As part of London Design Festival 2013, there was an installation by Tate Modern by dRMM architects - endless stairs. There is something Escher-esque about it. I love its simple design and good detailing. It intrigues and fascinates the users. A stair that leads nowhere.
Whenever there is a wedding on the Greek island, it brings such joy and celebration. The whole town gathers in the Chora and joins in the celebration, enjoying the music and dancing until sunrise. Folegandros was somewhere we considered having our wedding but reality got the better of us. This island is just so extraordinary and we were lucky enough to witness this wedding during our stay there this year.
Just a couple of months back, Sam, Hannah, Giulia, Sandy, the dude and I headed to Oxford for a day of punting. It was all new to me and I did not know what to expect. Apart from Sam who has had prior experience, it was a first for us. It took the boys a short while to get the hang of it whilst the rest of us laughed and yelled as we headed towards tree branches and the edge of the river bank. During this time, I developed a fear of watching the person punting (specifically if it was the dude...) as with every unstable motion he made, I would be cursing, for fear of capsizing and falling into the river.
The truth is, I cannot swim.
It was such a wonderful day even though it poured on us at some point but this summer, the blog 'n bake collective has had quite a few adventures together.
Winter is upon us and as the year draws to a close, Giulia & Sandy are off to their honeymoon in a week. Hannah & Sam are heading to Canada for Christmas. As for me, I will be travelling to Shanghai for work pretty soon. It will be a couple of months before the bunch of us gather again but I am sure 2014 will bring us lots more adventures together.
*These photos were taken on my Lomo Sardinia camera.
You can also find more photos of the day on Giulia's blog!
Last week was an absolute crazy week. I didn't quite see daylight as I was cooped up in the office working until 3am in the morning for days. RIDICULOUS, some might say. However, this made me appreciate the weekends more and catching up with friends and life are priorities! Since moving into the Highbury & Islington area two weeks ago, I finally had a chance to spend Saturday and Sunday exploring my local vicinity. Found this really cute cafe down Hemingford Road called Sunday. I LOVE everything about this place - from the seating area on the outside to the cute interiors where there are hanging bulbs, simple painted floor boards and gorgeous stools adorning beautiful fabrics.
As the weather was rather windy, we did not get a chance to explore the garden but instead sat by the front window and gazed out. The coffee (flat white) served at Sunday was a delight and I managed to stuff myself with the brioche french toast, vanilla creme fraiche, banana and salted caramel for my lunch. If you ever find yourself in the area and feel like a coffee, give me a shout!
Daydreaming…
It has been a week since we returned from the gorgeous Greek island, Folegandros. The day-to-day normality has returned and it seems like we never left London. During this trip, I managed to survive the 4.5 hours ferry ride on the superjet from Piraeus to Fole. We spent eight days on the gorgeous island and having been there twice before, this was definitely one of the most enjoyable. My parents-in-law were great company and gave us tips on new areas to explore. We did a walk one afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed the new perspective of the island. These are some of the photos captured along the way.
It has been an awesome summer in London. As the temperature takes a dive, the body is a little shocked and not quite ready to don on the winter clothing. Denial. The dude and I will be escaping to the Mediterranean this Friday to spend some time with his parents. It will be great to soak in the last of the summer rays, take a break away from the computer and recharge for the coming months. These are some photos of the Greek island where we are heading to, taken last year.
Yesterday, I headed to Sebastiao Salgado's GENESIS exhibition at the National History Museum. It was the last weekend of the exhibition and the tickets were sold out. Two of my colleagues raved about it and I knew I had to see it. It was so inspiring to see how he captured nature and culture through black and white photos. What you see here are some of the photos I took in 2011 during a trip to Thailand but only just processed today.
For those who know about the story of Charles and the cat on Phi Phi island, this series of photos will amuse you. This was taken in the early morning after a sleepless night where we got bitten by mosquitoes alive outside our hotel room. We discovered 'bed bugs' on our bed which stranded us OUTSIDE the room, leaving us with no choice but to sleep on an open hammock. It proved to be an unreliable choice and we ended up hanging out by the beach, totally exhausted. We were waiting for the hotel reception to open in order to complain and check out. During this time, this anonymous cat decided to 'bug' us which was not exactly what we needed.
The Blog 'n Bake Collective caught up this week over dinner in Shoreditch at Back in 5 Minutes, a restaurant and private dining room, hidden behind Ante, a clothes shop on Brick Lane. Giulia discovered this place a while back and was curious to check it out. We were in on a Wednesday and our group of seven were sat on a table of ten where we shared our meals with three others. The informality of the evening reminds me of a supperclub. However, we were served our three courses with hardly any explanation or enthusiasm, an indication that this was somewhat different. The potted meat starters were tasty, closely followed by a delicious pork belly serving, albeit a little chewy. My favourite for the night was the braised white beans accompaniment for the pork belly.
When we first got to Norfolk, the base structure was wobbly. A timber member was broken when Jack tried to balance his whole weight on it. We didn't quite know what it was going to be except that it will have a seat and some string draped across it. By Sunday, the structure was sound and the floor boards and seat stuck on. We even came up with a few ideas for the details of how the string will work with the folly and did some testing before we left. Last weekend, whilst I was at Street Feast London, the boys were in Norfolk with other friends and made great progress with the string design. You can see it in the last photo (not taken by me as I was not there!) So great to see all the hard work come together in the end.
