Save Iceland.

I am terribly clueless when it comes to economics, despite taking a module or two of it in the past. I think that it is such a great pity that a country which was ranked number one on the United Nations Human Development Index for 2007/2008 and the 2nd longest living nation (with a life expectancy of 81.8) has come to this sorry state.

Iceland is especially hard hit by the ongoing 2008 economic crisis, because the debts of its banks are around six times its annual gross domestic product of €14 billion ($19 billion). In October 2008, the Icelandic parliament passed emergency legislation to minimize the impact of the financial crisis. The Financial Supervisoral Authority of Iceland has used permission, granted by the emergency legislation, to take over the three largest commercial banks of Iceland, Glitnir, Landsbanki and Kaupthing. Icelandic officials, including central bank governor Davíð Oddsson, have stated that domestic operations of the banks will be separated from foreign operations and that the state does not intend to take over any of the banks' foreign debts or assets. The Icelandic economic crisis has been a matter of great concern in international media.

On 28 October 2008, the Icelandic government raised interest rates to 18%, a move which was forced in part by the terms of acquiring a loan from the IMF. After the rate hike, trading on the Icelandic króna finally resumed on the open market, with valuation at around 250 ISK per Euro, up significantly from a 1:150 ratio the week before and a 1:70 ratio during most of 2008. Iceland is still appealing to Nordic countries for an additional €4 billion in aid to avert the continuing crisis.

Maybe a little tourism would help them revive their economy. They do have really beautiful countryside landscapes; serene and a tat moody. Great for running away from all the hustle and bustle of the city life.

Such a peaceful scene.

Lovely Blue Lagoon. Looks chilly though.

Hallgrímskirkja, a Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Out in the country.

The Northern Lights as seen from Iceland.

Oldest turf houses in Iceland.

Another view of the countryside.

J.K Place, Florence.

I want to escape. I want to run away. I want to elope to a place without a familiar face in sight; to wander aimlessly into streets and walkways. I think Florence would be perfect to hide out and the perfect compliment to this, would be a very hush hush hotel like the J.K. Place. There is just a discreet bronze sign that reads J.K Place on a pillar. Nothing to announce what lies within.

This historic Florentine Palazzo on the inside is a sense of of calm and luxury. There are 20 rooms and each of them have their own unique decor. Some rooms have their own balcony with a view of the Basilica. Breathtaking.

The hotel has a dining room, library, courtyard where breakfast is served, lounge for meals and tea and the Pink room for drinks and sushi. There is also a rooftop lounge that opens in summer.

It is impossible not to feel overwhelmed with love in Florence, and the J.K. Place is the perfect spot to shy away from all the beauty in Florence; the art museums, the River Arno and the architecture from a bygone era.

One of the bigger rooms.

Love the Fireplace. So cosy.

The canopy over the bed spells romance. 

The Classic room. Notice the lovely ceiling.

The Bathtub with a view of the city.

Another view of the bathroom.

One of the Lounges.

The Library.

One of their corridors adorned with art.

The classic dining room.

The J.K. Lounge.

The Pink room. 

Thou Shall Recycle: Tableware.

I love vintage tableware. Just by casting a glance on them, you can tell that they are of quality. Some of the old china have even been painted by hand with painstaking effort. There are also silver flatware whose handles are handcrafted with ebony, ivory or hand tooled. Nowadays, no one makes tableware quite like the past. I suppose it is because of how our lifestyles have changed over the years. Gone were the days which elaborate tableware depicted how well off people were. Nowadays not many people even have a good set of china, silver flatware, crystal stemware or table linen to entertain with.

However, I do think it is rather nice to have mismatched pieces of old table pieces, that way they can make up a quaint "set" for informal dining. 

Nothing beats eating off a good piece of china or drinking from crystal, after all what's good food without a good presentation? A few dinners like this and even the most crude diner may develop a good sense of table etiquette. 

Things to look out for:

Bone China just means that cattle bone ash is used to make the porcelain body, this gives it a translucent quality; mainly from England.

Limoges Porcelain is porcelain made from the town of Limoges, France. They make one of the best hard paste porcelain as they have kaolin quarries there. 

 

Tuscan  Fine English Bone China cups and dessert plates. The plates have an imprint of where the cup should sit. Similar to a Devonshire tea set.

Christofle Iriana Crystal Wine Glass. These are simple yet beautiful.

Royal Copenhagen Blue and White Half Laced Dinner Plates.

Arnold Namur Ebony and silver handled dessert or butter knife.

Royal Copenhagen blue and white fluted cake stand.

Spode Blue and White Canisters.

Irish Damask Linen Table Cloth. No one makes linen quite like the Irish. Look at the beautiful shamrocks on this table cloth.

Where to find:

Ebay

Replacements

Old China

Such Pretty Old Things

Thou Shall Recycle: Furniture and Fittings.

I fondly believe that when it comes to furniture and fittings, if you buy well, they can be also heirlooms; worth passing it down from generation to generation. Maybe not everyone enjoys a good piece of furniture or design piece, but I sure do. What happens when you love design and can't bear to see them being thrown away? You buy them second hand.

I am not talking of old junk yard pieces, like your grandpa's rosewood screens or sofas bought from ikea. I am talking about Cappellini sofas, Knoll tables, Louis Poulsen lamps, those are worth keeping and will retain a good amount of its value no matter how old it is.

