It’s beautiful riding around this city on my bike feeling the chilly breeze against my face, leaves falling all around like it’s raining gold.

I thought it about time I tell you what I’ve been up to for the last 5 months. Have you been wondering? Maybe you have, maybe you haven’t, but I’ll tell you anyway…

I’m writing my second book. It’s the next  Made by Hand book and yes, it’s Amsterdam. I’m still working on it and at the moment I’m writing and editing images. Autumn is the perfect time to be writing – being tucked up inside mon petit bateau as the weather turns cold and damp.  Inside here it’s super cosy, and I spend my days making cups of tea and writing about the ateliers and boutiques I’ve chosen for the book. It sounds romantic no doubt, but of course there is alot happening behind-the-scenes. Writing books is intense work. But, the wonderful parts override the hard parts, and one of the best parts of this job is the excitement of discovering these special places and being able to share them with you. One of the difficult parts is keeping them secret for so long! But that will make the book unique and special which is always my goal. So, until I finish I may be a bit sporadic with my posts but oh, I really hope you’re gonna love what I am creating…

Amsterdam: Made by Hand will be released worldwide in April, 2010 by The Little Bookroom.

Related Posts :

one of my favourite photos...

(blog)house news...

in the guest quarters: made by hand...

preparing for the book launch...

my last post for 2009 (I have something...

Amsterdam: Made by Hand is now available...

…and it’s only a little after six. I am enjoying the cooler weather but I’m also a bit anxious about it, knowing well what winter means here – dark days, cold cold air and rain rain rain. with a little more rain. on the rain.

But! It’s not winter yet so I shall not fret.

Today was another rather eventful day, and in between my work I…

1. had a conversation with a lovely lady in her 70′s, who has lived in the same apartment in Amsterdam for over 65 years. I couldn’t help ask her a million questions, and she obliged and told me how people dressed 50 years ago, so elegantly, and that the street below her apartment was one of the most fashionable, now, not so much. We shook our heads.

2. was riding behind a woman who got her front wheel caught in a myriad of tram tracks and went head first into the tarmac. I stopped and tried to help her up, she was in shock but not badly hurt. People, please please please don’t get your wheels caught in the tram tracks, it’s terribly dangerous.

3. caught a few minutes of Bargain Hunt while I was eating my lunch – one of the best episodes! Tim Wannacott is classic, what would he be like as a dad, or grandfather? hilarious, or terribly embarrassing? I wonder how I would do on that show, the auctions look like lots of fun.

4. uploaded my guest’s next post! But she did all the work as you can see, and all the traveling – check out where she has taken us this week (thank you zoë!).

5. took loads of photos. but those, i cannot show you yet.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s post. Do you feel like I’m holding back? I am, a little. Because I have so much going on, and so much I want to tell you but want to be able to have longer moments to tell you whats going on, rather than rush rush rushing posts. I don’t like to rush.

Bon weekend!

xx

PS I’ve been thinking that it’s time that I have an assistant, but I just don’t know. Thoughts?

Related Posts :

rain rain go away...

rain, hail, shine and snow...

show + tell time...

More Light Please

let's go back to Paris, for the moment...

joyce in paris (la nuit): final part...

Autumn has arrived in Amsterdam. The days are a little darker, the rain lingers, and the leaves have turned golden,  falling all around me. I’m adjusting nicely to the season this time ’round…

and note to self: to create a perfectly imperfect photograph that captures mood, atmosphere,  & air… shoot through a dirty window.

Related Posts :

a collection of props

the month to be in Amsterdam...

soundscapes...

fancy pants clogs to brighten your day...

autumn is really here (and I have something...

i'm in sydney but i'm thinking of...

thank you for your encouragement for my ribbon girls! Your comments are so appreciated. I often wonder if you catch my smiles when I read your comments, I wish you did as you always manage to brighten my day. in such a special way. don’t ever stray. (sorry! couldnt’ help it)

I will think about the print idea but at this stage it would be another thing on my to-do list and that list is already rather full. Don’t forget I’m still working my little heart out on My Heart Wanders. Which I hope to be able to tell you more about soon. Perhaps when I finish that I can think about other things like these ribbon girls as prints. Oh but I still want to make a book about Harriet too! Pff!! Oh well for now I just offer you my drawings and creations as they come – a first peek at what I’m making.

I’m on a shoot for the remainder of this week and the beginning of next so I will not be able to hang out here in the (blog)house until its all wrapped up. So for the next couple of days please feel free to dive into the archives. Here are a few posts picked randomly to get you started…

my heart lingers still

interlude

crazy street art of paris

Come next week I have something planned for you! Until then mes amis, I give you ribbon girls ‘fancy pants clogs’. These were just plain children’s wood clogs that I painted the other day. I hope you like.

xx

Related Posts :

My Heart Wanders inspiration...

catch up

book review!

oh my heart lingers still...

crazy beautiful: street art of paris

My Heart Wanders

What could be better than warm custard on a grey day?

