The Find @ Designsupermarket

I checked out Designsupermarket which kick off in Prague earlier today.   It’s on all weekend until Sunday, so if you are in town, it might be worth it to stop by if this is your type of thing.

There was lots of unique and interesting lighting hanging around….

I really liked these lovely little owl pillows from Kuskus Decor.  They are for kids and come in all sorts of bright colours and patterns.  I bought a blue one with big white polka dots to take to Paris this weekend and give as a baby present.

I also saw a big display of  hanging planters.  I’ve seen a similar hanging plant design numerous times while travelling around various cities in Europe.  Are these the new rage in planters? They look kind of cool.

Of course, there was a quick stop by the cake table.  Real cake, not designer cake.

My favourite, the ceramic room that had about six or seven Czech ceramic designers showing off their wares.  I bought a little porcelain yogurt cup that says jablako which is “apple” in Czech. It can be used as a drinking cup or a planter if you put a hole through the glaze at the bottom.

Have you visited any craft or design markets lately?

Design Supermarket Prague

One of my favourite holiday season pass times is visiting craft fairs/markets.  In Toronto, I used to frequent the One-of-a-Kind Show (which just closed on December 2nd) with my family. I think it was an unofficial ritual.   If you are into acquiring unique pieces for the home, supporting small, independent designers, and putting up with crowds, these shows are great.

Last year I attended Design Supermarket, Prague’s annual holiday design/craft show which brings together an interesting mix of Czech, Slovak, German, Polish and Hungarian designers under one roof.   It was at Design Supermarket where I discovered the talented Czech illustrator, Antimultivitamin, whose work I purchased and framed (currently sitting on my floor waiting to be bubble wrapped and moved).

Since I have a slight obsession with glassware and porcelain, I look forward to checking out the work of:

De-sign.cz

Hidden Factory

Krikri

Tyformy

SVETLANAKOZHENOV

 Photo Sources: 1, 2-6

Rome in Photos

Despite my previous blog post listing my grievances with Rome from a tourist perspective, the city still contains some pretty spectacular architecture and streetscapes.

Do you have a favourite site/building in the city?

Gail’s Kitchen

I will be spending New Years in London with friends  and while I am in the city I hope to go check out Gail’s Kitchen.

Gail’s Kitchen is the new restaurant (November 21st) of Gail’s, a local London bakery that has been popping out beautiful breads and other baked goods since 2005 (there are numerous Gail’s bakery locations around the city).  Their restaurant will open next door to their bakery location in Bloomsbury.  I just love it when bakeries open restaurants.  You know the food is going to be good.

Photo Source: 1, 2, 3, 4 

Gail’s Kitchen created a short little video (posted on Vimeo) that caught my attention showing guests what’s in store at the restaurant.  I can’t wait to have a meal there!!  I just hope they are open when I am in town. Last time I visited London, my trip fell over Christmas and a lot of places were closed (understandably!).

Has anyone been here yet?

Love This: Five Fabulous Things for Friday

It’s Friday!  What does that mean?  For some, it means recovering from a Thanksgiving turkey hangover, for others it means getting up super early to take part in Black Friday deals.  For some it means prepping for a day of cooking for a weekend full of entertaining or finally, for some today is just another day to simply go to work.

For me, it means making my way through a massive pile of assignment to grade, a quick drive to Dresden to find some lights for our new apartment in Copenhagen and a thanksgiving late lunch/early dinner on Sunday afternoon with friends.

Regardless of what today means to you, here are five things that I found earlier this week that I wanted to share.  I hope your Friday just got a bit more fabulous.

01: Great package design for Deli Bros Fine Foods by Hamburg based designer, Sven Hoffmann (love his work- he also did some neat stuff for the 25 Hours hotel group if you are familiar with them.)

Photo Source: Sven Hoffmann

02 Sous Chef- a website devoted to sourcing hard(er) to find ingredients, cookbooks and cookware for seriously ambitious home chefs. (They ship across Europe).

Photo Source: Design Week

03 This recipe for Spiced and Salted Pumpkin Pie Minis from My New Roots

04 Vintage furniture and home accessories from Eyecatcher in Dresden, Germany (Rothenburger Str. 11)

Photo Source: Eyecatcher

05 This “Kitchen for Living” from German design/living magazine Schoener-Wohnen

Photo Source: Schoener-Wohnen

By the way, if you haven’t checked out the second issue of Countlan magazine, I invite you to do so! I’m really happy with the way the second issue turned out and there are lots of neat articles related to entertaining that you might enjoy and a great cookbook giveaway on the Countlan Facebook page.

Rome: Surprises and Disappointments

I am disappointed to report that Rome was not “all that.”  I spent a weekend in the city and left feeling tired, over-hassled, questioning how many times I was ripped off and scratching my head why the city’s reputation has not kept up with its current state: Dirty, touristy, run-down and crowded.  I expected in November, the crowds would temper from the summer.

