Nautical Shelves

So long since I posted! I have been shaken out of my reverie by a kindly follower who emailed to see if I was okay.  Thank you.  

The truth is, I have been enjoying life with a minimum of injections and doctors appointments, so much so I have slipped away from here a bit.   Only one more treatment to go.  I am counting down the days till the 26th of March.  Yes it's true, I have been having intravenous treatment for that long - 15 months.  

But I do realise that if I tell people about the cancer and then don't blog, it may make people think the worst. 

Fear not, dear readers.   Am feeling fantastic.  But am sorry for lack of comments.  Really I Must Do Better. 

I have been doing a little project at the beach which took longer than it should due to delays with the wallpaper samples arriving. 

It is very simple, but makes my son's very plain little room a bit more perky.

Here is his little bed:

Longtime readers will remember I made the boat pillow during a Sunday afternoon burst of creativity.

I have found Pottery Barn and the Land of Nod to be invaluable online resources.  These places probably seem basic to readers from the US but for mine simple reasonable quality children's linen which is not festooned with superheroes or Thomas the Tank Engine is not easy to come by here in Australia.  This cover is an all in one padded doona.  Really easy to clean, and lies flat. 

There are some shelves in this room where we keep books and clothes.

I got some sample wallpaper online and lined the shelves like this:

It doesn't intrude into the zen whiteness of the room, but it really make the shelves a focus point. The wallpaper is by Thibaut and Ralph Lauren.   UK wallpaper sites are happy to send lots of samples to you, sometimes for free, sometimes for a small fee. 

In other news, I have joined Twitter.  Not 100% sure why, as I always said I have nothing interesting to say in less than a short paragraph.  But we shall see.  It does allow me to spy on people I have long been a little bit secretly obsessed with like Anthony Bourdain and Bret Easton Ellis.  Feel free to follow me.  I will not be bombarding you with tweets, I can assure you.  


Next on the list, Pinterest. 


xo

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Kandinsky and Zoffany on the Wall

I have occasionally heard people comment that their pets have lives filled with more comfort and luxury than they, their owners, have.  

I think I can now make the same comment about the dolls who live in my daughter's dolls house. 

(living room, doll's house, with the sun streaming through the window)

After all, I don't have suede floor coverings or a Kandinsky hanging on my walls, nor are my walls papered in G&J Baker hand tinted wallpaper.

Remember this wall?   I suddenly loathed it over the weekend.  I wanted blankness.  So I removed the frames, took all the wallpaper samples out and wallpapered my daughter's dollhouse.  It took about an hour and felt really good. 

Here is the new bedroom for the German plastic jointed doll to sleep in:  1940's English silken flowery bed cover, Kyrgyzstani print on the wall, little copper flower pot, plants which never die.  Do you see my point?

And here is the nursery.   Some Zoffany wallpaper to set off the rocking horse and cot in the attic room.

I bet those dolls slept well last night. 

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Restaurant Inspiration - Mr Wolf and Tree Wallpaper

Today - Mr Wolf, a pizza restaurant in Inkerman Street St Kilda.

But so much more than just a pizza joint.

It welcomes children and casts no frowny looks towards crumbs on the ground. And believe me, with little children, that attitude is worth its weight. They (generally) play wonderful jazz. Their pizzas are interesting and yet sufficiently authentic that I can imagine picking up a square in the Piazza Navona. Their grissini is divine. As are the marinated olives. The windows look out onto the street where we can see a blur of grimy, stylish pedestrians (take your pick).

And look at this wallpaper. I know I know, tree wallpaper is ubiquitous. But Mr Wolf did it 8 years ago.



I love the feeling of sitting in a forest. And I have a thing for birch trees. Perhaps to Swedes they are not particularly interesting, but to me, they evoke Peter and the Wolf and goblins, and elves, and picnics and hiking in the gentle sunshine.


And how I would love to own this LP - narrated by Boris Karloff himself. I can feel the wolf sniffing behind me as I type.

Anyway, perhaps the birch tree wallpaper thing is no longer a trend but becoming a permanent classic. To demonstrate, a quick purview threw up these examples which are readily available:









And if these are not realistic enough for you, what about a photographic wall mural complete with dappled light and patches of tufted emerald grass?


I suppose the real question about this type of wallpaper is where would you use it? A bathroom? I have seen it in kitchens in the backsplash \ splashback. Or maybe in a dining room?
On to today's recipes:

Pizza Dough (this recipe is from one of Karen Martini's cookbooks. I know it is pretty much what they use as she owns the restaurant)

400 g plain flour
110 g fine semolina
2 tsp table salt
1.5 cups warm water (375 ml)
3 table spoons olive oil
2 teaspoons (ie 7 grams) dried yeast

Combine flour, salt and semolina in the bowl of an electric mixer with dough hook. Mix water oil an dyeast in small bowl and stir to dissolve. Pour water mixture into flour and mix at low speed untl combined then on high speed for10 minutes until dough is smooth and elsatic but wet and sticky. Place dough in oiled bowl cover with plastic wrap and rest in warm place for 20 minutes. (Makes 4 pizza bases). Make sure you roll roll very thin.




Toppings

(1) Eggplant

I just list the toppings here - you can combine in anyway but remember, do as the Romans do: not too much topping.
Roasted cubes of eggplant
Roasted garlic, mashed.
Basil, torn
Ricotta, in small chunks
Fior di latte, sliced thinly

(2) Cauliflower

I can't recall all the ingredients but it is incredible. There is roasted caulflower, parsley, sliced green chilli and slices of Italian pork sausage of some sort. This is on a cheesy base only (not tomato). Fantastic.



(Images (1) Mr Wolf (3) Cole & Son (4) Flockedwallpaper.co.uk(5) Graham & Brown (6) Wallpapermurals.co.uk (7) maraquita.com)

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