Do you remember a while ago I talked about Victoria’s exhibition in London, called Other People’s Houses? (click here to read my original post about it). Although I’m months behind I wanted to show you some of the photographs I submitted for the exhibition which you can now view in full, online.

I took these photographs back in April when we had just moved into our new abode, relocating from Amsterdam to Sydney. Of course this new abode is very different to the little green houseboat, and it’s taken quite a while to get used to, but we are slowly settling in, and slowly getting into the swing of life in Sydney. A lot has changed inside the house since I took these images: for one we’re not sleeping on the lounge room floor anymore (as seen in the above photo) and two, all the boxes from Amsterdam have been unpacked.

“peeking through the kitchen window” and “it still wanders”

“memories and boxes” and “hallway of sunlight”

Over time I’ll show you more snippets as I progress in making this house a home, but for now, I hope you like these photographs.  I love – for those who own a copy of my book, My Heart Wanders will already know – creating double exposures, so for this project I chose to combine two or more images within several of the photographs as my heart and thoughts were very much  in two places at the time – Amsterdam and Sydney. So you’ll see some images have soft exposures of the Amsterdam winter combined with ‘real time’ stills of my surrounding interiors.

“the green wall”

“the worlds we create” and “the chair”

For more information about the images and the exhibition, please click here, and if you are interested in purchasing any of the images you can contact Victoria directly, details are here. There are 10 exhibitors in total, so be sure to check out all of their images too – it’s like peeking through people’s windows at night, but all over the world at the same time. Fascinating.

“temporary office”

I realise my posting has slowed dramatically over the past few months. There is much I’d like to share with you, and I hope to be able to catch up over time. Thank you so much for your patience, support and loyality mes chers amis.

xx

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Amsterdam is so breathtaking these days, I find myself lost in its beauty. Icicles have formed on all the eaves of all the homes and all the boats. Our little boat looks like a floating gingerbread house, with layers and layers of thick icicles dangling down in front of the windows. Come dusk, the street lamps, canal lights and festive garlands twinkle against the deep blue sky and reflect in the dark, smooth water. Magic seems ever-present, and it makes me wonder if it’s not this very city that inspired favourite fairy tales from bygone eras.

On Sunday we took ourselves off across to the north of the city, to immerse ourselves in a different kind of snowy wonderland. Taking the little ferry across to buiksloterweg, we then walked along the edge of the florapark and on toward D’Admiraal windmill. The houses along the canals are ridiculously charming…

It was a dark and icy cold day – reminiscent of my winters in Montreal, when the freezing air was unrelenting, being sure to bite through to my bones. Before heading back on the ferry, we decided to stop in to this lovely place for a warming drink. We sipped and read our books as the dark day turned to night, and the menu looked so good we decided to stay for dinner…

The food was fabulous, as was the service and the setting.

Dear friends, I’ve decided this will be my last post for the year. It’s been such an intense yet exhilarating last few months while finishing My Heart Wanders – I’ve been running on adrenalin with very little sleep, working by day and having meetings at night (australian time). I’m delighted to finally let you know it’s all finished and is now in the hands of the printers. Celebration time! In the next few days, champagne will be poured and glasses will be raised to toast the end of all the hard work – my only regret is that I cannot share the champagne toasting with the team at Murdoch in Sydney who have been working so hard with me – it’s not easy working on such a book from opposite ends of the globe, but it is kinda exciting to know that with all the technology at our finger tips these days, it can be done. Cheers to that!

With the book launch in April and various other events already being scheduled throughout the year, 2011 is going to be busy but I’ve decided already, it’s going to be a whole lot of fun. Before that though, there are going to be some big changes in the coming month and as much as I want to share it all with you now, like a sensible girl I’ve realised I need to conserve the little energy I have left and focus on getting through it.  So I will be signing off from the (blog)house for the coming month or so, but when I come back, there will be lots of fabulous news to share with you and many wonderful posts. Even though I won’t be in the (blog)house for the next month, you are still very welcome to wander through at your leisure – I built this house for you guys to enjoy as much as for me, so please do enjoy. There are recipes in the kitchen that perhaps you haven’t tried, and books in the library you might like to peruse; you can take a stroll through the neighbourhood and see what everyone is up to; or listen to some music; or take a virtual tour through one of my 3 favourite cities – amsterdam, paris, and sydney.

