Wednesday 15 April 2015

Miscellaenous moments April 2015

How have you all been?

It's well and truly a new season and I feel change in the air.
Must be the change in weather and that lunar eclipse.
Fresh start.

I really missed Millie while I was away.
We hung out yesterday and it felt like I was on holiday.



Because the opening of the sliding bi-fold doors means 24 degree weather
which adjusted for London in April is a scorcher.
Even my Greek husband asked for some sunscreen.

It's good to come back home to great weather.

Spring bloom time in London is rather underrated.






There are blossoms everywhere and London soil handles magnolia trees better
than some of the home counties.
But I have to be careful about my freckles so took some time out to go to the auction house to check out some bargains.

I put in a failed bid for this games table that looked like fun.
It was quite damaged but it was from Fortnum and Mason's 100 years ago so some decorator or store dealer must have snapped it up.
But it's things like this why I love an auction house.

Sorry Tabitha but I will admit to flipping this over a few times when I got this as change in a store.
The only time we all use the term "legal tender" is in this instance.

My trip to Korea was lovely - I get so spoiled with care and food.
This item below is the first stage of miso!

Basically it's like a blue cheese.
It's still drying and has a bit more to go until it ripens.

Korean appliances are hilarious.
I have a relative that has crystals and flowers on their fridge.
This was a popular model because it has a drinks only opening  ( center right ) to save energy.

More kitchen paraphernalia are these oil blotters for your food.


We went to Jeonju in the southwest of Korea which is a historic village and saw this traditional door that was souped up with a modern pincode lock.

It was a pivotal city that was a fort in the 1300's.


We went there because it has one of the few remaining portraits of one of my mother's ancestors.
He's the guy who started the Jeonju Lee clan which was named when he moved south to this city.
Apparently he was a powerful warrior which explains my mother's temperament! ;P

This was his horse with which he won battles.
It was like one of those Who do you think you are trips.

Don't tell my family but my highlight was eating bibimbap which was invented there.


Koreans take botany just as seriously as the Japanese but political turmoil and wars ruined their gardens.  In the last century people stopped gardening so much which makes me realize that the saying the planting a garden means you have hope.
So it's a treat to see color and flowers of any kind.
It means Korea has settled from the last 100 years.

I finally visited Zaha Hadid's building in Seoul.
They preserved a historic site from a few thousand years back and juxtaposed so well with the lines created randomly by technology that Zaha uses.


Walking around the building was so interesting because it looked so different from every angle.


It happened to be fashion week and this blogger was hilarious and so hungry for press because I kept bumping into him again and again as I was walking around the building myself!


Here's my uncle and dog walking along the pines in a completely different atmosphere.
I love the light from the sunsets in Seoul.

I wish my family lived closer but then again it gives me an excuse to get out of London!

Muriel from the French Yummy Mummy nominated me for the Sisterhood bloggers.
I didn't really follow the rules because it's a wonder I got this post out at all but I thank her!

Stay well xx

41 comments:

  1. Welcome back! Looks pretty terrific.

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  2. You're back......I've been well, more so now the sunshine has come out; I have an extra spring in my step and it seems you have too with your busy April. London is looking gorgeous as ever . I do love London in the summer minus the tubes. Your patio area looks very inviting. Glad you had a lovely time in Korea and yes there are the obvious pros and cons of having family in another country xx

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    1. It's is blooming gorgeous! Don't you love this heatwave that is apparently going to last 3 months!! Might have to cancel holidays ;) But yes I think if they were always around you take them for granted? xx

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  3. The weather looks positively balmy! Very cute photo of your uncle and the pup. Zaha Hadid's building is amazing. All those curves! I wonder what are cities would look like with more women architects in charge.

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    1. I normally wasn't a huge fan of hers before - rather ambivalent but this building was such a pleasure to be next to and it was constantly changing and reflecting light in different ways. So true to see what cities would be like Jen! great point.

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  4. what a fabulous post!!!! I wish i could have gone to that auction house with you!

    Love the Korean snaps, gorgeous all of them, and funny about the blogger.

    Is 24 degrees here and I am freezing and in cashmere!!! so funny x

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    1. You would love it and one day I must take you. It is a bit of a hit and miss one - real pros go to it rather than just chancers like me. I also missed out on a black Victorian jardiniere!

      Are you serious about 24 in cashmere?!! It's like in LA when it's 18 and they get out their northface and I was in my flip flops!!! xx

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  5. Korea looks amazing! I've never been but would love to visit one day.

