maanantai 30. syyskuuta 2013

I want you, I need you, I love you

Ok, Elvis did not sing about a pillow, but I could. I saw this in several Swedish magazines and just had to get it. If you need to get one as well, go to Indiska.


sunnuntai 29. syyskuuta 2013

Basket case

Old baskets do well in autumnal flower arrangements as these don't need to be watered. Use beautiful leaves, blueberry sticks etc.


lauantai 28. syyskuuta 2013

Sleeping beauty

This living room table has been waiting in store for a couple years. Hopefully we get it in for Christmas. My red and glass decorations would look great on it.




perjantai 27. syyskuuta 2013

All is not lost

There were several layers of old wallpapers on the walls of Vårkulla's hall. On top of these were a not so beautiful bright blue cardboard. It is a shame we took all the wallpapers down with the cardboard, should have left them under the new wallpaper. Luckily we took some photos and saved some samples.



torstai 26. syyskuuta 2013

Whenever the garden is ready

At the moment these two wait in Vårkulla's living room for their rightful place in the garden. I dream about gate posts in stone and these would be on top of them. Maybe in the next decade..

keskiviikko 25. syyskuuta 2013

More autumn flowers

I am not much for annuals but these nigellas are great. I sowed some seeds a couple of years ago and a couple of these come up every year.



tiistai 24. syyskuuta 2013

Roses are red

Ok, the roses are not red, their leaves are...but beautiful anyway or what do you think?

maanantai 23. syyskuuta 2013

Right path

This path takes you to Vårkulla's front door and it is the right path to choose if you want to visit us in weekends.


perjantai 20. syyskuuta 2013

torstai 19. syyskuuta 2013

Autumn delights

I haven't always been into seasonal food but as I started to read food magazines I tend to try at least one new recipe right away and many of them are of course seasonal. Pears are in season now, not in my garden but at least in Sweden they are, this is adapted from a Swedish magazine - or the topping is, the base is from an American cook book.

This pizza base is my all time favourite: it is good. quick and you don’t have to remember to buy fresh yeast. Use the base for more traditional pizzas, it is good with anything!

4,5 dl flour
2 tsp dried yeast
1,5 dl warm water
salt
4 small pears, unpeeled, sliced
½ red onion peeled and sliced
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
2-3 dried chillies crushed
1 dl blue cheese crumbled
2 dl cheese grated (use whatever cheese you happen to have)
1 dl walnuts crushed
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp honey
2 tsp good olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Mix flour and yeast. Add warm water and knead until smooth. Cover with a cloth and leave for 10 minutes. Roll the dough into a large circle and place on a baking sheet. Arrange the pears, onion, garlic, chillies and walnuts on top. Cover with the grated cheese. Sprinkle thyme, honey and olive oil on top and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and beautifully coloured.

White is not a colour

I used to love white flowers. I still do but I like the colourful ones even more.




keskiviikko 18. syyskuuta 2013

What's this then?

This has something to do with fishing, I think. We bought it as it looks good, who cares if you can or can't do anything with it.



tiistai 17. syyskuuta 2013

Is it a good day?

Of course it is, at least in Vårkulla's hall where we have this enamel sign decorated with a cute bird.

maanantai 16. syyskuuta 2013

Poinsettia on the move

Our long lasting (it survived from last Christmas) poinsettia (joulutähti in Finnish) moved back inside after being in the garden for a couple of months. I hope it will live to see this year's Christmas.


sunnuntai 15. syyskuuta 2013

Pumpkin soup for dinner

As it is autumn and the pumpkins are at their best, I decided to try this recipe for supper today.

Salsa :
2 tomatoes in cubes
1 onion chopped
1 clove of garlic chopped
1 dl chopped cilantro
1 tbsp sambal oelek
1 tbsp citron juice

Mix all ingredients and refrigirate for an hour or more.



Soup
1 buttercup pumpkin, peeled, cubed and cooked
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 chilli chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp flour
6 dl boiling water
1tin small white beans, rinsed
1 tbsp ground paprika
1 small tin corn, rinsed
salt, pepper
2 tsp honey
1 dl basilika chopped

Saute onion, garlic and chilli in oil. Add flour and mix well. Add all other ingredients except for basilika. Let simmer for an half an hour. Serve with salsa and dark bread. Enjoy!

Money talks in the garden

As I don't yet have many perennial flowers in Vårkulla's garden I bought some heathers and one cyclamen from the local nursery. They are about two times more expensive here than in Helsinki but I just had to have these for the weekend. At least the conifers were free, they are from our own trees. The pot on the left is from Ikea as is the already weathered table.


perjantai 13. syyskuuta 2013

New from Iittala

I just had to tell you about this...Iittala has a new light that is absolutely beautiful. If you want to buy me a present, this would be great :)


More information www.iittala.fi

Lights for the garden

I love these Carpe Noctem garden lights. It would be crazy if I didn't as I sell them in Finland :) More info: www.carpe-noctem.fi. Other stuff is from here and there: Ikea, Plantagen, flea markets and even from a waste dump (the metal pot on the right).

