Phoebe et Les Bouillottes

Haiti Earthquake Appeal

2010-01-19T14:00:00.002Z

The Boston Globe's The Big Picture is always powerful photo journalism - this series, Haiti six days later, shows just how big the devastation is there.

People here in the UK can give to the DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal and there are lots of other sites where people can donate money to support efforts.

Megan might be the new Miranda?

2010-01-19T08:30:00.000Z

I like to read widely, and strongly believe that it's healthy to be exposed to opinion writers who you generally don't agree with. In theory. In reality, this means I spend a small part of my life making myself furious - but this intellectual self abuse can be hard to stop!

Back when I lived in Australia I used to let the Fairfax Media group (who publish both The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald) make me a little crazy by reading the regular columns written by Miranda Devine - I always knew they'd make me furious, but I'd read her regularly (despite frequently promising myself I wouldn't!)

For example, this piece during the Victorian bushfires, made me want to cash all my Qantas Frequent Flyer points in so I could go say horrible things, but I managed, somehow, to stay calm. Just. It's enough lefty rage to make a girl homesick!

Currently, the new object for my fist-clenching, muttering and silent seething is Megan McArdle 's Asymmetrical Information blog on The Atlantic's website (does anyone have a right wing commentator from a UK newspaper that they think I might hate? I should get local on this, as it would be therapeutic to crush the newspaper in my hands) who has published this piece of grrrrr. I need a cup of tea, perhaps a lie down.

Which columnists regularly make your blood boil?

Bags of Life, Life in Bags; Bags in Life, Life of Bags

2010-01-18T16:21:00.004Z

Today I was reading yet another G2 feature in the Guardian newspaper (TW's Christmas subscription started today!) that I strongly identified with - Paula Coccozza's excellent "How big is your bag-for-life mountain?" Along with some very sensible analysis of how faux-green these items can be, there was a delicious quote:

Back in 2001 the concept of a reusable bag was still so unfamiliar that in an early scene of the biopic of Iris Murdoch, the writer and her husband, John Bayley, are shown in a supermarket, transfixed by what the woman on the checkout might have meant when she asked, "Do you want a bag for life?" It must have sounded like quite a commitment, a sort of marriage for consumers.

I for one like to think I have stopped buying reusable bags many moons ago, but recently caved in on my no-bag-no-buy policy in a moment of wintry weakness. Oh the shame.

Since seeing an interesting link to Not On The High Street on Perri Lewis's Make and Do With Perri, I've been admiring these cuties:

Isn't the detailing on these prints amazing?

All images

But it seems they'll have to be a craft project in future, or at best a reward sometime in the future for not acquiring any more bags for life in the next year or two....

Mangle Cloth

2009-10-05T12:13:00.004+01:00

Some of my favourite vintage fabric is mangle cloth - the colours, the stripes, the feel. Just looking at it makes me feel very happy - it's me.

These delightful reusable sandwich bags were featured on Etsy today - they're something I've been thinking about making for a while, but just might have to buy from here instead.

Image

I ♥ LDN

2009-08-28T09:25:00.005+01:00

We're off to the North Devon Coast for the Bank Holiday weekend - as much as I love to get out of town when I can, lately I've been feeling some extra love for London. I must be reaching an important milestone as a migrant, because lately I just feel so right here. Sure, I am still occasionally homesick (mostly for people, and mangoes) but almost everyday I find myself admiring this city. Sigh.

Adorable!

2009-08-26T20:49:00.002+01:00

This video, via Basic French Lessons, is a complete ray of sunshine. If Capucine was my French tutor, I would be a lot more fluent!

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.

100% Poster Gold

2009-08-26T15:35:00.007+01:00

My friend Kate has posted an amazing 'Flight of the Conchords' poster on her blog today - another stunning print for framing on my future walls.

But I love this Flickr set that recreates the Tourism NZ posters from Murray's consulate office. So En-Zed! So adorable. The A3 CMYK versions make ideal laptop desktop wallpaper.

Images here and here

My furniture love child

2009-08-25T15:37:00.004+01:00

Brentwoods + Muji = Swoon!

My adopted* grandpa Ken caned and restored bentwood chairs, and I have a goregous chair he made for me before he died that is a true gem - personal, precious and significant furniture.

Muji is one of my many loves here in my adopted home of London, and I've used their stuff for nesting at each move. It's a completely homey and comforting store to me - I like to have something organise-y from Muji (even if it is just a 95p passport-looking notebook) when I feel overwhelmed by life, and I can't get excited about an up-coming trip without eyeing up a few small plastic pots or some drawstring bags.

