The Sullivans, and the Soul of a Home

Robert and Suzanne Sullivan (and their kids) are very, very cool people, if this video of them in their home is any indication. And I'm pretty sure it is.

As soon as I watched Our American Revolution, I immediately pinned it, but then I realized I couldn't stop there. I had to share it here as well.

Why am I so taken with it? Well, I love that these creative people seem to be living exactly the way they want, doing what they want to do. They live a home-based life, which I admire, and they appear to get along with each other really well. And I love that they surround themselves with beautiful things--not expensive things, but items that often have great personal meaning to them.

I sometimes like to look around my home--in any particular room, or two--and call up memories of where and when I got many of the things my eye falls upon (there's plenty to see--I could never be a minimalist!). I'm looking at one shelf now, and I see items from South Korea, Malaysia, mainland Japan, Okinawa, Hong Kong, Panama, Germany, England, and Ireland. I have these things because I truly like them, and they remind my of my travels (though a couple of the items were gifts from friends). The only thing there that I could remotely call "expensive" is the lamp from Hong Kong.

But of course, it's not necessary to travel abroad to build your own collection of tangible memories--you'll see this in the Sullivans' video. It's about having things that you love around you--not so you can show them off to others, but because they make you happy. Isn't that the best kind of "decorating"?

I Heart a Good British Mystery

Have I ever mentioned here how much I love British TV? Hmmm, I probably have. I've been a big fan since high school, when I'd run into the living room and flip the channels on our chunky console TV, hoping to catch whatever might quench my Anglophilic thirst on our local PBS affiliate in northwest Louisiana. These days, I'm so glad to have digital tv providers that give me the option of watching many of the shows I love best.

British mysteries tend to be at the top of my list, but I have plenty of syndicated and new comedy faves, and I wouldn't dream of missing certain dramas, such as Downton Abbey (but don't dare talk to me about what's happening right now, as I'm still a season behind!).

Something about British television mysteries--the production values, the writing and the pacing, the set direction--tends to pull me in quite often. Though I think the U.S. does an outstanding job at dramas in general (I'll save that for another time), true mystery series aren't so much a forté.

Here are some really wonderful British mysteries that are now airing, or that have recently aired: Foyle's War, Midsomer Murders, Lewis, The Bletchley Circle miniseries, Vera, DCI Banks, and Sherlock.

Midsomer Murders, for whenever I want a charming country-house fix, which is quite often!

And I have to add some "vintage" loves: Inspector Morse, A Touch of Frost, Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Campion, The Last Detective, Rosemary & Thyme, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, and just about all of the Miss Marple, Poirot, and Sherlock Holmes stories.

Ah, my beloved Inspector Morse (John Thaw) and his loyal sidekick and friend, Lewis (Kevin Whately)

I'm guessing I've left out some good ones accidentally. Perhaps I'm a bit obsessed, but I'm thinking there are worse things in life.

Do you enjoy some of these shows, too, and are there any more you would add?

Travel and Food Memory

I was browsing over at anthropologie yesterday when I happened upon the book Bought, Borrowed, and Stolen: Recipes and Knives from a Travelling Chef.



I was immediately intrigued, so I went and found this video (enjoy it--it's short and sweet). I love how British chef Allegra McEvedy pores over her well-used travel journals and comes up with her own recipes based on wonderful things she's eaten on her travels.

I was reminded of how great a role meals have played in my family's travels (as if I could ever forget--we practically plan vacations around food).

There was dessert after my 2008 birthday meal in Hong Kong.

There were many instances of amazing ramen and gyoza in Japan.

There was this canal-side omelet in Amsterdam,

roasted chicken in Bruges,

and fanciness-aplenty in Provence.

That's only scratching the surface, of course. I hope you all have some wonderful travel-related food memories, as well. Oh, and I'll be buying Allegra's book and sharing in her "borrowings." Maybe I'll try some re-creations of my own--just not the fried crickets and ants we had in Hanoi...

Soup Like Baxters

I've never eaten Baxters Soups before, but their latest TV advert really speaks to me. Last-minute company coming for dinner at your isolated stone cottage in the beautiful, windblown countryside? Just drag out an old wooden table and chairs and an armload of candles, get a small bonfire going, and head outside with wool-sweater-clad family and friends and, of course, your adorable dog, to dine upon warming soups and crusty bread amidst laughter and reminiscences. Sunset over the lake makes it just that much better.

Hovis Soft White

I'm taking a break from sharing France photos to give you a glimpse of this hilarious British advert, which I found via The Blue Hour, via 10 Engines. I love so much about this, especially how the race participants drink cuppas rather than water along the way. I got some additional laughs just thinking about how it would be if the German rapeseed farmers around these parts had a race: all participants dressed in black, wearing glasses, and grabbing Bitburger beers en route.

Eat Pray Love

Have you seen this movie? If so, did you hate it? Apparently lots of people did, if the many reviews I read online are any indication.

I must confess that I don't quite understand all the vitriol. Sure, it's a movie about an upper-middle-class American woman who just isn't satisfied with her marriage and the way her life is going--and it appears that plenty of viewers don't exactly get what Elizabeth Gilbert (or her character, in the movie) found so terrible about her seemingly-charmed life. Yeah, yeah--okay.

Sure, the plot isn't fully developed, it can be hard to understand Elizabeth's motivation at times, and you'll note some Hollywood-ish inconsistencies if you've already read the book (I have, though it was quite a while back, just after it was published).

But it really wasn't that bad. And man, oh man--this is a pretty movie. I liked it primarily because I couldn't stop ogling all the Italian, Indian, and Balinese architecture, interiors, food, and clothing. To me, Eat Pray Love was more of a (lengthy) video decor and travel magazine than a plot-driven movie. Is there anything so wrong with that?

Did You Read...?

Ah, Portlandia: this is pure genius. These are my people. The Hubs and I lived in Oregon (though not in Utopia Portland--couldn't afford it!) for a while back in the 90s. Yep.

Thanks to blog pal Eurolush for the find! I can't wait to watch episodes in their entirety.