mirrormirror

That Was The Week That Was: California Spring Break Edition

 

Oh goodness, it’s been ages since I did one of these. I’ll fill you in with Spring Break pics today and then maybe do another one towards the end of the week. 

Not sure if anyone else likes them but it makes me happy to keep this little visual diary.  Our Spring Break was a week of soft clouds and soft pastels, sea creatures and great food, with quite a lot of knitting thrown in.

 

On January 1st  I started posting daily pics to Instagram.  I’m @mirrormirrorxx. Come and be my friend.

The Sun Always Shines On TV

 

 

But apparently not in real life.  Our trip to Southern California was mostly foggy and overcast and not very warm. Especially galling as the weather was apparently delightful in Seattle.  The photo shows our first glimpse of the sun in three days as the plane soared over a thick blanket of cloud in LA. 

But still we did manage to have a great time. Thanks to L’Auberge Del Mar for another magical stay (see last year’s blog post here) and to the chic and groovy resorts of Del Mar, Encinitas, La Jolla and Laguna Beach for showing us beautiful beaches, whales and seals in abundance. We also had a surprisingly fun time at Seaworld (actually it was surprisingly fun for me, for the Minx it was expectedly awesome).

We ate epic fish tacos at Raul’s Shack in Encinitas, legendary shrimp tacos at El Pescador Fish Market in La Jolla (are you seeing a theme here?), excellent gelato at Gelateria Frizzante also in La Jolla, a superb breakfast at Americana in Del Mar and took my elderly aunt for a rather touristy but surprisingly good value and good champagne brunch at Las Brisas in Laguna Beach. The new chef at Kitchen 1540 at L’Auberge is also doing an extremely good job as far we can see.

SoCal, we will be back, despite your terrible weather.

 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have overflowing suitcases, an overflowing garden and an overflowing inbox to attend to and beautiful Seattle sunshine that has my name on it, so better blogging service will resume tomorrow. In the meantime last week’s amazing guest posts are worth a read.

A Mini Tour of Ely

 

For our final guest post this week, I thought we’d return to the old country.  Whenever anyone asks me what I miss most about England, ancient buildings are very high on the list – or more explicitly that humbling feeling of being surrounded by generations of ghosts, which Liz writes about so eloquently below.  I’ve been reading Liz’s lovely blog for the longest times – it’s such a comfortable mix of family life, vintage finds, home ideas and unashamed geekery – and I knew she’d be the perfect person to take us round her home town and introduce us to a little city that deserves to be much more widely known.  (By the way, that sound you hear is me howling with homesickness.)

Hello, and it's so nice to meet you all! I'm Liz and usually you can find me over at Violet Posy writing about my Home and Family. I'm very excited to be writing as a guest on Paola's blog while she's away. I thought I'd share with you one of my favourite places, the tiny City of Ely, just outside of Cambridge in the UK.

The city which isn't on the usual tourist track, it lies in the middle of what used to be a series of islands. The largest of which was the Isle of Ely. The 'Fen' or large swamp surrounding it, was drained in the seventeenth century making the water logged land, fertile farmland and the Isle finally joined the mainland.

The Cathedral is at the heart of the city and is also known as 'the Ship of the Fens' - you can see it from miles around. It started construction in 1083 under King William I and was finally finished in 1375. It is a stunning piece of architecture and when you enter it you can feel the history surrounding you. One of my favourite things to do, is to sit down in the quiet Cathedral and imagine all the people who came before, you can almost feel them, it's such an atmospheric place.

 

 

The Lantern which sits in the middle of the Cathedral, brings in light to the centre. It was handmade in wood in the 1340’s and is beautifully hand painted.

 

 

It's hard to believe looking at it's complicated construction that it’s so old. Every Christmas, I sit under it wondering if that's such a good idea to be sitting under something wooden and nearly 700 years old! But it's still standing and I'm sure it will be for another few hundred years.

However the Cathedral is not the only old building in Ely. There are buildings from pretty much every period, Tudor, Georgian, Victorian and they are all beautiful in their own way. You can wander round and see buildings which are still used as homes, workplaces and pubs which are pretty ancient. I often forget that some of the buildings are so old as they are used daily and not museums at all.

 

 

Ely is also blessed with some excellent Markets, which are held on Thursdays and Saturday's. The Farmer's Markets and Continental Markets are especially favourites of ours. The range of artisan foods - breads, cheeses and meats are amazing, and the stalls with flowers and plants are outstanding. It's impossible to go to the market without coming home with bags of yummy food and a big bunch of flowers.

 

 

Further down the hill is the old Waterside with it's fantastic Antiques Barn where we love to have a good rummage and the beauiful riverside. It's a really lovely to walk next to the river or sit for a while and watch the ducks and swams go by. You can also take a peaceful boat ride along the river to see the sites from the water - generally they also give you a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake on the boat too.

 

 

And finally no trip to Ely is complete without a stop at the award winning Peacocks Tearoom. There you can get the most amazing afternoon tea - finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and a big old slice of cake with a selection of teas from around the world. It's possibly one of my favourite places to eat in the world, and you won’t need to eat for the rest of the day if you pay it a visit!.

 

I hope you enjoyed my mini tour and if you’re ever near London or Cambridge pop on a train and come up and visit!

 

Thanks so much to Liz, to Tina for her wonderful New York insights, to Michele for her awesome photography tips and Sandra for her great tour of Vancouver. Please visit their blogs and show them some comment love, so they’re encouraged to come back and write for us again.

I hope you’ve enjoyed having something a little different on the blog over the last few days, I’ll be back with the same old nonsense on Monday.

My Hidden New York

 

OK chaps.  There's another limo waiting to take you to the airport. Places to see and people to do and all that. This time we're off to New York, New York!

I was also delighted to meet Tina at Holly Becker’s NYC workshop. She works for a very well-known interior designer in NYC and has a great eye. Her blog is also very special, full of unusual and creative products and ideas she comes across in her day to day life, so I thought she'd make the perfect guide to the city that never sleeps.  She’s lived in New York for six years now, so you know her recommendations will take you off the beaten tourist path. I want to do another weekend in New York immediately, just to try them out.

Hello mirrormirror readers! My name is Tina Ramchandani and I run the design blog Life in Sketch. I am an interior designer and I live and work in New York, New York. On my blog I focus on all aspects of design as well as highlighting places I visit and travel to. Since I live in one of the best cities in the world, I have tons of spotlights, right here in NYC. Today I'm going to share with you some of my favorite New York City spots. I have a few places to eat, shop and hang out, picked out for you. Hope you love them as much as I do!

 

To Hang:

One of my favorite things to do is attend the How I Learned series by Blaise Allysen Kearsley. It's held once a month, usually on a Wednesday, at Happy Ending, at 302 Broome Street. If you are in town when the series is being held, you must go! It's a hilarious event where writers, comedians and other New Yorkers discuss their personal stories about the topic of the day. My very first time attending, the topic was "How I Learned to Live in New York". I can't explain how insanely funny it was. I was hooked!

On a Sunday night, the best thing to do is to head over to Upright Citizen's Brigade and watch the Asssscat show. UCB is an improvisational theatre and school that offers affordable classes and shows, which has never failed me. I have friends that have taken classes there, and every single show I have has left me in tears (from laughing so hard, obviously). The Asssscat show is the best of the best and often features comedians you love, that star in 30 Rock, The Office, SNL and more. There is a 7:30 show, which is $10 and a 9:30 show, which is free, but be prepared to wait in line as reservations are not accepted. I promise, you will not be disappointed.

This might seem odd, but I love the IKEA ferry! The ferry, run by New York Water Taxi, sails from South Street Seaport to Red Hook everyday. It's kind of amazing actually. You get on this ferry, virtually for free, and get a short tour of the East River. You leave from Pier 11 in southern Manhattan and get to see Jersey City, Ellis Island, Governor's Island and finally Brooklyn. I always run straight to the top of the boat where you get to sit outside and enjoy the view. The boat leaves every 40 minutes. On Mondays through Fridays, the cost is $5 but if you purchase something from IKEA you get your money back. Just be sure to present your receipt when you check out. On Saturdays and Sundays the ferry is free. When you're done you get to hop on the ferry back. It's a wonderful way to spend a few hours.

 

 

To Shop:

There are tons of bookstores here in New York and it's hard to narrow down my favorite. But I had to do it for you and so I will say that Housing Works Bookstore is at the top of my list. Housing Works' goal is to help people affected with HIV and AIDS. In addition to the bookstore, Housing Works has an online shop and a few thrift stores around the city where you can purchase home goods and clothing. 100% of all profits are used to help those that need it. The bookstore is located at 126 Crosby Street and the selection of books is immense. There is a cafe inside with plenty of seating and they encourage you to sit and hang out! That is rare these days. If you needed another selling point - there are book events almost every day of the week.

