Frost and Fire

I'm a Viking.  My family name is Holt and while I've not done detailed research to dig deep into my family tree, I know I'm a Viking. 

In the early 90's, Iceland was added to my travel wish list and the reason might have had something to do with my Viking roots calling.  At any rate, I was thrilled when we were actually able to visit Iceland and spend a number of days exploring an incredibly beautiful and quiet place.

I have about 20 best favorite places or memories specific to our travels in Iceland but one place that stands out in my memory was a hotel stay that combined nature, art and hospitality (we also stayed at the base of a volcano and on a farm but I'll save those stories for another time).  Hveragerði is a small town located about 30 minutes from Reykjavik.

Frost and Fire gives guests the opportunity to enjoy their own "hot pot" and the chance to get to know an Icelandic artist.  Each room is named in honor of an artist and the room is furnished with his or her artwork.  Guest are invited to relax and enjoy an evening of soaking in their own "hot pot" with healing warm waters provided by nature.  In fact when you drive up to this hotel it's quite a sight to see the hot springs bubbling up all around the hotel grounds.  

Our room featured the works of Karl Kvaran.

Every room has a beautiful view of the river.

Our room's jacuzzi or "hot pot."  We spent the evening soaking under the stars.

Not only will guests enjoy dining with pottery made by local artist   Margrét Jónsdóttir, the breakfast area is filled with sculpture and paintings by Icelandic artists including The Last Supper by Jóhanna Kristín Yngvadótti. 

If you enjoy traveling and beautiful photography, stop by and visit Noel's blog at Travel Photo Discovery.   I'm joining him for Travel Photo Mondays.

Yum Bunz is YUMMY!

Recently I received an invitation to visit Yum Bunz for an enjoyable evening with dinner for me and a guest.   So I quickly responded to the invitation and excitedly emailed my husband.  Yay!  A date!

I'd never heard of Yum Bunz but after doing a little bit of googling I found out that it's a new restaurant and the owners founded and developed The Real Chow Baby.  Love that place.  It's also over on the west side in Atlanta.  So many interesting places are popping up and Yum Bunz is one of them.  

It's educational  - learn Chinese!

The food concept is simple, "dim sum fast" and fast it is. And also extremely good. 

Love this fixture!

We got to the location, found our parking (free parking and easy - yay again!) and walked into a beautiful contemporary space with a discreet Asian flare to it.  The place did look a bit like a fast food restaurant but truthfully I had no expectations that evening.  For us it was just a fun evening out. 

Stepping up to the register I was overwhelmed with trying to pick something from the menu board and there was a line behind us so the girl at the register said she would surprise us and that is exactly what she did. 

The server first brought us an incredible mango margarita.  We've had very little summer weather in Atlanta this year (odd, right?) but suddenly it has gotten really hot so the frozen treat was a great way to cool down and start the evening feast.  

Next came the dim sum - two kinds of bao and a variety of sides including one incredible eggplant delicacy that I simply can't quit thinking about!!!  

It's hard not to talk about the paintings on the wall and I must confess that at first glance the paintings looked like wallpaper.  They just seemed to professionally perfect to be paintings, but they are. 

While our dinner was complimentary, I saw the prices on the big board and Yum Bunz is extremely affordable high quality food.  

If you live in the Atlanta area, or if you visit Atlanta, you will want to give Yum Bunz a try.  It's good food fast, affordable and healthy food too.  Read up on their website.  It's not just the ingredients, it's the preparation process too.  Hope I see you there!

I'm linking up with The Tablescaper so head over there to see what's happening on Seasonal Sunday.

Wordless Wednesday ~ "Play It Again Sam"

Naeem Khan Fall 2013

Naeem Khan went with sleek braided buns with 20′s style waves at the front.
Images via here

Led Astray

We all love receiving compliments and I'm no exception. I was delighted when an email arrived in my inbox recently from DotComGiftShop to notify me that my blog had been included in their pick of '20 Gorgeous Gardening Blogs'. The nominated blogs included some familiar faces but also one or two new to me blogs. I was pleased to be in such good company. The email also extended an invitation to become a member of the company's blog network, which offers me the opportunity of occasionally receiving complimentary products to review. The company sells a wide range of gifts but I decided that I was not interested in reviewing items other than those which would tie in with the theme of this blog.

Now it just so happens that I was sent a 'Garden Roses Wooden Produce Tray' from DotComGiftShop's home and garden section to to review which was a most opportune choice. This pretty tray has given me the perfect excuse to bring out some of my small collection of china cups and saucers and to indulge in afternoon tea or in my case coffee. I've been led astray sitting supping and reading in the afternoons instead of getting on top of the weeding. Please note that only one teacake was consumed in the production of this particular post:)

The tray is made of wood, is well finished, sturdy and has well placed handles. Carrying it is most comfortable and more important the load feels secure. Its dimensions are as follows : length 48 centimetres, width 300 centimetres and depth 80 centimetres.

The same tray is also available with alternative illustrations including apples, vegetables, strawberries and raspberries. The apple design would be perfect for storing those soon to be picked apples in a suitable place whilst the others would be ideal receptacles for collecting produce. I would be wary though of putting soft fruit into them directly though without some protective covering over the wood, otherwise you could be left with some nasty permanent stains.

Although described as a garden produce tray you could use it just as effectively in the home to store craft materials etc. I'm just wondering whether my latest jigsaw would fit in it so will be checking later.