Next year I’ll be adding more features to the (blog)house – perhaps even do some renovating, or maybe add a room or two? It’s an ever-growing house, one that I feel very lucky to be sharing with all of you.

Thanks again for another year of fun. I wish you a wonderful, wonderful holiday season and a very happy new year. 2011, here we come!!

xx

PS. I have one last thing to share with you, something that I am beyond thrilled to be able to post before the year is out. coming up next…

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Well, it’s the end of another year. I can hardly believe how the months of 2010 have flown by. I fully intended to curate a holiday gift guide for you this year but I realised by November that I was not going to get all the things done on my all the things to do before the end of the year list. However, there seemed to be a plethora of fabulous online guides out there so hopefully you found some lovely gift ideas via other bloggers.

I don’t usually buy christmas gifts – my family back in Oz are pretty laid-back when it comes to the holiday season, and my friends know I’m not big on gift giving at this time of year – I prefer to just give randomly throughout the year, or go out for special dinner dates.  But sometimes christmas is unavoidable, and this year is one such time – Romain and I are headed to France for the holiday season and his family celebrate Christmas. As much as I have my (many) reasons for not being big into Christmas, it’s just plain rude to turn up empty handed. So, yesterday Romain and I took to the streets of Amsterdam for a spot of gift shopping – my way. I chose a selection of boutiques from Amsterdam: Made by Hand for us to visit , and with list in hand, we spent the afternoon wandering around in the snow, hopping from one handmade treasure trove to the next. Within only a couple of hours we had completed our holiday shopping, and I have to tell you mes amis, it was so. much. fun. Never before has christmas shopping been so enjoyable! There were no line ups like there would be in department stores, there was no rushing, nothing was overpriced, everyone was super friendly and welcoming, and we found everything we needed, and then some (for me). And of course, everything was handmade and utterly gorgeous. I took pics along the way as it occurred to me during our journey that you might have liked to join us. Yes? perhaps for those who have Amsterdam: Made by Hand, you could follow along with the page numbers…

So,  we started at Leidseplein, headed for  Tesselschade (pg 147). They have a great range of hand-knitted baby ware, smocked dresses, and handmade soft toys. We found everything we needed for the little ones in the family (hand knitted baby booties with little white ducklings on the tops; tiny strawberry hats; a penguin; bib…) -  all handmade, and all very reasonably priced.

Then we headed to La Savonnerie (pg 85) for some handmade soaps and did a spot of sight-seeing while we were in the area…

We then strolled to Dutch Quilts (pg 103), for some special Dutch fabrics that I know Romain’s mother will love…

…and then back toward the Jordaan. On our way we popped into The Otherist – although I was not able to include this fab boutique in Amsterdam: Made by Hand, it’s one of the ones that I hoped people would spot while they wander from handmade boutique to boutique. It’s a gorgeous shop, and in here we found a beautiful bamboo carved necklace for Romain’s oldest niece.

We ended the afternoon with a glass of christmas ale (for him) and port (for me) at the super quaint Cafe Thijssen with some friends.

I hope this might inspire you to do a similar holiday wander in your local area – there are so many incredible small boutiques, handmade markets and ateliers popping up all over the world these days, I urge you to go out there and discover them! It’s seriously the best way to rediscover & get to know your home turf.

