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in the garden - glasgow

29 Jun 2011

It's been an interesting day or two. On Sunday my laptop came down with a catastrophic bug which disabled it. Instead of shopping or sightseeing in London, I spent most of the day at the Apple store at Covent Garden. The laptop is operating but I only have intermittent access to the part that runs photoshop. I managed to prepare and upload these images last night, so I have a few blog posts from Scotland for you, but after that????




These photos are from my friend Kay's beautiful garden, which I took during my very brief stay in Glasgow.



It was a grey day but that just makes the colours so much more vibrant.



Kay doesn't grows thistles in her garden, I just threw this one in because I was in Scotland after all! 

Fingers crossed, next post will be from Edinburgh,

so until then, 

Jillian
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shopping in amsterdam

27 Jun 2011

As you know, I love to shoot shops and I wanted to shoot shops in Amsterdam but where to go and what to see? I had Pia's book for guidance and Desiree's guide to help me out.

One of the first places I visited was the Noordermarkt flea market and as the weather was so dreary on the Saturday I decided to revisit the area a few days later.




I loved the vintage china and if I'd had more time and wasn't travelling for another 4 weeks with a backpack, I'd have slipped a few pieces into my luggage.



Directly across the street from the flea market is the Cafe Winkel. I watched in awe as they served the largest slices of apple tart with cream I'd ever seen. I was on my own and I thought eating a piece solo was a bit too much like gluttony but I was tempted.




I found these gorgeous little splashes of colour outside the market and Pompon, a lovely flower shop.



I really liked this store and if it were in Sydney rather than Amsterdam, I'd be a regular visitor.



De Weldaad had an eclectic mix of rustic and industrial wares along side decorative pieces.



Isn't that dresser the most amazing shade of green?



Just in case you were wondering, I did stray from the Jordaan but the weather was so wet I decided against taking photos. I really liked Utrechtsestraat but I was struggling to hold onto my umbrella that day let alone wrangle my camera. Look what I found in my travels though - Holly's window display for her book, Decorate. Unfortunately I'd left Amsterdam before the book signing took place.



Here's another favourite store, the Sissy Boy store in KNSM Laan.


Sissy Boy is a bit of everything - clothes shop/home wares and a cafe. The store had the most amazing chandeliers and I'm a sucker for a good chandelier. I have a blank green wall in my kitchen and a few of those copper letters would have been just perfect. I did buy a few bits and pieces, but even I couldn't have squeezed the letters into my pack.

That's the last of my posts from Amsterdam. I hoped you enjoyed my little shopping spree. I'm having major laptop dramas, so I'm not quite sure when I'll be seeing you all again but when I do, it will be with lots more images, fingers crossed.

 

Jillian
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another postcard from amsterdam

23 Jun 2011

I'm conferencing at the moment so I haven't had much time to get to my laptop. I spent all yesterday cooped up in an auditorium and spent most of today doing the same thing. I can't believe that I've only one more day left in Amsterdam.

Do you want to see some of the places I visited during the weekend?




I picked up an I-Amsterdam card on Sunday and raced around to as many museums as I could. It also happened to be the weekend of The Open Garden Day so I managed to see a few of the secret gardens as well.



The Museum van Loon, FOAM and the Museum Geelvinck are all in the same street.


From there, I walked to the Portuguese Synagogue, trying to avoid being run over by one of the many cyclists. Pedestrians don't appear to have any right of way in Amsterdam.



I found the synagogue covered in scaffolding due to renovations. It's a remarkably austere yet beautiful building lit by candles.




Just a short walk from the synagogue is the Hortus Botanicus, the Botanical Gardens. My favourite part of the garden was the butterfly greenhouse, where a very large butterfly planted itself on my head.




I had just enough energy left to take a few more photos before it was time to head home for the day. 




Tomorrow is my last day in Amsterdam and the plan is to do some shopping before getting on a plane to Edinburgh. I won't have any internet access during that time but I should be back again some time next week. 

So until then, 

Jillian
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postcard from amsterdam

20 Jun 2011

Whoever said jet lag doesn't exist, has never flown a long haul flight from Australia or New Zealand. I've been awake since 2.00 a.m. and what better way to fill my time than blogging?



I arrived to a wet and windy Amsterdam on Saturday and made my way across town to where I'd be staying - misc eatdrinksleep. I was way too early to check-in, so off I went with my new camera in tow.



The hotel is located on Kloveniersburgwal so I took a walk along the canal to see where it would lead me.




Any time I found something interesting, I'd duck into a side lane or alley to take a photo. Eventually, I found myself here at the Flower Market.




I kept walking until I found the Farmers Market at Noordermarkt where I picked up some tasty treats for my lunch. By this stage the rain was pelting down so hard and my jet lag had kicked in. I knew it was time to head back to my hotel for some much needed sleep.




This is what I found when I climbed the stairs to my sweet little room with the most comfortable bed in the world. I should know as I slept for 10 hours straight the first night.



I've lots more to share with you but that's for later in the week, when I'm feeling a little more human. 

