Number Seventy Five

I've been a bad blogger...

2009-07-03T10:34:00.003+02:00

I've been absent for a week. Shocking.

But there is a good reason. Other than it is stinky hot here in Amsterdam (and I am not a hot weather girl) and that we are now only 7 days (eek) from getting the keys, I decided to move the blog from blogger and have been busy setting up a new "home" for Number Seventy Five at squarespace.

Blogger was a great starter platform for me and I know 100's of high profile blogs who very happily reside on Blogger forever but I needed a bit more flexibility and control over the design. I'm a control freak, what can I say? So after, considering my options and soliciting advice from those in the know I switched over to squarespace. It seemed like a good time to also get my own proper grown-up address for my random witterings as well.

So (drum roll please) without further ado I redirect you to www.numberseventyfive.com for all updated posts and also a new section on all the weird and wonderful projects I am and will be undertaking.

There is a further section coming soon (ish), but with the big move coming up in the next couple of weeks it may take a while for it to materialise.

Don't forget to update your bookmarks, google readers etc. Since I began this blog back in March I have had:

580 Visits, from

330 Visitors, from

35 countries, generating

1,112 pageviews

I would hate lose any of you in the switch over. Come on over...

Souvenir Foto Friday: Amsterdam in Motion

2009-06-26T07:22:00.001+02:00

Assignment 6: Blur on Purpose

I read the assignment notes for this on Flickr before the notes went up on the Souvenir Foto website; and I had a little panic.

Blur on purpose? It was like a return to the dark days of childhood photography. Handshake, cutting off people's heads - not good. How on earth would I blur on purpose without it looking like I gave the camera to a small child?

So I hit the internet, ah google, my old friend.

What I discovered was that there is a whole movement of photography dedicated to blurring on purpose. While the photographs I found were stunning, details on technique were not very forthcoming.

I did discover that it was all to do with playing around with shutter speed and aperture. Which meant I had to learn about shutter speed and aperture. Which meant that, three months after getting the camera I was finally going to have to break out the instruction manual.

Dammit.

The instruction manual was informative. It certainly told me how to set shutter speed and apperture but I still didn't understand what I was doing.

Next stop, the Digital Photography School . I read up on Shutter Speed and Appertures. Then moved on to Aperture and Shutter Priority Modes.

Now we were getting somewhere.

I had been particularly taken with a Blur on Purpose photo I had seen during my research, (now regretably lost in the internet) a black and white shot taken in Japan which showed blurred movement on a crisp background. I knew I wanted to do something like that, which would mean playing with the shutter priority mode, which blurs movement.

I took myself into the centre of Amsterdam and positioned myself on a busy cross roads. Then I just started clicking. I aimed for dense crowds and bikes. I shot at eye level and from the hip to see which came out best. I varied my shuttter speed until I found one that let in just enough light while still giving a good blur of movement, 1/20 on a very bright day.

In post-processing the black and white wasn't quite working for me though. It looked good but the bike wasn't quite right. When I had looked at the photo, the bike had seemed ethereal, almost ghostly and I wanted to play that up. So I cropped it down and layed the holga-ish effect from Picnik over the top. And it worked.

I am particularly pleased with the crispness of the shadow on the ground against the blur of the people above.

The original of the photo is in my photostream.

Restaurant Review: La Place

2009-06-25T20:33:00.004+02:00

It has to be said that Amsterdam is not a city that lunches. Obviously, people eat lunch but if you are trekking around time and want something other than soup, salad or a sandwich but you don't want a full meal then your options are going to be a little more limited.

Step in La Place eateries. La Place have quite the coverage in Amsterdam. Not only do they run the catering in two major department stores (V & D and De Bijenkorf), but they also service several major workplaces. Lucky workplaces.

It is self service, but certainly not the self service I recognise from British department stores. At La Place everything is divided into zones. A salad bar zone, and what salads! Grilled veggies as far as the eye can see. huge bowls of leaves and wedges of tomato. A grilled meat bar, a grilled fish bar. Some locations have a pizza oven, some a stir fry bar. A soup station, juice bar and drinks bar are all within striking distance. Just pick up a tray and load up. The best thing is that everything is prepared right in front of you - fresh, fresh, fresh.

Once you have paid and collected your cuttlery then you can choose your seating. Today I was in the V&D on Kalverstraat and scored an outside table in the glorious sunshine so that I could watch the world go by beneath me. If the balcony is full or the weather a little less clement then sitting inside is no hardship underneath the glass roof (pictured above). If you are meeting someone there then there are rooms named after nearby streets, "I'll meet you in Damrak..."

Over at De Bijenkorf, following last year's major facelift you can sit in differently themed areas all showcasing designer furniture from the furniture department below. Eames chairs, Tom Dixon lighting. Or sit out on the new roof terrace secluded from the busy streets below, snacking on sushi before heading back down into the chaos of central Amsterdam.

Tomato Chutney

2009-06-24T15:36:00.005+02:00

I know, I know. The whole point of chutney is to preserve the last of the season's bounty and we are supposedly at the beginning of summer. Which is all well and good unless you find your husband hunting desperately through the fridge for the last scrapings of a jar he has already finished. Then there is the sad, disappointed little "oh, I'll just have mayonnaise then..." and you find yourself whipping up a batch of tomato chutney for the store cupboad.

1.35kg RipeTomatoes, chopped (I used Roma)
225g Onions, chopped (I used red)
175g Sugar
150ml Red Wine Vinegar
12g Salt
1 tsp Paprika
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Place the tomatoes and onions into a heavy bottomed saucepan, cook over a low heat to release the tomato juices and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes until tender.
Add the salt, paprika, cayenne and half of the vinegar, continue to cook gently for 45 minutes or until it begins to thicken.
Add the sugar and remaining vinegar, stirring until they are fully dissolved.
Continue simmering, until the mixture becomes thick, stirring occasionally.
Pour into jars which are either fresh out of the dishwasher or sterlised. Don't forget to label them with the date you made them.
Store in the cupboard for 3 - 5 weeks to allow the flavour to develop.

Makes enough for two 300ml jars.

Souvenir Foto Friday: Long Live the King

2009-06-22T17:40:00.004+02:00

I missed Souvenir Foto Friday last week - shocking. Luckily I got my assignment in on time - I just didn't have enough hours in the day to post it up here.

So, without further ado I give you Assignment 5 for Souvenir Foto.

Following on from last week's assignment to shoot a letter. This week we had to shoot a word. The more advanced in the group will be doing this as a diptych, and if I had more time last week I would have tried it but I just couldn't get my head around stitching two images together. Nor was I able to find a scene with a word and an appropriate image which I could shoot as is.

For my word I chose a local grafitti artist, Laser 3.14. In a city which is best described as graffiti tolerant Laser 3.14's work is prolific throughout Amsterdam. Snappy one or two lines of what has variously been called, poetry or prophecy sprayed on temporary structures all over the City. People have taken to "collecting" shots of these phrases, cataloguing the ones they spot on the website.

This particular word comes from the phrase "Elvis versus the disdained" which is sprayed on a Salvation Army charity clothes bin near our house. I cropped it and added a boost effect from picnik to pull out the bright contrast in the colours and the variation in paint density from the spray can.

A photo of the full phrase is in my photostream.

Matryoshka

2009-06-18T19:48:00.002+02:00

A very kind friend visited Moscow recently and brought me back my very own Russian Dolls. I was expecting the traditional red and yellow ones but I love these so much more. I can't stop looking at them, picking them up and stacking them.

Busy doing nothing

2009-06-18T09:02:00.004+02:00

I'm back. But frantically busy. I should go away more often though it seems... I have been tagged by the lovely Flora for a meme. Bonnie stopped by to see how I became an expat in Amsterdam. Jonathan liked my Woody Allen in New York experience so much it has been included in a database of honeymoon experiences (I wonder if I should mention to him that I wasn't actually on honeymoon at the time? The honeymoon was a whole other adventure...)

I'm feeling the love people, feeling the love.

In other news, I am thinking of switching the little old blog to squarespace instead of blogger so that I can put some ideas I have into practice which are not achievable on blogger. Any thoughts?

Other than that, its going to be a busy couple of days, just look at my to do list:

So please forgive me if posting is a wee bit sporadic for the next few days. Normal service will resume...

Away

2009-06-15T10:56:00.002+02:00

I am away this week for work so no posts this week.

I'll be back when my nose lifts from the grindstone...

Souvenir Foto Friday

2009-06-12T19:22:00.004+02:00

Because X is a dichotomy of a letter. It has many meanings and interpretations. It is a spy letter, sneaking round corners, hidden in disguises.

It is a soft slide of the tongue to the teeth, Xylophone
It is religion and symbolism, Xmas, Christ on a cross
It is treasure, marking the spot, X
It is a promise, X, drawn over the heart. I cross my heart…
It is a declaration; mark an X next to the candidate of your choice
It is a negation, X, you got it wrong.
It is direction, X, North, East, South and West
It is affection, X, I kiss you, X, I miss you
It is the tipping point of a decision, X, a crossroads, which road will you take?
It is a gasp and the catch at the back of the throat, seX

This is my submission for Assignment 4 of Souvenir Foto. Simply to shoot a letter. This X was taken from directly above as I stood on the tram tracks, hoping that a tram wouldn't suddenly zip round the corner and squash me flat. Mission accomplished.

ATTENTION: Delivery Companies in Amsterdam

2009-06-12T10:47:00.002+02:00

Yes, I am talking to you. You, delivery companies in Amsterdam. You, who take my money, whisper promises of delivery and, well, quite frankly... fail to deliver in all senses.

