7by7: April 30th 2010

ta-da! we made if to friday! how is everyone? did you all keep your arms inside of the vehicle at all times, and remember that objects in the overhead cabins may have shifted during the flight? good. well, this has been the most fun and happy whirlwind of a week in some time so let's review:

lets start with something pretty, some pom pom flowers! i walked past these chrysanthemum and couldn't resist them. i love how fresh the white and green centre is. they're sitting here next to me as i type and i want to scruff their raggedy heads.

i made another banana cake, because we always seem to have bananas around and i can't stand to waste them (and yet also forget to eat them). i think i'm obsessed with not wasting them after i remembered a romanian girl at school telling me that one year, before they emigrated to australia, she wished for and got a single banana for christmas. as long as there are children wishing for bananas for christmas: i will be making banana cake from soggy bananas rather than throw them away. now if only i could apply this thriftiness to everything..

the other baking jaunt last weekend was making a batch of ANZAC cookies. they're made from the same simple recipe the wives and mothers of world war 1 soldier's used. al the ingredients are things that would have been staple items in any early 20th century australian kitchen, and they're basically oat muesli cookies. i add sultanas because i'm a rebel who bakes banana loaves in bundt tins. damn the cookbook man!

and the best time of the day to enjoy a cookie (aside from post-breakfast, pre-lunch or post-dinner) would be afternoon tea, that most civilized of hours. i'm really enjoying the cool days and stopping for a moment in the afternoons to have a cup of tea from my favourite mug. it sounds so cliche but small things like this really elevate my mood and make me appreciate things.

get a load of this castle my son and i built! its kind of the template for our next house, but i'm thinking it might need a roof. i'm all for high ceilings, but i really think he's pushing the boundaries of what's functional. i told him to get back to the drawing board and not over conceptualize. he's a good kid, but you know what they're like, always form over function! and the minimalist furniture was a little too "blocky" for my taste. thats what you get for explaining who mies van der rohe is!

doodle-doooo! this is what it looks like when i pick up a pencil. yes, it happens occasionally. mostly during power outages and phone calls.

ooh c'est moi! i had to send a picture of 'me at work' to my son's kindergarten so they can all talk about what everyone's parents do all day. i was tempted to stage a sort of photo play about me lying around smoking opium and gambling but i couldn't find my special opium smoking kimono. so here i am at my desk. generally i face the computer and do work, but that wouldn't have made such a great photo because i tend to make embarrassing thinking faces. you may notice my hair is a different color now, i had it done last week after getting sick of not being able to wear pink or red without clashing with my hair. its a nice change and i tend to mix it up quarterly, so if you liked the red or hate the blondey bits, don't worry.. it will change soon haha

as a side note, isn't it interesting seeing a 27 year old designer now (me, above) and in 1978 (my mum at 27, working).

have a lovely weekend, wherever you are, and come back monday to see what vintage treasures i have to brighten your working week!

mixtape: late night songs for insomniacs

image via flickr user fortphoto

despite loving my sleep, sometimes it doesn't come so easily and i find myself still awake as the birds start to sing. occasionally its a productive time for me, but often its stressful and lonely and just flat out bleak. so this is part of a mix i put together last time i wide awake at 4am.. i hope if you find yourself up at that darkest hour, you'll play these songs and feel a little bit less hopeless and alone.

night nurse

from the album l' avventura by dean & britta

dean & britta are like the indie serge gainsbourg and jane birkin of our day (except britta can actually sing). you may know dean from galaxie 500 or luna, and britta from her work on morel orel or wait for it: jem and the holograms! yep! she was the singing voice for jem. i love their music together, and the hazy, warm, tones of this song should soothe you into a happier place.

moonchild

from the album in the court of the crimson king by king crimson

i first heard this ethereal song on the soundtrack to one of my favourite films, buffalo 66. all i previously knew of king crimson was extremely prog rocky and not my cup of tea but this album has quite a few tracks i've come to really enjoy.

