aug, 15th - kidivist in situ....

day 918 / 17:

the beautiful Kidivist mobile {see day 909 / 8} installed over Claya's crib in her small nook in our room. thanks again Anne. it is already capturing her attention.

the teddy bear was given to us before Limi was born. it is filled with sari fabric that was blessed in a temple in India. i love the idea that the insides of this bear have this adventurous history.

the last pic is of the antique sheet given to me by a good friend at my babyshower. she lives close to this market and manages to find the most amazing things.....bet this sheet also has a tale to tell.

thank you again for all the kind comments. we're slowly finding our way with two and appreciate all the encouragement.....it certainly makes things interesting now that we only have one pair of hands per child.........especially at bath time.

aug, 6th - kidivist....

day 909 / 8:

i've had my eye on a Kidivist mobile for ages.....these origami, animal mobiles have a beautifully, whimsical yet graphic quality. each mobile is handcrafted by the lovely Anne in Berlin: from the paper animals to the bending of the delicate aluminium hangers to the packaging.....Anne puts each creation together in her studio (see some pics that she sent, below).

i ordered the black and white Japanese paper mobile to go with 'thunderhooves' crib {see day 888}. Anne and i exchanged a couple of emails and i can honestly say that she's one of the nicest people that i've bought something from. my order was in the mail after two days in a bid to beat thunderhooves.

the parcel was something to get excited about....gorgeous packaging and lots of sweet detail. and the mobile itself completely exceeded expectation. beautifully balanced, it gently rocks at the slightest breeze.

i can't wait to show you it installed above the crib.....just perfect.

jul, 4th - mast brothers....

day 876:

in honour of American Independence Day, these bars of chocolate are by the Mast Brothers in Brooklyn. they are also part of the The Makers project {see day 840} which is where i first heard about them. on their website, you can watch a beautifully shot video which gives you a better idea of how passionate these brothers are about the chocolate making process. each bar is completely handmade from filling the mould to wrapping the finished product. what i love is the idea that these brothers are successful doing something that they put so much heart and soul into.

A. brought back these two bars from his trip to New York, in May. 

the packaging is incredible and has an old, thick wrapping paper quality. the type of paper that you could imagine someone unwrapping in Victorian England. but i especially like the descriptions on the back of the bars....chocolate with a hint of tobacco? it was definitely there........

jun, 25th - chelsea fringe at the dock kitchen....

day 868:

i mentioned the Chelsea Fringe awhile back {see day 850}, an alternative festival to the annual Chelsea Flower Show. on the last weekend of the fringe (10th/11th June), we managed to squeeze in one final event at the Portobello Dock. this installation was called the Floating Forest - 600 suspended, wooden disks arranged in a precise pattern on the Grand Union Canal. you can read more about it here.

we have visited the Portobello Dock before, to eat at the Dock Kitchen. initially this small restaurant was started as a pop-up in collaboration with Tom Dixon's showroom but it's just stayed up and the showroom is now a full shop. i'm sad that it's taken us so long to get back here as it really is a special spot and very close to home.

on the weekend that we visited, there were also Meet the Makers events around the dock. Urban allotments were there to advise you on growing plants in small spaces, Nic Webb had us mesmerised whittling beautiful, handcrafted spoons and Jonathan Garratt won us and especially Limi over with his pottery skills, presenting her with a clay seal. 

we decided to stay for lunch and so glad that we did. we ordered the mutton biryani for the three of us to share. while we were waiting, they served us some delicious, fragrant, tandoor bread that we all fought over (even Limi). the biryani is an impressive dish, cooked in a clay pot and sealed with dough which releases an impressive steam when punctured. a pretty, copper plate of rose petals, fried onions, coriander and pomegranate seeds was presented on the side. Limi had lots of fun decorating our plates and eating the seeds.

it's a small restaurant and was heaving for a Saturday lunch but i'm not surprised that it has a loyal (if not secretive) group of fans. the menu changes daily and you can also book a table for their 'supper club' set menus. we'll definitely not wait as long to come back again.

after lunch we had a wander through the shop downstairs, feeling completely inspired by our visit. we both said that these are the best kinds of days, interesting events on our doorstep, an unexpectedly, delicious meal and having a chance to appreciate beautiful objects made with obvious care.

may, 27th - kings county distillery....

day 840:

the week before i came down with this virus that had me curled-up-in-a-ball-too-sick-to-even-read-or-surf-the-web (a first), A. was in Chicago, for work and Brooklyn, New York, for play. i told him about The Makers project by Jennifer Causey. Jennifer seeks out small artisans in (mainly) Brooklyn and photographs them in their work spaces. a very inspiring blog.

he didn't manage to make it to any of the studios or shops but he did find this bottle of bourbon by Kings County Distillery. 

i love the simplicity of the packaging and he says the bourbon is very drinkable. there were many times this past week where i was tempted to take a large swig to try and find some relief from the razor blades in my throat and chest. not being big on taking any medication while i'm pregnant, it was a case of riding it out. 

happy to say that i'm at last on the mend. thank you for the kind comments and emails.