Niagara Falls

Beautiful Niagara Falls from the Canandian side. Summer 2014

Faces of the Women of the Tate

To me, this is the face of a shrewd young woman with here eyes, literally, wide open to the world around her. Was she, an instant ago deep in thought until interrupted by a loud crash or a near inaudible whisper. Her hand quickly pulled away from her mouth. No doubt, she was considering her next move, the evenings conquest or how to out wit her female opposition. I have no doubt she will. My bet is on her.



It looks like her mouth is going to any moment crack into a bashful smile. I don't know that she is entirely comfortable being the center of the artists unyielding gaze. She is probably wondering the fate of the protagonist of the novel she is reading, remembering the scent of lilacs freshly in bloom in her garden that morning or craving a cup of warm tea. Such a dreamy sensualist.

The yummy mummy's dream. Who says you can't be quintessential beauty, when doing laundry. Hell, take your clothes off and chuck 'em into the pile while you are at it.




So irreverent this one. This is one knowing woman - no doubt in my mind that she knew exactly how to seduce a man, in the same way she knew how to seduce us all these years later. This picture was one of about , oh-I don't know 100 that were hanging on the wall. But the intensity of this look made it heard to look away from - lipstick, jewelry, bed in the background. Would be less suggestive if it tried anymore to be so.




A baby on the verge of womanhood. I bet only months before she was inches shorter and had her hair in pigtails. This is different than the other photos because it's not a second in time, but a month or two. I wonder what she was like as an adult, where her life went, where she lived...

These two woman were part of an exhibition about the Soviet Union. The only thing I know about being a woman in Soviet Russia that having a man was your meal ticket. So, I guess this pictures sums that up. They both are wearing masks of red lipstick and eye makeup. I wonder if they ever got their own tickets.

walk to work

walk to work, a photo by alysesterling on Flickr.

Sweet Potato Pasta Bake

Yummmmy. I had a bunch of leftover pasta so I looked around the cupboard to see what else I had lying about. This turned out to be rich, full of flavour and a perfect late lunch indulgence.

Ingredients:

2 large or 3 small sweet potatoes - peeled and diced

1 Big handful of cooked linguine (next time will do better measurements)

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 cube vegetable stock, dissolved in 1/4 cup water

4-inch cube of blue cheese

4-inch cube mature cheddar cheese

4 tablespoons of cream cheese

2 tablespoons of creme fraiche

breadcrumbs

chopped coriander (cilantro)

Method:

Cooked the cubes of sweet potato in the microwave for 4 minutes until softened. Mix pasta with sweet potatoes in a large pot. Add the creme fraiche, cream cheese, chopped blue cheese and cheddar, paprika and vegetable stock. Mix well. Put into a 9 inch casserole dish. Pour milk on top. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and coriander.

Bake in a preheated oven 200 C for about 30 minutes. Done.

Healthy Lunch.

Sliced avocado, chickpeas, santini tomatoes (my favourite), shooting broccoli shoots warmed in the microwave. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Done. YUM.

Tea For Two or Four - with Crumpets.

Vintage Serving tray with blues, greens and turqoise £2 Battersea Carboot Sale

Homemade chutney from Chichester Chutney. Yum.
Folding Pastry Display £1 - Oxfam Earls Court

Two sets of Two. Bone China. Fontwell Carboot Sale £4 for the lot.

Now. I need a teapot. Any ideas?!

Still cool, but not as good.

Art Everywhere - Walk to Work

I wish I could cut this down and frame it. It's perfect.

Stockwell, London

Films - A New Perspective

When I was searching for images that represented The Secret In Their Eyes, I came across an artist who does his own rendition of the graphics for various books, movies, TV series and sells the prints. His name is Matt Needle and his website has these prints, among others, for sale. I like his deconstructed perspective - cutting it back to just the essence. I like things to be FULL - so it does make me a little uncomfortable, but maybe that's why I like it.

Anyway, along with The Secret In Their Eyes here is another one of my favourite films through the eyes of another.

(Source: Matt Needle)

The Secret In Their Eyes

I throughly enjoyed this beautiful Argentinean film about a retired prosecutor (or the argentinean equivalent) who revisits the case that has haunted him for a lifetime. While this is the overarching plot the true stories lies in the subtleties of the subplots and the humanness of the characters performed. I was trying to describe what I liked about it to a friend and the first word that came to mind was balanced. Meaning, that while the narrative didn't loose site of 'the point' the audience is reminded that life, and this film, is a construction of all that is beautiful and painful joined hand in hand. I really loved it. It's out on DVD.

