Sunday, May 23, 2010

waffley big


While setting up our square bookshelf, it suddenly looked a lot like a giant chocolate waffle. I added a pillow on top to be a nice pat of butter. Mmm, if only!

helvetia


Bern, Switzerland

Saturday, May 22, 2010

amaretti


Sometimes, you just need a cookie.
Especially while trying to memorize notes about neurotransmitters.
amaretti > gamma-aminobutyric acid

amaretti ??? endocannabinoids

Edit:
amaretti = endocannabinoids!!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

gabriel orozco


"Cats and Watermelons" by Gabriel Orozco

As I mentioned in a previous post, I saw the Gabriel Orozco exhibit in Basel, Switzerland, last week. This whimsical image is another one of my favourites-- it made me giggle when I saw it at the gallery, because I tried to imagine Orozco setting up the photo while other grocery shoppers milled around nearby, confused. 

It's really just begging for a lolcat-style caption...

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

travelling

Lucerne

Basel

Basel
Bern

I had seen advertisements for the Henri Rousseau show at the famous Fondation Beyeler art gallery in Basel, Switzerland, and I was so thrilled when I actually got to go see them. It was the last day of the show, and we were super lucky to catch the opening day of the Basquiat exhibition as well. I absolutely loved it.

I was so moved by both artists' pieces... but completely unexpectedly, I was blown away by the huge Monet painting (Les Nymphéas) in one of the beautifully-lit rooms in the gallery. I've never felt any particular attraction to Monet, but seeing a real piece in person is so different than seeing photos of paintings. The colours are so much more vibrant and there is so much more depth. I felt like my eyes were swimming in a sea of colour.

We had only 45 minutes left before we had to catch our train, so we blasted through the Gabriel Orozco exhibit at the Kunstmuseum Basel. Orozco does some really interesting, highly imaginative work.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

the yolk's on you


discovery


I'm a little rusty, but I liked how this one turned out. 

apple chips!


Why is there an exclamation mark in the title of this post? Because apple chips are the awesomest awesome that ever awesomed!
Fresh apples = mundane
Crunchy apple chips = yay!

They're really easy to make:
1. Wash apples, slice thinly with slicer or by hand
2. Place on baking sheet
3. Bake at 100°C (250°F) for at least 2 hours or until crisp
4. Let cool and eat (theoretically, anyway... none of mine have ever made it to this stage, as I eat them during Step 3. The above photo of the measly few crisp ones are the ones I didn't eat out of the entire batch because they were stuck to the baking sheet.)

How much do I love apple chips? A heck of a lot.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

frills and cheap thrills


I've been having fun with napkins. What this says about my social life, I don't want to contemplate. However, at my local grocery store, FSC paper napkins (more on FSC here) and recycled paper napkins were on discount, so I bought a bunch more colours. Using the same method as last time, I've been making pompoms.

I saw some interesting (and scary) things being done with pompoms online... of course The Martha's ideas are great, but I found the "hang them in a giant clotted clump over your bed" thing a little intimidating. it's like having dust collectors (and believe me, these things will attract dust like nothing else) hanging over your face as you sleep. That said, though, this ceiling piece is fun:
(image source)

I think it can be modified to fit into our work room, and maybe not so directly overhead.

It's funny, but these pompoms, especially when affixed to ceilings, look like the traditional wedding decorations in Taiwan that are now considered so passé. Even more amusing for me are the appearances of these pompoms at Western weddings. Everything goes around in cycles, I guess!

it was so cheesy it hurt

Yesterday, there was a gigantic thunderstorm, complete with hailstones. afterward, I looked out the window and saw the Cheesiest Rainbow Ever:
That's right, it even had a little fluffy cloud at the end of it, just like in the picture books from my childhood. Did I mention that there was a double rainbow?

And yeah, I absolutely loved it.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

daily bread


We had fresh, homemade bread for breakfast this morning. The crust was perfectly crunchy and it was exquisite with some Emmental cheese. There really is nothing like homemade bread!

But because it was handcrafted by my lovely companion, of course, it had to look like this:
It was really creepy when it was baking in the oven...

Saturday, May 8, 2010

paper peony


I saw this wonderful tutorial by the amazing Dana of Dana Made It and just had to try it with our green napkins.

I altered it a little bit from the original-- I used regular kleenex for the white centre, pulled each ply apart, and cut separate petals out of each layer so that it would resemble a peony.

Super quick (ten minutes or so) and cute!

Friday, May 7, 2010

delish


Delicious and fresh macarons from the Sprüngli shop :)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

casual bouquet


I like having fresh flowers around, but I don't like the amount of pesticides/herbicides/drinkable water that go into their production. On the other hand, I like weeds for their tenacity and admirable hardiness. Flowers are often fragile. Weeds are sturdy.

Solution: Arrangement of clovers (my favourite), daisies, and other small flowers in a hexagonal, miniature glass pesto jar.

After all, weeds are just resilient flowers that spring up everywhere you don't want them to!

(Update: I've had the clovers for three weeks now and most of them still look as fresh as the day I picked them on my jog. Some of them are even sprouting roots!)

blurry and gorgeous

found on flickr:

clovers

Monday, May 3, 2010

mucha♥

I'm in love with paintings by Alphonse Mucha.




I've printed a few out and mounted them on cardboard to hang on my wall... so pretty!

Sunday, May 2, 2010