Restoring a House in the City

This is a book I've been wanting to get my paws on for a long time: Restoring a House in the City by former House & Garden editor, Ingrid Abramovitch. It's all about renovating one of my favourite types of building: the New York Brownstone. These are the images off her website, and I've posted some sample spreads from the book at the end of the post. The photography is by the one and only Brian Park. Makes me wish I had a house in New York City to renovate!

all images from Ingrid Abramovitch

weekend occupations

Last weekend I managed to finish sewing this linen dress - first I dyed the fabric green as it was originally mauve. 

On Saturday morning we went to a local car boot sale - these are some shots of the furniture stall - there were some interesting pieces there!

3 days to go until Istanbul!

pinks and yellows

These delicious pinks and yellows are so complimentary to the summer weather. I'm inspired to take some more shots of little corners of my house. At the moment (or perhaps always) I'm fascinated by shiny reflective surfaces and transparent objects that filter the light... if I can get any shots done in the next week I'll upload them before I depart for Istanbul!

selina lake

jubella (the dresser)

lo bjurulf

blooms in the garden

Summer has finally arrived! It was around 26°C here in London which is pleasant, without being too hot.

Meanwhile, out in the garden...

This is the jasmine at 8.45pm today - the scent is amazing and wafts all over the garden.

And opposite it grows the rambling rose - not fragrant, but just as beautiful!

a dilemma

When I see work like this, 

I want to paint, 

but when I see photography like this, 

I want to be a photographer.

How does one resolve this never ending dilemma? Which one to focus on (excuse the pun)? There's never enough time to devote oneself wholly to something for long enough to become a master at it. So I carry on, jack of all trades and master of none!

Rudy Kistler

(top image Comber)

Campbell

Little Comber

Mary (merc)

Ormond

Shepard

Sutherland

George Byrne

(top photo Bridge #2, Brooklyn, NYC)

Pisa

Train travel - somewhere in Italy

Two tanks jamming, Caltex, Balmain

images from Charles Hewitt gallery

New Brownstones in Spring card

... in my etsy shop here

Buddha head sculpture

Some close-ups of my husband's Buddha head sculpture - unfinished still, but I prefer it this way. He plastered the whole thing, then left it outside in the rain, so eventually all the plaster came off, except for the piece over the left eye. Now it is a real ruin!

weekend reading

I've recently stumbled upon some sweet blogs which I plan to read/inspect over the weekend. They are, in no particular order:

hope you have a great one!

bitter gourd

There's a vegetable called bitter gourd (or karela in Hindi) that purifies the blood. We had it for dinner the other night cooked in fennel and onion - the fried onion and fennel seeds reduce the bitterness so it actually tastes sweet!

here it is before and after cooking...

this is how it looks after picking - scary!

above image from indianetzone