Coffee and pie

mardi 4 décembre 2012

Berlin cheesecake 2012 Gift Guide

Friends, it's that time of year again! While I appreciate some of you might groan at the idea of the hearing the same old Christmas music everywhere and finding a suitable gift, I must admit to loving every minute of of it (OK, not the massive queues in shops). Christmas for me is a break from winter gloom, a season of lights, the smell of roast chestnuts and cinnamon and a chance to give something nice to others. I love looking through gift guides and also preparing this one, not because I necessarily expect to own everything in it but it's just nice picking out presents for those I care about or seeing pretty designs. A Cup of Jo is my favourite (and many people's too); but this post is rather an eclectic mix of stuff I like instead of something geared to a particular person. I've divided it into categories though in order to make it easier to follow. So let's put the kettle on and get started!

Fashion and accessories

Fairisle jumpers are still in fashion what with all the Scandi drama shown this past year on BBC4. Below you'll find one for every budget:

The ultimate cult jumper, brilliantly worn by Sarah Lund in the Killing III, and hand knitted in the Faeroe Islands. Gudrun og Gudrun, €280.

I got the beautiful Jaeger boutique fairisle jumper last year and love this season's design. So pretty and snug. John Lewis, £120, but hurry, they're selling fast!

You can always rely on Asos to come up with some awesome designs. They tend to be popular though so don't leave it too long. Asos, £35.

Beautiful wrist worms handmade by Sandra in Berlin. I don't know what I'd do without mine, perfect for camera walks. Sandra Juto, about €35.

A pretty patterned scarf to go with your jumper, John Lewis, £28.

The lovely Susan introduced me to Toast earlier this year and I've been coveting these socks ever since. Perfect for the house but I also have it on good authority that they're the best Wellington boot socks ever. Toast, £29.

For those winter walks. Zeppo hand warmer, Amazon, £15.75.

Gorgeous iPhone cases from the wonderful Irene, £22 on Etsy.

Beauty

A limited edition for Christmas of my favourite hot cloth cleanser. It's amazing. Cleanse and Polish, Liz Earle, £19.75.

Brilliant facial oils. Yes they're expensive but one bottle will last you ages. I bought one on an afternoon feeling miserable with red and dry skin and haven't looked back since. Use just a few drops at night with one for every skin type. Clarins, £29.

Every winter I suffer with eczema and cracked fingertips. This is about the only thing that helps. Shea butter hand cream, L'Occitane, £18.

I'd love to wear lipstick but find my lips are too dry but sometimes just plain gloss is boring. These chubby sticks combining colour with lip balm sound wonderful, £16 from Clinique.

House and garden

Kneeling pad for those hours in the garden, £8.00, National Trust.

Bulb planter to save your back planting alium and tulips for next spring, £24.50.

Talking beanstalk seeds to bring some colour to a windowsill and send your friends a message. From Not on the high street, £3.

Latin for Gardeners, to make sense of all those names, The Book People, £4.99.

I can't wait to get the latest edition of this, Amazon, £21.70.

I'm so in love with this tea set, even though it's pricey and rather tricky to find, $52.

The Moomin limited edition winter mugs are always gorgeous and I'm looking forward to a Christmas Day cuppa in this one, Cloudberry Living, £15.95.

I was overjoyed to get this exquisite cake stand as a present last year. The perfect centrepiece to show off your baking skills, Lakeland, £25.99.

Manhattan tea towel if you can't make Christmas in New York, Famille Summerbelle, £10.00

Iittala tealights to make your home festive and pretty through the dark nights. The red is my favourite but I can never bring myself to spend that much money so getting it as a gift would be wonderful, Iittala, from £16.

Chinatown poster, still the best film noir ever, Amazon, £13.18

Stationery

Squirrel tape dispenser, How Kapow, £14

Eiffel tower eraser to brighten up your day, None Such Things, £2.95.

Vintage milk bottles which I found just after I returned to the UK this summer. They remind me of free milk at infants' school. None Such Things, £3.95.

The most beautiful diary, RHS, Amazon, £8.39

Pretty pens to inspire you to write something handwritten to your friends, Poketo, $4.50

Films

A Cary Grant box set because too much of a good thing can be wonderful as Mae West once said, Amazon, £42.79.

Classic film set with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy because there's nothing like old movies over the holidays. Amazon, £10.25.

I'm just dying to see this new Woody Allen documentary, Amazon, £10.

Two of my favourite films from this year which I saw in Berlin with my Mum. The Artist (£7.01) and Moonrise Kingdom (£11.99), both from Amazon.

