Category Archives: trips

favourite things sew sew trips

Joining the Brother 1034D club

February 27, 2013 – 11:33 am

Madeira in february

The week before last, I spent a lovely week in Madeira with one of my best friends (and bridesmaids). We didn’t really know what to expect (we booked our flights last minute so just went as far south as we could without spending a fortune.

It was gorgeous, but such a funny place. It feels like you’re in Portugal (and technically you are), but you’re actually off the coast of Africa.You can be lazing on the beach in the sun and then get in the car and 15 minutes later you’re up a mountain in the fog. The food was incredible (including lots of lovely Portuguese pastries and vino tinto!). It really is a wonderful place, and the people were so, so nice. (When we couldn’t find our hotel, a man hopped in his car and told us to follow him, then drove ten minutes across town to show us where it was!)

Anyway, when we got back, Mr V told me that he’d bought me my birthday present (my birthday is next month) and needed me to check out whether it was right because it was second-hand and if there was anything wrong with it he needed to send it back asap.

Brother 1034D AD limited edition1

That lovely sneak had paid attention when I was babbling about wanting an overlocker/serger and found out which one I wanted and there it was! Waiting for me! (If Mr V was down with his photo on the blog, this is where there would be a “Hey girl, I bought you that sewing gadget that I don’t understand because I really want another noisy machine in the flat.”)

(I wanted this one because I’d seen it lurking in the sewing rooms of some of my favourite stitchers, including Karen, Andrea, Tilly and the Colette studio. I normally research things like this death, but I figured those guys wouldn’t have bought it if it was a duff and I really really wanted a machine that lots of other people had so there would be lots of tutorials and YouTube videos on it, plus this Pattern Review thread was really reassuring.)

I was both incredibly excited and utterly terrified. This is a complicated machine with four threads and two knives. KNIVES!  Normally I’m a real stickler about waiting till my birthday to use my presents, even if I know what they are, but after putting this back in the box and leaving it for a day, I realised I was just making The Fear worse, so I got it out and having been playing with it ever since.

I LOVE IT. Yeah, I’m still scared of rethreading it, but I’m in touch with a local sewing tutor and will be on her introduction to overlockers class as soon as it runs again (spending some the money I’d been saving up to buy an overlocker!). (Or I might buy this Craftsy class with Andrea’s 50 per cent discount.)

Anyway. My exact overlocker (The 1034D AV Limited Edition, whatever that means!) came with three extra feet (yaaay!) but nothing to catch the trimmings and lint, so I popped it on this Ikea tray WHICH MATCHES THE COLOURS PERFECTLY (I’m a leeetle excited about it). (I’d also read that having it on a tray made it easier to move around without getting your hand tangled in the threads). (That tray doesn’t seem to be on Ikea’s website anymore, but this one would look cute too!)

I wanted a little box to keep things like the tweezers and lint brush in, so I went to my stash of empty boxes (everyone has one of those, right?), and found this fancy Prada box that I rescued from an optician’s recycling bin as I just knew one day I’d find the perfect use for it.

Brother 1034D AD limited edition5

PERFECT! The box fits perfectly in that little nook of the machine and then when I’m using it, I just take the lid off and use that to catch the crap and use the bottom to hold all the bits and pieces I need nearby. PERFECT! I must save empty boxes from the rubbish more often!

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Those hand sewing needles are for weaving in the serger ends.

You can see in those images above that I also stuck labels all over it to help me remember what’s what (and what order it needs to be threaded in). I saw this idea on Tilly’s blog and also in the Pattern Review thread and shamelessly copied it.

Brother 1034D AD limited edition2

I also wanted a little pouch for all the less everyday accessories that came with the machine, so I serged one. (Like how I threw that in there all casual? Really I was grinning a manic-happy-scared smile the whole time like a 10 year old who was allowed to get behind the wheel of a bus.)

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(I added the velcro on my other machine, and no I didn’t change my thread to match).

And then to round out this weird little recap of things I did with my overlocker during its first week, here are two dusters I made out of an old t-shirt. You can wear them on your hands. JAZZ HANDS!

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No but really. I’m a proper boring grown up now, I made my own dusters and was really excited about it.

 

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Parties and presents sew sew trips

Lots of elephants and a giraffe

January 7, 2013 – 10:07 pm

Happy new year, team! I hope everyone had a jolly Christmas and a spendid New Year. We had a lovely Christmas at Mr V’s parents’ house with the whole family and then we whipped down to Devon to welcome the new year with my friends.