Post Secret - A Lifetime of Secrets

I have known and enjoyed Post Secret for some time now. I like going to the website on a Sunday when the latest 'secrets' have been uploaded to have a good nose around. It's perfect for a 'curious' person like myself. There is something about this that makes me want to look into myself and find secrets to release. I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but I think that my daily journaling (3 pages every morning as suggested by The Artist's Way) will lead me to uncover what lies beneath.

It also got me thinking about people that I would like to know about. Who's secret would I most like to know. Maybe my deceased grandfather, Peter Mariani, because I would liked to have known him better.

If I think of a secret or if you do - here is the address to send it to.

So as the new owner of this book, I thought it would be fun to randomly open the page and post a picture of whatever I opened to. No second goes. This is what I opened to. Is that a message from God?!

Oxfam Earl's Court - Charity Shops

The Oxfam in Earls Court is the everyday Battersea Car Boot sale. A little collection of cheap, eclectic goods with daily turnover. I usually have one or two running items that I would like to buy. For example a TEAPOT -- but it has to be the right one. I haven't found yet. But otherwise, I just go in with an open mind! Since I work in the area, I visit pretty much every day at my lunch break to check out the goods. It's a pretty exciting place full of a variety of characters (other regulars like me) books, clothes, shoes, some small home goods....

Here is what I got today:

1. LeSportSac - Bright Apple Green and NEW! £1.99

2. Tie Rack - Complete with Christmas paper still attached HA! Good for Mr's ties .99p.

3. Handpainted Pink Candle Holder - just so pretty. .99p

4. Post Secret "A Lifetime of Secrets"- don't read in public places, you may cry. £2.99

5. Stainless Steel Corkscrew (for when I am back on the wine) .49p

Look how pink and pretty. love.

Healthy Dinner #1 - Whole Wheat Sweet Potato PIzza

Lately, I have been trying to eat only food that is has no refined carbohydrates, sugar or dairy. I've also cut back on caffeine by only drinking jasmine green tea, herbal teas and water (no wine for the time being either. sigh.) Maybe it lead me into a full on 21-day Junger Cleanse Detox (which is a little scary and I am not to commit to that). In the meantime, I hope that some of my annoying health ailments of late will be reduced. But how fun can life be without white flour, sugar, milk, cheese and champagne?!?! It's actually been much easier than I thought and I really don't feel like I am missing anything - during the week anayway. Also, it's given me a chance to experiment with some recipes. Here's the first Pizza with sweet potato and whole wheat dough with spinach and shallot topping. It was yummy.

The Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Dough Recipe:

For the Dough:
1 large or 2 small sweet potato (equal to 1 1/2 cups mashed), peeled, cut into pieces and boiled until soft
2 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
2 oz. cold water
2 TB olive oil

For the Topping:

2 tomatoes

3 cloves garlic - crushed

1 can beans (pinto, black, whatever really)

5 shallots or 1 onion

1/2 bag spinach

olive oil

salt & pepper

mixed herbs

I kneaded the ingredients for the dough in a bowl before putting it on the counter to roll out. Roll to 3/4 inch thickness and then place onto a pizza pan sheet.

Once the pizza dough is on the sheet, drizzle with olive oil, mixed herbs and crushed garlic. Top with sliced tomatoes. Bake in a high heat oven 200ºC for 30 minutes.

For the topping slice shallots and simmer in olive oil in a small pan. Add Beans and spinch until wilted. Remove the dough from oven and pour contents of pan onto pizza. Voila!

refine

Pimlico Car Boot Sale

Sunday's are usually reserved for the Battersea Car Boot Sale. But, considering that despite the fact that it's June, it was cold and pouring with rain. So, I decided to check out Pimlico Car Boot. It's much smaller but also fewer 'pro' vendors. It's mostly just people trying to get rid of their extra stuff - this is my favourite kind. The other plus is that it was indoors - much nicer on a wet, cold day. Here is what we got:

1. Two Moleskin Notebooks for - £7 (yes, for both). One large, one small.

2. Caran D'Ache Classic fibre-tipped pens - £1.50

3. Blow DVD - £2

4. Delicatessen DVD - £1

5. Two boxes of Pukka Tea. Detox: Aniseed, Cardamon and Fennel. Cleanse: Peppermint, Nettle and Fennel. - both for £1 (had been opened, but each only was missing one tea bag)

6. Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hits Vinyl Record - £2

7. Chopsticks - 6 mixed sets. .50p

FIND OF THE DAY-

8. Nikon L35 AF Camera - this is a 35mm film camera that is in perfect condition. I can't wait to take pictures the old way and get them developed! Might be a whole new passion of lomography.