Two more brilliant Scandi series you may have missed, The Bridge, £24.29 and Borgen, £22, both from Amazon.

Books

My favourite cookbooks of the year, Scandilicious Baking, £16, The Kitchen Diaries II, £12 and the Great British Bake Off book, £8.86, all from Amazon.

Richard Burton's diaries to enjoy alone or read aloud together, £18.75, Amazon.

A set with the Etymologicon and the Horologicon to understand hidden connections in the English language and rediscover forgotten words so you can impress your friends by talking about rumpeepers (mirrors) and snollygosters (smug, dishonest people, generally politicians). Fantastic stuff. £15 from Amazon.

I've always loved writing things by hand and receiving handwritten messages but it doesn't happen often enough. I hope Philip Hensher's new book will inspire me to do more. The Missing Ink, £6 from Amazon.

For men

The Hymie Joke Book by Michael Winner. My Dad loved the jokes that Sunday Times readers sent in every week about the rather sexist Hymie and his wife. Some are better than others but in this collection you're bound to find something to make you (and the men in your life) laugh. £8.96 from Amazon.

Men's grooming products by Liz Earle in Try-Me sets (£16.75) or full size sets (£38).

My favourite men's fragrance, £50.

Edible gifts

Delish lemon cake from Peyton and Byrne, a company with fabulous bakeries in London, £10.

Don't forget, to make a really special and personal gift, you could also bake all or some of my Christmas cookies to put in a tin or pretty wrapper or how about some orangettes? You'll find the links below:

Orangettes
Vanilla crescents
Linzer Augen
Spekulatius
Cinnamon stars
Lebkuchen
Mini stollen

lundi 26 novembre 2012

Summer interlude

Thank you again for your kind comments to my last post. I read them all many times. Somehow it seemed strange to respond individually on such a serious topic so I'll just say that your support means a lot.

It feels good to return to my last glimpse of summer when most of the trees have lost their terracotta leaves and fat raindrops refuse to stop falling day after day. I have just returned from Vienna but I still have to tell you about my trip to Finland first. Only a week after we returned from Venice, there was yet another departure, this time for Helsinki with the feeling that my feet hadn't touched the ground. In the plane to Helsinki from Amsterdam, I listened hard to the conversations of the Finns around me to try and catch a word I could recognise. Seagulls swooped around the square in front of the station as I wheeled my case around midnight, thinking that the only real difference between Saturday night here and in the UK was that the people wore coats to stand around drinking. But things looked different on a Sunday morning in the warmth of a day heading towards autumn but still clinging to summer. Crowds filled the café terraces and sat outside in the parks and runners in shorts were everywhere to be seen. I had plans for Tallinn, and to visit a large sea fortress close to Helsinki as well as dinner at the market between the stands collapsing under the weight of piles of jewel like berries and mushrooms but my trip was overshadowed by food poisoning on the second day from the hotel breakfast (you might want to skip scrambled eggs from the buffet in future) which left me feeling weak and nauseous for the remainder of my trip.

Instead I stayed in the city, tentatively climbing the steps to the beautiful Lutheran cathedral, stopping to rest at the wonderful Café Ursula by the seafront, browsing along the endless shelves in the Academic bookshop with a pot of tea at the lovely Café Aalto. It felt sad not to be able to sample all the wonderful things I had seen in the amazing food department of Stockmann but I still returned there day after day to pick up tonic water, cottage cheese and digestive biscuits, little things which made me feel I wasn't so far from home. I imagined how it was to be there at the height of summer, taking a boat across to one of the little islands to picnic or go for a walk, rather like the dancer in Bergman's beautiful Summer Interlude who finds her broken memories once more. I wandered through the lovely Botanical Gardens, just around the corner from the hotel with their jets of water sparkling in the sun, the satisfying sultry feeling in the palm house amongst plants which were living fossils and gigantic lily pads from which I imagined frogs leaping. It felt comforting in the Church of the Rock which looks so ordinary from the outside but overwhelms you inside. I could have sat there for hours, listening to the organ music and watching others light candles and say prayers at what was almost like a little shrine with trickles of water from the outside running down the walls.

Ultimately though, it's hard being ill away from home, staying in an anonymous hotel room when all you long for is your own bed, a bowl of Heinz tomato soup and to spend the afternoon watching Groundhog Day. I'm glad I went to Helsinki to experience the end of a Scandinavian summer but nothing felt so good as when our plane touched down in Birmingham and that magic word 'home' was suddenly within reach again.