Wander

We hope where ever you may wander, where ever you may roam, we hope you have a joyful weekend and don't forget to eventually return home.

P. S.
The charming shoes above are from Thrush.

Fall Begins

Inspired by the beauty of the coming autumn. I have put together a little treasury on Etsy to help other wonderful shops have a chance at getting seen on the front page. If you have the time, please take a peek here, click around and leave a comment. Everything helps to get these great sellers up on to the front page. I hope you are having a great day!

Follow Your Heart

A few of our wonderful friends asked us to make a new print out of our "from the heart" card. It took us a while to get around to it with all of the other goings on in our little shop. Now it's finished and ready to fly off the page and into your heart. We wanted this print to have the same feel as the card, but bring something different and a little more special to your space. So follow your heart here if you would like to take a better look.

Tattered Petals

Some things just seem to belong together. I came across both of the photographs above this morning. They are by two different artists, yet I want them to be shown besides one another. The image of the pink magnolias goes so well with the delicately peeling paint captured by Irina Souiki. Kind of wonderful don't you think?

The trick...is to keep breathing.

Well, here it is, what do you think?
I must admit, I had fun designing this with all of the fanciful calligraphy swoops. If I was ever to finally give in, and get a tattoo it would probably look a little something like this. The thing about tattoos is that they are well, rather permanent, and I am not so sure I would want to live with anything for the rest of my life- except my darling Joseph of coarse.

I have always loved this sentiment. It is so simple, yet has applied to many moments and situations I have found myself in over the years. From keeping calm after someone really frosted my cookies, to yoga and even the time we flipped the boat while white water rafting. The trick, time and again, was to simply keep breathing.

We have added three colors and sizes to the shop if you would like to take a peek here. We hope you have a great week ahead!

New Tricks

Who ever said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

We hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend! I am currently working on some pictures of our new Farouche poster so make sure and check back tomorrow if you want to take a peek.

Late Summer

There is something special about the transitional days between seasons. As summer turns quietly into fall and life slows down a bit, it is nice to enjoy the last weeks before the leaves begin to take on there autumn hues. I am ready for a long picnic spent lounging under oak trees in the park and wouldn't mind wearing one of the darling vintage frocks above. All of these splendid vintage pieces came from the delightful shop known as Miss Farfalla. I wish you a safe and relaxing Labor Day weekend!

Plum, Pluot and Cherry Sorbet

One of the best things about summer is the abundance of fresh fruit. That being said, the worst thing about summer has to be watching fruit, at the peak of greatness, go to waste when it starts to spoil before you can eat it. Every year we make several visits to my Grandma's farm and always end up with more fruit than we can consume. This year Joe and I finally wised up and made an amazing plum, pluot and cherry sorbet... we added a little Port and honey for an extra kick. Honey is not in most sorbet recipes, but adding a touch to the simple syrup gives a delightful floral note that goes so well with the tartness of plums.

Certainly the Port is optional if you have little ones around. On the flip side, if you add too much alcohol to the mix you will end up with a tasty "happy hour" slushy... which can be just as nice even thou it will never set up in the freezer.
We discovered this by accident.


Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds of sliced plums and pluots pitted

1 cup of cherries pitted and quartered
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1/4 cup of Port wine (optional)


Simple Syrup

1 1/2 cups water and 2/3 cup of sugar and heat until the sugar is dissolved
add honey to taste

Method

1 First remove the pits from your plums and pluots and slice into blender friendly pieces. Place the sliced fruit, lemon juice, and cooled simple syrup into a blender and puree until smooth. Push the fruit puree through a fine mesh strainer to catch any large pieces of skin and discard them. You should have about 1 1/2 cups of fruit puree.

2 Mix the Port into the puree just before churning. Place the puree in an ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturer's instructions- our machine took about 25 minutes. At the last few minutes of churning add the cherry pieces so they don't get bruised. Place the sorbet in an air tight container and freeze for two hours to firm up. Enjoy!

Makes a about one quart of sorbet.

Monday Love

Today's Monday Love pick is from Scotatto in Melbourne. This super cute rabbit clutch is just one of their many eye catching leather designs, swing by their shop if you want to see more.

Albums in Motion

Hi-Fi from bante on Vimeo.

I came across this short video on grain edit this morning. It was inspired by vintage Blue Note album covers- it is so well done! Try to see how many album covers you can recognize.

How dirty girls get clean...

I just spied these adorable handmade bars of soap over at Hello Crafty. With pleasant scents like chamomile, peach and citrus there is sure to be one to fit every taste. They even make a Dirty Boy bar of soap... I wonder if they make it in industrial size?!

The Thief of Bagdad

Until last night, The Thief of Bagdad had been on our list of classic movies to watch for well over a year. Since it was filmed before talkies I must admit, I kept putting off watching it. In the past I have wasted more than a few hours of my life on other must see classics that I was told we had to watch by film buffs. Don't get me wrong, I adore old movies. I probably geek out on them more than most people, but some classics are kind of a bore. That being said, this movie was definitely a pleasant surprise!

This swashbuckling Arabian Nights adventure was filmed in 1924 by Raoul Walsh and starred Douglas Fairbanks, Julanne Johnston and the stunning Anna May Wong. All of the sets and costumes were designed in dramatic art deco style. I may even watch it again just to take another look at some of the enormous stages! Considering that this was filmed nearly a hundred years ago is testament to how truly imaginative it was- even by today's standards. I am still amazed by the flying carpet, monsters, magical rope, an undersea world complete with mermaids, and many an acrobatic trick by Mr. Fairbanks himself.

In 2008, The Thief of Bagdad was ranked as the ninth best fantasy film of all time by the American Film Institute. If you are up for a silent film give this one a try for the inventive special effects, and Fairbanks' often comical hand gestures... especially when he wants to steal something!