Beach

We swam here on the 1st of January to wash the old year away! It was frrrrrreezing, unsurprisingly.

Anyway, I thought I’d just update with some Christmas sewing I did for the tiny nieces and for the homemade secret santa that we do at New Year.

First up, I made our toddler niece a dress with elephants on it.

Every little thing dress elephants

It’s the Every Little Thing Dress pattern from Schwin Designs, which I bought in their Black Friday sale.

Not going to lie, I pretty much hated sewing this dress. My sewing machine kept ripping thread, my gathering kept messing up, my iron got dirt on the white bit of dress… basically everything that could go wrong, did go wrong! (And most of the things that did go wrong, were my fault either that day or at some point in the past.) Eventually I called it a day, whapped some polka dot bias tape on it to cover some sins and accepted how wonky these elephants are on the back.

Every little thing elephant dress back

I was a bit aware that making clothes for babies and toddlers is more of a present for their parents than the kid themselves, so I wanted to make a simple softie to match the outfits I’d made (the baby niece got these polka dot dungarees).

So, using this Little Softies Zoo Pattern (amazing, so well designed and written!) I made big and little elephants in the same fabrics.

Little Softies elephants

I was happier with how the baby elephant turned out. It really felt like I was short changing the toddler niece as I wasn’t happy with her dress or elephant and I was thrilled with her baby sister’s dungarees and elephant. Oh well, luckily she’s only two so she didn’t care!

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I was thrilled to get this message from the nieces’ mum a few days ago: “I spent a long time this morning trying to get a picture of the girls playing with their elephants but they move too much! I hadn’t even set it up, they absolutely love them!” (She really liked the dungarees and dress too!)

I didn’t have much time to make my present for homemade secret santa so I decided to stick with the Little Softies pattern, adding a giraffe to the mix. I made them out of lovely printed felt and did a bit more embroidery on them (as they were for an adult). I still realised that I’d essentially made a 29-year-old a baby toy, but she seemed to like them!

Felt elephant and giraffe

I only managed to snap a picture of these with the iphone after I’d given them, so sorry there’s not much detail.

So that’s the last of my pre-Christmas sewing all caught up! Homemade secret santa marked one year since my first sewing project since school (pyjama cat). It’s been really fun – I’ve loved learning so much and nothing beats the feeling of making a whole new thing out of fabric and thread.

I’m looking forward to sewing a lot more in 2013. I’m also hoping to get a lot more technically proficient and make many more wearable garments.

Making the felt elephant also ignited a new love – hand embroidery – so there might be a bit of that too!

Embroidered flower

I made this last week. The really rough petals and leaves are from before I got the embroidery hoop…

Did you make any Christmas presents this year? I wanted to make more but ran way out of time (I owe Mr V some pyjama shorts!). Next time I’ll start earlier, because I’ve missed my selfish sewing.

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recipes trips

Cooking on the road – bean stew

September 3, 2012 – 1:07 pm

I grew up camping with my family. I think we stayed in bed and breakfasts about three times in my childhood and the first time I stayed in a real hotel was probably when my Dad took me to New York when I was 14.

There is so much I love about camping: sitting outside late into the night, doing everything in the fresh air, the sense of community with your temporary neighbours. When we were kids we’d even love it when it rained as it meant we’d cycle to the bar of the nearest fancy hotel and spend the afternoon playing endless games of cards.

I’ve done a lot of camping with friends or Mr V in the last decade, but most of it has been at festivals, or while backpacking, or we’ve flown somewhere or got the train. So it’s all been more like having a tent to sleep in, but not really camping. This trip felt like the first time going back to those childhood camping holidays, where we literally brought the kitchen sink (or at least a washing up bowl) and cooked most meals ourselves. It felt so familiar.

My mum would always pack the same meal to eat when we arrived – rice and a tin of chicken in white sauce. I have many happy memories of eating this same meal in the dark or in the rain at the end of a long, long car journey. I brought a tin of chicken in white sauce on this holiday for old times’ sake, but it didn’t turn out to be our favourite meal. (Although, I think mine tasted better than Mr V’s, as it was seasoned with nostalgia)

The first full day Mr V and I were in France was a Sunday and we managed to find a supermarket just minutes before it closed. Our food shopping became a supermarket sweep as we both ricocheted around trying to get everything we needed before it shut. We’d bump into each other and go: “Squash!” “Mosquito repellant!” “Toothpaste!” and then dash off. Needless to say, we didn’t quite come out with a carefully considered meal plan, just a load of stuff that seemed like a good idea at the time.