Real Food Festival - Sherston Tea Company

Another boutique purveyor of fine products, the Sherston Tea Company is owned and operated by Clare Mitchell. I knew that someone with a creative flair had their hand in the packaging of these products, because it is nothing less than theatrical. Sadly, my photos don't really do it justice, but each little air tight pot was wrapped in decorative, vintage paper reminiscent of a Liberty pattern.

Further investigation revealed that my suspicions were indeed true, for Clare is set designer stage productions. How well this was all fitting together. Not only had I met another friend of the theatre, but woman of divine aesthetic. On the table in front of me was a tray populated by small glass jars. Each jar contained a different variety of tea.

The first I reached for was the Earl Grey, decorated by beautiful blue cornflowers. My heart sang because the telltale fragrance of bergamot was sublime.

The website has some gorgeous glass tea pots, that will inspire even the most adamant coffee aficionado.

The Food Festival - Baruzzo Chocolate

This is Raffaella Baruzzo, Chocolotisa Extraordinaire. Italian by birth and certainly in heart, hers was the first booth that I came across at the Real Food Festival. Still not sure why I stopped at this small stand, but I am positive it had something to do with the impeccably dressed woman with a generous smile. I learned that Raffaella worked in the UK's chocolate industry for twelve years before branching out with her own aptly named brand, Baruzzo. These days she spreads her time between Italy (where the chocolate is produced) and the United Kingdom (where it is distributed) - but manages to find time in between to source beans in Ecuador.

The first thing I sampled were the chocolate pralines and by far my favourite was the Pink Heart which is "70% Ecuadorian ganache - perfect for the chocolate purist". I love dark chcolate and can be quite particular about it, but this was superb. Richly, deeply flavoured, without the bittness of some darks. Baruzzo also infuses their premium chocolates with exotic flavours which include:

- White ganache flavoured with pure Tuscan rose oil

- Northern Italian honey, marigold flower extract and dark chocolate ganache

- Oolong tea with Jasmine and milk chocolate

- Fine Almond paste from Sicily and milk chocolate praline

Sadly, Baruzzo doesn't have an online shop yet - but I imagine it will be coming soon. Keep your eyes on www.Baruzzo.co.uk

The Real Food Festival - Introduction

This was my first trip to the Real Food Festival and I hope that it won't be my last. Thursday afternoons, from 4-8pm tickets were discounted by half, the place was pretty much empty and I was able to wander with out the interference from pesky crowds. I talked to a cow, fed a sheep and cooed to a little lamb. Not to mention pick at cheese, wine, salami, you name it. I am creating a list of some of the vendors I met - and the delightful samples tried. Inspired by these people's stories, the quality of their produce and palpable passion for what they do - I needed to scurry back to my blog I and share.

1. Baruzzo Chocolate

2. Sherston Tea Company

3. Serious Pig

4. P.E. Mead & Sons, Chiltern Rapeseed Oil

5. Big Barn Market

Winter Weekend

I really hit 2011 hard thinking about resolutions. I know, I know...I come across you all the time "I don't do resolutions" I don't really do them either, but it's nice to have a fresh start to think about the great blank space of 12 months, 52 weeks and 365 days that can be painted any colour I like! So I came up with a few.

1. Choose happiness

This one sound deceptively easy. It's not. At all. For example, I leave work jazzed up for the weekend to be confronted by a number of challenges. Tube's delayed, man next to me keep bumping into the book I am trying to read, loud teenagers (I know I was NEVER that obnoxious at 15) Suddenly, happiness has transformed to crabbiness and I want to slip my shoe off my foot and throw it at someone's head. It's this little fantasy that brings a smile back to my face...Let it go. Tube, teenagers, man with no spacial perception - whisper a small blessing to each of them and BOSH - happiness is back.

2. Live BIG

I love the quote, "Who are you to hide your greatness" Not sure exactly who said it, but I will attribute it to Oprah - it's a fairly safe bet. But yeah!! I am passionate, excitable, emotional -- why do I try to contain this all into one little box of self contained politeness. I challenge myself to 'out with it' Release the light, laughter, anger in a gorgeous spectrum of living. I will dance, sing, paint, give and receive love and invite those in my life to do the same.

