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Love H&M....

photos from here

Bonjour mes belles,

I hope that you are all having a fabulous week-end. We are lucky enough to have H&M online in France now but it has been a long time coming.

I have purchased a couple of items from their clothing collection including a pair of sandals with python trim which I adore.
Their home collection is appealing and well priced....how stunning are the photos of their S2014 Spring/Summer Collection?



très bonne journée à tous, Leeann x

Front/Back

Photos via styledevil

Front/Back

Photos via dulceida

My Tokyo Trip Photo Diary [Part 3]

Kamakura
Kamakura is 1 hour (by train) from Tokyo, it's a small town famous for its numerous temples.

Photos:
1-4 Engaku-ji Temple gardens
5,6 Bamboo Garden around Hokokuji Temple


 1,2 "Diabutsu" - Great Buddha Statue (and his slippers :)
3-7 "Komachi Dori" - shopping and street food street

All Photos BlueisinFashionthisYear.com

French Food Friday...Délices D'Endives



recipe and photo from here

Bonjour mes belles,

As I am writing this, there is a breeze wafting through the window and I am just about to start cooking this.

It is a favourite of mine and is a great supper type dish when you do not feel like normal dinner....

Délices D'Endives

Ingredients

This is deliciously rich and old-fashioned. Be careful not to overcook the egg - there's an optimum point at which it is just set. 
  • 50g butter, plus an extra 15g for putting on top of the eggs
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 large endives
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Freshly grated nutmeg
  • 100g smoked ham
  • 200ml double cream
  • 6 medium eggs
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Melt 25g of the butter in a deep fying pan and cook the onion over a medium/low heat until soft. 
  2. Cut the endives in sixths lengthways. Put them into a saucepan of boiling water with the lemon juice. Turn down the heat to simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Drain really well - you don't want excess water in the leaves. 
  3. Set the oven to 180°C/fan over 160°C/mark 4 and put 2 baking sheets into it. 
  4. Add the endives, the remaining 25g butter and a light grating of nutmeg to the onion and cook gently for about 10 mintues. If the mixture is a little watery then turn up the heat for a few minutes to drive the water off. 
  5. Pull or cut the ham into shreds and stir it in along with the cream. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into 6 small gratin dishes, curling the endive round the edge. Crack an egg into the centre of each. Dot the eggs with the rest of the butter, season and put the gratin dishes on the baking sheets in the oven. Check the eggs after 12 minutes: the white should be just set and the yolk slightly runny. They may need up to 5 minutes more. Serve immediately. 
 
bon appetite à tous, Leeann x

Style versus Style #209

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Obsessed.....

 
photo from here
 
 
obsessed - having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something....
 
I think that this word sums up my mood perfectly and I have spent the last few days obsessing over baths, at first I thought a bath built into an alcove was a good idea....  
 
 
 
photo from here
 
 
until I started to see photos of claw foot baths. What is it about claw foot baths that has us girls drooling?  
 
 
 
photo from here
 
In my last house the room that had the claw foot bath was the most requested and I have decided that our latest project "le nid d'amour" or  love nest in English, warrants the purchase of such a bath.
 
It is a vicious circle renovating as in order to get quotes from plumbers I need to know what is going where so I decided that I would start with a bath.
 
End result, I have ordered the bath and will design the rest of the bathroom around it......  so expect a few more bathroom posts. Not so sure that choosing a toilet will be as exciting.
 
 
à demain, Leeann x 
 
 
 


10 Things I love about Tokyo / 10 Cose che amo di Tokyo

1. Food - Il Cibo

Of course Japanese sushi is actually better than ours. But there's so much more to eat in Tokyo. Everything I ordered here was absolutely delicious.
Okay maybe everything except one eel, pork and rice dish. But I didn't know it was eel! And pork! But I recognized rice, yes.