Anyway. That’s how this recipe came about, when we found ourselves back at the campsite with a tin of beans, two courgettes and some leftover saucisson from lunch. It tasted so good that we actually made it three or four times while we were away!

I’m calling it a “recipe”, but really I think beans plus meat and veg in a pot is probably a) more of a formula than a recipe! and b) probably the oldest meal there is (if your beans weren’t tinned). But, hey, I made it and liked it, so thought I’d share

That stove there is a Trangia 27 and it’s one of my favourite camping tools ever (right up there with my Swiss Army knife). It’s a hand-me-down from my Dad and I thought it was dead but then I replaced the burner (the old one had corroded because my teenage self didn’t look after it very well). The rest of it is practially good as new even though it’s been used and used. It’s just one of those things that really, really works! It folds up into a unit about the size of a smallish saucepan, but inside it has the burner, windshield (it burns in all weathers, even rain) two saucepans, a frying pan and a handle for them all. Anyway. Not sponsored or anything but I love it.

I love the challenge of cooking on a single ring. You have to time everything right and juggle all the different elements of a meal, while only being able to heat things one at a time. Rice is pretty handy for this (using this method, it cooks itself perfectly after the initial blast), but cous cous is phenomenal! You just put half a mug of cous cous (for two people) in a bowl with (optional) a slug of olive oil and some salt, and then pour over 3/4 of a mug of boiling water and set aside (covered) for ten minutes or until you’re ready to eat it.  Done.

Camping Bean Stew

Ingredients:

Olive oil

Cous cous (half a mug)

Courgette (one or two small ones)

Saucisson (or other cured meat, such as chorizo or salami) (a couple of inches)

Tin of cannelloni beans (other beans would work) (about a 400g tin)

Cherry tomatoes (a handful)

Salt and Pepper

1) Boil your water for your cous cous first, then set it aside as detailed above.

2) Meanwhile, cut up the courgette and saucisson into slices (we later added leeks to the mix as well, with good results)

3) Fry the courgettes and saucisson in a little olive oil in the bottom of a saucepan (or in the frying pan if you have one)

4) Pour over the tin of beans, season, stir well and cover. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer until the beans are cooked.

5) When nearly ready, add the tomatoes (I like mine cut in half).

6) Serve with the cous cous.

Friends, I’m curious – what sort of family holiday did your family go on as a child? Do you find yourself gravitating back to the same things now your older? And, if you camp, what’s your favourite thing to cook when you’re there?

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trips

Wild swimming in France

August 31, 2012 – 2:17 pm

Here are some more pictures of our wild swimming road trip around France. We were there for ten days, swam in five different rivers (and the sea!), covered about 3,000 miles, camped in four campsites, and… just had the best time. Hands down. Hands up. Best.

I thought, rather than giving you a day by day run down of what we did, I’d just post some of my favourite pictures, and tell a few stories alongside them.

It doesn’t even look real does it?

It certainly doesn’t feel real that just a fortnight ago
I was swimming here every morning in lieu of a shower!

Our route


View Larger Map

Our first stop (after an early start, a ferry across the channel and a long day’s driving for Mr V) was a beautiful wooded campsite near Angouleme on the river Charente. There were four families there when we arrived and then we had the place to ourselves for the second night!

The river here was gorgeous. One evening, as we sat quietly by the water, we saw a furry little head bob past in the water – we’re fairly certain it was an otter or a eurasian beaver. Either way it was one of those moments you know you’ll always remember.

The campsite itself was in an oxbow of a river (we could see and hear the water from our tent) and quite fast flowing, so on the morning we left we had a great time swimming round in circles (hop in upstream, drift downstream and then run across the narrow sliver of land back into the river upstream!). (This ‘method’ is recommended by Roger Deakin in his lovely book Waterlog, I’ll post his description of it sometime, because it makes me happy.)

While we were there, we also went into Angouleme for dinner. We didn’t see much of the city, but did enjoy the cheeky little bits of comic book graffiti around the place, like this funny little chap:

Doesn’t he look like Where’s Wally’s scruffy little brother?

