on cake with lemon and places i've been.

hello!
happy start to the week.
how are you this fine monday?
it's rainy and wet here.
but even still,
i think the week
should turn out
a good one.





my weekend was nice.
i walked a lot
i sipped tea,
chatted with friends
and i ate little lemon cakes
made of rice.




i popped in and out of shops
cheese in one had
flowers in the other.
i drank hot cocoa
with peppermint schnapps
and i skated
on round ponds covered in ice.



i thought of a trip i'm planning.
one that will take me
from london to hong kong
via train.
with stops in germany
and mongolia and russia too.
and i thought of how i can't wait
to see st. petersburg
for the very first time.




it got me to thinking
of places i've been.
countries i've visited,
cities i've fallen for.


i've reminisced about my
first trip to london.
and how the lovely and quaint,
stole my heart.



i've thought of the alleys behind
it all in tokyo.
how they really are
just skinny streets and how
the perfectly japanese places to eat,
are hidden there.
the barbeques and sushi spots
and the hole-in-the-wall neighbourhood places.



i thought about
how i love visiting the tsukji fish market.
my early morning eyes, sleepy.
my excitement, silly and childlike.
my travel companions
tired because i
insist we visit
2 maybe 3 times each trip.


i remembered my first
ride underground there.
my eyes watery
when i recognized that i had
just realized my very first dream.


a feeling indescribable really.
the realization of dreams that is.
amazing and emotional
and extraordinary all wrapped
up in a few short seconds.




i thought about
a favorite breakfast spot in beijing.
one that's nestled
behind the busy streets.
stuck in the meandering alleys
of a hutong.
pinched between two
old and steady courtyard homes.




i thought of the day
i first slipped my
toes into the south pacific.
i couldn't believe the warmth.
and i couldn't believe
that a jelly fish
thought it right to sting me just then.





i thought of the
beautiful blue skies and waters
of jamaica.
and how they serve
jerk sausage for breakfast there.
that's heaven to me.
plates of fruit
cups of coffee
and links of jerk sausage.


i remember the ceiling fans in my room there
bands running from one
to the next, moving just enough
to keep the momentum going.




i thought of the transport
in places away from home.
the scooters in bermuda
the tuktuks in thailand
and the golf carts
on small islands
on the caribbean side of mexico.





i thought of the first time i saw
a turtle in the wild.
he dragged himself
along a sandy beach in hawaii.
dust moving behind him.


and i thought of my excitement
when i saw that they make
ice-cream by hand in mexico.




i walked around this weekend
thinking like this.
it was nice.
it was relaxing and exciting together.
i've been fortunate enough to have
been many places in my relatively short time,
i'll tell you a little more
about them sometime soon.




but for now
i'm dreaming of sunnier days.
ones when your clothes hang on the line.
and ones when the chill from mojitos
cool your summery hands.







i'll be around this week.
so let's chat again soon.
xox, n.








----





and few other things!


a herriott grace update: 2010.01.31: 5pm est.
if you are not on our list
and you would like to be, go here.


plus, eeeep!!
there's a surprise in our midst,
here's a little hint.





i'm working on
my next recipe download.
and i think you're really going to like it.
i'm so truly excited to share it with you.
(if you missed my first, it's here)




+ this recipe looks great.
i'd like new cutlery and either will do: one and two.
and jackson, johnston and roe
plaid shorts for spring.
yes please.






















----

a photo tutorial: shortbread buttons.

hello!

from me to you:
a photo tutorial + a pretty recipe.

download and print your very own copy here.

and a huge thank you to eva juliet,
your work is beautiful eva, truly.
i like that some of your letters have roots,
and i especially like your spoons.
thank you. thank you.

+




- calendars 2 & 4. love.
- a little pretty,
secret squirrel clothing. (via)
- one of my favorites,
a salt beef sandwich:
best with a pickle and a coke in my books.
- a collection of seahorses.
- and i feel for a trip by train,
one with wild flowers and summer breezes.
wouldn't that be nice.





+











that's all for now.
hooray weekend, here we come.
hope yours is grand.
xox, n.











ps:

the recipe i've written
calls for liquid food dye
but, i actually use paste.
(wilton moss green & wilton aster mauve)
that said, both will do just fine.
oh & there's a photo
of most things you'll need here.
+ photos of baked buttons here.



pps:

at step 4 of the recipe,
once you've turned your dough
out onto the counter
you may need to
knead lightly (without over-mixing)
to bring the
dough together before
proceeding to step 5.
something like how you
would for a pie crust.

a button tutorial: this thursday.

finally as promised,
a button tutorial: coming this thursday.
until then, happy monday and
a few things i like.






____




wedding favors.
scroll to the 3rd photo. so great.
wow, beautiful floral.
popcorn packaging.
rune guneriusse's work. beautiful.
a place i'll visit. really, wow. (via)
gifts for a special someone,
here and here. love. (via)



and in my shop,
three things left:
a rolling pin.
a pretty spoon,
greyish and good.
and a little bowl.






___









chat soon.
xox, n.

on chickens & eggs.

my parents sell eggs,

before just a few
some here and some there,
twelve to a neighbour
twenty-four to a man at work.
these days it's many, dozens upon dozens.


the chicks they hatch
the old fashion way.
hens on eggs,
chickens born atop nests of straw,
wobbly and wide-eyed.
tiny beaks and yellowish feet.
most years a majority of hens
but sometimes,
roosters a plenty.

this year
with the weather slightly cold
they stand inside most days.
with preference to stay warm i suppose.
their wiry feet clasped to the wood
on which they stand.
as a girl i was terrified
of their talons
roosters never seemed to me,
the kindest of birds.


now, the hens live in a separate house
one with a separate yard.
and the chicks,
they grow in another still.
each coup perfectly tattered
and perfectly endearing.


the eggs they collect,
my parents that is.
are washed and dried
and sorted and stacked,
each by hand and each with care.
green and blue.
brown, beige,
and
speckled white.


i helped a little
on my recent trip home.
drying and sorting
stacking in piles
moving from side to side.


and for a moment or two
i watched those birds.
they pecked at short grass
and pecked at each other
they peered in corners for who knows exactly what.
and they scratched in dust
until it seemed
there could not possibly
be anything more to scratch.


it was comforting somehow
to see the workings
of their little farm.
i wish now
i had pretty piles of eggs here,
an endless supply for baking
and for,
baking mistakes.




anyway,
hope your day is nice.
it's chilly hear
and the wind is blowy.
but the sun shines
and bits of snow sparkle still.



xox, n.








___





remember jacks.
i'd like to play.
a perfect snack. (via)
i feel like the air of someplace tropical:
one. two. three.

+ a pretty little sofa. (via)(via)
a notebook of bread. (via)
and speaking of eggs.








___

a place i like.

in my father's shop
i'm a bit like a kid in a candy store.
it's really good in there.




a herriott grace update tomorrow:

2010.01.03 - 5pm est.
and happy 2010.
xox, n.