Cool English Digs

"During the last 280 years families and workers have added the layers of their lives to the fabric of the house..."

This circa early 1800s merchant house is located at 4 Princelet Street Spitalfields London EI and is available to rent for photo shoots, films or private functions. Anyone want to throw a great party? How much fun would it be to have a cocktail party or grown-up sleep over in this amazing space?

Want to see more? You can see more photos or take a virtual tour of the house

Spring, Spring Green and the 64 Pack

Spring is sprung. Well it's starting to feel that way, even if the official first day is still 15 days away. The daffodils are starting to come up and the buds are visible on the trees, so before we know it the world will be green again. Not the full green of summer but the acid yellow green of spring. Part of what is so wonderful about spring, is the return of vivid colors. Thinking about how to describe the color of spring lead me in a completely unexpected direction, suddenly I was thinking about my Crayola 64 Pack.

Spring Green was one of my favorite Crayola colors along with Sky Blue and Periwinkle. I loved Periwinkle because of the way the name sounded and its grey blue color. But the Sky Blue and Spring Green crayons were my absolute favorites, so bright and cheerful. Sadly, they were also always the first to need the built-in sharpener. The sharpener was a good idea but it never quite worked the way I wanted it to. I always wished it could put a perfect new top on my crayons. I think I would have used my 64 crayons more freely if part of me didn’t want to keep them in mint condition.

The images above are from Google image searches using the color names Sky Blue, Spring Green and Periwinkle Blue. Clearly Google and Crayola are on different pages when it comes to Periwinkle Blue. That's not my Periwinkle Blue. Do you remember what your favorite Crayola colors were? Here's a cool chart to jog your memory, unless maybe like me, you still have a 64 Different Brilliant Colors safely tucked away.

Art or Not Art

Ever been at a museum or gallery with a friend, who is less than sympathetic towards art, and suffered through the "You call that art!" spiel? Suffer no more. All you need is your iPhone and the "Is This Art?" app to answer the question and hopefully quiet the budding art critic.

The Mattress Factory and Deeplocal joined forces to create this not-so-serious art meter that will pass judgment on the object of your choice. Just point, shoot and end of argument. You may not always be happy with the answer, but it beats hearing how someone's aunt or cat could make better art. You can visit the "Is This Art?" website to see what others have put to the test.

Tokyo Glow

I liked that when I first watched this stop motion short film that I had no clue it was promoting a shoe brand. Tokyo Glow was produced by Citizen Jones and Industry Films and directed by Johnathan Bensimon for The Generic Man. One could question the wisdom of a promotion that doesn't hit you over the head with branding let alone even mention the brand except in tiny line in the credits. It does however seem appropriate for a company like The Generic Man which in it's own words is making shoes for the man who "doesn’t need branding and logos to make him feel confident or stylish." You'll see they take the "no branding" pretty seriously if you visit their website.

And yes as the end of the film hints they also make shoes for women.

Tony Fitzpatrick's Tokyo Series

Every time I see a new series of Tony Fitzpatrick's work I wish I had the funds to be a true collector of art. I am the proud owner of one of his prints "Flowers of Chance" thanks to my friend Susie, a master printer, who found the print at an art fair for an affordable price. She called, I ran to the bank. I say affordable, but I was eating spaghetti in for quite a while after proudly taking it home.

It's one of those rare indulgences that has never resulted in buyer's remorse. Sadly for me, Mr. Fitzpatrick's collage drawings are way out of my price range. So I will be admiring his Tokyo Series from a far and taking comfort in the fact that it is nice to see an artist I admire getting his due.

Top: Ueno Park Red Bird
Bottom: Girl of the Falling Planets

Visit the artist's blog No. 9 to see more of his works.

Lazy Days and Portents

The morning started with our little herd of deer stopping by to see if we had any Indian corn for them. The snow has been on and off as has the sun. The sky has been particularly beautiful in it's moodiness today. I took a nice walk in the woods but felt a bit intrusive with the birds making warning calls. I don't blame them for wanting this snow covered space all to themselves.

Back inside, I caught a glimpse of a squirrel trying to carry a whole ear of corn away by himself. It made emptying the dishwasher more amusing. All in all it's a very lazy day. I should be trying to get more done but despite the lack of tangible accomplishments there is an auspicious air to the day. The cactus has been in bloom again. I've had it for years and had no idea it could flower. The first time it sent off flowers was when I was pregnant with my daughter. So I have this sneaking feeling that the small yellow flowers are a sign something good is on the horizon. Do you believe in portents?

What's Your Fortune Cookie?

Today as I was continuing to clear clutter, I found a fortune cookie from a semi-recent Chinese take out and decided to open it before tossing it out. I knew of course if the fortune was good, I would have to eat it. Thank goodness for the plastic wrapper which kept it relatively crisp. So what was the fortune that forced me to eat the somewhat elderly fortune cookie? "Action is worry's worst enemy". That may not seem as wonderful as getting "You will come into a large sum of money" but it was the right message for me today. So I set aside my worry and just did as much as I could.

If you'd rather create your own fortune then take your chances with your local Chinese restaurant, visit The Brassy Apple and follow the clever tutorial for the fabric fortune cookie pictured above.

Happy Mardi Gras in the Year of the Tiger, Mr. President

I felt a bit pulled in all directions by the confluence of holidays this past week. Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, President's Day and Mardi Gras have me whirling in a strange mix of holiday imagery and on a bit of a sugar high. I certainly feel like I have made the most of Fat Tuesday and had my fill of chocolates, cookies and King's Cake. I'm actually looking forward to Lent.

I have yet to decide what to give up for Lent. I'm considering trying to do something healthy or creative instead for the next forty six days but feel a bit too time constrained lately to make the commitment. Oddly, the thought of giving up butter or shopping or soda seems easier than making sure I take a daily vitamin for the next month and a half. I guess that means I'm going to have to go the self denial route.

Trunk Space

I love that this wooden trunk by The Hansen Family provides the perfect solution for those of us who are too lazy to put our clothing away on hangers. Not to mention the built in play on the word trunk. Added benefit, the clean profile of the closed trunk nicely disguises any potential jumble stored within.

In to The Woods