Mobiles

I love mobiles ... more than wall-hung art, I think.

Lisa Occhipinti (courtesy of Making It Lovely) - Dreamy, books with their pages all unfurled ... as soon as I have a ceiling from which I can hang this!
Julie Frith - abstract shapes, bold colours (we have one; I love it)

Apparel: Shoes

Beldina Spectator Oxfords courtesy of Making It Lovely.

Waverly - especially the metallic flats!

Frye Boots

John Fluevog - Fellowship Sandra for comfort, Bellevues Pearl Hart for looks.

Decor: Big Boy Nook

I remember squirreling away under the piano or into the games cupboard. Nooks are wonderful! Big Boy's only man cave in our current flat is the space at the end of the sofa under the table. At least it has a mirror at one end!

Instructions for a $144 DIY Reading Nook at Ohdeedoh ... plus swipe for inspiration

Decor: DIY Lighting

Ikea's Väte meets Noguchi at Man Made

Blogs: Food

An ongoing list ...

Just Hungry - Japanese recipes ... like rice in a frying pan!
Smitten Kitchen - she helped me, finally, conquer the poached egg!
The Traveler's Lunchbox - has me very interested and, oh, she has a kid. That's a good thing.
Joy the Baker - her solution for my recurring "no buttermilk" problem (NB: Buy a lemon or yogurt or cream of tartar).
Momofukufor2 - especially her Green Onion Oil and Rainbow Jello.
NYTimes Diners Journal (formerly Bitten Blog)

Re-ment Raffle for Japan

Re-ment photo by Snikey

Help Japan Re-ment Raffle

Photography: Nikon Glass on Canon Gear

Apparently the reverse is not possible.

Learn the dark art at Ken Rockwell's site.

Photography: Old Glass on New Gear

You can use older, manual focus lenses on dslr.
Why would you? It's cheaper.
Why wouldn't you: you have to fiddle with focus and other stuff a bit more.

Masses of detail at PhotoNotes.org

Photojojo's "How To."

Wired has a great article that flags how manual focusing can be trickier.

Arthur H. Bleich at DP Corner swears by Steven Gandy's more expensive adapters.

Ceramics: Giulia Maria Beretta

Giulia Maria Beretta - especially her Fairies Boxes

Art: Crafterall

Image by Marnie B. Karger
Marnie B. Karger is Crafterall and makes the most mesmerizing papercut, topographical maps. I had admired her work on Etsy for a long time, even "favouriting" her shop ages ago. So I don't now how I overlooked the gorgeous papercut maps to be found in her shop.

Fortunately, my coworker bought one of San Francisco Bay and shared it with us at the office. It is stunning: the detail, the handcrafting of it, and the colours! And who doesn't enjoy cartography on some level?

I am buying this for Big Boy's room. He was born in San Francisco. I think it has heirloom potential.

UPDATE: It's actually "bathymetry," not topography or cartography, apparently. What a great word: Bathymetry! Bathymetry!
Adding it to the list ...

Coco Co.

Image by Coco Co.
Coco Co. - A very nice basket company (yes, I bought one. One never has enough baskets.)

Big Boy: Legos

Lego Books at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories
Time to get cracking on a Legos compendium post!

Piccoli Paselli's tutorial for a reversible Lego Table
GoGo Sac

Photography: Bag/Insert

I have been trying to find either a camera bag or case or insert for my new camera. I already haul around a big purse so I was leaning less and less towards a dedicated camera bag.

I stumbled upon Zakka Nouveau recently and was struck by her beautiful bento bags. She designed them for a friend to carry snacks. I ordered one almost immediately. It was a beat later that I wondered if it could serve as a camera insert.

The bag arrived yesterday and it seems promising. The little handle allows you to fish the camera out of your bag. It is a little bit snug to maneuver the camera in and out of the bag. And the camera might benefit from a bit more padding such as a layer of batting. But I am eager to give it a try. In any case, it will protect the camera screen from scratches (e.g., from keys, knitting needles, Blythe's head, Diet Coke can, ktl., ktl.).

And it is very, very cute!

Zakka Nouveau Bento Bags

Lighting

Moonlights by Moonlight USA


Anything shiny/mirrored is lovely.
What a nice twist with the copper-y finish.


Loft Desk Lamp at Ministry of the Interior
Pricey-Nicey


DIY Dinosaur Lamps by Think Geek

Grub: Smörgåstårta

Must try a Smörgåstårta sometime!

Epicurious
Not Quite Nigella

Miniatures: Ji Lee

Ji Lee's Parallel Worlds - I want to try a version of this!

