Travel: London

Twighlight Tour of the Tower of London
The Doctor Who Experience...  for the Daleks!
4 Princelet Street (via Poupée Mechanique) - not a destination, necessarily but super cool nonetheless
These candy stores.
Liberty of London
Champagne Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester (Thank you, Luxirare)

Movies to See

Moonrise Kingdom.
Could Wes Anderson have made a film as good as Rushmore?


Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Coriolanus


Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, 2011 Remake - if it's even half as good as the original, it will be worth it. It was pretty good but I still prefer the original BBC version.


Pina - because it's Wim Wenders and because of this Anthony Lane review.
Margin Call because of David Denby's review.
Alice by Jan Švankmajer

I first heard about it over at Poupée Mechanique. With images like that, how not to see it? Oddly enough, I just saw Tim Burton's 2010 Alice offering. It looked great but I found the weird vibe between Alice and the Hatter very distracting. Kudos to Anne Hathaway though for sending up goodness.

The Hurt Locker for the film.
Bright Star for its good looks.

Travel: Tokyo

Grub:
Sukiyabashi Jiro (すきやばし次郎 Sukiyabashi Jirō), Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo.

Souvenirs:
Diamondokeito/Diakeito, DiaScenery/Diamusee Fine Yarn- more info at Moonstitches

~5ocm long colour repeats
100% wool
40g / 220m, fingering
gauge: 30-32 stitches x 42-44 rows
knit with 2.4 - 2.7 mm needle

Duchesse brisée

I love chaises, daybeds, ktl.
Current favourite: a duchesse brisée

A history at Design Boom.

Things I Would Like/Ought To Do

Get comfortable with the manual setting of my camera
Polish up my French
Spinning ... on spindle or wheel
Travel more but not for work ... to Africa/Asia/Europe.
Wing Chun! ... but sometimes Krav Maga.

Wing Chun might be more" woman-friendly" (i.e., not so dependent on assumed body strengths ... from what I have read, it was developed by a woman to address these very concerns).

RETIRED (and, in some cases, what was I thinking?):
More effective Baby Signing (For the Record: I do it all the time ... my audience seems receptive but not participatory).

Books To Read

China Miéville's Embassytown - "read" it as an audiobook for reasons of the language

Why you should read it.

15.xii.11 UPDATE: Excellent read. The audio book does a great job of conveying Ariekei Language.

Dollhouses: Prêt-a-Porter

Casas de Beltrán - Spanich architecture, refreshingly different from the usual crop

Image by Upon a Fold
A less practical dollhouse but very pretty in all its pristine paper whiteness.

Maileg Mouse Milk Carton House

More Paper:
Kroom's cardboard dollhouse.

Joe Freedman's beautiful but 1/2" scale paper dollhouse.


Wood:
Image by Playsam
Check out the curves on this beauty by Eva Schildt, available from Playsam.
Image by David Lee Design
This is an intriguing design from David Lee Design. Be sure to visit his site for more pictures of it unfolded. It should be available in October. I am waiting to hear back how much it will cost. I am a bit worried about its scale. It seems a bit small for 1:12.
17.xi.10 UPDATE: I read somewhere that this is not 1:12. What a dreadful shame! I believe it is 1:18 or something along those lines.

Image by Our Children's Gorilla
Nice geometry here with punchy colours.
Available from Our Children's Gorilla and other retailers.

Decor:
Image by Chen Karlsson
And if you do not have room for a dollhouse, not even a roombox, you can shell out for this clever display.

Plans:
Betsy McCall Dollhouse No. 150W

Digital:
Online subscription based Digital Dollhouse.

Art:
Heather Benning's giant dollhouse installation.

And I must not forget I still have this hiding on top of the refrigerator. Tsk, tsk.

2011 Xmas Toys

Melissa & Doug's Folding Castles - Fold & Go Castle
and the even better Folding Medieval Castle (hmmm, I can see some decorating possiblities there!)
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins

Cinéma Verité: Amy Merrick at Design Sponge

Amy Merrick at Design Sponge tells you how to live like they do in the movies.

Some Personal Favourites:
Fortnight Oxfords from Howards End
Lana Shoes from Heathers
Pith Helmet from The Sheltering SKy
Holly Golightly's sleep mask from Fled Flare

T-Shirt Hack

Becky's T-shirt widening tutorial at Craftzine - not that I would ever need to make a T-Shirt bigger.

Painted Wall Patterns

Not wall paper but painted walls from Bartsch - I agree with Jordan Ferney, Croissants de lunes are the best

Container Gardening

Compact and integral system Mobile Food Garden by Nancy Wang (Courtesy of Shoebox Dwelling) - elegant but are those pots really big enough?

Cottage Town

Remember Minature Gardens and Thyrza Segal's creatures?

In a similar vein: Cottage Town by Ontwerpduo. From their site:

Change your potplant into a mini village with 'Cottage Town', and ordinary plants will be turned into huge trees or fields. These tilted tiny constructions in soft colours are made of waterproof 'paper', and can resist rain from a watering can. Fold and place your own house into the nicest plant you can find, or give away as a present with the enclosed wishcard.

Available at BijzonderMooi

Book Stand

Image from Levenger.
I have always wanted one of these in a kitchen for cookbooks. I need to get the kitchen big enough to hold it first!

Spoons

Image from Leif.
Glittery but not impractical spoons by Leif (courtesy of Making It Lovely) - they also have tart and salad servers!

Garden Wishlist

Image by Botanical Interests.

Ornamentals:
Porcelain Berries, 'Elegans' - invasive?
Viola Cornuta 'Black Magic'
Varigated Nutmeg Geranium
Heuchera
Nectaroscordum siculum
Thunbergia alata "Spanish Eyes"

Edibles:
Kumguat or Mandarinquat Tree
Hairy Cucumbers
Costoluto Genovese
Borage

Tools:
Besom √

Decor:
Bamboo and twig trellises

When Sam Is Older:
Japanese Lanterns/Physalis alkekengi

Style: Mrs. Frederick

Image from Warehouse 13
When I grow up, I want to look like Mrs. Frederick.
(Isn't C.C.H. Pounder the best?)

Big Boy: Clubhouse

Mossy's Under the Stairs Clubhouse - So much better than Harry Potter's (courtesy of Making It Lovely)

Apparel: Interesting Big Boy Clothes

Zara Kids - I wish that they extended their baby sizes up... the boys stuff is not as cute.
Tea Collection
Olive Juice
Black Kite - great prints on their wovens

Jewelry: Lockets

I love the idea of glass or gemstone lockets where you can see, not always clearly, what is inside.

Basil the Cat's lovely vintage, refurbished moonstone four-in-one locket

But Beklina has some very pretty French enamelled lockets.

More pretty lockets, er, "safekeepers," at Old Gold Boutique - they even have a camera!