After two lovely nights in the Charente, we drove in the pouring rain to the Dordogne. Luckily, this was the last bit of rain we’d see all holiday – something we were thankful for after a soggy few months in England!

We spent three nights in the Dordogne at a gorgeous campsite next to a clear, surprisingly chilly tributary of the big river. Every morning we’d wake up hot in our little tent and slip down to the river for a swim before hordes of children overtook it. Those morning swims are the thing I’m missing most now we’re back in the city.

(Wow, I look so glum in this photo! I was going for serene water nymph)

That little pool above was right by our tent, but then we discovered this dreamy pool, and that’s when we knew we’d found a campsite we’ll be coming back to again and again.

During the day, we went to cafes in cute little towns, hired a canoe (I lolled in the bow taking in the scenery while Mr V paddled for three hours, it was epic!), found little nooks in the river to call “our private beach”, did lots more swimming and found dogs to befriend. (I speak pretty good French, but Mr V speaks dog like its his first language.) (Maybe it is, his parents got a puppy when he was two weeks old and they grew up together!)

Dodgy picture taken on my iphone through its waterproof case!

Mr V taught me to skim stones here! I’m now obsessed.

When I call this a ‘wild swimming holiday’, that might be a bit misleading
as we mainly enjoyed floating our way around France. Just FYI!

The view over head. Sigh.

This little fella was so hot and sleepy. We loved him!

After four dreamy days, we packed our little tent in our little car and headed to the coast. We camped at Ronce-les-Bains and, even though we thought the Dordogne was crammed with tourists, we soon realised that that was nothing compared to the crush at the seaside. After a swim in the Atlantic, moules frites on the Ile d’Oleron and a good night’s sleep, we hightailed it to the leafy Loire.

Ah! The Loire. I love the Loire.We hired a canoe again and literally paddled through the moat of a chateau. It was amazing (those pics are on my underwater film camera so not in this post). We swam in the Indre and the Loire, had lovely beers on leafy terraces and felt the last few days of our holiday slipping blissfully through our fingers.

We stayed at another lovely riverside campsite, this was the view from our tent

On our last day, Mr V bought me a basket at the market (I’m a bit obsessed with baskets) and we spent hours and hours with a picnic at another place that felt like a private beach, swimming and skimming and sunning ourselves.

I know you’ve seen this one before, but I really love baskets, ok?

Then the next morning, we woke up, packed the tent up while it was still dark and drove all the way home!

Man. I know I’ve already gone on about how brilliant this holiday was, but it really was magical. Ten shining, bright, beautiful days. We left the ipad at home and listened to audio books. We cooked simple meals over a teensy stove (more on this soon). We woke up and slept with the sun! Ah. I could go on forever….

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trips

I’m back!

August 13, 2012 – 1:19 pm

Pretty houses in St Cyprien

Hello!

I just thought I’d let you know we’re home safe and sound from our trip around France. It was one of those really magical holidays where it just kept getting better. I loved practically every second, especially the bit at the end of each day when we’d lie in the tent and try to decide what our favourite bit of the day was. I’ll be back with more, of course, but I’ll also try not to bore you to death with every detail of my holiday!

Back to real life today. We’re both very tired, but also refreshed and rested.

Our picnic on the banks of the Loire

What have you been up to over the last ten days? I’ve missed reading all your blogs!

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trips

See you next week!

July 27, 2012 – 8:39 pm

I’m on holiday here for a few days of sun, swimming and good friends. Isn’t it lovely?
See you next week!

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Ps. I’m wearing my new dress that I sewed in an evening this week. It’s simple but perfect. More details soon!

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favourite things trips

My top ten favourite things to do in Paris

April 23, 2012 – 12:51 am

Following up on my tips for Little House Big Heart‘s London trip, I thought I’d share my very favourite things to do in Paris.