We've already discussed one of you here, and now I have another one to add to the list. Oh, yes, you better believe there's a list, and chair delivery company, you are going right on it.

You see, I am a trusting type. So when you take my money and tell me you have two chairs in stock and will deliver one of them to me on Friday I believe you.

When you don't deliver on Friday (after I have spent the whole day waiting at home), you can understand why I might be a little miffed at having to chase you down through multiple phone calls.

I appreciate your view that the store shouldn't have promised delivery without checking with the delivery company but really, shouldn't someone have let me, the customer, know? Luckily for you I am a generous, patient, and I believe I already mentioned, trusting, soul so when you tell me you will call me on Monday to arrange delivery for Wednesday, I believe you.

When Monday comes and goes I start to lose faith a little, but joy of joys, you call me on Tuesday to arrange delivery between 10am and 12pm on Friday.

Ok, its not what we agreed the previous week, or indeed when I handed over my hard earned money to you, but the end is nigh. I can forgive you.

Right up until yesterday when you call me again to apologise, somewhat profusely, that you cannot deliver my chair as it is on a container ship about 3 weeks away from the Netherlands - probably. You can deliver me a spare chair in the meantime and swap it when mine gets here but... you can't quite guarantee when that will be. About 3 weeks... probably.

By this point I am losing the will to live. No really, how hard can it be? You had two in stock when I paid you in full for the chair. You promised to deliver in a week. Two weeks down the line I have no chair, no idea what happened to the ones you had in stock and my future potential chair is currently bobbing towards the Netherlands on a container ship.

You are on my list.

Warning: Coffee table company - I am planning to order from you in the next 48 hours. Your delivery service better be flawless. There's this list, you see, and believe me, you do not want to go on it...

Sjilpen*

2009-06-11T20:26:00.002+02:00

Do you tweet?

I didn't really get the concept (and I'm sure I still don't) nevertheless, I entered the world of twitter some time ago and I am plodding on through.

I initially followed contacts from blogs I liked but increasingly I am branching (heh!) out and I have started to follow a couple of twitter feeds in Dutch. My Dutch is not good by anyone's standards but I am most confident reading so 140 characters is perfect for me. Often I will follow the links and start reading full articles in Dutch which is even better.

I'm not sure if helping people learn another language was one of the goals twitter set themselves when they set out to conquer the social media field but its certainly helping me.

If you want to follow me on twitter, there is a link in the right hand column which will take you to my feed.

If you are already on twitter, leave me a comment and let me know.

Do you tweet? If so what is the biggest advantage of twitter for you?

Note: As I was writing this Maryam of My Marrakesh tweeted a link to 20 Interesting Expats to Follow on Twitter. What do you think? Are there others you would add?

* to twitter, tweet or peep in Dutch.

Flowers

2009-06-11T18:15:00.003+02:00

Last Friday's flowers are still going strong.

I survived.

2009-06-10T19:05:00.002+02:00

Image from here.

Another trip to IKEA, successfully completed with only minimal wallet damage - damn, the as is section and their irresistable white enamel jugs. I am fine tuning the items for delivery and also the logistics of getting the stuff from the store to No. 75. Progress.

Need it, Use it, Love it.

2009-06-09T21:07:00.003+02:00

It's a mess over here. We are up to our eyeballs in packing boxes and piles of stuff.

I am being absolute in my resolve not to take any rubbish or clutter with us to Number 75. Which just seems to make it all take twice as long.

To steel my resolve I am muttering "Do I need it, do I use it, do I love it?" at everything. Even the cat is looking worried.

What are your packing tips? How do you cut the clutter?

The Anatomy of a Cake

2009-06-08T09:03:00.002+02:00

Recipe here.

Souvenir Foto Friday

2009-06-05T12:23:00.002+02:00

You may remember, back in March the lovely husband bought me a new camera for my birthday. Its a fantastic camera and I am taking more pictures than ever with it. I have no camera training and have always been a "point, shoot and pray" kind of a girl but over the last couple of years I find myself increasingly drawn to photographic art and have really wanted to develop my own skills.

So when, Miss B of Le Blahg, opened her "Photo School", I wanted in. Unfortunately, it came at just the wrong time for me, we were away in America, so I missed the first two assignments. But I am in for the third.

Joining a group like this one, focuses my attention on taking good photographs. It gives me a subject to look for and encourages me to try out new techniques. Plus, its free. Win, win, win.

Without further ado, I present my submission to the Week 3 assignment, the subject of which was numbers and viewfinder cropping...

COUNTDOWN

Cross processing sharpened the numbers, rounded corners to make it look pretty on the blog. Effects added via picnik.

It isn't the project I wanted to do, very much my second choice. I had really wanted to take shots of all the different styles of house number in our neighbourhood (and I will), I just ran out of time this week.

Book Club: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

2009-06-04T09:24:00.005+02:00

I attended a book club last night as part of my "need to get out more" plan. I had only attended a book club once before, in England, where I turned out to be the youngest there by a good few decades. It was not a success. But, nothing ventured etc. So I signed up for the first available book club (there are a few running for expats in Amsterdam) on the grounds that I had already read the book and therefore there was a good chance that I would be able to contribute to a discussion.

Last night's book was The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid. I admit, I was slightly nervous going into the discussion. I found the book utterly brilliant but it deals with difficult and challenging issues which can provoke and polarise people. Generally, my two conversational rules with strangers are to avoid religion and politics. This walked into the bear pit of both. Fortunately, the book group consisted of smart, intelligent women with a lot to say. I needn't have worried. Not that I agreed with everything everyone said, nor they with me, I'm sure. However, it felt as though everyone in a group of 15 or so chipped in an opinion at some point. Opinions which made me think, or made me reavaluate, or made me say "oh, I never thought of it that way, I wonder if that means...". In short, I loved it. Today, I am still rolling around the following questions:

- Did the protagonist's relationship with Erica reflect his relationship with America?
- The protagonist changed his personality to fit into the role required of him by others, boyfriend, employee etc. When he returns to Pakistan, does he change his personality again to fit in or are we seeing his true personality?
- The concept of fundamentalism is not given a structured definition in the book, is it referring to religious fundamentalism or something else and if so what?

I am a book hound, reading one to two books a week (it is my most expensive vice). I did English literature to degree level and have a real passion for books, all books, any books. What I realised last night is that since we moved to Amsterdam I had got out of the habit of discussing books. The lovely husband doesn't read fiction (he loves non-fiction, history, political biography), whereas I used to discuss books all the time with friends and we would swap them amongst ourselves I don't have that network here and so my book discussions have somewhat dried up.

Next month the group are reading The Shack by WM Paul Young and the following month we will be reading The Other Hand by Chris Cleave. I'll let you know how it goes.

This is where we are...

2009-06-03T11:30:00.004+02:00

With just 37 days until I get my hands on those keys things have stepped up a notch in the preparations. You may remember that we had already survived round one of the sofa delivery debacle, which gave us a grand total of 3 pieces of furniture (we already own a guest bed). We needed, and indeed still need, more. So at the weekend we ramped up the purchasing. Our tally so far:

One sofa and armchair - already ordered for delivery the week after we get the keys... hopefully.
One bed, boxspring - ordered to be delivered the day after we get the keys.
One quilt, we already have pillows
One DVD player - which may or may not be on its way to the UK depending on whether the Company sent it to my delivery address or my billing address. Their confirmation e-mail was unclear on this point and they have been incredibly silent since I asked for confirmation and provided them with a copy of the order. Am I to be cursed by deliveries?
One desk chair with a E50 discount as it is the end of the line (hurrah, I would have bought it full price anyway).
One set of Bemz covers for the, as yet, unbought dining chairs.

Which, I am sure you will agree, is progress. We have also:

decided on a coffee table. An "opium table" rather like this one, but in natural wood, unless I change my mind and go for the dark stained wood, or the natural...

We have also chosen a television. And when did televisions get so expensive? I mean, really? We are not a tv watching household, more of a dvd boxset sort of a watching household. It galls me to spend this much money on something we don't use that much, but I have aesthetic issues. I simply cannot have a large lump of black plastic and glass as the focus of the room, so the television had to be as unobtrusive as possible while still being of a decent size to watch (which for the lovely husband seemed to mean 32 inch). The most unobtrusive I could find was a Samsung with a white surround, rather than black, however, it was way over my tentative budget. I just couldn't go there. Rather than bitch and whine about it (as I usually would), I took matters into my own hands and hit the internet. Having discovered it relatively cheaply in the UK and Germany I quickly worked out that no company would ship it due to size. Which meant hunting around the internet in Dutch.

I don't know what your experiences of buying online from Dutch companies have been like but my limited experience has left me frustrated and vowing never to do it ever again. It may be just my impression but online shopping has not really advanced here the way it has in the UK. The process is slow and complicated. One order required a bank transfer as a payment system rather than the more simple, plug in your credit card and away we go. Still, the lure of a cheaper product was too much for me and I hit the internet with a vengance. I started off with www.kelkoo.nl, a pricing website, to familiarise myself with the stores which stocked the tv I wanted. That worked well and I found it much cheaper at www.bestekeus.nl. It was still quite a lot though, so I pondered on it for 24 hours and tried again. This time I went to a dutch pricing site, www.beslist.nl who had a greater range of shops. The cheapest option on there was www.plasmadiscounter.n l. Joy of joys, they accept cards, no bank transfer hassle and they also promise to match the cheapest price you can find the product at. Hurrah. I am a happy bunny (well, as happy as a bunny still spending too much on a television can be). I'll let you know how the delivery goes. Maybe third time's the charm.