This is one of the first trips that I can recall where I didn’t come back gushing over how much I enjoyed my time walking, eating and discovering the city.  I guess you can’t win them all.  Rome was still an experience and did find a handful of gems to share with you:

01- Lato G (gelato) where I tasted an incredibly intense and almost bitter dark chocolate gelato that was to die for.

Photo Source: Lato G

02 Casa & Bottega (two locations) a lovely cafe that serves a variety of food from yogurt and fruit, to charcuterie boards, salads, meatballs, pastas, hamburgers, and pastries!  The interior is cosy (tables are fairly close together) and rustic.  I visited both locations and loved their   chalkboard menus, all white on white furniture, weathered wood floors, black and white prints and displays of cookies and macarons.  What I LOVED- was the fact that when you order tea, it comes to the table with its own silver strainer (yes it is loose leaf) and they also give you two mini sugar heat cookies dusted with confectioners sugar.  Check and check in my books.

Photo Source: Romeing

03 Honourable mention goes to Restaurante Angelina in Testaccio which had great food and a funky, vintage, bistro decor (the service was so-so).  Its vaulted ceilings, white subway tiles, vintage furniture, industrial chairs and signs, and rustic Roman fare, gives the whole place a shabby chic and fun atmosphere. It was certainly lively on Saturday night.  We started at 9pm and didn’t leave until about 1am.  This restaurant was PACKED the entire night so it was a good thing we had a reservation.  There were large groups of locals continuously piling into both sides of the restaurant.

Photo Source: Restaurante Angelina

If you are planning a trip to Rome, below I’ve included the links to three bloggers who know their stuff when it comes to dining in Rome and were helpful to me in researching where to eat/dine in the city.

Even if you are not planning a trip, these blogs are worth a click as they contain beautiful, mouthwatering photography/Italian food ideas- and who doesn’t loooveeee Italian food?

1. Parla Food

2. Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

3. Living Roma

What are your thoughts on Rome? Have you visited the city? Were you overwhelmed by how touristy it was or did you enjoy it?

To Rome

In just a few hours, I am boarding a plane to Rome to enjoy a weekend of pasta, pizza and 19 degree-sunny weather.  The weather will be a nice change from the dense fog that has been blanketing Prague most of the week.

Photo Source: 1

Photo Source: 2

Google Map of Trip

View Rome Eh Italian! in a larger map

Have a wonderful weekend, whatever your plans are.

I will see you next week with pictures/finds from Rome.

Negroni Bar

Somewhere in my whirlwind madness of the last two weeks, I made a quick 36 hours trip to Munich in search of a better blender, some decent pizza and this place: The Negroni Bar.

First the blender:  If my memory serves me correctly, in North America, it is possible to spend $100 to $150 on a decent blender from a company with a well known reputation and brand name.  When I moved to Prague, I was blenderless, and sought out a local alternative.  I purchased something cheap and stopped using it half a year later due to questionable engine noises, low power and odd smells.  I went to three stores in Prague as well as search on three online local stores only to find a handful of overpriced, low end blenders or a handful of overpriced high-end models.  I thought I would have better results in a city such as Munich, but after visiting MediaMarkt, and Kustermann, I decided that spending 229 Euro on a KitchenAid blender that costs $130 in Toronto was rediculous and not going to happen.  Operation Blender- Failure.

Next the pizza:  I’ve been to Munich before and found a great spot for pizza called Riva Bar.  I decided that if I was going to walk away blenderless, I might as well enjoy some good pizza in compensation. The pizza was decent on this trip, but I remember a better tasting pie on my first visit.  Quelle dommage.

What salvaged the quick jaunt to Munich was a bar called Negroni.  I wanted to check this place out on my previous trip to Munich but never got around to it.  Why I sought this place out is for the following reason:  My husband is Negroni obsessed.  I thought it would be cool to go to a bar that specializes in this beverage.

FYI-If you have never had a Negroni, it is an aperitif made with Campari, gin and vermouth with a squeeze of orange.

We head to Negroni after our pizza and thankfully find two seats at the bar (the last two seats) for an up-close look at this mixology heaven.  The atmosphere is low key and very relaxed. There were candles lining the bar and a big impressive wall of bottles.  There were three bartenders very focused and hard at work mixing, stirring, shaking, pinching, and designing some of the most beautiful looking drinks I’ve ever seen.  We sampled three drinks (between the two of us- not each) and each drink presented very layered and complex flavours.  The last one we tried was a negroni with other ingredients (sorry, blanking on the name) including slices of apple. It was served in a mint julep cup and must have revealed three or four different flavours in one sip.

They have a full restaurant menu in addition to something like 140 cocktails.  What I liked about this place was that they give you some background, history and interesting facts about their drinks right in the menu itself. I snapped two photos and posted them on my Instagram feed but the lighting was so dim (and romantique!!) that it is not even worth attempting to repost these images on the blog because they are fuzzy and hard to see.

Photo Source: 1, 2, 3

This is clearly a bar for savouring and enjoying mixology.  We had a great time and the food that was coming out of the kitchen looked wonderful.  While I didn’t get a blender and didn’t have knock-out pizza, I was pleased with the experience at Negroni.

Sedanstraße 9, Munich  +498948950154