  1. Flea shop at the Marché aux Puces de Saint Ouen and have a beer at the Jazz cafe there
  2. Hire vel’libs (the public bike hire scheme) and enjoy the sound of cobbles under bike wheels
  3. Order a “noisette” (small, strong, frothy coffee) and a Flan Nature (vanilla custard tart) while people watching in the day time, or a “demi” (what to call a beer to sound least like a tourist) in the evening.
  4. Walk through the Jardin des Tuileries, either while walking between the Eiffel Tower and Louvre, or just because I love it.
  5. Stroll the Canal du Saint Martin (maybe skim a stone like Amelie) – shop at Antoine et Lili and have a beer overlooking the water.
  6. Shops: BHV (home wares!), Promod (beautiful affordable clothes) and I really want to visit Merci next time. Stock up on my favourite cheap perfume at Sephora (Vanille Bourbon! Oh la la!)
  7. Walk through the Cour Carrée of the Louvre at dusk or after dark (Mr V and I were lucky enough to catch a flautist busking and had a little dance together). Browse the bouquinistes while we’re in that part of town.
  8. Go to Montmartre, sit on the steps of the Sacré-Coeur, watch buskers, eat over-priced ice creams and enjoy the view
  9. Ride a bateau mouche (at dusk or just after) for views like these
  10. Wander, get lost, stop at cafes any and all cafes that look nice, watch people, lose track of time, you know, those things you do on holiday that make it a real holiday!

I hope I haven’t bored you with my foray into travel writing! I’ll be back with a post about our new kitchen tomorrow.

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favourite things London trips

A foodie weekend in London

April 19, 2012 – 8:09 am

Alternative title – Little House in the Big Smoke!

Jess and Kevin from Little House Big Heart are heading to London for a few days next week and Jess asked me in the comments of another post if I had any suggestions of things to do or places to eat.

Turns out I had a whole load of things to say! Hence this long, rambly post.


Jessica and Kevin are staying near Trafalgar Square and flying in on a Saturday morning. Jessica told me they like to “eat our way through our holidays” so they can’t miss Borough Market!   (It’s where I snapped those tomatoes above) The market’s only open Thursday to Saturday, so if J&K want to go they’d need to get there before 5 on Saturday to include it on this trip.  It gets totally packed, but for a whirlwind trip to London it really shouldn’t be missed – Jess and Kevin will be able to sample a whole host of great food and soak up the fantastic atmosphere. Plus, they can get London’s best coffee at the Market’s Monmouth Coffee, or pop next door for champagne and oysters (or a pint) at Wright Brother’s oyster house  – I’ve only ever had a bit of bubbly here, but Mr V’s top restaurant recommendation for Jess and Kevin was Wright Brothers Soho Oysterhouse  – so if they choose to have lunch here we’re sure they wouldn’t be disappointed, and the décor is stunning (Monmouth Coffee looks as good as it tastes too – don’t mind the queue, it goes quickly). We love the Southwark Tavern pub at Borough Market for a nice pint.

As J&K are staying in Trafalgar Square, I’d highly recommend walking either to or from Borough Market, crossing over the river and along the South Bank. Even though it’s cheesy, I love this walk, particularly at sunset, but at any time of day it’s a nice place to do lots of people watching, see the Thames, stroll hand in hand…. They can pop into the Tate Modern if they’re into that kind of thing (there’s normally something fun in the Turbine Hall that’s worth the small detour). I like all the shops in Gabriel’s Wharf halfway along the route (there’s a nice bar with outdoor seating tucked away at the back)  (you can also hire bikes here!).

Along the Southbank, you’ll also pass the lovely Oxo tower, which is where one of our top recommended restaurants is.  It’s got great food, great views and great service (when Mr V and I went, he sent his kebab flying across the room and they were so nice about it and brought him a new one without being asked). It’s at the pricey end but I’ve included it in case you’re treating yourselves. It would be very romantic to have an evening meal here and walk back to your hotel along the river – the lights on all the buildings are gorgeous.

The other “treat” restaurant I’m including is Le Pont de La Tour. I love this restaurant! I used to get taken our to fancy lunches all the time in my old old job, and the beautiful lobster I had here was hands down the best lunch I’ve ever had in London and the views (of Tower Bridge) are just incredible. Go on a sunny day and insist on a table outside. You won’t regret it!

If J&K are braving the weekend crowds at the great (free!) museums on exhibition road (The Victoria and Albert (mind bogglingly amazing and the shop is stellar if you love good design), the Natural History Museum (I think I’ve mentioned a million times how much I love this place) and the Science Museum (also fun, but more geared to kids). Then there are a number of great places to eat snacky type food (sandwiches and salads) around there – my favourite is Greenfields Café at 13 Exhibition Road, but the crepe place across the road is good too.

