It's been rather quiet over here, because I've been working on a new layout on my own website. It's still a lot like this place, but fresher and upgraded. All previous posts and comments have moved already, but I'm tinkering with a few details every now and then.
So if you've been with me for a while, or if you just found me, please click here for latest posts and updates on my creative process and occasional musings.
A new post about spring feelings and flowery fabrics is already waiting for you.Thank you for having accompanied me thus far. I hope you'll feel welcome on my new site.
Much Love, Mina
Another gray Sunday. I slept until noon and spent most of the time watching movies or getting lost in the big black hole known as the world wide web. I am rather talented in bringing my browser to its virtual knees by opening multiple tabs without any mercy. However, this peculiar habit seems to reflect the state I am in most of the times - too many things to do, and the unwavering will to conquer them all at once.
Luckily I did manage to get something done last week, besides my mouthwatering pancakes for breakfast of course. I needed to take some pictures of my wrist warmers, and U. has been a wonderfully patient and pleasant model to get these done on a sunny afternoon last week. Only a few more bits and pieces and they can finally go into my shop, whose opening seems long overdue. But I wanted a few scarfs and cowls to accompany them, before it's all set and ready for your browsing eyes. Soon, soon!
It's a gray morning, but I made pancakes for breakfast to get into a sunny mood. With bananas and maple syrup. I'd love to share (I made too many..).
How do you start your day when it's sulky outside?
Thanks to all of you who entered my giveaway. I am so glad you were fond of the wrist warmers up for grabs. Congratulations to the lucky winner, commenter number 13, the lovely lady from studio meez (which you should definitely check out, for she makes wonderful things). Please contact me with your address and I'll send your gift as soon as possible!
For all of you who didn't win this time, don't worry! I will be hosting more of these giveaways in the future. And there's always the handmade gift swap, which you could take part in. The autumn swap has been so well received, and the good thing is; everyone involved gets a present! I am eagerly planning it for this summer.
This book by Molly Wizenberg has finally caught my attention. Apparently she's already been famous around the culinary blogosphere for a while now, and for some reason the contagious enthusiasm about her story and recipes had not reached me, until "A Homemade Life" was given to me by my brother and sister in law (thank you!).
I had to warm up to her style of writing over a couple of pages, but now I'm all in. Her description of the perfect french toast was already rather tempting, and she finally convinced me to swing my wooden spoon with her recipe of banana bread. Apart from the crystallized ginger, which is a little difficult to find around here (but was easy to make from scratch and gave me the "I did it all by myself" satisfactory feeling), it was all mixed together with little effort. And I didn't even need a mixer. Call me oldschool, but I love to bake cakes the traditional way and adore recipes that work without electrical equipment (apart from the stove, naturally). Plus, it's a nice workout for your biceps.
Molly's instructions are easy to follow, and something I am very fond of is the lack of pictures in her book. You won't be so caught up in your eagerness trying to achieve the same result as shown in professionally taken pictures of carefully arranged dishes. You'll just want to get started, and mess around in the kitchen.
"These days, I bake banana bread all the time, and I usually do it as Glenn did, with chocolate and ginger. It's homey but a little sophisticated, and it's almost impossible to stop eating. The flavours of banana and chocolate get along so well, and ginger makes them even better, cutting through their richness with its spicy heat. It's the kind of thing that begs to be cut into big, melty slices while the loaf is still hot."
Right she is.
PS: Don't forget to enter my giveaway, it's up until tomorrow!
