Easing into Christmas

It's been unexpectedly difficult to do (so far) this season. If you are feeling similarly, here is some inspiration via London & Toronto. Depending upon where you live, many of these ideas will transfer easily.

Annie warms up to Christmas in London, including ice skating at Somerset House.

Sasha's super-easy & delicious Nutella palmiers. Three ingredients!

The Clever Pup's Guide to Making Christmas Work. Hazel is so wise.

Here's hoping you are faring better in the Christmas spirit department. Decorating the tree this weekend surely will help. If nothing else, it is always fun to watch Giulia vs. the fairy lights. xoxo

(photograph by Gideon Mendel)

London from Above

Watching Great Cities at Night: Views from the International Space Station brought to mind how magnificent London will be tomorrow evening, from above or here on Earth. Mind you, London is always magnificent. Still it's sure to be a spectacle in the best sense of the word. Almost-confirmed rumors about the Olympic Games opening's inspiration include: Shakespeare (specifically, The Tempest), beloved characters from children's literature, Paul McCartney. Can't wait.

ciao/xo

PS: Downtown Lights by Annie Lennox

(photograph by Jason Hawkes via My Modern Met - where you can see more great photos in large format)

Happy Birthday, Mr Dickens

There is no shortage of online material for Charles Dickens enthusiasts for the natal day (& year) celebration. Those fortunate to live in London, should visit the Charles Dickens Museum. Online, they have a creative writing project for students. There are resource links for parents & teachers, as well. (The museum will close in April for renovations so plan accordingly.)

A new-to-us David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page looks excellent. So many links to good sites, synopses, illustration information, & much more. And, of course, Dickens 2012 is birthday central.

ciao-pip-pip-meow/GGCM

(photograph by Bob Penn)

London Lights

A little calm in the midst of a political storm. We'll be visiting our Washington, DC holiday market today. Meanwhile, you should visit Annie's lovely blog Insideology. She posts on photography studies, architecture, interior design, London (lots of great London posts), & much more. Really worth a visit.

And from last year, Coldplay's Christmas Lights. It, too, is a popular search again this year. We confess: it's one of only 3 songs we own of theirs, but we do like the video of London. And even though it references Oxford Street, these photographs are from Carnaby Street.

pip pip & a merry ciao-meow/GGCM

PS: Liberty London Girl's Bond Street decorations.

(photography & collage by Annie)

Christmas Lights

A little overnight prettiness from us to you (via Vintage Rose Garden via Pinterest). And a song & near the end, fireworks over London. Cheers!

Made4Aid Monday - Street Art Photography

These wonderful photographs would make a great gift for anyone (including you). Three art prints, original street art photography from Brick Lane in East London, UK - ready for framing. The photographs are printed in high resolution on archival quality matte fine art paper, 5 inches (126.5mm) square, and can be provided with or without an additional white border depending on your needs for framing. You can make your own choice of street art photos to be printed as a set from the collection here.

Almost any of these photos could be ordered as a custom set - or, as a set of blank greeting cards. Message us if you'd like to order a set or have a query. The price of this item includes shipping worldwide. Please visit the Made4Aid Etsy shop for more items. Made4Aid items are sold to support the work of Médicin sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders. (image courtesy of Made4Aid)

If you are not in the buying mood, please pass this along &/or favorite the shop on Etsy. Thanks!

ciao-cheeky-meow/GG Central

Ice Skating Lessons from the English Ballet - Week's End

A little overnight distraction from the crazy world. James Streeter of the English Ballet (formerly a speed skater) gives an excellent how-to basic lesson at London's Somerset House. Then a chic video statement by Tiffany (sponsors of the ice rink). Have a great evening & tomorrow morning (in Australia)! Giulia still has her little feline heart set on a spin around the rink at the Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC. (image of Mainzer cats from personal collection/website here)

ciao-meow/GGCM

Made4Aid Monday - Winter Snow Photography Cards

Today's Made4Aid post highlights a set of greeting cards, made with prints of original photography of snowy winter scenes in London. They would make a lovely gift for someone this season (or for you). The photographs are printed in high resolution on premium glossy photographic paper and mounted on good quality white card. The cards are blank inside for your own greeting and come with matching envelopes. The size of these cards is 5 inches/12.5cm square.

If you would like to order a custom set of cards, there are 16 winter scenes and you can choose any of these to be made into cards. See the full set here.

Any of these photographs, made into cards, at the following prices:
7 cards for $19; 8 cards for $22; 12 cards for $32

All prices inclusive of shipping worldwide.

Made4Aid items are sold to support the work of Médicin sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) and the World Food Programme. Please see other items in the made4aid shop : http://www.etsy.com/shop/made4aid

The Line of Beauty in London - Week's End

What's with all the London posts? Jealousy, pure & simple (& we have friends & readers in & near London). Another terrific fashion illustration exhibit, this time at Somerset House (through 9 January 2011). The exhibit is Dior Illustrated: René Gruau and the Line of Beauty. And before or after you see it (maybe after is better?), you should absolutely go ice skating. The rink opens next week (23 November). (illustration & the head's up via automatism, thanks!)

ciao-cheeky-meow/GG Central

Tate Kids Create - Colouring Book

More free coloring pages--this time from Tate Britain's Tate Kids. There's lots of craftiness on the large site but you might want to start with the outline of Emma, Lady Hamilton as Circe by George Romney. (image via here)

Enjoy!

ciao-meow/The Management

PS: Today is your last chance to vote in Shabby Apple's Dare to Design (a dress) Competition. Vote here.

