guest blog: last post

Well, it's Wednesday and that means Biba is back tomorrow! Which means, sadly, time for my final post as guest blogger. I really want to say thank you to Biba for allowing me the chance to try out blogging on her site - what an honour - and also to all the lovely people who have left me friendly and welcoming comments. I have really enjoyed it!

Anyway.... it's managing to be grey, wet and freezing all at the same time here so I'm guessing Biba won't be over the moon to be back (although we're all glad to have her back of course!). So I thought I'd sign off with a little something to keep the fond memories of skiing alive a little longer.

Tartiflette
(yes, it's French, but how many Italian Apres Ski dishes do you know?!)

Ingredients

50g unsalted butter, softened
175g bacon or pancetta, cut into 1cm cubes
250g sliced cup mushrooms, sliced
1kg waxy potatoes, peeled and sliced to a 3mm thickness
Salt and freshly ground pepper
250g Reblochon cheese, cubed
568ml carton double cream

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas 2. With half the butter, grease a shallow baking dish, about 25 x 30cm.
2. Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the bacon. Sauté for about 5 minutes until crisp and brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
3. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of the bacon fat. Return the pan to the heat and add the mushrooms. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Season.
4. Toss the potato slices with salt and pepper. Arrange half in a layer in the dish. Sprinkle with the bacon and mushrooms. Top with half the cheese, season again (remember the bacon is salty already). Top with the remaining potatoes. Pour enough cream over the top to just cover the potatoes - you may not need it all. Dot with the remaining butter.
5. Bake for about 1¼ hours, or until the potatoes are tender. Dot with the remaining cheese, and return to the oven until brown and bubbling (about 15 minutes). Remove from the oven, cover with foil and leave for 10-15 minutes before serving.
6. Loosen belt, sit back, relax.

Welcome home Biba!

guest blog: next big things

No, I'm not trend forecasting, but talking about the next planned (ish) purchases for our house!

A while ago I bought this beautiful 70's Uniflex desk on eBay. Its proportions make it a perfect fit for an alcove and the entire top is hinged so it actually provides masses of storage. I've been making do with a spare chair, but, after lots of eBaying, I am now ready to treat myself and buy an Eames DSW chair to go with it. Th only problem now is that, as I want an original fibreglass one, I have to be a little patient while I track one down.

(l-r: Arper leaf chair, Eames DSW, Tolix A56, Arper Catifa)

I need new kitchen chairs!! My current ones were so cheap, buying them was a no brainer at the time, but I really don't like them and they have certainly served their time. We have an oak kitchen table (Ikea Ekhard, sadly no longer available as it's a really nice shape) and oak units too, so need some white chairs to offset all the wood. Much as I'd like a whole array of DSWs, Arper leaf chairs, Bertoias etc. (and setting aside the small issue of budget...) I need the chairs to stack for practical reasons. I've got a soft spot for Tolix A56 chairs, but I think these are a bit too industrial for the space. Last night I stumbled across the beautiful Arper Catifa, which is available in solid colours or with a contrasting back, and is also available with a sleigh base. It's not cheap, but I do like to have a goal in mind when selling on eBay, so this might just have to be it!!





I do love my French Rise and Fall pendant light, (from Holloways of Ludlow) but slightly regret buying it in a coloured version rather than white. I'd love to get the lime backed Catifas and pair them with the palest grey walls, but can't see them toning with this... so will probably stick to pure white chairs for now!

(Mmm, wonder how much I could fetch on eBay for my soul... pretty clean and only one careful owner...!)

guest blog: random favourite things...

... because it's Sunday and I'm being lazy. And because, who knows, my Favourite List Twin might be out there somewhere and it would be tragic to miss an opportunity to reach out to them. So, in no particular order:


1. Book art. Check out the divine creations of Su Blackwell (responsible for The Wild Swans, shown above), or if you want to see something you might one day be able to afford, Jennifer Khoshbin, who also sells via Etsy. I'm also loving the work of Martin O'Neill, more typograhic illustrator, for different reasons; his work takes me right back to sixth form and the collages of magazine cut-outs we would use to personalise ring-binders and books - pure nostalgia.

