I found it really funny. The cats on the other hand seem not amused.
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2 Dec 2010
Cats.
Just a quick find for today: several suggestions on how to store and organise your cats.
I found it really funny. The cats on the other hand seem not amused.
I found it really funny. The cats on the other hand seem not amused.
1 Dec 2010
Om Nom Nom... More Inspiration for the Holidays!
A few days of blog silence usually means the novel is going well, and I'm glad to say it is. After a few weeks of rethinking backstory, plot and final outcome, I'm finally writing again. It took some perseverance, but the end result, if I dare say, will be much better for it.
In the past few days, my street, house and garden have turned into a gorgeous cotton candy Winter Wonderland. The darkest time of the year is near, and you can see and feel it everywhere. To compensate, I allow myself a bit of comfort food while I'm huddled up with my laptop in our warm and cosy living room, surrounded by lots of candles.
The sweet treat that - to me - is most typical for this season is gingerbread, in all its forms: there's our Belgian variety called 'peperkoek', there's the French 'pain d'épices' or the German 'Lebkuchen', each with its own particular texture, flavour and aromas.
I actually love the scent of gingerbread more than its taste, and I tend to use the typical spices in many other dishes: apple crumble, nut bread and several types of hot drinks, like tea, hot chocolate and of course mulled wine. It's a great way to make sugar-free (or sugar-reduced) desserts seem just that little bit sweeter.
A few days ago, I found the best gingerbread shape I've ever seen. Seriously, how cute is this:
These gingerbread houses were made by Megan of http://www.notmartha.org/, and you can find the full instructions + more gorgeous photographs here.
She's also come up with several variations, like these, with tiny chimneys on snowy rooftops:
I'm sure they will require some practice before they'll be anything like the ones on the pictures, but looking at the instructions, it actually looks feasible! And there are so many ways in which you can add your own touch, in the recipe as well as the decorations.
Actually, you can probably make these to fit on a glass of sweet wine as well. Gingerbread would be a great match for a sweet Muscat, a Sauternes, a dessert Riesling or a Macvin du Jura!
My heartfelt thanks to Megan for this great idea and the kind photo permission.
In the past few days, my street, house and garden have turned into a gorgeous cotton candy Winter Wonderland. The darkest time of the year is near, and you can see and feel it everywhere. To compensate, I allow myself a bit of comfort food while I'm huddled up with my laptop in our warm and cosy living room, surrounded by lots of candles.
The sweet treat that - to me - is most typical for this season is gingerbread, in all its forms: there's our Belgian variety called 'peperkoek', there's the French 'pain d'épices' or the German 'Lebkuchen', each with its own particular texture, flavour and aromas.
I actually love the scent of gingerbread more than its taste, and I tend to use the typical spices in many other dishes: apple crumble, nut bread and several types of hot drinks, like tea, hot chocolate and of course mulled wine. It's a great way to make sugar-free (or sugar-reduced) desserts seem just that little bit sweeter.
A few days ago, I found the best gingerbread shape I've ever seen. Seriously, how cute is this:
 |
| Photo credit: Megan of notmartha.org |
These gingerbread houses were made by Megan of http://www.notmartha.org/, and you can find the full instructions + more gorgeous photographs here.
She's also come up with several variations, like these, with tiny chimneys on snowy rooftops:
 |
| Photo credit: Megan of notmartha.org |
I'm sure they will require some practice before they'll be anything like the ones on the pictures, but looking at the instructions, it actually looks feasible! And there are so many ways in which you can add your own touch, in the recipe as well as the decorations.
Actually, you can probably make these to fit on a glass of sweet wine as well. Gingerbread would be a great match for a sweet Muscat, a Sauternes, a dessert Riesling or a Macvin du Jura!
My heartfelt thanks to Megan for this great idea and the kind photo permission.
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28 Nov 2010
My Home Away from Home: the Cotswolds.
A few days ago, I wrote about the Rollright Stones, which had me go through the numerous pictures I've taken in various corners of the Cotswolds. As always, the memories warmed my heart, just like the area itself never fails to do. I've spent so much time there in these past few years, to visit friends as well as to do research for my novel, that it feels like it's become my home away from home.
All of that gave me the idea to make the Cotswolds star in an article of its own. Because it's travel-related, I've posted it on my other blog 'The Enchanted Traveller', which is still simmering at the moment but will gradually come to a boil.
For the foodies among you: don't miss the feature on my favourite restaurant in the Cotswolds: the Horse and Groom in Upper Oddington!
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25 Nov 2010
Accidental Places: the Work of Lori Nix
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| (c) Lori Nix. 'Library', 2007 |
I recently came across a picture I really liked and after some fingertip research I found out it was 'Library' by Lori Nix, and there were many more in her collection that I really loved.She's an American photographer and artist who builds and sculpts miniature scenes and landscapes and then photographs them. She encompasses a wide range of themes and places to which she adds a very atmospheric, forlorn quality, which really speaks to me.
