06-17T17:00:00.004+03:00

I am listening to Madeleine Peyroux's latest album, Standing on the Rooftop.
It feels like the perfect album for the end of my week...
Her dusky, grainy voice that stretches beyond the notes.
This week has been a mixed bag:

Steve's birthday on Monday so he took the day off and we went on the London Eye {whoop!} and ate at Pieminster for lunch because he has been wanting to try it for ages. We had a bbq in the river garden and then we huddled in the living room to eat the ultimate chocolate cake...it is gooooood!

We had a fun home group dinner on Tuesday night with Rosie Lovell vanilla cupcakes to celebrate some more.

We have had nourishing rain falling in London so that the farmers can rest and not worry and grow us some yummy produce.

I had my first telephone interview for a dream job, which was an unsettling experience because I need to SEE who I am talking to! I want them to know that I am a GOOD THING, and I will work my little heart out, but somehow in interviews I get a little lost on how fabulous I should say I am and end up eating humble pie.

Anyhoo...happy Friday!

Cross stitch class

2011-06-16T15:58:00.002+03:00

I think I might just sign up to this Make Lounge Cross Stitch class...it sounds like such fun! While at uni, my close friend Courtney and I went to a haberdashery shop and bought all the threads and things we needed for a poppy cross-stitch before we went on holiday to the Transkei. It took me years and many winters near the fire, but it is framed and hanging on a room in my Mum's home {she absolutely loves red poppies}...and I am relieved that no-one can see the BACK! Ooo. Mess. But the front looks pretty darn smashing. So yes, cross stitch is cool, as you can see in some brilliant ideas on this blog post. Anyone in London want to go with me?

Community and allotments

2011-06-09T20:12:00.006+03:00

"Community" is something that completely and utterly fascinates me. Different communities, what it really means, how it is lived out by different people, biblical shows of community...I have written endless notes on it and could read about it and study it and observe it and be part of it to my little heart's content. This afternoon, when I wanted to watch a film, one popped up called Grow Your Own, and at first I really didn't think anything of it. The write up: "Comedy drama. Given ground in Liverpool allotments, troubled refugees meet with mixed reactions from the existing plot holders." Well, we just finished watching it and I am moved, so, so moved. A slow moving British film that will leave you thinking. Thinking about what "community" is and what it looks like.

It made me think of a book I have mentioned before, called Belonging by Jeannie Baker: "Together, children and adults plant grass and trees and bushes in the empty spaces. They paint murals over old graffiti. They stop the cars. Everything begins to blossom. 'Belonging' explores the re-greening of the city: the role of community, the empowerment of people and the significance of children, family and neighbourhood in changing their urban environment . The streets gradually become places for safe children's play, and community activity and places
for nature and wonder."

Having grown up in a farming community, I am beginning to see how working the land and cultivating beauty is often something that brings a community together. I have been tempted to apply for an allotment in London, but the waiting list is l-o-n-g, I have been told, and now we have moved into a beautiful little place with a garden so really should leave the opportunity for someone else...hmmm...I wonder how our landlords will feel about runner beans and pumpkins and having all the neighbours over for a party in the front garden?

If I weren't...

2011-06-07T16:29:00.003+03:00

If I weren't made with ginger hair and fair skin with some freckles...
Would I have been a fair blonde with a braid?
Or a black lady with lots of gold rings?

Austin Kleon

2011-04-12T13:03:00.006+03:00

Yesterday I was in tears, about to give up. Literally head down on my desk sobbing, tears staining papers around me. Pen strewn aside and computer banished. I have an incredible husband who bought me strawberry Haribos when he came home from work. We ate pesto and butternut pasta with red wine and we built our Ikea daybed together. For a few hours I forgot about creative block. Today, I checked my emails and Cherie, my art fairy godmother from South Africa had sent me a link to this post by Austin Kleon.

I am inspired! I have copied large portions of his article and will be sticking it up above my work area. Brilliant, absolutely inspiring and down-to-earth and encouraging. Do yourself a favour and read it with a cup of tea.

I particularly like these pieces of advice:
"Be boring. It’s the only way to get work done. As Flaubert said, 'Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.' Take care of yourself. Eat breakfast, do some pushups, get some sleep. Remember what I said earlier about good art coming from the body? Stay out of debt. Live on the cheap. Pinch pennies. Freedom from monetary stress means freedom in your art. **Get a day job and keep it. A day job gives you money, a connection to the world, and a routine. Parkinson’s law: work expands to fill the time allotted. I work a 9-5 and I get about as as much art done now as I did when I worked part-time. Get yourself a calendar. (And a logbook.) You need a chart of future events, and you need a chart of past events."

I love love LOVE his calendar and logbook. I love my morning pages but don't always time to get to write them and this is a new way of recording, writing, seeing your days.

Thank you, Austin.

** Still working on this one. Any help or suggestions welcome. I am a mixed bag: media studies, teaching, design. Available.

Picnics and Boat Race

2011-03-28T15:54:00.004+03:00

I love London in Spring. The daffodils are blooming; bursts of yellow to cheer us all up...and the trees are laden with blossom. It is truly beautiful. And time for picnics! We had friends over for picnics to watch the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race on Saturday...it was freezing but we still decided to spread our blankets and picnic in our garden to watch them speed past, with Oxford well in the lead, yeah! Afterward we huddled inside for hot tea and Hummingbird Bakery blueberry cake {I decided to bake something with an element of dark blue, to celebrate the winning team...}. I am dreaming of warmer days and many more picnics in the garden...

www.shelleyjaneahrens.com

2011-03-23T14:25:00.004+03:00

Hello readers and friends,

Now that it is 2011 and my blog is almost three years old, it is time to move!

I am moving shelleysherbet.blogspot.com to shelleyjaneahrens.com.

With love,
Shelley

Beer goggles for books

2011-03-22T13:18:00.005+03:00

I mentioned that I am attending a literary salon this Friday evening. I don't know about you, but I had never heard of one of these before. "A salon is a gathering of intellectual, social, political, and cultural elites under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation." I don't know about 'elite' but I think you could say 'privileged', as people who attend these salons are educated.

I miss my Cape Town book club terribly, especially lately. Isn't it funny how the universe works? Just last week I was missing my book club, so I took myself off to Waterstones and bought four new books...then the very next day I met a woman at my TEFL course who runs literary salons in Paris and London. This Friday she is looking at Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which I had never read before. The evening is a 5 hour intensive course discussing the book, with dinner. Okay, so admittedly our book club in Cape Town ended up being more dinner, wine and gossip than deep, meaningful literary discussions...but what I loved was that we were all like-minded in what was a "good read" {largely} and introduced each other to new books every month.

Last night, on the tube home from Central London, the Evening Standard had a really interesting article entitled Binge Thinking. Caption: "Hip brands Dazed and Confused, Diesel and Aubin&Wills are pouring money into intellectual debates for the under-35s." Apparently in London, being cerebral is now sexy, and lots of festival organisers and club promoters have sensed the need for a new kind of night out - "one that involves our brains rather than our beer goggles." Jack Roberts, who organises talks at a bar called The Book Club in Shoreditch {which is ridiculously cool, anyway}, says "From our experience, there is a genuine thirst for discussion of intelligent subjects." I see that the place itself calls these "mock" lectures.

The article mentioned literary salons, which caught my attention as I had only just heard about this concept. "Salons are thought to be middle-class, middle-brow, Middle England and dominated by women" but there does seem to be a moving trend toward a younger, more diverse audience, who genuinely want a bit of think rather than drink.

These are the books I came home with this weekend. You'll notice they are all 2010 publications except for Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, which I never really got into on previous tries, but after reading The Lacuna, I am going to start reading it again.

What are you reading?

Breaking down 'em walls

2011-03-21T00:29:00.005+03:00

This weekend was really long but so, so interesting. I signed up for a TEFL course at Regent's College in London. I was dreading spending a weekend in a classroom with intense hours...but on Saturday when I walked through Regent's Park to get to the venue, the sun was shining, the blossoms out and the canal in the Park was full of ducks and lined with early morning runners. It was so, so fresh and beautiful. You know how courses are when you start out, a bit quiet and awkward. However, my TEFL group turned out to be the most mixed, most amazing mixture of people! A mix of British, Scottish, Latvian, Hungarian, Japanese, Polish, Mauritian, Nigerian people...all different ages, tastes, dreams, accents, mannerisms...and somehow we all just got ON! What a lovely weekend {despite sitting in a classroom doing course work!}. Yesterday I had lunch with some girls at a cafe in the park, today I went walking with an older American lady in my class, and later this week I will be going to my first literary salon experience! I met a BBC journalist who has been to Timbuktu twice {for pleasure!}, her journalist husband who has had tea with Yasser Arafat, a woman who has fought ovarian cancer, a real East-Londoner and a real Nottingham lad...and I loved them all. Look at this for a way of celebrating our nationality and individuality. It's brilliant.

After the end of the course, we all walked over to a pub called "The Globe" opposite Baker Street Station, and I sat thinking "how appropriate". The bunch of us from all over the show, planning to go all over the globe! I just chose some pics that remind me of my weekend {don't you love this blackboard idea...and the way we can break down walls to enjoy each other...and how Regent's College is nestled in so much green? I do.}

Ever lived in London?

2011-03-19T00:11:00.005+03:00

Then this short film presented by Orla Kiely and Gia Coppola WILL make you miss it. I love the beginning at Waterloo where you can here all the destinations being called out, and some of the outfits, of course! Fun. Love the soundtrack.

Thank you, my Courts x

2011-03-17T13:33:00.006+03:00

I ABSOLUTELY adore surprises; but more often than not I sniff them out before I am surprised. Not today, oh no.
The postman just popped by....
and there was an Amazon box...
so I told him, "But, that is strange, I definitely didn't order anything..."
but it had my name on it, so curious...
I grabbed the scissors and opened the package...
to find that Courtney
*my angel friend* who I have been friends with for nearly 14 years,
ordered the "My Life Story" diary for me!

Courts, you have knocked my socks off...I can't wait to begin writing. BIG sincere thank you to you {everyone is wishing they had a friend like you right now!}.

2011-03-16T19:19:00.007+03:00

Pinterest is one of MY FAVOURITE places to "be" at the moment. When my creative juices feel dried up, I just pop there and am refuelled by all the loveliness. These are just some images I really like that I have kept aside. Isn't the pin cushion the most clever thing ever?

Japan, my heart goes out to you.

2011-03-15T12:53:00.010+03:00

I just cannot help but send prayers into heaven for all those affected by the devastation in Japan. Secondly, let us all put our own challenges and suffering into context, most of us are comfortable, warm and our loved ones are safe and alive. This evocative photograph is from BBC. I am awestruck at what beautiful photographs are coming out of Japan, from such speechless destruction.

TED talks and other thoughts

2011-03-09T19:03:00.012+03:00

A while back I discovered TED: ideas worth sharing, when a friend sent me a link about Elizabeth Gilbert {featured video, very brilliant}. Well, I just think this website is so darn cool. I have been listening to TED this afternoon while I work. I love listening to inspiring and reflective talks by interesting people around the world...especially when you need some motivation and thought provoking material for your brain. In John Wooden's talk on true success, he shares his three rules for life:
1. Never be late
2. No profanities
3. Never criticize a team mate
He also emphasizes faith and patience, two very beautiful qualities. He reflects on his father's instructions: don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses...just get out there and do the best you can.

I also enjoyed Courtney Martin:Reinventing Feminism.

And while on the topic of reflecting and thinking...I saw this amazing journal in the Tate shop on South Bank a few weeks ago. It is a diary for your whole life and I really, really want one!

Otherwise, we are all unpacked in our new home and I have been working with a view of the Thames, watching the rowing boats as they train {I think I even saw the Oxford team rowing past as they prepare for the Boat Race at the end if this month}, we have finished the Victoria Sponge so I baked banana bread...oooh and pancakes for Shrove Tuesday dinner last night...it has been a feast and I am loving being in my kitchen. All I still desire is a little radio like this one to listen to my programmes in the mornings!

Then again, our mornings have been quiet and relaxed...we now have time to lie in bed for an hour in the mornings reading, drinking tea, chatting and thinking...or snoozing, I must admit! I love this stitching...we do all need quiet time. I sent this to a friend who is starting morning pages this week to encourage her. Life does not have to be busy if we choose to wake up earlier, and say no to things we do not want to do or that will make the things we have to do seem rushed. This is a big lesson I am learning! Have a lovely start of Lent. I am not giving up anything yet...I thought of red wine, but then we are having pesto and mozarella steaks tonight so how can you leave the most important accompaniment?!

Victoria sponge

2011-03-05T02:23:00.004+03:00

Today was LOVELY. I collected our brother and sister-in-law-and-life from Heathrow and we sped in our little Fiat 500 all the way to collect my love and headed to Annie's Restaurant for a yummy lunch in the warm and quaint little place. After lunch we all came home to our new house...on the Thames River! It is a story for another time but within a week we have moved into a gorgeous cottage that is part of a big and beautiful old house. Our little cottage or "granny flat" was built in 1928 and has the proper old red tiles and duck egg blue walls with BIG windows looking onto a BIG and lush garden and the old brewery. The best part...a GARDEN on the Thames River! I am over the moon and feel absolutely blessed.

We spent a leisurely afternoon drinking tea and eating cake while catching up. I made a Victoria Sponge cake which I found in an article about Rosie's Deli Cafe. I thought it was seriously scrumptious so here is the recipe if you would like to try:

Victoria Sponge with Strawberries and Cream

330g butter, plus some for the tin
330g caster sugar
6 medium free-range eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
330g self-raising flour
300g plump ripe British strawberries
284ml double cream
1 tbsp icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees or Gas mark 4.
Line the bottom of a loose-bottomed cake tin and lightly butter the sides.
Cut up the butter into a large bowl and set out for half an hour so that it is soft.
Mix the sugar in and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs thoroughly and add to the butter.
Also add the vanilla essence.
Using a whisk, mix thoroughly. The batter might look a little curdled - this will be remedied.
Gently fold in the flour until the batter is smooth but quite thick.
Turn this out into the cake tin, and, using a knife, spread evenly to the edges.
Place the cake in the oven for 50 minutes.
Then turn the oven down to 100 degrees or 1/4 Gas mark and bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes.
Pierce the cake to see that it is cooked and if it comes out clean it is ready.
Remove the cake from the tin and cool completely.
Finely slice the strawberries from top to bottom then set aside.
Whisk the cream until it forms firm peaks.
Now beat in 1 tablespoon of icing sugar.
Very carefully slice the cake in half using a long bread knife.
{At this point I smeared raspberry jam all over one side before the cream...it was yumm!}
Open it out like a sandwich and lather the cream on both sides.
Now lay out the strawberries all over the creamed base.
Return the top to the cake.
Dust the top with icing sugar.

Enjoy with a cup of English Breakfast in a fine bone china tea cup, and happy weekend!