kathy's song

from the album sounds of silence by simon and garfunkel

this song makes me so nostalgic for when my boyfriend and i lived an eight hour drive apart. i would get the overnight bus to visit him and because i was too excited and lovesick to sleep, i'd compile epic bittersweet playlists to pass the time. its amazing the depth songs take on when you're curled up in a bus seat, watching the dark countryside speed by, and pressing yourself against the cold glass to try and stargaze. who knew traveling the greyhound could be romantic? listen and imagine you're drawing closer to your favorite person.

good night

from the album the white album by the beatles

how could i not include this?! when i was little my parents would play the beatles for me to go to sleep to. i think this might have created some kind of pavlovian narcoleptic response in me, but even if you weren't conditioned when you were young i think that this is a soothing late night listen. it might just be the aural equivalent of a mug of warm milk, being tucked in, and getting a kiss on your cheek.

i like the sunrise

from the album you could be born again by the free design

and when the night time is over, and the birds are tweeting and you're still up don't beat yourself up about not sleeping. don't stress over how long the day is going to be, just listen to this classic cover and soak in some gentle happy. its as sweet as being bathed in warm morning light and the whole song sounds like a languorous, elegant stttrrrrrrreeeeaaatch. why worry over lost sleep: now you have an excuse to nap!

shhhh! sweet dreams...

ps: i am an amazon affiliate, so if you like any of these songs, buying the album from amazon will mean i can buy more pretty books to show you on here! its the circle of life, and i like to think everyone wins in this situation!

love list: april wish list

its looooove list day! yay! so, this is what's in my current wish list:

images via swedish hasbeens

its finally turned cold here, so here we are halfway through autumn and finally its being autumnal! after living alternating between ballet flats and havianas for six months its time to bring in a good boot, and what better boot than a beautiful blue pair of swedish hasbeens! just look at that color, i want to swim in it. the only thing holding me back from diving in and purchasing a pair is a) i don't have a boot warehouse to store my already excessive boot collection in, but more seriously b) the wooden sole worries me a bit. it sounds very hard and i'm not sure my precious little toes (and twice dislocated knee) could handle a wooden sole. but mmmm pretty blue boots. and for those of you in places where summer is coming: get a load of those ice-cream colored sandals. dreamy!

image via lovely package

next on le list: cider! or if you're from england's south west: "soy-derrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" (thats the phonetic spelling, there). i'm not a beer drinker so if i can't have a g&t, then cider is my drink. its so refreshing and there's something vaguely wholesome and bucolic about a nice glass of cider (especially if its in a dimpled mug). but how hip is this cider's packaging, designed by ilovedust? i'm pretty bad when it comes to judging books by covers, and buying things for the box they come in, but cider this cute has definitely got to taste better. which is your favorite packaging - sea cider, apple or pear? via lovely package

image via michelle mason

another specimen of cute from the UK are these tumblers and mugs by michelle mason. anytime i see pictures of london's lollypop crossing lights i regress to being 5 and looking through picture books which told me trucks were 'lorries'. the design on these mugs is very sweet and london never looked so colorful! don't you think these would make morning coffee about 700% more cheerful? via retro to go

image via tufted

i certainly wish there were more rugs in my life, but as it is i feel like it would be too much (especially considering all the rugs i like are VERY patterned! but i would consider selling every patterned thing for this rug pictured above. i love the scalloped, scaley pattern, i love the colors, i love that its bright but sophisticated and i love that the company who makes it is called 'tufted'. tuft is a good word. via design*sponge

image via winter's moon

so if i can't have a stinkin' big patterned rug then i'll console myself with pretty pillows. honestly, sometimes i think if my boyfriend were to leave me, it'd be over the number of pillows on the couch. they out number him 8 to 1 and i think he's threatened by them. but this sweet patterned cushion from winter's moon would hold up a chair all by itself, don't you think? a nice cosy corner for tea and reading, with this pillow would be a pretty nice place to be on this grey and rainy day.

so thats it for now, but tell me, what's on your wish list at the moment?

