London Undercover: Umbrellas with With and Style

I recently had to dispose of my favorite umbrella and even though it has rained several times in NYC since my loss, I have resisted picking up just any umbrella.


My thoughts of food and fashion this week remind me of these tasty umbrellas from the British company, London Undercover.


They combine functionality and cheekiness in just the right proportions for the perfect undercover recipe.

Cheers!
  
Below, Fish and Chips Umbrella:

Below, English Breakfast Umbrella:

These can be purchased online in the US from Any Old Iron, a specialty shop in NYC selling menswear from the UK.

Lisa Farmer: Curious Creature Containers

Ask anyone who knows me, I love bags and am attracted to curious creatures of nature, so how could I not be lured to these bags that are bag and creature rolled into one.

Sure, most animal shaped bags are pure kitsch or are for children, but these fabulous handmade pieces, designed by Lisa Farmer, are portable art that I would love to tote around.

 Below, Fish Out Of Water:

Below, Holy Mackerel!:

Below, Fly In The Ointment:

 Below, Bug In His Ear (This one is my favorite):

Via Trendland

Fulvia Bonavia: A Matter of Taste

Food and fashion, friends or enemies?

While the first thing that comes to mind are diets and eating disorders, the images from the book "A Matter of Taste" by photographer Fulvio Bonavia make me think otherwise.

These delicious images celebrate the tasty marriage of food and fashion.

 

 Source: Trendland

 

Stripes-Animals

I am fascinated by stripes.

At its simplest, the pattern is a series of bands on a common background.

I love to wear stripes and yes, they are horizontal stripes.
Even if I am told by the fashion world that they can make one appear wider than reality, I am not fazed.

Stripes make me happy and like these beautiful creatures of nature, I wear my stripes with great pride.


 Plains zebra, Image Source:

Albino Zebra, Image Source :

Siberian Tiger, Image Source:

White Tiger, Image Source:

Skunk, Image Source:

Bongo,  Image Source:

Brazilian Tapir, Image Source:

Numbat, Image Source:

Okapi, Image Source:

Black and White and Stripes All Over

I love most all things striped, especially in the the graphic combination of black and white.

I was intrigued by this post on emmas designblogg of the renovated interior of a former sea captain's house and now the home of Swedish industrial designer Kristin Stark, located in the South of Sweden.

White wall and painted gray floors are the background for a mix of black and white furniture, textiles and artwork with vibrant splashes of color thrown into the mix.

It is the quintessential Scandinavian style, fresh, simple and elegant.

 

From the Hus & Hem article Svart och vitt i kaptenshuset

Creme de la Coconut

Since I was a young girl, I have been attracted to beauty products or more precisely, the products that hint that my beauty will be uncovered from its disguise of the real me. 

After years of being mesmerized by the concept of pursuing beauty,  I no longer seek to uncover my hidden beauty.

It took many a hair, skin and cosmetic product for me to realize that I feel beautiful simply being the natural me.  I may swipe on a little gloss on my lips or sweep a little blush on my cheeks now and then, but even these little acts puzzle my husband as he is sure to question what the occasion is that I choose to look "glamourous". 

I have pared down my "beauty" routine to essentially taking care of my skin.

While I am fan of Creme de la Mer, the touted facial moisturizer of the well heeled set, the then under $200, now $230, per 2 oz. jar became an unnecessary luxury:

During our live/work stint in the US Virgin Islands last year, I discovered coconut oil, a long standing beauty and food product in many countries.  Coconut oil is a multi-use product, not only is it a face and body moisturizer, but a hair conditioner and a cooking oil.  I use it to oil my cast iron pan and to moisturize my leather bag. I am certain it will fulfill a myriad of daily household tasks.

It is typically found in the health food store in BOTH the cooking oil aisle and the beauty products aisle.  It is the same product in different packaging. 

My current pick, below, is Spectrum Coconut Oil, about $10-$12 for 14 oz:

While the unrefined coconut oil has little bits of coconut meat within it, it really is no bother to rub them off and possibly get the benefit of a little exfoliation.

You can do further reading about the benefits and misconceptions of coconut oil in the book,
The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife.

The creme de la creme is the creme de la coconut.

House Cleaning Blues

I love to cook, but I can't say that I love to clean.

While I don't mind cleaning WHILE am cooking, I do mind cleaning AFTER I am done cooking.   This unfortunate attitude applies to all realms of cleaning, not just in the Kitchen.

Most of the time I feel like I am Betty Boop in the episode "House Cleaning Blues".

Betty is waking up the morning after her late night party and must face the dreaded clean up.

Like myself, she isn't that efficient, but unlike myself, she cannot leave the house to go for a ride with Grampy until the house is clean.

Grampy puts on his thinking cap and gets to work with his homemade inventions:

Find out how Grampy helps Betty gets the job done:
Betty Boop: House Cleaning Blues (1937) Max Fleisher

Cleaning should be fun and fun to me is having my husband do the cleaning. This is not always possible or fair on my part, so I am put to the challenge today to clean our hardwood floor.

While I like the idea of the Swiffer mop and have seen it in action, I do not approve of the purchase of boxes of expensive Swifter refill cloths and I do not like the attached fragrance.

To the rescue, the old-fashioned, but sort of new-fangled mop and bucket, about $9.00 each at the local Target store. The vibrant red caught my eye:

Below, the O cedar Quick Wring Bucket with "Hands dry wringing":

Below, the O cedar Pro Wring Delf-Twisting Mop that "Picks up hair and particles!":

I can relate to this because the procedure it akin to eating spaghetti.

Wet mop:

Below, wring mop with built in self twister:

Below, wrink mop in bucket, like twirling spaghetti, with detachable push down wringer:

Below, Voila, barely damp mop, perfect for the hardwood floor:

Below, I cleaned the floor as instructed by my husband, who recalled his training in janitorial skills for  a job during his college years, from the far end to the near end, in a figure eight pattern, just like I imagined Popeye the Sailor Man would swab the deck:

In a mere few minutes, the floor was clean and I was done!


Below, removable head that can be washed, dried and replaced separately:

Cleaning, like cooking, CAN be fun!