mirrormirror

Sandra’s Studio

Remember the Wrist Worms?

Isn’t this just the perfect place to create them? It makes me want to dive for my crochet hook.

{Image of Sandra Juto’s studio from her blog www.sandrajuto.com }

Unhappy Hipsters

‘It became their routine. And so the evenings stretched out before him: still, gray, and gravel-strewn’

From Unhappy Hipsters, the most fabulous new blog since Stuff White People Like. And yes, I know this has been three times round the design blogosphere already.

Amy Ruppel for the Working Proof

 

Writing grumpily about ghastly interiors is actually quite exhausting, so let’s move on to something altogether more charming and uplifting.

 

You know what a big fan I am of Amy Ruppel.

Well she has just produced a beautiful print for The Working Proof, an online print gallery and shop with the mission of promoting both art and social responsibility through a series of limited-edition prints.

Amy was inspired by the forests near her home in Portland, Oregon to produce the above print.  Buy it from the Working Proof for $45 and 15% of the proceeds will be donated to American Forests.

The forests of Washington and Oregon are so very beautiful. I feel like getting the above print for the Minx, who will, I’m sure, miss pine trees enormously if and when we get back to the sparse, deciduous forests of southern England.

Go Fug Your Windows

Well, I was very much liking the idea of a shop window decorating competition, until I actually saw the results.

Three designers, three windows in Bloomingdales NYC, three boring as hell rooms.

First up The Urbane Traveller by Eileen Joyce for Bloomingdales.

What is it about Americans and brown interiors?  It’s something that has really struck me since I’ve been living here. In the UK brown went out with the Victorians – thank goodness as it really doesn’t work with British light – but here it still seems to be the safe colour of choice.

This so bland, so dull, and so generic that words fail me. Except to wonder why a ‘sophisticated travel magazine editor’ would want to have two highly impractical stone orbs on her highly impractical coffee table.  Let me know if you see anything interesting in this snoozefest because it’s eluding me.

Next up The Writer’s Romantic Supper, by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan for Apartment Therapy.

This is where I destroy all my (fortunately nonexistent) chances of winning a ‘Homie’ next year.

It is criminal, yes, criminal, what Maxwell G-R, whose taste I normally quite like, has done to that absolutely gorgeous Neisha Crosland paper (speaking of which, we used to stock Neisha Crosland accessories in the shop and we must get some more in). 

He has totally ignored all the very wise advice on feature walls you give below – covering it up with two truly horrible portraits, overwhelming it with an astonishing amount of fuss and clutter and turning the whole into some dingy Victorian drawing room, complete with a quite spectacularly horrible repro armchair.  I know M G-R said he was going for a ‘steampunk-y’ vibe but honestly it’s because of rooms like his that minimalism was ever invented. And if my beau turned out to have an apartment like that I would feel too agitated and uncomfortable for any ‘romance’.

And finally we have The Modern Woman by our old friend Eddie Ross. 

And, much as it pains me to say it, I like this window by far the best of the three, though that’s not to say that I actually like it. But at least we can be grateful to him for avoiding brown.

It’s a more modern style than we’ve seen from him before and I really like what he’s done with the cushions, (except for the Miles Redd-ish faux leopard skin), colours and artwork, though the paint speckled walls and everything else leaves me pretty cold.

And of course he has to include his signature Kelly Wearstler–esque bust which seems to follow him around everywhere (see the link above for his house in Lonny magazine). Somewhat unnervingly the muse for this room is described as a ‘media mogul and mother of two’ and yes, every mother I know would just love to have half a hundredweight of statuary teetering on a precarious pedestal with kids around. It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. Do young gay interior decorators actually ever meet kids?

Anyway, I was too bored/disappointed to bother voting, but if you’re inspired, full details of all three rooms are here. Do you like them?

Go Fug Your Room – Miles Redd Again

 

Our old friend, uber-hyped US interior decorator Miles Redd apparently designed this Manhattan apartment for a young couple with kids. And yes, the love children of Marie Antoinette and Santa would probably feel quite at home here.