3. Feed my Friendships with Women

I have a tendency to retreat into myself. My moon is in my 12th house (and in scorpio-but we won't get into that part of it) So, it's a natural place for me to be to regroup and rejuvenate. I love my alone time, but there are also many moments that I want to fill with shared experiences with the women that I love. My mom has always found great strength in her female friends - and on this I take her cue one and give more to nourish my relationships.

Okay, here, I just have to say that. In thinking of all these things for 2011, I realised, I can make resolutions anytime! What a discovery! For the weekend, for the afternoon, for a meeting - I can set my intention and congratulate myself for every small milestone along the way. For example - yes - I really did this. Before I left the office on Friday, I left a note on my desk that said, "Happy Monday - this week you have the opportunity to do great things. This is your task list, complete every one of these items to the best of your ability." I will have to see how I feel on Monday - I might want to pick up that note and chuck it out the window. Or I might just laugh at myself. I hope it's the later.

x.

A.

iphone

I know, I know, I know. I am so behind the times--just now jumping on the iPhone bandwagon. There is nothing that I can say that hasn't been said before about Apple's magic little device. However, Phoebe the Phone has seamlessly integrated into my daily life-making it that much easier.

The only downside about this upgrade, is that I am slightly nostalgic for my Nokia--purchased in India an and lacking in everything technologically advanced. This slight detail seemed to pale in comparison the the abundance of personality. With a ringtone straight out of bollywood and hindi letters on the keypad, it was a true original.

Little Nokia is, as I like to say, an antique. A relic representing the ingenuity of generations passed. It is also one of those items, where people can be heard to say, "they don't make them like that anymore" The sturdy little Nokia has given way to the flashy, sleek iPhone. But one day, the iPhone too will be demoted and the Nokia will just snicker at her fall from grace. I can't help but feel a little cheap for the trade in, so this is my homage to Nokia, to be retired to the comfort of my bedside drawer.

Living a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget—when even beer seems expensive can be beyond frustrating for a lady about town like myself. London in particular seems to position itself firmly against my efforts—being one of the world’s most notoriously costly cities. I try to liken my financial situation to a bohemian chic – eating organic raspberries, two days old and on offer at the grocery while sipping bottles of flat bubbly water…

But alas, my keen eye for deals and superior taste (self awarded of co

urse) has brought me to find some of the best deals in and around this urban metropolis. With a little lipstick and a pair of heels, I blissfully play the role of someone with far more cash to spend and write off my no-name faux designer bag as being too posh for labels (atleast, I hope that is what they think)

It also helps that I have some friends from designmynight.com that keep me in the loop for hot events and drinks specials at places I can usually only dream of being able to afford (or only ordering tap water). They got a tip about the D&D group and decided to give one of their venues a try--thankfully inviting me along.

Our evening started at Meza, in soho and we were excited to try some of the swish cocktails. Although the drinks looked devine, they started at about £8—eh, a little pricey. Never fear, tips from designmynight.com friends pointed to a £5 offer http://www.danddlondon.com/offers/offers. So.this enabled us to sip on a delightful Bombay cooler topped with a blackberry (which, for the record as not two days old) and cast an eye over the crowd. The atmosphere didn’t boast anything, well, special—what it did do was have a number of comfortable sofas and a delightful cocktail waitress who was equally as appalled as us by the tonsil hockey that as taking place on the adjacent sofa (well before anyone was drunk enough to find this behavior acceptable). The other cool thing about this bar was, in addition to the online offer, they have a classic cocktail list for all all drinks <£5 before 9 o'clock. Defiantly drinkonomical!

The night continued downstairs to Floridita, which picks up where Meza missed out-beautiful Cuban atmosphere, décor and stylish crowd. Although the vouchers weren’t valid at this night hot spot, we had lubricated ourselves enough on the five pounders upstairs to justify a splurge on an amazing French 75 for the lady and a Dark n’ Stormy for the gentleman. My second drink was a reasonably priced sparkling rose—delicious. By this point, we were blissfully drunk enough to march ourselves back in time to make the last tube. This is where I justify taking mass transport as being eco-friendly and not having anything to do with the fact that cabs are way out of the budget. For now atleast.

For more tips on fab nights out in London, visit my friends at www.designmynight.com