    Thank you for the London photos too. Such a beautiful city that I hope to be able to visit again soon.

    SSG xxx

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    1. It really has great shopping from luxury to cheap and I think you would absolutely love it xx

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  6. Glad to hear you're getting a bit of sun in London - 24 in Spring is a massive heatwave though! There must have been shirtless people in the parks everywhere (:shudder: think I have post traumatic stress from seeing some of the shirtless people back when I lived there). Loved the Korea wrap up with photos - the blingy fridge made me laugh a lot. Loved the Who Do You Think You Are trip to visit the ancestor's portrait, although the portrait of the horse looks interesting… it looks like the horse has a mullet?! Also love the snaps of the Zaha building and the archeological site next to it, and the blogger. Sums everything up right there really. So glad you're back blogging! xx

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    1. That fridge just cracked me up so much!!! It has a matching dishwasher!! I think the horse did have a mullet and I think mullets should stay on horses...That scene was so much fun and I laughed so much! I wonder if Zaha has a building in Oz? Must google. Took a bit of motivation but did get a post out!! xx

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  7. Welcome back Naomi! By all accounts you've had a successful trip, and it is nice to see the photos from Korea juxtaposed with those springtime shots of London. I can smell the blossoms from here. Just marvelous!

    Sorry you missed out on that terrific games table. I do love myself a good ol' auction but have been known to lose my head - a definite danger zones for me, but so much fun!

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    1. Isn't springtime just wonderful? As I get older it's starting to be my favorite season!

      Yes that was burl wood too which I wanted but it was a bit chipped so fixing it would have cost a fortune!!

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  8. Have missed your posts - the humour (so funny, especially the comment about your ancestor and your mother!) and the amazing variety of things you combine. Quite unique. Love the saying about gardens: planting a garden means you have hope. It's so true. Wonderful that in Korea they're planting again. Here in Canberra our drought lasted so many years that a few of the garden stores went out of business or changed to sell indoor plants and gift items. Some of the landscape supply businesses shut down too. Have been trying to find strong but nicely designed arches to train my more vigorous climbing roses on - our local garden shop people say they can't get them any more as their supplier shut down - people just stopped buying during the drought.
    It's wonderful the patience and long term planning of garden designers in the old days who created plans for trees and shrubs that would take a lifetime and more to mature. I want everything tomorrow or at least for next summer! Feel a bit like the ladies in "Advanced Fashion" who say they don't buy green bananas any more. Those spring flowers in London are superb! Have you seen the film about Versailles, "A Little Chaos"?
    I'm with Heidi about the men getting shirtless in warm weather in the London parks! I couldn't believe it the first time. Also there were older men who tied their hankies into knots in all four corners and put them on their heads to cover their bald spots. All this when wearing suit pants with their jackets and shirts, either neatly folded or casually flung on the ground beside them.
    Have never yet seen a Zaha Hadid building in the flesh. Would love to. Are there any in Paris? Looking forward to London too! Pammie

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    1. The family seem to have a warrior fearless gene and the men were known to be weak to women and like a drink!

      But yes so true about the gardens. If you are running away from war and their is political turmoil there is no stability to tend a garden...The last 100 years were rather turbulent and there wasn't the mental space to do so but Koreans love plants and they are known to be the biggest consumers of vegetables so they are also very good at foraging for many different reasons. Buddhist vegetarian influence and need to find something to eat at difficult times.

      I haven't seen that film - must put on the list.

      Mad dogs and Englishmen! The vitamin d deficiency does things to people Pammie!!

      I will check but there is a little zaha cafe in Hyde Park that you will enjoy too xx

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  9. I love to see your photos of Seoul. I'm fascinated by Korea, and it's growing role as a source of pop/cool culture. Have you ever been to Koreatown in LA? America may not share my fascination altogether, but I think the phenomenon is growing.

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    1. Yes I have been to Koreatown - I didn't realize that it was also in Compton? Maybe that is why Koreans are so into hip hop? I think it is growing because Korean cosmetics is making its mark - and I plan to do a post on it bc I was bowled over!

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  10. London is well ahead of Chicago in Spring bloom. Interesting finding out about our ancestors; helps us discover ourselves. Love Korean food.
    Millie looks glad you're home.

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    1. Gosh Chicago is not for softies!!! Isn't it funny to find out about ancestors? I quite like it but the endless birthdates and the days they died do nothing for me. I want the stories...

