4.30.2012

Vetiver and Juniperberry Soap

When we were in Vancouver, we stopped in a Crabtree & Evelyn shop. I couldn't resist getting this bar of soap: Vetiver and Juniperberry. It smells heavenly. (Actually it smells quite a bit like Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet.)

4.27.2012

Friday Featured Etsy Seller: Vessels and Wares

I noticed an item from Vessels and Wares - Jeanette Zeis Ceramics - on the front page of Etsy the other day.  Her pieces are beautiful.  I especially like this mixing bowl and the lovely cakestands.




4.26.2012

Thursday Tunes: Rachmaninov Piano Concerto 3

A couple of weeks ago we went to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and heard Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto 3. It was fantastic. I liked the simple theme from the first movement.


4.25.2012

Sleeping Masks

Since we've been flying a bit recently, I decided to make us some sleeping masks. The pattern is from Amy Butler's In Stitches book. They're quilted on the front to make them extra comfy.

4.24.2012

Grant Tartan

I finally got around to framing the last bit of Grant plaid that I brought home with me from Edinburgh. I like the idea of fabric as art - especially heirloom/historical patterns.

4.23.2012

Kansas City Temple

We attended the open house for the new Kansas City Temple on April 14. It is very beautiful. I loved the mural in the ordinance room. It is very Missouri: deer, bluebirds, cardinals, redbuds, etc. The celestial room (bottom) has magnificent chandeliers that are meant to represent dogwood blossoms. Read more about it here.



4.20.2012

Friday Featured Etsy Seller: Nauvoo Quilt Company

I recently discovered the Nauvoo Quilt Company Etsy shop. It's so fun that it's a Nauvoo shop, and I love their shirtings and reproduction fabric. A great new resource!


4.19.2012

Thursday Text: Therese Raquin

I did a trial offer from audible.com and got the audiobook Therese Raquin, performed by Kate Winslet. It's part of their A-List Collection. I liked listening to a book - I could take my Kindle around with me while I did my chores. The book was very dramatic. According to IMDB, it's currently being made into a new film, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Tom Felton!

4.18.2012


JEREMIAH LYNN BURGESS
04.17.77 - 04.18.02


{portrait by Joseph Alleman
}

4.17.2012

Homegrown

About a week or so ago we were in Seattle for a conference that my husband was attending. It's been many years since I went to Seattle with my family, and we really enjoyed this visit. We met up with one of Tony's grad school friends and his girlfriend, and they took us to a place in the Fremont neighborhood called Homegrown for lunch. It was fabulous. They are a sustainable sandwich shop serving up fresh, local ingredients. They even do a box lunch delivery using tote bags that they pick up and reuse. I borrowed the picture below from their blog - the sandwich that I had was incredible.


4.16.2012

Pomegranate

When we were in Turkey, we saw pomegranates everywhere. I love that the pomegranate is a common design motif there. We saw lots of glass and ceramic pomegranates, like this one from Pasabahce Magazalari (a Crate and Barrel-type store that we visited at the mall).

4.13.2012

Friday Featured Etsy Seller: Let Them Eat Pie

Here's a fun Etsy shop from right here in DeKalb! Let Them Eat Pie serves up mini pies baked in jars. They are so cute (and delicious looking!). I wish there was some way that I could just go into town and pick one up...

4.12.2012

Thursday Text: Wuthering Heights

I finally finished reading Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. I got the whole Bronte Collection on my Kindle for $.99. The book is very imaginative. It's especially interesting to read the Brontes after reading Jane Austen - so different. Now I'll have to find a good film adaptation!

4.11.2012

Habitat

Habitat is a British store that we visited at the mall in Istanbul. They had a lot of interesting things, including beautiful kitchen linens and tableware (like these).


4.10.2012

Strawberry Thief Watering Can

I saw this watering can at TJ Maxx the other day and thought that it was fabulous. It is made by Navigate using William Morris's Strawberry Thief pattern (from the Victoria and Albert Museum, who, by the way, have a super online shop). Navigate has a whole line of cute gardening stuff. It's getting to be that time of year!

4.09.2012

Little Dorrit

Did you get to see Little Dorrit on Masterpiece? The Andrew Davies version is stellar. It has a fantastic cast. I haven't read much Charles Dickens, but I'm enjoying the PBS adaptations. I'll have to catch up on Great Expectations now!

4.06.2012

Friday Featured Art: The Lacemaker

I enjoyed seeing two pieces by Vermeer at the Louvre. The Lacemaker is a beautiful, small painting. I really love the intricate frame. My Dutch grandfather would make pictures by cutting different shades of wood and piecing them together - so I thought it was neat to see the flower designs inlaid in this wood frame.

4.05.2012

Thursday Text: Betty Crocker Easy Vegetarian

I picked up this book for $7 at Barnes & Noble the other day. It's really great! So many vegetarian cookbooks have weird recipes with crazy ingredients, but this one seems really doable. We're not strict vegetarians, but we do try to "eat meat sparingly," as counseled in the Word of Wisdom.

4.04.2012

Pottery Barn Quilt

Did you get a Pottery Barn catalog recently? I loved this page. I couldn't find the quilt on their Linkweb site yet, but I think it's fantastic. I really like it because it looks just like something my sister, Sara, would make!

4.03.2012

Unseen Titanic

Have you read the latest issue of National Geographic yet? There's a fantastic article about the Titanic, complete with new images of the wreck. I thought that this ring, found in a leather pouch, was exceptionally beautiful. Check out the images here.

4.02.2012

Turkish Treats

Sweet shops in Istanbul had very fabulous window displays. We went to one a couple of times for yummy puddings. At a coffee shop at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, we found some sugar candy, like the picture below. We bought the golden, honey-colored kind with hazelnuts. The picture at the bottom is Turkish Delight (or lokum). I got these great pictures from the web site of the sugar candy company (Sekerci Cafer Erol) - and I think I figured out why so many of the English translations in Istanbul were so funny. Google Translate translated part of the page for me, and it turned out like this:

Erol Confectioners Jafar, this production technique that is completely against the respect from our experience in adding sugar candy sugar candy flavor adds a kind of dozens.