Matchbook Girl

2011-03-01T20:45:00.007+03:00

My friend, Courtney, sent this to me the other day and I love it. She said it reminded her of me and I have to say some of them are very true! {Red velvet cake, library card, notes to my grandmother....} It is from this blog.

Babe Paley was an American socialite and style icon by the way...I had to look her up...she worked as a fashion editor for Vogue in New York City. Dream.

Ps I got the shoes! Love 'em.

T-bar pumps

2011-02-20T23:47:00.004+03:00

I love these Marla t-bar pumps from Topshop.

Travel excitement!

2011-02-20T01:57:00.006+03:00

We have made a plan to not think about things too much this year...we want to just travel, travel, TRAVEL and make bookings and go! These are some of our travel destinations thus far, dolls...

March: skiing in the Nevis Range, Scotland.

April: eleven days in Tuscany and walking the Cinque Terre, Italy.

May: Berlin for the Bank Holiday.

August: Driving around the island and a half-marathon in Sandown, Isle of Wight.

Yippee! x

A tiny spot of Friday UK love

2011-02-18T15:51:00.007+03:00

I have really enjoyed the "Features" and "Course notes" from From Britain with Love and want to share a few lovely things and websites from England.

Love, walking and pie week

2011-02-16T23:39:00.017+03:00

We have been in chilly England for almost three weeks, and although it is cold and windy, I keep on looking up through the trees and feel inspired by the silhouettes of the branches. Even more exciting, are the daffodil and tulips that are pushing through the ground and quietly telling us that dear Spring is on her way. I went walking along South Bank yesterday and then on to St James's Park, which is looking very promising for April!

Yesterday was my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's last full day in London, so we picked the walks #32 and #34 out of this box of City Walks:London by Craig Taylor. It is a funky little box set that fits in your handbag. On a day when you think, "Hmmm, what to do today?" you can pick one, get your wellies or walking shoes and hit the streets of London town. With a brolly. It poured buckets but we loved the walk along South Bank {thought of you Gina!}, past the National Theatre, into Gabriel's Wharf to Pieminster for yummy hot pies and gravy, even in the rain! Then we walked on to the Tate Modern for a hot chocolate with sweeping views of the Thames and glorious St Paul's. We walked back all the way to London Eye, Big Ben, Houses of P, Parliament Square, Trafalgar Square, the Mall, St James's Park and Buckingham Palace. Whew. Nothing like popping past the Queen's House. We deserved our Italian dinners before going to the Apollo Theatre near Victoria Sation to watch the musical, Wicked, which was brilliant and heartwearming and made me very happy that I am not green.

Speaking of Pieminster, they are a very cool pie company started out by two blokes who made good pies. Apparently even the Queen had them at her Christmas party and they have come out with this Royal Wedding pie for Kate and Wills. Oh yum. Better have one of these on the 29th April! But then again we might be in Italy, not in England for the big royal wedding! We might take eleven days over Easter to explore Tuscany {dream**} and so I went to the library and got an "Italian for Beginners" kit. Very exciting bellas!

Oh, and on the subject of love and marriage, and pies, happy Valentine's week. Here are some sweet love notes that I found somewhere online {sorry I can't credit the creator!}. I am going to try my hand at cut-outs soon...

PS I am going to be changing the name of Shelley Sherbet and moving all of the content to shelleyjaneahrens.com. If you are a follower or reader or friend, and you can't login to shelleysherbet anymore, then you know where I have gone. I am also starting a business and job searching, so will be telling and showing more of that soon. 2011 is an exciting one! For all of us.

Back from India

2011-02-01T18:24:00.006+03:00

I am back from our travels in India, and it was WONDERFUL. Two months of overwhelming, incredible colour, community, resourcefulness, sun, cloth, spices, teas and adventures. I will share some stories soon.

Autumn finds

2010-11-12T12:29:00.021+03:00

Love this pic of an end of Autumn walk by Michelle Fennel...it captures these wintery London days that make one want to eat and be extravagant in the face of long, dark afternoons. Last night I indulged in a candelit bath, steaming and spilling over the edges thanks to my host's generous bath preparation! These are a few things that I would love for the winter...if I were not seeking the sun in India for two months that is! We fly next week and, I know that all these desires and "things" will seem silly and pointless in the face of abject poverty, need and humility. But {and I know it is wrong to start with this}, this is what it is to live with one foot in the materialistic First world, and the other foot in the Third.

I am not usually a fan of multiple rings {as many of you know, I still wear only my engagement ring and am continuously asked how my wedding plans are coming along!}, but I really have taken to these stackable rings by Annoushka. Particularly the Poppy Seed Ring. I also have found this set that I really LOVE the look of.

Today I completely indulged in more me-time with a slice of banana and honey bread {baked by my hostess last night {along with a roast with all the trimmings. Yes, she is superwoman, I assure you}, another hot bath {this time, shallow and brief but nonetheless a bath} and sat on the couch in the winter sun reading through the entire copy of Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights. I must own my own copy as soon as we are back from India. Even though there has been a balanced mixture of malicious critique and high praise for this collection, I personally love her view on food and eating it, and I want to make elderflower jelly in an old tin mould next Summer.

While on the subject of food, Gina recommendedCrush!to me. I would say sign-up soon, it has some fab recipes and ideas.

I could make bathing a more regular habit. It feels so good to wallow, especially in Winter. I could play some Josh Pyke on this Orla Kiely radio and lie in the steam for an hour at least.

Aren't these Household Words home decalssweet, from Etsy?

I really likePale and Interesting for their subtle shades and lush stock.

Windy and cold

2010-11-10T20:26:00.007+03:00

I really like the logo and the collections of this South African fashion company called Silver Spoon. I really want to order some gorgeous items from the Winter collection. It is freezing, windy and rainy in London! And I keep missing buses {if you are friends with me on the time-grabbing social network, Facebook, you will know my predicament}.

I also would love to buy one of these love bird rings, which I first discovered in Cosmo, designed by Alex Monroe.

Today's sweet thing

2010-11-09T17:36:00.005+03:00

This morning I went to Petersham Nursery for tea and cake with a special friend. We shared a big pot of English Breakfast tea, a luscious slice of carrot cake with cream cheese icing and a slice of parsnip and maple syrup cake. Mmmm. A wonderful thing to do on a cold and rainy day in London. The teahouse is like a big conservatory with mismatching furniture and beautiful plants. These beautiful images which give you an idea of this gorgeous little treasure on the border of Petersham meadow and the Thames, are by photographers Nick Maroudias and Simona von Woikowsky which I found on a delightful blog which I just discovered, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I am inspired to bake this afternoon...so I am going to give Smitten Kitchen's Best Birthday Cake a go.

Autumn moodboard

2010-10-26T00:45:00.004+03:00

The other day on my way to work I was kicking leaves in my brown leather brogues, and having such fun...it reminded me of living on a farm in the Drakensberg, South Africa, as a young girl. I used to collect leaves, press them, stencil them, rub over them, build big piles of them to jump in. I felt inspired for the first time in ages to make a collection and mood board. We can become so grown up and busy too quickly I have decided.

This is the perfect little treat to take with a thermos of tea and a picnic blanket to the park. Red velvet would be my choice. You?

This is the perfect time of year to knit...I love this photograph of ladies knitting in London. I think I might start a knitting group...go shopping for luxurious wool and then get the needles out {thanks to my friend Gina who gave me some very beautiful pairs that once belonged to her special grandmother who knitted up a storm}. Here is the said friend at her felting classes earlier this year...it looks like fun!

This time of year I usually clear out the email list and address book and send old friends postcards and make contact again...

I love this pistol ring. The metal reminds me of Autumn as it has the edginess of crisp, cool days.

A milky yet strong latte is the perfect start to an Autumn day. My love makes the best cuppa...

Autumn in London means three things: coat, scarf and gloves! I bought a gorgeous coat last season but am considering a second for this winter...Zara has a really fun selection. I especially love the shoulder pads and the Peter Pan coat.

I found Handpicked last week, a clever but not altogether pretty website for quirky gifts. My absolute favourite are these framed silhouettes.

Latest musings and happenings

2010-09-02T02:06:00.007+03:00

Life has been very, very busy but thank goodness this last weekend was a bank holiday weekend. On bank holiday Monday we headed to Victoria to apply for our Indian visas {more about this another time} before heading to Brick Lane for an urban walk and a curry. Well we had never seen this part of town so quiet and deserted...it was eery and refreshing to be in a busy part of London when everyone was either still sleeping or out of town. We walked through some really concrete areas and some really quaint areas, shopped in the second-hand and vintage shops, and found a hot curry deal at a place called Mango. Lamb rogan josh can really make a day...mmm. We did some shopping and came home to relax, read books, eat cookies and just be together alone at home for a rare occassion.

On Tuesday I headed to Salisbury with Rachel, the owner of Luella's Boudoir. We ate Chinese, browsed shops, visited the the Fisherton Mill and met with lovely Victoria Fergusson, one of our designers, in her home studio. I absolutely love Victoria and her home...it is full of interesting things and I particularly love her moon hare pictures and ceramics...oooh and her banana and chocolate cake.

We rushed back to London and I was only a few minutes late for my Screenprinting class at the Make lounge. I LOVED this class and had such fun learning about patterns and inks and how to combine both for a cool end result! I am going to make two cathedral print cushions, two scissor cushions {I am still going to stitch some text onto the fabric} and everyone seemed to love my crowned swallow tote bag so that was encouraging! I have so many patterns and designs in my head so will have to buy a screen, some inks, a squeegee and some cotton as soon as possible!

Last night, after a busy day at work, I hopped on a train to meet my love at Waterloo before heading to Leicester Square to meet special friends for dinner at a noodle bar and then the Queen's theatre for Les Miserables. Oh my. This has been my favourite musical in London so far. It was absolutely brilliant, clever and breathtaking. If you have not been then this has to be something you do in this lifetime! It is the oldest musical in London and tells such an entwined and engaging story. I loved every minute...and remember my mum saying this was her favourite musical too.

{A very brief storyline: Les Mis is based on Victor Hugo's epic novel, spanning two decades in the life of Jean Valjean: starting in a prison in Digne in France in 1815, moving to Montfermeil in 1823 and eventually getting to Paris in 1832. The relentless policeman Javert pursues escaped convict Jean Valjean for years through revolutionary France. Valjean becomes a respected factory owner and mayor in disguise, and he agrees to raise the daughter of beautiful, dying prostitute, Fantine, who sings "I Dreamed a Dream" {think Susan Boyle} and joins the fight for freedom. None of this impresses Javert - until Valjean saves his life. There is also a love triangle saga and I have to say Epinone is my favourite, and then of course the absolutely hilarious couple, the Thénardiers.}

So this has been a busy but lovely week...now to get some long overdue emails written!

Travels: Plymouth in August

2010-08-29T23:19:00.010+03:00

On the weekend of the 21st and 22nd August, our kind neighbour drove us to her family home in Plymouth, in Devon, to stay with her lovely parents in the home which they have lived in for 50 years!

Day 1: 21 August

On our first day, we started our trip at the Royal William Yard, having a coffee in the Old Bakery. We then drove to a look out point of Drake Island {where Rosehip roses and berries were scattered...this was the sweetest smelling rose I have ever put my nose to}. We drove across the bridge which divides Devon and Cornwall and oh my, I loved our drive through Cornwall and all the narrow country lanes with hedges along each side, despite the very thick mist which hung close to the ground. We browsed little towns like Taverstock where we bought a heart shaped wax cheese of vintage cheddar.We ended our day with a cream tea at home...clotted cream is possibly made in heaven and sent down on long ropes.

Day 2: 22 August
The English countryside of Devon is absolutely beautiful while Plymouth has a gritty lid with bursts of colour bursting through all of the grey. Apparently this rather poor city was completely devastated during World War II as a naval port. In place of all the gorgeous old buildings, grey blocks were erected, but in the old part of town where the Mayflower Steps can be found, the Barbican, there is a glimpse of old Plymouth.

It has a colourful harbour, gorgeous old buildings and cobblestone streets, lots of art galleries, a gin distillery, wall murals by Lenkiewicz* {an eccentric local artist who recently passed away} proper old ice-cream shops {we went to Prebe's, established in 1882, where I had ice-cream AND clotted cream between wafers....oh yummmm...and admired a Lenkiewicz painting of the Prebe family. We even met the son who is in the painting!}. We explored this part of town on the Sunday..having tappas and mezze at a restaurant on the harbour, admiring the remains of Lenkiewicz* wall murals and experiencing our first taste of Beryl Cook, a local artist and seeing where her inspiration used to abound!

Lesley showed us Smeaton's Tower on the hoe {think Beatles "She Loves You"...an open stretch of grass overlooking the harbour and Drake Island. The Hoe wonderful expanse to lie on, picnic, walk along the boulevard and kiss! We went to the old Lido pool which sits right on the sea, and we watched boys "tomb stoning" which basically is diving into the sea from the high walls of the boulevard {eeeek}. We also saw the lovely bright doors of the changing sheds, one of which our neighbour's aunt used to rent!

We caught the ferry home and our hosts had cooked an incredibly delicious Sunday lunch: roast beef and the biggest Yorkshire puddings I have ever seen or eaten {they were warm, soft in the middle, and golden brown...perfect!}. On the way home, we stopped and saw Stonehenge in the eery light of rain and nightfall. It is odd, and incredible to think about.
*Robert Lenkiewicz was a prolific painter, portraying the lives of people across society, particularly in Plymouth. This shot is his wall mural on Southside Street {apparently he was quite the ladies' man}. He also has a large wall mural on the back of the pannier market down in the Barbican. The painting has been there was years and is now starting to look a little jaded as the council does not see the value in restoring or preserving it {obviously Lenkiewicz or his art caused the council real issues back in the day}. He even painted some members into the mural and they have attempted to board it up-hence the wooden strips on the wall but someone must have put an end to that bad idea. I love that one year, on April Fool's Day, Lenkiewicz painted three flying ducks on a large white mount to cover the entire wall, to shock and surprise the city. I like him.

Travels and dreams: Prague

2010-08-29T21:39:00.013+03:00

I know. Even though I think no-one reads these ramblings of mine...I know some of you do. And you know that I have had a haphazard relationship with my blog...feeling the need to go out and live and breathe real life and get away from the computer screen. This evening I was dreaming and thinking and bringing back ideas from the past...and good old faithful, my blog showed me all of my thoughts, inspirations and collections from the last couple of years. I felt a little like a neglecting parent or traitor so I decided that a catch up was due. Let me tell you about some of our travels...beginning with Prague.