2e Pinksterdag

2009-06-01T19:15:00.002+02:00

It is a holiday today in the Netherlands, Pinksterdag (officially today is tweede - 2e - pinksterdag) or Pentecost. I just couldn't resist the pink flowers for Pinksterdag.

Restaurant Review: Da Pino

2009-05-30T17:27:00.003+02:00

At the end of last year a new Italian wine shop opened near us. This filled the Lovely Husband with unequivocable joy. He loves his wine, and has quickly bonded with the owner of the new establishment. One Saturday, some weeks ago, while the Lovely Husband was indulging his wine purchasing hobby, I got talking to the owner about Italian restaurants as they supply many of the top restaurants in the Netherlands. His recommendation was Da Pino on Overtoom and I had been waiting for a suitable occasion to try it out.

Just such an occasion presented itself yesterday when the Lovely Husband signed a new contract at work. A small celebration was definitely in order.

We strolled in the late evening sunshine up the Schinkel Canal to Overtoom (keeping our heads down as we passed the gym - pre-indulgence guilt, don't you know). There were no free tables outside so we took a table inside which was slightly warm for a summer evening but still quite pleasant and meant that we got to make friends with the house dog, Tartufo.

Da Pino had a lot to live up to, it came highly recommended and I already have a favourite Italian restaurant in Amsterdam (also local, La Favola). Having lived in Italy my standards for Italian food are very high.

I started with Swordfish Carpaccio, heavily flavoured with a good quality balsamic dressing. Before moving onto a pasta dish of perfectly made fresh ravioli filled with roasted aubergine and scamorza (Italian smoked cheese), which had been scattered with confit roma tomatoes and fresh parmesan. At the recommendation of our very knowledgable waiter I segued neatly to baked sea bass fillets which had been prepared en papillote with shellfish and more of the confit tomatoes served with rosemary roasted potatoes and a large side salad, both of which I barely touched, for shame. Desserts, while they looked lovely on the chalkboard, were not even an option after that and we gratefully paid the bill before rolling ourselves home.

La Favola, you have a worthy contendor for my affections.

Bar Review: Golden Brown, Amsterdam

2009-05-30T16:36:00.004+02:00

Image by Caneles

I need to get out more. No, really, I do. We have got in to the habit of not going out as much as we once did. We have all the reasons in the world for this:

- We're too tired
- We like each others company
- We like our home and love staying in
- Why go out when we have good food and booze at home

all these things are true. However, I am a social creature, much more so than the lovely husband and he gets his fix of people interaction every day at work. I work from home and am often climbing the walls from social isolation.

So on Thursday I coerced a friend into organising a girls night out which had the added benefit of me trying out a new bar in the neighbourhood.

Golden Brown is situated in one of the side streets about halfway down Overtoom.

First impressions were excellent. Outdoor seating for a warm summers evening huge windows showcasing a mezzanine level. It reminded me somewhat of a pint-sized version of the Lizard Lounge in Paris - God, I miss the Lizard Lounge...

Anyway, I digress, the exterior was good and the interior was equally lovely.

Image from Golden Brown's Website

Look at that squishy seating. We coveted those seats all night long, why? Because the people who had comandeered them spent most of the night outside smoking. I am sure the bags they left guarding their seats were extremely comfortable, we on the other hand took a table behind and glared jealously everytime they left for a cigarette.

A late start meant that we were just there for drinks. The wine selction was good and over the course of the evening we tried two different whites, both of which were excellent. I found it a complete novelty that the win was served in "regular" wine glasses, probably 150ml. I had got so used to the English measure of 250ml that these were dinky by comparison.

The table service was fast and attentive. Our waiter looked as though he was on a bungee rope so quickly did he bound about the room. The only delay seemed to be when one of our party asked for bitteballen just before the kitchen closed, it seemed to take a while for them to come out but when they did apparantly they were very good (as a vege I do not understand the bitteballen craze.)

When we eventually asked for the bill it was stunningly cheap, we thought they must have made a mistake but no. We laid down our cash and headed home. Definitely recommended.

A New Clutch

2009-05-28T18:55:00.004+02:00

We have a new clutch!

While I love my little clutch, it just wasn't quite big enough for anything more than the essentials. So when I made the embroidered clutches I made them 5cm larger. But I just couldn't leave the design alone and this is the result.

Same foldover style, now with a detachable wrist strap. The vintage button and pale pink elastic loop keep it securely closed.

Oh, and I added a neat little exterior pocket perfect for keys or a slim mobile.

I love the natural handmade cotton exterior, so summery, but it needed some colour so the lining is a bright modern floral (the exterior pocket is lined with the same material).

A close up of the wrist strap and the lovely handmade cotton. You can just see the edge of the exterior pocket as well.

This is a prototype (so I get to keep it!) and I will be taking for a test run tonight at a new bar. I am so pleased with it. Even though it was a complete nightmare to put together. There is a lot of unpicking when you are putting a new design together. Especially when you keep leaving elements out by mistake (front pocket? D ring?). But it turned out really well in the end and will be a cinch to put together next time.

Wall Art

2009-05-27T00:05:00.002+02:00

With only 45 days until we get the keys I am stepping up the decoration plans for Number Seventy Five.

Today closed out the search on two items I have been hunting for:

1) I really wanted vintage botanical prints in postcard or A4 size to hang in a group above the bedroom. The kind of prints you see absolutely everywhere along the banks of the Seine at 10 Euros a pop. This presented two problems, firstly, no trips to Paris planned (sob). Secondly, I am way to cheap to spend 10 Euros + frame costs each for a group of 8-12 prints. Then today, via isuwanee, I discover Vintage Printable. Vintage Printable provides public domain antique scientific, naturalist, and other images for you to print or download. All.For.Free. Success.

2) Having lived in rentals since I left home at 18 I have never been able to hang pictures without fear of losing my rental deposit. One of the most exciting things about Number 75 is I get to hang what I damn well please on the walls (mwahahaha!). And what I really want is a map wall. Specifically, this map wall, which I found via Centsational Girl. Do you think the fact that it is currently 20% off will help me swallow the $50 shipping charge. $50... $50... Dammit.

It couldn't have happened anywhere but in little old New York.

2009-05-26T21:01:00.003+02:00

The Lovely Husband, in addition to being lovely, is a stellar travel genius. Since childhood he has absorbed maps and travel paraphanalia in a way that just leaves me dizzy. This is a good thing as while I am the planner of the two of us, for some reason I just can't get my head around travel planning. Too much choice, too many places, too many options, too much to squeeze into a weekend, a week, two weeks. Maybe this is why I prefer to live in places I travel to rather than just pass through.

Anyway, it appears I lucked out with the Lovely Husband as nothing gives him more pleasure than to plan and execute our travel. My honeymoon was a complete surprise right up until we got to departures at Schiphol the day after our wedding - and he did a gooooood job. Spa hotels - tick, sunset sails around islands - tick, speedboat rides to remote island restaurants - tick. This one's a keeper.

So I had no fears, no fears at all when he took full charge of our America trip. Even once we got on the plane I had only the vaguest idea of our itinerary. Over the next few days the plans got much clearer but he kept the New York section, the final four days of our trip completely to himself.

With very good reason, he had planned the most excellent surprises for me.

Surprise One - Staying in a very nice hotel on Times Square.
Surprise Two - An offer of tickets to any Broadway show I wanted to see (in the end we got very lucky at the TKTS booth and got a pair of tickets for the show we wanted at a 50% discount - score).
Surprise Three - Dinner and Jazz. Yes, I know, it's not for everyone and I must admit that even I was slightly hesitant. I only like certain types of Jazz and I couldn't tell you what those types are - if my toe taps, I like it. So this could have gone horribly wrong. But this was no ordinary Jazz. Oh no. This was Jazz at the ultra swank Carlyle Hotel. So Jazz and a really good dinner. I was thrilled.

We hopped in a yellow cab and slid through the dusk of Manhattan towards the black and gold art deco entrance of the Carlyle.

Outside I spotted posters for two female singers. "Hmm" I said "Debbie Reynolds... isn't she famous". Really, I have no clue.

Inside there was another poster board resting on a gold easel. "Oh my goodness darling, look, Woody Allen plays here" I walk a little closer "He's playing here tonight!" long pause, realisation dawns "You.Did.Not".

But of course he did, because he knows that I have a fondness for Mr Allen (not in that way, eugh, he's old enough to be my.... yeah, he really did himself no favours with that one.), because he knows that Woody Allen in Manhattan would make my eyes larger than saucers and because he know music genres better than I do and so knew that I really really enjoy New Orleans Jazz.

We started with dinner which was excellent. I can only ever remember what I ate at restaurants (when I can remember at all), I appear to have a very single minded focus on my food to the exclusion of everyone elses.

Starter: Prawn Cocktail (Lovely, loads of fresh prawns and just the right amount of horseradish in the cocktail sauce).
Main: Roasted Halibut with a bourgogne jus and baby golden beets on a bed of spinach. Gratin potatoes as a side dish.
Dessert: Nada. We had over indulged earlier in the day.

About half way through the main course the band finished setting up and took their places. Into the last remaining seat on the corner of the stage crept Woody Allen with his clarinet. And then they began. And it was wonderful. Superb music and a real proper musicians. I don't know what others in the very small but very packed dining room were expecting but for me it was everything you expect dinner and Jazz to be. Small tables, crisp linen, little table lights and music washing over you.