Miles, honey, there are, however, a few things I feel I need to point out.

a) Just because your surname is ‘Redd’, it doesn’t mean that firetruck red is necessarily the most calming or even attractive colour for interiors.  And believe me, interiors containing kids need calming.

 

b) I know you’re American, but that still doesn’t make firetruck red, cobalt blue and stark white a particularly appealing colour palette.  Or were eyepopping primary colours your one concession to the ‘kids’ thing?

c) I know you can’t be expected to know much about kids, but surely even a young gay man about town knows that lots of tchotchkes/knickknacks + silk upholstery and curtains + felt wall coverings does not an entirely kid-friendly environment make. I suspect they have a very ferocious nanny.

Good to see that Miles hasn’t yet given up on hideous animal pictures

d) Have you realised yet that it’s the 21st century? The only thing that isn’t either an antique or some dreadful piece of repro is the kid’s Ikea bed.

Nice Ikea bed. Actually this room isn’t that bad.

I like the walls and colour palette in here. It’s all a bit granny’s old bloomers though.

No, you can’t even escape the red by going to the bathroom. And no Miles hasn’t given up on whimsical animal prints either.  But I do quite like the wallpaper.

Miles takes the American obsession with table lamps to new heights by incorporating them in the kitchen. This is the nicest room in the house though.

Elle Decor US calls the apartment an ‘ode to 30s elegance’.  I have noticed that in a US decorating context ‘elegant’ does not signify ‘quiet, spare, refined beauty in an Audrey Hepburnesque way’ as I used to think of it in the UK.  Instead, it is code for ‘we added as many frills and furbelows and trims and ornaments and shiny things and golden bits and things we think might look French as we possibly could before the credit card exploded’.

What do you all think?

poll by twiigs.com

Today I Am Mostly…

…picking a posy…

I’m so excited! The hellebores are coming out, also the the beautiful sarcococca with its shiny, shiny black berries as you can see to better effect here.

Please note that this is the first time in forever that I’ve not been embarrassed by a picture that shows a bit of the background paint colour in our house.  Speaking of which, and not to be comment whore or anything, but I’d REALLY appreciate your thoughts on the below. Particularly as to whether I should paint the sitting area the same colour or just go with white…

The Right Sort of Yellow?

Those of you who’ve spent a long time around these parts will remember that when we moved into our house the living room was painted a rather gaudy egg yolk yellow (with a bright red fireplace, but that’s another story) that turns into a rather nasty mustard-y colour in the evenings under electric light.

For the past three years I have been agonizing about what colour to paint instead. You may remember that I’ve considered every permutation of pink and green but couldn’t find anything that worked. 

A big problem is that we’re contending with three very different sorts of light – bright, bright sunlight throughout the summer (the room faces southeast and has windows on two sides); the sort of grey murky gloom that only Seattle can produce the rest of the time and yellow tungsten light in the evenings.

I finally got to thinking that maybe yellow was actually the way to go, just not that egg yolk-y yellow. So I looked for a yellow the colour of lemongrass, just on the cusp between yellow and green.

And we came up with Benjamin Moore’s Cypress Grove – which is a cool lactic yellow, the colour of unsalted butter, in the tin

but ends up having a distinct greenish tinge on the wall.

The green looks particularly pronounced in the soft grey light Seattle does so well.

 

And it looks sophisticated and interesting in tungsten light

And not too overwhelming in bright sunlight.

What do you think?  The Husband loves it but I’m not 100% convinced, though I can’t quite put my finger on why.  It seems a little too wishy-washy for me, though I have absolutely no idea what I’d replace it with. 

I’m going to keep going with it for the moment as at least it’s hugely much better than what was there before. And it’s difficult to tell as the ceiling is now all wrong and needs to be painted urgently and I think the white of the woodwork is too bright a white.

Anyway, questions for you

- What do you think?

