Seoul Walking : A Moment in Namsan

In Seoul we're already saying goodbye to Autumn. The between seasons are fleeting here, there's really only a few weeks in the year which you could call 'spring' or 'autumn'. And maybe because of that I appreciate them even more. Autumn is most definitely my favourite season in Seoul - clear, blue, sunshiney skies; crisp nights, warm days; the changing colours of the leaves; the shifts in produce and products (overnight the markets stalls switch from brollies and sun hats to mittens and scarves). 

Namsan is a mountain, a park, right in the heart of Seoul and right on our doorstep. In the middle of this ever changing, ever expanding city it's a calming oasis of clean air and stunning vistas. I've only walked a small part of Namsan, but it's been stunning - dappled light, leaves just starting to turn, the sound of water flowing. 

When I can (which is not often enough) I pack a picnic and head for the hill. If I'm on my own I often get stopped by curious Koreans and some lonely expats too. I love seeing the office workers drinking in the fresh air on their lunch breaks; the groups of 'hikers' thoroughly kitted out, gossiping as they walk; the sight impaired making use of the tactile walkways...

Good Things...

The screenshot above is from an add for Shangri La, and I'm kind of obsessed with it right now. Yep, I'm obsessed by an add. It's been on high rotation on airline entertainment systems lately so I've seen it a lot over the past few months. And I still want to watch it again, and again. (How often can you say that about an add?) It's beautifully shot and makes me tear up every single time I watch it. And it makes me want to get a pet wolf... You can watch the extended version of it here. Kudos, add making people.

I was flipping through ELLE decoration UK recently (as an aside, this will be one interiors magazine I'll be keeping an eye out for - surprisingly great) and I came across the above picture of awesome. Just look at that sideboard, that pouf, those gorgeous bowls and...those owl canisters! They're from Graham and Green and I think they're pretty good things.

This is the work of Takashi Iwasaki - a Japanese artist and gallery owner who lives in Winnipeg, Canada. He works in a variety of mediums, but it's the crazy colourful embroidery that draws me in. I adore Miro, and there's a hint of Miro in this work (I think), but then add embroidery to the mix - swoon!

One of my husband's many siblings lives in the UK, and she often pops a DVD in the mail when she comes across a comedic gem she thinks we'll like. Miranda was the most recent of these comedic gems, and yes, we liked! We devoured season one and two, and then force fed the show to anyone who happened to cross our path. Miranda is awkward, clumsy and self deprecating in the best way. She's desperately single, terribly middle class, very likeable and very funny. The plot could read a little like a ladies only sitcom, but my husband is Miranda's biggest fan.

If you hadn't heard my ridiculously talented, endlessly inspiring sister has a book coming out - Find and Keep. From afar I've witnessed the blood, sweat and tears that she's put into this thing, and to see the finished product (which is a-ma-zing) out in the big wide world is pretty darn exciting. Its safe to say that as a family we're more than a little bit proud. I'm heading to the Melbourne launch next week, maybe I'll see you there? (ps. I'm in Melbourne for  24 hours! Crazy town!)

UPDATE : To coincide with the launch there's a super awesome giveaway going on at blog of super awesome The Design Files. Go enter now!

All wrapped up...

Did you realise it's less than 70 days until that most festive of festive days? Yikes! Are you ready? Or maybe thinking about maybe getting ready at some point in the future? I think I would most definitely fall into that last category...

One of the things I am thinking about is what theme I'll go with for the gift wrap this year (you can see my wrapping from last year here, and from the year before here). So over the next month or so I thought I'd gather together some inspiration  - showing you some of the wrapping I've done for various birthdays throughout the year, and also sharing some of my favourite gift wrapping ideas from around the internets. 

Here's a fun but simple wrap I did for the youngest step-sons birthday - plain kraft paper, spot stickers and a paper punch or four - easy! 

Seoul Walking : Getting Arty in Insadong

Insadong is one of those really touristy areas that are also quite awesome - every city has them, I think. Like Times Square in New York, or the Opera House in Sydney. Insadong is Korea, magnified and commoditised, but it still has a soul (please note my immense restraint in not using a pun there). 

Insadong is cobbled streets and tiny laneways; ajummas and hanboks; mass produced traditional craft; delicate handmade jewellery; tea houses and modern art galleries; stunning pottery and oh so much wonderful, wonderful paper; hanoks hidden down side streets, turned into restaurants serving bbq, dumplings and soup; and embroidery that nearly breaks your heart with it's intricate beauty. 

And then, just round the corner, you'll find a stray dog or three, and old men hard at work lugging pallets of eggs and bags of cabbages from the underground vegetable market. Or go the other way and you'll find lotus lamps and prayer beads and Seoul's largest Buddhist temple...

Death by Doxie : Why the Spots, Elfi?

So...last weekend we were cooking up a Chinese feast (or, more accurately, an American Chinese feast). The husband was busily coating some strips of pig for sweet and sour pork and I was running about doing something or other. And then I saw this... 

According to the husband Elfi wanted some of the pork. Which apparently meant getting covered in flour.

ps. Crazy-eye Ferdi!