Map Nerds Rejoice

Made by NSW's own Cath Young

Embroidered Wallpaper

Holy crap.

GBP170 per roll from Cuthom

The Great F Scott Fitzgerald

"For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."

– F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chocolate Beetroot Cake

Chocolate Beetroot Cake
Serves 8

250g beetroot
200g dark chocolate, in small pieces
4tbs hot espresso
200 butter
135g plain flour
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
5 eggs
190g caster sugar
crème fraiche and poppy seeds to serve

Lighly butter a 20cm springform cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Set the oven to 180C.

Cook the beetroot, whole and unpeeled, in a pot of boiling and salted water. Large beetroot will take up to 40mins, small beetroot about 20mins. Check tenderness by piercing with a knife. Drain them and leave to cool under running water. Slice off the stem and root and then peel them. The skin should slide off easily. Blitz them in a blender to a rough puree.

Melt the chocolate in a small bowl resting over a pot of simmering water. Leave to melt without stirring. When the chocolate looks almost melted, pour the hot coffee over it and stir to combine. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the melted chocolate and leave to soften.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa. Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a large mixing bowl. Stir the yolks together.

Remove the bowl of chocolate from the heat and stir until the butter has melted into the chocolate. Leave for a few minutes then stir in the egg yolks. Do this quickly and mix firmly and evenly so the yolks blend in to the mixture. Fold in the beetroot.

Whisk the egg whites till stiff, then fold in the sugar. Firmly but tenderly fold in the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture using a large metal spoon; work in a deep figure of eight motion being careful not to overmix and lose the air from the egg whites. Lastly fold in the flour and cocoa.

Transfer to the prepared cake tin and put in the oven, turning the heat down to 160C. Bake for 40 minutes. The rim of the cake will feel spongy and the inner part should wobble a little when shaken.

Leave it to cool where it will sink in the middle. Loosen it around the edges with a palette knife after half an hour or so. Serve in thick slices with the crème fraiche and poppy seeds.

Adapted from the person who I'd most like to be my host at his house, Nigel Slater’s Tender Volume 1.

via Carpe Diem

Sea Pool by Jason Wingrove

from the iconic Bondi Icebergs comes...

sea pool from Jason Wingrove on Vimeo.

John Hughes & Anthony

From here

Droughts & Flooding Rains

It's been nearly two yeasr since the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria. Now there's floods in Queensland. Australia is a country of extremes. It's when these battles against nature occur that such amazing depths of good character are displayed. Help a mate - human or otherwise - out of trouble.

Donate to the Queensland Premier's Flood Relief Appeal.

Donate to the RSPCA Queensland Flood Crisis Appeal.

To those heroes at evacuation centers, rescue helicoptors and on the end of a rope in a swollen river, you should all be called Australians of the Year.

To those who've lost their house or business, and especially to those who have lost a loved one, know that we are behind you every step of the way, at the very least in our thoughts and prayers.

pic via @JmpnJak

Shadows

A bit of puppetry in the house.

Mark Tipple

The Underwater Project by Mark Tipple.

The Agrarian Kitchen

This is pretty much my dream kitchen. 100% if it came with a full-time cleaner.

Just look at that amazing wood-fired oven built by Ovencrafters.

The Agrarian Kitchen is a sustainable farm-based cooking school, in a 19th century schoolhouse,  run by the former food editor of Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine, Rodney Dunn, near Hobart in Tasmania.

Just another reason to get on a plane to Tassie.

Scratch Map

Yes please.

From here

Sarah Blasko Beautifulness

Bits & Bobs

 

I'd really like to learn how to play chess 

A Kate Bush inspired tote to keep the passion alive.

 

Oh lordy, cashmere underpants.

Glitter raindrops from dsharp.

Finally! Australian Christmas cards that don't include surfing Santa.

 Vintage science journal origami star from the Blue Mountains.

 I love this way of resurrecting old metal kitchenware.

The handsome-looking wardrobe of Mikael Beckman, via Lotta Agaton.

I really like this sequence of home shots from Brian W Ferry, especially this bed linen.

Dining Table

This set up would be perfect in our dining / kitchen / office room.

From My Garden

Painted Glass

This looks like a nice project from The Beat That My Heart Skipped.

 And this one from A Creative Mint on Decor8.

Castellers

Casteller from Mike Randolph on Vimeo.

In the city of Tarragona, Spain, castellers gather every two years to see who can build the highest, most intricate human castles. This uniquely Catalan tradition requires astonishing strength, finesse, and balance. Not to mention courage.

Shinya Kimura Motorcycles

shinya kimura @ chabott engineering from Henrik Hansen on Vimeo.

I'm not into motorcycles per se, but I do have a massive amount of respect for people who handmake them (yes, I used to watch the occasional episode of American Chopper). Shinya Kimura's efforts get right to the heart of zen motorcycle-making. And such ace design.

via @bakeduprising 

Cushions

Cushions. They have been on my mind.

 

Santorin Grey from Rouge der Rhine

Brighton from Rouge der Rhine

Maiike (using recycled jumpers) from Southwood Home.

Shetland Plaid Throw Pillow from Wrappables

Timber Pencils

While the skill of timber identification continues to bypass my better senses, enter a set of pencils of the highest order.

Via Pencil Talk.

Thrills

Thrills from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

via Carol Duncan

String Furniture

Oh my! Yes, please.

String System by Sweden's String Furniture

Cheater Quilt

This is going to save me a whole lot of time. 

'Cheater' handprinted fabric AU$25 per half metre from Aunty Cookie.

Sweet Lulu

Lots of party goodies at Sweet Lulu.

Paul Dempsey

Did I tell you I saw Paul Dempsey from Something For Kate at The Living Room when we were in NYC? Well we did and it was terrific. His voice is gorgeous and I was not previously aware just how cute he is too. Bonus!

I don't know if this is allowed, but when I heard the opening strums to 'Bette Davis Eyes', I pulled out the iPhone and started filming.



Paul is playing some more gigs in NYC & LA before heading home to Australia, so catch him while you can:
15 & 29 Sept at Rockwood Music Hall
22 Sep at The Troubadour

Hopefully he will be back in Newcastle soon.

Awesome-haze (From The Inside)