Other, more prepared attendees, had brought cameras. Alas, this was the one detail the Lovely Husband overlooked so I have no photos to share but for me it wasn't really about the photos and once Woody Allen got on stage it wasn't even really about him. The band were just too good as an ensemble for anyone person to stand out amongst them. I really enjoyed it, the perfect surprise.

Het Bos

2009-05-25T10:40:00.005+02:00

I know, I know. I should be posting some of the 279 photos of our trip to America, or reviewing some of the restaurants we visited, or telling you all about the surprise the Lovely Husband planned for me and I will, I promise. However, yesterday was a gloriously sunny day in Amsterdam. So glorious that instead of editing photos and cursing myself for forgetting to write down what we ate at each restaurant, we got on our bikes and cycled in the Bos for a couple of hours.

The Bos (or Forest in English) is a mere five minute bike ride from our current front door and once we move to Number 75 (46 days and counting...) will be even less than that. Like many things in Amsterdam it is a man made area which means that while it looks like a huge wild land it has been designed with functional use in mind. There are bike tracks zig zagging through it and large expanses of water as well as smaller ponds. Our closest entrance to the Bos is a bike path so we don't enter at the very congested points (road entrances with parking). We zipped along quite happily in 24 degrees of sunshine and while we definitely saw a lot of people it didn't feel overcrowded at all.

The Bos is home to a huge variety of animals, domestic and wild. You see a lot of horses as there are two riding schools in the Bos. You also see a few Scottish Highland cows roaming freely.

The biggest expanse of water the The Bos is the Nieuwe Meer (New Sea). Its perfect for sailing and there were quite a few power boats out as well.

You can't cycle all the way around the Nieuwe Meer without taking a detour out of the Bos so there is a boat service (web site in Dutch) which takes you and your bike from one side of the Meer to the other for a a couple of Euros. Which is exactly what we did after a brief pause to snack on more chickpea salad (this time with fresh parsely torn up in it) and icy cold bottles of water which we had stashed in frozen wine sleeves in the panier of the Lovely Husband's bike.

We headed home alongside a boat race, crews sliding through the water as excitable supporters rode valiantly along the banks of the river.

I enjoyed every second of it...

Ok, maybe not every second. Inadvertantly cycling into the nudist area was a grave navigational error (oh my eyes, *shudder*) but other than that, truly, a perfect day.

We're Back!

2009-05-23T14:46:00.003+02:00

Back from what may have been my best ever holiday (and the honeymoon would take some beating, let me tell you...).

I have so much to report back on and so many photos to process. We ate, we drank, we saw just about everything.

Which is to say that I am more than a little tired and my body is in need of some clean living for a while. I am craving simple tasty food after two weeks of excess. Today's lunch was just right, Molly of Orangette's recipe for Chickpea Salad served with a grind of fresh black pepper over a pile of springy, green lettuce.

Now, back to the clothes washing, errand running and food buying.

An Expat's Life for Me

2009-05-18T11:37:00.003+02:00

I first lived abroad in 1996. I had taken a course at university because it required me to spend a year in Italy and at 18 that sounded like a wonderful thing to do. I hated it at first, I was lonely and isolated. That lasted about 3 months. Then I got brave. Then I got braver. By the time I had to leave, they practically had to crowbar me into the plane, I was so desperate not to go.

I lasted less than a year back in the UK. I couldn't bare the anonymity of London any more. I craved my life back in Italy, the lifestyle, the pace and the quality of life.

Two weeks after my final exams I was on a plane to Ireland to bond with my paternal family. Initially I thought I would just see how it went. I didn't go back to the UK for seven months, and only then to attend my graduation ceremony. Ireland is a pulse of the heart to me, as natural as breathing. I ache for it when I hear bad news. I celebrate its triumphs. My father is there and I try to get home as often as I can, which is never often enough. The smell of smoke from chimneys, peat fires, clean air, rain which leaves you damp to the bones even when its not raining. I thought I would never leave.

Two years later my company transferred me to Paris. I was ready for a change, my landlady in Ireland was getting married and I needed to find somewhere else to live. It seemed like a sign. I moved my belongings by FedEx, my father was horrified. "At your age I had you and yet you can FedEx your life just like that".

I knew no one in Paris. No one at all. I worked from home and for the first three months I firmly believed that I would never again hear English spoken other than on the phone. Too apprehensive of the metro system I walked everywhere that summer. Miles and miles in dusty sandals. I was astounded by how Paris squeezes your heart with its beauty, over and over again then casts you aside, gasping, at the arrogance of its natives.

In desperation I stumbled into an expat drinks night. Friday night drinks after work flowed seamlessly into midnight restaurant runs. Mouths stained with red wine, open and laughing. Talking and talking with people who knew and understood that hunger in the corner of your stomach which causes you to go out into the world, leaving your home country, looking for new experiences. Drinking buddies became dinner companions became family and remain so to this day.

It took me far too long to realise that Paris and I needed to part ways. I never stopped loving the city but I couldn't achieve what I wanted to achieve there and it was crippling me in tiny imperceptible increments.

I went to the only place I knew I could, to piece myself back together again. I went back to the UK. For a short while I revelled in speaking my own tongue all the time. It took me a while to realise that I was an alien in my own country. I had missed huge chunks of other people's experiences while I had been away. Things people expected me to be familiar with were incomprehensible to me. I learnt to stop talking about living abroad to avoid the inevitable "What? You lived abroad? Well, that's brave. Won't catch me leaving England. Why would you want to live abroad?" Nevertheless, I started to achieve and move on. I met the love of my life and somehow five years later I was still there.

I wept when he said he had been offered a job in Amsterdam. I had just started my dream job a month before, there was no way I could follow him and there was no way I could hold him back. So we began a strange hybrid existence. Straddling two coutries, racking up air miles and never really living in either country. We were homeless and it was too hard.

We talked it out and decided to make our home here in the Netherlands.

That was March 2007, we found a bigger apartment, shipped our belongings and transported the cat. He proposed in November 2007 and we married on a canal boat in August 2008. As much as I have loved everywhere I have lived, Amsterdam is home. The canals, the people, the way of life all of it feels completely natural. I love being an expat. I love the experiences it affords me and the people who cross my way on their own journeys. May it never end.

Clutch

2009-05-15T08:49:00.004+02:00

Do you remember my frustration at having a design idea in the early hours of the morning but not having time to bring it into reality? Well, I managed to carve out enough time to make up these before I left on holiday. Even if it meant not packing until a couple of hours before we left.What? Packing was less important...

If the scheduled posting is working properly then hopefully by now I will have delivered one of these to the birthday girl (as I write I am leaning towards giving her the blue one), and I will be making good use of the other one.

These are the prototypes of one design line for my shop, so shhhhh! They are constructed from sturdy white linen and individually embellished by me and my trusty little sewing machine. The interiors are 100% cotton with an elastic closure over a vintage button. The buttons are selected from a supplier in the Noordermarkt in Amsterdam.

I am besotted with them. They are absolutely my favourite way to dress up an outfit for the weekend. Spacious enough for the essentials (24cm across the bottom) and lovely to hold due to the compressed fleece between the exterior and interior fabrics.

Let me know what you think.

P.S. Apologies for the lighting in the photos. It was late and I have no time to edit before we leave.

A belated Queen's Day

2009-05-13T12:31:00.002+02:00

These are the photos I meant to post on Queen's Day but delayed due to events on the day.

All images by me. More photos here.

View Halloo!

2009-05-11T11:51:00.000+02:00

One of the features I love most about No. 75 is the huge bay window looking out onto the street from which we can see the canal.

We are going to put a 1.5 seat armchair right here so I can curl up with a book and watch the world go by

The view to the left:

and looking down:

and to the right:

Sigh, I can't wait...

All gone to look for America

2009-05-08T15:13:00.000+02:00

Tiny streaks of white speed boat spray across the broad Hudson River as we flew over more land than I had ever flown over before. It was 1998 and I was on my way to America for the very first time.

Huge trucks, bandit style raced past us on the highway. Rows and rows of traffic and hot tarmac snaking off into the distance. Billboards loomed above me, smiling faces, whiter than white teeth and mile high telephone numbers. Call me, buy me.

I was in the South, Memphis Tennessee, living inside every movie I had seen growing up. Everything so familiar on screen, so alien in person.

I can't say I fell in love. Although, it left me with a strange yearning for Red Lobster's cheese and garlic biscuits.

That all changed in December 2004. I landed in Manhattan.

Big.
Skyscrapers.
Dizzy spinning in circles.
People.
So many people.
Shouldn't they be bursting into song randomly like the movies? Shouldn't I?
Steam from the streets.
Yellow taxis.
Cold breath exhaled in puffs of white.
Spinning and spinning so much to see.
Lights.
In Times Square,
On Broadway.
Painted across my upturned face.

I fell in love, and I fell hard.

By the time this posts I will be back in America. We are heading to the South (the Carolinas this time), to celebrate the milestone birthday of a beloved friend. On our way back to Amsterdam we will be spending a few days in Manhattan, me and the husband, in a city we both love but have never explored together.

I can't wait.

Slipping away

2009-05-07T16:08:00.002+02:00

Time is escaping me today. We leave tomorrow for America. I have not packed. I still have errands to run. One hundred little things I meant to do will not be done. Also, several possible projects snuck into my brain in the small hours of the morning and I won't get a chance to try any of them before I go. I could beat my fists with frustration. The good news is that these ideas, if I can pull them off are a big enough push to get my Etsy shop plotted for my return.

I have scheduled several posts while I am away to keep the blog ticking along. I hope you enjoy them, but please don't be offended if I don't comment until we get back. This will be an internet free holiday for me.

