birthday dessert ideas: January 2011

For the love of Etsy

Olá, minha gente! Espero que estejam todos óptimos e felizes por lerem mais um artigo sobre lojas - para não variar muito, mais um Esty find! Shopping around, ou é mais window shopping, que os euros não dão para tudo. Eu sei que há milhares de rubricas sobre o Esty na blogosfera, mas estes achados bonitos são para se partilhar!

Muito a propósito do Dia de S. Valentim, aqui vai uma proposta amorosa. Achei lindas as canecas, mas acho que ainda gostei mais da tacinha de porcelana com renda - que maravilha! Eu não conseguia pagar aquele preço pela taça (custo + portes), mas que a achei maravilhosa, ai isso achei!

Credits: Hideminy

Hi everyone! Hope you are having a nice day and that you are happy to read another article on Etsy! Shopping around, well, it's more window shopping, as euros are never enough to buy all these beauties. I know there are thousands of Etsy features around blogland, but beautiful things are meant to be shared, so here it goes.

We're getting close to Valentine's day and I found these lovely mugs, so appropriate for breakfast in bed with your sweety!... But I think that I love even more the porcelain lace cups - I wouldn 't consider paying that much (mainly because of the shipping costs), but they are immensely cute!!

I'm in love with them!

The Ugly End of Summer

We're at the ugly end of summer now. When the days are unbearably hot and the rain refuses to arrive. When flowers and vegetables that were green and lush just a few weeks ago look tired and limp, and the lawn crackles brown beneath our feet. When the people are as tired and limp as the plants.

The air-conditioner struggles valiantly on and makes sleep possible during long, hot nights. Lacking energy, we do puzzles and play cards, watch TV and eat ice cream.

I felt so sad for the kids who returned to school today. It was 43C (about 110 F) in the shade, and worse in the sun. It was too hot for much learning, but they came home happy and excited about seeing their friends.

Tomorrow promises to only reach 33C. After today, that's almost cool.

Yellow is the color of sunrays

Algumas das minhas comprinhas deste fim-de-semana, sem sair de casa! A segunda toalha é uma Wilendure, uma marca americana de atoalhados de cozinha que iniciou a sua produção no final dos anos 30 e a terminou no final dos anos 70. Os seus padrões ousados e coloridos e a qualidade dos tecidos fazem desta marca um ícone para os coleccionadores. Eu adoro aqueles estampados garridos e tão fifties, consigo imaginá-los numa mesa de Verão, ao ar livre, com calor e boa companhia!... Agora entendem por que é que eu digo que só quero viver em casas com jardim?

Em baixo mostro-vos duas imagens, uma de uma mesa lindamente decorada em tons de amarelo e que é a cara dos dias de sol, e a outra que é uma foto com uma ideia deliciosa para outra utilização possível a dar a estas toalhas.

Eu acho o amarelo uma cor de Verão - são as saudades a bater!... Já viram que bela maneira de receber os convidados?

Credits

Old World Crafts

Mother Hen Antiques

Some of my weekend boughts, without leaving home! The second tablecloth is a Wilendure, the famous textile brand of Weil & Dursse that lasted from the late 30s to the late 70s. As some of you might know, these tablecloths are popular for their bold and vibrant patterns as well as their durability, so they remain a collector's loved item for most. I love those flowers and colors, so fifties and summery! I can imagine using it in a summer's lunch in my back porch, with warm weather and good company!... Do you understand me now when I say that I only want to live in a house that has a garden?

Bellow I show you two images that inspired me: the first one is of a beautiful table that has summer written all over it and the second one is of a great idea for a different use of these tablecloths.

Well, yellow is the color of sunrays!... Wouldn't you find this a lovely way to host your guests?

Sweet craving

Hoje acordei com vontade de fazer bolos. Mas, antes de ir para a cozinha, aqui vai mais uma corzinha doce para vos entreter. Acho este bolo lindo. E, para quem gosta de frutos silvestres, deve ser uma perdição! As fotos da Monica Eisenman também ajudam, ela é óptima a fotografar comida.

Tenham um bom Domingo, eu volto mais tarde!

Credits: Monica Eisenman

Today I woke feeling like baking - I call it sweet craving. But before I go to the kitchen, here is another beautiful photo of a gorgeous cake taken by Monica Eisenman. It looks yummy, especially for those who like berries.

