Theme & Variations: Windsor Chairs

Image by Tapiovaara

I saw this post recently at Shelterrific. It reminded me of how much I like Windsor Chairs and how much (more) my DH likes them.

Shelterrific's alerted us to West Elm's latest offering: the Modern Windsor Accent Chair. For some reason the pairing of "Windsor Chair" and "Accent" makes me snicker. I guess I have always thought of a Windsor Chair as a Windsor Chair. Amen. I like the look of the thing but I would like to see a photo of someone sitting in it. I looks very low in the back ... is it only for perching at the front or for doing back bends? I need photographic, ergonomic reassurance.

Leave it to Shelterrific to have another hearty collection of modern Windsors. I think I am more of a traditionalist than I care to admit, when it comes to windsor chairs. Only the George Ainley version seems compelling.

Another frequent stop on my blogger reading list is Nicole Balch's Making It Lovely. I am not daring enough to match her use of pink but I admire her ability to find a wide assortment of stylish items to feature on her lists and in her collages. See here her post on windsor or windsor-like chairs and her discovery of a lovely interpretation by Tapiovaara Design: the Mademoiselle Chair.

Décor: Peacock Chair

I love Hans Wegner chairs ... some more than others. And so I blame Bloesem for reminding me of this most recently with her lovely holiday photo from KL.

Usually, his Ox Chair springs to mind first when I start mooning over Wegner chairs but her shot of the Peacock Chair and its homey cushions has me thinking maybe we need one of these. And it has no upholstery for Big Boy to ruin!

In stock at In Mod.

Grub: Cabbage Rolls

Smitten Kitchen's recipe but with some adjustments:

• replaced 50% of beef with pork (but I might try 100% beef next time since everyone was so pleased)
• added ~ 2 cloves minced garlic to pan prior to onion, sautéed it just till fragrant (I cannot not put some garlic in a recipe)
• used an off the shelf marinara sauce

DH ate three, Big Boy ate a half, slurping the cabbage separately by the fistfuls, and I loved them. In the past, when I have made cabbage rolls, I always asked myself why I bothered since they always seemed so bland. Not this time! And I revisited her post and started to read the comments. Now I am thinking things like, "Sauerkraut! Pickled cabbage! Ham hocks!" Oy. For once, I cannot wait to try making cabbage rolls again.

Storage: Spices

Inspired by Smitten Kitchen.

Smitten Kitten has all the right ingredients: small, vaguely apothecarical looking glass jars, translucent labels, and pretty inspiring photographs.

Smitten Kitchen's Shopping List:
Libbey Vibe 4.5 oz. Jars at Amazon
Avery Easy Peel Clear Return Address Labels also at Amazon. Although, I like the idea of round labels on top like these to put on the lids. Especially, since my version of this might have to place the jars in a drawer.

The Traveller's Lunchbox uses some nice looking tin boxes. I am a little skeptical about scoring the right size printer type tray though.

Dollhouses: Custom (Hollow Frame Construction)

Seen over at One Twelfth Scale Miniatures Blog, stick built construction not only looks like real framing but it has the advantage of being lightweight, allowing for concealed wiring, and needing only small hand, not power, tools.

From Mike's own summary in the comments section of Part 3:

Buy some 1/4" x 3/8" stripwood & use graph paper for your template ... Make a frame for each section ... I space them about 2" apart & also 3" spaces for doors & 2-1/2" for windows or whatever opening you want. I glue a horizontal piece 7" high & another under the windows. And the top & bottom plates (studs) equal the wall lengths.

You'll need matboard to glue on each side of all the frames. I glue the frame on a full sheet of matboard - squaring it into the top left hand corner. Put some weight on it & let it dry, then trim the right & bottom edge, & all the openings. Then flip the frame over & glue it to another sheet of matboard. Put some weight on it & let it dry, then trim the right & bottom edge, & all the openings.

Dry fit, decorate, add doors & windows etc.

Nail, screw, dowel or just clamp & glue all the parts together.