See you in two weeks.

Tomatoes: An Update

2009-05-06T12:45:00.004+02:00

The tomatoes have been growing for three weeks now. Since this photo was taken at the weekend the count is as follows:

8 healthy little seedlings who bend to follow the sun during the day
3 little stems whose leaves weren't quite strong enough to unfold
1 empty pod (nope, no idea what happened there)

By the time we return from America those which remain (gah!) should be ready for potting out and being placed at the mercy of the damned pigeons, who are currently circling my beautiful grape vine with more than a little interest. Flying vermin.

Hopefully each seedling should grow into a 40cm bush of tomatoes. What with the pigeons and the move to No. 75 coming up in July they are going to need to be hardy little plants. I am giving them daily pep talks. We have an understanding. Right?

A Shop Opening

2009-05-06T10:07:00.003+02:00

Sandra from Pepperberry & Co. is launching her shop on Etsy today. Her snap wallets are gorgeous and the close up photos allow you to see all the hard work that went into them. I'm hoping she will also list some of her notebook covers as well.

Please stop by and check her shop out.

Giveaway Reminder

2009-05-05T10:47:00.003+02:00

Just a little reminder that as a winner of Sandra's giveaway I need to "pay it forward". It seems that I do have more than a couple of visitors (thank you Google Analytics!) and some of them even come back more than once. However, not many people comment and that is my favourite part of the blogosphere, reading comments and responding to other people's posts on their blogs.

So, if you are lurking out there, please take the time to say hello and if you have a blog I will return the favour by hopping on over to visit you.

If you would like to help me pay it forward you can leave a comment on this post. Winners (if there are any) will be notified in mid-May, otherwise pictures of the clothing going to the Salvation Army will be posted instead. If you want to join in but don't want to pay it forward yourself, that's fine, I promise I won't tell. You will still be helping me out by forcing me to produce gifts for others.

2009-05-04T18:13:00.002+02:00

Look what came home with me from the market today...

Each of these pieces is 155 x 55 cm and destined to become a bag, with the exception of the yellow fabric which which (hopefully) will become the back of a cushion cover.

On my way back from the market I spied this little hen, who fits in the palm of my hand. I have no idea what I will do with her but I couldn't resist.

All images by me.

Technical Issues

2009-05-02T11:01:00.002+02:00

Due to some ISP issues we are having difficulty accessing the internet in the Netherlands. Which is a shame as I had some great stuff to post. Normal service will resume as soon as, well, normal service resumes.

Wish me luck - I have to have emergency dental treatment this afternoon - ugh.

Queen's Day

2009-04-30T20:17:00.003+02:00

I had planned a photo post for Queen's Day to show how Amsterdam looked through my eyes. Tragically, four people were killed and many others injured today when a driver allegedly drove his car deliberatly towards the Royal family. It seems a little innapropriate to post the pictures today so I will post tomorrow. Those poor people.

This does not bode well.

2009-04-28T20:06:00.002+02:00

We have no furniture. We moved to the Netherlands into furnished accommodation and stayed that way. Now that we have bought Number Seventy Five we need furniture. Quite a lot of it. Which is fine. When we decided to buy a place we sat down and worked out what we would need and how much it would probably cost. The money is put aside (no credit cards for us) and we are eagerly awaiting our spending days.

Early on we knew we wanted to splurge on key pieces. By splurge I mean get great deals on things we liked. In the Netherlands it can take up to 12 weeks to get furniture from purchase to delivery so we began our research early. We found a good promotion on the sofa and armchair w wanted which reduced the price by 800 Euros. To good to miss we talked to the firm and were told that if we ordered now and paid a deposit we would get the promotion price and they would deliver it in July when we move in.

Fantastic, we thought, and handed over the deposit. I knew it had been too easy.

Last week both the Husband and I had missed calls on our phones and voicemails asking us to call about our sofa. A sense of impending doom commenced.

Today I had the following conversation with the furniture company.

Me: Hello
Sofa Person (SP): $MyName? This is $Furniture Company about your sofa.
Me: Ok
SP: Your sofa is ready. We would like to arrange delivery
Me: I don't need the sofa until July. I don't want it delivered now.
SP: Sorry?
Me: I ordered the sofa to be delivered in July, not now.
SP: Oh, but, oh. Well you need to pay for it in full in week 27
Me: When is week 27? What date?
SP: and then it will be delivered to (name of storage place, can't remember) and you will be charged 10 Euros a week for storage.
Me: No.
SP: Sorry?
Me: I ordered the sofa in February, during a promotion with the agreement that it would not be delivered until the week commencing 13th July. We were not told at any point that we would have to pay for storage.
SP: Well the store should have told you.
Me: Well they didn't. I wouldn't have bought the sofa in February on promotion if I was going to be charged storage fees.
SP: Well it is company policy.
Me: That is not my problem. We were not...

SP starts talking

Me: No. Stop. I am telling you now that we were never informed of this. We ordered a sofa for the week commencing 13th July. We were told that we would be contacted in June to arrange delivery. I would like my sofa delivered in July. I am not paying for storage.
SP: The shop should have told you, they made a mistake.
Me: Yes, but I didn't make the mistake. I am your customer, it is not my responsibility to know your company policy, it is your store's responsibility.
SP: But my order book is not open for July. It is too far in advance.
Me: Well why don't you call me back in June?
SP: Uh... um... ok, so I call you back in June?
Me: Yes. Call me back in June *big huge sigh*. Goodbye.

This is just the first piece of furniture. This does not bode well.

You say tomay-toe and I say tom-ah-toe

2009-04-27T16:53:00.003+02:00

A couple of weeks ago I invested heavily (less than 5 Euros) in a plastic propagator and a packet of bush cherry tomato seeds.

It took me about 5 minutes to tuck a seed into each pod of earth and then I moved them to a radiator shelf in a window.

I left them covered with their lid, to stop the Cat destroying them. The husband poked the box a couple of times and asked exactly what it was and then we left them.

This week, exciting developments in the propagator...

Today is a very good day.

2009-04-27T10:21:00.002+02:00

The weather may have reverted to type in Amsterdam after all those weeks of gorgeous sunshine but I have a huge bunch of sunny yellow tulips on my desk, I am about to leave and go and see No. 75 for the first time since we signed the paperwork (eep!) and I won my first blog prize.

The lovely Sandra from Pepperberry & Co picked my name for a Pay it Forward giveaway. I would love to play along but I don't actually know if I have three readers of this little blog of mine to send gifts to. So, if there are three readers out there who would like a little handmade something so I can fulfil my part of paying it forward then please leave me a comment.

I am going to be time crunched with our holiday in the US coming up so I am going to leave this open until I return in the middle of May and send out gifts in early June. I would hate to rush handmade gifts out that weren't up to my usually high standards. If I don't have enough readers to pay it forward then I will commit to completeing by mid June, the great wardrobe clear out I have been putting off for months and donate clothing to the Salvation Army here in Amsterdam.

Dreams of Summer

2009-04-22T11:25:00.003+02:00

Its not that the weather is bad (quite the opposite, it remains unseasonably warm and sunny) but I seem to be carrying a small black cloud above my head at the moment. I flew into London Gatwick this morning (I was meant to be flying to London City, but that's another story) and landed just behind a plane coming in from Cancun.

Just shy of two years ago, gosh, nearly two whole years ago the Husband and I were those bleary eyed early morning passengers. We had flown from London to Cancun the week before we were due to move to the Netherlands to see one of my very best girls marry the love of her life.

Note: Do not, ever, EVER try to move countries when you are jetlagged. Just don't do it.

I digress, it was beautiful in Cancun, I had scoured the internet to find something other than the concrete monoliths you usually have to stay in on the Hotel Strip and we wound up in a teeny $60 a night hotel where we were treated like royalty. We had a fabulous room, with a double jacuzzi on one balcony and an unrestricted view of the sea from the other.

Yes, that would be two balconies, two, for $60 a night. Hurrah.

On the first morning I awoke to this:

I spent most of my days, perched here:

The colours were like nothing I had ever seen before.

I am on countdown to our big holiday this year, two weeks in the US celebrating the 40th birthday of another favourite girl, exploring the Southern States and swinging back for a few days via my beloved Manhattan. A city I lost my heart to in 2004 on my first and thus far only visit.

I can feel the little black cloud lifting already...

Images by me

A little blog love.

2009-04-21T15:08:00.004+02:00

I'm really enjoying the Bright Side Project. Aside from the fact that you can win very cool stuff, I think the concept is quite simply brilliant. I love indie artists, and the BSP showcases them beautifully. In addition the questions for each item are incredibly thought provoking and force me to really think before answering.

After years of being told to "be nice" by my Mother and years of being laughed at for being nice (kids are mean), I really like the idea that someone is promoting nice-ness. Melissa started Operation Nice to promote and recognise nice behaviour. Who can argue with spreading a little nice? Its free and it makes everyone's day better.

Dinner

2009-04-21T14:18:00.003+02:00

Squash and Goats Cheese Galette, originally uploaded by Emmy (No.75).

I'm thinking of making this for dinner tonight, but we have been having it quite regularly over the last few weeks. Maybe I should use our fallback of Roasted Broccoli and Shrimp.

A valuable lesson.

2009-04-19T21:10:00.003+02:00

I completed another new bag today. This time to hold my stuff at the gym as I work out (bottle of water, ipod, locker key). It turned out ok, slight imperfections but nothing I can't live with.