♥ red geranium pots on window sills
♥ Trdelnik...warm, rolled bread dipped in sugar
♥ architecture: Art Nouveau, Baroque, Roccoco
♥ pork and heavy bread and red cabbage
♥ Jewish cemetry
♥ greens, reds, golds, ochres, oranges
♥ our Art Nouveau apartment
♥ music
♥ beer
♥ gorgeous sunny weather
♥ Franz Kafka
♥ the trams
♥ the Vltava River swollen from afternoon rain

Prague Day 1: Saturday, 31 July

We went to Prague at the end of July with our dear friends, Courtney and Alan, from Cape Town. Well, this city known as the "golden city of spires" is absolutely breathtaking. Every corner, every view, has something intriguing, quaint, beautiful, breathtaking. My love and I arrived at our Art Nouveau apartment on 8 Brehova in the Jewish Quarter and felt instantly in love. We walked along the Vltava River in the sun, from Chechuv Bridge where we admired a wildlife photography exhibition along the banks of the river. We met our friends at the metro stop and caught a tram {oh, I do love trams now} home. We had a catch up as we walked into the Old Town Square for a pub meal of goulash, czech soup and sausages {not to mention pretzels and beers}, a walk through the old streets which are littered with cool little shops: an absynth museum, chocolatier, crystal and garnet boutiques. We admired the famous astronomical clock and jumped on to a free walking tour with our Czech local guide, Klara. We walked, with stories, all the way to the Prague Castle {really, the stuff of fairytale dreams}. We ended the day with Mission Impossible Find a Grocery Store and eventually did, before going home for red wine, tortellini and good friendship time.

Prague Day 2: Sunday, 1 August

We woke late and leaisurely to the noise of the tram buzzing along the street below. Fruit salad on the balcony was followed by a tram to the Palace Gardens where we saw the most spectacular plants and views! Stunning sunshine and lush gardens can really make a girl's heart sing. A highlight was the Sgraffito which is etched plaster...in gorgeous patterns and designs {see the photo of us sitting in front of it}. We walked through the Castle and particularly loved the Lobowicz Museum: where we gobbled ice-creams, watched a lunchtime concert, followed by an intimate and interesting audio guide narrated by members of the Lobowicz family {my absolute favourites were the Croll art room, the Beethoven and Mozart original music sheet books} and Prague ham baguettes and Lobowicz beers on the balcony of the Palace. Next, we found the Strahov Monastery and tried four brews of "monk beer"...two words: acquired taste {ie. disgusting!}. In the evening we dined on a Jazz boat that cruised up and down the river with a fusion jazz band in the background. A late night walk through Old Town Square and glam Parizka Street {barefoot on the cobblestones} completed our second day.

Prague Day 3: Monday, 2 August

We started the day with tea and cookies on our balcony, in the rain. We made scrambled egg and ham on rye toast before wandering over to the Jewish Museum, made up of six synagogues and the eeary, yet beautiful Jewish cemetry {12 layers deep...}. This was an experience I will never forget: my first ever time in a synagogue, children's drawings from Terezin concentration camp, a synagogue covered in names of those who were killed in the Holocaust...very haunting and poignant. We found a cafe for pizza and beer for lunch, then browsed through quaint Czech antique shop before heading for Trednilk {rolled dough cooked and then dipped in cinnamon and sugar...yumm} and listening to an old man play the sax on the cobbles.We visited the Spanish synagogue which was exquisite! We shopped in Swarovski and had coffees in an art gallery on Brehova. Our last night we went up the funicular to Petrin Tower with the most incredible views of the city at night.

Prague Day 4: Tuesday, 3 August

We said goodbye to our dear friends and then spent the day walking through our favourite parts of the city once more...and also to Wenceslas Square. We viewed the city from Kampa Island in the pouring rain; went to Manufaktura to buy a little wooden toy; watched the Astronomical clock on the hour; and ate Czech sausage rolls and caught the metro back to the airport. I absolutely loved Prague and encourage everyone to go and experience this city of wonder!

Luella's Boudoir logo

2010-08-26T18:39:00.000+03:00

Oh my yum Risotto

2010-08-09T21:51:00.003+03:00

Tomato and Sausage Risotto
Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food via Smitten Kitchen {my favourite}. I would have taken my own photo but we were too hungry to find the camera! So I have used Smitten Kirchen's gorgeous photo {as all of hers are!}. Steve said "oh my yum" two or three times so you must know...it is totally oh my yum. A subtle warning though, a risotto is a bit like a woman, it needs a lot of patience, time and stirring. Here is the recipe:

Tomato and sausage risotto
Serves 4

1 can diced tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bunch flat-leaf spinach (10 to 14 ounces), washed well, tough stems removed, chopped (about 7 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
2 tablespoons butter

In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.
In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.
Add about 2 cups hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue adding tomato mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total (you may not have to use all the liquid).
Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools), and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.

Monday thoughts

2010-08-09T13:06:00.009+03:00

Last weekend we spent an amazing extended weekend, four days, in Prague. I will post a detailed photo journal of our time in that wonderful Eastern European capital, another time. Today I am on the couch, under a blanket with a big box of tissues and a bad cold. I am feeling so many things that are too personal too blog about...but in brief I have been through a time of questioning, sometimes putting so much pressure on myself and therefore letting myself down and feeling like I need to do something remarkable with my life. Analysis paralysis perhaps. I have such a long to do list and want to do list that it sometimes results in nothing getting done because it is all too daunting! Silly I know. From afar. I have started reading the Artist's Way again and hope that it will ease my creative pains! I tried to close my eyes for a sleep, but my head was buzzing and I pulled the laptop close...resulting in a blog post. Here are some inspirations. Happy Monday.

Today I finally subscribed to Selvedge magazine and will be following the the blog. I cannot wait for my July/August issue to arrive!

I also joined Burda Style and have downloaded the Coffee Date dress and have added the Bella trousers to my basket.

Kat, my friend and recently ex-colleague {although she still works in the Village so we have lunch dates together}, has applied for a design assistant position at Caramel. Run by Eva Karayianni, this is a children's wear business that is firmly cooking on gas. I have been back to look at this website numerous times and I am not sure if it is because a} I would love a stylish little entourage of six or b} I would love to start sewing some cool clothes for friends' children, or c} It is just super cool little people's fashion. Kat, I hope you get it my friend.

I am really proud of some friends in Cape Town who have started a unique coffee roasting company in Woodstock. Do have a look at Rosetta Roastery to be inspired and to order some beans. I especially love their write-ups and their "How To" page.

I had this amazing lecturer in my final year, postgraduate in teaching course. I treasured the days where I headed off campus to the heart of Newlands to visit the Frank Joubert Art Centre for our lectures. Five of us sat around the table with the sash windows wide open, with cups of tea, and Jill {my amazing lecturer} would lead us through reflection, methods and the heart of art and design teaching. In the midst of this time of "what am I doing with my life" I have been thinking of her lots. A determined, passionate and leading woman who really made a mark on my life. At the moment, teaching design is one of my top careers that I am thinking of going into. I was browsing the FJAC website and stumbled on the gallery of photograms and photomontages. I love this one by Cecile Reyneke in grade 1o.

Oh, and ps, my love and I have been together for 10 years as of yesterday. High school sweetheart love to be continued. I am more in love now than ever and grow more appreciative of this one constant in my life. One decade down, a million more and eternity to go.

A weekend in Deal

2010-07-05T13:31:00.014+03:00

We love getting out of London on weekends! On Saturday we packed our bags and borrowed a car and headed for the East Coast. We stopped off at Herme Bay to see a Roman fort, and then we drove through Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate where we sat on the harbour and ate an all day breakfast at 1pm at a quaint local place called "Ship Shape". We read the dailies and enjoyed the beautiful potted marigolds and sails whistling in the breeze.

Pics: 1 Grasses at the Roman fort | 2. The North Sea | 3. Broadstairs beach | 4. Ramsgate harbour | 5. Ship shape | 6. Me, the dailies and tea | 7. Marigolds

We then mozied through a beautiful place called Sandwich {seriously! How cool?}, stopping off at Delf Farm Stall to admire the chickens and to buy some delicious Mrs Darlington's cranberry sauce with Port...I loved the branding of these products. We also bought a bottle of Shandy and a bottle of Ginger Beer by Fentimans.We arrived in Deal and found Clifford Park, where we set up our tent and spread out a blanket and dozed in the sun, also enjoying tea out of our Thermos and some bread pudding. I read My Cool Caravan {thank you Tans!} and got well inspired to buy a camper van of sorts for our travels! I am sure this blog will come in handy in our venture to buy a VW...

In the evening we went for a walk along Deal pier and we took our Fentimans to the pebble beach and enjoyed the late sun before heading to The Black Douglas, a quaint coffee house on the beach front {reviews here and pics here}. Bruce...you would have loved this place!

We enjoyed roasted sunflower seeds and olives on the table, then Pinot Grigio and Grolsch with a starter of parma ham, figs, ciabbatta in olive oil and balsamic. Mains were a ham, portobello mushroom and blue cheese stone-baked pizza for Steven and an aubergine parmigiana for me. We could not fit dessert in {they looked DELICIOUS} so finished off with lattes instead...and they were also good. Oh my. I loved the laidback, mismatched, quaint and warm vibe of this old beachfront house. We sat downstairs where most of the locals were dining and catching up on the week's news across the tables. Friends of the hostess, Phoebe, came in and out, parking their bicycles outside, unlocked and with all belongings in the basket! When something was needed from the shop, someone would pop out and jump on their bicycle to the rescue...I absolutely loved the community feeling of this small town restaurant! The outside garden was littered with lanterns, Phil Collins sung out over us, and the hustle and bustle of the walk through kitchen created a feeling of eating in a friend's dining room. The bill is hand written and there is no cash machine. It is just plain and simple. Perfect.

On Sunday morning we played with the campsite's ginger cat and ate cherries and almonds and other fruits for breakfast in the sun, before packing up and heading to the beach. We admired Deal castle and the fishing boats on the beach, lay in the sun and soaked it all in, with an ice-cream break at the seriously retro beach parlour. This place was something out of the glory days with Knickerbocker Glory sundaes, hot dogs, milk shakes, soda floats, pastel chairs, big swinging fans and proper toasted sarnies! We couldn't resist lunch there and had the most delicious and oozing ham and cheese toasties {to forget the less appealing pot of whelks that we bought on the beach front for a pound...trying the local fare, eh}.

In the arvie, we mozied home via Dover, with it's white cliffs and ferries coming and going to France {which we could see because it was beautifully clear!} and then through all sorts of small, quiet back roads to Heathfield, where we picked up a lovely old Singer sewing machine off ebay which has joined the family...and back to London for Sunday night pancakes, the Wimbledon final highlights and a good night sleep.

Ps Some boat love:

Live the life you choose

2010-07-05T11:35:00.006+03:00

Monday is my day off so it is time for me to clean the house, do the washing, catch up on emails and read my books or go for a coffee. This morning I decided to read through all of the emails in my inbox from Mary Ann Shearer, as part of the "100 Days to Health" program that Steven and I have been doing. We haven't been 100% committed to it but have made slow and subtle changes and we can feel our preferences changing! We eat only fruit for breakfast, we eat lots of nuts and we eat a much more vegetarian diet on the whole. We still have a pastry or some meat or a good coffee, but on the whole we are feeling much more healthy and we are ploughing through fresh fruit! Sometimes, in Cape Town, we would not even finish a bag of apples in a week...now we are going through 3 bags a week..yummy. My favourites are definitely apricots, cherries and almonds at the moment.

Anyway, this morning I went through all of the emails to collect recipes and tips...and thought I would share some of Mary Anne's advice:

♥ Do something completely different this week, visit an art gallery or go swimming in the sea, walk barefoot for a whole day, take your dog or someone else’s dog for a walk. Phone your mother and ask how she is, take fresh flowers to work and keep them on your desk, pay for the person behind you in the parking garage. Try doing one random act of kindness to a strange person for no reason at all.

♥ 5 of The Natural Way steps...
1. Eating at least 1 meal each day that consists of fruit entirely and including a ¼ to ½ a cup of raw nuts and seeds
2. You should be eating raw fruit before breakfast and raw vegetables before lunch and supper
3. You should be eating animal protein no more than once a week. You can be completely vegetarian and get all your protein needs met from nuts if you wish, so don't panic.
4. You should always snack on fresh fruit and or vegetables before you eat candy or fried and fast foods
5. You should be finding that you have more energy and a more efficient digestive tract as you eat only 1 concentrated food per meal, so either carbs or proteins.

♥ Start keeping a journal and meet daily with God, read your Bible and sometimes just listen to God if you don’t know what to pray.

♥ Some healthy products to keep in mind:
~ Just Carrots- dried carrot juice, loaded with the carotenoids family, a group of powerful antioxidants of which beta carotene is best known. Slows down ageing, improves mucous membrane function (mouth, throat, lungs and other passages)
A great convenient way to get extra nutrition from carrot juice - the way God intended.
~ Redibeets – Dried Beet juice -an excellent source of iron and many vitamins and minerals, fantastic if you suffer from low iron levels or anemia.
~ Prepzymes – a blend of natural enzymes which help you digest your food more efficiently, essential for people with pancreatic and or any digestive problems
~ Composure – a combination of several herbs that calm your body. Essential for hay fever, allergies, sleep problems, air travel or any times of stress or trauma. Totally not addictive and will not make you drowsy. Essential with hyperactivity or attention deficit disorder.
~ Florafood – if you have taken antibiotics and have a tendency to yeast infections or gas problems or if you are taking Para 90
~ Para 90- gets rid of all known parasites, the only product I know of to do this. Take for 30 days each year if vegetarian or 30 days twice a year if you eat any animal flesh like fish, chicken or meat.

♥ Daily routine:
1. Wake up: drink a glass of filtered water with 3 Herbal Fiberblend capsules.Drinking water regularly is a habit that needs to be cultivated early on. Water is your most important nutrient and essential to health.

2. Set specific time aside to prayer and read your Bible or any inspirational book that will encourage you and help you get to know God on a personal level. He delights in you and longs to spend time with you. If you do this you will not need praise or affirmation form other people. This meeting with Him in the mornings is enough to get you through each day. But like the Manna in the wilderness, it must be ‘collected’ each day. You cannot survive on yesterdays “manna” or spiritual bread. You need fresh time every day. You will be completely blown away when you start to do this as your life completely transforms.

3. Go for a 20 – 30 minute walk and when you return take 3-6 Aimega and 4-6 BarleyLife capsules with another glass of water
Take extra BarleyLife on stressful days.
You may find taking 1-2 tsp before bed is a wonderful antidote to stress and will help you wake up bright and alert and refreshed even on very little sleep.

