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Map Wall Art Inspiration

April 28, 2011 by Renee Claire

I’ve posted before on certain dream house must-haves (see: bookshelves, hidden gardens). Another item for the list is “maps as wall art.” Below are some of my favorite map decor images, including one from my house. I hope these will inspire you too!

Wall Map Inspiration

Design*Sponge featured this cute D.I.Y. cork map project by Halligan Norris.

Wall Map Inspiration

A beautiful map in Lonny Mag. The apartment belongs to designer Lynn Nigro and the map comes from Côté Jardin Antiques {via This is Glamorous}.

Wall Map Inspiration

Repro antique map of Amsterdam, from my house.

Wall Map Inspiration

Image from Steph Davlantes’ studio (I love the idea of a map collage wall, and that Oceans print is gorgeous).

Wall Map Inspiration

Design*Sponge featured photographer Jess Loraas’ place, which has this custom Paris map (print done by Rollout).

Wall Map Inspiration

A giant reproduction antique map of Paris from Restoration Hardware.

Wall Map Inspiration

I love this image, but can’t find the original source, even with TinEye. Please leave a comment if you know who to credit {found here, via pinterest}.

Oh Happy Day turned me on to this huge National Geographic world map, a bargain at $100. The National Geographic map store has many great choices, as well. Below is an “action shot” of the map, via Honestly, WTF.

A great idea from Better Homes & Gardens. I’m not sure where I found this first, but the first time I saw a credit for it was on Say Yes to Hoboken.

At $150, the Hammacher Schlemmer World’s Largest Write On World Map is another budget-friendly option. The bright colors make it popular for kids’ rooms; above, the map in a gym/office featured in New York Magazine {via swissmiss}, and on the cover of Room for Children {via Babble}.

A romantic image from Alice Lane (featuring their Margaret bed), photo by Nicole Hill Gerulat.

Finally, a map triptych featured on Ballard Designs (product photo no longer on site).

Want more inspiration? Check out this map of Africa; these maps used as blinds; an Elle Decor map store round-up {via Babble}; this children’s map wallpaper; and this room with map-wrapped rafters.

O.O.P. Wonders: Château Cuisine by Anne Willan

March 23, 2011 by Renee Claire

Here’s a new series for Book Wednesday: O.O.P. Wonders, featuring cool books currently out-of-print. I’ve posted out-of-print favorites before; this just makes it official. First up is a childhood favorite, Château Cuisine:

The book, a mix of coffee table travel book and cookbook, is by Anne Willan, the founder of the renowned La Varenne cooking school. Willan’s a fascinating figure in her own right, a somewhat less-heralded, British Julia Child. For many years, she ran her cooking school from the Château du Fey in Burgundy; that building is included here, along with 33 other châteaux from all over France.

As a child, I remember marveling at this book’s fairy tale architecture, country landscapes, and slightly bizarre French country dishes. Chicken in cider jelly? Pan-roasted wood cock? Tarragon liquer?! I could only dream of what these things tasted like, and in my dreams they were spasm-inducing delicious.

The book has held up well over the years (it was published in 1993, making it an unbelievable 18 years old), although the photos by Christopher Baker have a rich, pre-digital quality:

I have never tried the recipes, having always found them intimidating. Looking at them as an adult, however, the difficulty level seems on par with Julia Child’s recipes, i.e., more labor-intensive than your usual week-night dinner, but not French Laundry impossible. The dishes are very traditional French:

Seriously swoon-worthy, right? I’ll give one of the recipes a go soon, and update here when I do. Used copies of Château Cuisine can be purchased at Amazon; also see Anne Willan’s website for more on her books.

Hidden Green Spaces & Walled Gardens

January 28, 2011 by Renee Claire

{via the new domestic}

Last year, I posted on my biggest apartment must-have, bookshelves. A close second on the do-want list, though, is a miniature walled garden.

My personal ideal garden is this one, from a rental house we stayed at in La Bastidonne (Vaucluse/Provence):

From the front door to the front gate.

Definitely prefer the overgrown look to manicured lawns and shrubbery. It wasn’t deliberate here, though–the neighbor’s son could only tend the garden a few hours each week.

Outdoor parties are the best. Faces blurred to protect the innocent (except for my little brother, Rodrigo, who is not innocent and whose expression in this photo cracks me up).

A final one of Rodrigo, at the small table near the gate. I liked that this garden had several distinct sitting areas to break up the space.

Below the cut are more garden inspiration images. They’re taken from late night Tumblr/Pinterest raids, and therefore missing some attributions. Please comment if you know the missing credits:

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Anatomy of a Christmas Party #3: Gingerbread Cookies

December 23, 2010 by Renee Claire

From left to right: Target 8-piece cookie cutter set, $6.99; Betty Crocker decorating tips, gingerbread cookie mix (with egg + butter), & white, green, & red icing; grocery-store-brand red hots & sprinkles.

Decorating gingerbread cookies is awesome, but making gingerbread cookies? Not so much. Year after year, I'd follow recipes to the letter, only to pull out a pan of hard, over-spiced sadness. So this year I just used Betty Crocker everything (plus cheap Kroger "decors"), and the result was a hit.

Pre-bake image. Love these cookie cutters!

I was extra impressed with the Betty Crocker gingerbread cookie mix. The cookies did taste like they came from a mix, but only slightly. The balance of spices and chewy texture were excellent, and best of all, it was easy. I know there's been a backlash against "easy way out" cooking, but sometimes a girl just wants to throw a party.

Tragically, these were all decorated by adults.

Jane Asher’s Fancy Dress

November 22, 2010 by Renee Claire

Janeasher2

An incredibly rich-looking costume made from old curtains & cardboard. Much of the decoration is gold spray-painted pasta (bow-ties & wheels), fruit gummies, and paper doilies. And yes, I meant to post this for Halloween and here it is, almost Thanksgiving. Sigh.

Jane Asher’s Fancy Dress was a childhood favorite. Every trip to the local library, I’d end up pulling it off the shelf, marvelling at the costumes and dreaming of the day I’d be tall and beautiful enough to dress like an elegant palm tree (below).

Janeasher5

Click for slightly larger image.

So I had mixed feelings when I rediscovered it through a post on Awful Library Books, a blog that mocks old & awful library weeders. On the one hand, it was like rediscovering an old friend; on the other hand, said friend was being pelted with eggs. Further Googling yielded another derisive article, this one from The Daily Mail titled “What were they thinking?” (the “they” refers to the book’s many British celebrity models, including Joanna Lumley and Terry Jones).

I decided to post in praise of the book, then, for balance. Because I still think it’s brilliant. Asher does amazing things with cheap materials and straightforward construction tips, and better an elegant palm tree than another slutty nurse. Some favorite costumes below the cut.

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