- And would you take that same colour into the seating area or paint the walls there some sort of white?

Happy Tape – Japanese Masking Tape

 

How crazy is it that I’m seriously considering dropping $50 on a selection of cheerful packing tapes and a dispenser? And just when I’m thinking that the house needs a serious de-clutter?

The pictures are so cheerful and apparently hit exactly the same colour-loving sweet spot in my brain that beautiful yarn does -  ‘ooh.  pretty.  colours.  BUY’.  And I know that the Minx, who is in the throes of a long and passionate love affair with Sellotape, would spontaneously combust with delight.

But for the moment, I shall content myself with the ogling the pretty pictures.  Maybe I’ll get myself some as a reward if I ever manage to tidy my desk. All these beauties are available from Happy Tape’s shop here, please don’t tell me if you buy some.

 

Pasta with Leeks and Ham – Pasta con Porri e Prosciutto

You know how you suddenly remember a recipe and then go through a phase of cooking it ALL the time? Well, we’re currently going through a ‘pasta with leeks and ham’ phase, which we’ve been having once a week since Christmas. It makes a tremendously quick, easy and delicious weekday supper.

It certainly helps that in the grey tail end of the Seattle winter, when most other vegetables have invariably been flown in thousands of miles from Mexico, the supermarkets are full of beautiful white and green leeks. 

For this recipe you need to slice thinly a heap of slim and pretty leeks (I think this was about five leeks).

Then melt a knob of butter and a slug of olive oil in a deep-sided saute pan.  I use oil so I can pretend this is more healthy but it’s sadly one of those recipes which improves the more butter is added. If you just want to melt one ginormous lump of butter then I won’t stop you.

When the butter/oil has melted add the sliced leeks and stir until they’re completely covered in the butter, then add about a cupful (8 fl oz or 1/4 litre) of chicken broth or stock. Turn the heat right down and braise the leeks gently, uncovered, for about 30 minutes until the leeks are soft and sweet and the liquid is mostly absorbed. This is a very traditional Italian way of cooking leeks. My mother would do this, replacing the stock with white wine or vermouth and then serve the leeks as a side vegetable. But I digress…

Meanwhile cook some pasta (I like using rigatoni or penne – anything tube-y – with this).

When the leeks are done, add a few slices of cooked ham, chopped into matchsticks, and half a cup (4 fl oz or 1/8 litre) single cream (half and half). Heat everything through, stir into the pasta and then add as much grated Parmesan as your diet will allow.

Buon appetito!

Ask Auntie P – Where Do We Stand on Feature Walls?

A real life friend of mine is wondering whether to do a wallpaper feature wall, and I thought I’d put it to you guys as well to see if you could help.

Said friend is doing up a sixties cottage in Northern Ireland and is wondering whether to do a feature wall with wallpaper.

First up, I much prefer feature/accent walls with wallpaper rather than paint. A painted feature wall often looks like you’ve just run out of paint. But wallpaper feature walls are a good way of using pattern without getting too overwhelmed, and can let you indulge in expensive wallpaper on a budget.

For me a feature wall can be great as long as they’re used sparingly and for a reason.  I grew up in London suburban semi-detached house with psychedelic seventies feature walls in every room, and that was definitely overkill.

Feature walls draw attention, so I think the key point is to think about what you’re drawing attention to and whether it’s actually worth focusing on. And of course they’re great ways of injecting colour and pattern into a room (though they might make it more problematic to use colour and pattern in other ways such with curtains or cushions).  And you can use them to delineate space – such as separating out a dining area.

Here are some feature walls which I think work. 

From Elle Deco UK (Jan 2010). I absolutely LOVE this New York loft.  The feature wall here draws the eye upwards to emphasize the ceiling and injects a splash of beautiful colour.  But note how minimalist everything else is.

From Ideal Home (Nov 2009).  It delineates the dining area beautifully. But again everything else is incredibly spare.

From Graham & Brown’s website.  This is quite subtle and mostly adds texture rather than emphasis.