Grub: Fish Tacos

One of the best discoveries, after moving to California, was fish tacos! It sounds so wrong but tastes so right.

It's much easier to just buy one but I really should hustle and make a compendium of recipes that look promising and/or have proved their mettle.

Firstly, one from Rebecca Firlik at Shelterrific (I like that it is baked, not fried).

Cardboard Guitar

Make It and Love It's working cardboard guitar

Grub: BKFST

BKFST

Photography: Camera Bag

I am looking for a camera bag or case/cover that, while it can look like a camera bag, should not be as bulky as a camera bag.


Zing Wraparound Covers - somewhat Mapplethorpe-like; apparently the standard size would fit a Canon EOS T2i. You can find them at Amazon.

Luxirare's one of a kind for Nikon D90.
Stash on Etsy.
The Cloak - Luxirare wannabe
Acme made
Kelly Moore
Ona
Jill-e
Jo-Totes - "camera bags for ladies."
Emera camera totes
Shootsac
Epiphanie
Kettie - handbags for cameras
Photojojo's Sloop
Porteen on Etsy
Golla Bags - Sky looks comact but may be too compact.

DIY Camera Bag/Purse Tutorial at Tater Tots & Jello.

Inserts seem like a good, flexible route to take. Protect your camera in a wrap or pouch within a bag of your choosing. There do not seem to be many out there but I love the concept and this might be something to DIY.

I have a Bento Bag by Zakka Nouveau on its way - it might fit the bill
Strawfoot Handmade - very attractive rustic aesthetic
Ona's nice looking The Roma (Reviewed by Tech Mom).
Clik Elite CE510RE Capsule, Small (in red!) gets good reviews at Amazon.
So does Camaroo's Compact II DSLR Camera Insert.
Camera Cosies by Seaming Siobhan.
Wrappers and Cubbies by HippyBabe on Etsy.

DIY insert by Lil Blue Boo.
No tutorial but good girly inspiration at Trang Dam Photography.

Half cases by Luigi at Leica Time may not offer the same protection but, dang, they look great.

Grub: Lassi

Cannot get enough Lassi ... ever.

My longstanding favourite is Saveur's recipe for a cardamom version:

2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cardamom

But I would never turn down trying a different recipe. Je t'aime lassi!

This is a living post, I think. Watch for updates.

Big Boy: Bike

Images by Wishbone, Y Bike, Skuut, and Strider.
Someone has a birthday in May.
And someone is probably ready for a running/balance bike.

Wishbone - my favourite but expensive
Y Bike - kissing cousin of the Wishbone but without an adjustable seat
Skuut - the entry from the Netherlands
Strider - the seat can go really low

They can all be found at Amazon.

Photography: Aperture & ISO

Chookooloonks explains aperture and ISO - with diagrams!

Grub: Modernist Cuisine

Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking by Nathan Myrhvold.

Pre-order it at Amazon.

Read about the "making of" at The New Yorker.

Utility: Step Ladders

Deluxe: Design House Stockholm STEP Ladder by Karl Malmvall at Huset, of course.

Luxe: Ultraslim folding Step Stool at Williams-Sonoma

Economical: Slim Folding Stool at The Container Store

Dollhouses: Pop-Up

Originally an Ikea catalogue pop-up dollhouse by WeMakePopUpCards

Grub: Chowhound Cookbook Club

Revisit soon: Chowhound Cookbook Club

Ceramics: Alice Mara

I love her Hanging People ceramics.
More about her work at If It's Hip, It's Here.

Apparel: Moop Bags

I cannot understand why Moop was not, say, in the first post on this blog.

Moop bags are gorgeous. The colours are both rich and muted and the fabric has the nicest handfeel.
I own a Marketbag in Rosewood. It has the prettiest silhouette. And for a massive tote bag it carries itself with very little bulk, tucking neatly under the arm. The only thing I would change is to insert the pockets a little higher. It can take a bit of fishing to find things sometimes.

But now I am feeling the call of their The Paperback and/or The Porter too.

Blythenstein

Pure Neemo Flection Body XS does not need elestic bands at the neck:
Hobby Search
Dollfie World

Fiddybobiddyfiddy's Pure Neemo Flection Body & Pure Neemo Flection Body XS Comparison
Kinetic body suggestions at TIB

Ongoing gallery of mods at Flickr.
Inspiration at KB Popos.

Garden: Reference & Sources

You Grow Girl - Gardening for the People by Gayla Trail.

