Zany for suzanis
January 26th, 2009I went shopping. Virtually. Really! I was here at the schoolhouse. Backstory. I have been seeing suzanis everywhere. Design magazines, blogs, advertisements. I wanted to learn more. And perhaps secretly wanted to own one.
Suzani, which means needlework in Persian, are embroidered textiles from Central Asia; Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan.
Lurid embroidery on silk or cotton grounds suzanis are bold. Under Soviet rule, chemical dyes made their way to the hinterland provinces and found a home in these durable textiles. Turquoise, magenta, canary yellow, jet black, colors not found in nature, but in the dye vat. All of these found their way into the suzani. Which makes for a very bold, graphic statement.
So one evening while I was perusing suzanis online, I found myself shopping for suzanis from the ‘stans. I found two. Here they are.
Headlong into the Holidays
September 21st, 2008In preparation for the Christmas Market and our online sales, I have been photographing our new holiday products.
Here are some pics of our Blackforest tabletop collection. The morning light was particularly spectacular as it streamed through the dining room windows.
I especially liked the stark contrast between the white of the napkins and placemats against the aged, dark table.
Moody morning light
Close-up of Blackforest table linens
Blackforest placemats
Blackforest napkins
Edge detail on the napkins
I Love L.A!
September 18th, 2008Ten days in Los Angeles and now I’m back. For 10 evenings I dined out, which was a wonderful respite from my own cooking! I spent a day the Getty Museum viewing Bernini’s sculpture portraits.
Getty Center courtyard
Travertine detailing at the museum tram stop
Oh, and there was a wedding in between.
Our dear friends, Randy and Todd were nuptialized on September 7: at 3:33pm (special number to Todd!)
Those who are familiar with our Christmas Market will recognize Randy as the smiling face of our dining room.
The shining, happy bride!
The ceremony was held at the Adamson House in Malibu; on the beach, very California, very nice. Well it more than nice, it was absolutely fabulous! The Adamson House is filled with Malibu tile, they owned the factory. It only stands to reason.
The entry and walled motorcourt
Exotic plantings at the fountain court
The fountain courtyard
It was hot (90 something) even at the beach and there were tuxedos involved (Thank heaven there was a breeze).
I was a huppah or chuppah holder. For the uninitiated, a huppah is the tent-like covering over the marrying couple. I was at post #3. And unbeknownst to our nuptializing friends I was also an uncover paparazzo.
My fellow hupper holders — Jay, Brian, and Lidia
Huppah in one hand, camera in the other. Here are the pics. Here’s to our favourite married couple. Here’s to Randy and Todd!
Bridal preparations!
Grooming!
The kiss!
Harvest Moon
September 16th, 2008Last night, at 1:00am I was awakened by a bright light. I thought I must have fallen asleep and left on a yard light.
Then I remembered, we don’t have a yard light! It was the moon, the harvest moon. I don’t recall seeing it ever this bright.
1:00 am moonlight
Newest find
August 26th, 2008It is amazing what you find when you aren’t actually looking for anything. I was forturnate enough to be invited to an estate auction preview yesterday.
It is the unexpected that becomes the most exciting. Sitting there on a table awaiting pricing was a set of dishes for 12.
Simple and elegant, I find that white china showcases food at its very best. I was hooked and had to have them.
So I am now the proud owner of my first set of Wedgwood bone china. Today, I have to find room in the cupboards!
Posted in design, entertainment, food | No Comments »In a pickle
August 19th, 2008With the lazy dog days of summer in full force, watermelon becomes an important, albeit a temporary staple. Preserving this fleeting luxury reminds me of my mother’s watermelon rind pickles. Sweet and syrupy with a gelee texture, they were more dessert than condiment.
Preparation for watermelon pickles - Russian Style.
In an effort to capture the mouth-watering taste of summer, I found a tantalizing recipe for Solyoniy Arbuz otherwise known as Russian pickled watermelon in the September issue of Saveur.
Slicing, dicing, pickles and brine.
So off I went to find a watermelon, dill and pickling spices. What I returned with was a black, seedless watermelon. Its green-black rind was shiny and unblemished. For its size, it was very heavy. The flesh was not as dark as I expected, but a deep ruby red.
A pot of premature pickles awaiting refrigeration.
Watermelon, celery, salt, sugar, dill, pickling spices, vinegar, a touch of cayenne for kick, water and a week’s worth of waiting. A basic refigerator pickle.
Posted in food | 1 Comment »Going Native
August 9th, 2008Early August can mean only one thing around here. It’s fair time. Usually hot and dusty, this year it was just hot.
Prize winning vegetables
Blue ribbon breads from around the county.
Let them eat cake, carrot cake that is!
It had been years since I had been to the county fair, so it was with great anticipation that I looked forward to it.
I donned my gear, cowboy gear, pink cowboy gear no less (more about that later!) and headed to the fairgrounds.
Queen of the Coop. Founder of Chicks n Chaps, Shannone Hart.
I had been invited to attend Chicks n Chaps. I guess I was an honorary wingman! My dear friend Shannone Hart founded this charity event to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer.
The Chicks n Chaps rodeo clinic was in conjunction with the Montana Stampede Rodeo where Tough Enough to Wear Pink cowboys were competing. So as is the custom, everyone was sporting pink in honor of those battling breast cancer.
The day long clinic pitted enthusiastic women against the members of the University of Montana Rodeo team. The cowboys had their hands full!
A couple of the “hands full!”
Pink prevails!
Head chick Shannone & me.
Texas chix
Upon hearing about the rodeo clinic in February, these four gals loaded a travel trailer and headed up from Texas to participate.
More chix and a wingman.
No one cried fowl when the beefcake went to auction!
Board member chick, Suzanne with Dustin Jenkins, newly crowned collegiate national champion bull rider.
Fried chix in the coop.
Cold beers and smiles were served up in the food tent dubbed the Eight Second Saloon!
One day out, and word is out. This event may go national. Is it true the National Rodeo Finals is looking to incorporate Chicks n Chaps? Kudos to Shannone and her crew for such a successful event.
Posted in entertainment | No Comments » « Previous Entries