 

This accent wall from Living Etc is reflected in a mirrored wall. It probably looks like a brothel in real life. But everything else is plain, uncluttered and subservient to the paper.

This comes from Decorpad.com though I’m not sure where it was sourced originally.   The feature wall is nice, but it’s starting to clash with all the other clutter in the room.

This last is fabulous. It works because it is subtle despite the scale of the pattern, and again because everything else is kept so neutral and uncluttered. {From Colour Me Happy}.

What do you think? Would you do a feature wall in your home? If you’ve got a feature wall, do you have any advice for my friend? 

Small But Perfectly Formed

As you may have noticed I’ve become slightly obsessed by all things tiny and dollshousy recently, so I was thrilled and delighted to see a dolls house, would you believe, get a full editorial spread in last month’s Elle Deco UK.

Of course in order to hold its own against the fabulous full size apartments on show, this was of course no ordinary dolls house.  It’s a pretty vintage 1960s house full of lovingly collected vintage furniture and showcasing miniature versions of designer Deborah Bowness’s handprinted trompe l’oeil wallpapers, put together by Bowness and her friend Emily Chalmers of East London vintage store Caravan. 

I sort of want to move in immediately.

 

 

 

 

 

Adventures in Knitting - I Saw Three Gifts

 

Just a quick and very belated knitting update. I thought I ought to knit the Minx and the Husband something for Christmas seeing as they’re always watching me knitting things for myself.

I made the Minx something called a Calorimetry from some novelty handspun I found on here on Etsy.

 

 

The Husband got a Windschief cowl to match his eyes in DK Silky Cashmere in the Limited Edition Old Jade colourway (and yes, he is spoilt) from Sundara (this is so he can’t complain about the amount of money I spend in that woman’s direction).

And I, because of course I can only knit unselfishly for so long, treated myself to a pair of fingerless gloves in merino silk Opulence in the completely stunning Chocolat Chambord colourway from the Woolen Rabbit.

I have promised myself I won’t start anything new until I’ve finished all my works in progress from last year. So I’m currently plodding through my Lace Shawl, my Interminable Blanket and a sweater I started knitting at the tail end of lat year.

All details as before on my Ravelry page – come and be my friend.

Today I Am Mostly….

 

…painting the living room.

 

Actually that was yesterday.  And yes, we need to discuss paint colours as a matter of urgency, probably tomorrow.

Go Love Your Room? Jean-Christophe Aumas

 

I’m genuinely torn about this apartment which I found in last month’s Elle Deco – UK (yep, I’m only now getting the chance to go through my Christmas magazines, so look out for lots of ideas for Christmas decorating and table settings etc in the coming weeks). The apartment belongs to French art director Jean-Christophe Aumas, who creates window displays and events for big names such as John Galliano, Chloe and Diptyque.

 

At first I didn’t really like very much – the colour scheme, all baby pink, acid lemon, teal, black and grey and red seemed incoherent and unpleasant and the whole thing felt somewhat bitty, disjointed and just plain messy.

But the more I looked, the more quirky, fascinating details I saw.  I love the way he plays with and echoes geometric shapes,

the blocks of colour, the way he hangs his pictures and sets his tables on an angle to reflect the diagonals in the herring bone flooring,  the interesting objects such as the domes on the mantelpiece, the light fittings, the three triangles painted where the wall meets the ceiling, the turquoise shower, the brightly coloured accessories.

 

I wouldn’t necessarily want to live here, but I’d love to visit and look around and pick up the objects and ask where they all come from. It’s interesting and fascinating and quirky, and for that I forgive it much.

What do you think?

poll by twiigs.com

 

By the way, this has reminded me how much I love the Alexander Girard wooden dolls.

 

If only they didn’t cost $160 EACH.  Or a mere $1,600 for all eleven. Ha ha ha.  If you’re feeling disgustingly rich, then go buy them here.