Have a nice Sunday, I'll be back later!

Vintage delight

Ultimamente tenho andado mais cansada, com mais trabalho e, por isso, a imaginação e a criatividade descem a pique. O meu emprego é muito exigente e time-consuming, sobra-me pouco espaço mental para me dedicar às coisas lindas que vou tentando mostrar neste blog. Hoje queria fazer um post com fotos de algumas toalhas e panos de cozinha vintage, mas a luz do dia não ajuda e, por isso, acho que vou mas é cortar o cabelo, que é para ver se espaireço e tenho ideias novas! Vou mostrar algumas das fotos que tirei na página do Facebook por isso, se quiserem, espreitem-nas lá.

Tenho visto tanto paninho antigo lindo de morrer, nem queiram saber!... Esta foto que aqui mostro é de uns panos de cozinha dos anos 60, totalmente flower power (tenho um em tons de verde, também) e que faz as minhas delícias visuais. Claro que não o consigo usar na cozinha mas, o que se há-de fazer? Quando gostamos de objectos e sabemos que são peças únicas, é tão difícil gastá-los - eu sei que não nos devemos agarrar às coisas, mas eu tenho tendência para coleccionar...

Gosto de tantas coisas vintage em termos de decoração que é difícil identificar-me com uma época específica - tanto adoro loiças dos anos 50, como postais dos 40 ou a loucura florida dos tecidos dos anos 60 e 70. E vocês, queridos amigos? Qual é a época em termos de decoração de que mais gostam?

Lately I've been very tired and with lots of work, so my imagination and creativity decrease immensely. My job is very demanding and time consuming, so I have very little mental space left for searching and looking for beautiful things to show you in this blog. Today I wanted to take some pictures of some lovely vintage tablecloth and tea towels that I have, but the light isn't that great so I guess I'll just go out and have my hair cut, so that I can clear my mind and have some fresh ideas! I posted a few photos on the Facebook page, so you can visit it, if you wish. Nothing fancy.

Well, but let me tell you that I've been seeing such beautiful fabrics that I almost get dizzy! This photo is of a tea towel from the 60s (it came with a green one as well) and looking at these patterns gives me such a great pleasure! Of course I can't imagine myself actually using them to clean the dishes but I guess that when we like this unique pieces it's hard to waste them. I know we shouldn't get attached to objects, but I have this collector's spirit, so it explains a lot ...

I like so many things in terms of decor that it's hard for me to have a specific decade that I particularly connect to. I like 50s kitchenware, as I do love 40s postcards and the flowery craziness of 60s and 70s fabrics.

And you, my dear friends? Do you have favorite time in terms of decoration?

Linen Cupboard Organisation

Today has been one of those horribly hot days when the thought of doing anything outdoors is unbearable. Armed with my label-maker, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to organise my linen cupboard - yes, I know I'm crazy, but this cupboard has been nagging at me for a long time!

Our linen cupboard is a large, double width cupboard and it is used to store all our tablecloths, sheets and bed linen. Tea towels are stored in the kitchen and smaller table linen such as place mats and napkins are kept in the sideboard in the dining room.

I wish I had thought to take 'before' pictures. The cupboard was stuffed full, yet it contained exactly the same number of items that are in these, much tidier, images.

While it may seem a bit (a lot!) obsessive compulsive to label shelves, it does make sense in a largish household like ours where I am not the only one to put clean laundry away. Now that the shelves are labelled, no one has any excuse for shoving things just anywhere. And with tidy shelves it is so much easier to see at a glance what we own and what might need replacing.

The labels for the shelves are:

On the left:

tablecloths

beach towels

bath towels

bath mats and hand towels

sleeping bags

On the right:

pillowcases

queen bed sheets

single bed sheets

doona covers

mattress protectors

I expect after reading this, most of you will want to run screaming to the hills in boredom, but perhaps there are some who may find it useful. Does anyone else like to label things, or is it just me?

Lavender + orange

É quase certo que um dia vou fazer uma decoração ou festa com estas cores. Até já comecei a juntar os tarecos! É muito forte, mas eu gosto - é inesperada. Cheira a Verão, a vento, calor, ar livre!...