Our favourite pub in London is the Island Queen in Islington. It’s got lovely atmosphere, lovely decoration, good beer, great food and it’s the where Mr V and I went on our first date (but that’s not the only reason it’s our favourite, promise!). The whole area between Angel tube and Highbury & Islington is great for food and shopping. Yotam Ottolenghi’s café is halfway down – with meringues the size of your head and there’s just so many good cafes and places to eat all along Upper Street. There are good slightly higher end clothes shops here (Hobbs, Toast, Whistles) as well as more mass market places like H&M (at the Angel end) and some great interiors places and one of the best toy shops ever (After Noah), which has an antique shop in the basement. Oh! There’s also Atelier Abigail Ahern here.

If you’re on a budget, Sam Smith’s pubs are found all over the place in London and they’re pretty highly recommended for cheap prices without a tacky atmosphere. They brew all their own beer and don’t have TV or music in the pubs. Our favourites are the John Snow in Soho and the Champion  just off Oxford Street.

The Princess Louise is a Sam Smith’s pub but a total stunner in it’s own right  – Sam Smiths have restored it to how it would have been when it was built in the Victorian times. It has these amazing little wooden cubby bars all around the main bar. It’s hard to describe, click here to have a look! Even the gents loos are historic, with marble urinals (that website says: “They are of sufficient historical and architectural interest that they have their own formal ‘listing‘ and are therefore protected from modification or destruction”). It’s close to the British Museum if you’re heading there (The British Museum is Mr V’s favourite building and museum in London, so it’s highly recommended!) and there’s a great tool shop around the corner if you’re into that kind of souvenir! (It’s really special).

If you want to wander the streets of an evening and find a restaurant to eat in, Soho is our recommendation. There’s the aforementioned Wright Brothers Oysters, I had a great meal at Arbutus once, but there’s also plenty of cheaper places – like the tapas restaurant on Old Compton Street, Tuk Tuk (yummy noodles) and Maoz (to die for falafel) or the Breakfast Club. The John Snow I mentioned above is in Soho, too and it’s got a great night-time ambience – but you probably won’t get a seat.

So there you go! I liked writing a little recommendation based on a foodie weekend. There was loads more I wanted to say but didn’t want to overwhelm J&K.

Hope you have a lovely time on your trip Little House Big Heart!

PS. Nearly forgot! When you get the train to Brussels, I’m guessing you’ll be leaving from St Pancras? If you have time, make sure to not run straight from the tube to the train – you can catch Platform 9 and 3/4 next door at King’s Cross and make sure to go to the front of the station to see the gorgeous facade.

Then, just before you get on your train, grab some food for the journey at Sourced Market within the station – much better than anything you can buy on the train and they even sell Monmouth Coffee. You can also pop into Marks and Spencers and buy a mini bottle of bubbly – it always seems so fitting for catching a train to Paris!

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Everything else favourite things trips

Kooktouw for everyone!

January 7, 2012 – 8:03 pm
Boom_shopfront

Remember when I wrote about finding bakers twine in the most amazing hardware shop we found during my Dutch holiday with Mr V?

Boom_clogs_1

Well! Imagine how happy I was to get an email from Bernadette, the owner of the store. She thanked me for writing about her shop, pointed me in the direction of some great pictures of it and said my post had inspired her to start selling bakers twine (kooktouw) on their online shop.

Kooktouw

She said they post to the UK and over 60 other countries so if you need a bulk order of the stripey stuff at just € 2,25 a roll, head on over to her website (use a bit of google translate or email info@ouderwetsewinkel.nl – their English is excellent) (of course).

Of course, if you buy it online you’ll be missing out on this real treat of a shop. If you’re ever in Holland and anywhere near Alkmaar, be sure to pop in for a visit. The floor to ceiling cubbies full of household goods and clogs will make your heart happy. Also make sure to check out the bike shop across the road, it’s a cyclists dream and has the same totally charming feel.

Boom_clogs

PS. Check out the amazing vintage till! I saved my hand written till receipt as a souvenir from our trip, I love it.

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All images taken from J. Boom’s Google places page or webshop

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Everything else Inspiration trips

Looking pretty trim

November 3, 2011 – 2:06 pm

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One thing I noticed in Holland was that the houses’ windows “popped” in a really elegant way. It took me a few days to notice why – most of the houses had black window frames surrounded by white trim. 

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It’s such a simple way to make windows stand out – like adding eye liner I guess!

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Would you ever paint your window frames black? 

 

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