It gave me the impetuous to drag out another bag which had gone horribly wrong. I had made another fold over clutch in linen with a ribbon detail. From the start it was doomed. The linen was incredibly soft and difficult to handle, from cutting to stitching it was a nightmare. I finally forced it into submission, with wonky stitching only to discover that the ribbon had pulled free from the seam at one end of the bag. I gave up and threw it into my interfacing bin aka where projects go to die. In the back of my head I remembered Amy Karol's advice that if something is not going well, lay it aside and come back to it at a later date.

So I picked it up today and decided to give it one more go before chucking it into the scrap box. I started by unpicking the outer from the inner and restitching the ribbon seam a couple of millimeters higher. Success! Onwards.

I re-pressed everything and pulled the bag back into shape, the stitching was still a little off, the linen stretched every time I touched it but it is now a functioning clutch. Not good enough to give to anyone, but good enough for me to use.

I have no idea what I will do with the rest of that particular linen in my stash, it is just horrible to work with, but I am pleased that I stuck with the bag and brought it around. Pictures tomorrow when the light is better.

This or That? Bedding

2009-04-17T09:53:00.004+02:00

Today it is more of a this, this, this or that.

I confess, I am painfully in love with Zara Home's current range of bedding. I can't seem to pick a favourite, or even two favourites (one on the bed, one in the wash). I can't even decide on a colour scheme, which should be the easiest part. The bed we are ordering is a classic upholstered boxspring in a grey panama cotton. It's the kind of bed you want to lounge in, propped against the headboard with a good book, while you lazily dab buttery crumbs from your breakfast toast plate with your finger.

So, do I choose:

Classic grey on grey and add pops of turquoise with lamps and rugs?

Gorgeous white, with a subtle bluey green trim to remind me of the sea?

Punchy purple against calm white?

All images from Zara Home

Full on turquoise and stripes?

Currently everything in the bedroom is white (walls, floor, cupboards) and I intend to keep it that way. The windows are low level as the bedroom is in the eaves. I will need to add bedside units, reading lights and rugs.

Choices, choices.

Procrastination

2009-04-15T19:15:00.002+02:00

I have wasted my time today.

I failed to go swimming.
I failed to start a sewing project.
I failed to write a proper blog post.

I did however, buy a propagator and seeds. I also made galette pastry for dinner which is chilling while I write this and try to sort out the measurements for a new cushion.

Onwards to tomorrow.

In other news, Amsterdam is glorious today. It is warm and sunny, the air smells of flowers and spring.

Spring has sprung

2009-04-14T11:05:00.004+02:00

We had a fabulous Easter weekend in Devon. A visit to Darting ton Hall Gardens showed that spring is in full bloom.

All photos are by me, the rest of the set can be found on Flickr.

My Italy - The Lakes

2009-04-08T14:06:00.003+02:00

Images by me. Taken at Lake Maggiore in 2007.

Ivy

2009-04-08T13:23:00.004+02:00

I placed my hand on the dusty wall, one finger lying directly over a crack in the faded plaster. The spot had warmed to blood temperature by the morning sun crawling over the apricot rooftops. I gazed at the broken off corners of palazzo balconies and marvelled at the iron work on doors leading to secret, hidden courtyards spilling over with flowers. My feet followed the polished cobbles set in fans spreading beneath the soles of my shoes. It was quiet enough to hear the gentle slump of a cat turning in a sun spot through an open window and somewhere far away a radio chattered like birdsong.

This is my Italy.

The Italy I fell in love with as a student on a year's secondment. Exiled from the familiarity of London to an alien country where I barely spoke the language and which I saw for the first time from an aeroplane window as we descended over the Dolomite Mountains.

My Italy. Which charmed me, excited me and stilled me all at the same time.

I lived in a small, nondescript town, famous only as the birthplace of Mussolini. Nearly destroyed during the war, first by the Germans and then by the British it had regrown the way ivy does. Crawling back through marble and concrete to quietly sit again.

I changed that year. Slowly and imperceptibly Italy crept into the very bones of me. I became braver, and stronger and simply more than I believed I could be. I met people who inspired and intrigued me. I learnt to listen.

When I left, Italy came with me, in the gestures I make, the way I feed my friends and family, the life I lead and I kept coming back.

It is where my husband I decided, hesitantly, in promises, dreams and hopes that we would marry, start a family of our own and eventually in our dotage, we would return to Italy to spend our days.

My heart fractured for the people of Abruzzo this week, their lost loved ones and broken homes. The fear on their faces that only a force of nature visiting its fury upon you can bring. It is an indescribable tragedy, but I know that once again, like ivy, the towns and people will quietly, gently grow back through marble and concrete.

It's what Italians do, its what Italy does.

Thrifty Sewing

2009-04-08T10:39:00.004+02:00

I received Amy Karol's book Bend the Rules Sewing from Amazon last Thursday and was determined to make something out of it as soon as possible.

Look what accompanied me to the concert on Friday...

Adorable, no? It was just big enough to fit the essentials (purse, keys , lipgloss, phone) and tucked neatly under my arm for dancing. Perfect.

The creative streak continued over the weekend and I finally hit on a use for the meter and a half of white linen I snagged from the scrap bin in Ikea on my last visit for a whole 0.80 Euros. Following a tutorial linked in the Bend the Rules Sewing Flickr Group I managed to produce six lovely white linen napkins for less than a Euro - not bad going.

The bags and other items I make have been generating a lot of scraps and offcuts lately. I hate to throw things away so I keep anything that might be usable in a scrap box. I thought about using them for the coasters in the book but random surfing led me to this tutorial and I whipped up these coasters quick smart from my scrap box, with no hand sewing required. Incredibly easy and I love that they fit over the base of a wine glass so that wherever you put the glass down it has its own coaster.

Yummy Chocolatey Goodness

2009-04-07T09:15:00.000+02:00

I was looking for something to bake this weekend and having had previous success with Dan Lepard's recipes, I had a quick trawl through the archives of his series How to Bake on the Guardian website.

Among many good looking recipes the one for Chocolate Custard Muffins caught my eye. Ok, I'll admit it, they caught my eye because they flashed up a mental image of soft, warm choclate cake filled with chocolate custard. As it turns out the "custard" in the title refers to the base element of the muffin mix which is a chocolate custard to which flour and baking powder are added to give the necessary cakey texture.

What emerged from my oven were the most deliciously, moist, fragrant chocolate muffins I have ever eaten and I must confess to not really being a chocolate muffin fan. They were a delight and incredibly easy to make. Definitely one for the recipe file.

Decorating Inspiration: A Fairy Tale

2009-04-06T19:23:00.007+02:00

So once upon a time Chez Larsson posted about her wardrobe and it had these amazing doors, which she had cleverly done herself.

Image from Chez Larsson

Courtney liked the design so much she made a tutorial about it.

Image from Modern Homebody

Apartment Therapy liked it so much they featured it.

Anneliese liked it so much she painted her whole hall that way

Image from Apartment #412

Which is where I found it and promptly fell in love with it. I see it working either in the downstairs bathroom (if I decide on partial tiling only) or as a feature wall in the living room in a medium grey. Planning, planning...

IN CONCERT: Jools Holland and Friends

2009-04-05T17:13:00.004+02:00

In a former church, just off one of the busiest squares in Amsterdam the Husband followed me as I tried to secure a good vantage point with a surface to lean against.

"Here. No. Here. No. Ok. Here. I promise, here is fine."

And oh, how it was.

We had bought tickets for Jools Holland before Christmas around in a mass ticket purchase for upcoming gigs at the Paradiso, including tickets for Luka Bloom and Ray LaMontagne. At 24 Euro, Jools was the most expensive and also the one we waited longest for.

Due to an unseasonably warm evening (oh, and also because someone *ahem* me, forgot the tickets and had to go home for them *ahem*), we eschewed the warm up acts to sit in the sunshine with beer and nachos.

I love going to the Paradiso. It is such a fantastic venue. The stage sits in front of three huge illuminated stained glass windows and there is seating on two upper balcony levels, if you get there early enough. Reminiscent of a pared down music hall, it is a small venue, which is great if you are in the audience because you can actually see the people on stage even if you are standing at the back. I had wondered if the stage was big enough to hold the 18 piece Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, for Luka Bloom it was just one man and his guitar. Even Ray LaMontagne filled the stage up with five people. No doubt, it was a tight fit but the entire Orchestra and a grand piano fit right up there.

I can honestly say that I have never been to a concert before where the artists were having such a great time. It was a party on stage from the moment Jools set foot on stage until they trooped off at the end of the second encore. They danced, sang, played, whooped, clapped and shook any tambourine they could get their hands on. It was infectious, the crowd couldn't stop moving along with them.

When we booked the tickets Marc Almond was listed as a guest vocalist but when I checked the listing on Friday morning I discovered, to my delight, that Ruby Turner had been added to the line up as well. The supporting vocalists, Rosie May and Louise Marshall were excellent but Ruby Turner came out to rapturous applause and just blew the roof right off.

I truly thought that Ruby would be the highlight of the night for me but I was utterly unprepared for the showmanship of Marc Almond. Although he seemed slightly uncertain as he began his first song, by the time he soared into the big band chorus of "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye", he was lighting up the stage. The audience couldn't keep from dancing, hands in the air, singing along with him. He was absolutely amazing, very theatrical and absolutely compelling to watch. There wasn't an off moment in the entire two hour performance.

I bounced out of the venue still dancing, I don't think I've stopped yet.

This video was recorded in 2005, and though its good I can assure you Friday's performance blows its cotton socks off.

A New Purse Style

2009-04-02T09:56:00.002+02:00

I had been looking for the right bag project for this fat quarter of poppy fabric for a few weeks. I got my hands on some Loop Frame Purse Handles in the UK a week ago and thought it would be a great way to try out the U-Handblog tutorial.