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This morning I woke up to find barrels of plump snowflakes tumbling from the sky. My little floating home is covered in blankets of the stuff, and the canal is a thick frozen slushy, as white as white can be. I could not wait to get out amongst it this morning, to feel the crunch of the snow beneath my rain boots. All this snow has lifted my spirits tremendously. The haze of exhaustion suddenly doesn’t seem as impenetrable, my body not as stiff. My camera though, is on its last legs – it’s been playing up for a few weeks but I have been willing it to work, desperately needing it to to get me through to the deadline. It will only work if I use the shutter release cable, and as awkward as that is to walk around with, it hasn’t stopped me taking these photos this morning, with clumsy gloved hands…

oh, I am a happy girl when it snows.

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Hello, I’m Marjorie and I am the cook in The Cook’s Atelier.  The Cook’s Atelier promotes sustainable France through hands-on cooking classes, market tours and field trips to local artisan producers. I am a big believer in real food, made from scratch and take pleasure in cooking every day.

When the weather is warm, I plant herbs in my window boxes and throw open the windows so I can hear the people bustling below on their way to the morning market.  In the height of the season, I’m busy making confiture and preserving to save a little taste of summer for when the chill sets in.  In the autumn and winter months, there is always something simmering on the back of the stove; a pumpkin soup or some homemade chicken stock, and a fire in the fireplace to keep cozy when it’s snowy and gray outside.

This roasted cauliflower soup that I am sharing with you today is adapted from Ad Hoc, by Thomas Keller.  The recipe in the book is absolutely lovely.  I just decided to roast the cauliflower in the oven because I love roasted cauliflower. Bon appétit…

Roasted cream of cauliflower soup
Inspired by Ad Hoc at Home, by Thomas Keller
Serves 6

2 heads cauliflower (4 to 5 pounds total)
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
3/4 cup coarsely chopped onion
3/4 cup coarsely chopped leeks (white and green parts only)
1/4 teaspoon yellow curry powder or Madras curry powder
Sea salt
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups water
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

-Remove the leaves from the cauliflower, and cut out the core.  Trim off the stems and reserve them.  For the garnish, trim 2 cups florets about the size of a quarter and set aside.

Coarsely chop the remaining cauliflower and stems into 1-inch pieces so that they will cook in the same amount of time.  You need 8 cups of cauliflower (reserve any extra for another use).

-Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onion, leeks, curry, and coarsely chopped cauliflower, season with 2 teaspoons sea salt, cover with a parchment lid (just parchment cut the size of the Dutch oven with a hole cut in the middle so the steam can escape) and roast, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are almost tender, about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and discard the parchment lid.

-Pour the milk, cream, and water and bring to a simmer on the top of the stove over medium-high heat.  Simmer for 30 minutes, skimming off the foam from time to time.

-Working in batches, transfer the cauliflower mixture to a blender (leave an opening in the lid for the steam to escape).  Carefully, begin pureeing the cauliflower on the lowest speed and blend, slowly increasing the speed, until smooth and velvety.  Check the seasoning and add more salt if needed.  Transfer to a large saucepan and keep warm.

-Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter turns a rich golden brown.  Add the florets and sauté until a rich golden brown.  Set aside.

To serve, reheat the soup.  This is a thick soup, but if it seems too thick, add water to thin it to the desired consistency.  Taste for seasoning. Pour the soup into a warm serving bowl or soup tureen.  Top each serving with a few cauliflower florets.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper.

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Recipe from Marjorie Taylor, The Cook’s Atelier

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It’s raining buckets here in Amsterdam this morning. The lack of sunlight makes my little boat dark, but oh so cozy.

On Saturday I received the latest (september) issue of Australian Home Beautiful. It is always a real treat to receive a little slice of Australia through my front door mail slot all the way over in this part of the world. But this particular issue of Home Beautiful is extra special, take a look…

A big thank you to Vanessa Keys for asking me to be a part of Home Beautiful’s style insight section in this month’s issue. The article is so beautifully written, and I love the little “guide to unearthing the handmade in your own city” at the end.

+To view the article in full, I suggest you buy the September issue of Home Beautiful… but also, you can click here.

+All images in the article are by photographer David Finato and me.