pilgrim press: apartment therapy & modern kiddo

hi, how are you? how was your weekend? i had a great weekend. it was a holiday long weekend here commemorating the ANZACs (australian and new zealand army corps) the soldiers who fought in the first world war. if you'd like to read more about ANZAC day click here.

it was an especially exciting start to the weekend for me because our house tour was up on apartment therapy! did you see? when jenny emailed me to ask if i was interested i leapt into action (right after recovering from the excitement induced heart attack), tidying and photographing. that might not seem very impressive, but when there is a three-year-old involved, its a bit of a nightmare. as one mess is conquered, another is created! so its been a full-on week, but ultimately one of the best in recent memory.

i'm so proud of my house, and so excited that the place i've selfishly created as my ideal haven is of interest, and liked by other people! i (very briefly) studied interior decoration and design, and it was a pretty harrowing experience for me - i was the black sheep of the course. the students thought i was a weirdo, the teachers thought i was a trouble maker (are you kidding me!? i was the biggest square ever, i just had a funny haircut and wore thrifted clothes) and everyone else worshipped at the alter of beige. so life took over and i put away my hopes of being an interior decorator and decided just to make my own house happy. by the way, this isn't meant to be an 'i showed them all' kinda thing, more just a musing on how different views can be, and how inspired i am to find (not just by the apartment therapy feedback but the internet in general) like minds and kindred spirits. so to everyone reading, and commenting here: thank you so much. interacting with you and hearing what you think about the things i love is just amazing. its invigorating and needs to be bottled and sold as a cure for all that ails you!

and as you might have seen: i opened my etsy store at long last! seriously, i thought it would never get sorted out - its taken almost a year. but last year was so fraught with er.. turbulence and general awfulness it just never felt like the right time. but life is calm now, and i'm prepared and with the encouragement and support of some very patient friends and family members, the right time arrived.

and finally - please, indulge me just this once - you've seen my house, you've seen my work, now you can see my kiddo! poor donovan, he doesn't get any attention here because, well, i spend all day with him so this i the space i get to be myself. but don't let his absence on this blog fool you, i'm so proud of my little guy! he's the cleverest sausage i've ever met and he's great company to work from home with. not your typical co-worker but we get our coloring done! i was very honored to share some of his grooviest threads when he was featured as modern kiddo's weekly kiddo!

phew! so, quite the tour-de-self promotion there, but hey it doesn't happen too often around here so we're cool right? haha see you back here tomorrow for a non-me related post! oh wait.. it will be 'me' related, tomorrow i'll be sharing my 'love list' post of wishlisty goodness. see you then?

as seen on etsy: inspired by draw! pilgrim woodland print

✽ plastic mushroom plates ✽ orange task light ✽ needlepoint butterfly pillow ✽

✽ laquerware canister ✽ draw! pilgrim woodland print ✽ green telephone ✽

✽ floral metal box ✽ tea canisters ✽

inspired by my newly released 'woodland' A3 poster print! available from the draw! pilgrim etsy store

draw! pilgrim: open for business

ladies and gentlemen, may i present draw! pilgrim on etsy

housekeeping: comment problem

image via whatsitliketobeaflickr

hey there, how is your week going? i just wanted to take a break from pretty posts for a moment to address something a bit more serious...

a friend of mine recently asked me why i didn't publish a comment she'd left for me. i was pretty confused because i publish all comments i get (with the exception of spam) and i remember reading and approving that comment: only for it to vanish into thin air!

if anyone else has left a comment with a question or comment that went unaddressed or has disappeared, please let me know. i read and enjoy the comments you leave and though i have a bad habit of reading them on my iphone and not having time to reply immediately i DO really appreciate that you take the time to comment and i love hearing what you have to say.

i don't know if this mysterious thing is a blogger anomaly or if its only my comment section thats haunted, but i'm moving from blogger soon so hopefully it won't have time to eat any more of you comments!