4. Breakfast: Must be before 10am. Start with a minimum of one fruit portion or smoothie.
A portion is what fits into your loosely cupped hand.
You can eat any fruit you enjoy but you must eat at least one portion.
There is no maximum amount of fruit, if you feel like eating 12 bananas, 10 apples or a whole melon then eat it!
Try and include ¼ - ½ cup of raw, unsalted edible nuts or seeds with your fruit.
This will keep you feeling full and help stabilize your blood sugar.
Try and stick to acid and sub acid fruit only at this meal, see food combining chart.
You may also find that melons are best not eaten with nuts.
If you are allergic to nuts then stick to raw seeds such as sunflower or pumpkin seeds or sesame seed paste - known as ‘tahini’

5. Mid-morning: before 12am:
Drink a glass of filtered water
Eat 1-2 portions of fresh fruit

6. Lunch: Before 3pm
Start with any raw vegetable or salad make sure you cover the minimum of one side plate.
You can eat more if you like just do not eat less.
After this salad or raw vegetables eat anything you like, there is no restriction.
Just make sure this week that you do not eat animal protein more than once a day.
If you hate vegetables, find one raw vegetable you can eat like cucumber or tomato and make sure you eat enough to eat a small plate full of this food.
Some people find they lose their taste from animal protein and prefer to follow a more vegetarian program. You would do well to do this especially if you suffer from any hormonal related problems.
Just make sure you are eating a quarter to a half a cup of raw nuts or seeds at least 3 times a week. These can be eaten at breakfast time in one go or spread over the day as snacks, in salads and with neutral vegetables.
You may find you have digestive discomfort eating nuts with starches like potatoes, rice or wheat.
If you prefer, you can eat fresh fruit here as well.

7. Mid-afternoon: before 5pm
Drink a glass of filtered water with 3 BarleyLife and 3 Aimega capsules
Eat 1-2 portions of fresh fruit or vegetables; you can eat or drink anything else after this.

8. Supper: Try and eat this before 8pm better still before 6pm.
The rule is the earlier the better, so Aim for 6 and if you eat at 7pm it is still better that 8pm!
Start with a minimum of side plate of raw vegetables or salad and as much as you like and then eat whatever you feel like after that. Again there is no restriction.
Remember that if you had animal protein for lunch, you should not have it for supper again.
If you felt more comfortable with no gluten or dairy in your diet then try to stick to those programs.

9. After 8pm:
Fresh fruit and raw vegetables only, if you want dessert or chocolates eat them before 8pm. This is very important.

Beyond the Valley

2010-07-02T10:53:00.004+03:00

I have been struggling to find lovely Summer shoes that I LOVE. I am so so tired of my gladiators {two seasons running; two pairs worn into the gound...literally...one pair has holes at the back and is cracked under foot!} but I just can't seem to find new ones that I love. I found these Melissa shoes from Beyond the Valley and in doing so, seem to have found London's equivalent {sort of} of YDE in South Africa. They don't have a size 38 in these...so onward searching, soldier!

Ps If you are in London: the shop is at 2 Newburgh Street, London, SE1

FML

2010-07-01T11:55:00.004+03:00

Courtney, my very dear friend, told me about FML yesterday.

Now, I don't want to f* my life and I do want to love my life and live my life and FUN my life more than the prior...but hells bells, on days when these ideals don't work out...it is more than awesome to go and read about other people's oops or low moments! So when you are not having a REM "Shiny Happy People" moment...go and read everyday life stories here. Thanks Courts!

This is my favourite:
Today, I was walking home from work when a hobo checked me out, asking which alley I live in. FML.

Nature inspired

2010-06-30T10:51:00.004+03:00

This English summer has made me want to go for long walks in nature and stop to smell the flowers, admire the hanging baskets and listen to the birds. I love the following British brands who have turned their inspiration in to gorgeous prints and products:

Vanessa Aarbuthnott
Massey and Rogers
Rapture and Wright

South African love

2010-06-28T16:27:00.007+03:00

I am so happy and proud of South Africa hosting the World Cup. It seems to have been a really wonderful nation builder and that is always incredible to watch for any nation in this big world. Being far away from it all makes me miss home and remember things that I love...
peanut butter and jam sarmies on fresh white bread
the karoo
chappies bubble gum
buying things in Rands
rondavels
drinking g&t on the verandah
the sound of windmills
wide open space
my family
african mamas laughing from their bellies
old yellow number plates
children playing soccer on the side of the road
dipping rusks* in morning tea
ubuntu**
bokaap in cape town
5fm
bobotie and Mrs Balls chutney
big and quirky south african homes {enjoy Frank Features by the lovely Kerryn Fischer and Luanne Toms}
the word "eina"

* Make some rusks:
2 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat bread flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp pure almond extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the dry ingredients.
Combine all the wet ingredients, pour them into the dry ingredients, and stir until you have a soft dough, similar to biscuit dough.
Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and roll or pat it to about a 1/2 inch thickness.
Cut the dough into rectangles about 2 by 4 inches. Bake the rusks about 2 inches apart on buttered baking sheet for about 25 minutes until the tops are crisping and browning a little.
Loosely pile the rusks on a baking sheet and keep them in a 200 degree oven all day or all night (about 12 hours) to dry. The finished rusks should be very dry and hard. Cool and store in a beautiful airtight tin. Rusks will keep for weeks for dunking and enjoying.

**I received an email about Ubuntu and it reminded me of the need for community in our current world. Archbishop Desmond Tutu described Ubuntu in 2008: 'One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu - the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity.  We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity."

Oooh nice

2010-06-23T11:43:00.005+03:00

Oh I like Labour and Wait. On my wish list is: a beautiful antique Welsh wool blanket, French candles and a pink milk pot...

Truth is

2010-06-17T00:10:00.003+03:00

I am tired of being at my screen.

All I want to do is hold a book, turn the pages, smell the paper; bake cookies and smell them in the oven, lick dough off my fingers; lie in the green grass in the park looking up at the sky; walk fast outside and breathe the fresh air in; speak on the phone with my nearest and dearest; sew and iron and knit and feel the fabric and wool in my fingers.

So that is why I have not been blogging. Yes, I know I have been a rubbish blogger. I am kind of tired of it in some ways. Me, the screen, a monologue. Blogs for the next season may be sporadic and random. But I have found a whole lots of blogs that you might love so you can go and read them everyday; is that okay?

Anyway, my love bought me a sewing machine. How awesome? So I am on a one-woman mission to learn how to sew extravagantly and I am going to be burrowing my head in fabric and pins and pressing and stitching. Some blogs and websites I have been perusing for inspiration and that I wanted to keep in a safe place to click on:
Colette Patterns
Anna Maria Horner
Lena Corwin
Free Needle
Sew Mama Sew!
Anna Allen
Very Purple Person

Some other blogs I have discovered, or been told about and enjoyed:
Under a Paper Moon {where I got these lovely pics; see her blog for where she got 'em!}
Curious Bird
Playing Grown Up {Thanks Tess!}
Cakies
Love Notes and Polaroids
I might not see you again for a while I must warn you. I am off to sew!

Draw dividers and pancakes xx

2010-05-17T16:12:00.011+03:00

Where have I been? Not blogging...there has been a week at work of hosting a big wedding event and a week of visiting South Africa, and a week of being in bed with flu, and before you know it a month has gone by and blogging has not happened.

Here is a little glimpse of the happenings:

Rachel's birthday

Kat's famous Russian-Australian pancakes doused in syrup, and some frou frou fun!

Luella's Boudoir Wedding Fair {pics by EyeImagine}

You may follow the links to see media coverage of the evening from here...it was a fun evening filled with vintage extravagance, two gorgeous catwalk shows and happy brides-to-be who found lots of inspiration and dream dresses.

Images: a pic of the welcome sign...I loved doing all of the design for the event; One Marylebone; Lisa Redman's gorgeous gowns {she let me borrow a dress...it was FAB}; my darling colleague, Kate, my second British friend who makes me laugh too hard; Julia Boggio's representative.

Liska and Gerald's beautiful wedding

Oh, what a beautiful day! Gerald and Lisk made their vows in St George's Cathedral and celebrated after at Groot Constantia...and really, what a gorgeous day with family, friends, meaningful speeches, Earl Grey cupcakes, laughter, and beautiful sun! I am over the moon for you two. {And yes, this is the THIRD wedding I have been to this year where the lovely couple has chosen Germinate to capture the day. They are AMAZING so spread the word!}

Otherwise...

We have been loving the Spring flowers and the subtle warmth of the sun on some days and spending time with friends {even when they are wearing matching outfits!}...I have discovered a gorgeous antique fair {oh love my 1920s camera, Thermos, Victorian pin cushion, console, madeleine tins and my bottle garden...} and have been getting better from flu with lots of rest and tea. Some days I feel like I need more simplicity, more quiet, more space, more time, more sun, more countryside, more rest...

Buying draw dividers from Ikea moved toward this...and gave me a wonderful sense of simplicity and order. {Yes, sad, a highlight of my month was indeed the introduction of draw dividers!}.This is another ordering idea that appeals to me:
"Long ago, the rhythm of the average American housewife's life was fairly standard no matter where you went. Each day had its own task, and so the work got done in a logical, orderly fashion as the week progressed. It went something like this. Monday: Wash Day
Tuesday: Ironing Day
Wednesday: Sewing Day
Thursday: Market Day
Friday: Cleaning Day
Saturday: Baking Day
Sunday: Day of Rest
There was logic behind the order. Laundry was far and away the heaviest task a housewife faced, requiring a great deal of strength and fortitude to hand-wring clothes and carry big baskets of wet laundry to the clothesline from the basement washtubs. Monday was the day to do it, when you were still fresh and rested from Sunday. Tuesday's ironing followed Monday's wash. Mending and sewing on Wednesday made sense when you'd just been through the clothes and noticed what needed a button or a patch. And so on. We may not follow this order, or do some of these tasks today, but every kitchen can use a set of good sturdy and absorbent dishtowels." ~ found here. Oh and I love the film clip on their moodboard page. Very cool.

Oh, and we have booked for Prague at the end of July...I am soooo excited! We are going with close friends to cycle, drink beer, eat raw beef on deep-fried toast {or not} and explore this gorgeous old Czech city.

My Brit factor x

2010-04-16T19:15:00.005+03:00

Yesterday Holly Willouhgby popped into Luella's and I was a bit star struck, I must say! We loved her on Xtra Factor and it was a bit strange to see her not on telly...the shop happened to be chaos. I was shooting dresses, Kat was pinning dresses and Rach was with our wedding planner. But still! It was cool.

I got thinking about Brits and their celebs and their habits and traits, and then I found this list of the top 50 'typically British' traitsfrom Metro. I have italicised the ones I find myself doing:
1. Talking about the weather
2. Great at queueing
3. Sarcasm
4. Watching soaps
5. Getting drunk
6. A love of bargains
7. A love of curtain twitching
8. Stiff upper lip
9. Love of all television
10. Moaning
11. Obsession with class
12. Gossiping with neighbours over the garden fence
13. Obsession with the traffic
14. Enjoying other people's misfortune
15. Inability to complain
16. Love of cheap foreign holidays
17. Working long hours
18. A soothing cup of tea to ease worries
19. Eating meat and two veg
20. Looking uncomfortable on the dance floor
21. Feeling uncomfortable when people talk about their emotions
22. Clever sense of humour
23. Obsession with property values
24. Pandering to political correctness
25. Road rage
26. Being unhappy with our weight
27. Wanting a good tan
28. Being proud of where we live
29. Not saying what we mean
30. The ability to laugh at ourselves
31. Washing the car on a Sunday
32. Taking the mickey out of others
33. Asking people about their journey
34. Inability not to comment on how other people bring up their children
35. Jealousy of wealth and success
36. Being overly polite
37. Texting instead of calling
38. An inability to express our emotions
39. Obsession with the Royal Family
40. Fondness for mowing the lawn
41. Love of rambling through the countryside
42. A love of all things deep fried
43. Emulating celebrity lifestyles
44. Leaving things to the last minute
45. Irony
46. Keeping our homes neat and tidy
47. Take decisions and accept the consequences
48. Achieving against all odds
49. Wanting our sportsmen / teams to fail
50. DIY on a Bank Holiday

So...I am not all Brit yet.

Another thing Brits love is Thai and Indian food. Tonight after work, Kat and I bought Thai red duck curry {oh my, oh my, new favourite Thai food!} and we sat on the lawn outside our Victorian flat {with the daffodils and the ginger cat from my street} and we enjoyed the warm evening and delicious Thai. Then I watched the sunset on the banks of the Thames in Surbiton and drank earl grey tea with friends. A perfect Saturday evening I would say. xx

Some Thursday love

2010-04-15T00:08:00.005+03:00

{Photo from Graph Paper Press} ShelleySherbet turned two years old yesterday! Gosh, and it struck me that I have kept a blog for a longer period of time than one single job at a time....oops! Happy birthday anyway...you were born out of a graphic design class when I had finished a project ahead of time and started experimenting....and here we are.

{Photo from Memory Makers Magazine} So it is Thursday night and I am surrounded by books on my lounge floor, with Mary-Anne's Spinach lasagne baking in the oven. It is a home alone night so I am eating vegerian and reading books! I am reading:

Some inspriation and literary inspiration is needed as we run up to our big event in conjunction with Cosmo Bride next week...some escapism indeed!

Mmm...the lasagne is out of the oven so off I go...

Ps My friend Angi is the bridesmaid in this Haribo advert...isn't it great? I think when you work in a wedding shop, the ad is even funnier...you can't control everything brides! x

Bloomin' Spring

2010-04-12T13:13:00.001+03:00

I hope you are sickly sweeted out by chocolate or that you have recovered this last week after the Easter splurge...we had a lovely Easter time, spent in London, enjoying the millions of daffs and other blooms that are simply gorgeous, dotting themselves all over the city in the oddest places. The past couple of weeks have happened in a bit of a blur and I missed the Easter egg or card giving bus. If I had sent out cards, ideas would definitely have come from Lynne's Victorian Treasures.

Easter is for me, the most special of all the Christian celebrations during the year. The idea of passover and new, resurrected life is so inspiring to me. Living in the Northern hemisphere means that Easter coincides with the beginning of Spring which also makes my heart very happy. It is a time to soak, meditate, bake, share communion, be with family, look to Christ and to appreciate LIFE! My cousin by marriage sent me this poem by Joy Cowley last week..I love it and you might too {thanks Sally!}:

You, Springtime Jesus,
Just as I’d settled down for winter,
You broke into my heart
And danced your love right across it,
In a mad excess of giving.
Just as I’d got comfortable
With base branches and unfeeling,
Just as my world was neatly black and white,
There you were,
Kicking up flowers,
All over the places.

Springtime Jesus,
I tried to find a way to tell you
That there were places where you could or could not dance.
I wanted to guide you on my paths
And have you sign the visitors’ book;
But you laughed right through my words
And sang to me your melting song
Causing sap to fire the branches,
Causing the flames of buds
To flicker into green bonfires,
Causing a windquake of blossom,
Causing growth-pain, causing life.

Springtime Jesus,
The fullness of life can be frightening,
And I’m lacking courage.
It isn’t easy to live with a heart
That’s wide open to invasion.
Teach me, Jesus,
How to move with you,
Step for step,
In your love dance.
Touch my fears with your melting song.
Gift me with your laughter,
And, in the mystery of your Springtime,
Show me the truth of the blossoming Cross.

xxx

Ps I love some of these posters, where I found this 'soak' one.

