Snaps

Tons of things to share, loads of changes to pretty much every space, but for now a few snaps. Still feeling flirty, two weeks after the fact and we're a quarter of the way there with Mika's updated space.

Halfway to weekend! Yea!!

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Sunday suppers; spicy pasta soup with sweetened basil and parmesan wafers

Sundays. I can never decide if they are the start or the end of the week. Probably because my chore list is the the same length every day and especially after a week dedicated to my son's epic fourth birthday (starting school, new room etc.) I needed dinner to be quick and easy. Bon dia, it's gotta be soup. I was going for hearty, soft flavours but the winter weather was so sunny and bright, it went spicy!

Soup

2 bays leaves

chili flakes to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon olive oil

250 grams chorizo sliced and halved

800 grams soffritto

2 cups chicken stock

2/3 cups red wine

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

pasta of choice, e.g. tortellini

nutmeg

garlic powder

parmesan

basil

1 teaspoon white sugar

Warm the bay leaves and chili flakes in the oil till fragrant. Add the rosemary, thyme, fennel seeds, half the chorizo till the flavours mellow. Tip in brown sugar and all the liquids; soffritto, stock and wine. Cook till bubbling, then add the pasta. When cooked add a splash of full milk and nutmeg and garlic to taste.

Grate parmesan into small flat piles on a baking sheet and sprinkle with oregano. Bake until melted and crisp. I tossed the remaining rind into the soup for added flavour.

Blitz a bunch of basil, drizzle of olive oil, pinch of sea salt and black pepper with a teaspoon of fine white sugar. Chill till ready to use.

Plating up is simple. This stuff is thick so a ladle full goes a long way. Top with the parmesan wafers and dot with the basil dressing. The cold and sweetness helps to break up the heat of the chili and spices. Serve with lost of crusty bread to mop up!

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Treasure table

I love bell jars and love seeing new ways of displaying treasured objects. Remember the combination bell jar and vase from Ontwerpduo? Well, Frederik Roijé took it one step further. A display table! The Treasure table comes in two different sizes and in light or dark cork, so you can mix it up. I love the idea of having your prized possessions up front and center but still being able to use the surface takes this further. A perfect example of form meets function.

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Mika

Secretly I'm having a hard time with today's birthday. 4 is a milestone. It means Mondays together are now over. It means backpacks and lunchboxes. New rooms and jungle gyms. Big boy time. Four years and I'm still not ready but I'll keep my inner mush to myself. Happy birthday Mika.

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Gold splattered fedora

I kind of feel guilty admitting it but I loathe DIY fashion. Most of the time it looks like a kid trying out a sewing machine for the first time. Except I saw the most beautiful fedora from Eugenia Kim but couldn't justify the price tag. Plus it kept whispering..you can do this. And so I did!

A simple, inexpensive fedora, gold textile paint and now I have my own customized bit of headgear for rainy days of like the picture covering up my post-workout hair! I watered the paint down to desired consistency, which I tested on a piece of scrap paper. I did a mix of smaller taps and larger drops. Make sure to cover up the part of the hat you don't want to splatter. It's that simple.

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Blush blooms

I didn't intend on making quite so many Valentines posts but I couldn't resist some pics of the flowers. I love flowers, so of course those make an appearance at every celebration. My guy came home with a beautiful bouquet of roses and lilies. Plus tulips as he knows me well enough to know that I love having flowers everywhere.

I decided to keep it simple. The  kids got their own personal mini bouquet. Super simple, just a small glass vase, velvet ribbon, apple leaves and a pink lollipop. Even simpler is the one sitting on the bench at the end of our bed because the soft blush on the tulips needs little. Just cascading tulips, surrounded by apple leaves in low ceramic vase. And keeping with the simple, just adding some candlelight and little pink porcelain can make even cacti romantic...

P.S. I felt a bit tulip stumped because it's my favourite winter bloom and in those instances I like cruising for inspiration and that helped me decide to go for simple over wild..

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