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| (c) Lori Nix. 'Laundromat', 2008 |
Lori Nix was born in Kansas, which is reflected in many of her earlier works. She is currently living and working in New York, and her art also seems to have moved indoors.
I like her more recent series most. It's called 'The City' and the pictures are clever and visionary, be it in an apocalyptic kind of way. They don't just tell you one story. Instead, they make you dream and wonder and come up with dozens of your own.
Here's what Lori herself had to say about how she builds and captures her work:
"Currently it takes about seven months to build a scene and two to three weeks to shoot the final image. I build these in my Brooklyn living room. I have miniature power tools throughout the apartment, a chop saw under the kitchen table, a miniature table saw on top. The computer room doubles as a model mock-up room. There are two of us who work on them, myself and my partner Kathleen. We split the work according to our strengths. I come up with the concept, the color palette and the lighting scenarios. I build the structures out of extruded foam and glue and paint and anything else handy. Kathleen is trained as a glass artist, specializing in cast glass work. She can paint faux finishes and gild architectural details with gold leaf. After I'm done building the structure and painting it, she comes in and adds dirt and distresses the walls to make it look old and decrepit."
- Lori Nix
Below are a few more favourites. Look at the variety in textures and the sheer detail of the work, and just imagine them as miniatures!
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| (c) Lori Nix. 'Botanic Garden', 2008 |
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| (c) Lori Nix. 'Museum of Art', 2005 |
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| (c) Lori Nix. 'Aquarium', 2007 |
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| (c) Lori Nix. 'Map Room', 2010 |
http://www.lorinix.net/index.html
Thank you Lori for the kind photo permission!
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23 Nov 2010
Magic, Mist and Limestone: the Rollright Stones.
As some of you already know, the novel I am currently writing is set in the Cotswolds, a gorgeous area in the Heart of England. The region is known for its undulating rural landscape, idyllic villages with limestone cottages in all shades of honey and, as if that weren't enough, for its award winning hotels, restaurants and breweries.
I'm very lucky to have a number great friends who live there, so I usually get to visit the Cotswolds several times a year. Over the years, a few places have become very precious to me, one of them being the Rollright Stones, and another one an absolutely wonderful restaurant.
The Rollright Stones consist of three smaller sites: the King Stone, the Whispering Knights, and the larger stone circle called the King's Men.
The Whispering Knights, a burial dolmen, is the oldest, believed to be 5000 years old. The 77 stones of the King's Men are slightly younger, but still 4500 to 4000 years old.
It's an amazing place. You cannot help but wonder who built these monuments and to what intent. When you walk around there, you inevitably connect with our distant past and with the countless people who have visited this place before us, asked the same questions and were equally awestruck by the magic that seems to ooze from the ground. Especially during twilight or on a misty day, it's so easy to imagine yourself in a place between the worlds.
When you get the chance to visit the Rollright Stones, please do so with respect for the unique and ancient character of the place. All too often people sit or stand on the stones, or let their children play on them. The stones are not only ancient and therefore irreplaceable, they're also covered with over 50 types of lichen, many of them several hundreds of years old.
The site is managed by the Rollright Trust, a registered charity dedicated to the protection and conservation of the stones. They have a very comprehensive website with lots of information about the history and the mythology around the stones, and practical information on their location and even how you can book the site for private events.
You can help the Trust to take care of this truly wonderful place in several ways: by becoming a 'Friend of the Rollright Stones', by buying related books on Amazon via the Rollrights site, and they have just released a beautiful calendar for 2011, which you can get here (£6 + postage). I ordered mine 2 days ago, so they should be on their way!
I'm very lucky to have a number great friends who live there, so I usually get to visit the Cotswolds several times a year. Over the years, a few places have become very precious to me, one of them being the Rollright Stones, and another one an absolutely wonderful restaurant.
 |
| The King's Men |
The Whispering Knights, a burial dolmen, is the oldest, believed to be 5000 years old. The 77 stones of the King's Men are slightly younger, but still 4500 to 4000 years old.
It's an amazing place. You cannot help but wonder who built these monuments and to what intent. When you walk around there, you inevitably connect with our distant past and with the countless people who have visited this place before us, asked the same questions and were equally awestruck by the magic that seems to ooze from the ground. Especially during twilight or on a misty day, it's so easy to imagine yourself in a place between the worlds.
 |
| Lichen on the King's Men |
The site is managed by the Rollright Trust, a registered charity dedicated to the protection and conservation of the stones. They have a very comprehensive website with lots of information about the history and the mythology around the stones, and practical information on their location and even how you can book the site for private events.
You can help the Trust to take care of this truly wonderful place in several ways: by becoming a 'Friend of the Rollright Stones', by buying related books on Amazon via the Rollrights site, and they have just released a beautiful calendar for 2011, which you can get here (£6 + postage). I ordered mine 2 days ago, so they should be on their way!
If you've ever visited the Rollrights, I'd love to hear about your experiences!
Read more about the Cotswolds here.
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