 

 

 

Today I Am Mostly…

…lighting candles

Actually this is me playing around  with the January challenge for Holly Decor8’s Interior Styling group on Flickr. The challenge is as follows:

‘ Put 3, 5, or 7 of your favorite things on a tabletop. Only 3, 5 or 7, no more, no less. Arrange them in a triangle style - highest in the middle and work your way down. Try using a framed picture leaning against the wall for the middle, or a tall vase, lamp, flower arrangement, or anything else that is tall and centered’

The weather has been horribly grey and rainy for the past few days here in Seattle, so I decided to play with candlelight instead. I don’t think this really works for the challenge as the area I was styling (our built in bookshelves ) meant I had to take it from the side. And it has absolutely no ‘wow factor’ .

This interior styling malarkey is really difficult. What would you do to make this photo better?

While We’re On The Subject of Granny Squares

 

I came across these fabulous pictures in Holly Decor8’s Interior Styling pool and had to share them with you.

I am now having to sit on my hands I’m so desperate to start crocheting a granny square garland. What a great idea. And absolutely gorgeous styling too.

{Idea and pictures from Dottie Angel. This is why I’m learning to crochet. I also want those knitting needles – does anyone know what make they are?}

 

Gigantic Granny Square Afghan

 

Today is the Minx’s fifth birthday.  And so of course she comes bounding into our bedroom this morning full of energy and excitement and shouts about presents. 

For some reason it seemed particularly dark and I felt even crapper than I usually do when it’s time to get up, but it had been raining all night, which would explain the darkness, and when I asked the Husband what time it was (he keeps the alarm clock on his side of the bed) he said ‘oh, it’s twenty past seven’.  I felt so dreadfully unrested that I asked him to double check but he reassured me about the time and we hauled ourselves out of bed and downstairs to begin the unveiling of half a ton of Disney Princess/Calico Critters/My Little Pony crap tempered with the occasional improving book.

This process had been going on for about ten minutes and I was just about to start making birthday waffles when I happened to glance at the clock on the VCR. Which said 3:52.  Yes, my Cambridge-educated Husband had got his long and short hands mixed up and we’d all got up at 3.35 am. And of course after that the Minx was so excited it took her ages to go back to sleep, and she woke up again for the final time at 6.30 am.

So if you thought that today there would be a moving eulogy to my five-year old daughter or even any substantive blogging at all, then, dear readers, you are very much mistaken.

Instead here are a few pictures of the Gigantic Granny Square Blanket I crocheted for the Minx’s new dolls house.

She had expressed some disappointment that the blanket provided (a thin scrap of dark blue jersey) was too small for the sofa bed, so I decided to make the dolls their very own gigantic granny square afghan. I was very pleased with how well the yarn went with the decor and it seems that the (rather creepy) dolls are too.

This is another step in my ‘teach yourself to crochet’ campaign. After a few false starts I can now granny square along fabulously thanks to the Purl Bee’s excellent instructions. I’m almost tempted to start on a full-size gigantic granny square blanket just for us.

The yarn is the scraps from my first ever pair of socks. It’s fascinating to see how differently the yarn works up in different patterns.

Carolina Leon Firrell – Hand Painted Porcelain

It’s about this time of year that I start getting inundated with invitations to attend Maison & Objet in Paris. I’m not able to go this year, but as the business is growing it’s still very much on my to do list for next year.

Here’s who invited me today.  Just loving the colour story on these. I’ll have to get a catalogue I think.

  

 

 

 

Jessica Eskelsen - Photography

I love getting comments on the blog because then I get to read your blogs and you really  a gorgeous and talented bunch aren’t you? 

Last week ‘Jess’ commented about running, so I went to her blog and discovered that she’s a pretty amazing photographer. I love the moody otherworldly atmosphere she achieves.  It’s ‘atmosphere’ that transforms a technically competent photo (like the ones I take) into something special and I’d love to know how to achieve it more often in my own work. Check out more of her beautiful photography here. {All photos below copyright the very talented Jessica Eskelsen}

Speaking of comments, I’d love to get more commenting/conversations going on this blog. That way I can have one of those blogs like Decorno’s where she writes nice short posts and then gets lots of lovely and interesting discussion from her commenters while she puts her feet up and watches telly.

