Christmas in New York

I'm a liar, I know, but at least if I'm going to break promises it's bad promises, like not writing until the New Year.

We just got back from New York, where we spent a fun Christmas with family, and then drove back valiantly through the blizzard. Adventures. Here are some highlights from the trip...

We started up by finding the family near Rockefeller Center, tourist central, but beautiful in its Christmas glory. In fact, the whole city was be-decked and it looked gorgeous... and only in New York do you see Camels on the pavement! I can only imagine how those same places look now, with all that snow.









Spending time with family on Christmas day was priceless (sorry again, Mom and Dad, for the 4am phone call... wasn't my idea!) and wonderful. We had an unusual Christmas dinner of pasta at Ristorante Amarone, which was delicious and we will definitely be going back.We managed to squeeze in a visit to Schiller's Liquor Bar on Boxing Day for brunch, and watched the first few flurries begin to fall. We decided on Schiller's after seeing this post on Remodelista, and it was so much fun! Here's a sneak peek at Schiller's. (If you click on the pics for a closer look, you'll see the snow, which would only get much, much more obvious as the day wore on.)







And then, once we'd met up at Grand Central Station with a friend who'd be travelling back to Boston with us, we jumped on the train to head to Connecticut, where we'd change to the car and go, single file, back to Massachusetts.



This last pic is from that wonderful blog, 66 Square Feet, where Vincent got pics of the city after the storm. Boston doesn't look much better.

Merry Christmas

Well, folks, Christmas is nearly here. The time to reflect, spend time with family and just take a deep breath is here. One of my favourite times of year... and I'd like to share with you a new favourite blog of mine, everything in between, by my lovely new friend Hayley. Her Christmas decor got me so inspired and I'm sure you'll love it too.







I love Hayley's baobab Christmas tree! Reminds me of my own metal African Christmas tree, stored away in South Africa... I'm thinking I need to bring it back next time I'm home!

Here are some pics from my neck of the woods, in Boston... today it is finally snowing. Not much more than a few inches, the weathermen are promising, but it's good because it finally feels like Christmas. I've become quite accustomed to what Christmas "feels like" in South Africa, and how it feels in Boston. We are definitely getting that feeling!







I find it so amusing to see the similarities and the differences in our photos. Its so funny how dark my pics are. Gotta love northern hemisphere winters!

Merry Christmas everyone! See you in the new year!

Hiatus

Its been a long year. This week is Thanksgiving, and I have a lot to be thankful for. So I'm going to take some time to enjoy the holidays, as they're so much fun here in Boston. And next year I'll start back here again. Hopefully refreshed and renewed.

All the best of the season to you, and yours. See you soon!

Let's Travel Again

A million years ago, you know, when this blog started, I liked to go travelling on Fridays (remember Londolozi? Or Mozambique?! And Pemba Beach Sanctuary?). Its something I think we should do again. We can indulge our Friday-is-here-and-I-want-to-run-away feeling! I was reminded of these recently, when I went over to that lovely blog, greige, and saw the Oyster Box Hotel.









Gosh, looking at that last pic, I can actually taste the salty air!



Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! And to my American friends, Happy Halloweeeen! I'm going to be Morticia Addams at a party tonight. Who/what are you going to be?

(Fantastic last image from here)

Afro Modern Meets Kate Spade

Wow, this pic could definitely have fit into the animal hide decor posts I did a while back. I love, love, love seeing African elements used in a modern, kick-ass way.



This is the living room of Deb Lloyd, the art director of Kate Spade. So chic!

You can see more pics of the living room over at the Neo-Trad, and more of the photographer, Nick Brandt, in a previous post I've written on his work.

Kamersvol Geskenke

This Wednesday Kamersvol Geskenke is starting again. Five days of glorious inspiration; a showcase of South African handiwork and craftsmanship.

For my non-Afrikaans speaking readers, the name means "Rooms Full of Gifts". It's where artists, crafters, foodies, interiors junkies and others get together. I so, so, so wish I could make the trip to Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West (there is also now a smaller version in Pretoria this year) to participate. Sigh.

Here are some pics from their gallery for us to get into the spirit.

















And some of my favourite bloggers will be there: the Wren, Skinny Laminx and Jezze. You can read more about their trips from last year if you click on their names.





(last two images from the Wren, and Skinny Laminx)

While I'm Away

Due to a couple of big projects that have come my way, I've been distracted. While I'm gone, there is a fun new blog for you to check out: Elle South Africa has got online!



With a fun header by Ms Skinny laMinx, its off to a stylish start. You can read more about Elle staffers, what they're up to and up-to-the-minute trends... plus the Elle Senior Fashion Editor's name is Kirsty, just like mine, so we're in good hands! Right not there's posting on Paris fashion week, snippets from upcoming issues and some new fashion items to die for!





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See you soon! xoxo

A Graphic Heritage

To top off this week's heritage-inspired posts, I'll share with you something that came my way via The Daily Heller (and its not furniture-related, promise). What a surprise last week to Anti-Apartheid posters staring out at me from my work email.







All of these are by British-born artist, David King, who was art editor of the Color Magazine at the London Sunday Times, and also a producer of political posters and graphics in the late 70s and early 80s. You can see (and buy) some of his collection in Cleveland, at Productive Arts. You can read more about it on Steven Heller's blog.

Scandi Style in Africa

In keeping with this week's heritage theme, here are some SA boys celebrating their Scandinavian heritage in the African context surrounding them. And, of course, the combo is pretty cool.

Pedersen + Lennard (I'm not sure what their first names are... hmmm...) create everything from lamps to seating from things found lying around (chicly photographed alongside South Africa's ever-present but fashion's very current, velskoene).

How about a light created with buckets...



Or seating made from buckets?



Here's a great way to turn heritage on its head! Putting a lovely cushy pillow on what many of us have placed our behinds on at some point, the good old crate.



I also love the grid table and the Mugabe lamp (I'd like to hear the story behind that name)....





And the last thing I am going to show you is how beautiful a simple thing like a towel peg can be. *Sigh*. I love it when design does good.



You can read more, and see more of their lovely wares on their website.

Heritage

In honour of the wonderful Heritage Day that South Africans are so lucky to celebrate (and we all say... YUM!) this week I'll have some posts based on heritage. I seem to be a bit late with my celebrations because the actual holiday was last Friday, and we only had our little lekker* braai yesterday, it is always better late than never.

First off I'd like to introduce you to (if you are not already acquainted) to James B Hannah.




James wields his welding tools to create some pretty impressive steel sculptures (I love the red girl and could definitely see her gracing one of the walls of my home).





Besides the beauty of the sculptures, James also creates some practical furniture.



My favourites are his braai chairs and tables. I think its only fitting that this set goes with this post, not only because its about heritage day but because I grew up with the original braai chair and table this draws inspiration from (as did many South Africans). I love how he's reinvented them on modern lines.





If you'd liked to see more, you can visit James' website, JHB Design.

*SA slang for delicious, good, cool, etc.