Prima di partire tutti mi hanno chiesto se il sushi giapponese sarebbe stato diverso dal nostro. Ebbene sì, lo è. Il loro pesce ha una cremosità diversa e il riso una maggiore consistenza.
Ma qui oltre al sushi ci sono mille altre prelibatezze. Si incontra un ristorante ogni 2 metri. Che poi "ristorante" è un termine errato. A Tokyo la gente spesso entra, mangia ed esce dopo 5 minuti. E ogni "ristorante" è specializzato in un piatto in particolare e ne offre diverse varianti. Solo quello però. I piatti sono esposti fuori dal locale attraverso foto o con le famose fedelissime ripoduzioni in plastica del menu che poi vi serviranno tali e quali con cibo "vero". Guardi, scegli il tuo preferito, entri, mangi. (E non prendi il dessert perché non c'è). Semplice. Non sempre lo è stato invece per me capire quale boccone dovevo intingere in quale salsina. Ma mi è capitato di ricevere assistenza dai vicini di tavolo (uhm, imbarazzante!). 
E non riesco ancora a "risucchiare" i ramen. Sì il risucchio lì è buona educazione. La maleducata ero io.
Tutto ciò che ho ordinato a Tokyo è stato assolutamente delizioso - anche per gli occhi.
Tranne forse un piatto di anguilla, maiale e riso. A mia discolpa aggiungo che non sapevo fosse anguilla. Col maiale. Avevo capito che c'era del riso sì.


 2. "Kawaii", Cuteness

Cuteness is allowed in Japan. Not just to little girls. It's everywhere.
And one of my to-do-things in Tokyo was visiting the Kiki & Lala (Little Twin Stars) Café. It's a temporary café that opened for 2 months and will be replaced at the end of June with a a new themed café. Before my trip I read you could have to queue for 2 hours to get in. I went there at 8pm, to avoid the most crowded moments and had to wait only 15 minutes. My 8-years-me was so happy to be there. And the real-age-one too.


Come si traduce la parola kawaii? O anche cuteness dall'inglese? Ecco noi italiani non abbiamo neanche una parola per indicare "cose tenere e carine" figuriamoci quindi l'attitudine. 
Perché il bello del Giappone è che la tenerezza non è roba (solo) da femminucce.
Uno delle mete di Tokyo che mi ero segnata era il "Kiki & Lala Café", un café dedicato ai personaggi "Little Twin Stars" di Sanrio. (Chi avrà più o meno la mia età se li ricorda di certo, per gli altri: si tratta di "amici" di Hello Kitty). E' un temporary café che è rimasto aperto all'interno di un department store per circa 2 mesi e verrà sostituito con un altro a tema alla fine di giugno. Avevo letto prima di partire che per poter entrare bisognava fare una coda anche di 2 ore (ma i giapponesi non si fanno problemi a stare in coda e questo non era un café per turisti). Io sono andata verso le otto di sera perché avevo letto che era il momento meno affollato. E in effetti abbiamo aspettato solo circa un quarto d'ora.
Lì ho reso felice la me stessa di 7 anni. E pure quella attuale.
Perché a Tokyo nessuno si fa problemi se ti piacciono le cose "tenere", se sei maschio o hai 50 anni. Qui anche le insegne e i cartelli sono pieni di cagnolini, maialini e animaletti cicciosi.

 3. Tokyo by Night

Tokyo by night is all about coloured lights, fun and hundreds of people on the streets.
Something I'm really not used to in Milan.


Tokyo di notte si accende di colori (e suoni). E' una città viva, sempre piena di gente a qualsiasi ora del giorno e della notte. Dove puoi camminare tranquillamente per strada senza avvertire nessuna sensazione di pericolo.

4. The People - Le persone

Japanese people are kind. They will try to help you even if they don't speak english (and not that many do). And Tokyo it's great for people-watching and street style. So much creativity and well dressed people.


Avevo letto che i giapponesi sono particolarmente gentili e che si fanno in quattro ad esempio per aiutarti a trovare la tua meta anche se non parlano inglese (e non molti lo parlano). In effetti è così. E a Tokyo il "people watching" poi è fantastico, c'è molta creatività nell'estetica e nell'abbigliamento. 


 5. Anime & Manga

If you like "anime" and "manga" comics Tokyo is your destination n°1.


Tokyo è la mecca di tutti gli appassionati di fumetti. E se anche non sono una "otaku" (gli appassionati nerd di manga e anime giapponesi vengono chiamati così) quello giapponese è il tratto dei fumetti che amo di più.