What makes you comment on blogs? Are there any things that stop you from commenting?  If you’ve been lurking on this blog but have never commented, why not? (<- she says, hoping to trick you into commenting :) Is there anything I can do to encourage more comments on this blog? Won’t it be embarrassing if this post gets no comments?

Today I Am Mostly…

…crocheting.

It’s going to be a tiny gift for the Minx’s birthday, of which more anon.

Calling All Stylistas

 

 

While we’re in a photography frame of mind, I just wanted to highlight Holly Decor8’s Interior Styling group over on Flickr. She also talks more about it here. It’s a place to post up any pictures of corners of your home that you’ve styled and photographed and is hugely inspirational. 

Anyone can join the group, and it includes some professional stylists, though be aware that Holly is curating the pool quite strictly and also making sure that images reflect her own particular aesthetic, which of course might not be yours.

Holly is also posting up a styling challenge every month which I’m hoping to do. January’s challenge is already up for the group, so make your way over there to check it out. I’ll post up my offering when it’s done.

Do let me know if you’re also going to take part. I’d love to see what you come up with.

Too Incredibly Cool

parkour motion reel from saggyarmpit on Vimeo.

I like the music as well.

Today I Am Mostly…

 

…watching the sunrise

 

Do you remember a couple of Januarys ago I started a photoblog called Today I Am Mostly? I didn’t have enough time then to keep it going then, but I’ve missed doing it so much.

This year I’m determined to really work on my photography and photo styling, so I thought it might be a good idea to revive TIAM.  I’m not going to commit to every day, but I’m hoping to post two or three photos every week throughout the year.  I’ll post them on ‘mirrormirror’  and also to www.todayiammostly.com and to my Flickr page f you want some unadulterated eye candy.

I’ve also retrospectively published a picture here.

A New Me – January 2010

               November                                         December                                                     January                         

 

               November                                          December                                                   January

Not sure what these pictures prove except that I need to wash my hair.  It looks like I’m a little blurrier round the post-Christmas edges but not by too much.

Well, last month was a DISASTER.

I got sick with the mother of all colds and felt absolutely dreadful in the run-up to Christmas and couldn’t move without exploding into a hacking heap of mucus. And what with mirrormirror busyness in the run up to Christmas and the Minx and the Husband being sick and getting under my feet, I think I’ve managed about five days of exercise in the past month.

And of course on top of that was all the Christmas food and alcohol and candy and parties and chocolate and entertaining and comfort eating because I was miserable with my cold and PORK PIE from the British shop in Vancouver etc. etc. And yes, I do know these are all excuses.

So I  was absolutely terrified to step on the scale this morning, and seriously considered skipping a month. Instead, knowing how heartbroken you would all be if I did, I took my courage in both hands.

And the scales said 172 pounds (12 stone 4lbs) AGAIN. Which makes this the first Christmas since I was about three I think that I haven’t put on a ton of weight. Which I actually consider to be a bit of a result, as I was convinced I had put on around 5lbs.

Anyway, this unexpected semi-good news has boosted my morale enormously and I’ve managed to get back into my exercise regime as of Monday. As well as Wii-based strength training and Cardio Coach rowing I did my first ‘Couch to 5k’ Podcast this morning. These podcasts are designed to be used with Cool Running.com’s Couch to 5k regime, which if you do it 3 times a week over a period of 9 weeks, gently eases you, through a combination of walking and jogging, into being able to run a 5k.

