How To Get Your Bubbles Back

Here's a trick: If you have a leftover half bottle of Champagne (or Prosecco) that's getting flat, and you want to bring the bubbles back, drop a raisin into the bottle. Any carbon dioxide that's left in the wine will stick to the raisin's ridges and release as tiny bubbles. Cool, right?


Via A Cup of Jo

Happy Halloween!

Pets + Costumes = Not Having A Good Time. They are still making me chuckle though.

Where Children Sleep

I am fascinated by Where Children Sleep, a picture book by James Mollison that tells the stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms. 

Inspired by the quote "all children are born equal" Mollison has created a collection of photographs which proves this statement to be incorrect. The kids are all between 4-17 but their backgrounds and futures couldn't be more different. There is Bilal, the Bedouin shepheard boy who sleeps with his father's heard of goats; Kaya in Tokyo whose proud mother spends $1,000 per month on her dresses; Indira, a Nepalese girl who has worked in a granite quarry since she was three years old and Ankhohxet, the Kraho boy who sleeps on the floor of a hut in the Amazon.


Mollison says: "When Fabrica asked me to come up with an idea for engaging with children's rights, I found myself thinking about my bedroom: how significant it was during my childhood, and how it reflected what I had and who I was. It occurred to me that a way to address some of the complex situations and social issues affecting children would be to look at the bedrooms of children in all kinds of different circumstances. From the start, I didn't want it just to be about 'needy children' in the developing world, but rather something more inclusive, about children from all types of situations. It seemed to make sense to photograph the children themselves, too, but separately from their bedrooms, using a neutral background. My thinking was that the bedroom pictures would be inscribed with the children's material and cultural circumstances ' the details that inevitably mark people apart from each other ' while the children themselves would appear in the set of portraits as individuals, as equals ' just as children. The book is written and presented for an audience of 9-13 year olds ' intended to interest and engage children in the details of the lives of other children around the world, and the social issues affecting them, while also being a serious photographic essay for an adult audience."


Check out some diptychs from the book below.

Missed Connections

Don't you love reading the Missed Connections section of Craigslist and wonder about the people behind these short bursts of passion? Yes? Well, so does Sophie Blackall, author of "Missed Connections, Love, Lost & Found". She says: "Every day hundreds of strangers fall in love on the strength of a glance, a smile or a particular hat. The moment is fleeting, and in a desperate attempt to reconnect, people post Missed Connections. I am completely obsessed with these funny, sad, strange and beautiful messages; these bizarre short stories of unrequited love. For the past two years I've been turning them into paintings for a blog, which are now collected in a book."

Here are some of the funniest, sweetest and strangest posts transformed into paintings by Sophie.

Va Va Voom

I seriously love Prada's rocket shoes. They are soooo next season! 


Via Sea of Shoes

Friday Morning Party Breakfast

Just because I can. And because home made cupcakes are delicious at any time of day. 

My Cup Of Tea

Vika Mitrichenka arrived in The Netherlands from Minsk, alone, on a tourist visa. Her choice of Amsterdam was no accident. She became fascinated by Holland's Golden Age while still at school, particularly by the realistic paintings of artists such as Johannes Vermeer and Pieter Hoogh. Having exhibited her work at Amsterdam's Rietveld Academie, she was promptly accepted onto a course. After the Rietveld, she approached the prestigious Rijksacademie (only 1 in a 100 hundred are admitted) – and was accepted immediately. 

The Frozen Fountain granted her an artistic assignment, and asked her to create a tea service – which was then immediately purchased by the Stedelijk Museum. For € 3650 this numbered edition tea service can be yours too.

Suddenly my mug of stale tea looks horribly ordinary. 

Cheesy Delights

I've always considered myself a master sandwich builder (boterhammen, we call them in Holland), especially when it comes to cheese sandwiches. Cold or grilled, I would be happy and satisfied knowing that I would eat a delicious cheese sandwich for lunch every day until I die. I like to mix things up and change ingredients though, because I take pride in keeping my taste buds sharp. Aged Gouda, goat cheese, camembert  and gorgonzola are a staple in my fridge. And of course the bread has to be fresh and match my mood, ranging from dark and dense slices to fresh and light baguettes. Just as I was about to dream up today's cheesy delight I found myself inspired by the beautifully photographed sandwiches made by Elsie of A Beautiful Mess. Check out her creations and salivate! What is your favorite sandwich?

Jenna Lyons x Vogue UK

Ever since I saw Jenna Lyons, Executive Creative Director and President of J. Crew, featured in Vogue UK I think I have a slight girl crush on her. Not to even mention my apartment envy! Just loving her sense of style. You go Jenna!

Bas Jan Ader

Bas Jan Ader was a Dutch artist. He became famous after his 'I'm Too Sad To Tell You', ’Fall I’ and ‘Fall II’ 16mm videos. In 1975 Ader embarked on what he called “a very long sailing trip”. The voyage was to be the middle part of a triptych called “In Search of the Miraculous,” a daring attempt to cross the Atlantic in a 12½ foot sailboat. A daring attempt to cross the Atlantic in a 12½ foot sailboat. He claimed it would take him 60 days to make the trip, or 90 if he chose not to use the sail. Six months after his departure, his boat was found, half-submerged off the coast of Ireland, but Bas Jan had vanished. 

McQueen Fall / Winter 2011

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I love oatmeal for breakfast, and under the lid of the oatmeal box is a recipe that I'd been meaning to try for months. When woke up with a sweet tooth the other day, I decided to skip breakfast and go straight to the cookies. The recipe was simple, quick and painless, and the cookies were delicious! After about four of them, those warm and buttery pieces of heaven made me feel guilty enough to feed the rest of them to my man, who was not complaining about that at all. 

Got someone to win over? Or ready to eat the batch by yourself, just because it's Thursday? Here's the recipe for four dozen cookies:

1/2  cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2  cup granulated sugar
2  eggs
1  teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour
1  teaspoon baking soda
1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2  teaspoon salt (optional)
3  cups oats
1  cup raisins

N.B. next time I'll make this recipe with about .25 cup less sugar, as the cookies are very sweet. Plus, it will leave me room to throw in some chocolate chips!

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. 

Yum!

Stuff For Looking

Tough Doilies

Almost every day I walk past a store called {far 4} and their windows always catch my eye. The latest thing on display to make me chuckle are these tough doilies by Ladies & Gentlemen. Maybe it's time for me to pick up the crochet needle!

Three Grand Essentials