Seaside Treasures

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for sea glass , but used to hunt high and low and find very little. Now I find myself living near some spots where I can find it easily and it is very hard to resist. I especially like all the pale aqua shades and this time also found a few pieces of broken porcelain. I am sure this colour palette is going to show up in a design or painting sometime soon.

The bridges have also been looking wonderful during the last few days – mostly lovely summer weather and some very low tides which make for interesting images.

If you are visiting Edinburgh this summer South Queensferry makes a very pleasant wee jaunt out of the city, especially during the crazy festival period. You can even take a boat to Inchcolm island and have a go at spotting seals or even a puffin if you are lucky. Get yourself an Orkney Ice cream and stroll along the prom to the High Street.

Zuider Zee Museum Enkhuizen

A little more catching up from the Dutch trip a few weeks ago. The Zuiderzee Museum is somewhere I’d visited about 10 years ago and always wanted to go back to. I’d thought that really it would be easier to visit by car but in fact it is perfectly feasible with public transport as a day trip from Amsterdam. It’s worth setting off early enough in the morning though, because you will need plenty time to do the museum justice. The best way to approach the museum is to take the train to Enkhuizen and then look for the ferry that will take you over to the musuem. You can get there on foot but arriving by water adds to the atmosphere.

(If you have a museum card you will get in free. And even if you are not resident in the Netherlands , if you are there for more than a couple of days and plan some intensive museum visiting, the card will pay for itself very quickly. All the big musuems are included – you can get one on the spot at most museums. ) One other tip – the whole museum is only open during the warmer half of the year, so save your visit until then.

I didn’t realise that it was only established in the 60s – it feels much older than that. Houses have been brought here lock stock and barrel from various places around the Zuider Zee ,including from an island that became land locked once the Ijselmeer was completed. There are photos showing some of the complete houses being wheeled along on trucks or winched off ferrys. They are laid out in little clusters to represent an island community or a town centre around a church. The special charm is reinforced by the costumed characters who do a very good job of staying in their role even under quite thorough questioning.

This time it was the interiors that struck me particulary. Probably as I was still in an interior design kind of mood after visiting the Woonbeurs/ Home Show. I noticed a lot of deep greens as well as the bright blues that pop up in many early decorating styles. I had a vague memory that the blue served a particular purpose and one of the costumed “locals” told me that the colour came from the addition of laundry blue and was considered mildly antibacterial. Also, with out our masses of modern “stuff” there is a simplicity to many of the interiors which is very calming. I know life was hard in that era and many of our modern possessions make life easier,but still, I think we can take a leaf out of their book in terms of simplicity and functionality.

There were also a few locations within the museum where contemporary craftspeople and artists had been invited to create work. One example of this was a room that had been decorated entirely in the style of Delft tiles – the walls and even the radiator. This little side table also got the tile treatment – that would be a fun project to have a go at !

Ta-Da – The Cushions Have Landed

Really “chuffed” as they say here, that my cushions are finally ready to put out in the world ! It has been great fun working on the designs and all the other elements. I hope you’ll like them too !

The cushions are available from the “shop” section of my own website and for 48 hours I’m offering free shipping – world wide for the cushion covers and for the UK covers plus pads as well.

Day 28 – My Edinburgh – Bees Flower Shops

Another post in my series of favourite Edinburgh places for you to discover.

When I got back from Holland I was delighted to discover that in the meantime a florists had opened in South Queensferry, and not only that, it is the very closest shop to me ! That made up a little for no longer being able to shop for flowers at the Leiden Saturday market which was a real highlight of the week for me.

Bees is run by Elaine who tries to select flowers that you might not find everywhere and also makes up bouquets that have a bit of individual flair. Over the last few months I have had some stunning flowers from her shop.

Now, in case you don’t make it out to the coastal delights of South Queensferry very often she has opened a second branch in Hanover Street ( close to the Queen Street end ). A beautiful space with sweeping arched windows. She is also planning to hold workshops as the space lends itself to that, for adults but also for children. Mothers can sit on comfy sofas sipping a coffee while their offspring have fun creating with flowers.