If I am looking to treat myself or get a one of a kind gift for a friend, I always go to Treasure & Bond. Each item is specifically picked for the New York City downtown market ranging from scented candles, stationery, to clothing and accessories. I recently purchased a PopUp Paris candle from here, that may have a hidden diamond inside! There is a huge benefit to shopping at this store as well. 100% of all profits go to charities benefiting children in NYC.

 

To Eat:

My favorite chef is Jehangir Mehta and I am lucky to have his two restaurants extremely close by. One is within walking distance of my apartment, Mehtaphor, located in Tribeca. The other, Graffiti, is located in the East Village. While both menus are similar, there are items on each you can't resist. Jehangir's signature is a flavorful modern Indian food. If you go to Graffiti you will notice that he cooks in a 50 square foot kitchen, which we all know is hard to do! Both locations serve my favorite dish, the Graffiti burger, which you must try.

For dessert I always go to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. This place is fantastic. It has traditional and modern Chinese ice cream flavors, and it has been open since 1978! It's one of Chinatown's oldest businesses and it's definitely a place the neighbors love. My flavor of choice is black sesame, but it sells out quickly so if you want it, you have to get there early. The shop is open late so I usually end up stumbling in after a long day and I miss all the black sesame. All the flavors are super tasty, you can't really go wrong. It is located on 65 Bayard Street.

There are so many places that I discover every day, it's hard to just pick a few to share with you. I'm really lucky and I get to see tons of super cool stuff all the time, so if you stay tuned you'll be learning about more NYC gems. I hope you've enjoyed my spotlights today!

Vancouver in Five

 

Please welcome Sandra from Raincoast Cottage to the blog. She’s a Vancouverite who recently moved back there from Toronto, so who better to tell us of some of the great new places she’s found in her old home town. I’m also shamed that she has made more progress doing up her cottage since she moved in six months ago, than we’ve made in this house in over five years. Check out her cottage on her blog. It’s lovely.

Five favourite spots that is! Welcome to my city - my old home town. You see, I lived out east for ten years and only returned to Vancouver late last summer. So there's been more than a bit of exploring happening around here as I discover my new favourite places to shop and eat. And I am happy to share five of them with you.

When I left Vancouver, the neighbourhood just east of Gastown was a bit sketchy. More than a bit sketchy. So sketchy that you could never begin to imagine any gentrification. But it has. It still has its edginess - but that gives it its charm. And this is where we will start on our tour of my five favourite places.

 

Nelson the Seagull

 

You are in the Pacific Northwest so the very first stop is going to be for a coffee. How could it not be? And not just any coffee - one from Nelson the Seagull. They know how to pull shots. And although they do have a yummy menu (let's come back for lunch), once we have our coffees, we're going to step out and walk down to Cartem's Donuterie.

 

Cartem's Donuterie

To go with your coffee, do I have a treat for you. And it's less than a block away. It's a tiny, tiny place making THE best handmade donuts from only locally sourced, organic ingredients. I know, you think that you have had good donuts, that you know all about them. How can they get any better? Well, they can. And they are.

What about some of these flavours - Earl Grey, maple topped with bacon (and some Bourbon too!), carrot cake, even vegan options. And they even deliver but only downtown - it's by bike so they stay on this side of the bridges.

Now that we are fed and watered, how about a visit to The Old Faithful Shop?

 

The Old Faithful Shop

 

I know that "well curated" is such an overused phrase now but I can't think of a better way to describe the goods that the Old Faithful Shop carry. Savannah, one of the owners, is originally from the Canadian prairies - her friendly personality is a dead giveaway. She and her partner Walter stock all sorts of goods from all over the world that are well made and unique. You can shop online too!

Urban Source

 

Feeling inspired to make something? Want something a little different than your usual art supply store? Let's scoot over to Urban Source. For over 15 years, Urban Source has been the place to go for alternative art materials. It's not a big place but it is full from top to bottom with bins of materials collected from over 100 local businesses. Most of it you buy by the paper bag. Grab the size you want and start filling it up. And then when you get home, start making some art.

 

Metropolitan Home

 

 

A trip to Vancouver would not be complete without some vintage furniture shopping. For our last stop we'll visit Metropolitan Home for a dose of mid-century modern furniture. Located in the Armoury District near 2nd and Fir, there's lots to catch your eye - both in furniture and decor. I have that table lamp and there is a floor version too.

Thanks for joining me to visit five of my favourite places in Vancouver! And visit me at www.raincoastcottage.com where I write about living a creative life.

Guest Bloggers!

 

So the quality of blogging round these parts is going to soar over the next few days. (Thank goodness, I hear you cry!)

For the first time in its excruciatingly long and illustrious history, mirrormirror will be featuring guest bloggers.

While I am chilling at the beautiful L’Auberge del Mar (or more likely visiting Legoland), you will be travelling the world in the company of four fabulous guest bloggers and erstwhile members of the mirrormirror commentariat.

 

Sandra, the stylish mastermind behind Raincoast Cottage, will be taking you on a tour of Vancouver; interior designer Tina from Life in Sketch will show you her hidden New York; and the lovely Liz from Violet Posy will be whisking you to Ely, the ancient English market town that she calls home. In addition pro architectural photographer Michele from Sequined Asphault will be giving you her top tips for creating great architectural photos.

Please leave lots of encouraging comments on their posts and click hard and often on the links to their blogs, to make it worth their while and ensure that they come back to blog here again.

I’d say ‘don’t miss me too much’ but I have a feeling you’re not going to miss me at all. Please leave any good tips for things to do in Del Mar, Dana Point or San Diego in the comments and follow my progress on Twitter and Instagram. I’m @mirrormirrorxx.

See you on Monday!

A Shopping Trip to Portland: Part 2

 

Here’s part two of my shopping guide to Portland.

You can see where I went with my girlfriends on the Friday in Part 1 here.  And pictures from  Portland’s Japanese Garden are here.

Here’s what we did on Saturday after the family came and met me on the Friday night.

After a leisurely breakfast at our hotel (we stayed again at the Nines, which is worthy of a separate blogpost), we wandered off to the Portland Saturday market.  To be perfectly honest I wasn’t terribly impressed. There seemed to be a lot of tat and not a huge amount of originality.

We then tried to get into the legendary Voodoo Doughnuts. The magic may indeed be in the hole, but weren’t going to stand in the mile-long queue to find out. I sort of regret that now.  Instead we jumped in the car and headed to the Farmers’ Market at Portland State University. This was more like it, on a par with the best of the Seattle farmers’ markets, but with new and different producers to try.

After the market we headed back downtown for lunch and went to Habibi for Lebanese food. It’s a cuisine I miss a lot from London, as I can’t find any very good exponents in Seattle, but here it’s done well – the food is fresh and tasty, with excellent rice, hummus and breads, though not particularly imaginative.

 

 

From there we went back to a couple of shops I’d visited the day before and possibly my two favourite shopping finds in Portland so far.

 

Woonwinkel focuses on colourful and graphic contemporary craftmade pieces – it’s the shop I wanted mirrormirror to turn into. They call it ‘new modern’: warm, inviting, tactile, quirky.  Modern with soul. I loved it, though left without purchasing.

 

 

Alder & Co also does beautiful everyday items, with a clean, almost Japanese aesthetic.  I bought the most stunningly smooth and tactile (and stunningly expensive) stoneware Japanese butter dish and some beautiful wooden measuring spoons.

We then headed for Powell’s Bookstore, where I have to admit that I spent a lot of time surreptitiously photographing the covers of books that look good for later download on my Nook.  I sort of hate myself for doing this, though we did slightly assuage our guilty consciences by buying children’s books for the Minx. But please tell me how I can reconcile my love of independent bookstores with my Nook love?  I really haven’t figured this out yet.

All the guilt was making me thirsty, so we headed over to Portland’s Ace Hotel for coffee in the downstairs Stumptown coffee shop. You buy your coffee and then can take it into the hotel lobby. I was intrigued to see the décor after my recent stays at the Ace in NYC and the Ace in Palm Springs.  Again they’ve done a great job of matching the Ace’s hipster aesthetic to its surroundings.  Not as smart as the NYC hotel, nor as carefree as the Palms Springs one, this was quirky, funky and yes, most decidedly hip.

As we walked back home I saw this bicycle stand outside a cupcake shop.  I’ve no idea whether the cupcakes are good or not, but the bike stand just summed up Portland for me.

 

Tired but happy, we ended up heading back to the Nines for dinner, where the whole family sat in the king-sized bed, ordered burgers and mac’n’cheese from room service and watched Hugo on the big flat-screen telly.  I digress, but what a totally gorgeous and moving film that was. I’ve never been a big Scorsese fan before, but wow.

Portland’s Japanese Garden

 

Just before spring.

It’s been a day of soft April showers here in Seattle and I thought I’d share pictures of another such day we spent a couple of weekends back in Portland’s Japanese Garden. 

