marimekko guest post

i'm guest blogging today on marimekko (surprised?) over at imadeitso.com.

pop on over and take a moment to meet ana.  she has a fabulous blog, and also believes in the minimal use  of her shift key.   my kind of gal. 

another laptop case...

this time for my macbook.   

the outside (canvas) fabric is made by another finnish company, finlayson.  i have it in two color ways, and felt that a laptop case would be a worthy use of this grey, brown, and white one.  the inside is lined with a basic purple cotton fabric.  i padded it with stiff interfacing and two layers of felt, much like in my kindle tutorial. 

on the "front", i chose to pleat it the same way i pleated this clutch, thanks to noodlehead's tutorial.  

stripes, stripes, and stripes

as i was unpacking my bags during my last vacation, i surveyed what i brought, and realized that 95% of the clothes in my suitcase had stripes.   horizontal. diagonal. vertical....  multidirectional.  thin. wide. colorful, monotone.  they are all different, yet all the same.

i felt the need to further expand my stripe collection by sewing a loose knit top.  i bought the knit during our last trip to finland.  the store had a huge selection of nice quality knits, and i visited several times admiring their collection.  i traced another top (also striped), and altered the pattern a little to create this shirt.  i keep on forgetting that my shoulders are narrow, though, and made the neckline too wide.  seems to be becoming a habit of mine.  i'll just pretend that i meant the shirt to fall off one shoulder, all 80s-esque.  

i forecast that my next clothing obsession will be tiny floral prints (which is so unlike me).  what trends do you see in your current wardrobe? 

strawberry mango mint iced tea smoothie

sometimes it's just too hot to eat real food.

the temperatures are cooling down here in the northeast, but i know a great deal of people out there are still being tormented by insufferable heat.  when it's exceptionally hot, i often opt for smoothies in place of solid food. a few weeks ago when we were in the throws of summer, i blended a strawberry mango mint iced tea smoothie.

you need: 

8 oz of frozen mangos and strawberries (because the fruit is frozen, it's not necessary to add ice)

3-4 oz silken tofu (excellent source of protein and makes the smoothie filling)

8 oz cold brewed green tea with mint (twinings makes cold brewed iced tea packets)

preferred sweetener, to taste (i didn't need any)

blend. blend.  BLEND.
cold. refreshing. filling. ahhhh.

la provence macarons

it's been a great two weeks.  i've been on the road again, and then immediately afterward had friends visiting us from LA.  

and they brought us this!

a box full of GIANT macarons. i have never encountered macarons so large.    and yes, i ate some for breakfast.  go ahead, judge me.  i don't care.

these have a nice texture and flavor and aren't too sweet.    thank you so much, laura & tim! my taste buds applaud you. 

la provence patisserie & cafe
brentwood gardens
11677 san vicente blvd
los angeles, ca 90049
310.442.1144

or

beverly hills plaza
8950 west olympics blvd.
beverly hills, ca 90211
310.88.8833

laprovencecafe.com

chihuly exhibit

note to self: waiting until the second to last week to visit an exhibit before it closes is a bad idea.

second note to self:  waiting until the second to last week to visit an exhibit before it closes is a bad idea, especially when temperatures in the northeast have been 100+ and everyone in town is looking for indoor entertainment (with a/c).

this past weekend we decided to finally see the chihuly exhibit at the boston museum of fine arts.  we found ourselves in lines.  lots of lines. line to get into the parking lot.   line to get into the museum to buy tickets.  line to get a snack.  line to get into the actual chihuly exhibit.

but once we made it, we were pulled into the world of dale chihuly's through the looking glass exhibit.  his work was impressively grand and whimsical.  i have never seen glasswork quite like it.  

apparently inspiration for some of his pieces was drawn from a trip he took to finland in 1995 -- such as the piece above, called ikebana boat.  unfortunately, i did not bring my baby dslr.  but how amazing is that boat!?

a small part of one of his "chandeliers".  these hung high up on the ceiling and were many feet long.

a

how in the world they managed to move and reconstruct all these pieces without damaging them is beyond me.  the insurance on his work must be incredibly high.   

despite all the lining, it was a nice way to spend an uncomfortably hot afternoon.  how do you like to escape the heat?   

the town of fiskars

crafters, gardeners, or even those that have a particular affection for scissors (and maybe knives) may be familiar with the brand fiskars.  they make a wide range of products for the aforementioned group, but probably few realize that not only is it a finnish company, it is also named after the town of fiskars in finland.  its' history reaches as far back as 1649, where the company began by manufacturing a variety of iron products.  since then, it has changed hands several times evolved considerably into the international company it is now.

today, fiskars is a cute little artisan town, with cafes, restaurants, and many shops featuring unique artisan products.   you can also visit several artisan workshops, such as a blacksmith and a glass blowing studio.   it is an easy day trip, only about an hour and a half drive from helsinki.   this was my third trip to the town, and it was a chilly, cloudy day- a nice respite from the sunny, semi-hot days we had been experiencing.   between and after lunch and a coffee break, we leisurely perused familiar shops, studios, and an art exhibit.

i have horns.

i bought a 5 euro book about fiskar's history, and learned some interesting information about their signature orange handled scissors.  apparently, the color was chosen quite by accident.  the company had recently produced another product and was left with an excess of orange pigment, which was then used as a prototype for the scissors.   later the color was put to a vote, and the orange color was here to stay.  

good choice, i think, since orange is my favorite color!  

do you use fiskars products?  did you know that it was named after a finnish town?
did you also know that the company nokia was named after the town of nokia?