Of course she also does wedding flowers or can organise a weekly arrangement for your office.

Day 23 – My Edinburgh – Lovecrumbs Cafe

I thought it would be nice to add a weekly post with a bit of a local theme. Where once we used guide books , now the internet helps us uncover unusual spots. I know Edinburgh is a city that lots of people are drawn to so once a week I will post a little bit of insider info. I have discovered many interesting cafes, shops and exhibitions in other cities,through reading blogs, so now I’m going to do my bit too ! (Although I’m not working as a tourist guide any more, I do still have that instinct for spotting places and passing them on ! )

This week’s spotlight is on Lovecrumbs , which is a cafe that popped up while I was in Holland, and in the meantime has gathered quite a following. That does mean it can get quite busy and you might have to hunt around for a seat. You might end up using an old piano as a table, or you might sit on one of the two low chairs in the window. There are also a few large tables with lots of chairs round them so that helps in finding a wee spot.

But either way , you’ll have your work cut out to choose from the very inventive range of cakes on offer. Yesterday, amongst others there was a lavender cake, a rose and cherry cake and another one containing beetroot which I’ve had in the past. I went for the less exotic banana cake which was also delicious. On a previous visit an American friend couldn’t resist the peanut butter and jelly cake. There are ususally some gluten free options and things like brownies too, with a selection that seems to change quite regularly.

If you are visiting Edinburgh it won’t be on the main tourist routes so you’ll need to hunt it out – but it is well worth it. ( And if you are in Edinburgh for the Film Festival which is just coming up, then it is only a few minutes walk from the Filmhouse .)

Lovecrumbs
155 Westport Edinburgh,
Edinburgh EH3 9DP

Day 19 – Berlin Hive 13 – What Did Other Bloggers think ?

I thought it would be nice to do a little round up of some of the other impressions of the Hive Conference. A lot of the blogs posted have been in German, so I’ve made my selection from the English ones.

Stephanie, from NeonGroen, who I’ve followed on Instagram for a little while has done a very visual round up

Judith from Joelix has mixed images with her favourite quotes from the presentations.

Gudy from Eclectic Trends has written an account of the one workshop that I was really sorry I missed – styling and photography by Dietlind Wolf . ( Although, you can’t be two places at once and I didn’t regret hearing Katrina from Zero the One talk about video making and making a difference.)

I enjoyed chatting with Melanie who is from the UK but now lives in Denmark. She had the great idea of posting an Instagram pic of what she would be wearing each day. That made it very easy to spot her – I’ve filed that idea for future reference. Here’s what she had to say .

Jillian in Italy was another post with great visuals – look out for the map of Europe that had all our business cards pinned to it by the end of the weekend.

Desiree from VosgesParis was a speaker and her topic was “Monetize your Blog” – she has very kindly put her presentation on this post.

And finally a post from Silkie from the gorgeous Rosehip Stationery company. She was the only one who made it over from the London Bloggers Group after a fire at Heathrow put a spanner in the works for some others.

THe Hive are planning a shorter event in Copenhagen in the autumn and then plan to repeat the event next year in Berlin.

Day 16 – Out and About in Utrecht

One of the nice things about the Netherlands is how acessible many cities are – with just an hour or so by train . I am trying to cram a lot into a week , so today I jumped on the train to Utrecht. That’s the thing about visiting instead of living there – the temptation is strong to scoot about at a bit of a pace .

Anyway , today was the turn of Utrecht . The Dom Tower is a very prominent landmark – a little bit of googling has verified that it is , in fact , the tallest church tower in the Netherlands. ( More info here Alongside is one of the oldest canals , the Oude Gracht. Once the water level was made stable in the middle ages they were able to create permanent storage on the wharfs .Many of these are now cafes which creates a lively atmosphere .

I stopped off for coffee and a very delicious cake at a cafe that my Auntie took me to on a previous trip , Bond and Smolders –find a review here If you are visiting Leiden it is worth trying out – the cakes are exquisite .