Just think, by mid-March I should be able to run 5k in 30 minutes, which, if you saw me creeping along the Burke-Gilman trail like a geriatric buffalo this morning, is a little hard to believe.  I like the podcasts as they eliminate all need to time yourself with a stop watch or anything – you just follow the recorded instructions -and I like bouncy the techno-dance music which keeps me motivated.  I started using them last summer but had to give up after two weeks because of crippling plantar fasciitis. My foot is feeling a lot better now, but I’ll be doing lots of my plantar fasciitis stretches (pulling my toes up and back towards my shins) to make sure.

Does anyone else what to ‘Couch to 5k’ Along with me? I promise you couldn’t be a worse runner than me IF YOU TRIED.

Nook Review

So this year I decided to ask for the new Nook e-reader from Barnes & Noble as my Christmas present. I’ve been avidly using both Amazon’s Kindle for iPhone app and Barnes & Noble’s E-reader iPhone app (both available for free) and decided it was about time I got the real thing.

After reading many reviews we decided to go for the Nook rather than the Kindle 2, though it was a bit of a gamble as the Nook is brand new and was only delivered to stores just before Christmas so it was impossible to do any sort of real-life comparison.

I chose the Nook mainly because a) it wasn’t Amazon, with whom I have a love/hate relationship b) its Android operating platform allows for future software updates which means it can be upgraded without buying a new machine c) it allows you to ‘lend’ books out to someone else (though only for two weeks) d) it reads PDFs, which will be great for knitting patterns and other stuff.  Synching with the Barnes & Nobel iPhone e-reader is apparently coming soon, and will be delivered via a software update.

I don’t have a Kindle 2, so can’t compare it with that, but I can compare it with er, an actual book. And so far I’ve been very pleasantly surprised.

The Nook screen comes in two parts. The upper ‘e-ink’ screen which is where you do your actual reading and a colour touch-screen below which is where you navigate.  To ‘turn the page’ you push small buttons on the sides. There has been some grumbling online about how slow everything but this was apparently solved by a software upgrade that was waiting for me when I unpacked my Nook. Certainly I have no complaints. The touch screen is pretty good, though not quite as responsive as the iPhone and ‘page-turning’ is MUCH quicker than turning the page on an actual book. 

The grey e-ink screen is at first somewhat disappointing for someone who is used to spending all day gazing at a bright computer or iPhone screen, but it is designed to be easy on the eyes, easy to read and economical on battery life. I have to admit that when I’m reading it I sometimes forget that I’m not actually reading a real book – I’ve even caught my eyes wandering to the left to see what’s on the ‘other page’.

Another huge advantage is the size and weight.  It’s about the same size and weight as a small old-fashioned cloth-covered hardback (an illusion which is also fostered by the cheap cloth-covered cover we gt for it).  I like to read in bed and it’s really easy and manageable, moreso than the actual book would be – I’m currently reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, which apparently clocks in at 560 pages and 1.9lbs in real life.

In short, I’m a complete bookworm and I’m sold.

Today I Am Mostly

…taking down the Christmas tree

Not the best picture, but this was my first time experimenting with bokeh lights, so I was quite proud…

And…relax…

They’ve gone.  This morning the Minx and the Husband left brandishing brand new light-up shoes, a brand new and utterly hideous Ariel backpack and a brand new Hello Kitty umbrella (and that was just the Husband haha!) and a soft quietness descended over the house.

Apologies for the longer than anticipated blogging hiatus. Our first Christmas in North America has been hectic, sociable and, as the Minx would say, extremically very fun.

I’m currently in the middle of setting up the mirrormirror sale, so here’s a quick peek of what we were doing on Christmas morning instead of going to the pub.  More substantive blogging tomorrow.

Yes, my lovelies, your eyes are not deceiving you, this is me, not Angelina Jolie, whizzing through the trees

 

Not nervous in the slightest. Oh no.

Here’s the Husband showing off

And here are some more images from our amazing morning in the Whistler tree canopy.

  

Yes I really did zoom down there

I’m somewhat scared of heights, so my emotions on Christmas morning ran the gamut between extreme terror and extreme thankfulness that I was still alive. And not a drop of alcohol in sight. 

Thanks Ziptrek Ecotours!