What a day! The weather was not cooperating on Saturday where we, Blog'n Bake collective set up shop at Street Feast London. It was the first time for us as vendors thus we weren't entirely prepared. There were a few delays due to the poor weather but we managed to get our display going with a few vintage cake stands and chopping board brought by Giulia, Sam & Hannah. The downpour did not dampen our spirits and we went on for about 8 hours before we packed up! It was fun getting to know the other vendors and try out their food. We also took the opportunity to speak to our customers and explained what Nanaimo bars and paleo baked goods are about. Thank you to Tweat Up for organising the event and who knows… you might just start seeing Blog'n Bake around.
*Credit to Sam - Barbells & Baking for taking the first photo above!
This coming Saturday, Street Feast is presenting #BloggerSaturday and I will be there alongside Giulia (Mondomulia), Sam (Barbells & Baking) & Hannah (One little Rosebud) as Blog'nBake Collective selling baked goods. It will be the first time where we are coming together to sell our home baked sweet treats! I have attended many foodie festivities and most of the time, I am the one eating, not the one cooking. I tend to cook on a more domestic scale and have a passion for baking. My inspiration for baking comes in waves and this Saturday for the first time, you will get a chance to try out my baked goods! I will be presenting my favourite tart au citron, vegan-friendly pistachio cookies and home made coconut jam (kaya). If I survive making them all, I might just throw in a surprise!
A couple of weeks back, the same bunch of us were out at Peterley Manor Farm picking raspberries and strawberries. We returned to Sam & Hannah's home after to make this gorgeous raspberry and strawberry tart! (Thanks to Giulia as master baker!)
I hope this whets your appetite to come by on Saturday to say hi! Don't be shy!
Meanwhile, you can follow me on @wendylwarne / @dishpiglets and us @blognbake !
Two weeks ago, I decided to take the dude to Brixton to check out Backdoor Kitchen pop-up - The Backdoor Salon. It happened to coincide with Brixton Splash so it was absolutely pumping when we got ourselves to Cannon & Cannon - British artisan charcuterie seller in Market Row where BDK were holding their lunch and aperitivo session. The afternoon was filled with delicious cicchettis (tapas) and cocktails, perfect for a hot Sunday. My favourite cocktail was Aperol Robs designed by chef Rob himself! If you haven't tried BDK's cooking, you are missing out!
Last weekend, I was away at a friend's grandmother's house near Norwich. The program for the weekend was to design and build a folly in the garden. The basic frame was done by the two boys prior as they dreamt up this mini-project before they went back to university in Copenhagen. We spent both Saturday and Sunday brainstorming, organising, drawing, working and cooking! Being an architect these days means drawing on the computer screen and occasionally, sketching on paper and hand making a model. I picked up a saw for the first time and enjoyed being able to build what we drew. There were mistakes made then corrections but there were also brilliant ideas and detailing happening right before our eyes. By the end of day one, we were all exhausted and fell asleep on the couch watching Bourne Identity. Stay tune for Part II.
Every year over summer, the design geek in me gets excited over the Serpentine Pavilion in Hyde Park. This year, it is Sou Fujimoto who designed the 'cloud-like' temporary structure commissioned by Serpentine Gallery. It's amazing to see how people use this space. I enjoy observing how people interact with the space. Architecture evokes emotions and behaviours. Over the couple of times that I have visited this summer, I love watching children explore the structure, climbing and trying to find the next lattice to latch on. If you haven't seen this space, it is in Hyde Park until 20th October.
It was the year 2004 when I first ventured to Europe. Ever since I was little, I dreamt of visiting countries far far away. For me, Rome was the dream destination choice. The trip did not disappoint. From the moment the plane landed at Aeroporto di Fiumicino, I was taken away by the italian accent, the friendliness of the people and the charming culture. These are some of the black and white images which I captured on the trip. Rome is timeless and to me, it is definitely one of the most romantic cities in the world.
We happened to stumble across Brixton Splash - a community street festival celebrating the area’s diversity. I love the fact that London is so multicultural. Food and music brings everyone together.
Just two weekends ago, a bunch of us headed to Peterley Manor Farm to do some #PYO (pick your own). Our friends, Sam and Hannah, told us about this place in Buckinghamshire and together with Giulia, we decided to make a day out of it. We had a go at pulling some carrots out but decided that the raspberries and strawberries were much easier. These fruits were easily the best I have ever tasted.
You can check out Giulia's post on the amazing day out on her blog. Also, thank you Sam for taking the photo of the dude and I holding hands.
As I get busier with my day job, there are fewer words when I get home. Dishpiglets has been going for about 18 months now and these days since starting the new job, I have hardly any time to cook, let alone bake. My week days are spent working long hours in the studio which I have dreamt of working at since we moved to London. As for my weekends, I try and have some time out and spend time with the dude and my friends. With the long term project of getting my photography website going, I have decided to focus on what I love and create this visual diary, where I will document my life and occasionally dig out some photos from the good ol' film photography days. Below are some of the black and white photos I took during my 2003 Nepal trip where we headed to Annapurna base camp (4145m). There were about 20 rolls of film in my day pack alongside my trusty Nikon SLR and three other lenses which I lugged with me. That was an experience like no other.