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    2. We knew absolutely nothing about my paternal grandfather's family as his parents died 6 months apart when he was 17 and it was so painful he never spoke of it. Via ancestry.com, I discovered he went to prep school in Chicago and his father started an insurance company still going with offices from coast to coast in Canada. I contacted the current CEO who may have thought I was trying to stake a claim but he did fill in a couple of blanks. Also, discovered a g-g-grandfather was formerly a Kentucky Colonel, newspaperman who beat up a jeweler in Omaha, Nebraska, fled justice to Canada and became a legendary newspaperman and writer of crime stories for magazines all over US & Canada.. I LOVE finding that stuff out.

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    3. That Kentucky Colonel g-g-gf, I am using in my children's book stories!!!

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    4. Sounds good GSL! I also love these stories and see if there are genetic patterns. I also am watching PBS finding your roots and enjoying it immensely!

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  11. Great to have you back, N!
    Korea is so interesting, yes Japan has given them a hard time over the years.
    That silver blobby building, from memory was the museum in Seoul?
    I had some great food in Seoul, their barbecue is second to none
    xx

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    1. Thanks for the reminder Cilla otherwise it would have been another month I reckon!!
      That silver Zaha is a general culture plaza with shops and offices - stay well xx

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  12. Hello Naomi,

    Welcome back to the Land of Blog. We have missed you.

    Your Korean adventures are so intriguing. It all looks so very foreign, quite different from anything we have yet experienced in our lives.

    The Zaha Hadid building is remarkable. As you say, a different angle gives a different view so no danger of being bored by it. We love the way in which it gives surprise glimpses and frames interesting views, this must give it a dynamic energy when seen in the 'flesh'.

    Signs of spring are all around us now too. It is good to see the sun and blue skies after what seems a very long winter but, best of all must have been spending time with Millie. How adorable she looks.

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    1. I saw your terrace on IG and the rooftops are so Parisian! I really need to book a flight to Hungary.

      I think you need to book a trip to east Asia - you would not only love it but I am sure you will be able to see something new and fresh that slips under the radar for me.

      Isn't spring glorious and nature giving us another chance? Hope you are well x

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  13. Very happy you're back and what a greeting with that weather? So beautiful! We are having a very late spring and the forsythia isn't even blooming yet, except for what I cut and brought inside.
    I always miss you when you go away but then you reward us with your humour and snapshots of your trip, including the interesting highlights like that fridge? I've never seen anything like it.
    Sounds like it was a very happy reunion with Millie xox

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    1. The winters in north America seem to be getting harsher of late! the forsythias were just blooming in Korea as I left and we don't really have many of them here so it reminds me of Korea when I see them. Isn't that fridge hilarious!! It's good to be back although it did take a bit of a nudge!! xx

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  14. Leslie in Oregon16 April 2015 at 23:12

    Thank you for the wonderful post and welcome back!

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    1. Hello Leslie and hope you are having a good spring thus far!

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  15. Oh! How interesting! I too have an ancestor on my mother's side whose horse was also deified alongside himself because of some victory in some battle. It makes me realize how much 'earth life' has degenerated in the sense that animals were looked upon with different eyes and with appreciation because many of them played very important roles in human society in the past. Nowadays, it they are not pets, they are food! Welcome back! :-) Emily

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    1. Your mother isn't a Jeonju Lee is she?? Her clan seems to have married the most foreigners - really funny. I think you touch on a point that I have been thinking about a lot lately Emily. I do think that there is a disconnect to animals - either we anthropomorphize them or are cut off completely. But hey - that's another post right? ;)

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    2. No, dear Naomi! I wish we were related because that would be fun! However, I do think all of us share links we will never know about but again . . . that's another post! :-) Emily

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  16. What a lively, interesting post this is! I'm glad that the sun welcomed you home to London after your travels. Your sisterhood award is well deserved because you write with such warmth and immediacy that I feel that I know you. Three months of good weather to come? Hurrah!!

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    1. Your garden is just so perfect - and that pink flower! you need to enter in at chelsea this year!!

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  17. Lovely to hear about your trip. Welcome home. It's good to catch up with you.

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    1. Hi there - I have been reading you so I am all caught up with you too!! Thanks Silkann

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  18. London is simply perfect under the sun, right? I came back from France to see that everything was in full bloom. Lovely!

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Thank you for dropping by!