 

 

Of all the Japanese gardens here on the West Coast, Portland’s is by far my favourite. Not as flashy and gaudy as San Francisco’s, but bigger and more peaceful than Seattle’s, Spring had not yet fully sprung when we went, though everywhere soft young leaves were starting to peek through, as the hailstones fell and the sunshine glinted through the raindrops like so many crystals on a chandelier.

Some places are good for the soul.

 

A Shopping Trip to Portland: Part 1

 

Planning a trip to Portland any time soon?  A couple of Fridays ago I headed off down the I-5 at the crack of dawn in search of hipsters, birds, excellent food, perfect coffee, imaginative shops, and no sales tax, and was not disappointed.  The Friday was spent shopping with girlfriends, then the Minx and the Husband drove down to meet me and we stayed on for a great weekend.

If you’re thinking of going to Portland, here’s what you should do.

Firstly make sure that Myra of Seattle Bon Vivant and Lilian of Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs are with you. These ladies sure know how to eat and shop and they’re fabulously fun company too.

 

 

When you arrive head first to Barista in the Pearl District for one of the finest cups of coffee you’ll have anywhere (and I live in Seattle), together with an extremely acceptable almond croissant.

You’ll need fortification before browsing through the crazy that is Cargo.  Just round the corner from Barista, Cargo calls itself a ‘showroom, flea market, and international bazaar’ and features bizarre and beautiful finds from Indonesia, China, Japan, Thailand and Mexico.  I guarantee you’ll find nothing in here that you need, but plenty that you’ll want. I bought some antique scissors and a small lucky waving cat charm for the Minx’s backpack. See what I mean?

 

 

Next cross the river and go to The Meadow in North Portland’s Mississippi district.  This tiny shop sells salt, flowers, chocolate, wine and bitters, all personal passions of owner Mark Bitterman, author of the wonderful cookbook Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes.

I met Mark when he came to Seattle and, together with Myra, hosted a creative and delectable salt-based dinner.

This shop shouldn’t work, but it does, beautifully, because so much knowledge and passion has gone into the carefully curated selections. Just look at those walls of salt and chocolate.  I was tempted to buy a block of pink Hawaiian baking salt, but our kitchen has enough clutter. One day. 

I contented myself with a big bag of sel gris instead.

 

 

Then head off for lunch at Pok Pok, which serves carefully authentic regional Thai and Vietnamese streetfood under a heated awning.

 

Photo by Lilian Speirs

For some reason I didn’t manage to take any photos here.  However, here is Lilian’s detailed review, with a ton of photos. Like her I would have been happy to eat the phat si ew, a classic dish of stir-fried rice noodles, succulent Carlton Farms pork, Chinese broccoli and egg, all day.  Pok Pok is a fun, enjoyable place for a Portland pit stop, with great food and a buzzy atmosphere, deservedly a renowned Portland hangout.

After a hearty lunch it’s time to start shopping in earnest.

First go to Flora which sells a girly selection of scented candles, jewellery, stationery, art, apothecary items and general nicknackery.  I came away with a gorgeous fig-scented Tatine candle.  I wasn’t familiar with this range before, but loved the simple glass containers and the beautiful perfumes. The Minx also liked Flora very much when we went back the next day.

 

 

Then head over to Canoe, by way of glorious yarn shop Knit Purl.  I forgot to take pics again, but did come away with two skeins of gorgeous naturally-dyed laceweight linen yarn. One has to have priorities.

Anyway, back to Canoe.  This shop has a wonderful selection of modern tchotchkes and home accessories, chosen with taste and flair.  The Husband particularly liked this shop when we returned the following day and it’s a particularly great place to browse for gifts for men.  I ended up with a new litter bin, a pink piggy bank for the Minx and some little glass bowls.

 

 

After visiting more shops that I’ll get to in part 2 of this guide, we finished up at modern furniture shop Hive before settling down for a very well-earned and again excellent coffee at Cafe Allora, a little bit of Milan in downtown Portland.

 

 

Finally we braved the immensely long line at Ken’s Artisan Pizza. We had to wait for over two hours, fortunately seated at a back table where we could drink plenty of wine, but the pizza was worth it when we got it, which means it’s VERY good pizza indeed.  Particularly the bacon pizza. Man, that was yummy.

The Minx and the Husband made it down the freeway in time to join us for an extra bacon pizza and dessert and we then waved goodbye as Myra and Lilian headed off into the night. I was left wondering why I don’t do day trips to Portland more often.

Find out what the Minx, the Husband and I got up to in Part 2.

That Was The Week That Was: Weekend In Portland Edition

 

I forgot to do a TWTWTW last week, which was silly as I had some cool shots from our weekend shopping trip to Portland.

It turned out to be a sunshine and showers, great food and great coffee, groovy shops and pink petals sort of a weekend.

 

We had a wonderful time There’s a blog post on shopping in Portland in your near future.

Go Love Your Room: Vanessa Bruno’s Paris Apartment

 

This week’s Go Love Your Room – where I take a room, house or apartment and analyze why it really, really speaks to me – features French designer Vanessa Bruno’s apartment in Paris.

I actually blogged about this briefly back in 2007, but it has haunted me all this time and I recently came across a great set of photos.  I thought it would be interesting to examine what I love about it, and see whether it has stood the test of time.

 

The space itself is cheating of course.  It doesn’t take much design talent to make those high ceilings and rustic beams look good.

The sugared almond colour scheme of lilac, celery green and dusky pink is still very attractive and feminine, though a perhaps a little sweet for my taste nowadays.  Though the colours, the sprigged embroidered cushions, the fresh flowers and the garland artwork are unashamedly girly, I love how Bruno keeps everything else spare and plain to avoid it tipping over the edge.

 

 

The low picture shelf is a lovely touch (that Diane von Furstenburg could learn from) as are the rustic wooden frames that echo the beams. And I like the echoing triangles of the side tables and the chair legs. And is that just a plain, pistachio green canvas propped up to give an additional hint of colour?

 

 

Pulling out a bit the red furry (beady?) artwork on the wall is a touch of genius, providing an emphatic focal point,, emphasising the symmetry of the room, dirtying up the colour scheme and providing a much needed touch of luxurious texture.  I also like that, unlike last week’s room she’s used a huge floor rug to cosy things up a little and ground the spindly-legged and rather insubstantial furniture, even at the cost of covering up those marvellous floorboards.

The string of paper lampshades, which Bruno apparently put together herself, is also a fabulous touch.

 

 

The coloured lampshades over the table are clever too, bringing the colour palette into the dining area and echoing the shades on the other side of the room. And I absolutely love how the central one is elliptical and not round to prevent a surfeit of balls everywhere (and that’s never a good idea).

The hefty wooden table and industrial chairs again counteract the girliness and the substantial table legs contrast well with the flighty nature of the surrounding pieces. I’m not sure about having the table and chairs half on and half off the rug though.

 

 

I like here how the sculpture on the secretaire reflects the painting above. 

This room is another study in geometric shapes – it seems I’m a sucker for them – the aforementioned triangles, the square cushions and dining chairs, the rectangles of the windows and the big round balls.  And also a study in contrasts – romantic v industrial, light v substantial, rough v smooth, spare v ornate. 

Though I think nowadays I’d add a bit more punch to the colour scheme and maybe some more graphic elements, I think this has stood the test of time very well and I certainly wouldn’t mind moving in tomorrow.

What do you think?  Too feminine or just right (or not feminine enough?)  Do you think it looks dated? Where can I get a red fuzzy thing to hang on my wall?

See how the sun is streaming into the rooms above?  It’s a photographer’s nightmare, but that’s what’s happening in Seattle at the moment.  It’s going to be a great weekend.  Have fun wherever you are.

Kate Moss at the Ritz for Vogue US

 

I just subscribed to US Vogue on my iPad, and to celebrate I thought I’d share the most gorgeous fashion editorial I’ve seen in a long while.

Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquiere

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alexis Mabille Haute Couture

It’s not often you get to ogle exquisite interiors as well as exquisite frocks, but Vogue wanted to celebrate the iconic Ritz Hotel in Paris, before it closes for a major refurbishment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giambattista Valli Haute Couture

Armani Prive’

Alexander McQueen

Chanel Haute Couture

Dior Haute Couture

Full editorial here. Photos by Tim Walker.

Fancy Hotel of the Week: The Ace Hotel NYC

 

While in New York I had a great time at the Ace Hotel.  It was fascinating to stay there since we’d enjoyed ourselves so much at the Ace in Palm Springs and I was intrigued to see how their aesthetic would translate to a New York setting.

 

And what they’ve done is very clever. The free-wheeling hippie chick of Palm Springs has smartened herself up for New York and become a little more glam and a little more polished, while still being a bit rough and ready around the edges and retaining her creative rocker vibe.

The refurbishment of the 1904 midtown Hotel Breslin is not exactly to my taste, but it’s hugely clever and hugely comfortable, and, as you would expect, full of thoughtful and quirky touches which add greatly to the pleasure of the stay.

