At the centre of your being you have the answer, you know who you are and you know what you want ~ Lao Tzu

Tuesday, June 7

Virtual Coffee Tuesday - Lots to Catch Up On...


I'm determined to catch up with you all...

Trouble is, Blogger's been a real *%^&£"* lately and I simply haven't been able to comment... seems to have something to do with the comments settings - hence my comments now appear in a pop-up box - so if it looks like I'm ignoring you, I promise, I'm not, it's actually 'cos your comments don't pop-up - honest :)

Last week the kids were on half-term, so the days just evaporated... couldn't tell you what we did, but we all chilled, and the kids weren't happy to go back to the early-wake-up routine yesterday :(


One piece of great news I wanted to share today over coffee is yesterday we got confirmation that we can rent this house for another year and with only a nominal increase in rent - hooray!! Sooooo relieved we don't have to look for another place for another year :) We're all enjoying the extra space and being closer to town, and I love seeing this birdhouse from the kitchen window - by the end of the summer, it will be completely engulfed by vegetation...


And I loved seeing these beauties on the way into town today. They're growing out of the pavement and next to the main road - what an unexpected delight :)

I also wanted to show you a few of my favourite books... I have these three I'll show you on the sofa next to me and I just LOVE dipping into them...


I got etc a few months ago and I cannot praise the share beauty of it enough!! It's incredibly well-produced for a mass-market book, and feels divine!!

Under the kraft paper cover are hardboard covers bound wth black linen and letterpressed...


Inside are delicious photographs - all printed in soy inks *sigh* - and the chapters are separated by glassine pages...


You really need to see it in the flesh to really enjoy it :)

Another new favourite is this - which I bought with some birthday money...



Another beauty printed in soy inks - this time by an independent small press.

Here's a couple inner pages...




It's a real treasure-house of inspiration for illustrations and great interviews with both the illustrators and the ethical fashion designers.

And a last one for today...



I've always love Schiele's figures, but I was unfamiliar with his landscapes...



But I love these... his palette is so distinctive and they look so modern - this was painted in 1914!!

This book was published by Prestel and is a lovely volume :)

So what have you been up to this past two weeks?

I'm going to pop over to Amy's and see - hopefully Blogger will be more helpful this time...

Take care and see you again sometime soon xx

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh no ... don't show me books ... I have a terrible book habit and these look gorgeous :)
Sue

Holly said...

Great post! Thanks for stopping by :)

Jennifer said...

Those books look amazing. I should really make more time to read. =( My busy toddler is always on the go.....one day when he's five I'll catch up on my reading. Maybe. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I hope you have a fun summer!!

Unknown said...

Those books are super cool. When my living room isn't a toy bonanza anymore I'll be able to have cool books on the coffee table again.

OH, girlfriend! I too had the posting problem today. Totally ticked me off. I finally just unclicked the "keep me signed in" thingy on my Google account and all is fixed again. My issue was when I would comment it wouldn't link with my Blogger account...dang modern technology. Grrrrr.

Jade @ Tasting Grace said...

Hey that must be a big relief you don't have to move! And those are simply gorgeous illustrations. Thanks for sharing those books with us!

Elisa Black said...

What lovely, inspiring books to have by your couch! All of my art and nature books are up on the shelves-- I occasionally pull one out to look up a bird species. I've been mostly getting my inspiration lately from quilting books and magazines-- and blogs, too. People are doing such amazing things out there. Glad you can stay in your house for another year. Do birds actually use the house? Have a good week!

Anonymous said...

Love the first book and the birdhouse. I'm happy that you get to stay in your house for another year. I don't think I would like to move from my home because it would be a pain to move all my stuff.

Have a blessed day.

The Bodhi Chicklet said...

I, too, love Egon Schiele, his lines are delicious. I will have to look into Etc. as it looks like my kinda book. Yes, Blogger has been throwing some wrenches into our gears. It's hard to complain too much about a free service though...I see that you have some new buttons on your side bar. I particularly like the free range social media, I just might have to steal it! Thanks for the late coffee.

Moomser said...

Hi, thanks for your email, blogger has been a gigantic pain lately... I keep thinking of moving over to wordpress... didn't change the comment format cause wasn't aware of the problem right away, but all seems to be working now. Thanks for the visit and the word up!

Carolina Grönholm said...

Those books looks like something I would like to have!

Congrats on the house!