A blog that I am enjoying: Vintage Chica, which I found over Easter time when I was inspired by her simple and beautiful Easter table.

Some RSA inspiration candy:
Another blog I have been enjoying over Easter time is: IngeborgCyborg, that of Inge Prins, a Cape Town based photographer. On her blog, I found one of her projects that I have enjoyed reading about: PlayJumpEat...which I think should be an Easter time motto for everyone. Definitely have a look at these grogeous images...but if you are a South African and you do not live in Cape Town any longer...beware, home sickness is bound to ensue!

Some UK inspiration candy:
I love the ideas from Le Kuex events...vintage hen dos, weddings and pin up photo shoots! I am definitely attending their event in London in May for fan dancing, a vintage hair do and make-up and lots more! {Become a fan on facebook to know more!}

Also along the lines of weddings and fun vintage, I love Elle and Cee lingerie. We have her knickers in the shop, and I love love love them! I definitely want to stock up my drawer with more sweet pieces like these.

In search for some new playlists I came across The Flash Dance, a completely kickass cool blog about music, life, photography and more. I loved their February songs listed here. Go and see for yourself. xx

Otherwise...some of our pics from Easter:

We went to Cantebury Cathedral on Good Friday with friends, Paul and Tanya, and oh my, it is big and impressive and filled with peace. I lit candles for people close to me who have passed away and said prayers for my family. We drank ale in a little English village and ate easter eggs all the way there in the car.

On Easter Saturday we shopped {woop for our new Nikon D3000 camera, Uniqlo and Ikea...mmm} and watched the Oxford&Cambridge boat race from a garden on the Thames in Chiswick {thanks Paul and Tans!} with red wine and a bbq.

On Easter Sunday we went into Central to Trafalgar Square and attended the 10am mass at St-Martin-in-the-Fileds, a really cool Anglican church in the city. I think this is my favourite church building in London. We really enjoyed it...and loved some hot soup in the Crypt cafe afterwards. After a walk through St James Park with all of the glorious daffodils and yellowness, we thought a trip throught the Natural History Musuem would be fun {but so did everybody else and their aunty and their three children} so after fifteen minutes of squishing through the bird section, we escaped out of a side door and resorted to lattes and cake at Hummingbird Bakery and a romantic walk around Kensington.

Born again

2010-04-01T12:27:00.007+03:00

Kat, my friend fashion designer who works with me, teaches classes at The Make Lounge and she bought this book as inspiration for classes where students may bring old garments for alterations or to make something completely new. Well, it is SO cool! You can turn jersey sleeves into leg warmers, or sew to dresses together to get a whole new garment, or even turn a skirt into a jacket! If you can get your hands on this book I promise you will be tempted to get the sewing machine out and get inventive and creative.

Along the same inspiring lines, Kat told me about Goodone, a group of UK based designers who are recycling textiles to create new garments from old, and to keep textile waste from reaching the landfills. I am so in awe of this mission {watch the "about us" video!} and bizarrely, on the day when I heard about Goodone, someone gave me a top of theirs! So here is a challenge: go through your wardrobe and see what you can do! I know I am going to! {When I get my sewing machine later this month...I CAN'T WAIT...}

Kat also lent me her copy of The Sartorialist...so much fashion and style inspiration is happening in this head!

Happy sewing...xx

Kyle and Anneli's wedding

2010-03-31T00:23:00.004+03:00

All I have to say is...have a look at these beautiful wedding pics, taken by Will Punt of Peartree photography. Simply inspiring. I want to have my wedding pics again!

Luella's Boudoir Wedding Fair

2010-03-30T18:35:00.010+03:00

Back at work today! Lots has been happening...the others were at Absolutely Beautiful Weddings this weekend and I was SO cross to find out that all of the three postcards for the day {multiplied by 1000, 500 and 100 respectively} did not arrive in time. Hmph. So they all arrived today and although they look pretty...they are late. We can still use them all in the future, but it means that we missed out on handing lots out on Sunday! You can read more about the day at Love My Dress. One event down...one VERY glam one to go! Luella's Boudoir Wedding Fair. It is going to be so, so fabulous...21 April, £10, fashion shows, in conjunction with Cosmo Bride and lots more!

Oh Cape Town, I love you! x

2010-03-29T13:50:00.006+03:00

We have just had the most cool and crazy four days. We flew to Cape Town on Thursday, drove via Chapman's Peak for fish and chips in Hout Bay, bought fabric for our Edwardian chairs, ate Lazari cupcakes {THANK YOU Kyle, you legend! My sister-in-law's brother and I share a deep love for these cupcakes and he dropped some off for us...what a gem}, had a fun braai {oh yum...thank you Courtney and Alan for having us till LATE} with some special friends, I had my hair cut at Scar {ask for Janique, she's awesome, so is her tattoo!}, and then we drove to Tulbagh and enjoyed a weekend of friendship, roast lamb, English breakfasts, date squares and wedding fun. Things we loved {inspired by a coffee shop called "Things I love" in Tulbagh...which sells Norma's delicious date squares...TOO yummy}: the farm we stayed on with horses and rusks and wooden floors and a big, looong table in the kitchen; the sound of African men laughing a big hearty laugh; the Cape coloured accent; clapped out Golden Arrow buses; being stuck in 5pm traffic meant we got some gorgeous snaps of the African mama, the harbour and the mountain; the friendliness of our mother land and city; seeing FRIENDS {oh gosh, a million times over}; dirt roads; seeing family {also, a trillion times over!}; driving with the windows down; wide open spaces and just the vibey vibe and diversity of people coming and going. Perhaps most of all, the friendliness and warmth of South African people. But now, I am tired and must sleep so excuse me. xx

Oh happy days!

2010-03-29T13:28:00.009+03:00

The reason for our crazy one weekend trip from London to Cape Town was for our special friends' wedding: Kyle and Anneli...two very beautiful hearted people in our lives {reason enough to cross the ocean and the whole of Africa for four days!}.Their special day took place at Montpellier chapel, honestly THE most stunning chapel I have ever, ever seen. We were booked in to this beautiful room in the 1714 guesthouse, with a view of the pool and the mountains {thank you Kyle and Ans...we loved it}. Steven was Kyle's best man so it was a special time of preparing for and seeing these two love birds married finally after eight years of being together! The evening was truly elegant with lots of roses, blush satin and lace hanging glass drops under the vines, with beautiful views of vineyards and mountains. The colours were ivory, blush pink and navy blue, and the evening was a really fun and beautiful celebration, with cigars for the men and pale pink pashminas for the gals, a chocolate fountain, a three tier chocolate cake and lots of dancing! We especially loved making new friends, meeting the families and obviously, being with our dear friends. Congrats Kyle and Ans. Enjoy honeymoon! xx

And then, the next morning, after another big English breakfast, we whizzed through the {BEAUITFUL} wheat fields and golden, open spaces of Tulbagh, Malmesbury and Riebeek Kasteel, through Cape Town and out to Fishoek to celebrate Steve's special gran's 90th birthday with tea, cake, photos and family. Happy 90th Eve...you are a beautiful and strong woman!

I heart Brighton

2010-03-23T02:44:00.008+03:00

Too long and very late...life is so busy that the only time I get to blog it seems, is this quiet midnight hour two full weeks since my last post. I will not bore with reasons of busy-ness {in short: lots of work work, design work, long hours, evening commitments, London life, organising photo shoots and lots lots more...}, but bring you a simple snippet of a day out at the seaside. We decided to escape to Brighton for the day yesterday: I LOVE BRIGHTON! It is quirky and fun and arty and colourful {albeit faded in places} and has a looooong pier which I have named the "Long Walk of Candy"...toffee apples, candy floss, and a fair at the end with roller coasters and teacup rides! We ate oily fish and chips, listened to the sea drag the pebbles in the waves, walked the cobbled streets, stumbled on a vibey chocoloate festival {and discovered proper Monmouth coffee...mmm...which we drank slowly in the sun and dreamt about our farm one day}, and then licked soft-serve ice cream on the beach in the sun. By which time the locals had crept out of wherever they came from, and the beach was a hive of picnics, dogs, bottles of apple cider, funky looking people and ice-creams. Oh love love love. Sorry London, but Brighton might have won me over.

*ps We stumbled across All Saints Spitalfields...the windows were full of old sewing machines...I can't wait to bring mine back to London with me! x

Bedtime stories...

2010-03-10T00:18:00.015+03:00

I am babysitting tonight...and I was told the best bed time story: so you see...there was a princess {of course} and a...lion. And the big lion came to the princess's house. And the lion took the princess on his back to the shop. And they bought carrots and tomatoes and cucumber and powder and....yoghurt. And then the lion pulled the trolley home. And then the prince came on his horse and tied his horse up outside and fed him a carrot. {By now the twin sister has fallen asleep and the story is slowing down, so I help out}...and the prince came in and whipped up a yummy meal for the princess with all of the yummy things she had bought from the shop. And he gave her a foot massage. And fed the lion. And vacuumed. And made her a cup of tea. And they lived happily. Ever. After. I think that is one of my favourite stories ever {thank you little Hannah!}. Ps The lovely wallpaper made of stories comes from this blog. What a lovely guest room!

Working in a wedding shop means that I a} sometimes deal with Miss Obsessive-about-my-day or Miss I-Can't-Decide-on-Ivory-or-Porcelain or Miss I-just-want-this-to-be-over...but mostly I deal with lovely bettys who are excited for the big day, b} I am surrounded with beautiful things all day and c} that I get to read lots of wedding magazines. Lots. So I am reading through COSMO Bride while I babysit and I thought I would share three of my favourite finds in the Feb/March 2010 issue. The first is this Amarand dress by Delphine Manivet. This is honestly what I would choose if Steve and I got married twice...I absolutely love it. Maybe I will get one for my first baby so that I can also look glam while I rock my baby on the verandah...

If I were having a wedding again, I would also definitely have map heart or star confetti. This is my second favourite find from Not on the High Street, the best gift idea site! {Which helps with three weddings coming up quickly!}

The third fun and favourite find is RocknRoll Bride, a blog started by Kat Williams...who says as an intor on her blog:"Hello and welcome to my little blog. My name is Kat Williams aka the Rock n Roll Bride and my aim is to provide a little haven of kick ass weddingness in the overly poofy, pastel and often puke-worthy wedding world. If you’ve ever picked up a bridal magazine and felt queasy, or trawled the internet and felt disheartened by what you didn’t find, well my friend you are in the right place! ♥"...sometimes I feel like I am swimming in a sea of ivory and Kat's blog is a refreshing look at alternative weddings...which I sometimes crave! If you are getting married and looking for something different, have a browse through her blog. {These photos are from her blog...x}

Some things on my wishlist:

A speck case for my mac.
This Cath Kidston saddle bag.
A Kiss Tapestry Kit from the most amazing Cox and Cox.

Other fun things {especially for weddings...} from Cox and Cox:

Wedding table trivia, famous people masks, retro wedding badges {I love!}, and a heart punch {I am thinking of attacking an old world atlas with this to make the map hearts!}. Those of you who are married, what would you do differently if you got married again? Any wedding sites you would tell about? x

Ps I have been asked to be maid of honour at a close friend's wedding which is such an exciting honour...hence the renewed wedding inspiration vigour! And that I work in a wedding shop...should be excuse enough, I would say!

Introducing the talented Mr Walters

2010-03-09T12:07:00.002+03:00

That is, John A.V. Walters, Master of Fine Art Candidate, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. John is the husband of a very close friend of mine, and the first I saw of his incredible talent was our wedding present which John created...an incredible charcoal drawing of Steven and I. I am holding on to this precious gift because of sentiment, and because I know that one day it will be worth more because John will be famous. Honestly, famous. His talent really wows me and I admire his determination, hard work and passion. The drawings shown here will be on show and for sale in the iArt Gallery booth at the Joburg Art Fair which is happening at the end of March. If you are there, please go and have a look! Otherwise, pop in to iArt in Cape Town to find out more about him or be in touch with me and I will happily pass you on. As soon as his website is up and running and full of incredible art works, I will definitely post the link for you to go and have a look and an admire! These drawings are titled "Three Studies (After Caravaggio)", the medium is charcoal on paper and they each measure 80cm x 110cm. Aren't they just extraordinarily good? x

So delicious

2010-03-03T11:52:00.010+03:00

I have had a delicious two weeks in many ways...two friends were proposed to and accepted in two weekends {congrats Miss Angi and Miss Liska!}, I am eating lots of fruit and veggies on my 100 Days to Health program {carrot cake counts, right Mary-Anne?!}, and the SUN SHONE in London for the past two days! Also delicious was my weekend, when my Mr Love and I slept in, and then wandered off to Brixton to peruse the markets and enjoy a long and lovely meal at Rosie's Deli Cafe, which I have mentioned before. We had a sprawling feast of sausage sarms, steak pie and salad, lattes, almond croissants and sticky carrot, date and cashew cake {...yes...my health program was on pause for the day!}. We chatted, paged through recipe books and just thoroughly enjoyed some "relish" time.

After that we caught a bus which weaved through central London to Picadilly Circus where we met friends for tea at a very European and extravagant tea shoppe where I had Earl Grey out of silver. Mmm. This all before we headed off to the theatre to watch Moliere's The Misanthrope with Keira Knightley and Damian Lewis. Well, I thought it was absolutely brilliant! It was bizarre to see faces from screen on stage...a real treat!

After the theatre we perused Waterstones in central, and I fell in love with this Penguin postcard box set, so ended coming home with it...100 postcards with original Penguin book cover prints. I thought of arranging them and placing them spaced apart, in big frames above the fire place to inspire me to read more classics and to remind me of the ones I love. I will take a photo when the project is complete!

Also in Waterstones, and after a visit to Rosie's...I found these books I would love to own in the near future. Hmmm. And now I am becoming impatient in wanting my own little shop with all lovely things to eat and see and do. The best thing for impatience is gratitude, and the theme for this week of "100 Days to Health" is BE GRATEFUL, so I am in the process of writing a list of every single thing I am gratfeul for...and gosh, I will need a few journals! {A few from this week were chatting to dear Miss Courtney on skype, walking in to work to have a cushion made by Miss Kat waiting for me, carrot cake in the village with my Miss Boss, a phone message from my Mrs Mum, sitting in the sun in the park watching the ducks for two hours, an email from Mr Brother...life really is sweet, even in the busy city madness.}

Oh, I also went to see Valentine's Day on Monday...if you want a heartwarming feel good film about lurve then this is a star-studded, syrupy sweet one. I give in! The single friend who I watched it alongside prefers to call it "Single's Awareness day"...hilarious Miss Logan!

Next time I will show you a pic of my sweet new cushion and introduce my new favourite inspiring book.