i apologize for any misunderstandings about comments, and of course if you would like to contact me i welcome your emails to drawpilgrim at gmail

book pile: how we go

how we go: lesley anne ivory

today's vintage children's book is another early reader. i love how charming the illustrations are. look closely and you'll notice a subtle texture to the illustrations that reminds me a bit of a subtle version of eric carle's pictures.

they're very sweet aren't they? i love the astronaut! and the picture of the children pretending to fly made me giggle, looks like they're doing jazz-hands rather than actually trying to fly. and the cowboy appears to be getting about on tippy toes!

as seen on etsy: turquoise and olive

cheese and cracker tray ✽ floral tote bag ✽ mod canister

plastic patterned bag ✽ daisy mugs ✽ flower trivet

linen napkins ✽ framed asparagus and eggs print

i have such a crush on this color combination at the moment! there is something so refreshing and sort of sophisticated but fun about turquoise and olive together. what do you think? are they colors you would wear, or just have in your home? or both? or neither? tell me your innermost thoughts on turquoise and olive!

7by7: April 16th 2010

TGIF? or maybe its just TGIThursday where you are. either way kick back and take a peek at my week. it was a week spent moving piles of stuff from one room to another. you know when you decided to shift a few things around and then all of a sudden every surface in the house is covered in stuff? thats what my week has been like. and to be honest, its still not all put back. its like a big game of chess, with three rooms getting reorganized at once. i've enjoyed unearthing a few forgotten treasures, and in breaks from shifting and sifting i've done some baking, and some hardcore 'sitting down' too.

i'm really enjoying this month's page of my charley harper calendar. the colors are so crisp and mid-century! that turquoise and olive green might just be my new favorite color combination and i'll be sad to turn the page in a couple of weeks. maybe it can go in a frame on may 1st.

speaking of good design, my current read, 'design as art' by bruno munari is really interesting and i highly recommend any designers reading pick up a copy. its thought provoking and inspiring without being overly dry and academic.

in amongst the tidying i found these scented pens. i bought them from the sanrio store in melbourne mainly for their packaging, but as soon as i sniffed them i remembered being so excited about 'smelly pens" in grade 1. smelly pens and stickers were like the currency of the classroom back then! oh and little bitty bins... anyone else remember the small plastic trash-bin-shaped containers? i remember being crushed with disappointment when my dad picked me up from school and told me he had a surprise for me. i was convinced i was getting a bitty bin and immediately worked myself into a frenzy of excitement, but it turned out he'd bought a new car. i was unimpressed! sure it was a surprise, but it was the bad kind (the kind thats not a bitty bin!) man, was i ever a spoiled brat!

another bit of cute i found were these hysterical meat-cut stickers. they're by 'mindwave' a japanese kawaii brand. i don't know if its a cultural thing, but are kids into meat cuts?! i must be getting old. anyway i thought they were so fabulously bizarre i had to have them, hidden away in a drawer, only to be discovered and amuse me aaaaall over again!

so as i mentioned the cleaning frenzy has been interspersed with some domestic activities such as baking. saturday was just me and the kid home so i thought we'd kill time and some over ripe bananas. this cake turned out sooo good. sometimes banana cake is heavy and stodgy but this one turned out really fluffy. i credit any success to the kitchenaid mixer!!

and while the oven was going we got to work preparing some roasted tomato soup. these babies got quartered, then bathed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and studded with garlic cloves and left to slow roast. mmm! they made the house smell so good. i pureed them and mixed in some fried onion, herbs, bacon and stock and have enjoyed soup all week. i forget how rewarding a little bit of effort can be. remind me of that next time i'm skipping proper lunch in favor of a creme egg...

finally, check out this awesome cubist dog picture by my son. i love a dog with angles! its definitely a dog though i'm not sure what breed, i was informed by the artist himself (he's 3 and a half) that it has an ear, an eye and a nose, so bidding starts at $500. can someone get me the phone number for MOMA?

i hope you have a great weekend wherever you are! anyone got any grand adventures planned? take care and i hope you'll swing by on monday to check out next week's vintage etsy finds!