Não há melhor inspiração do que a natureza! Eu gosto. E vocês?

Credits: Jen Rodriguez

One of these days, I will do a decoration or party in these colors. They're strong and the two of them combined are kind of unexpected - but I like them! I already started gathering some things in lavender and light orange or yellow. It smells like summer, wind, warm weather, fresh air!...

For me, there's no better inspiration than nature. I like these two colors together. Do you?

Ces't chic!

Quando vi este bolo, quis logo partilhá-lo convosco. As cores e a simplicidade, combinadas com aquele prato, chamaram-me a atenção. Acho-o lindo e requintado. Gosto do vidro dourado (parece mercury glass, mas será vidro transparente com um acabamento dourado?) e da ferradura de brilhantes a rematar o laço. Gosto de tudo! Chiquérrimo!

Credits: White Loft Studio via The Sweetest Occasion

When I saw this cake, I immediately had to share it with you. I just love its color and simplicity, so chic at the same time! The cake-stand is amazing, I'm besotted with that kind of mercury glass color - maybe it's the clear glass one with a golden finish? I like everything about it, very refined!

The King's Speech

On the weekend my husband and I saw the King's Speech, and I thoroughly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet. Everything about this film was exceptional: the sets, the clothes, the script, and the performances.

Despite not looking in the least like King George VI, Colin Firth was superb in the lead role. Of course, he is my favourite actor, so my opinion should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

However, the entire ensemble of actors was superb. Geoffrey Rush played the pioneering speech therapist Lionel Logue with great sympathy and panache, and Helena Bonham Carter made an exemplary Queen Mother in a role very different from her usual quirky and manic characters (think Harry Potter's Bellatrix Lestrange and Alice in Wonderland's Queen of Hearts.)

I was also thrilled to see Jennifer Ehle as Lionel Logue's wife. Is this the first time she has acted with Colin Firth since Pride and Prejudice?

In contrast, last night I saw the movie Australia (2008) on television and it was truly awful, one of the worst fims I have ever seen. I really wanted to like it, but everything about the film was just wrong. I am so glad I didn't pay to see it; I only regret having wasted a few hours of my life waiting for it to improve.

Lovely Sunday

Hoje está um daqueles dias de Inverno que adoro: sol e frio. Nestes dias, ainda penso mais na Primavera que tarda em chegar e nas flores, que nunca saem da minha cabeça. Deixo-vos os meus sonhos cor-de-rosa e inspirações do Dia de S. Valentim.

E vocês, o que costumam fazer em dias soalheiros como este? Para além de irem votar, têm mais alguns planos para este Domingo?

Today is one of those Winter days that I like so much: cold and sunny. It reminds me of Spring and its lovely flowers, that are always on my mind. I leave you my pink dreams and Valentine's inspiration.

And what about you? What do you usually do on sunny days like this?

Have a nice Sunday!

Garden Inventory: January 2011

As regular readers of this blog will know, over the past few months I have been establishing a vegetable garden at our (new) red house.

I was fortunate that the previous owners left a bare patch of about 20 square metres (215 square feet) at the back of the backyard when they took their cubbyhouse with them. This spot has become my main vegetable garden.

In addition, I have planted a number of fruit trees to add to the existing orange and lemon trees, I have underplanted some of the roses with herbs, and I have planted nasturtiums and a few extra vegies under the new, not-yet-producing fruit trees.

The last few months, while hot, have not been as extreme as the usual Adelaide summer. While there have been many days over 30C (86F), I don't think we have had any days over 40C (104). We also haven't been affected by the floods in other parts of the continent.

I have grown almost all the vegetables from seed but have purchased some of the herbs in punnets. I prefer to grow heirloom varieties from seed although it does take longer for the garden to start producing. For example, my eggplants are only just coming into fruit and the capsicums are still not flowering. Fortunately, Adelaide has a long, hot growing season.

The fertility of the soil has been a concern and I've been improving it with blood and bone fertiliser, worm castings, pea straw (purchased) and compost. I have also been bringing home some of the used coffee grounds from our coffee machine at work to use as a mulch and to add to the compost. In a few months I hope to purchase a couple of chooks, who will be set to work producing more fertiliser!

With the dramatic increases in food prices caused by the recent, enormously destructive floods across Australia, I am very happy to have my little garden.

