heirloom

Delicious heirloom tomatoes in a refreshing Greek salad

great expectations

"So, throughout life, our worst weaknesses and meannesses are usually committed for the sake of the people whom we most despise."

-- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, vol. 2, chap. viii

negi

Sliced negi (Japanese green onions)

sorbet

Cassis sorbet for a hot, hot day... lounging on the bed.

Triple food posts today :)

cornet

Mmm, I tasted a custard cornet for the first time yesterday... delicious!

clouds for breakfast

Zopf (Swiss twisted bread) clouds

protector

Bern, Switzerland

the taste of summer

For me, raspberries are one of the defining tastes of summer. Usually, i pick them in my mom's sunny garden and eat them fresh off the vine, juicy and fragrant.

The other day, I saw freshly-picked raspberries at the store and thought that I ought to try German raspberries, so i bought a little basketful. They were the very best raspberries i've ever had in my life: sweet, plump, and not sour at all!

They tasted like relaxing, sunshiny days of lying in the grass with a good book... mmmmm...

maroon

Lucerne, Switzerland

in the capital

pink

In our front yard

magnolias

Bern, Switzerland

Magnolias are one of my favourite flowers. Even the branches of the magnolia are graceful and elegant. 

make your own paper flowers

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Links to tutorials for these kusudama flowers on Elizabeth Anne's cute website

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Pretty paper rose tutorial by dozi

robot garland

(image from Made by Rae)

Me, I’m a huge fan of robots. When I saw  this tutorial on Made by Rae, I was delighted. It’s so cheerful and fun!

There’s probably lots that you can do with these... if you have a dark-coloured wall, I imagine that robots made of aluminum foil would look really cool! Or, you could chain them vertically, or stack them in geometric patterns on the wall.

Love them!

chococake

Midnight chocolate cake

Moist and delicious :)

t-shirt yarn

T-shirt yarn dishcloths (seen on Craftster)

T-shirt yarn accessories (seen on Craftycrafty)

A pretty guitar strap from a tie-dyed t-shirt (seen on A Spinner Weaver)

Lately, something called "t-shirt yarn" has been going around the crafty parts of the internet. Basically, it's a cotton yarn that you make out of old t-shirts and then knit or weave into all sorts of cool things.

It's easy to make, and there's a great tutorial here. I can't wait to give it a try myself. It's a really practical way of upcycling old t-shirts and it produces a great-looking result!

dugong

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I had never heard of dugongs before until someone made a reference to them the other day. I was pleasantly surprised when i looked them up-- they are adorable!

Dugongs (Tagalog for "lady of the sea") are gentle marine mammals that are closely related to the manatee. They are currently close to extinction due to being over-hunted by humans. Dugongs are herbivorous, and unlike manatees, they live strictly in marine environments.

They are so cute... I want to give one a hug.

Wikipedia article on dugongs

plastic bags --> cute shoes

I love these shoes!

They were made by a talented young woman from plastic bags that have been heated and compressed. I've made compressed plastic bag crafts before, and the result is surprisingly sturdy. These shoes look like they'd also be water-resistant and great for rainy days.

Link to source (in Spanish)

lovely moccasins

Exquisite, handmade moccasins from Darlingtonia.

somewhere, a dog barked

Illustration from this amusing article on Slate.com.