15 April 2018. Now that Spring is on its way (fingers crossed!) we are putting away our wool sweaters and breaking out the linen we love wearing and using in warmer weather.
We like starting fresh each season and thought we’d share our best tips on giving your linen clothing and housewares the attention they deserve when you put them back into rotation for the season.
Proper care of your linens will extend their life and allow you to enjoy them longer. Linen can be hand-washed or machine washed. If using a machine, it’s best to wash with like colors at temperatures no higher than 30 degrees C / 86 degrees F. Drying on a line is always the best approach, but if you must use a drying machine, tumble dry on a low setting. Never wash or dry linen with high heat.
And while we like our linen casually rumpled, here are some pro tips on getting a smoother look.
Smoothing linen straight from the line or dryer with your hand will render its textures socially acceptable. It’s really just a matter of what you are comfortable with. If using and iron, a medium to medium-high setting will have you smooth in a jiffy.
Here’s a link to what other fabric care experts have to say about spring cleaning.
And if you have access to a space to dry your linen outside, here’s a nice round-up of folding wooden drying racks:
Now here’s hoping for some sunshiney weather so you can don your newly refreshed linen scarf or blouse and pack up your linen tablecloth for a picnic in the nearest park.
4 April 2018. The Spring cleaning bug is approaching. We can feel it looming even if it did just snow here a day ago. The daffodils and early tulips persist though and we look forward to throwing open the windows and giving our home a really good once over. Whew... another Winter under the belt.
One of the more satisfying tasks generally involves a good closet purge/tidying up and we're finding these new-ish mango wood hangers to be a beautiful part of that chore. While their profile is slim and space-saving, they can still take the weight of a heavier jacket, dress, or pant. Win-win!
What does your Spring cleaning ritual involve? Do you have a 'go-to' tidying up guru who you check in with? If you're looking for inspiration, we encourage you to visit Erin Boyle's blog Reading my Tea Leaves. She offers the most wonderful suggestions and, more importantly, achievable solutions. Happy Spring.
22 March 2018. As Spring makes its (very) slow entry, our mind wanders to warmer days and al fresco dining with friends and family. Our old picnic table in the back never looks better than when it's dressed with a fresh linen tablecloth. The everyday task of just eating is suddenly more special and we think to ourselves, 'why don't we do this more?'. It'll come. It will come.
In the meantime, we'll enjoy this image by Jenny Hallengren of our Jenn tablecloth and delicious looking raspberry muffins. We did a little searching for you and have found an equally delicious recipe from Sam at Wholesome Patisserie.
Vanilla raspberry muffins--try it out and let us know how you made out. And then bring some over to share will ya?
28 February 2018. As the weather grows a little warmer, we sometimes find ourselves with our mind in spring mode but our actual body still stuck in winter. We can't yet ditch winter layers, and when we've tried, we've found ourselves underdressed and shivering, both indoors and out. Cranking the heat way up is a solution, sure, but for environmental and cost-saving reasons, we've found a few ways to keep our internal heat high until the outdoors catch up.
Though it's our general m.o. to walk around in bare feet at home, we sometimes forget we
have bare feet given how rarely they're seen in the winter months. We love a good pair of thick socks, but these past few years, we've relied on these
slippers that are as close to the naked-foot experience as possible. And for bringing warmth back into cold feet, we've found that a quick foot massage or a couple rounds of rising up and down on tippy toes can get the blood flowing again.
Other quick fixes for the stubborn cold is throwing a heated rice sock or a hot water bottle under the covers before getting in. Nothing puts an end to bedtime shivers faster than getting into an already toasty bed. Drinking warm beverages is another helpful way to heat from the inside out, and when we've exhausted our taste for tea, we've been sipping on plain, warm water (try it - it's good!). Finally, we're not above wearing a hat indoors, especially since there are so many comfortable beanies out there that feel light as a feather.