Happy Wednesday friends. x

Wedding love

2010-02-26T00:33:00.009+03:00

{photo credited to Jill Thomas and Snippet and Ink}

Well, I have been soooooo-over-the-moon this week because one my best friends got engaged on Saturday...congratulations Liska and Gerald! I am bubbling over with happiness for these two because they are two gems who have decided to dedicate themselves to one another in the beautiful thing called marriage. Woop! So I decided to give some of my favourite sites about wedding style and inspiration here for you Lisk...enjoy!

Already featured, my absolute favourite Snippet and Ink...{dare to go to the blogs they list as more inspiration...you could slip away for hours in beauty!}.

Also been seen on this blog, but awesome so it is understandable, Rock My Wedding.

Lots of beautiful ideas and images and all things wedding at Style Me Pretty.

Another one I like is written by Annabel, who often features designers who we work with at Luella's, at Love My Dress.

Charley, who works alongside us at Luella's, has a fun and pretty wedding style blog called London Bride...how adorable are these?

For photography, have a look at Julia Boggio.

And just because it is all about love, and I never once mentioned Valentine's two weeks ago, enjoy this love letter from The Anthropologist!

Working in a wedding shop means that I am inundated with beautiful wedding ideas, fabrics, planning and so on...so much so that if I got engaged tomorrow, I would be able to plan a wedding in two weeks {hmmmm...or so!} but seeing people flustered or pinickity about their big day, makes me so upset. Once you have enjoyed the buzz of wearing a ring on your finger and having everyone congratulate you...sit down with a bottle of wine, a note book and your address book, and start making lists of everything you would like and have ever wanted, draw up a budget and then browse lots of blogs and magazines for ideas, and then have fun making the day your own!

Lisk and Gerald, have fun! xx

Feeling lonely

2010-02-24T12:19:00.004+03:00

Hmph.

Eat Pray Love

2010-02-24T01:11:00.004+03:00

The past week I finished Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I had enjoyed her interview on Ted Baker but was very slow on the uptake to read the book that was being held up on many a beach two years ago by a bronzing lady, nodding her head in agreement with the words of the author. By far, Italy or "Eat" was my favourite part...and now I must travel Italy, especially Rome. I learnt a lot...about gelato to cafones to cream puffs. My two favourite Italian sayings explained in the book are bel far niente, which means "the beauty of doing nothing"...."a cherished Italian ideal. The beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work, the final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated." I mean...can you IMAGINE?! The second is l'arte d'arrangiarsi, "the art of making something out of nothing. The art of turning a few simple ingredients into a feast, or a few gathered friends into a festival. Anyone with a talent for happiness can do this, not only the rich."

I want to write these massively with wax crayon on my living room walls...two beautiful ideals {I am not encouraging idleness, but just that peace, rest and space that come with doing nothing for a while...something I am not sure how to do really. Are you?}. I would love to know thoughts about the book. I personally dragged through India and the mantras and the Ashram, but loved Italy and Indonesia. I also found the author self-indulgent yet hilarious. You?

This week we have bumped into or made plans to meet up with people who we went to school with...and I was thinking how lovely it is that two of my closest friends are ones whom I made at high school {plus my gorgeous "high school musical" husband, of course}. I am concerned about the state of school going age peeps here in London. We have a high school for girls up the road from us and they strut and scream in their purple uniforms...swearing and eating fries and looking like liquorice all sorts by the time you have taken in hair baubles, tights, handbags and all the accessories that go with the uniform. Now, don't get me wrong...I am all for young energy and diversity and colour...but yesterday I thought a young girl was being murdered on the street outside of my house, only to discover that it was a fifteen{ish} year girl literally screaming at her friends down the road. Not angry, not panic, just...screaming to say "look at me"...well, it worked. There I stood, peering out of the window with a quizzical look on my face, thinking "what is that, exactly?" In England, these girls go to a government school, and the "private" schools are called "public" which is the opposite to South Africa. I went to public schools and emerged well-rounded, happy and educated. So yes, public school is cool {in South Africa, and if my children were to grow up in England, then I have to say that I would think public school were indeed more cool based on my experience of the government ones! Bler}.

You may have noticed a blog I like to read at the moment, called Ek Wens". Well, I like to read it because it makes me feel encouraged and not alone because Gina and I are doing the same challenge {she has had a glorious head start...go Gins!}. I think I told you that I started the 100 Days to Health program initiated byMary-Ann Shearer. Well I started last week Tuesday and turned up a notch yesterday. I am now on Day 8 and am feeling remarkable changes in my body by food combining, drinking more water, eating more fruit and veggies, taking Omega oils and a herbal fibre blend. I have ploughed through her book, Perfect Health: The Natural Way and now that I am reminded of how my body works, am finding it so much easier to want to put the more vitamin-filled food in my mouth! But let me tell you, it is DIFFICULT to be healthy. You almost have to be rebellious and stand up for yourself {a bit like your faith, really}...I have been met with raised eyebrows and have had all sorts of comments about it. Well, watch me go people. When I am glowing and have a healthy tummy and skin and hair and nails and a low risk of cancer...then we will see whose eyebrow will be raised. Watch me.

So in a way my week has been an Eat Pray Love week. I am getting my eating right. I bought a gorgeous new leather bound study bible and am praying more. And well, the love that is my husband, God's love, love for my friends and family, love for hummus, love love love. We really need 52 words for it as there are for the word "snow" in igloo-land.

Oh, and I learnt three interesting things tonight: the Queen's surname is Windsor, in Paris people park with their handbrakes down so that you can "bumper car" your way into a parallel parking, and that whatever happens in the circle in front of the Arc de Triomph is exempt from insurance {no flaming wonder!}...there you go, random information ala blog extrodinaire.

Scones and so on

2010-02-19T11:15:00.003+03:00

I haven't posted in ages due to eating scones and clotted cream and working at London pace...whew. {Oh, and I must admit, watching the Winter Olympics way too late in to the night!}. News is that I have a new found love for the English countryside...otherwise known as the Cotswolds. Think Jane Austen and all things green and stone and strawberry jam and fireplace and ducks and space. Bliss. We stayed at this quaint farm and had such a relaxing time in the fresh air. I baked the carrot cake from Smitten Kitchen that I threatened about. Actually the Thursday night before we left, we had a mini cookathon...and produced a delicious dinner, carrot cake and thebest quiche to take with us.

Three work highlights of my week were:
1 Meeting Charlotte Casadejus and her studio manager, Emma. Look at her website and turn green. Oh my goodness...French lace, beautiful dress designs in the most gorgeous fabrics, vintage French linen and monograms turned into cushions and bolsters...just absolutely too much beauty. I want the dress called Helen. Oh love.
2. Meeting Lisa Redman, whose eye for textiles and embroidered patterns is just too incredible. Have a look at some of her designs on her website. Also, love love LOVE.
3. A meeting at One Marylebone, a breathtakingly beautiful deconsecrated church that is now a venue in North London. Not one photo does it full justice...it is spectacular. We are hosting an event with Cosmo Bride London there in April...VERY exciting!

Otherwise my week has involved missing the bus in the pouring rain after running my hardest to get there, grumpy Londoners on the tube, laughing a lot at the thoughts of The Turquoise Handbag, thinking about stopping blogging in April after two years, then taking up piano lessons or art readings or painting instead, following The Natural Way 100 Days to Health program. Day 4 today baby, woop, nutty brides, lots of Early Grey tea to cope with nutty brides.

Shades of grey

2010-02-10T01:24:00.011+03:00

The past two weeks I feel like I have been in one of those snow globe ornaments...with the little scene being our little Victorian studio...and me inside tapping away at website design {you can have a look at my first website ever:AidFAN}, drinking tea, plodding up to work and then when God decided to give it all a shake the snow drifted and swirled around and down outside my window. In between this, my love and I had a beautiful walk through Wimbledon Common and on Sunday, a day out at Windsor Castle {a grey day with a train ride, a WONDERFUL trip through Windsor Castle, a pie and ale in the Horse and Groom pub, a walk through the town and around Eaton School, feeding the swans, and to the traditional sweet shop to buy vanilla fudge, heart throbs and chocolate beans for the train ride home}. It was a beautiful day out of London. It was so grey and cold outside...and then inside the castle it was a lavish array of extravagance and art and colour and chandeliers and all things grand! I especially loved Queen Mary's Doll House. Or watch this video to get an idea...

So what do Kurt Nilsen and Shrek have in common you might ask? Some of the most moving music I have heard in a long time. Steve's beautiful sister sung this song at the wedding in January...the Shrek song, "Hallelujah" {written by Leonard Cohen...I am still trying to figure out the meaning of the lyrics}. I particularly LOVE this version sung by four incredible voices including Kurt Nilson here...you absolutely have to watch it! I can't embed it so please treat yourself and go there. Which is your favourite voice? I think mine is the third.

I think my all time favourite blog might just be Smitten Kitchen. I have been there too many times this week, and since we have been getting Abel and Cole organic deliveries, I have been getting inventive in the kitchen! Last night saw the introduction of bubble and squeak into our menu {mmm...a perfect winter meal}, a potato and leek soup which is D-elicious even if I say so myself, and lots and lots of carrots mean that I will be making yummy carrot cakes from Smitten Kitchen to take with us to the Cotswolds this weekend. Thank you Smitten Kitchen {I love the photography there too...it makes me want to cook, cook, cook!}...

As does this lovely movie. I watched it on the airplane to South Africa and I have to watch it again soon. I want to own my own copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking so should get onto finding a copy. Butter, enthusiasm, beautiful dresses and French love ooze from this delightful film. I think I must own the a copy of it too.

Time for bed. Night night and wishing you a happy week further...

Shopping!

2010-01-30T00:16:00.003+03:00

Since we arrived back from sunny Cape Town, it has been work, work, work on all fronts {at Luella's and web design and and!}, so after work today I thought I needed a browse through Wimbledon Village shops...well, I am too excited! I don't have photos of everything yet to show you...but I went into a charity shop and found three beautiful new wool high waisted skirts for £1.00 each in BEAUTIFUL condition...then I went into Trader's antiques, a quaint little shop with GENUINE antiques {not just "vintage" slapped on something not of the age} and outside were two Edwardian bed chairs {I cannot even find one photo anywhere on this world wide web to show you!} with a little handwritten sign saying "Bargain: 2 Edwardian Bed Chairs. Put your offer in inside"...so I meandered in thinking that someone would have snatched them up and that they would be way OVER my budget. Well, when I asked who had won them over, the sweet lady said that no-one had put an offer in...oh goodness. How much would be a good offer I asked? Well, the owner said they are taking up too much space in the shop so she would accept £20.00 for the PAIR by the end of the day! There were fifteen minutes to go so I slapped my monies down...and we get to collect them tomorrow! They are fascinating. They are beautiful mahogany and they each fold out into a strecther-like bed. Now all we need to do is source and cut foam, cover it in some lovely fabric and shebam...beautiful chairs to keep our fireplace company! Photos will follow when I have them and the time to post them...{oh, and I bought a wee printer's tray too!}

Then onto Cath Kidston with too much loveliness, possible fabric to cover the chairs....ooh, and the most beautiful twilight blue tights. Then onto the linen shop to buy the most GORGEOUS duck egg cotton set...with pleats and a lace piece...very, very beautiful! It is already on our fold out bed looking very welcoming...

To make today even more wonderful {on top of the shopping spree!}, I met the lovely Lisa Redman, a fashion designer based in London, she is SO talented...do have a look at her gallery. Also, a bottle of red wine and take-out Indian for two. Mmm.

Design time

2010-01-29T11:59:00.008+03:00

I have been busy busy designing and WISH I had a big, light and airy studio to indulge in! As I currently live in a small studio apartment in London with my love, this is a bit of a no-go. However, I am learning about making something out of nothing, and will be setting up a little corner of my own with a moodboard, big retro desk light and a funky chair. This is not to happen until I have finished a website design deadline that I have for this week. After that is done and dusted, I am indulging in creating my design space, collecting ideas and pictures for my wall...and having some fun!

Blogging is done for so many reasons and goodness knows, I only know of about six people who actually read mine {including my brothers who are neither into pretty, pink or retro things, bless them}, I keep mine more as a visual diary and place to keep beautiful and clever ideas, than any glaringly noble act {although I have ideas for the future!}. I am excited to see friends begin their own blog journeys...have a peek at these recently begun blogs:

Dreaming in Style for beautiful decor and design inspiration, a love of white in all shades and forms, beautiful country weekend ideas and simply beautiful eye candy.

Just Jules for a personal and charming read with heartwarming anecdotes and amusing, self-conscious spelling vulnerability!

A day in...

2010-01-26T01:16:00.008+03:00

I have not left the house today...it's freezing and Iain and I had a date. Yep, Iain Tench is teaching me {or I am teaching myself as the series "Teach Yourself"* suggests} Dreamweaver. You might have seen recently that my status on facebook declared that I love Gina, and in between Iain and Gina please make no mistake that there is any unfaithfulness beyond my marriage going on! These two are my website design gurus {and Gina: web-design-deadline-saviour!}. Gina took over the design from me for theAbsolutely Beautiful Weddings site which I needed like yesterday and I love her for it. I did the inside designs but the made it live, jujjed it up and made that beautiful wallpaper background.

Today however, I worked my way through four and a half chapters of Teach Yourself Dreamweaver...and darn, it feels good! It feels good to sit with a text book, make my own notes {armed with pink fine liner!}, do the tutorials and use my...BRAIN! I feel like I am back at school or uni...but even better, I am not paying fees, there are no lecturers who look down their noses and over their rimmed glasses, there are no exams, I got to do my linen washing and drink tea and eat mince pies while using the ol' grey matter. All from my living room. Yeah. I might not have mentioned that my three goals for the year are: travel as much as humanly possible on the pennies | learn how to design websites | learn how to read music and play the piano. I am designing a website for a charity, so as I go, everything I am learning is meaningful and I really am loving it! Whew, I sound a bit too electric for a Monday...

*This by the way is an AWESOME series of books that you can use to teach yourself anything from Beginner's German to Beekeeping...I am going to try one every year from now I have decided.

Also from my living room today I booked tickets for La Roux's concert at the 02 in Brixton on 7 May...woop! She is from England, and her music is kind of Techno-Pop…she's the "doing it for the kill...doing it for the thrill" betty with the swooped hair. I think she's super cool.

Other than html thrills and la roux trills...we are hoping for a trip to Norway at the end of May! Any ideas for this land of salmon, knits, blonde belles, fiddles, red houses and "o"s with diagonal lines through them? Ideas welcome.

Lovely{ness}

2010-01-21T11:26:00.005+03:00

Yesterday, Amy Hudson from Gossip PR came to visit us in Luella's Boudoir, and I couldn't help myself from falling in love with her necklace! Again, go carefully...I didn't, and I have a list of about twenty things I desire to own, wear and love...into the world of Eclectic Eccentricity, "jewellery with inspired kookiness". I have to, have to, have to {hint hint my love!} have the "Who Bides Her Time" necklace {the one Amy was wearing} and I would love to have it soon! {Which reminds me that I must show you the Passionate About Vintage necklace that Steve bought me for Christma...swallows and fresh water pearls...mmm}. Soon.