I always like to make a few batches of luscious creamy custard throughout the winter months and this delicious tart with poached pears and raspberries is a sophisticated twist on the simple dessert of custard and berries, made by our very own (blog)house kitchen guest, Aran…

Couldn’t you just take a bite our of that beautiful tart right now? I could (by the way, i’ve already checked if Aran’s photos are edible and they are not).

So this weekend, my suggestion is that you make these golden custard tarts as I have no doubt they will send your spirits soaring. Click here for the recipe and more photos. If you must cheat you can buy custard (Aran you did not read that!) but I will tell you now – no store bought custard comes close to what it is like when you make it yourself. Therefore if you have never made custard then this weekend is the weekend to do so! says me.

Thanks for sharing your delicious tart with us Aran!

I hope you have all enjoyed this week in yellow. I know I have, and I do like the idea of hosting colour weeks so perhaps every now and then I shall incorporate this idea amongst my regular posts.

Meanwhile, a winter wind is blowing in big gusts across the canal, making le petit bateau sway and rock like it is out at sea. It’s a grey cold windy day out in Amsterdam, and I am very happy to be tucked up inside my little boat. I have put my sheepskin rug on my chair and turned the heaters up just a little extra. With ugg boots on my feet, and cup of hot tea in hand, I’m settling in for the afternoon and putting some ideas together for upcoming shoots. I’m also busy working on some special posts for next week! And I have been busy with My Heart Wanders. Oh I have so many wonderful things planned for you for the rest of this year, and even more coming for next year. It’s an exciting time here in the (blog)house!

Enjoy your weekend mes amis. Keep cosy and remember, if you need a hit of sunshine, you are always welcome back here to visit the yellow posts anytime. I’ll make sure there is one of Aran’s tarts for you straight out of the oven.

xx

Related Posts :

Cannelle et Vanille's Aran Goyoaga...

look who is in the kitchen!

I'm hungry.

oh my oh my oh my oh my...

happy thanksgiving!

speaking of glorious food...

the wind got to the golden leaves here in amsterdam before i did unfortunately. but still pretty, non?

Related Posts :

yellow love

the stroll, part two...

i give you this golden custard tart...

the sunday stroll through amsterdam...

yellowy loveliness...

looking through my window...

Heather Smith Jones has been busy making these little hearts for Christmas and she is donating 40% of the profits from the sale of each heart purchased between Oct. 21 – Dec. 15, 2008 to Habitat for Humanity. Please click here to learn more about the organisation, and click here to visit Heather’s etsy boutique.

Related Posts :

it's etsy time!

i need my etsy hit...

an etsy favourite

some monday prose...

holiday art...

etsy, bathed in yellow...

…from the vintage fashion collection of Boston’s thirteen eighty-five, beautifully captured by photographer Jeff Allen. Not only that, but at the recent Baked Fresh market, thirteen eighty-five’s creator Effie found a fabulous yellow tent on ebay to house her collection (and read what she says about what it was like to be under the tent on such a grey day! yet more proof that yellow is bound to brighten your spirits)

Some of her pieces are still available in the thirteen eighty-five etsy boutique, click here to have a look-see.

Hmm now we’ve featured homewares, art, fashion and even DIY in this yellow love week line up… so what’s missing?

Related Posts :

etsy, bathed in yellow...

who needs a hit of sunshine?

blog favourites... bathed in goldeny...

i need my etsy hit...

etsylicious...

i don't know much about...

A new blog discovery for me, found via Jen at Nectar & Light, is The Unicorn Diaries. I was so tempted to show you a collection of images from her stunning posts but instead I give you just this one above because I insist you must see this for yourself. magic.

Alana has a recipe for yellow cupcakes with chocolate buttercream. She also has a beautiful blog.

Now if you haven’t downloaded Issue 5 of Mankind Magazine yet then you simply must. It is the handmade issue and it is so full of awesome artists and designers that my head is spinning. And let me just say this: if for some reason you ever thought that handmade was “daggy”, then read this issue and your whole mind paradigm will be bathed in a glorious goldeny (handmade) light. So get to it! You can also donate or sponsor the mag, click here for details.

Courtney from under a paper moon filled her blog last week with maps & globes – an awesome collection of posts for those of you (that’s me) who love using maps in home decoration. Some of my favourites of her magnificent map posts are here, here and here.

And I just love this post written by ness.

Happy reading mes amis!

Related Posts :

Blog Action Day: part three, your voices

yellowy loveliness...

3 things that inspire me this week...

thank you for the mention: bas bleu,...

so the secret is out...

a bit of blogging fun...

The Tapestry of Trees by Jude McConkey was taken just the other day in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on a foggy cold Autumn morning. While processing the image, Jude explains that she placed a golden etched overlay on the scene in photoshop to give it a tapestry look. Not only does Jude have an etsy shop but also a beautiful website, check out more of her work here.

Related Posts :

holiday art...

i need my etsy hit...

etsy, bathed in yellow...

an etsy favourite

green with etsy...

some etsy favourites...