It worked out so well. There was definitely some modifications and cursing to get it right. I have some ideas on how to tweak it next time.

Huh, the left photo makes it look a little uneven. That is definitely the camera skills rather than the bag.

I am so pleased with it and I finished minutes before we headed out to a neighbourhood party where it swung happily from my wrist as we drank wine in the garden. Hurray for spring.

Wait a Minute Mr. Postman

2009-04-01T07:59:00.000+02:00

I received lovely things in the post yesterday.

First up a beautiful print from Olivia Jefferies of Restless Things. Olivia specialises in work she produces on found paper. This particular piece reminds me of coral and was originally printed on a page of Howards Way, complete with pencil annotations from a reader who was struggling to understand the meaning of the text. It is utterly charming and I cannot wait to get it framed in chunky white wood and a brilliant white mat. At the moment it is destined for the wall in the study of Number 75 where it's literary undertones will be at home with all our books.

Olivia also has a lovely blog which can be found here.

My second parcel came all the way from Hong Kong to the Netherlands in just 5 days. Excellent service. It was so elegantly packaged it felt like unwrapping a gift rather than bag making supplies.

Gorgeous. I will definitely be re-visiting Meowcraft for more supplies in the future. I am such a sucker for beautifully wrapped parcels.

Cushion Fabric

2009-03-31T12:11:00.004+02:00

Nestled In posted pictures of their new living room today and referenced Ink and Spindle as a fabric source.

Wow.

I had been looking for unique fabrics to turn into scatter cushions for the new sofa and these absolutely hit the mark. Limited edition, hand screen printed fabrics using environmentally friendly inks.

After much deliberation (and checking the import tax limits) I have chosen the following:

Images from Ink and Spindle.

The exchange rate means that these fabrics are very affordable. I can't wait for them to arrive.

Perfect Peacocks

2009-03-31T08:37:00.002+02:00

I love peacocks. The colours, the varieties, the plumage. Ok, maybe not the unbearable squawking but otherwise, I'm a fan.

I would love to incorporate peacocks into a room design in some small way, if not a display of feathers (I've heard it is bad luck) then maybe in some other way.

Some Etsy inspiration...

All images courtesy of the Etsy shop owners. Each image links to the shops when you click on it.

And at the Noordermarkt I found...

2009-03-30T18:07:00.002+02:00

Bric-a-Brac Galore

Chandeliers and Furniture

Red and Orange

Sunny Yellow Kitchenware

Fabric as far as the eye can see.

All photos by me.

Photos taken at the Amsterdam Noordermarkt.

A Walk in Amsterdam

2009-03-30T17:55:00.006+02:00

Amsterdam is glorious today. Perfect for a walk to the market. Come along with me.

No need for pedal power today

Taking time to cross the canals

pausing to look at a shop dressed in white

Looking up to see houses swallowing the sky

Crossing another canal where houseboats bob gently in place

My shadow keeping me company

Looking at houseboats and trees, before finally arriving at the market.

All photos by me.

This or That? The Desk

2009-03-27T15:30:00.000+01:00

We will be fortunate to have a designated study/home office in No. 75. As the main user I get to decide on much of the furniture. The room is also sufficiently spacious to house our quite extensive library (future posts debating custom built in shelving versus the obiquitous Ikea Billy are to be expected).

As with every other room in No.75 we have a completely blank canvas to play with. White walls, square room, wood floor. One wall is formed by original 1930's stained glass sliding doors. One wall has two enormous windows on it. Another wall is completely bare (currently designated for bookshelves) and the final wall has a door to the hallway in it.

Right now functional and cost efficient takes precedence over "OMG! Ah-mayyyyyy-zing" when it comes to desks. So we will be revisiting ye olde favourite Ikea for the desk. I am trying to keep the colour in the accessories in this room so that it is a calm space to work in.

The desk legs will probably be:

But I can't choose between a solid beech desk top (lovely, solid, butcher block wood) or a glossy white desk top (clean lines, glossy surface, won't clash with the wooden floor).

So this:

Or that?

Images from Ikea

Today I am Uninspired

2009-03-26T16:28:00.003+01:00

Image by Life

Maybe I need a duvet day. Something like this would do nicely.

So Very Happy

2009-03-25T08:35:00.000+01:00

I have been coveting the So Very Happy print from Studio Mela for some weeks. I can't decide whether I want it in the kitchen (by the coffee machine) or in the office (for constant reminders!).

And then there's the choice of colours... Version 1, 2 or 3.

Decisions, decisions.

Images from Studio Mela

Paper Impressions

2009-03-24T08:53:00.002+01:00

I love stationery, I love it so much that I have a tendency to hoard it and never let it fulfill its purpose of putting a smile on the face of the person it should be sent to.

While hunting through Etsy one day I came across Simple Song Designs and promptly fell in love with Suann's Blind Impression Notecards. So far I have ordered two sets for me so far and a set for a wonderful letter writing friend (for whom Suann specially sourced envelopes in my friend's favourite shade of purple).

The card stock is beautiful soft but sturdy, textured but a joy to write on.

Image from SimpleSongDesigns

Antler

2009-03-23T09:49:00.005+01:00

Over at Decor8 Holly posted a real find for a grey Monday morning.

Antler Magazine's mission is to compose "a collection of beautiful, inspiring ideas and designs from all aspects of life" and with their debut edition they have certainly fulfilled that.

I was absolutely captured by the range of the magazine and especially by the article on Emily Ryan (whose Migration Shift dress may have stolen my heart a little bit).

Image from Emily Ryan

New Camera!

2009-03-20T09:15:00.005+01:00

Happy Birthday to me!

My wonderful husband bought me a fabulous new camera for my birthday.

A weekend of fun, frolics and good times lies ahead.

Ikea, Love

2009-03-19T09:44:00.004+01:00

In Amsterdam, more than any other city I have lived in, getting to Ikea is a breeze. There are several in the Netherlands and two easily accessible by public transport from Amsterdam.

Yesterday I headed out there with the intention of picking up some fabric for bag making and also to have a better look at some of the furniture pieces we are considering without the weekend crowds or the reluctant husband.

The fabric section was an absolute goldmine. The off cuts bin was overflowing with useful pieces, most of them quite large and nearly all for under one euro, including a three metre long piece of hemmed fabric for 70 cents which will be our new table runner. I have been wanting to try out lining bags with plain canvas instead of fusible interfacing for a while and in Ikea you can cut as much as you want for E4.50 a metre.

My best bargain, however, came from the "as is" section right before the cash desks. When we first moved into our current rental we needed a spare bed but due to space constraints we knew a sofa bed would suit us better. We chose the Beddinge in Sandvik Green and put on the best mattress primarily for the comfort of our guests but also incase we ever had to use it as a bed or sofa for a period of time ourselves.

When we move to No.75 it will remain a spare bed but it is going to be in a room with a wall of windows and will also be nice to slump on for reading when the weather is not quite nice enough to sit outside. While scouring the bargain bin yesterday I saw a cover for the square arm cushions (which we had eschewed previously due to them being 26 Euros each). Hmmm, I thought, if I can find another one I'll get them. And, lo, after a bit of digging another one was unearthed. Having tracked down the cushion fillers (vacuum packed foam, how practical) I thought I better check how much they were discounting the covers for (the fillers are 7 Euros and the covers are normally 19 Euros). The tag in the first one said 15 Euros, not great but a saving is a saving. The other one, however, said 2.50 Euros, which happily Ikea matched.

Yes! *Happy Dance*

So two arm cushions for 18 Euros, less than the cost of one cover.

And here they are, assembled and looking pretty in the spare room.

Image by Me

I also got to get a look at the new garden furniture (as featured on Apartment Therapy here).

I couldn't get up close and personal with anything as it was all still in construction phase and roped off but what was out was very good looking.

I really think that the low lounge furniture

Image courtesy of Apartment Therapy

could work on the roof terrace. The cushions were extremely thick and the colour of the furniture is more of a milky caramel than it seems in the photo. With a few brightly patterned cushions and a couple of throws I think it could have potential.

Ikea, Love.

Did somebody call a Doctor?

2009-03-17T22:09:00.005+01:00

How have I not come across House Doctor before. This year's catalogue is 63 glorious pages of so many beautiful things I want to buy them all and stuff our home full of them.

This tea set comes in purple as well and is part of a much bigger range including serving dishes, trays and other kitchen goodies.

Vases, holders and candlesticks

I want all these ribbons on their beautiful spools. I don't know what I would do with them, but I want them anyway!

All images courtesy of House Doctor

Beautiful Things

2009-03-17T10:24:00.000+01:00

When we move in I will fill our home with beautiful things.

The candlesticks would stand on the floor by the bath to be lit during long, luxurious bubble baths.

The wings would hang somewhere discreet, so that you just catch sight of them out of the corner of your eye.

These little birds would peek from the edge of a bookshelf.

The ridges on this jug make me want to run my fingers over them.

All images from Cox and Cox.

The Swatches Are Here

2009-03-16T13:28:00.004+01:00

The swatches from Bemz arrived on Saturday

From the top centre: Sybarry - Dove Gray 100% Cotton, Zinc Gray 100% Cotton, Zinc Grey Linen Cotton Blend, Graphite Grey Linen Cotton Blend, Graphite Grey 100% Cotton Chenile.

We have chosen...

The cotton chenille was just too lovely, soft and velvety with a tight weave texture.