Drawing Fashion in London

For lucky ducks in London (or who will be) before 6 March 2011, there's a new exhibit at London's Design Museum on fashion illustration. In the museum shop is beautiful catalogue, a set of 6 cards, & two reproduction prints. (image by François Berthoud via artnet(dot)com)

ciao-cheerio-meow/GGCM

From the Design Museum website:

"Drawing Fashion celebrates a unique collection of some of the most remarkable fashion illustrations from the twentieth and twenty first centuries. These original works define the fine art of illustrating fashion, from the collections of Chanel, Dior, Comme des Garçons and Poiret as well as Viktor & Rolf, Lacroix and McQueen. This exhibition showcases fashion illustrators at their creative heights: Lepape at the beginning of the century, Gruau in the 40's and 50's, Antonio throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s, to current artists Mats Gustafson, Aurore de la Morinerie and François Berthoud. Film-clips, news reels, music and photography will sit alongside the original illustrations to reflect not only the spirit and the style of the decades but also the wider social and cultural changes of the century."

GG Reads Persephone Books

Busted. She listens to books read aloud to her. We recently received the lovely Persephone Catalogue, the Persephone Biannually, & a lovely bookmark. What more do you want? Some books? Yes, us too. We only have one so far. But go here, & read about the publishers, the Bloomsbury bookstore, & how to sign up for snail mail of your very own. Also, the really sweet Persephone staff writes a blog that we follow. (We were pleased to see their post about neighborhood book shops--they included the one we frequent in Washington, DC.) GG wants to go to London & hang out there. (What does she care about rain? She doesn't go outside unless in her travel bag.)

Persephone is devoted to publishing neglected literature written by women; the books are lovingly designed with such an eye to detail that you might forget to read it. (Don't do that!) Here is a beautifully photographed & written post by our pal in San Francisco, Tina Tarnoff of Thought Patterns. (While you're there, please check out Tina's beautiful art & jewellry. Some of which we do own & wear proudly.)

ciao-cheerio-meow/GG's literary editor

(Persephone book images via Thought Patterns)

Made4Aid Monday - London Calling

We're reviving Made4Aid Monday...not enough people are bidding to keep us happy. These cards are not on auction but available without bidding. Below are a few details, but you'll be sorry if you don't hop over & see all 16 cards. Really beautiful. (They'd make a great gift. Ahem.)

"These cards will be on sale until around early December or so... for a minimum donation of $1.70 per card. This isn't an auction - you're not bidding against anyone else as I can make up more cards for the next person - you can simply pay and I'll mail your cards to you once your payment is received....Postage for up to 8 cards would be: UK - free; Europe - $1.90; Worldwide outside Europe - $2.40. If you want to buy more than 8 cards please email..."...

ciao-meow/GG's editor

[photo collage by Made4Aid/used with kind permission]

Ice Skating in London

At Somerset House...how much fun is it? A lot! Wish we were there with stylish & sweet Emma Watson (aka Hermione). Seen on Wee Birdy (a really fun site). Wherever you are, though, most likely there's an outdoor rink (in the northern climes). There's a darling one here in Washington, at the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art's East Wing. Go! Except: It will be closed at least part of Inaugural weekend...so if you were planning to do that, which would be totally cool, forget it kids. (photograph by Alan Davidson)

merry skating!
GG's editor

London Lights

Will Somerset House sue us? How mean would that be?* [No, no threats, we just didn't like the feeling; so see update & new public photograph info below.]

A post & a link to a cool photo of impossibly glam ice skating in London. GG is pondering how, just how, to go skating on the Mall or the canal in Georgetown (since she can't be in London). She doesn't need skates, just a fancy bow & an elegant wrap for her pink ear-tips. The post is from Wee Birdy & here is the beginning of her London-specific holiday list (but everything is available on-line & under £10).

*Update: a replacement photo by Michael Pead, used with permission of photographer via license.

Cheers!
GG & her editor

GG, Petula, Julie, & Petulia...Downtown

GG heard the song Downtown for the first time this afternoon; she perked right up in our 90+ degree heat. The American version of Colour My World was the first album GG's editor bought all on her own; it took so long to save up those pennies. Her mum had The Beatles, Stones, et al, covered...plus the LP with Downtown had already been toted to the States from the UK.

GG's editor & her cousin Sabrina spent a good deal of the summer playing sweet Petula AND bad boy Mick & friends, & of course: The Beatles.

A meeting downtown tomorrow about Darfur. That's all that can be said, but it's disheartening. Hence, the sudden inspiration to download (on dial-up!) Downtown. GG Central now has four whole songs on its iTunes playlist. Yes, we're that poor! (Oh, it was only 99 cents....a petit riens is necessary.)

Just hearing Downtown reminded us that GG is named after two British Julies who were icons in the GG Central family: Christie & Andrews. A perfect combination. GG's human grandmother is a major film fan & anything with Julie Christie definitely fits the bill. Our baby sister was nearly named Petulia. Which we think would have been just fabulous.

TTFN, darlings!

xoxo, GG & her editor