Retro{ness}

2010-01-21T11:16:00.006+03:00

If you are easily tempted by, or likely to fall in love with, retro, vintage or antique furniture...the go carefully into the world of The Old Cinema! Our studio is feeling a wee bit bare with only one double-seater, so we are looking for two armchair friends for him. Also, I found a retro table and chairs on gumtree for £20.00...hold thumbs that it is mine, I am still awaiting a reply...

Some finds...

2010-01-20T12:36:00.005+03:00

The Vintage Magpie

Just before Christmas, I found these cheat sheets from Made In England. I want to use them all year around for birthday presents, so friends might be finding one in the post to fill in for me! I am loving following Cookie's blog...particularly as I am...in England! And freezing my friggin' nilly off {and no Tiff, a nilly is not what you think it is.}

Possibly my favourite find recently {those getting married, pay special attention!}: The English Department. "The English Dept. is an intimate boutique located in downtown Portland’s West End. The shop focuses on special dresses, unique jewelry and accessories, and an exquisite bridal collection. Owner and designer Elizabeth Dye offers her own exclusive designs, as well as handpicked creations from independent designers." I am following Elizabeth's blog to see what goes on in her world. How is it that most shops and blogs I find have there roots in Portland? Hmmm...a visit there is definitely going to be needed.

Holiday stories

2010-01-19T12:07:00.012+03:00

It is bliss to be a bloggin' once again! It has been a busy month and while on holiday and abroad, I chose to lie in the sun and expose myself to as little technology as possible...but when Courtney asked me to blog soon, and seen as we have internet in our little studio since last night, I thought a big catch up was time...

I loved our three weeks in South Africa {too much I fear!}. The first week we spent in the Karoo {for those who don't know South Africa...the Karoo is a semi-desert region pretty much in the middle of the country, it is a Khoisan word thought to mean "dry"...it is a place that you learn to love, and I will have to do a post dedicated to the Karoo I believe, as I have fallen in love with it once again!} on my brother's farm. I loved this time of farm, family {this is a photo of my lovely mum and I}, fans, gin and tonics on the verandah, droewors {translated as dry farmer's sausage}, swimming in the reservoir on lilos, simply beautiful and astonishing sunsets, tortoises, an aloe Christmas tree, lying on the grass in the shade and listening to the windmills turn. The most special part of the Karoo for me, is the space...vast horizons and simplicity, uncluttered distances and plains of "bossies" {small thorn bushes} for kilometers around oneself. This family time was like a tonic for the soul, and so was the dry heat, the cool cement floors, and the bluest skies. I think I might want to live on a farm there one day, and spend my days baking rusks and different kinds of jams, writing, gardening, and riding horses.

Week two we spent in George and it's nearby cousin, a small coastal village called Sedgefield...a slow paced drop of beauty with a lagoon winding into the ocean. Here we spend days at the beach, walking along stretches of white sand and cliffs overhead, we waterski, swim, eat ice-creams, play guitar, and really just soak in the sun all day and then braai on the deck in the evenings. I love the Wild Oats Community Farmer's Market which is on every Saturday morning, and which boasts all kinds of breads, cheeses, meats, jams. home-made pastries and rusks and biscuits, fresh fruit and all sorts of breakfasts or lunches, like good ol' egg and bacon, vetkoek {translated as "fat cake" and I am beginning to think that South African translations don't make for appealing descriptions!}, freshly brewed coffees and lots more. My absolute favourite is the cheesecake...mmmm...I feel decadent after devouring a slice on my own first thing on a Saturday! We spent New Year on Swartvlei beach on an isolated stretch of sand, I swam in the lagoon with my mum, we fished and we lay in the sun...and that is a perfect second week of holiday in my humble opinion.

The main event {amidst seeing friends, being on the beautiful beaches, eating ice-cream in Kalk Bay, eating ice-cream in Camps Bay, eating Lazari cupcakes, oh too much eating, and seeing friends and so on and so on} of our time in Cape Town was Gareth and Amy's wedding. How one little brother-in-law can nudge his way into a girl's heart, I don't know. But Gareth is as dear to me as my own brother, so to be part of this wedding and see him marry beautiful Amy, was such a special night for me. Have a peek at some first photos here. Isn't it super cool that Germinate, the photography people {particularly Stephan Marais who took the beautiful photos}, put these up four days after the wedding for everyone to have a sneak preview? I wonder if the new Mr and Mrs Ahrens had a chance from lounging on the beach somewhere in Mozambique {oh so awesome honeymoon destination...made more special that in a year these two went from first kiss to honeymoon in this beautiful country!}.

Back to Cape Town though...I miss and I love this incredible, buzzing, vibrant, colourful city {yes, although some days it does look like "a faded seventies postcard" as my friend Courtney says} and know that my roots and my heart are pinned there. I wish it hadn't had to have been so busy, and although I saw many close friends, ate at my favourite Cafe Royale, shopped in Long Street, had TWO haircuts at my favourite Mooi, had two coffees at my favourite Vida in Kloof Street, sat on Gina's balcony eating fig preserve in Kalk Bay...and many more sweet moments...I have decided that while these travels around the world will unfold this year {hopefully...}, home is still the mother city down there in the Southern hemisphere. {This vinyl collection is by Cape Town artist, Alex Hamilton, called Afrotize. The photo is one of my favourite from my album, taken on Clifton in the sunset rosey sun.}

From the sunny south, we landed in London to a thick quilt of quiet, white snow...and decided the only way to start our year of 2010 in London was: hot, steamy sausage rolls for breakfast and a snowball fight while yanking our suitcases through the snow. It has been a busy, cold, teary start to the year...being away from family again, being bitterly cold and being inundated with work...HOWEVER, after tears and "snot en trane" {again, translations best left aside}, I have made a pact with myself to see all the beauty of this wintery city, and to live fully in beauty and in finding inspiration, to find the best in everything, to hear the birds over the traffic, to see the moss growing on ancient walls, to see the chimneys as geometric shapes against the grey skies, and to see how many different shades of grey can be displayed. And yes, sometimes this glowing enthusiasm will fail, homesickness will kick in...and I will just have to indulge in a pastry.

Blooming heck

2009-12-10T20:08:00.015+03:00

It is almost Christmas and I have not blogged a stitch...blooming heck indeed. The United Kingdom is swallowing me!
So sad I say. Life has been so hectic that I even feel guilty to blog when I have a full fat inbox of twenty two personal emails to reply lovingly to {has this to do with my boo hoo wail story about no-one being in touch...well, that bit me in the bottom, in a happy way!}.

I am so excited to have been in touch with the lovely Marietjie Beeslaar from Skermunkil, who I will be meeting with in Cape Town in the new year to have a look at her possibly remaking my wedding ring! Yes, I did mention this LAST year and another year has gone by. Tut tut. This time we are doing it; I am sooooo excited! These heart necklaces are in the exquisite Beatnik Bazaar in Kalk Bay {what happened to their blog today? I couldn't open it}. Read Eendag op 'n Reendag and see her beautiful bird's eye picnic pic!

Tonight in Luella's we are drinking bubbly and eating mince pies {oooh, warning all of you who dare to come to the beach with me...I have fifties thighs, there you are warned} and having a designer evening with our dress designer, Shane Ryding and Bene from The Real Princess Company.

Londoners are going cake crazy for The OUtsider Tart cupcakes. They even have yummy treats for your pooch! Too much!

Speaking of pooches, this is pooch bed love at Wowbow with this Mija dog bed!

I am on to my Christmas list. This is one of my items...ah love. This oil cloth saddle bag at Cath Kidston. Did I tell you the story about our bathroom window? Well...we moved into our little studio and were loving our big Victorian window, and flaunted our nakedness {as you do in the bathroom} feeling secure in the frostedness of the window...until one night, I was wondering home down the street, and looked up to admire our beautiful building, when "EEK"...I could SEE the DOTS on our shower curtain! How bloody much more have passers-by seeing?! So we have been showering in the dark, wondering how we are going to make a retro blind, but out of what fabric? Until my a-ha moment of oilcloth...so now we are onto making the decision of the print. Paisley or spray flowers? Do tell...

I have married Dermalogica this week, but for every other body part, my second on the wishlist is Benefit. Oooh lala. I know you can get it in Woolies in South Africa, but the UK has gorgeous shops which ooze pinkness and vintage love.

The good thing about all of my busy-ness is that I have done ALL of our Christmas shopping! Hmm...all but for my darling brothers. Any ideas? They are in their mid-thirties and are into cars and cows and houses {and lots more, but I just haven't seen anything cool yet that seems good and meaningful for them. Please don't suggest alcohol, socks or nuts. Those are predeterminedly outvoted}. So no 23rd of December shopping malls for me...woop! What is on your Christmas list? Xx

Mooi...

2009-11-27T14:42:00.005+03:00

I never spoke about the hair cut I had a few weeks ago. Hmm. The experience wasn't bad, I had a cup of earl grey tea and an incredible head massage, and came out feeling juj and quite happy. Short lived. Within two weeks I was buying clips and trying to tie it back and up and to the side and feeling a strong longing to pop into Mooi, my lovely hair salon in Cape Town. Well, there is less than a month to go till we are back in Cape Town for a visit and I am afraid to say that I have attempted to make a booking for a hair cut with lovely Andret before I have made any accommodation plans even! If you are in Cape Town and haven't been yet, I strongly urge you to make a booking and treat yourself. Xx

Other things I am looking forward to:
Soaking in the sun in my new bikini
Driving along De Waal Drive with hot air flowing in and listening to the radio
Seeing the cloud roll over Table Mountain
Walking along the Sea Point boulevard and eating soft serve and watching the waves and children swim in the pools
Catching up with friends over sushi and good coffee
Shopping at Mungo and Jemima {sorry my love, it has to be done}
Fish and chips and Gina and Geoff in Kalk Bay {not in order of importance!}
Hmmm...I had better stop there...otherwise I will be packing more than 3 weeks' clothes...

Happiness Xx

2009-11-26T15:13:00.007+03:00

So the jacket and boots were to keep me snug and warm because we went ice-skating in Hyde Park! It was so lovely, our first winter anniversary so we warmed up with bratwurst, gluwhein {yummmm}, ice-skating and then munched a whole bag of pick and mix sweets {which came in a paper bag with big red hearts} as we walked through all the raked up leaves and then down Oxford Street to see all of the Christmas lights. The Brits and Germans do Christmas in style, gosh! It was so right for us...thank you my love. Xx

Thought those of you who are getting married might like Rock My Wedding, a fairly new wedding blog who we are in touch with on Twitter here at Luella's {yay!}

Oh my goodness, look at the chair I found...move over kitten...there is one for me too! Suitcase cat beds and chairs, who would have known? I found this at my new favourite blog, Home Sweet Home, while I was looking for a housewarming invite picture. Ah, home love, but not as much as...

J. Morgan Puett...when I get over minimalism and start to love clutter, this will be my dream home style...organic and full and far away from the city.

Happy Thanksgiving* to my American friends and family! Cari love, I will be thinking of your Thanksgiving dinner tonight and Em, I hope you have a turkey ready! Listen to Obama's Thanksgiving address here if you would like to.

* {Wikipedia says...} Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival celebrated primarily in Canada and the United States. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. While perhaps religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.

3 years, woop!

2009-11-25T16:46:00.006+03:00

My love, happy anniversary! I heart you and am still waiting on the eskimos for 23 different ways to say that. Love Me Xxx

This was us three years ago on the 25th...getting hitched and hooked up! My best decision ever...I love being married to this gorgeous and gentle man. Who knows why, but here is something making me feel so puffed up and proud to say "threeee years" as opposed to one, two or even four. A whole triennial. Strange but true. Like when it comes to a few months before your next birthday, do you like to adopt that age rather than the actual one? I know I was 25 for months before my birthday! Anyway, he has something up his sleeve for tonight...I have been told to wear my boots and a warm scarf {hmmm...}. The traditional gift for three years is leather {I know, woah} or the modern one is crystal. Maybe I will buy him a cool leather belt. Some fun ideas I found to celebrate:

Go out for three romantic meals in one day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Take an extended weekend getaway: 3 days to celebrate the last three years.
All good things happen in three's: Do three things together that you've been putting off.
Spend the first three hours of your anniversary day together in bed just enjoying each other's company.
Do everything in sets of three: 3 kisses, 3 chocolate croissants, 3 rounds of 'woo-hoo'.

Shmoosy and very cheesy, I know, but so what? Oh gosh...I am becoming gorgonzola. Forgive me please.

About time

2009-11-24T20:10:00.011+03:00

Well. It is about time I indulged in a good ol' blog. I have been busy with work, baking flapjacks, design work, reading {no internet or telly at home as I said...yup...this is the new baking, reading, blog-a-week me!}...along with some thoughts and inspirations from the last week.

Some linen love at The Paris Apartment.

My friend at Luella's, Kat, has a really lovely friend called Cara who is a photographer. Oh my gosh. Have a look at her portfolio! Her style is exact love for me. She has agreed to do a shoot of Steven and I in the new year...a re-wedding shoot three years on {yes, it is our anniversary tomorrow! Woop!}. Have a look at her website.

Most girls my age are becoming broody. I on the other hand am having cat love. First I couldn't adopt these two GORGEOUS kitties because they are in Cape Town and I am in London. And then I came across this vintage cat bed which Tiff found on Craftzine. Utterly besotted is what I am.

Lots of fun this week was meeting Chantelle Znideric, one of London's very cool stylists. She has an awesome service and website at istylista where you can choose your body shape and get some hot tips. She is a lovely person and I follow her blog now for any trends and so on.

And now for one of my favourite discoveries: Sketch, an historic graphic artists' club located in the heart of Chelsea. Kat worked there on Saturday night... I however have played on the website {check the light switches etc!} for far too long {yes, sinister but super retro and cool too} and hope to dine there soon! Or maybe it is more fun peeking in from the site...it looks like it lies more on the pretentious side of life. {Oh my gosh, did you have any idea about this Madonnalicious site?}

Otherwise, I escaped to the library on Friday evening and have been enjoying these two books that I emerged with. The River Cottage Family Cookbook is inspiring me to make my own bread {and butter, oh yes!}...and that is where I got my flapjack recipe {they semi-flopped...I am blaming it on the new gas oven and my switching the syrup for honey. Oops}. The second, The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl is the story {in blog post format} of a betty called Shauna Reid who lost LOADS of weight and writes honestly and heart-warmingly about her battle. I am loving it and laughing out loud at her struggles that every girl battles through to some extent. I will be following her blog closely after I have finished the book. Our world needs more superheros like her...able to be dead honest, laugh at themselves, and eat salad while thinking about triple chocolate cake. I love that as you flick the pages of the book, she has a little animation that shows bulging DietGirl lose weight! Awesome.