So to see them combined in this exciting collaboration between Muji and Thonet, makers of the iconic No 14 on the right above, is pretty exciting - all I need now is for our house to be finished, my wallet to be a little plumper and a warehouse to store all the grown up things I will need one day.

* = (actually Laura's grand father, but I stayed with him and his wife often as a child, so adopted them as my extra set of grandparents)

Image and inspiration from this piece in last Sunday's Observer.

Spring!

2009-03-20T16:49:00.002Z

Spring is so exciting when it starts to emerge in London - after a dark, grey winter (magical snow day aside), the warmer temperatures and longer days gives everyone a smile. Lots of energy, good moods and outdoor time abound!

I have already started the cleaning, new projects and moved to a lightweight coat - and am constantly finding inspiring signs of life. The blossoms near home are beautiful - every morning more trees are in bloom. This photo from the Guardian's "24 hours in pictures" today captures the blue skies and soft colours of this very welcome guest of the city. Planning an outdoor weekend, including a walk amongst all the flowers and starting to dream of swimming in the sea this summer.

It's like a coffeeless Seattle.

2009-03-11T21:36:00.002Z

Swoon. John Stewart.

Le Jogging et Le Bus

2009-03-10T22:57:00.002Z

It's not all Canadian Indie music on my iPod of late - I have also been getting into this French language podcast, Coffee Break French, on the rare run home, or more commonly, on my commute into Central London.

The few daggy songs are sticking in my head, and I'm picking up some Scottish vocab from le prof - but this has been a really fun way to get back into some language study.

In Your Face!

2009-03-10T22:30:00.005Z

There's a lot to be said for theories of Relative Happiness - the latest cost of living survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit has been spun a lot of ways around the world in the last 24 hours, but only in London can we feel good about being cheaper than NY. As Londonist put it - In Your Face NY!

Once upon a time, London was proudly a bigger banking centre, and a younger, more global and better looking city, but these days we're just happy to be the cheapest (to visit - not seeing in myself at Sainos.) Even if this is largely due to the slump of the Pound, we can take comfort from the news that we're beating NY at something.

I fear the invasion of American tourists - this might be the summer of the loud-talking high-waisted chino?

Wooden Books by mrseliotbooks

2009-03-09T19:59:00.000Z

Perhaps if I am very, very good - and stop all this procrastinating, I could have a wooden book from mrseliotbooks?

Love from Afar : Mark Bittman

2009-03-09T18:43:00.000Z

I am an avid reader of so many blogs, and love it when my favourite bloggers have a real conversation - interviews, guest posts, links, etc. In lieu of membership of the digerati, or at the very least any real bonds across the blogosphere, I am instead in a position of an imagined or hypothetical conversation with favourite bloggers - I know them through their writing and can begin to imagine how they'll react to an issue or story, or find myself thinking that X or Y would be a great blog idea for them.

A good place to start my blog love letters is to the blog of Mark Bittman, a food writer (his column "The Minimalist" has been running for more than a decade) and blogger at the Bitten blog online for the New York Times (another enduring love, but another time.)

Bittman is clearly an institution, but more importantly such a human, direct writer that every piece feels a lot like hanging out in his small kitchen (I imagine!) Perhaps it's because he's a self-taught, self-described "home cook", but I relate to a lot of what he says and always drool over his recipes, even if I don't make them. My earliest memory of his blog is the famous, viral-ly-popular No-Knead Bread recipe back in 2006, but I think I have been aware of him for a little bit before then.

His new book, "Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating" is on my wish list for our holiday in April. Mark Bittman also introduced me to the handy word 'lessmeatarian', which I guess is what I am.

Hype for Hype Machine

2009-03-08T19:59:00.000Z

The Hype Machine is a great music blog aggregator that keeps coming up in my google search results with gems - not sure how their algorithms work, but it keeps showing me great new music blogs and linking my current likes to great new bands. A simple idea done rather well - makes it easy to find free downloads, along with links to legal downloads and album shopping. I am no music cool kid, having raised in a family with some deafness, but I know what I like when I hear it, and this seems a nice way to explore things to me. Fabulous procrastination!

A listen to the new Camera Obscura album (here and here) has, for example, now lead me to Metric, who will now be officially a thing on my iPod for many mornings to come.

Wooden Key by Mister Rob (Ryan)

2009-03-08T19:35:00.000Z

A romantic wooden key, from the amazing Londoner Robert Ryan. He has so many beautiful things on Etsy.