With our minds on spring, we'll keep honing the art of staying warm. And in a few short months we can forget all we've learned about slippers, hats, and heating pads and let the sun shine in.
16 February 2018. Looks like we've had a bit of an over-run on the latest Fog Linen Work Catalogue #32. Starting today, and for as long as we have them, one will arrive with your order. These catalogue/look-books are a covetable item and feature Fog's latest offerings plus perennial favorites. What's more, you'll get a chance to glimpse Jenny Hallengren's and Masaki Ogawa's beautifully styled images. This paperback book measures 8.25"W x 6.25"H and is 123 pages. Text is in Japanese---not usually available in the U.S., so extra special.
22 January 2018. This week we excitedly un-boxed the Spring 2018 collection of clothing. The new hues heather, rose, mulberry, and especially saffron (above) were, and are, a relief to the eyes-muted brights, soft, and a much needed easing towards a new, warmer season. Immediate impressions were anchoring, earthy, and optimistic. Designer, Yumiko Sekine, credits the colors of Paris as inspiration. We'll take that for sure.
But, as we introduce the Spring collection, we're writing from a still Winter place. Looking out the window, mini ice bergs make their way down the Hudson River from upstate NY. It's chilly. The wind certainly hasn't given up its sharpness and the the desire to hibernate and be a bit more mindful of self-care is still in full force. With that in mind, we wanted to share a calendula salve recipe posted by Erin Boyle recently. Not only is calendula one of our favorite ingredients in all-natural skincare, but the color of the dried flowers are once again, anchoring, earthy, and optimistic. This is a wonderful salve for adults and children and we hope you'll give it a try. If anything, it's a fun and healthy project for your next snow day.
*kamilla top shown above
11 December 2017. So often, the holiday season becomes associated with stress and obligation, endless eating and drinking and socializing and shopping until you can hardly wait for it to all be over. Even the most earnest attempts at holiday mindfulness and self care can be futile against the hustle and bustle of the holidays. It can be a fun respite to refocus for a minute and learn about holiday traditions from around the world. Here are a few that caught our eye:
-In Japan, Kentucky Fried Chicken is a holiday staple. Lines for food snake down the block, and people place orders for holiday spreads up to two months in advance. Fried chicken for the holidays became popular in Japan in the 1970s when the chain began advertising special holiday meals for foreigners. The trend caught on among the locals who, like many humans, can do little to resist the comforting, salty call of fried chicken and mashed potatoes.
-Hogmanay is the name of the last day of the year in Scotland, as well as the celebration of the new year. As part of Hogmanay, the first person who steps over the threshold of a home after the clock strikes midnight forecasts the luck of that household for the coming year. Men with dark hair are the luckiest “first-footers” to welcome into the home. The type of luck depends on the gift this person brings--salt, coal, cake, or whiskey, to name a few.
-Old Man Bayka strides up and down the streets in Liberia on Christmas Day. Rather than doling out gifts, he asks for gifts from passersby, stoking the holiday giving spirit from a different angle.
What are the holiday traditions you’ll be savoring amidst the rush? Feel free to let us know! We’ll be here, relishing the smells of crackling fires and hot toddies, just a couple of our favorite holiday mainstays.
22 November 2017. Sophocles may have said, “no speech can stain what is noble by nature,” but we all know how well red wine can stain our holiday tablecloth.
Thanks to a super helpful article by cleaning expert Jolie Kerr in the New York Times, we learn that not all stains are created equal. Depending on what caused the stain - such as grease, dairy, starch, wine or chocolate - you want to adjust your approach. For grease stains, you want to use liquid dish soap. Lipstick on your good napkins? Rubbing alcohol is your friend. If things get really out of hand, and you find yourself with a bloodstain, use salt (but don’t rub it into any wounds).
One of our favorite tips is to never put a grease stained item in the dryer until you are sure the stain has been washed it out, as the heat of the dryer will permanently set it. Let the fabric air dry then check to see if the stain is indeed gone. If not, treat and wash it again and that just might do the trick.