2. Kimya Dawson. If you've seen the film Juno or listened to its soundtrack, you'll know who I'm talking about. Her voice is so sweet and her lyrics are angsty and thought-provoking. Kind of like listening to a troubled but particularly articulate 15 year old. In the nicest possible way. Her MySpace is here.

3. Joanna Newsome. While I'm on the topic of singer-songwriters.... mmmm, if a harp-playing hobbit happened to suck on a helium balloon, the result might sound a bit like this. Maybe some hallucinogenic drugs would be involved along the way. (Legal note: I am in no way implying, etc. etc.) Decide for yourself!

4. Wasabi peanuts. My latest addiction and such a lovely shade of green. And for snacky pudding, blueberry yoghurt coated raisins, also very pretty.

5. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. If you haven't read it, you really must. I've read a lot, and not much makes me laugh out loud like this did. It's really quite unlike anything I've read before or since. On the other side of the coin, William Styron's Sophie's Choice made me cry. A lot. Books don't usually make me cry. It's just a perfectly crafted story.

So... anyone want to be my twin?!

guest blog: latest house purchases

Thanks for all the lovely comments, guys! Who noticed that my last post was in two different shades of grey and that half of it wasn't justified? Or that Biba doesn't use capitals in her headings but I did?! I'm hoping to do better this time...!

So, January is always an expensive month in the HouseEnvy household. I don't know if spending lots of time at home over Christmas makes us keen to crack on with fresh projects or whether all that present shopping in December sets the mood for relaxed spending that is hard to snap out of. Either way, here's what's been draining the resources lately:

1. Victorian ladies' chair. (Sorry, terrible pic that doesn't really capture its curvaceous loveliness!) It's a chair, it fits my bottom beautifully and it's great for reading and tapping away on a laptop due to the very low arms. Did anyone grow up with parents who had their own designated chair that you would have to vacate if they wanted to sit down? Well it was very annoying at the time, but now, well this is most definitely MY chair! The aim is to find Mr HouseEnvy his own more masculine antique chair and to get them upholstered to match, in something a bit fresher (feel free to chip in with suggestions - I'm thinking a mid-toned grey?).

2. Cork on the roll. We have a long, narrow kitchen with a pretty featureless wall on one side, so the plan is to create an oversized cork board that stretches from skirting to ceiling to break it up a bit, thereby clearing all the children's pictures that are smothering the fridge and making more of a feature of them. I got the cork from a place called Charles Cantrill, it's nice and thick (6mm) and delivery was super speedy. Hopefully it will be going up today...

3. Ikea Ribba frame. Am I the last person to buy one of these frames? I bought this to house my lovely Economist advertising poster which is supposed to inspire me to write (yes, I know, the shape of the frame doesn't fit the poster - I bought an A4 one!). It will live on my desk (more on this in my next post I think) next to yet another cork board.

4. Dove with hearts and olive hanger. It was reduced as technically I think it's supposed to be a Christmas decoration, but it looks perfect hanging from my little girl's wardrobe door (also a new purchase. What can I say, she really needed a wardrobe!). It veers slightly towards tweeness for my normal taste, but I have an exemption clause for children's bedrooms and Christmas decorations so it made it through the style filters! It's from a local gift shop, made by Birchcraft.

5. Corner paper punch. OK, so not really a house purchase, and not worthy of a photo, but I love it. It transforms sharp corners on paper and card into gently rounded curves. It's slightly addictive... my free Mibo calendar has received the corner punch treatment for example and looks a lot better for it. Costs maybe £2.50 from any craft store. Oh, and if you are craftily minded, I have really been enjoying Lolly Chops' blog - you might like to take a peek.

Mmm, how are these purchases moving me towards my vision of Rose Uniacke loveliness? Not sure I have the answer to that one :-}

PS I can only apologise for the weird formatting on this post - the more I try, the harder it becomes. Bold text appears out of nowhere, text mysteriously changes font and size, spaces around pics disappear...