My Little Garden in Japan - a garden in really small spaces
Urban Gardens - pretty, and some useful, stuff

Decor: Cable Management

So.
Cable management (along with toy, paper, book, clutter, laundry, wmd, and craft "shite," er, materials) are this weekend's project. Unfortunately, this was a weekend of discovery rather than resolution. The good news is that I know what is needed. The bad news is that it is still on its way and will also need installing!.

We have, from Belkin, this cable management grip. I almost always admire Belkin's solutions. What I especially like about this one is its multidirectional design. Yes, other companies are doing similar pincer gadgets but this is the first one I saw that addressed the need for cables running in two directions! Regardless, I may yet try out Blue Lounge's undeniably, more stylish option.

Belkin
Blue Lounge's Cable Drop


04.viii.11 UPDATE:
I tried both and found the Belkin to be a bit to big for my needs. It might work better in a more traditional cable explosion at a workstation. The Blue Lounge Cable Drops were perfect forever for my use, very discrete but cute, if spied inadvertantly. I am using them all over the house to wrangle laptop and printer cords behind furniture. Our house is mostly wireless but sometimes I need to jack into my tempermental printer and scanner and charging is alays necessary.

Miniatures: Kiva Ford

Image by Kiva Ford.
So, even if you were not into miniatures, you would still have to stop and admire Kiva Ford's gorgeous, miniature glassware. It is not often that you come across miniatures that would be equally covetable at 1:1 scale.

Kiva Ford on Etsy.
Kiva Ford at Flickr.

St. Valentine's Day

Ideas for next year, I guess.

Matchbox Valentines Tutorial by Inchmark
Slices of cake suggestion by Stephmodo - and you can get your cake boxes at Petit Moulin
I really like the "X" and "O" cookies pictured here

Technology: iCases

Tech Candy - filligree + colour

DIY Popsicles

Image from Stonewall Kitchen

All natiral homemade yogurt and fruit popsicles at Zupa
Cutest popsicle molds from Cuisipro and Tovolo.
Tidy push up molds by Cuisipro.
Popsicles in seven minutes or less with Zoku!

Momtastic does fresh fruit, layered popsicles.
Great ideas from Soule Mama about using popsicles for comfort and treatment.
Paletas and Savoury popsicles at Bitten.
How to make boozy popsicles at Savvy Housekeeping.
Lime/Watermelon popsicles at The Kitchn.
The Fairmont's Tea popsicles.
Rhubarb, Raspberry pops at La Tartine Gourmande.
Or if you prefer cake-sicles, use Norpro's pan.

01.xii.10 UPDATE: Sailboat Popsicle Molds were scored on the secondary market! For anyone else on the hunt, it appears that they were sold by Williams-Sonoma.

And there is a very intriguing recipe for Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles by David Lebovitz. We have been drinking loads of iced coffee lately and I love Vietnamese Coffee so these are definately something to be tried.

Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles

Makes about 8, depending on the size of your molds

If you don't have an espresso-maker, you can augment brewed coffee with instant espresso crystals, to taste. The coffee should be chest hair-raisingly strong, and you can certainly swap out decaf. I'm not much of a tea drinker, but I'll bet a version with Thai ice tea would be equally delectable and refreshing as well.
And if you don't have sweetened condensed milk, regular milk will work fine. And you can sweetened to taste.

2 cups (500ml) extra-strong coffee or espresso
2/3 cup (160ml) sweetened condensed milk

1. Mix the coffee with the sweetened condensed milk. Taste, and add a bit more milk, if desired. (A spoonful or two is fine, but any more and the popsicles won't freeze as hard.)
2. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until sold.
Note: My favorite brand of sweetened condensed milk is Longevity Brand, which is available in most Asian markets.

Grub: Rainbow Cakes

Whisk Kid's recipe
For the Love of Cake's tips

Grub: In-N-Out Secret Menu

A really well-researched article by A Hamburger Today on all of the possible permutations on the secret menu at In-N-Out.

"4-by-4" = four meat patties and four slices of cheese.

"2-by-4" = two meat patties and four slices of cheese.

*Note: You can get a burger with as many meat patties or cheese slices as you want. Just tell the In-N-Out Burger cashier how many meat patties and how much cheese you want and that is what you'll get! For instance, if you want 6 pieces of meat and 10 pieces of cheese tell them you want a "6-by-10."

"Animal Style" = the meat is cooked and fried with mustard and then pickles are added, extra spread and grilled onions are added.

"Flying Dutchman" = two meat patties, two slices of melted cheese and nothing else - not even a bun!

"Neapolitan" Shake = strawberry, vanilla and chocolate blended together.

Technology: iSight House

Ryuji Nakamura designed a house that provides a Gulliveresque POV for your iSight camera.