Dollhouses: Custom (3D Modelling and Prototyping)

Sketch Up + Ponoko
Seems like the way to go for a really finished look.
In the interest of a learning curve and frugality, I might try Sketch Up + Gatorboard for now.

Ellipticals vs. Treadmills

Which is better? This article at Self Growth has a good summary of pros and cons. It has me leaning even moreso towards an elliptical.
Ellipticals offer a lower impact, full body workout. You can get a good elliptical for less than a good treadmill.

A good general knowledge article on Treadmills at Runner's World. Here are some rules of thumb from the article:

• "... getting a deck larger than the standard 60" x 20" probably won't matter."
• "... pay attention to the motor's continuous duty rating, rather than its peak duty rating. Runners need 2.5 to 3 horsepower continuous duty, but any more can be overkill."
• "Look for lifetime coverage of the frame, three years on all parts, and at least one year on labor. And since all machines will require some maintenance, be sure there is a certified technician in your area ..."

UPDATE: We went with the Schwinn Elliptical. It is fantastic!

Decor: Coffee Table

Why is Bernard Vuarnesson’s Tetra Coffee Table so difficult to find.
It's gorgeous, it's smart.
You can find a knock-off of it at InMod but it does not leave the leg, or maybe it should be called knee, room under the pulled out trays.
DWR used to carry an unlovely version of it without the latticed top.
It does seem to be available at Europe by Net but you need to request a quote. Quel ennui!
If they can have these in the near future of imagined worlds like that in Minority Report (i.e., watch carefully when the camera pans through Tom Cruise's characters's apartment), then why can't we have them readily available in the here in now?

Teacher Gift Bags

This year's eleventh hour gift bags for the Otter classroom teachers included:

Candy-shaped Floating Candle
Truffles
Spherical Magnet (i.e., "bahl")
Burts Bees Lotions & Potions
Origami Boxes
Red & Green Jelly Beans - pomegranate, mango, pear, cherry, apple, margarita, ktl.
Schaffen Berger Chocolate
Miniature Christmas Spirits
Coloured Bulldog Clip

Custom Board Books

Pint Size Productions offers a really fun service that allows you to create a board book of your photos.
Custom photo books with board book construction are not so easy to find but critical since Sam loves to crinkle and rip pages.

Weihnachtspyramide

Growing up, we had one of those cheap, flat-packed metal versions of these. I loved them and never knew that they came from a much older and grander, German tradition: Weihnachtspyramide.

Garden: kalanchoe tubiflora (Widow's Thrill)

Kalanchoe tubiflora (Widow's Thrill) is my newest botanical preoccupation. I spotted it over at Gayla Trail's wonderful site, You Grow Girl.
But, of course, it had to be toxic.

"... bufadienolide cardiac glycosides[2] which can cause cardiac poisoning, particularly in grazing animals ..."

Best add this to the "When Sam Is Older" List along with Brugmansia (Oh, yeah, this one requires a garden plot too).

Mincemeat

From Wikipedia:

Pyes of mutton or beif must be fyne mynced & seasoned with pepper and salte and a lytel saffron to colour it / suet or marrow a good quantitie / a lytell vynegre / pruynes / great reasons / and dates / take the fattest of the broath of powdred beefe. And if you will have paest royall / take butter and yolkes of egges & so to temper the floure to make the paest.

And, yes, I like the kind that uses suet! It gives it a greater unctuousness.
I can vouch for Saveur's Traditional pie; I have not tried their Modern (i.e., meatless) version.
David Lebovitz's quick version (no suet!).
Delia's overnight, English recipe.
Or buy it at Brit Shoppe.

Play Mat/Bag

My first friend, Trevor, had a fabulous drawstring bag for his sizable collection of Lego. It opened flat, which meant that you could easily pile and bag the Lego when you were done.
You can buy versions of it online but it probably would not be too difficult to make.

GoGo & Co.'s GoGo Sac.

Sewing Supplies

Inspired by a 2009 Craftzine Xmas List.