 

 

Our room featured tattoo art (and super comfortable beds) a guitar (of course, every hotel room should have a guitar) and a full-sized fridge, a working record-player and water bottles in the shape of gin bottles (I loved those).

 

 

Downstairs in the lobby everything was dark and a little seedy, with glamorous filmstar lights, polished vintage woods and antique ceiling lights, while the funky graffiti wallpaper echoed the tattoo art in the bedroom.

 

 

Using vintage artifacts and furniture everywhere, while retaining the worn mosaic floors and chipped plaster ceilings made everything seem a little louche and decadent, while being respectful of the building and its history.

 

 

And someone had had huge fun with the graphic design (and having the address written so prominently on the keycard was super useful when grabbing a cab late at night).

 

 

The food was good, the coffee was great, the bar was jumping and staff couldn’t have been more pleasant, helpful and friendly.

All in all a fun, comfortable and reasonably-priced place to stay in New York.  I will be back.

Blogging Your Way: NYC Road Trip Part 2

 

 

Day two of the Blogging Your Way workshop (other pics here and here), found Leslie Shewring from A Creative Mint taking her day in the sun (quite literally as the sun came out in New York after two days of Seattle-like torrential rain).

After hearing Leslie’s inspiring story of clicking with Holly online and subsequently striking up a great blogging and teaching partnership, we settled down for a day of more practical creativity.

 

 

The biggest thing I took away from the workshop is that styling is ALL about telling stories in an image.

Whenever I’m styling something I know I always look at the colours and shapes first, forget about the mood or story I’m trying to convey, and then wonder why the image seems flat and dead. I can be very dense sometimes. Of course, it’s all about the storytelling. Well, duh.

 

 

Leslie showed us how she pulls together inspiration boards to figure out moods and colour schemes.  She’s just one of those people who can instinctively pull together a bunch of random stuff and magically turn it into a coherent and pleasing whole.

It does help that she has some great props – she gave us lots of sources for what she called ‘curated hoarding’.  This was the second most useful thing I learned at the workshop.  Now I can explain to the Husband what I’m doing when he complains about the crap on my desk.

 

 

We then talked about composition, lighting and the basics of photography and Holly gave us a ton of tips about styling and photographing interiors.  Then for the rest of the day we had time to play ourselves and make the most of the lovely light at Divine Studio and Leslie’s pretty props.

Here’s a little ‘inspiration board’ I pulled together, with things I’d pulled off my desk at home.

 

 

 

And here are a few shots I styled and photographed of the beautiful food.  Can you see what stories I’m trying to tell?

 

 

Leslie encouraged us to explore our subjects from lots of different angles to find the best composition.

 

At the end of the day we all had fun taking pictures of all our new-found friends. Of course a huge part of the value and pleasure of doing these sorts of events is meeting a ton of inspirational and creative women.  New friends include Tina, Audrey, Michele, Natalie and Gretchen, Jessica, Ashley, Amanda and Fiona (seen below, who’d flown in all the way from England).  Also special thanks to Marianne, for being the most charming and easy-to-live-with roommate one could wish for.  I highly recommend taking a stroll through the links above, you’ll find some super charming and talented women and some new and fabulously inspirational blogs.

And once more a HUGE thank you to Holly and Leslie. You ladies rock SO hard.

 

The simple crepe paper hangings Leslie had put up made a great back drop for photos.

 

One day I’ll have a picture taken with Holly where I’m not looking either blurred or deranged (See also San Francisco pics). 

 

That Was The Week That Was: NYC Edition

 

This has been an Instagram week of colourful shopping, tall buildings, funky hotels and yellow cabs.  With just a bit of blogging inspiration thrown in.

 

 

On the 1st January I started posting daily photos to Instagram. I’m @mirrormirroxx. Come and be my friend.

I’ve had the most wonderful weekend. My head is full to bursting with ideas and inspiration, as is my cardholder with friends old and new.  Unfortunately my email inbox and laundry basket are also in danger of exploding and my fridge is very, VERY empty. 

I’ve got tons of ideas and thoughts and photos to share with you all but need to get myself straight today. New and improved blogging service begins tomorrow.

Packing and Panicking : Blogging Your Way NYC

 

 

This is what’s going down currently chez moi.  Early tomorrow morning I’m flying off to New York to attend Holly Becker of Decor8’s first ever in person Blogging Your Way workshop, which will include a day of photography and styling tips with the lovely Leslie Shewring of A Creative Mint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve long wondered what could happen if I took my blogging a bit more seriously, so I’m hoping to get a ton of tips and tricks to take this blog to the next level and beyond, now that I’ve got my mad Photoshop skillz in hand. (Haha! – Ed)

I’m back on Monday night so there won’t be any blogging over the weekend.  However I’ll be taking pictures like crazy, so follow me on Instagram (@mirrormirrorxx), Twitter or Facebook.

In the meantime, tell me all your favourite unmissable shops in NYC, I’ve got a free day of mooching around on Monday.

Go Fug Your Room? - Ines de la Fressange in Provence

 

Does that title send shivers down your spine?  

Given that Ines de la Fressange is the person I’d most like to be when I grow up, and Provence is the place in the world that I’d most to live (yeah, how original am I ), and her apartment in Paris has already been given the coveted mirrormirror seal of approval,  I can’t express how excited I was to see that my Elle Décor international edition was featuring Ines’ house in Provence.

Until that is I actually opened the magazine. Was this cold, spare, almost industrial, snoozefest of a space REALLY the home of the most stylish woman on the planet?  Or has my beloved Ines been kidnapped by space aliens and replaced by some sort of robot?

 

 

My first issue is with all the white.  I spent one of the happiest years of my life living in the South of France and the light there is warm and golden and oozes like butter, made for the sunset colours of painted plaster, terracotta tiles and warm, rich woods.  This harsh, clinical whiteness might work in Scandinavia, or Britain, or even Paris, but it doesn’t begin to say Provence to me.

 

 

And then there are the chairs.  Is it me, or does every single chair with the exception of the daybed look supremely uncomfortable? Either the sort of chair you have to perch on or a somewhat creaky flea market sofa with the sort of smelly upholstery you have to cover with a throw?

 

 

I could almost cope with the white if it had been enlivened by some brilliantly contrasting colours, but black?  I think black is quite difficult to live with at the best of times, but the black and white, with the stiff metallic lamps and stark, shiny floors, just seems cold, uncomfortable and unfriendly in Provence.  And I can’t even begin to explain how many sorts of wrong the depressingly coloured Union Jack cushion is.

 

 

The kitchen is by far the best room in the house and shows what might have been if more colour had been included.  But it still all seems rather brutal to me.

 

 

But what do you guys think?  Is this house fugly or not? As usual tell us how you reached your decision in the comments.

 

poll by twiigs.com

 

I was astonished to find out that an amazing 74% of you agreed with me about Diane von Furstenburg’s Manhattan penthouse. I do hope you’re not just sucking up. 

Fancy Hotel of the Week – Hotel Monaco, San Francisco

 

 

For my recent escape to San Francisco, I was looking for a hotel that was not TOO pricey, centrally-located and yet still a luxurious treat.   Through various Seattle foodie events, I’ve had the great good luck to get to know the wonderful Sheri Doyle of Pacific Northwest Journeys, who specialises in travel-planning throughout the Pacific Northwest.  What she doesn’t know about travel throughout the region and booking hotels in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria really isn’t worth knowing.

So I followed her advice and booked the Hotel Monaco (a sister hotel to the Hotel Triton, where we’d enjoyed staying before).  Sheri made the arrangements, got me a great rate, asked if I wanted a goldfish in my room (!), and passed on a secret password which would get me a ‘nice treat’.

The treat proved to be an upgrade to a Junior Suite, the goldfish was delivered to the door of my room with a note telling me his name was Speedy, and I spend the next 24 hours just WALLOWING in the hotel. The staff were all delightful – friendliness and helpfulness personified - which is great if you’re travelling on your own.

 

 

I have to admit upfront that the décor – like the lovechild of a louche gentlemen’s club on acid and a fantasy French chateau - wasn’t really my thing and seemed a little dated, but it was bright and supremely comfortable and had that touch of crazy fantasy that characterizes all the best hotels. You may not want to try this at home, but goodness it’s fun to visit.

 

 

 

My room was very, very, very stripy. No other adjective seems appropriate somehow.

 

As for Speedy the goldfish?  Well, he’s about the weirdest gimmick I’ve ever encountered at a hotel and I only said I wanted one so I could blog about it, but there was actually something strangely companionable about having a fish in the room. And he did have the most excellent manners – no snoring, no farting, very quiet.  I was sad to leave him behind.

 

If ever you’re thinking of travelling around the Pacific Northwest, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Sheri. You’ll end up with a detailed itinerary, the best recommendations out there for accommodation, eating out and things to see and do, and the savings that she’ll get you on room rates will probably more than pay for her services. Oh and she is incredibly organised, friendly and helpful and a pleasure to do business with.