 6. Old versus New - Antico vs Moderno

Very old temples and ladies wearing kimonos cohabit with skyscrapers and technology.
And yes, in case you were wondering, there's a copy of the Liberty Statue in Tokyo.


Templi antichissimi e donne col kimono convivono con grattacieli e tecnologia.
E, nel caso ve lo stiate chiedendo, sì a Tokyo c'è una copia della statua della libertà.


7. Japanese Beauty Products - Prodotti beauty giapponesi

I had so much fun with my Japanese beauty haul.
A detailed post about it will come soon.


Andare a scovare i prodotti beauty giapponesi che mi ero "studiata a casa" prima di partire è stato uno dei miei personali divertimenti.
Farò presto un post più dettagliato su questo.


8. Tokyo Metro

It's great that you can reach every part of the city by metro. And how everyone orderly queues orderly behind the doors before the train arrives. And that's there a train every 3 minutes or less. Can't say the same things of Milan's metro...
Tokyo metro stations are the best points of reference for tourists since there are no addresses in Tokyo (the way we are used to). And even if the Tokyo Metro is huge, it's quite easy to get around. BUT it's not that easy to find exits. To find your exit. And if you get the wrong one you probably have to walk 20 minutes just to go back (having no clue about where you are when you get out).


Con la metro di Tokyo raggiungi qualsiasi parte della città. Ed è probabilmente il maggiore punto di riferimento per un turista dal momento che non esistono gli indirizzi (nel nostro modo di intenderli). Anche se ci sono mille stazioni e linee tutto è piuttosto semplice da capire. Tranne trovare l'uscita. La tua uscita. Quella più vicina alla meta che devi raggiungere. Perché se esci a quella sbagliata rischi di dover camminare per mezzo chilometro solo per poi tornare indietro (e non avere la più pallida idea di dove ti trovi).
E ho amato l'ordine e l'educazione della gente che prende il metrò. I giapponesi si mettono in coda dietro ogni porta su tre file ordinate prima che il treno arrivi. Ed è vietato parlare al cellulare nei vagoni. Santi giapponesi. Non ho mai aspettato un treno più di 3 minuti a qualsiasi ora del giorno o della sera. 

9. Robot Restaurant

It's hard to explain what "Robot Restaurant" exactly is. It's not a restaurant (weird choice of name, yes...) and it's a popular tourist attraction. But it was actually recommended to us by Japanese guys. It's a show that somehow summerizes Japanese culture: girls and robots, sexy costumes mixed with pelouche pandas, humour, kitsch, music and laser lights. It's a show that's hard to imagine for a "western" mind.

E' difficile spiegare cos'è il Robot Restaurant. Intanto non è un ristorante (scelta del nome bizzarra in effetti). E' sicuramente un'attrazione per turisti ma a noi era stato consigliato da ragazzi giapponesi. E' uno spettacolo che in qualche modo riassume la cultura giapponese. Ragazze e robot, costumi succinti mischiati a teneri panda di pelouche, umorismo, malizia, musica, kitsch e laser. Un mix di elementi difficilmente assimilabili a qualsiasi spettacolo pensato da una mente "occidentale".


 10. Advertising & Packaging - Pubblicità e packaging

Do you have safety instructions explained with drawings in your country? And such funny toilet paper?
They do! 


Chi ha le istruzioni della sicurezza in metrò spiegate coi fumetti? E la carta igienica? 
Loro sì!


All photos: BlueisinFashionThisYear.com
All photos taken with iPhone except n°8

latest finds...



Bonjour,

Another gorgeous day, much too gorgeous to be ironing....but sometimes a girl just has to do what a girl has to do!

French Boyfriend very kindly bought me this fabulous print and as you already know I have a thing about antique hot air balloon prints or as they are called in French; Montgolfière and we already have a few in one of the bedrooms in Apartment Deux.


This particular print is not bound for there but is part of the growing collection of items that I am accumulating for a new project that we are about to get underway shortly..... Maison No. 20 will be getting a baby sister. 

Exciting but a little bit scary, the exciting part is the decoration and sourcing of fabulous items, the scary part is the restoration part and I am hoping that it does not mange too much money.