Happy New Year …

and a bit of a freshen up around here. I’m in the mood for a bit of a lighter look on this blog so the previous header has had to make way for some ranunculus. These are my favourite flowers at the moment, having edged out gerberas and tulips. It may be something to do with having a few turquoise vases that they sing against so beautifully. Or it may just be the edible colour and the way they unfold from quite small buds to really fluffy open blooms.

I wish you a lovely 2013 and thank you for keeping me company along the way.

Villa Augustus

I’ve had it in mind to pay a visit here ever since I read about it on a blog quite a long time ago. And last weekend there was finally time to go. Had I realised that Dordrecht was only an hour away I’d probably have managed earlier. I forget how quick it is to get across Holland. Anyway, on a snowy and rather bitter winter’s day we took the train over to Dordrecht and made our way to Villa Augustus. Once you are through the entrance you are in another little world.

First of all you arrive in a little cafe and shop area where they sell organic veg and decorative items used around the buildings. Straight way the colour and design details hit you. And you are introduced to the little hare logo who pops up everywhere. The attention to detail is one of the things that so impressed me. Colour, shape, texture, if there was an interesting way to decorate something then it wasn’t left plain.

This shop/cafe area leads on to quite a large restaurant space and then the hotel part is reached by crossing the gardens to the old water tower. The gardens were covered by a thin dusting of snow when we arrived but I think they must look amazing in the summer. There are many different sections – vegetable plots , flower garden, orchards, a little wooded area, a formal italian area. Rubble discarded during the renovations resurface in a garden wall, complete with little bits of mosaic and mirror.

The hotel rooms are either on the edge of the garden or inside the water tower. I opted for a room in the tower, in fact where the old water reservoir used to be. The floor was still made of the original thick metal plates , riveted together .

As part of the agreement the owners made with the council, the gardens are open to the public so you don’t need to stay here in order to visit the gardens . And in the summer months I think it must really be stunning. No surprises that I am already planning a return visit at a warmer time of year.

If you’d like to see a bit more, here is the Villa Augustus website. And the connection with yesterday’s post ? When I got home after visiting I was curious about which blog had pointed me in this direction in the first place, and with a bit of detective work I realised it was Ingrid’s blog.

Still in the East

These little wildflowers are also from my Romanian trip. This second village on our tour, Zalanpatak, was previously a centre for glass blowing which explained the row of little bottles , two deep, on a small shelf inside the room. The bottles began to make even more sense after we spent a very enjoyable morning walking on a high plateau which is famed for its very rare and abundant wild flowers. It wasn’t really the time of year for the flowers – that is best in May/ June. But even so our guide found about 30 different flowers for us. Of course I couldn’t resist getting them into water straight away and at the first opportunity doing a photo shoot with them. There will be a few examples popping up in my Etsy shop soon.

Nowadays this village is becoming better known in British circles as one of the two places in Transylvania where Prince Charles has bought properties. Apparently he visits every year, but when he is not using them they are available for less rarified visitors. If you arrive expecting a lot of gold and glitz you will be disappointed, but if you are looking for somewhere that has been restored with care and attention to detail and furnished in the local style then you will be happy !

For me there was an unexpected bonus during our visit as the village ( about 150 inhabitants) were holding their first harvest dance in 8 years. In the afternoon there was a lot of activity with horses racing down the village road before turning to accompany a horse and cart filled with singing children past all the houses in the village. Some villagers purchased grapes or wine at each stop.

When we lingered outside, watching through the windows, the village girl who seemed to speak the most English was sent to invite us in. Well, we didn’t need to be asked twice. It reminded me of going to the ceilidhs on Vatersay in the Outer Hebrides when I used to be a tourist guide. A small community so everyone goes along from tiny tots to the village worthies, each joining in according to their ability. The younger ones, of marriageable age, were dressed in costume and danced some Hungarian style dances that I recognised. Of course we weren’t let off the dancing either. (Although my previous experience didn’t necessarily help too much. Another of the local guides told me that each village has its own style and she always wonders if she’ll be able to follow if she is somewhere new.)

If you are curious there was a recent article all about the guesthouse which includes a video link showing a little tour of the property. And for information about visiting both this location and the others at Miklosvar and Viscri this is the website to check.