Decorate!

 

 

Holly Becker of Decor8 fame has been an online friend for the longest time. I started blogging a little after she did and she was one of the very first people to comment on this blog nearly six years ago. 

I’ve done her Blogging Your Way course and cheered her on from the sidelines as she has gone on to her incredible and very much deserved success.

Holly is one of those people who is always generous with her time, her encouragement and, latterly, with the enormous reach and power of her blog.  She’s one of those people who always seems to have time for a friendly word or blog comment, however phenomenally busy she is and has created a huge network of friends, followers and devoted admirers across the globe.  And I’m not sure whether she ever sleeps or manages to have any leisure time as her output and the number of projects she’s involved in has always been prodigious.

I find her inspirational on so many levels and have always been sad that she managed to skip to Europe not long after I arrived in the US.  We’ve never been on the same side of the Atlantic for very long.

When plans for her book tour were finalised, she invited me to come down and see her in San Francisco. And at first it seemed like a crazy idea to fly down just for a book-signing and a dinner.  But a little voice in my head kept saying ‘why not’ and then Virgin America was offering great deals on flights from Seattle and before I knew it I’d booked flights and a hotel and was lined up for my first night away from the family in ages.

Holly and yours truly

And, all you mothers out there, I seriously don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner. I had totally forgotten the joys of plane travel without a fidgety six-year old; of mooching aimlessly round shops without being in a terrible rush or having to march a six year old to the toilet; of eating a most amazing lunch (thanks Boulette’s Larder) without having to worry whether the Minx had brought her DS or a book.  For 36 hours I was single again, and goodness it was BLISS.

Holly’s book signing was at Anthropologie (beautifully decorated with these garlands and bunting from Paper Source. Note to self, must buy for the Minx) and she was accompanied by Leslie Shewring from A Creative Mint, who had also taught on the Blogging Your Way course.  I also got to meet the very charming Victoria, of sfgirlbybay fame; the delightfully effervescent Alix (who had been a very fun team mate on the Blogging Your Way course) and Dottie from Modern Kiddo; the lovely Maja Brugos from Tikoli and Crystal Gentilello of Rue Magazine among other luminaries of the San Francisco design and blogging world.

 

Leslie Shewring and Alix from Modern Kiddo with Holly

All in all I had a fabulous couple of days and came away tremendously inspired to work more on this blog and throw myself more fully into the design world.  It’s time for this Mamma to have some ‘me’ time. 

Oh and the book?  Well, it’s fabulous of course.  Unlike many decorating books which are all about recreating the author’s own style, Decorate is all about uncovering and developing your own personal style and vision.  It is chock full of gorgeous pictures, inspirational quotes and tons and tons of innovative, accessible and eminently do-able ideas for every room in the house.  The book is sitting on my nightstand and is perfect way to unwind with a little bit of pretty at the end of a long day. And my house will definitely benefit in the long term. 

As for Holly herself, well, she is as warm, charming and thoroughly lovely as her online persona. But then you knew that already.  And also very tall.

And now I really must stop gushing and have a lie down. All this being nice does not come naturally at all.

Postcard from Orcas Island

Loveseat

Postcard from Orcas Island

Fancy Hotel of the Week – Melenos Lindos

 

Ha! You thought you’d got away with no more Greek holiday snaps. Unfortunately it remains my intention to bore you all into submission. After all, what else is a blog good for?

I mentioned that we liked to stay in little unassuming hotels while in Greece, but we decided to break that rule for the first few days by booking into the Melenos Lindos, high in the acropolis of the ancient town of Lindos in Rhodes. This hotel gets so many fabulous mentions, that it seemed churlish not to try it out.

Images from hotel website

Unfortunately they contacted us a few days before we left and said that there had been a double booking and they had no space for us.  They pulled out all the stops to secure alternative accommodation (which, thanks to its enormous swimming pool and spacious grounds was actually much more suitable for the Minx) and offered us a free dinner on their beautiful outdoor dining terrace.

Architect Anastasia Papaioanou and Australian artist-designer Donald Green worked together to recreate a traditional  multi-levelled, multi-terraced Lindian mansion, decorated in a timeless way using traditional local crafts and antiques.

Here are some of my photos from our dinner, supplemented by the couple above from the hotel’s website, as I didn’t have my wide-angled lens with me.

Enjoy the spectacularly pretty.

Fancy Hotel of the Week - L’Auberge Del Mar

 

We wanted to go to Southern California this year to a) escape the miserable Seattle ‘spring’ (I use this term loosely) b) visit my elderly aunt in Dana Point, an hour or so’s drive south of LA and c) take the Minx to Disneyland.

I was told by friends on Twitter and Facebook that Del Mar was fun and it was suggested that we try the newly-refurbished L’Auberge Del Mar. When we discovered that my very favourite discounted fancy hotels travel site www.luxurylink.com was offering a deal, our fate was sealed.

And we had the most wonderful time.

L’Auberge Del Mar is a historic hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean and right on Del Mar’s attractive main street.

The hotel was completely refurbished in 2008 by interior designer Barclay Butera who has done a great job bringing a historic building bang up to date.

We were lucky enough to have a room overlooking the main courtyard of the hotel, which was been designed as a series of little ‘rooms’, cabanas, terraces and courtyards centered around the small but luxurious pool and jacuzzi area. There’s the kicking Bleu Bar, a scenic terrace for breakfast and informal suppers, cosy hidden cabanas and even space for weddings, all with an ocean view.

 

The themes of the décor are soft and muted sage-y greens, brown and white stripes and the most breathtakingly lush white planting – white roses everywhere you turn, undulating seas of fragrant jasmine, and hedges of rosemary and box.  

To be perfectly honest we hardly left the hotel all week.  The place comes into its own at night, when the surfers come in from the beach and le tout Del Mar comes out to party. We dined one evening in the hotel’s top notch restaurant Kitchen 1540, where the cured meats, golden beet salad and frozen key lime pie will live on in my memory. We drank superlative cocktails at the Bleu Bar every night. The hotel is beautifully lit with fires and burners everywhere to take the chill off the evening air as the sun sets over the ocean.

The internal décor is luxurious too – all sage greens, soft browns, seashells and comfy seating.  I loved the ridiculously rococo shell-encrusted side tables, the beautiful mother-of-pearl smothered lamps, the green toile cushions and the enormous shell planters full of orchids.

There were little touches of wit and humour everywhere – the wait staff had foodie quotations printed on their tee-shirts and Sofie, Kristy the Marketing Coordinator’s pretty little dog, had a sign at the front desk telling us when she was ‘working’ and available for cuddles. 

 

 

Finally, and most importantly for us, L’Auberge trod that extremely fine line between being super relaxed and kid-friendly (with unbelievably kind staff and a great kids’ menu) and sophisticated and happening enough for grown-ups – thanks to a fabulous bar, gorgeous spa and secluded lap pool. The Minx adored it and the Husband and I are longing to return.

Truly I can’t recommend this one highly enough.

Giveaway! Beautiful Shabby Apple Dress

 

It’s Spring and this not-so-young woman’s fancies are lightly turning to getting the heck out of rainy, cold and miserable Seattle and going somewhere warm and sunny in Europe instead.

 

 

Fortunately for all of us dreaming of summer, the lovely peeps at Shabby Apple have very generously offered to give away one of their delightful summer dresses to mirrormirror blog readers.  After much humming and haaahing (sp?) I have chosen this cute ‘Trevi Fountain’ dress worth $78 a) because the pics make me want to go back and live in Rome and b) because I think the cut and colour will be flattering on lots of people.

 

 

There are four different ways to enter the competition and everyone can enter up to four times.  Just make sure you tell me how you’ve entered in a comment below. The competition closes at midnight Pacific Standard Time and I’ll use a random number generator to draw the winning entry as soon as I wake up on Thursday 7th April.

If you win you’ll be able to choose your size and the dress will be shipped directly to you from Shabby Apple if you live in the US. If you live elsewhere, I’ll have it delivered here and then ship it out for FREE, so everyone in the UK and beyond can enter too. And if you aren’t lucky enough to win, Shabby Apple has provided the coupon code mirrormirror10off, so we can all get 10% off at the store.

Below are the different ways to enter. Remember you can enter all four ways as long as you leave a comment telling me how you’ve entered below.

1) Leave a comment below saying if and where you’re thinking of heading on vacation/holiday this summer

2) ’Like’ mirrormirror on Facebook  (leave a comment below saying you’ve done this)

3) ‘Like’ Shabby Apple on Facebook (leave a comment below saying you’ve done this)

4) Tweet the following:  I’ve just entered to win a beautiful Shabby Apple summer dress. You can too!http://is.gd/lkSbhM  (And leave a comment below saying you’ve Tweeted).

Buona fortuna!

Update: If you’ve already ‘liked’ mirrormirror or Shabby Apple on Facebook just let me know in the comments and that can count as an entry too. Oh and make sure you mention each entry in a separate comment.

Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival

 

So the week before last I headed up to Vancouver BC with three friends – Viv from Seattle Bon Vivant, Tracy from AlDente and Mari  -  to attend the first ever Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival.

 

 

This was, of course, just an excuse, for four greedy women to spend 36 hours eating their way round Vancouver, ably abetted by Stephane Mouttet, the charming and hugely knowledgeable concierge at the Shangri La hotel.

Having had such an enjoyable time when we stayed there last, I recommended the Shangri La to the others and it was such a relief when our stay was even better than I had remembered.  If there are friendlier, more helpful, more informative hotel staff anywhere in the world, I’d love to meet them.

Our first stop on the Hot Chocolate Tour was Thomas Haas in Kitsilano. Haas has world-level patissier credentials, most recently as Executive Pastry Chef at the Four Seasons in Vancouver and the sumptuous chocolates and exquisite pastries in his shop were metaphorically, and probably literally, to die for.

Their hot chocolate was the best we tasted on the tour and the almond croissant was the best I’ve ever had anywhere in the world – the perfect combination of crisp savoury outer shell, perfectly toasted almonds and dense squidgy, not too sweet almond filling.  The macarons I brought back for the Minx (who has expensive tastes) were as good as Laduree.

 

 

Later that afternoon we visited Mink Chocolates and indulged in yet more hot chocolate and a decadent individual chocolate fondue. The speciality here is individual bars of premium quality iPhone-sized ganache-filled chocolate with super cool names, such as Ruby & Tawny Are Friends, Open In Case Of Emergency, Pas De Deux or Mermaid’s Choice and funky colourful packaging.  Their striking beauty, and the individual bold statement chocolates in the shapes of hearts and lips, reflect owner Marc Lieberman’s fine arts background – he does all the graphic design himself, as well as develop the chocolates.  I bought a stack of chocolate bars for the Husband’s Valentines’ present and can confirm that they are  pretty darn wonderful.

For supper Stephane at the hotel recommended ReFuel, again in Kitsilano, which specialises in fresh local ingredients and did fabulous things with charcuterie, marrow bones, BC spot prawns, chalkboard art and funky light fittings at a very reasonable price.

 

 

Another highlight of the trip – though my photos unfortunately didn’t turn out too well -  was our trip to Bella Gelateria. We had every intention of trying the hot chocolate but after James the owner talked to us at length about the wonders of his pistachio gelato, made from specially-ground paste, using pistachios from the slopes of Mount Etna, we changed our minds. I consider myself to be something of a pistachio gelato connoisseur – it’s been my flavour of choice since I was a kid and I’ve eaten it all over Italy - and this really was incredible.

Finally here are a few more photos of the splendours of the ShangriLa, featuring their signature chandeliers, their smiley staff, an immense afternoon tea (with OMG! REAL clotted cream) and a doozy of a breakfast, including my first ever taste of congee, which I adored.

 

 

And a couple of pics of the incomparable Stephane at work, who did so much to make our trip one of the most fun and memorable I’ve taken in ages.  Merci beaucoup!

 

We had a lot of fun posting pictures and tweeting and checking in from all Vancouver on Facebook and Twitter and will definitely be back again next year to check out all the chocolate stops we didn’t make it to this time round.

If you’re on Twitter you may want to follow @thaaschocolates @ShangriLaBC @bellagelateria @CityFood_mag @refuel_bar @minkchocolates or my lovely friends and travel companions Viv @bonnevivante, Tracy @choicemorsel and M @bitterbiscuit.

And of course I can be found at @mirrormirrorxx or on www.facebook.com/mirrormirroronline

New Year’s Resolutions

 

This year I have decided NOT to make any resolutions because a) I am absolutely crap at sticking to them and b) I’ve got quite enough on my plate thank you with my 101 Things list.

The good news is that I managed to make further inroads into the list over Christmas.

First up was ‘go snowmobiling’. 

Many moons ago, when I’d just met the Boyfriend (before he became the Husband) we went on a skiing holiday to Whistler (little guessing that we’d be living in Seattle and spending our Christmases there, ten or so years into the future).

I had been trying my hand at snowboarding and after a couple of lessons the then Boyfriend and I decided to board down the mountain. It turns out that I’m even worse at snowboarding than I am at keeping New Year’s resolutions and it soon became apparent that there was no way I was going to make it to the nearest chairlift before nightfall.  Cue a ruggedly handsome snowmobiler rushing to the aid of this damsel in distress and whisking me off down the mountain at top speed. And I’ve wanted to go snowmobiling again ever since.

So it went on the list and the Husband and I signed up to go snowmobiling last week in Whistler. I decided that it would only count for the list if I drove one, little realising how terrifyingly huge they are.

Here I am as nervous as hell before we set off.

 

 

Here I am clinging on grimly for dear life (yes, I promise that’s me).

 

 

And here we are after I decided that my tentative driving  was hugely unenjoyable for all concerned and I climbed on the back of the guide’s machine, whizzed at furious speed through the snowy trees, and  fulfilled all my snowmobiling fantasies.

It turns out that snowmobiles are another thing (along with cars and supermarkets) that are not designed for people who stand just over 5 feet tall.  It really would have helped if I’d at least been able to see over the windshield which became totally covered in snow at one point.

 

 

The other thing I can of course tick off the list is ‘knit a sock monkey’.  Here are a couple of last photos, before I bore you to death, of Carmen B modelling a few accessories.  I knitted the hat on Christmas Eve, made her earrings and sourced the little sunglasses online.

 

 

What are your resolutions this year? Is anyone going to join me in a 101 Things List?  If you’re feeling introspective then this list of prompts from Reverb is very thought-provoking (I may work on it in January).

Sadly Carmen Banana has not been an unequivocal success. The Minx was very impressed that I’d knitted her and told me that ‘she looks like she came from a sock monkey shop’. However the next night I found that she had been relegated from the Minx’s bed ‘because she looks a bit scary’. I have to say that I can’t really disagree with her.

Fancy Hotel of the Week – Poet’s Cove

 

So I celebrated Thanksgiving in a rather unconventional way by heading off with a girlfriend to the Canadian Gulf Islands – part of the same group of islands as the US San Juans, situated in the strait between Vancouver Island and Vancouver itself.

 

 

Snow was falling gently as I left the house early on Thursday morning to catch the Clipper and for a moment I was worried that me and my wheely suitcase wouldn’t even make it down our icy steps, let alone all the way to the islands. But I needn’t have worried – the crossing over to Victoria was as smooth as a baby’s bottom, and welcome rain was turning the snow to slush when I arrived.

The following day we took the ferry out  to Pender Island.  It’s only a short ferry crossing from Sidney, near Victoria, and then about 20 minutes drive on Pender from the north island to the south. And this is what we saw as we turned the last corner.

 

 

Poet’s Cove is a modern resort, spa and yacht marina tucked into a tranquil and stunningly beautiful bay. My friend and I were lucky enough to stay in a two-bedroom cottage with its own personal outside hot tub, so we spent a lot of time drinking prosecco in the tub, watching dreadful movies curled up in front of the fire, doing the crossword and knitting, having treatments in the fabulous spa and dining on top notch comfort food in the relaxed and busy dining room.

The decor is in the modern ‘lodge’ vernacular which one finds so often in the Pacific Northwest and is all about the fireplaces and cosy sofas, high ceilings and a few interesting craftmade pieces.

 

 

The staff were absolutely lovely. Nothing was too much trouble – here they are keeping brunch buffet open for us, so that we could fit in our spa treatments before they stopped serving brunch.

 

 

And while the resort was tremendously relaxing for the body and mind, Mother Nature was busy weaving her magic on our souls.  An old Native American chief is buried close to the resort and you can see why he’d want to live out eternity looking out at views like these.

 

 

 

A big highlight was when this little chap came out to play close to the marina.  This beautiful mottled seal was a star in the making, giving us a ten minute display of incredible underwater athleticism and seemingly revelling in his audience. 

 

 

 

No wonder we looked somewhat drunk on fresh air, beauty (and possibly the odd caipirinha) by the end of our stay.

 

Apparently this place gets understandably busy in the summer, though I’d still love to return then – I think the family would love it.

And if you live in the Pacific Northwest and are looking for somewhere fun for a weekend, even in the depths of winter, then head off here. It’s where even the seals come to relax and play.

Go Love Your Trailer Park – Hicksville Trailer Palace

 

You already know how much we love Joshua Tree, but the person who decided to build a trailer park motel there with themed trailers, secluded swimming pool and recording studio (just in case you have an album to make) was clearly a genius. Hicksville Trailer Palace, I salute you!

 

The Fifi would definitely be the Minx’s trailer of choice, though the Husband would need to keep a firm grip on his masculinity. Though glowing wig heads would make up for all the frou frou I suspect.

I could live out my fantasy of living in an Airstream in the Integratrailer, though the interior does seem a little subdued. It apparently comes with its own alien communication system though.