Before the party gets started, make sure you have on hand salt, liquid dishwashing soap, Pine Sol, rubbing alcohol, enzyme-based stain remover and liquid stain remover, such as Shout. Check Ms. Kerr’s article to know what to use for what. With this arsenal, you should be able to treat almost any stain and keep your textiles looking fresh. This way you can ensure the memories of your joyful gathering will last, but the stains don’t have to.
Image credit goes to The Bonjon Gourmet. Alanna generously features our kitchen cloths in her food styling and for that we are so grateful. You can find the recipe to this gluten free stone fruit galette with cardamom and honey here.
19 November 2017. Some hosts live for nothing more than to bring people together and feed them well. But, they will still wake up the next morning, perhaps a little sluggish, to sticky countertops and crumpled napkins in unexpected places.
With these napkin-in-the-couch-cushion moments in mind, a host gift for the morning after might be just the thing. Perhaps your host would like nothing more than a loaf of coffee cake from a good bakery or a tin of fancier-than-Liptons tea to take the edge off. Of course, good honey, oil, and salt will never go to waste in a cook’s kitchen, nor will a kitchen cloth or a wooden spoon.
We’ve never begrudged a quality pair of socks, nor will your host, as what better to pad around the house in during the quiet moments of the morning. We’ve also taken a liking to the sheet face masks that are all the rage, and we certainly wouldn’t mind receiving a few of those, perhaps tied together with a piece of kitchen twine or stacked together on a small tray. And, who has ever turned their nose up at lovely bar of soap or tube of creamy hand lotion, the kind of self-care items we sometimes forget to use for ourselves?
As is often the case, if you’re rushing to the party, and a stop at the liquor store is what you’ve got time for, maybe head to the spirits section to see if you can spot something your host might enjoy that will last longer than one evening. Though your host might tell you, “This was no trouble at all!” your thoughtfulness will certainly convey how grateful you are for the good company, the cozy setting, and the fact that your own home gets to rest, undisturbed, for one more evening.
9 November 2017. You know when you find out about something brilliant and wonder why more people don’t know about it, and then you dig a little deeper and realize plenty of people do know but you didn’t? That’s how we feel about these dates. We saw them at a dinner party where they sat, humbly, on a plate. Before we tried them, we noticed that these dates had a sheen from sitting in a golden puddle of olive oil, and we could feel warmth radiating off of them. Leaning in, we saw tiny, crunchy crystals of salt nestled in the ripples and folds of their skin.
Dates are often humble; they’re not the superstar, they’re not an eye-catching hue, and they’re usually made to be the container for something bolder, like bacon. Sometimes they’re blended or baked into other dishes where their full-bodied sweetness bolsters the flavors of another ingredient. They fill these roles so well that it’s rare to see a date served on its own.
Medjool dates are already great candidates for eating. Their plump heaviness and soft texture make them easy to enjoy without adornment. But a gentle sauté with olive oil toasts their outsides and brings forth their earthy sweetness while encouraging the insides to soften towards melting. Savory olive oil and a dash of salt provide balance and that craveable quality.
We think these dates are perfect alone, but those aforementioned, in-the-know folks who have already been serving these as appetizers recommend pouring the dates and oil onto pillowy bed of plain yogurt such that the dates, oil, and yogurt can be scooped up with baguette. We’re gonna call it a “both/and” situation.
Warm Dates with Olive Oil and Salt: Recipe by Renee Erickson via Food52
Ingredients
Medjool dates (enough for 1-2 dates per person if other apps are being served)
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt, flaky if possible
Preparation
Heat 1/4 inch olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Fill the pan with dates and cook, turning them a few times, just until they've warmed through. (They burn easily, so keep an eye out.) Pour them onto a plate with the olive oil from the pan and sprinkle with flaky salt to taste.
