29 August 2010

Silence and chaos

So much going on right now...


First of all, sorry for not posting my K*itchen K*orner last friday.
But I went to the bi-annual Maison et Objets Trade show.
I was a bit disapointed this time. Nothing new under the sun (more precisely in Hall 6 -  :: there was my focus). 
Same kind of products over and over. Everyone doing pretty much what everyone else is. 
But I did enjoy the same ones from the last Maison et Objets edition :  Pied de poule Teresa Green and Margarete Hausler.
This coming week looks like it will be a very busy one too. 
I really need to make studio time my # 2 or possibly # 1 priority each week and every week (when everything else is just flowing).


Also, following the magazine published article ...will be a home decor TV show where our house will be featured and I will have to t.a.l.k. about my biz a little (I was not the most articulate speaker girl at school and I doubt that i improved over the last 15 years )...
Anyway, more later...


So among all of this "positive chaos", I am longing for silence. Exactly what a almost 8 and 4 years old little girls provide, right...!
I try to find my balance  with bits and pieces of close to silence time in my studio. Making, making and making ( well as much as possible with my hubby gone ::days are always and only 24 hours!). Pictures soon (shop update next week hopefully).


Or listening to the silence while taking care of our little veggies beds. Hoping for the sun to help our tomatoes ripen and eggplant to grow before the freezing months ahead of us.


Anyway, here is a video that inspire me  for our daily life and in my artwork also. It is not per say our K*itchen K*orner but something we find truly inspirational.




One day we will ...
... have a garden close to this (smaller though...).


We are so blessed and very much happy in our current house. We simply wish that one day we had a "real" garden (we have 2 little courtyards , therefore we grow everything in all kinds of containers). You know the "one day, we might have" kind of sentence that we all happen to say !
Our little  girls keep asking when we will get chickens. Well, not here  :: they might not enjoy very much the hard surface and total lack of grass... (even with this fun looking chicken coop?!).
And one day :: possibly goats? ( actually :: my dream!). A bunny maybe?

We would love to also have this fururistic looking bee house. 
Don't know if our close neighbours will enjoy the idea as much as we may???
It looks like it is easy-peasy... hum??


So one day,  we would love to have a bigger yard with some farm animals.


As for now they will feature in our dreams and therefore on my designs ONLY!


For now, we are enjoying what we grow on our front and back patio : lettuce, tomatoes, zucchinis, eggplants and strawberries.

Gotta start somewhere, right?


*  *   *

Tellement de choses se passent en ce moment.
La semaine derniere et celle a venir s'annonce tres occupee. Beaucoup de projets en cours ( chut!) et de travail a l'atelier en perspective.
Je mettrai a jour mes deux e-shop sans dout fin de semaine prochaine.
Apres l'article parue dans "Le magazine de la maison" numero de septembre 2010. Pas mal de contacts tres encourageants dont un reportage televise pour une belle emission de decoration. Plus de precision quand le projet aboutira. ;)


Avec tout ceci, je suis desolee, de ne pas avoir publie le rituel K*itchen K*orner la semaine derniere.
Ce fut le jour ou je suis allee ce jour la au Salon Maison et Objets. Je suis revenue un peu decue. A l'exception de deux designers (a savoir, Teresa Green  et Margarete Hausler, deux creatrices qui semblent encore realiser leurs pieces a la main, en petite serie et semble sur notre territoire), je n'ai rien vu de nouveau sous le soleil. Mais j'ai fait un passage eclair. Ceci explique sans doute cela.




A defaut d'un article "K*itchen K*orner", voici une petite video qui nous inspire a tendre de plus en plus vers cet art de vivre. En attendant un jour de la mettre en pratique,  son inspiration se retrouve dans mon travail de creatrice textile et de peintre. (voir video plus haut).