PS Thank you to the friends who emailed me after my misery last week. It really means a lot when you comment and email...or otherwise start blogs so I can actually see what is happening up there with you too! Xx

Happy Weekend

2009-11-14T20:55:00.001+03:00

Wedding fever

2009-11-13T20:12:00.006+03:00

I have been swallowed this week. Perhaps like James in the Giant Peach or Jonah in the whale...and it is called being in the shop {phone, emails, jewellery orders, lace, lingerie, post, oestrogen, more dresses galore, girliness, and more lovely stuff...but busy}-grocery shopping for our new apartment-walking up and down the hill-and just so much more which I can't even describe. All the while I felt so bad for not emailing the people who have emailed me, but at the same time, have come to know that I keep in touch with people more than they do with me. Wild thoughts like deleting my facebook page and blog have crossed my mind. We don't have internet at home which has already been a shock to the system...no telly and no internet, a kettle on the gas stove and just a happy quietness. One really lovely thing that I have done this week is read. I am reading and loving The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society...definitely get yourself a copy, it's so delightful.

Some fun weddingy weddingness...
Our lovely wedding planner's blog.
The coolest wedding cakes EVER at Fancy Nancy.

And some blog love...
Find lots of inspiration at The Ritzy Bee. Oooh la la la la love.

Otherwise, I am just needing some love for the dark afternoons and rainy mornings in London.

Gingerbread Latte

2009-11-05T13:55:00.007+03:00

One thing I am determined about: staying cheerful through a London winter {it is starting to get more than chilly this part of the world}. On my daily walk down Wimbledon High Street to work last week, I saw a sign promising that Starbucks red cups were coming....now, I had heard about these red cups and it obviously tweaked my curosity. Yesterday, I was happy to see that they have arrived, woop! A selection of special Christmas coffees for the season. When I looked online to see what different choices I would have to indulge in, I stumbled across a recipe for the gingerbread latte....mmm! I am not sure if this is the actual Starbucks recipe, if it is, then someone didn't keep mum {lucky for us}.

"As the holidays come around so too does this incredible latte from Starbucks. Into the coffee house's basic latte recipe go a few pumps of special gingerbread-flavored syrup, and we soon experience the combined sensation of munching on a gingerbread cookie while sipping hot, milky java. It's very tasty stuff! To recreate the experience at home for the holidays at mere fraction of the cost of the real thing, all we have to do is make our own gingerbread syrup with a few common ingredients. When the syrup is done, simply brew some espresso in your espresso machine, steam some hot milk, and throw it all in cup. Top off your latte with whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg as they do at the store, and you'll fool anyone with this hot little clone. By the way, this recipe is for a single grande-size latte but you'll have enough syrup for as many as seven drinks:"

Gingerbread Syrup
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup fresh espresso
8 ounces milk, steamed (with a little foam)

Garnish
whipped cream
ground nutmeg
Recipe

1. Make the gingerbread syrup by combining water, sugar, ginger, cinnamon and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Be sure the pan is not too small or the mixture could easily bubble over.
2. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat and simmer syrup, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove the syrup from the heat when it's done and slap a lid on it.
3. Make a double shot of espresso (1/2 cup), using an espresso machine. Use the machine to steam 8 ounces of milk, or heat up the milk in themicrowave if your machine does not foam and steam milk.
4. Make your latte by first adding 1/2 cup espresso to a 16-ounce cup. Add 1/4 cup gingerbread syrup, followed by the steamed milk. Stir.
5. Top off the drink with a dollop of whipped cream, and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Doing it for the men

2009-11-04T11:23:00.008+03:00

The poor blighters, I have never really paid them much attention here. Today I am having an "appreciate the men in my life" day...
There is a Welsh grandfather I never met {he died in my mum's arms when she was 13}...
A Rhodesian grandfather who fought in wars, one of which was in Burma, and was a colonel, a handsome and generous man who did star jumps and push ups till the age of 97 and whose middle name was Reginald...
A father who I had an irregular and sometimes hard, in latter years good friendship with, who taught me when I was small that grey clouds bring rain and who used to sit me on his lap and pat my back..
Two unique and handsome brothers who treasure and look after me like it's nobody's business, each with their own quirks and characters which I completely LOVE...
Two brothers-in-law who mess me around like their own sister and subject me to kite-surfing talk {yawn}...
A father-in-law who has a library of the most painful puns in his head, which make us all laugh out loudly, a man who loves fixing and varnishing and fishing...
A step-brother who is rude about my shoes and who suddenly turned 18, who I still count as "little" but who is in fact much taller...
A step-father who taught me what to find in a gentleman, the epitome of the word in every way, with blue eyes that twinkled when he said something naughty...
And last but most specially, a husband who snuggled up to me this morning and said "I love you, I love you, I love you" about fifty times while he squeezed me each time he said it.

Radio gaga

2009-11-03T11:44:00.002+03:00

I am compiling a playlist for the shop and would LOVE some ideas...{Gina and Courts, you two will have some good ones?}. I have some ideas:
Belle and Sebastien
Colourama, a welsh band
Imogen Heap
Coco Rosie
...but need some more. It needs to be chilled, jazzy and not the predictable girly shmooze that is around. If you can think of any good artists for me, I will send you lots of love and thanks.

Call it what you like {happiness, bliss, joy...}

2009-11-02T21:04:00.010+03:00

Today I was faced, three times, with the challenge of showing happiness in a written email or online chat. In live conversation you can jump up and down, hug, dance around like a wild thing {I love this lady's dance move!}, and let our various "eeees" "aaaahs" and "wooplas"....but just how, oh how, do you type that? I kind of just want to go "jafkjsadhfliauregiuearlaherglkjaerghoheargoih"...as though I were dancing on my keyboard, but then I think I would seem a bit loopy. Any ideas?

Oh yes, reasons for such happiness...
1. Hearing that another dear friend blessed with a baby in her womb AND is getting married!
2. A very close friend has a handsome man pursuing her, oh yeah, 'bout time for this gorgeous girl.
3. Another very, very dear friend is taking one step of faith in her spiritual walk.
More frivolous reasons:
1. This month's edition of Tatler.
2. A boss who gives you 100 quid to go shopping, gosh, love.
3. A beautiful Victorian studio to make home and nest in from this Friday {woop!}
4. Finding that the lamp you really, really want from Ikea is in stock...
5. Coming home to candles, white wine, seared tuna and my husband who made it all for me.
6. Wearing beautiful grey tights with roses on, given to me by a friend yesterday at church. Thank you lovely Miss Dettman!

Aren't these T-straps the perfect shoes for happy feet? Oh yes, maybe for Christmas, wink wink nudge nudge* {if he even reads this, ha!}.

And these can be my happy necklaces, then. I found them tonight and I don't know if I can wait until morning to order one! They are just absolutely beautiful, don't you think?

Inks and washes

2009-10-30T11:27:00.004+03:00

Two design projects done and dusted. The one I am working on at the moment involves an ink and wash element...I have been so inspired to start my own collection! If you are interested, have a look at Mattias Inks. He would be Swedish. Darn, Swedes are just so creative.

The Make Lounge

2009-10-27T20:07:00.002+03:00

Working with me at Luella's, is my lovely new friend called Kat. She teaches sewing at The Make Lounge. How cool?! Have a browse at the site and the blog, it is awesome. I love the headings on the website {little buttons and sewing machines and all sorts}. I know I am doing the clutch bag class as soon as I can! Oh yay, yay, yay.

Friday love

2009-10-23T12:50:00.013+03:00

I know I haven't blogged in ages, it has been a mad week of new career, dinner dates every evening, Starbucks lattes and cinnamon swirls {mmm}, a piling design to-do list {eek}and lots,lots more. I love Fridays though, I start at noon so it is my time to lie in and catch up sleep to beat the flu bug that is lurking, to drink tea leisurely and to have some blog love time and email family, especially my gran this week. I miss her warmth and love and husky whistle as she wanders around the house.

This week I have been having a wallpaper feast. Luella's has beautiful wallpaper all over, and it has inspired me to wallpaper some walls in my home one day, with beautiful, bold prints. I love this one.

I have also had an inspiring book week. It started with my friend, Tessa's discovery of Nina Sankovitch who has a project to read and review one book a day for 365 days! Gosh lady. She is on 359 today and nearing the end this week...there is no excuse not to have ideas of what to read after her reading her list and reviews here. Amazing and inspiring really. Yes, I did wonder if she actually did read all of the books properly, but I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt because I think it is an awesome {and daunting} idea. I have been reading some faith related books this week, and I even joined the library yesterday after reading this site...I think some of the classics are going to be my next project. What are you reading?

Also making my Friday is the new Technology issue of Chew magazine. Oooh, if you haven't already, start downloading and devouring!

Otherwise...I am loving my new work at Luella's, I am loving living in London {today is gorgeously sunny and the blue sky is showing himself off}. I am even loving the bus I catch to work. Yes, public transport love! I catch the 200 which motors up the hill with all of the grannies and grandpas, really, it is the veteran bus, haha! The bizarre thing is, it is starting to feel like home...hmm.

Happy weekend!

Luella's

2009-10-16T00:41:00.003+03:00

Tomorrow I start a Luella's...so much excitement! A really girly girl job in a beautiful boutique with many beautiful things! This has been such a mixed week...some lovely happenings: a most thought-provoking message at church on Sunday evening, meeting up with Tea's husband for dinner along the Southbank with a view of St Pauls {plus he arrived with a bag of yummy South African sweets...mmmm, thank you Tea!}; having long coffees and really chatting with my love; a freshly baked croissant from the French shop on the way to work; a friend doing my eyebrows and doing my make-up for me; wearing my new pearl and ribbon bracelet that Rach gave me for my birthday; having two design meetings with clients. Some hard happenings: being so tired after work that I have not replied to three quarters of my inbox, upsetting my uncle, upsetting my friend, not living up to expectations and in turn making people disappointed or angry, and meaning well but not acting upon it sometimes. But all of that aside, one more sleep.

I've been meaning to

2009-10-10T16:21:00.011+03:00

Another week gone, and now I sit at home completely alone {well, my friend's little Yorkshire Terrier is my only company for today...and David Gray}. I have had an "I've-been-meaning-too" day...which might not be the most exciting way to spend a Saturday...but it feels so good to have sent those emails and photos that I've been meaning send, writing that apology letter that I've been meaning to write {which kept me up all night}, phoning my mum and stepmum, which I've been meaning to do, the hand washing I've been meaning...the bubble bath I've been meaning...to. Sigh. I am so curious to know what is on other people's "Meaning to" list? I certainly don't believe that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, well sometimes maybe, yes okay, often. I do know though, that good intentions not acted upon lead to hurt friendships, Procrastination laughing with her head thrown back, a pile of clothers you love to wear but can't bare to throw in the washing machine cycle, and an inbox of emails that you were going to reply to "later" that taunt you every time you open the inbox.

Things that made my week:
Chad m Pelton's collages

Mattias Inks
A hair cut...
A handwritten birthday letter from my Gran Joy.
A phone conversation with my Mum.
Indian take-out-for-two and a bottle of champagne to celebrate my love getting work, and watching West Wing for the evening...a perfect Thursday.

Still on my "I've-been-meaning-to" list:
Have a cuppacino out on my own with my Bible and a good book {this afternoon...}
Write thank you letters for my birthday gifts
Vaccuum
Wax
Paint my nails

...remember that this list is different to your "to do" list, these are things that give ways to the to-dos...what are yours?

Love,
A curious ShelleySherbet

Lovely London happenings

2009-10-06T00:10:00.009+03:00

It snuck up...slowly, subtly...and then...WAMACK {that's for Becky} WINTER arrived. Okay it probably isn't nearly quite there, but today was a rainy day that will be the first of many, and has already revealed the British attitude toward weather...not to talk about it, or else complain bitterly, although it is just not going to make the sun shine! A perfect day for one of my birthday presents to arrive. Yes 100% sheep's wool moccasin slippers. My toes are as warm as toast and I am as happy as pie {thank you Cooksey family!}.

So what will we do for fun in London through winter? My new favourite game: DONKEY. It is ridiculous and wonderful because you get to draw on people's foreheads. I lost my first time...so maybe other options should be considered: playing scrabble, baking, baking some more, watching lots of movies set in Britain, knitting blankets for little kinderlings in Mozambique...{I am open to any more ideas?}.

The best treat of our weekend was having my love's mum and sister pop into London for the day on their way back from New York {thank you ladies, Brenda and Meg}...and they brought with them...GIFTS. I have been really treasured. My baking tray entourage has increased, with a very wonderful spring form cake tin {thank you Em!}, and a madeleine tray! Now to put my recipes to the test...especially my French madeleine recipe from Jane Brocket and this best birthday yellow cake {as soon as I find out whether I can get corn syrup in England} from Smitten Kitchen, my new, by far favourite cooking blog with INCREDIBLE photography. Ooooo yummmy. The first I read of this blog made me laugh and laugh: "Some people find out they’re going to be parents and — you know, after the whole 'yay babies!' cheer has simmered down a bit — freak out because they haven’t yet a) traveled the world, b) made their first million, paid off all of their debt and saved up enough for $200 toys for their little snowflake or c) well, grown up yet. But me, I actually had a moment of panic because I hadn’t yet found the perfect yellow layer cake recipe. And apparently — and yes, probably ridiculously — central to my image of the kind of mom I want to be is not to have to turn to a box of Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe Golden (anyone else ever been perplexed by this wording?) cake mix to get a reliably perfect two-layer celebration cake. It’s the Smitten Kitchen, afterall: People have expectations!'

On that note...there seems to have been a bubble that went *POP* and all of a sudden, two friends had babies and two friends are pregnant in one month! Hello! You are all superwomen...well done and yay, so exciting! As for me...a) and c) responses would probably apply...as well as e) I still haven't learnt how to cartwheel. No babies until I can cartwheel without my love catching my legs and swinging me over. Your response would be?

ps I don't believe you have to be completely grown up to have babies, or that you should have traveled the world. Besides, you enter a whole new world yourself, you don't need to worry about travelling around the rest of the old one. Besides, it will probably still be there in 30 years time.

Wedding buzz

2009-10-04T00:26:00.002+03:00

Today I had the best lie in, a latte with a close friend in East Putney, and buzzed on the caffeine all the way to The National Wedding Show at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, armed with Cadbury's Buttons. Well, let's just say I am exhausted after the caffeine and oestrogen...thousands of brides ooohing and aaahing and flapping feather boas and fighting each other off to get to the cake tasters! Having said that, it was super lovely to see people getting ready ad excited for each big day..with all of their personal tastes and quirks and budgets. I have to say that I think Luella's Boudoir had the best stand...

{How sweet are these little wedding people? I by far love the dresses in these pics. If only I could have a rematch with the same man..}