 

And I also like the look of the Lux, which apparently comes with its own library of horror movies, which I would NOT be watching stuck in the middle ofJoshua Tree. At night.

 

   

The other amenities look more fun than normal camping too.

 

And can you imagine how spectacular it would be sitting out under all those stars?

 

{All images from www.hicksville.com and their Facebook page. Found via the Divine Ms T at Whorange}

Go Fug Your Room? – Paola Navone

 

Oh we haven’t done one of these for ages, have we? So let’s get our bitchpants critical thinking caps on and get to work.

 

 

My first name, courtesy of my Italian mother, has always been a source of great consternation to me – as so few people in either the UK or America have any clue how to pronounce or spell it (for the record, say ‘Pow-la’ in your best Italian accent and you’ll come pretty close) and I’ve had some pretty creative versions of both over the years.

Because my name is so unusual in English-speaking countries (Paolas are ten a penny in Italy) I’ve always had a soft spot for famous Paolas such as er, Queen Paola of Belgium and Italian product designer Paola Navone.  In the latter case, it’s not just because of her illustrious name, but also because she designs some super cool stuff.

So I was very excited when September’s Livingetc featured her Milanese apartment – an old Parmesan cheese warehouse that was apparently in miserable condition until Navone recently rescued it.

 

 

The problem is that I’m not exactly thrilled by the interior design. The overlapping blues and greys, are beautiful in and of themselves, but there’s just too darn much blue everywhere and, coupled with all the hard tiling on floor and ceiling, it just looks so cold and uncomfortable, like living inside an icecube. 

That might be appropriate in Morocco, or Greece, but I’ve spent a lot of time in Milan, and in winter it is often as dank, cold and foggy as Sarah Palin’s brain.  The ceramic Moroccan stools;  smooth, shiny Moroccan pouffes and Asian ceramic busts only add to the chill. Am I the only person who wants to add some snuggly orange cushions or thick, shaggy deep red rugs to the mix?

Also, and this is probably just me, there’s just a bit too much Moroccan going on in here.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Moroccan design in and of itself and I love combining elements from an eclectic mix of cultures in a single space, as Navone mostly does to great effect. But the pasha’s boudoir above has strayed into ‘theme-bar’ territory and the Asian busts just seem incongruous and out of place.

 

 

But the real story here is the monotone colour. The blue is absolutely unrelenting, permeating every room in the apartment, though she goes wild and adds a little green to the kitchen, which, I’ll admit, I would kill several close family members to have in my house.

 

 

 

In isolation, each of these rooms is beautiful, as are many of the pieces in them. It’s just that the whole just seems so chilly and hard and the monotones are just well, monotonous.  I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the stylist had to, both literally and figuratively, turn the fire on, so as to liven up the spread.

 

 

 

poll by twiigs.com

 

You may be interested in Paola Navone’s other houses. Her Greek island home, which is a study in white,  is here and her stunning Paris apartment, which is mostly white, with pops of colour, is here.  I am obviously not remotely insanely jealous of anyone who has homes in Paris, Milan and Greece.

Fancy Hotel of the Week – Hotel Triton, San Francisco

 

One of the very nicest things about the Husband’s job is that he occasionally gets to travel to San Francisco on business, which makes it much cheaper and easier for us to organise a long weekend.  So that’s where we were at the beginning of the week.  Yep, lucky doesn’t even begin to describe it.

The Hotel Vitale was fully booked this time, so we instead got a room at the fabulously located Hotel Triton – just steps from the Chinatown gate and three minutes walk from Union Square.  It’s a smallish hotel with limited amenities and doesn’t even have a restaurant, though it shares its building with the excellent French-style brasserie Cafe de la Presse, which serves thick frothy cappuccinos and French patisserie as good as any I’ve had in France, as well as authentic-looking French brasseries staples such as French onion soup and croque monsieur. 

 

Architecturally the building isn’t anything to write home about but, boy, have they made the most of what they have – going wild with vibrant pop art wallpapers, crazy colourful upholstery and weird and wonderfully shaped accent pieces (though the rooms themselves are a little more restrained).

It was as if it had been designed by Mondo from Project Runway while high on the waccy baccy (and speaking of whom, what the bloody hell happened last night?)

Needless to say the Minx and I both adored it – particularly as the reception area came complete with Romy the very cute puppy, whom the Minx insisted on ‘training’ by throwing his ball around the lounge, chasing round all available pillars and grossly overfeeding on dog biscuits.  The little rubber ducks in the outside water feature were another Minx-friendly addition.  Such a kid and dog friendly design hotel is a rare gem indeed.

 

 

All in all we loved this enough to go back, despite a mix-up at the beginning which meant that the kid-friendly room we’d booked was not available when we arrived amid torrential rain and all very tired after an early start. 

To be fair to the hotel they did offer us one of their ‘celebrity suites’ – the Haagen Dazs room, but it didn’t have a sofabed for the Minx (why don’t all hotels automatically put sofabeds in all their rooms?) And also, to be honest, my waistline does NOT need a hotel room where the key attraction is a huge freezer full of unlimited FREE Haagen Dazs.  You however, may disagree.  The Minx probably would too if she’d had any idea what we turned down.

In the end we got the more spacious kid-friendly room we wanted (space is such a premium when there’s three of your in a room), the hotel apologised, we thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our stay and I’m happy to recommend the hotel as a great place to stay in San Francisco.

Enjoy the crazy pretty.

Days of Wine and Roses – Aix en Provence

 

Do you want the bad news or the good news?

On the downside the Minx’s interminable summer vacation continues, so you’re just going to have to make do with holiday snaps and maybe the off it of flybynight blogging for the time being.

The good news is that she goes back to school NEXT WEDNESDAY (be still my beating heart!). Not only will it be business as usual, but I’m hoping to unveil a bit of blog re-launch then as well. I’ve no idea how y’all can cope with the excitement. 

In the meantime though, here are some pictures from the next stage of our French adventure (which seems so long ago now). 

After five very pleasant days in Menton we drove north and east to spend a few days in a gite near the beautiful town of Aix en Provence.

As you can see, we indulged in a lot of shopping, sitting in cafes, drinking wine, eating patisserie and general loafing about a la francaise.

 

 

 

We stayed in some very sweet and well-equipped gites, in beautiful old stone buildings set in a vineyard close to St Maximin and Aix. The Minx managed to swim her very first length in the huge pool, which accounts for the enormous cheese-eating grin below.

 

 

Not surprisingly the Minx has decided that she likes France very much. This was all part of my cunning plan to ensure that she continues to enjoy going to a French immersion school.  I have not yet revealed to her that not every corner of France is quite like this.

All About Me – Me and My Girl

You won’t see many photos of me out there, mostly because the Husband, who obviously has MANY fine attributes, is the worst photographer known to man.

This weekend we fled the terrible Seattle summer and went to Lake Chelan, high in the mountains of northern Washington, which has a sunny microclimate and beautiful, swimmable waters.

And hell must have frozen over or something, because the Husband actually took some photos which made me look like a human being and not a water buffalo. They’re not amazing or anything – hair had just been in swimming pool and I’m wearing no make up – but I share them with you in memory of this miracle.

 

 

In case you think I’m exaggerating, here is one the Husband’s first, and more typical attempts.

 

Menton Mon Amour

 

After a few days at the Hotel du Clos, we drove a couple of hours along the Grande Corniche, with fabulous views of Eze and Monaco and out to sea towards Corsica.  Our destination - Menton, the lemon capital of France, situated at the very Eastern end of the French Riviera and within jogging distance (even for me) of Italy.

If ever a place was my spiritual home then this is it – an almost perfect blend of Provence and Liguria in Italy – with a bustling and beautiful old town; a warm, shallow sea perfect for swimming; great food; a superb market; tangly old streets and magnificent people watching.

We all just LOVED it. (Except for the jellyfish, though on the plus side the Minx can now say ‘jellyfish’ in three languages.)

 

 

 

We stayed at the Hotel Napoleon on the waterfront – wonderfully located with great views of the old town from its balconies.  The hotel itself is very pleasant, comfortable, well-equipped and modern, though no great shakes from a design perspective (hence I forgot to take any pics of the interiors) and had excellent breakfasts. Next door was sweet little chapel marking the pilgrim route from Rome to Santiago.

 

 

The best bit though was the luxurious private beach club, fully equipped with comfy loungers, a great restaurant and bar and handsome beach boys.

 

 

 

 

 

The Minx particularly appreciated the SELF. SERVICE. GELATERIA (help yourself to icecream, toppings, sauces and flavourings and then pay by weight at the end) next to the beach.

 

 

I, on the other hand, hugely appreciated the mesmerising view behind me, while we were at the bar watching England crash out of the football…

Things I Am Loving - Crochet Car Cosy

{Image by Flickr user StartTheDay}

Isn’t this just the business? 