Un jour... nous aurons un plus grand jardin ...
Nous sommes  très heureux dans notre maison actuelle. Simplement un jour, nous aimerions avoir un "vrai" jardin (nous avons 2 petites cours, et cultivons nos legumes dans toutes sortes de pots). Nos deux filles nous demandent regulierement quand nous aurons des poules et des lapins ( moi, j'aimerai avoir une chevre!). Pas dans l'immediat... le manque d'herbe et d'espace leur ferait cruellement default! Meme si ce poulailler "design" est fort tentant! . Nous aimerions également avoir cette ruche au look complement futuristique .
Mais je crains que nos voisins ne voit pas le charme bucolique de notre vision de la meme facon...

Alors oui, un jour, nous aimerions avoir un plus grand espace avec un beau potager et quelques animaux de ferme. Pour le moment, ces moments de reveries sont de precieuses source d'inspiration pour mon travail de creatrice textile et d'artiste peintre.

Mi casa es su casa...



Few month ago,  I received a fantastic gift. 
A lovely journalist  ~ whom I knew and truly appreciated our house and my art ~wanted to feature our house in one of the magazines she works for. 
Mid-August, she called me to let me know that it was "out".
I can't tell you how "weird" it is to see our house and my heART in full pages! 
A mixed emotion of pride and fear to be exposed  "out there" in the "wild". 
A no turning back in the direction I started to take  many years ago and especially one year ago after deciding to launch my own brand "Un lieu sur terre".
I feel really grateful.
So here it is my friends :: mi casa is su casa for a moment in time. 
Enjoy !
*
*   *


Il y a quelques mois j'ai recu un merveilleux cadeau. Une amie journaliste me dit qu'elle aimerait beaucoup faire un reportage sur notre maison et mon travail d'artiste. 
Le reportage est paru mi-Aout dans le numero de Septembre 2010 du magazine "Le journal de la Maison". 
Nous en sommes toute chose a la maison! 
Les filles de voir "leur" maison en grand dans un magazine et moi de voir mon travail artistique et ma marque "Un lieu sur terre " expose dans un magazine de decoration. 


Un grand merci a mon amie journaliste et a toutes les personnes qui depuis la parution de l'article m'ont manifeste leur interet et leur soutien.








The behind the scene



26 August 2010

I said JAM

 A new Friday ritual around our passion for "grown you own produce" 
or at least local, in season and organic. 
Some photos  around what happened 
in our kitchen & little garden 
this week 
a recipe to share.

If you are inspired to do the same, 
please leave me a Love Note 
with a link back to your own *K*itchen *K*orner.

Wishing you a "bountiful" week-end!




We are officially "back" home after a lot of coming and going to see friends and family over the summer. 
And so this time there will be FEW words...







Last week we were up in Les Alps in Megeve and I was enjoying a lovely time "by myself" in one of my favorite place to relax and eat simple and yet really good food :: La Laiterie Gaiddon.
It is one of the best Cheese Shop (you have to try the "Fontainebleau") in town and the decor is cozy, stylish but still "simple".It provides completely organic and local farmers.


I had a lovely simple meal with a fantastic jam made by Isabella (whom it turned out I knew in person :: small world...)


So here you are!


 This jam recipe is so delicious with goat cheese.




ZUCCHINI, BELL PEPPER AND CARDAMON JAM

For  3 medium sized jars.
Use organic ingredients when possible.

Prep time :: 20 minutes
Maceration time : 2 hours
Cooking :: 30 to 40 minutes

Ingredients:
500 g (one pound) of zucchinis 
200g bell peppers 
1 lemon juice
600 g of sugar cane
4 g cardamon seeds
2 g agar agar
30 g pine nuts


Wash and cut bell pepper and zucchinis cut into small cubes. Add lemon juice, sugar and cardamon. Let it marinate for 2 hours room at temperature.

Put in a saucepan and cook it for 30 minutes. 
Try not to over cook. 
Mid-cooking time add pine nuts and agar agar.



*
*     *

En francais c'est par ici !











21 August 2010

Berry Much


 A new Friday ritual around our passion for "grown you own produce" 
or at least local, in season and organic. 
Some photos  around what happened 
in our kitchen & little garden 
this week 
a recipe to share.

If you are inspired to do the same, 
please leave me a Love Note 
with a link back to your own *K*itchen *K*orner.