Here is a list of the edible plants in the garden, keeping in mind that many of them aren't producing yet, and that some are grown in very small quantities. An asterisk indicates that the crop is currently bearing.

Fruit

orange (Valencia and Washington Navel)

lemon

apple (Pink Lady)

plum (satsuma)

Tahitian lime

mandarin (Emperor)

strawberries*

blackberry

redcurrant

watermelon

Vegetables

artichokes

asparagus

eggplant

capsicum

tomatoes*

potatoes

carrots* (almost finished)

onions* (almost finished)

silverbeet*

perpetual spinach*

zucchinis and squash*

sweetcorn*

beans*

Herbs

basil (Thai basil and sweet basil)*

mint (peppermint, spearmint, Vietnamese mint)*

sage*

Italian parsley*

horseradish

chia

dill*

chilli*

oregano*

thyme*

comfrey

nasturtiums*

tarragon*

rosemary*

Happy cake!

Mais um bom exemplo de simplicidade e beleza, com uma feliz combinação de cores. Como enfeitar rapidamente um bolinho e dar logo um ar de sua graça. Less is more!!

(E já agora que vão espreitar o site da fotografia, babem um bocadinho com aqueles granny squares. São lindos, não são?)

Credits: Wood & Wood Stool

Another good example of simplicity and happy color combination. A quick and lovely way of turning a cake into a beautiful and appealing sweet. What a nice way to say Happy Birthday!

(Btw, since you'll be taking a look at the photo credit's site, enjoy the amazing granny squares. So cute, aren't they?)

Marinated Grilled Zucchini

Looking for recipes to use up some of the zucchinis and pattipan squash in the garden, I found this one in Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion (1996).

It is really more of a guide than a recipe, as quantities are not given. My additions are in italics.

To grill zucchini: Halve zucchini or squash or cut thick slices on the bias. Brush with olive oil aand place under a hot griller until the surface starts to look blistered and golden. You can also use a chargrill pan.

To marinate zucchini: Layer grilled zucchini in a flat dish (I used a square cake tin - boring but effective) with thinly sliced garlic, chopped mint (I used basil as well as mint from my summer garden), pepper, a sprinkling of red-wine vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil on each layer and marinate for 1 hour before enjoying.

That's it. Simple and delicious.

Retro wallpaper

Retro: adoro. Fetiche: papel-de-parede dos anos 60 e 70. Com os florais sempre presentes e a começar pelas cores que mais facilmente consigo conjugar - os verdes e os azuis. A loja dinamarquesa Retrovilla tem destes papeis, e não só. Às vezes dou por mim a fazer window shopping, encher o cesto das compras, desistir da ideia quando vejo o total e ficar a sonhar com possíveis utilizações para os imensos padrões... O meu cestinho fica cheio cheio! :)

Os desenhos daquela época são um bocadinho too much - mas eu gosto daquela ingenuidade, acho-os quase infantis! Na minha opinião, a sua utilização deve ter presente o fio condutor que identifico em muitas casas nórdicas: os pequenos detalhes - numa parede, em portas de armários, tampos de bancos e por aí.

Estes são alguns de muitos dos meus favoritos...

Azuis e verdes

Blue and green

Um exemplo de utilização destes papeis sem exageros

An example of decor with these wallpapers

Em tons de rosa

Pink tones

Castanho e amarelo

Brown and yellow

Infantil (love it!) - imaginam um quarto destes nas nuvens?

Kids (love it!) - can you imagine a room in the clouds?

Credits: Retrovilla

Retro: I love it. Fetish: 60's and 70's wallpaper. With floral motifs and blues and green as my favorite. Danish shop Retrovilla sells these kind of wallpapers and sometimes I find myself window shopping there, filling my cart with lots of papers and giving up the idea after seeing the total - and then I dream about it and how would I use them... My shopping cart gets really full! :)

Patterns from these decades are a little too much and I find them kind of naive, but I that's what I like about them. In my opinion, one should use them in small details - on a wall, in the doors of a closet, on a bench - those are maybe the most common examples that I see in some scandinavian houses and they really know how to use them.

Here are some of my favorite patterns, but the list could go on and on...