Tout et n'importe quoi à partir de Sajou.
DMC Colour Card
The Stitches of Creative Embroidery, by Jacqueline Enthoven
Any Elsie Svennås books.
Sajou's Ciseaux Petits Monstres at Purl Soho - they may not pass TSA; best save them for road trips.
FOr no reason except that they are so pretty, these Mettler variegated threads.
Also very covetable, I mean useful would be these Sajou Fil Dentelle Au Chinois or Sajou Retors du Nord Boxed Set.

Lundby

Scale = 1:2/3 (1:18)

Some days I think I will die if I do not get my hands on a Lundby.
Other days, I resent them for being 1:10 instead of 1:12 scale.

If I did get one, I would probably try the summer house model, The Gotland. Cheeky Monkey Toys carries it here in the U.S.A. but I cannot understand why it has to be so much more expensive on this side of the pond (check out the Amazon.uk price).

The stair in the Gothenburg is very groovy. But the upper level balcony and the bathroom/corridor of the Stockholm is very charming.

Lundby Website
Lundby Advent Calendar
Lundby on Ebay

Xmas Tree

DH said that we should have a tree for the Big Boy this year.
I don't really like the bother of a tree but I could see his point. Fortunately, real trees are both a fire hazard and a choking hazard (i.e., the fallen needles) and he approved the purchase of an artificial tree.

Having no clue where to buy one, I looked to someone whose artificial tree I admire: Nicole Balch of Making it Lovely. Hers is artificial and pink! And she even has a bird perched on hers, which reminds me of my Mother's somewhat menacing little clip-on birds on our childhood trees. Unfortunately, as much as I might admire coloured trees and those aluminium trees of yesteryear, approval was for a green tree.

Another tree, I recalled fondly was the one our fabuluxe mentor decorated during my time in Singapore. Her theme was a loose interpretation of the palette of the costume of buddhist monks: burnt orange and purple balls, with some cinnamon-coloured paper icicles. It was gorgeous! I can imagine some orange pomander balls fitting into this really well too, creating a strange synthesis. Here is a first pass.

C is for Christmas Tree by Uyek on Polyvore.com

I have not decided on whether to use the burgundy balls or not. It is more accurate but my fond recollection of Mary's tree does not include it.

All the ornaments have to be shatterproof and too big to swallow. So far so, so good! I still need to find the right bird or birds. And as for a topper, well, I am not sure at all about that. And I have a vague notion involving a garland of coppery and purple paillettes but have not found one yet.
I think Big Boy will like all of the balls. I know he likes the ones on the tree in the lobby and on the ones around town.

One other critical step was settling on the correct height: not too big as to make storage a nightmare but still big enough to impress Big Boy. Hence this diagram was generated early on:


Treetopia for the Bedford Falls Fir
Amazon for the shatterproof ball ornaments
Amazon for a DIY garland

Nemesis: Paper

Thank you, Suze Orman.

Decor: Buddha

Pudding Molds from Il Buddino.
Coin Bank at Perpetual Kid.
Sleeping Buddha silk coverlets at, suprise!, Sleeping Buddha.
Table Lamp at Urban Outfitters.

Baskets: Vietnamese Rice Baskets

Image from Lantern MoonInspired by Soule Mama's photo on her blog of her Ghanaian market basket, I was determined to get a proper knitting basket.

While looking for such a basket, I stumbled upon Lantern Moon's even lovelier, to my eyes anyway, rice baskets from Vietnam. I decided to give the smallest one a try and, continuing the cautious streak, ordered a plain one.

It has since arrived and been in constant use. It is lightweight but strong and despite being the smallest one holds quite a lot: one almost complete TSJ (i.e., Toddler Suprise Jacket), two balls of yarn, the pattern, three magazines, and occasionally an ipod or even some toys. It is very pliable but keeps a nice, deep upright shape so your goods do not spill out and roll away.

Another perk is that, like a Transformer, the upper portion with the handles can tuck down into the bottom half so that it can be stored stacked, or filled like a bowl. This made me love it even more. I am trying to justify a second one!

I am sure they would be great for holding so many other things!