Thursday 24 January 2013

things i'm loving these days...


Since yesterday I have been feeling rather rotten and my body is obviously fighting something. Luckily I don't have a fever or a cold and I hope it stays that way; that the hot ginger and lemon water I'm drinking will do the trick.

Today I wanted to share with you two items that I have recently received in the mail. I was so lucky to win yet another giveaway, this time on Wendy Paula's blog, Mulberry Muse. I won this Marie Antoinette day planner/diary for 2013 that you see in the photos. The cover is designed by Wendy Paula herself and the item is sold by the Korsch Verlag in Germany. The day planner is in both English and German, it's neat and it looks beautiful. I feel like the year just started all over again.

Wendy Paula has two shops on Etsy where you can buy her design: Mulberry Muse and Cafe Baudelaire. I'm a big fan of her work, as some of you probably know already. Remember the Marie Antoinette inspired giveaway almost a year ago on the blog? It's the same designer.

Thank you Wendy Paula!


The other item I received in the mail was quite unexpected. It was a thank-you-for-your-hospitality gift from Mary Jo of the Trust Your Style blog, who visited me earlier this month. She gave me a cookbook called Clean Start by Terry Walters. It was a gift that made me think oh you shouldn't have but I'm glad you did! I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but I have already found quite many that I like. It's a beautiful book and what I see so far is a cookbook author that is telling you to eat well and healthy without preaching. It looks like a very solid book and I like how she names the chapters after the seasons. Maybe I'll share a spring recipe on kitchen & aroma in a few weeks.

Thank you Mary Jo!


One more thing.

At the library on Saturday I saw this book in the travel writing section, From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the shadow of Byzantium by William Dalrymple, and on some level it appealed to me. I cannot say that I have given much thought to the struggle of Eastern Christianity in the Middle East, but it turns out that I'm very interested. Dalrymple, with his informative and entertaining writing, has lured me into a world that I hardly knew anything about. The book was published in 1998 but it seems to age quite well. What Dalrymple did was travelling from Greece, from the Simonopetra monastery in Mount Athos, down to Egypt, visiting monasteries and churches and he's telling us about communities that have fallen or are falling into ruin. Dalrymple, who is a historian, is a well-known travel writer and his books about India are next on my list.

I'm going back to bed to rest. Have a wonderful day everyone!

photo credit:
Lisa Hjalt

8 comments:

  1. Pretty things!!!

    I'm feeling like you - a bit ill!
    Get well soon!

    ♥ Franka

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, get well soon, sweet.
    Congs for your new planner. It is so nice and I'm sure y it will be very useful to you.
    "From the Holy Mountain" book sounds really interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hope you're feeling better. Enjoy your wonderful gifts!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hope you feel a lot better soon, so happy your diary arrived safely:)
    Wendy Paula x

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love to see that pile of books on your table. Why? Because it reminds me of the growing pile of books and magazines on my table just in front of me. This weekend is serious reading time planned!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dear Lisa, I hope you feel better! Your reading suggestions are always inspiring! I'm intrigued by "Clean Start": I often read about healthy diets that promise miracles in less than a week, but I think what is important is not a 'one-off' solution, but to have a healthy approach to cooking and eating.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I hope you feel already better! With the weather we have, no surprise that people are sick. What a wonderful selection you are sharing, very appealing thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Your comment appears on the blog after approval. Comments with commercial links are reported as spam.