Love is all around

Imagens da fabulosa Martha Stewart e suas equipas, todas com inspirações para o Dia de S. Valentim. Algumas das fotos já com mais tempo, mas com sugestões sempre actuais - e concretizáveis, o que é uma das grandes vantagens daquela sempre transbordante fonte de ideias. As panquecas fariam a delícia de qualquer pequeno-almoço servido na cama como surpresa do Dia dos Namorados, não acham? Eu adoraria...

Credits: Martha Stewart

Another set of Martha Stewart's photos, always with great doable inspiration. That woman (and her team) are a constant fountain of great ideas and good taste! Look at those pancakes - I think it would be a lovely Valentine's Day surprise as breakfast in bed... I would love that!

Spring cake

Uma mistura duplamente deliciosa: bolo e flores! Duas coisas de que gosto muito. Tal como gosto desta conjugação bem conseguida, num bolo de aspecto delicioso e simples. Conseguimos encontrar destes pratos por estas bandas, a decoração do bolo não tem grande técnica e o resultado final é lindo - as cores das flores combinam lindamente. Vamos, minhas meninas, gostava de ver fotografias de um destes bolos feito por uma das leitoras!

Photo: Monica Eisenman

Cake and flowers: two things that I really love! And I like the happy combination in this simple and seemingly delicious cake. We can find these kind of cake-stands around here, the cake decoration doesn't seem that difficult and the final outcome is beautiful - I just love the color combo. Come on, girls, I would love to see photos of one of these cakes made by you!

Twenty Years

Last week my husband and I celebrated our twentieth wedding anniversary. Twenty years! It's hard to believe. I have now spent almost half my life married.

In twenty years so much has happened in our lives:

We have had four children.

We have shared six homes in three different states.

We have been members of five churches.

We have worked and lived and loved and played together.

I don't really feel much older than my 21 year old self, although I'm sure I look it. I'm certainly a better cook than I was in those early days, and unfortunately my waistline shows it.

Twenty years is a long time to get to know someone, but I hope we get another twenty years (or two) to share.

I think this is what being blessed means.

Be my Valentine! ♥

Encomendei estas florzinhas e pedi para fazerem a bandeirola com uma mensagem doce. A qualidade da foto, enfim, mas é com luz da sala, não dá para grandes magias!... Bem, adivinhem onde penso usar este vaso...

I ordered these little flowers and asked to change the lettering on the banner to "Sweet Valentine". The photo isn't that good, but I took it with artificial light, so there's no sparkle in it!... Well, guess where I'm planning to use this vase...

On my wish list

Depois de ver mais um pormenor de decoração delicioso na casa da Jeanette (Fryd+Design), fiquei com uma vontadinha imensa de ter destas loiças da Pip Studio. Que cores lindas!! E gosto muito de ver as portas do armário abertas - eu gosto de prateleiras na cozinha, à vista de toda a gente, para se poderem mostrar loiças e outras peças bonitas. Só é pena os senhores holandeses da marca pedirem 29,95€ eur pelo transporte, senão ainda podia pensar nisso a sério. Adoro!!

Credits

After seeing another gorgeous decoration detail at Jeanette's blog Fryd+Design, I got this huge will to have some of Pip Studio's floral porcelain. Such beautiful colors! I love to see open shelves in the kitchen, where you can display your beautiful dishes and other kitchenware. Too bad the shipping costs are 29,95€ (crazy!), or else I would seriously consider buying some of these lovely pieces. I just love them!

Cancer Council Classic 2011

This evening my husband and I joined 100,000 other people to watch the 2011 Cancer Council Classic. I have never watched a road race from the sidelines before and I loved every minute.

The race, a prelude to the Tour Down Under, is a 30 lap, 51 kilometre road race. Because of all the laps we had plenty of opportunities to see the cyclists as they sped past.

Adelaide was at her beautiful best tonight, warm and sunny, and with surrounding parklands gloriously green.

Before the race began, cars drove around the circuit with models of cyclists in the various team colours on top. A loudspeaker announced which teams the different outfits represented.

The starting line. The rider with the red 'R' on his shirt is Lance Armstrong.

The peloton.

The finishing line. The winner was Matthew Goss from team HTC-Highroad. Mark Renshaw came second and Robbie McEwen third. In a very generous gesture, all the prize money for the race was donated to the Queensland flood appeal.