It was apparently created by Magda Sayeg for the Il Lusso Essenziale art festival in Rome and I’m very tempted to start making one for my Beetle, except a) I don’t think it’s terribly suitable for the Seattle winter (or indeed the Seattle summer, of which we would rather not speak, thank you very much) and b) I have no idea how you open the doors.

Fancy Hotel of the Week – Hotel du Clos

 

 

On this particular trip we didn’t set out to stay in fancy boutique-y hotels  - our criteria were mostly cost, space for us and the Minx and proximity to beautiful locations, but we really lucked out with the first hotel we stayed in, booked at the very last minute through Splendia, a website specialising in characterful hotels.

The Hotel du Clos is in the little postcard-perfect village of Le Rouret, about 15 minutes from Grasse and 25 minutes from Nice and the bustle of the Riviera, and so a perfect place to relax after our long transatlantic flight to Nice (via Amsterdam).

 

 

 

The hotel – and this is the reason I loved it so – combines the very best in traditional French charm and style with the odd touch of whimsy here and there, which made everything seem lighthearted, modern and fun and added oodles of character. Though frankly the buildings were so beautiful that additional character seemed almost unnecessary.

The rooms are each individually decorated, the staff were absolutely delightful and extremely welcoming to the Minx, and the same people who own the hotel also own a fabulous Michelin-starred restaurant, five minutes away in the village. So, I really can’t recommend this one highly enough.

 

 

 

The bedroom featured the most beautiful fireplace and was  decorated in those overlapping shades of dove grey that the French do so well.

 

 

 

 

  I loved the wall sticker of ‘books’ stacked up on the bedside table

 

 

 

 

 

the Roman faces fabric on the cushions and curtains

 

    

 

and the Perspex angel light fitting above our bed (with another angel peeking out in the bathroom).

 

 

 

The traditional Provencal garden – fragrant with roses, jasmine and lavender -  was a big hit with a certain someone, who particularly loved the fabulously UNtraditional sculpture lurking among the olive trees.

 

 

 

We ate epic breakfasts every morning on the beautiful terrace

 

 

- the fromage blanc with rose syrup was a particularly big hit.

 

 

 

In the mornings when I woke early through jetlag, I would knit on our balcony shaded by an ancient olive tree and listen to the sound of church bells and the kids singing in the school next door. 

 

After breakfast we would head to the small but delightful stone pool, made particularly elegant by the use of very dark green tiles, which made it fit much more naturally into the garden landscape.

 

 

And we all appreciated little touches such as the antique jelly moulds used as keyrings (and were sad not to get one of the three bears)

 

 

and the papier mache cow in the reception area. 

 

More photos from the Hotel du Clos, Le Rouret and Grasse, on my Flickr here.

I’m back. Sort of normal service will be resumed, though it’s school vacation and a busy time for ‘mirrormirror’ so other things also need to take priority. I’ve been missing you though.

Postcard from France – Patisserie

 

 

Aix en Provence

Postcard from France - Shutters

 

 

Also Cassis. Love these colours. 

Postcard from France - Cassis

Day trip to Cassis.

Postcard from France - Vineyard

 

We stayed in a little gite here.

 

We’re back, but I have three weeks of unpacking and laundry to do, over 1000 photos to process, an empty shop and a garden full of parched plants and bindweed to grapple with, so I’ll be back blogging properly again on Monday.  In the meantime I’ll post up some more ‘Postcards’ of the remainder of our trip.

Postcard from France - Lavender

 

 

Near Aix.

Postcard from France - Graffito

 

On the way to Aix.

Postcard from France – Menton Mon Amour

 

 

Au revoir. Definitely.

Will try and catch up with posting when we get to Paris and a better internet connection.

Postcard from France - Balcony

 

 

Menton, my new spiritual home.

Postcard from France - Bouquet

 

Courgette flowers. Market. Menton.

Postcard from France – Soleil

 

 

Sitting at the next table eating salted butter caramel icecream. Grasse.

Postcard from France – One of Greatest Breakfasts Ever

 

Postcard from France – Room with a View

 

Hotel du Clos, Le Rouret, near Grasse

Jonathan Adler at Le Parker Meridien – Palm Springs

 

The last day of our trip to Palm Springs was also the only day we had grotty weather. It was sunny enough for swimming in the hotel pool until lunchtime, but then we checked out and went for lunch at the Parker, with interior design by Jonathan Adler.

From the moment we walked through the enormous orange front doors it was obvious we were in the presence of decorating GENIUS.

 

 

Even the Minx thought so.

 

  

 

To be fair Adler is definitely a decorator, not a designer and he does make it easy for himself. The building is not especially exciting and he hasn’t done anything particularly original with the space. Pretty much everything is painted white with dark wood floors, and the whole would be incredibly boring if it were empty.

But he has created the perfect backdrop for his superb vignettes of furniture and quirky accessories all topped off with his incredible sense of colour.

 

 

 

Everywhere you turned there were little Adler-esque touches.

 

 

The restaurant – Norma’s – was quite blandly decorated but the food was good and it’s obviously worth it to come here and have a bit of nose around the hotel.

 

 

The outside spaces looked like they might be interesting, but by this time the weather was really closing in and it was time to get the hell out of Palm Springs.

 

 

Just a quick word here in praise of Virgin America. We flew down the West Coast with them and it was such a pleasure to travel with an airline that was on time, had superbly pleasant customer service, fabulous seatback entertainment for everyone, and, to the Minx’s utter delight PINK and PURPLE interior lighting. Truly the key to a little girl’s heart.

 

 

In other tales from our trip to Palm Springs, check out

The Ace Hotel and Swim Club here.

The Colony Palms Hotel here.

Out and About in Palm Springs here

The Aerial Tramway here.

Joshua Tree National Park here

 

Palm Springs Afternoon Out – Joshua Tree National Park

 

 

 

We were told by many people that we couldn’t go to Palm Springs and not go to Joshua Tree, so on the Saturday, after checking out of the Ace, and before checking into the Colony Palms, we drove out of Palm Spings, turned right at the wind farm (who would have guessed that so many wind farm fans read this blog?) and continued on the road through the desert and a slice of small-town America.

I only wish I’d been quick enough to photograph the teabaggers with the sign for ‘Less Gov, More God’. My first ever teabaggers! We don’t have teabaggers in Seattle.

It takes about an hour and a half to get to Joshua Tree and we were surprised to find that it was in fact cooler than Palm Springs, being higher up and much more windy. I’m not sure if this is always the case, but it might be worth bearing in mind if you’re sweltering down in the valley.

The park is named after the small stunted tree which dots the landscape as far as the eye can see. Vistas like this are so awesome and alien and strange to British eyes and so different from the cosy, cuddliness of Seattle. This is the America that I don’t even begin to understand, but which, I suspect, is an essential component of the American character.

 

 

 

 

According to the small book of walks we bought at the Visitor Center, we could quite easily have spent several days exploring the park. However, on the recommendation of a family at the hotel we decided to walk through Hidden Valley. This was a well-signposted, 1 mile loop through a rock-enclosed valley which was once apparently and excitingly the lair of cattle-rustlers. 

This was the perfect length of hike for the Minx and I can’t recommend it highly enough for small kids. Lots of tiny lizards and cute chipmunks to observe and loads of ROCKS. TO. CLIMB. 

 

 

I liked it too, as the incredible rock formation brought out my inner Ansel Adams

 

 

 

 {To me, and to most other Brits I suspect, the Joshua Tree means U2. Here is my own small tribute to those irritating Irish rocksters. Why an album full of Irish angst is named after this park, goodness only knows, but that didn’t stop me having ‘With or Without You’ going round in my head for most of the day}.

And here’s another fix for all you wind farm junkies.

In other tales from our trip to Palm Springs, check out

The Ace Hotel and Swim Club here.

The Colony Palms Hotel here.

Out and About in Palm Springs here

The Aerial Tramway here.

Next week we will be concluding this series with lunch at the Parker, designed by Jonathan Adler.

Palm Springs Afternoon Trip – Aerial Tramway

 

 

We were very pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the landscape around Palm Springs. We most certainly weren’t expecting snow-capped mountains (nor the hugely impressive wind farm just outside the town, I love wind farms ).

 

 

We drove about ten minutes out of Palm Springs to a fold in the San Jacinto mountains and then headed UP.

 

 

I’ve been in a fair few cable cars in my life, but this was definitely among the most scary as the cliff face is pretty much perpendicular at some points and it was VERY easy to imagine crashing to a spectacular death. Matters were not helped by the base of the car turning slowly round to give everyone a 360 degree view and make it impossible to avoid looking at the terrifying bits. 

And look what we did when we got to the top! So NOT what we expected to be doing in Palm Springs.

 

 

Here’s the view of the windfarm down below.  You get a much better idea of just how arid it is.

 

 

And there’s Palm Springs itself, looking noticeably greener.

 

 

All in all it was good to spend an afternoon among the pine trees in PS.  I would think it would be really fabulous when the temperatures down below get really excruciating.