For those out there that rather buy a cheap knock off, let me tell you, it is like carrying a fake Chanel. Somehow deep inside, you know that it is not real. The pride is all fake. Nothing beats knowing that you own the real thing. You need to be fair to the designers and their manufacturers. Every author needs his royalties to know that he is being appreciated and encouraged. If we were to support cheap knock offs, the designer doesn't get paid as much as he should, you wind up supporting a bunch of cheats and you don't get the quality or engineering that was specified by the designer. For short, it is very insulting and offensive.

Anyway, buying a good second hand piece, requires time to locate the pieces that you want. Then again, the fun is not in the prize, but in the hunt.

French Industrial table Lamp.

Murano Caged Milk White Pendant Lamp.

Louis Poulsen PH 5 Lamp

Louis Poulsen Snowball Lamp

French Industrial Pendant Lamp.

Mies Van Der Rohe Barcelona Chair and Ottoman.

Eames Rocker. The original ones have the molded seats made of fibreglass. The new ones by Herman Miller and Vitra are of molded plastic. The reason why they have stopped manufacturing the fibreglass ones was because when they were disposed, they were not good for the environment. That's why the fibreglass versions are now collectables.

By the way, this chair was designed by Ray and Charles Eames for Herman Miller to give away to their staff to congratulate them on the arrival of their new child.

Eames Molded Plywood coffee table.

Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman. Yes I will admit that I am a HUGE Eames fan.

Florence Knoll Setee.

Eero Saarinen Tulip Table and Chairs.

Where to find second hand furniture:

Paris Hotel Boutique

Lorgans the Retro Store - Beware, they have replicas too.

Ebay

David Met Nicole

That Vintage Shop

Labour and Wait

Few and Far

Thou Shall Recycle: Leftovers.

Every year an estimated 6.7million tonnes of household food waste is produced in the UK. Imagine how much household food waste is produced globally. The amount of food we throw away is the major contributor to the greenhouse gases.

If we can cook the amount that we can finish eating (not in excess), or buy grocery and make it a point to finish them, we can help save our earth, save some money and  therefore reducing our carbon footprint.

Everyone who entertains over the festive season will suffer the same problem as us, leftovers. This year, we tried to keep our leftovers to a minimum and also try to make our leftovers into new dishes. In that same spirit, I encourage you to take a look at your leftovers and be creative, think what you can make out of it, instead of throwing it out.

I have photographed what I did with our leftover fruitcake. I took that and with some old bread, made bread and butter pudding for dinner.

Our leftover fruitcake.

The pre-baked break and butter pudding.

The end product with a little chocolate sauce to eat it with.

Whole-meal buttermilk pancakes with grilled cinnamon bananas and salted butter caramel. Absolutely heavenly.

This is made from 2 old and very ripe bananas, butter milk (which I have saved from making butter a few days ago) and the home made salted butter caramel in the fridge. 

Thou Shall Recycle: Engagement Rings

As part of my new year's resolution, I will be doing a series of blogs on recycling, "Thou Shall Recycle". As this is what some call the season of love (many people go into relationships or decide to propose during this period), my first blog of this series is about engagement rings.

I know it seems like taboo to be presenting to your loved one a used ring (unless it has been passed down the family line). I do think that recycling rings has its benefits. You will get a unique ring with a lot more character and style. Moreover, recycling diamonds also means that you are not encouraging mining of more diamonds which will lower the number of conflict/blood diamonds being mined. Having a vintage ring is also somewhat like preserving a piece of art for future generations to admire.

However, the most important thing is to have a ring that best represents you and your style. It is really sad seeing everyone have the same solitaire diamond ring. There is just no sense of individuality. We are all unique, there is no one in the world quite like any of us, why should we settle for a ring that every other girl has?

I love the art deco inspired jewellery the most. They are usually based on mathematical geometric shapes. Art Deco was popular during the 1920s and 1930s (the same era as swing and big band jazz). Art Deco slowly lost patronage in the West after reaching mass production, when it began to be derided as gaudy and presenting a false image of luxury. 

One thing to note though, there are a lot of vintage rings out there with inferior quality diamonds. On the hind sight, you are likely to also get the centre stones in a vintage cutting which is so special because cuts like the rose, old european and peruzzi (to name a few) are not used anymore.

Rings from Hampton Estate Buyers

Estate Art Deco Platinum 1.9ct Diamond Ring. (USD$ 5975). 

Art Deco 1920s Platinum 1.5ct Diamond Ring. (USD$ 4300). 

1920s Art Deco Platinum Diamond Sapphire Filigree Ring. (USD$225) 

Platinum 2ct Diamond Ring. (USD$ 6500)

Rings from RJG Fine Jewelry and Watches.

1.62ct E SI1 Centre Stone Diamond Platinum Ring. (USD$ 14, 500)

2.02ct Radiant cut H SI1 Diamond ring. (USD$ 25, 950)

2.98ct Emerald with 1.5ct Emerald cut Diamonds on a Platinum Ring. (USD$ 16,500)

1.61ct K VS1 Round Diamond Ring. (USD$ 11,000)

1.30ct H SI1 Cushion Cut centre stone with 2ct worth of side stones. (USD$ 12, 500)

4.34ct Trillion cut K I1 Diamond ring. (USD$ 16, 900)

6.25ct Blue Sapphire Oval Cut with 1.45ct diamonds around it on Platinum Ring. (USD$ 17, 500) By the way, this is similar to Princess Diana's Engagement ring (hers was a 18ct Sapphire and 14 round diamonds from Garrard).

5.07 Ascher Cut J VVS2 Diamond and .71 ct of side stones. (USD$ 81, 500) My favourite diamond cut. It has 8 sides and is similar to an emerald cut.