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I’d also like to direct you to a very special giveaway that dutch designer mariska meijers is holding on her blog this week: Mariska is offering a signed copy of Amsterdam: Made by Hand, read all about it right here. Thank you so much for your support Mariska. x

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Yesterday, while watering the plants and cleaning the outside of the boat, I glanced out to the disarray of bikes that line the street and realised with a heavy heart that mine was no longer among them. For the first time since moving to Amsterdam almost 3 years ago, my bike has been stolen.  Last night I was frantically trying to remember the very last moments I had with my two-wheeled friend, it seemed vital that I recall these very last moments  – I wanted to make sure we parted on good terms.

Even though I always knew our time together would probably be limited since having your bike stolen is just a part of life in Amsterdam, I’m still sad. For Amsterdammers, our bikes are like best friends – they go everywhere with us, they are there at scary moments, and there at happy moments. They take us to new exciting places we never knew existed. They wait for us, carry things for us, ride through snow & rain,  and get us around the myriad of biking tourists.

My dear bicycle was beautiful to me – old and rusty, but full of spark.  And it was only Friday, after getting lost with it through the back streets of a new-to-me area of the city that I thought about how truly lucky I have been to have such a fab bike.

Now, I will always be looking out for it, hoping that it has embarked on another exciting adventure, albeit in the hands of another. Of course if I do happen to see it again, I won’t hesitate to take it right back. And yes, I am a bit pissed about it, but no one – especially me – knows why humans do what they do.

Goodbye my dear two-wheeled friend, I miss you.

………………………………………

update: guys you are not going to BELIEVE this! French Boy just went for a walk and came back with my bike!!!!!! I am beyond ecstatic. He found it hiding behind an electrical box at the end of the road/canal. It seems someone stole it but decided it wasn’t worth it! Woohooooo!!! I love my bike even more now, what a true treasure! This is a serious cause for celebration. Thank you for all your commiserations, but let us be sad no more!

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As many of you know, I have quite a number of wonderfully creative and talented friends. I’ve featured them here in the (blog)house from time to time, some have  stayed as guests, and some are by my side when I have special events. These fabulous people inspire me daily, and Leslie Oschmann is one such friend who never ceases to inspire me. For those of you who already own a copy of Amsterdam: Made By Hand, you will know that Leslie is one of the incredible artisans featured in the book (please turn to page 55 for reference).  For those of you who don’t yet own a copy of the book, click here to read a bit more about Leslie’s work and background.

one of Leslie’s reclaimed objects made new, click here for more examples of her work.

Leslie’s work consists of reinventing and manipulating found objects. One of her recent series was “oil paintings on chairs” – a collection of old chairs made new by covering them in vintage oil paintings. Her juxtapositions are stunning, the effect: spectacular, and her chairs have not only featured in magazines around the world but were bought by renown retailers Anthropologie.

Last year Leslie made an incredible window display at Restored (also featured in Amsterdam: Made By Hand, page 19)  – her chairs were hanging from the ceiling by dozens of ropes, cascading down to the window ledge.

The other day at lunch, Leslie showed me her latest creations and I’m thrilled to be able to share them with you here today – consider this an exclusive “seen here first” peek at her new collection…

Made with vintage oil paintings, Leslie has fashioned a series of beautiful carry bags with leather handles. Each one is unique and handmade, and each one, I can tell you, is exquisite…

A combination of portraits, landscapes, and still life vignettes juxtaposed with patterned paper and fabric inserts (as seen above).

I’m smitten. I love every single one of these bags and I know they are going to walk out her door (almost all of these shown above are already sold!).  Leslie is in the process of making more so if you would like one (or ten for your store), email Leslie directly for more details.

Thank you Leslie for giving us a sneak peek at your latest work. I can’t wait to see what you create next!

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all photos except for the first and third are courtesy of Leslie Oschmann from Swarm. The other two are courtesy of me and The Little Bookroom, for Amsterdam: Made By Hand.

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