DotComGiftShop's home and garden section includes a variety of other gardening related gifts. Some of them are practical e.g. kneelers, children's gardening sets, a garden tidy whilst others are decorative e.g. paper lanterns, tealight holders and bunting. At present the company does not sell either seeds or plants. I would imagine that as with most other similar companies that the stock will change according to the seasons. The company was established in 2005 and sells a wide range of gifts other than those related to the garden. I could well be tempted to make some purchases in the future.

The only part of the experience that could have been improved was on what I considered excessive packaging. I could have made myself a dress from the layers of bubble wrap that wrapped the tray! No need for it.

Disclosure : I received the tray from DotComGiftShop for review purposes but this has not influenced my opinions on the product. I have not been paid to write this post or will be paid if readers subsequently visit the company's website and make purchases.

Honor Fall 2013

Cornrowed updos, and indigo liner are just perfect

Images via here

Japanese Garden in Atlanta

Sometimes you don't have to go far from home to get away from it all.  I was so happy to have recently attended the Haven Conference and you cannot imagine how happy I was when I found out that the conference was going to be at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta.  

Grand Hyatt Atlanta 

 Years ago my work very often involved programming and conferences and the Grand Hyatt space was one of my favorite places to hold meetings.  Most of the time my past visits to the hotel left me little time for enjoying a very special place - the Grand Hyatt Japanese Zen Garden.

 The Sunday morning after Haven, I got up really early, grabbed coffee and some breakfast, and headed out to the garden for some quiet time in a beautiful setting.  



Hope you enjoy the picture tour as much as I enjoyed the visit. It's an incredible hidden treasure.

Even the small things matter. 

Today I'm linking up with The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday and I'm especially excited to be linking up with Noel over at Travel Photo Discovery and joining in Travel Photo Monday.  I hope you stop by!!

The Nikon 85mm f/1.8 AF-S G is my new Favourite Portrait Lens!

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while would have noticed that I really like the Nikon 50mm F1.8D on DX camera as a portrait lens, in fact it was my "go to" lens for several years when I needed to take portrait photos. This portrait was taken with the 50mm. I have not changed my opinion that the "nifty fifty" is a really nice lens for portraits, but the designation of "favourite" has now been reassigned to the Nikon 85mm f/1.8 AF-S G!

After several months of use I can say with full confidence that I highly recommend it as a head and shoulders portrait lens. The quality of the out of focus areas is sublime, and is only bettered by lenses costing at least two or three times as much. (The 50mm f1.8D is 4x cheaper than this 85mm, so if you are on a tighter budget then it still ranks right up there!)

The pic shown here is taken at f8.0 (on a Nikon D300s) and the background is still pleasingly blurred while beautifully sharp on the subject which isolates the subject from the background very nicely, thank you very much!

If you are from Malmö in Southern Sweden, then I highly recommend you get your own copy from Scandinavian Photo. They have it listed here: Nikon AF 85/1,8G AF-S Please note, I am not employed by or paid by Scandinavian Photo, but when I get great and friendly service from a company then I love to tell my friends about it! Tell them I sent you. :^)

A Carrot By Any Other Name

                `
However this 'umble umbel is definitely one for the cutting patch rather than the cooking pot. This summer I've been pleased to make the acquaintance of daucus carota 'Black Knight'. Well I think that it's him although his behaviour and mannerisms have deviated slightly from what the blurb says on the seed packet.

Initially seed was sown in 2012, germination occured but then the seedlings seemed to linger in a forever state of soggy suspended animation during that summer that never was. In the end I gave up on them and lobbed them unceremoniously on the compost heap. A decision was made to give them another go this year. Seed was sown on 21st April and this time round the seedlings flourished, producing flowers since around the middle of last month with still lots more to come. The plants have reached about three foot in height bur flop about albeit quite gracefully. They would benefit from some unobtrusive twiggy support but there's no suitable material to hand just now. The foliage is fine and feathery. The flowers last well in water - the one you can see is still going strong after eleven days. The seed packet describes the flowers as crimson - now here I beg to differ as to my eye they are a dusky old rose.

I confess to being slightly puzzle as the seed packet advises that the plant is a biennial but obviously this is not the case as far as the seeds sown this year are concerned. I've been asking myself whether the long, hot dry spell in July affected their normal growth pattern. I wish that I had not so ruthlessly chucked last year's seedlings away as it would have been interesting to see if they had come good this summer. So I can only wonder what will happen when I sow them again next year as they are already on the definite must sow list for 2014. Has anyone else grown this plant and if so what has been your experience?

"The Birds" and Bodega Bay

The Birds has always creeped me out, but even so, I loved the film.  And didn’t you love Tippi Hedren and her suit? 

Tippi's Autographed Photo in our Cabin

The film left me with a genuine fear respect of birds.

It was exciting to spend a weekend visiting the area where the film was made.  Even more exciting to see such beautiful countryside - the vineyards and the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve.

My imagination always gets away with me when we travel. In the back of my mind I’m always trying to imagine myself living wherever we visit and Bodega Bay passed muster (what is a muster?) in my book.

We spent a long weekend enjoying the coastal area, visiting Ft. Ross, touring a few vineyards in Sonoma County and of course visiting one of the most memorable places from the film, “The Birds.” 

I think I need to add something here about the Bodega General Store. If you are in the area you won't want to miss this place.  We stocked up on delicious dishes for the weekend including crab mac 'n cheese. Yum!

Many times when we travel we’re staying in hotels but this trip we stayed in a little cabin on the bay.  It was an adorable cottage with tons of windows giving us a gorgeous view of the bay. I loved being able to snuggle up in the evenings with a quilt and a book. 

You know, sometimes a perfect weekend getaway is all one needs to get lost in relaxation, daydreams and moonbeams.