Another find was this antique linen flour sack which I purchased at the same time that I bought a stunning monogrammed linen tablecloth which has a temporary hand stitched type hem  and has never been used hence it looks like it was started and for one reason or another was never finished. Authentic and charming but not terribly practical so it is waiting to have a machine stitched hem so that I can start using it.


 
 
Another find was the fabulous 1800's linen sack which comes complete with monogramme  initials and shabby style letters stamped on it.....
 
 
 
 
Another find is this stunning antique opaline rosary which is in immaculate condition....
 



Next up was a bit of a surprise as this is what I first saw...



What a lovely surprise it was to find lots of vintage French stamp sheets...



There are 8 of these and one of them features the French alphabet, they really are charming and I have never seen these before.
Note I have not had time to photograph each of these so please contact me if you are interested in purchasing one or the whole set of 8.

I am off to continue with the  ironing..

amicalement, Leeann x



Inspiration: Dots

Photos via:

My Tokyo Trip Photo Diary [Part 2]

Meiji Shrine Park & Meiji Jingu Temple
5,6 Traditional Weddings

Odaiba 
2,4 Tokyo Bay 
3 Gundam statue

 Akihabara 
"Otaku" district, anime, manga and geek district
6-7 Reiji Matsumoto exhibition
(Qualcuno riconosce i disegni vero?)

All photos BlueisinFashionthisYear.com

work in progress...



Bonjour mes belles,

I hope that you had a nice week-end. Ours was a very hot one and Meteo were forecasting the risk of a storm which eventuated in the middle of the night but as a result it is not as hot today and there is a nice breeze in the air.

Despite the heat, I managed to find a couple of goodies which I have not had time to photograph as I have spent most of the day deconstructing the bottom of the chair that you see pictured above.

Unfortunately?! the bottom has had it's days so needs to be rebuilt but before I can do this, all of the original seating part needs to be removed which involves removing what seems like millions of tacks which is time consuming and involves a lot of muscle power......

I have a reupholstery lesson scheduled for next Monday so will take the camera with me so you can see the reconstruction step by step.....

amicalement from a very sunny SW France, Leeann

My Tokyo Trip Photo Diary [Part 1]

Asakusa
1,2 Sensoji Temple
3-5 Nakamise Dori - street food

Ginza
Sanno Matsuri Parade

Harajuko
2,3 Eating crêpes in Harajuko is a must 

With Tokyo it was love at first sight.
I let images speak or my post would be full of exclamation marks, wows and little hearts.

Lascio parlare le immagini perché se dovessi mettere a parole le mie impressioni su Tokyo sarebbe tutto un punto esclamativo, un wow e un cuoricino.
Nessuna città e cultura mi aveva mai catturato così. Al primo sguardo. E anche al secondo.

All photos: BlueisinFashionthisYear.com

Basics: White Top + Jeans

Photos via:

Front/Back

3x1 Jeans & Light Blue Basics

Photos via thefashioneaters

French Foodie Friday....


recipe and photo from here

Bonjour,

This week has been a lovely sunny one and we have more of the same to come.

I can think of nothing nicer than a lovely refreshing cocktail after a hard week at the "office".

The citrus-tinged Sidecar is a cocktail that's said to have been created during WWI, though there is some controversy surrounding its precise origins.

While the Ritz Hotel in Paris claims to have introduced it, some stories credit a British inventor while others attribute it to an American army captain in Paris. Nevertheless, it rose to fame at Harry's Bar in Paris and remains a refreshing classic.

You Will Need:
1 1/2 oz (445ml) Cognac or Armagnac, or bourbon
1 oz (30 ml) Cointreau or triple sec orange liqueur
1/2 oz (15 ml) lemon juice
Lemon twist for garnish Sugar for rimming (optional)

Preparation:

  1. If desired, rim a chilled cocktail glass with sugar.
  2. Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
  3. Shake well.
  4. Strain into the prepared cocktail glass.
  5. Garnish with a lemon twist.

santé à tous, Leeann

Overalls Galore

Photos via:

 Photos via:

love this chambre...

photo from here


How fabulous is this chambre? Love the colours, so soothing on what has turned out to be a very busy lundi in SW france...

très douce semaine à tous, leeann

Bermuda Shorts - Minimal Looks

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