Bye for now, 

Jillian
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shopshoot - little white home

15 Jun 2011

Things are a little bit hectic around here as I get ready to fly to Amsterdam on Friday. There so many things I need to do and I just realised I'd completely forgotten to post this shopshoot I did for Isabelle Stanton, the owner of White Home and Little White Home in Woollahra. 




Little White Home is the little sister store to White Home and it's filled to the brim with gorgeous goodies, particularly for little girls. I shot Little White Home during the Easter break, on the only nice day we saw during the Easter holiday.



There was no shortage of beautiful items to photograph - clothes/toys/cushions/linens and jewellery.



I was particularly taken with the stuffed toys and the beautiful paper lanterns and pom-poms.






 Little boys haven't been forgotten either.



And don't get me started on the gorgeous things for babies.



Little White Home doesn't have a website yet, but you can find the store at 165 Edgecliff Road Woollahra.

I've had a bit of a struggle setting up my laptop, so I can't promise you my usual collages whilst I'm away but I will be blogging as I go. Next time you hear from me, I'll be in Amsterdam.

So until then,

Jillian

2016 edit - Little White Home has now closed it's doors.
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lemon delicious pudding

13 Jun 2011

Do you ever make Lemon delicious pudding? It's one of my favourite winter desserts.



The recipe usually contains quite a lot of butter but I found this low fat version by Rosemary Stanton many years ago and managed to track it down for you here.



The pudding separates into 2 layers - a lemon sponge topping over a tangy lemon sauce. It's a pretty simple recipe requiring ingredients already in your cupboard. If you read through the comments you can leave out the skim milk powder and water and just substitute with low fat milk instead.


The weather here is pretty wet and cold, so you know what, I might have to make another batch for my dinner tonight. 

It's only a few days now until I fly out and I've spent most of today trying to set up my new camera and laptop ready for the trip. It's coming together but I'm still not there yet.

For those of you in Australia, I hope you enjoyed your very wet Long Weekend, 

Jillian
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a birthday

8 Jun 2011

It's someone's birthday around here. Can you guess whose?



Having dinner here with friends tonight, then off to Brisbane.

See you all next week,

Jillian
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chocolate caramel slice 2011

6 Jun 2011

My workmates just adore chocolate caramel slice, so whenever there's a farewell morning tea it's one of my 'go-to' recipes. I use a really old recipe that was originally on the can of condensed milk but with one variation - I double the caramel layer. It still takes the same amount of time to cook and I can't tell you what a difference this makes to the finished product. Oh, I also use butter instead of copha in the chocolate topping as I don't like the taste of coconut oil.



I took these into work a week ago, before the oven died, and in my haste to get to the station tumbled over and went for a slide on my knees. A week down the track my knees still look the worse for wear but I saved the slice from disaster. I was told by my colleagues, it was worth it.



With a European summer just around the corner, I've been avoiding chocolate, cake and cookies, so I've not had any of the slice. It's been lurking in the freezer just long enough for me to take some photos and the leftovers went straight back to work today.



Less than 2 weeks now until my holidays begin and I'm getting quite excited. I'll be back on Wednesday briefly before heading to Brisbane for the Queens Birthday Long Weekend.

So until then,

Jillian
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pronto - orecchiette with cavolo nero and sausage

3 Jun 2011

Last month's Delicious magazine was a bumper Italian issue. So far I've only had time to make this recipe for orecchiette with sausage and cavolo nero. I've tried to track down the recipe for you, but so far no luck.



The recipe wasn't too labour intensive and once I'd tracked down the orecchiette, the organic cavolo nero from Eveleigh Markets and some sourdough bread, the rest of the ingredients were already in my pantry.



I used beef sausages rather than pork sausages and the recipe certainly made a few sausages go a very long way. The pasta dish was delicious by the way - full of flavour and lots of interesting textures.



I bought both a new camera and a laptop during the week, so I've got a full weekend ahead setting both up before I head on my trip. 2 weeks today and counting down!

Have a great weekend,

Jillian
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carriageworks farmers market

1 Jun 2011

Last weekend, while I was waiting for the Sydney Finders Keeper to open I wandered through Eveleigh Markets, now known as the Carriageworks Farmers Market.



The markets are held in the railway workshop at the old Eveleigh Railyards. I just love the architecture of the buildings at the railyards.



The markets feature flowers and produce as well as a variety of food stalls.




I was on the hunt for cavolo nero for my dinner that evening and tracked it down at this organic vegetable stall. I'd never seen brussel sprouts still on the stalk before. I had no idea they grew that way, I'm embarrassed to say.



Some of my favourite restaurant owners have stalls at the market. You may spy Kylie Kwong on the blog and these yummy meringues are from Bird Cow Fish.



The last images are very doggy in nature. I love dogs and dogs and their owners love Eveleigh Markets. The day before I took these photos, my friend Kay lost her dear sweet Barney to renal failure. Unfortunately Barney wasn't able to hold out until the end of the month when we were due to meet again. Barney, these puppy photos are especially for you.



When I have a bit more free time, I'll return to the markets for a more leisurely visit.

I'll see you all again soon,

Jillian
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