Wishing you a "bountiful" week-end!





FRESHLY PICKED BERRY SHERBET


Those are the berries that we gathered on our hike the other day.
Almost one kilo!
So in the freezer they go...

Gathered the berries (now frozen...) 
{Please follow !}
80 g of powder sugar
1 egg white

And right into our "Mary Poppins"
[Thermomix, that is to say]
For one minute and 30 seconds 
in the "Merry go round"

One more time, no time to take photo
Everyone enjoyed it "presto"...

(so here you go...
photo : courtesy via  Mingoumango)





My guest "photographer"


This is Alana, 7 and half years old.
Chocolate lover, can't you tell ?

Recently she discovered that she loves taking pictures.
So here is what I found on my camera...
I simply transformed her pictures into Polaroids...

Chocolate lover & nature inspired.






[my work in progress...]

12 August 2010

Un-plugged

I am officially Un-plugged *...
No internet connection where we rent...
So it is quite tricky to post on a regular basis...
I am posting this quick one from a wi-fi spot.
I will come back later to post my new Friday ritual "K*itchen K*orner", if it works...

Until then, please forgive me for being silent for the moment!

* It is  also true for  Facebook & Twitter

06 August 2010

*K*itchen *K*orner

 A new Friday ritual around our passion for "grown you own produce" 
or at least local, in season and organic. 
Some photos  around what happened 
in our kitchen & little garden 
this week 
a recipe to share.

If you are inspired to do the same, 
please leave me a Love Note 
with a link back to your own *K*itchen *K*orner.

Wishing you a "bountiful" week-end!


* * *


RECIPE FROM JEANNETTE

Peach, Basil & Escarole Pizza
your favorite pizza dough (homemade or fresh from a bakery/market)
2 T cornmeal
2 T olive oil
1/4-1/2 head of escarole, torn to bits
1 large handful of basil, torn to bits
2 peaches, cut into slices
flaky salt & freshly ground pepper
1/2 c mozzarella, cut into small chunks

Preheat oven to 425F. After your pizza dough has risen, use 1 tablespoon of olive oil to grease up a walled cookie sheet. I use my hands for this. 
Sprinkle sheet with cornmeal 
and then push out or roll out your pizza dough until it spreads to all 4 corners.

Evenly scatter escarole, basil and peaches over the top of the dough. 
Sprinkle with salt and a few good hefty grinds of black pepper. 
Add mozzarella over top and gently spill the remaining olive oil over top. 
Place in oven and heat for about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese gets bubbly and the crust becomes golden. Slice and eat hot.


  
PS : {we did not have time to take a picture of our pizza : it got gobbled up too fast...}

04 August 2010

R[n]esting

photo credit from Droog

We just came home last night. It feels a bit weird when being gone for so long to make your house your home again. Especially when staring at a sea of suitcases, some opened and slightly spilled over the floor in search of " the perfect T.shirt, maybe some socks , " that would be called for that night "my pyjama", since the original one could not be found anywhere in those 4 suitcases and theirs mini-me versions better know as catch'all bags...
I feel like screaming when seeing our house half buried under piles of clothes, books, you name it.

Being 9 hours jet lagged ( yes, that is a lot), Miss Tessa decided that her sleep was over by one in the morning... So i took a wave and surf the net, while my 4 years old fully awake between 1 am and 3 am played quietly near by me... In her own mind she wanted to play WITH me , -but honestly  between you and me-, at 1 in the morning playing  was really not on my list... Sorry, sweet pea!

Well, I did not play but i did read to her. After reading few book about nature and change of seasons, that brought me back an earlier discussion that I had today (mind you : probably your yesterday...!) with my 7 years old asking me when we would knit again because she has some project for me (oh really ?!). It is true that we are already in August and maybe we should get those needles OUT and PLAY with some yarn !
  
But the HOUSE first need to look like our HOME until I can create anything. 

Home = house + putting away + cleaning baking 

We need to bake some bread, cookies or brownies and make some yogurts! 

In a nutshell, or more accurately in a nest kinda way  : make it "homy" again after being gone for quite long!