The swatches came with a small brochure giving more information about the fabrics. All the fabrics are machine washable, sanforised, treated with stain protector and subjected to the Martindale test.

Which is pretty impressive for E39 a cover.

This or That? The Kitchen Table

2009-03-13T09:49:00.008+01:00

I am trying to decide between two Ikea kitchen tables.

In the red corner we have:

The Docksta.

Weighing in at 139 Euros and 105cm diameter I particularly like the compact shape and slimline design. The downside being that it is in every magazine, design blog I read.

In the blue corner:

The Liatorp

Weighing in at 199 Euros and 110cm diameter. The Liatorp also extends to seat more people. I like the pedestal design. It feels classic but in an up to date way and will be a nice contrast to our streamlined cabinets. I don't need it to extend - although it might be handy for sewing, there really won't be room and if I need to use it as extra kitchen work space will the "split" annoy me?

I am planning to pair it with these chairs from Trendhopper:

a bargain at 39.95 Euros each. I just need to decide what colour to go for...

Table images from Ikea. Chair image from Trendhopper.

Rent-a-Painting

2009-03-12T12:37:00.000+01:00

Living in rental properties (in more than one country) for as long as we have, O and I have collected very little in the way of art. Getting permission to bang nails in the wall was more than most landlords would grant us. We do have a small collection of important (to us) pieces, including:

The John Bates, the only piece of original art I have ever bought.
A large Warhol-esque canvas of me at 1 year old by an Irish artist whose name escapes me (not as narcissistic as it sounds, it was a 30th birthday present from my Father and Stepmother)
A low number limited edition print of the river Dart (a present to O from his parents)

It is undoubtedly a disparate collection.

With a new house to decorate we have been considering art for the walls but have hit two problems:

1) We haven't really ever focused on art before as it wasn't an option and so find the number of options bewildering
2) We don't want to spend huge amounts of money, especially if there is a risk that as our taste develops we might fall out of love with it.

Which is why when this month's Time Out Amsterdam arrived I was delighted to find an article on Art for Rent.

The concept is perfect for us. For a monthly fee (which includes rent, insurance and administration) you can choose art to go on your walls. It will be delivered to your home and then it is just a matter of choosing where you want it to go.

Depending on which scheme you participate in you can choose from original paintings, prints, sculptures. If you want to change a piece you just select another and swap them over.

After a bit of research we have decided to use the scheme run by SBK. Membership of SBK starts at 5 Euros per month but typically you will pay 1% of the cost of the piece you are renting. SBK put all the rental cost in savings for you and when you wish to, you can draw on this to purchase art from their collection.

With over 55,000 pieces from 5,000 artistsI am hopeful there will be something we like. I am also encouraged that they work directly with the artists and that they focus on local art.

Every week they update their virtual gallery which you can browse around by clicking on the doors.

Dining Room - The Furniture Plan

2009-03-11T09:16:00.000+01:00

No. 75 has a lounge-dining room running from the beautiful bay window at the front to the french doors opening onto the balcony at the back. The floor will be solid oak. It is light, it is airy, it is a blank canvas. Having chosen the lounge furniture, dark grey sofa and love seat, we needed something which would tone in while still being a "separate" area. I took inspiration from my beloved John Bates painting: I think we have decided on this table:

Ikea Norden (220/266 x 100) in Birch

These chairs:

Ikea Henriksdal in Gobo White

and this cabinet:

Ikea Hemnes in Yellow

I know, it is a bit "Ikea Heavy" but trust me, we looked at the more expensive options and this is ultimately what works best for us.

To try and alleviate the Ikea-ness of the room and also because with O and The Cat around white is a completely impractical colour. We will be ordering covers for the chairs from Bemz. I have ordered all the grey fabric samples they have so hopefully one of them will work.

I plan on adding a purple table runner and maybe putting a couple of the chairs in purple (we will have 8 chairs in total), to pick up on the colours in the picture

Money, Money, Money

2009-03-10T19:16:00.003+01:00

We signed the mortgage papers today.

Getting to this point has been exhausting.

The deposit will be transferred now to reach the notary on Monday and then we wait until moving in day.

Weekend Projects

2009-03-09T11:15:00.003+01:00

This was my weekend...

All photos by me.

Clockwise from top right:

A quote designed and framed for my desk, a further copy in a different colour sent in pdf to a friend in the US.
My first ever attempt at pillows was a roaring success using this tutorial and these photos as inspiration.
A small stack of tissue holders which I have been making to practice my sewing skills.
My Friday flowers - white tulips and pink hyacinths to encourage spring to creep a little closer.

I also made puff pastry for the first time, completely by accident. If this recipe had mentioned that the pastry was puff I would never even have tried it (too fiddly, I can't make puff pastry, I'll just buy it or substitute short crust etc.) But I did it and it was glorious. As suggested I served it with mustard vinaigrette doused green veg, but tender stem broccoli instead of beans as that is what I had in the fridge.

It was a good cooking weekend. Sunday night also saw a storming pasta in a creamy sauce of homemade pesto with chargrilled asparagus and a caprese salad on the side.

Roll on next weekend...

Coffee, My Love.

2009-03-06T16:57:00.008+01:00

I was a late comer to the wonders of coffee. I didn't partake until I was nineteen, and only then because I knew I was moving to Italy for a year and thought it best to get a little practice in.

I like to think I have made up for it since then.

I love coffee, loooooove it. I fear anything that might mean I have to give up my daily cup(s).

Every day starts with a white coffee and most evenings end with a single espresso and one sugar. And no, it does not mean I am awake all night. I am one of the fortunate ones.

A year or so ago after many (ok, five) years of coveting one we finally acquired a Nespresso.

Love.

On a bad day, this would be the third item I would save from a burning building after my Husband and the Cat.

We have this model:

Nespresso Essenza by Krups (image from Nespresso)

It has been life changing. O knows this, and today he sent me this article. To which I responded...

"See. I think where this article (possibly deliberately) fails is not speaking to George (or one of his reps). Mr. Clooney is famously outspoken on human rights and environmental issues and doesn't need the money the adverts afford him so he wouldn't do them if he had a problem with the ethics.

Tick one.

All coffee, from all producers was rated on a scale up to AA until 2003 when Nespresso added a triple A (AAA) category exceeding world standards and requirements and brought 35% their coffee's up to that standard, as the article says 50% by next year. The extra A rating refers to sustainability, whereas previously coffee had only been rated for quality. Nespresson is, and I quote: "produced to the highest standards of quality balancing the creation of social and economic value for farmers and their communities, as well as contributing to the preservation of the environment."

Tick two.

Heston Blumenthal is a food science genius and he uses them in his restaurant. Enough said.

Tick three."

I would love to see recycling for the capsules here in Amsterdam but it doesn't mean I am giving up my Nespresso in the interim.

What can I say, it had me at hello....

Heart Striking

2009-03-04T13:42:00.003+01:00

I was just over at Peonies and Polaroids, responding to one of her posts when I read a quote in the comment above me from Flora. She included the following quote:

"Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. We are all meant to shine."

It absolutely stopped me in my tracks.

I stumbled through the rest of the comment, acknowledged Flora and then immediately looked up the quote to find the origin.

It turns out that it is abridged from Marianne Williamson.

I have transferred the words to the largest, darkest blockiest font I could find and printed them in black onto white card. The words now hang by my desk.

My DIY Skillz

2009-03-04T12:50:00.003+01:00

The most impressive thing I have ever repaired has to be the washing machine in our current apartment. For reasons known only to itself it decided to stop half way through the cycle and give out a warning "peep".

Its a clever machine, it knew what was wrong and it tried to let me know too via its little screen. The problem being that I don't speak that much technical Dutch and the machine doesn't speak English.

No problem, I crack open the dictionary and discover that the machine has a problem with the pump.

I know nothing, no, less than nothing about washing machine pumps.

I hit google.

The responses are 50/50, either its something very simple or the machine is in the death throes.

I resort to hunting the apartment for a manual left by the landlord.

I find it.

Its in Dutch.

I haven't a hope.

Back to the computer, Bosch is a fairly common European brand I'll just look up the manual online.

Fail. The machine does not have a European manual in English.

I hunt harder and with mounting desperation, we have guests, I need clean clothes.

I finally establish that the only English speaking country this machine has ever been supplied to is Australia. I hunt a bit further and...

Ah-ha (of the choirs of angels variety), I find a pdf of the Australian manual.

A few minutes later, with liberal application of brute force from O to the pump cover, I have drained the machine and removed the pump. A 5 pence piece falls out.

That's it. I put everything back together and bask in the glory of my achievements.

And that, is the most impressive thing I have ever repaired.

Dream Roof Terrace

2009-03-04T09:10:00.004+01:00

Picture from Domino April 06 via We Love Domino

Oh my gosh. Isn't this gorgeous? This is my dream for no. 75's roof terrace. How can I achieve this? What is the structure made of? Is it permanent or temporary?

I think I'm in love. Swoon.

Look What I Made!

2009-03-03T17:09:00.002+01:00

Just look.

A purse.

All by myself.

I am absurdly and disproportionately proud.

With huge thanks to the lovely Lisa of U-Handbag for her genius instructions that even I could follow.

Bungee Jumping

2009-03-02T18:45:00.003+01:00

We have a mortgage. The paperwork arrived on Saturday. It's all in Dutch. It's terrifying. In a good way though, because it means the apartment will be ours. Really, really ours. Number Seventy Five will be our home and the place we build our family in.

I imagine that this is what bungee jumping must be like, thrilling, exhilarating and toe curlingly scary all at once.

Not, of course that I ever would bungee jump. I am far too much of a coward.