Under the shade of a cherry tree

There are three cherry trees at Vårkulla. We ate a few cherries the first autumn, after that there have been none. Well, the trees are pretty, especially in spring but they don't look too bad in autumn either.

torstai 12. syyskuuta 2013

Just wishing

I went through old pictures and came across this one. What a year! Forest was full with mushrooms...This year is not bad but nothing like the one a couple of years ago.


keskiviikko 11. syyskuuta 2013

Something new for a change

We just had to buy these six Pentik stools as they were too cheap to leave at the store. For once, white seemed too lame so we bought these colourful ones. The stools are meant for the garden but maybe not for the store front, this installation is just for the picture.




If you buy an old radio...

If you buy an old radio, please buy one with the same shade as the floor...My husband found this one at a flea-market (where else). Does it work? Well, kind of, it still needs a new antenna.


tiistai 10. syyskuuta 2013

More art for walls

This beauty is from the 50's and suits the bedroom wallpaper perfectly. If you buy paintings from flea markets, go for ones with no boats, people or other more-difficult-to-paint details. This one have has a nice early spring atmosphere. Don't see it? Then you shouldn't have bought this one if you saw it at a flea market :)

maanantai 9. syyskuuta 2013

Raid the cupboard pasta

As I still have the flu, going to the grocery store was not on my top list this afternoon. Luckily, you can make luxurious meals out of very simple cupboard basics. So today I served walnut pasta on a walnut table:

 
½ dl dried ceps (herkkutatti in Finnish)
1 dl walnuts, slightly crushed
1 onion minced
1 clove garlic minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2,5 dl thick cream
1 dl milk
2 tbsp beanut butter (unsweetened)
salt, pepper and a pinch of dried sage
1 dl freshly grated pecorino (or parmesan)
pasta (e.g. spaghetti) cooked
 


Mix ceps and cream and refigerate for an hour or two. Sauté onion, garlic and walnuts in olive oil (I always cook the nuts as my husband is a bit allergic to them - cooking seems to take the worst edge off and Kari can eat cooked nuts without problems - same goes with apples and pears). Add the other ingredients but cheese and pasta and cook until the sauce thickens. Mix everything and enjoy. This recipe is for about four people.

Colour for autumn garden


Yesterday at the cottage I was envious of myself :) There were still lots of flowers there. In Vårkulla's autumn garden we have a lot less colour, I hope to have enough energy in spring to move some autumn flowers from the cottage to Vårkulla. Now we have these, Physalis alkekengi (Lyhtykoiso in Finnish) that I moved last spring. They seem to like the sunny/windy border better than the half shadow at the cottage.

Art for walls

Before buying Vårkulla I didn't see me hanging oldish art on the walls. Now we are collectors...of cheap landscapes and still lifes. Here is one, it cost us all of 8 euros:

sunnuntai 8. syyskuuta 2013

Globes from the 60's

The world changes but the crystal globe stays the same forever. We already have three of these. I think three is enough but my husband is of another mind. Let's see what happens...


Visiting the cottage

We went to the cottage today to mown the lawn and to prepare the cottage for winter.  I picked up some late autumn flowers for a bouquet to take with me to Vårkulla.


Decorating the kitchen

No minimalism in Vårkulla...I have found these porcelaine eggs and globes from discount stores and flea markets. There is still room for many more so I'll keep my eyes open...




lauantai 7. syyskuuta 2013

Never mind the flu

I have a terrible flu but still went to the local flea market with my husband. Good idea as we found these, 15 euros each. One is a bit broken but can be fixed with glue. Even though we photographed these outside, they are meant for kitchen/living room.

Pots and jugs

This small cabinet is from Pentik. On top of it sits an Arabia coffee pot from the 1930/1940 that I inherited from my nanny. The pitcher is from the 50's as is the milk jug, I think. Other stuff is new but looks nice enough.




perjantai 6. syyskuuta 2013

But where to put the plates?

I bought this shelf for plates. But then we started collecting cigarette and candy tin boxes and before you knew there were more tins than plates on the shelf.

torstai 5. syyskuuta 2013

Feeling small all of the sudden

Even though this summer was very dry the leaves of Astilboides tabularis (kilpiangervo in Finnish) grew and grew and grew...The small hand in the picture belongs to my husband.

keskiviikko 4. syyskuuta 2013

Coffee break in the garden

Welcome to my blog. The first thing I want to do, is to offer you a coffee break in Vårkulla's garden. Vårkulla is our forever-to-be-renovated-vacation-house in Loviisa.