Happy Easter From My Home To Yours!

My blog is brand new but in just a few weeks I have received tremendous response and a majority of readers keep coming back. Thank you so much for your support, I am immensely grateful. I will continue to work very hard on bringing you inspiration & information from all corners of the world.

I saw these adorable felt eggs by Jill Cline Fiber Arts in the magazine Country Living and of course they got me hopping. I immediately ordered wool roving from Ebay in all kinds of lovely colors. There is a lot of good information on the internet on how to create felt eggs like these. (Involving wool, styrofoam eggs, hosiery(!) and soap & water).

My friend Stacy who lives in a lovely home but for some reason thinks she has no space for Easter branches, will just have to get involved in this the project with me, roll up her sleeves and admit that for these darlings you make space!

Photo credits: Blomsterfrämjandet  (flowers) and Stine Heilman (felted eggs)

There are so many fantastic, hip and fun restaurants in Stockholm, it will makes my head spin. Stockholm is undoubtedly a hot spot for contemporary and really good food.

But the one I think of as “my restaurant”, year after year, is PA&Co. A small, cozy Swedish bistro with a HUGE reputation. PA&Co serves modern takes on traditional Swedish dishes.

Every time I go back to visit my home town I will make sure to pay PA&Co a visit. They never ever let me down.  The people watching is good too. Many famous faces here!

In 2007 PA & Co came out with its greatly anticipated cook book. It became a instant success and was awarded the Grand Prize of “Best All Categories” for Meal Literature of The Year by The Swedish Meal Academy. I am definitely picking up a copy on my next visit to Sweden (so far only written in Swedish).

The jury’s motivation:

”After having built its popularity on continuity for more than 20 years, PA&Co is a classic restaurant which has fine-tuned its unique cuisine of powerful flavors, gusto and elegance. This beautiful book sums up the dining room’s cultural spawning ground and the kitchen’s bold crossing of Swedish home cooking, The Mediterranean and Asia in the straightforward, no-nonsense manner which has become the restaurant’s signature.”

Yes, this genius product has received a lot of attention in magazines and on blogs for quite some time but I still think it is worth mentioning because it is current, fun, functional and so brilliant!

I would say that especially here in the US (don’t ask me why), most homes come with a variety of standard electrical candle light fixtures such as chandeliers and sconces. Not only does it feel the same old same old, same old everywhere but the artificial “candles” themselves look so dull.

The Seattle based company, KaarsKoker, came up with a clever solution by designing a whole line of vibrant and sophisticated candle sleeves to be put on top of the existing sockets. Instantly your light fixture has a more personal look that takes it from “so yesterday” to “so today”.

The price for a pair range from $10-$20.

When our two cats start to shed fur and I begin to crave new pillows – then I know spring has arrived! The season of renewal!

Pillows & Throws always have a great and large selection of lovely pillows – for an easy an instant design fix. Here are just a few that caught my attention. (I have a pair of Thomas Paul’s Coral pillows myself, in an orange/rust shade. I love everything about them and I am tempted to try them in a different color).

First row from the left: Anis Pillow from Bliss Living, 18″x18″, $75, Concentric – Mother and Child - from Jonathan Adler, 16″x16″, $98, Palm Beach Pillow from Jonathan Adler, 16″x16″, $110.

Second row from the left: Broderie Beet from Thomas Paul, 22″x22″, $100, Coral from Thomas Paul, 22″x22″, $100, Greyhound from Thomas Paul, 18″x18″, $94.

Third row from the left: Reef Grass from Thomas Paul, 22″x22″, $100, Seahorse from Thomas Paul, 18″x18″, $100, Duet from Judy Ross, 18″x18″, $190.

Fourth row from the left: Kambuki from Thomas Paul, 22″x22″, $100, Jungle Flower from Sotto Le Lune, 20″x20″, $116, Coptic from Koko Company, 26″x26″, $116.

I really like the cover of the April/May issue of Western Interiors. Featured is the entry hall of a wonderful house in Houston decorated by the talented C. Renea Abbott.

But what really got me hopping is the interesting art piece on the wall. The 1960s artwork by Al Held is in such stark contrast to the antique settee. l like it! Nothing else is needed in that space. Less is clearly more.

Al Held (1928-2005) was an American abstract expressionist painter. He was particularly well known for his large scale hard-edge paintings.

I particularly like his black and white pieces from the late 60s.

Here is a most recent sale at Christie’s of one of his 1960′ pieces. See here: Christie’s.

Until I can find and afford the real deal – well, maybe I just need to be creative and make something along that line myself. I have always loved the 2 frame effect. Lovely!

Photo: Roger Davies