Simple Pleasures

A quiet corner to read, write, draw or simply daydream.

(photo by kristofer johnsson)

Atelier: Ion Zupcu

Today I'm admiring the beautiful and minimalist work of Romanian-born fine art photographer Ion Zupcu — particularly this series of images from 2004, featuring stunning photos of simply folded sheets of paper. What an amazing eye he has.

(via azurebumble)

Monday

An interior in soft neutrals to start your Monday gently. Have a good one.

(photo via livingetc)

Tranquil Farmhouse

When Helena's parents' turn of the century farm in the village of Gustavus, Sweden, was to be sold, she and her partner Goran decided to take over — even though it meant restoring it from scratch. Thirteen years later, it's a beautiful tranquil home for the pair and their children. More here on Lantliv.

(photography by helena blom)

automatism on instagram

Organic strawberries for breakfast.

(photo by lori)

Weekend

Happy weekend! Hope it's a lovely one. It's going to be a busy working one for me and my family, so our Father's Day lunch will be a little later in the week — something to look forward to for sure. How's your weekend looking?

(photo by petra bindel)

Cuisine: Thai Spring Vegetable Soup

Welcome to a new series on automatism — Cuisine, devoted to the pleasures of the table. I am thrilled to start things off with a wonderful recipe by Justine Craig-Walmsley, an Ottawa, Canada-based food writer who is also a gifted food stylist (these stunning photos are all by her, too). Bon appétit!

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Thai Spring Vegetable Soup

Cooking this soup is a good way to eat up all those delicious green vegetables available at the farmers market at this time of year. Asparagus, sugar snap peas, baby kale, swiss chard, bok choy...the combinations are endless. My trick is to steam the vegetables separately, and then combine them with the rest of the soup only once I'm ready to serve. This keeps the vegetables from overcooking in the hot broth, so you get delicious, crisp-tender vegetables, with almost all of their nutrients still intact. This recipe has a high vegetable to broth ratio, which is how I prefer it. If you like your soup to be a bit more, well, soupy, you can thin the broth with additional stock. Some of the ingredients I call for can be a little hard to find, but they are definitely worth seeking out, as they give this soup incredible flavour.

 
Ingredients:

- 1 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 Spanish onion, finely diced
- 2 tbsp green curry paste
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 can of full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (homemade or store-bought)
- 3 stalks of lemongrass, bottom trimmed, top four inches and outer layer removed, cut into three
- a large handful of kaffir lime leaves
- 1.5 tbsp of coconut palm sugar or cane sugar
- juice of 1 lime
- fish sauce, to taste
- salt, to taste
- cilantro, chives and/or Thai basil, washed and dried very well
- 7 cups of assorted green vegetables, washed, and cut into bite-sized pieces (kept separate)

Recipe:

- In a large saucepan or small stockpot, heat the oil until fragrant over medium low heat. Add the onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until translucent.

- Add green curry paste, stir into onion, and sauté for another couple of minutes. Add minced garlic, and cook until fragrant. This should only take about thirty seconds.  

- Stir in coconut milk, stock, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and sugar. Bring to a boil, scraping up the bottom of the pot, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for approximately twenty minutes.

- Meanwhile, you can steam your vegetables in a bamboo or metal steamer. Steam one type of vegetable at a time, only until they turn bright green, then remove to a large plate, and repeat with the following vegetable.

- Once the broth has simmered for twenty minutes, remove the lime leaves and lemongrass pieces and discard. This is easiest to do with a pair of tongs. Add lime juice, and a few splashes of fish sauce, and taste. Season with additional fish sauce or salt to your taste.

- Now you're ready to serve. Ladle some of the broth into each bowl, then top with your green vegetables and some of your fresh herbs. Enjoy!

— Justine Craig-Walmsley

Smile

Love this stunning and seriously glam jumpsuit by Gareth Pugh, worn with style by Czech model Hana Jirickova. The sort of thing you'd wear in your dreams.

(photo by koray biran for vogue mexico april 2013, via zoë elysia)

Good Bye Google Reader

Just a little reminder that as of July 1 2013, Google will retire their much loved Google Reader. Happily, there are several options for continuing to follow automatism via RSS, and making the transition is easy to do. One good RSS reader is Bloglovin', which offers a clean and simple interface — find out how to migrate your Google Reader feed to Bloglovin' here. Feedly is an elegantly designed RSS reader — info on transferring your Google Reader feeds to feedly can be found here. A third RSS reader option is flipboard, which allows you to create your own magazines based on your favourite content. You can also follow automatism on twitter, facebook, pinterest and google+. Oh, and I'm on instagram, too, if you'd like to see my own personal photos. Thanks so much for reading!

(photo via style at home)

Sweetness and Light

A lovely image of an orange tree in a Seville street by photographer Mike Randolph.

(available as a print here)

Buffet

This week's links. Enjoy.

The IKEA Dollhouse
IKEA just announced that it is launching a new doll's house furniture set in early August, when it ships the 2014 catalogue. Called Huset, the set features the Klippan sofa, Lack table, Expedit shelving unit and Vago chair. Follow the link for details and photos of how it looks, too. And — no assembly required!

Why Wanting Expensive Things Makes Us Happier Than Buying Them
Fascinating research into why anticipation is better than owning when it comes to big ticket items — and why it might be a better idea to put money into experiences (such as travel or learning a new skill) rather than things. 

Poetic Licence
Take a tour of the pretty 1890s London home of Delia Peel, co-founder of textile and homewares shop Thornback & Peel, her husband and their two small children — a warm mix of inherited antiques, vintage finds and, of course, great Thornback and Peel original fabrics.

Vintage School Library Posters
Buzzfeed has a great round up of 19 vintage school library posters — retro fun. And a nice reminder to visit your local library more often, too!

Internet Anonymity is the Height of Chic
From The Guardian: "In this age of information overload, internet exhibitionism and NSA snooping, is it possible to make yourself unGoogleable? And does it earn you added credibility, as fashion designer Phoebe Philo and bands such as !!! suggest?"

Five Gifts Guys Secretly Want For Father's Day
Joanna of A Cup of Jo has a great list of Father's Day gift ideas — especially love the T.A.M.I show DVD suggestion!

Books That Don't Exist But Should
FastCo Create recently shared their favourites from graphic designer Tyler Adam Smith's often hilarious Tumblr of a personal project of his while working towards his masters of branding degree at New York's School of Visual Arts — for 100 days, he'd design a book cover a day of titles by well known authors who, well, haven't got around to writing them yet. Check out awesome fake titles like Coco Chanel's You're Wearing It Wrong, Nicolas Cage's How to Fake Your Way Through Anything and James Joyce's This Is What I Meant.

Linguine WIth Salmon, Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes
A lovely dish from Tartelette that's perfect for a light supper.

(photo by sara svenningrud)

Smitten

I'm smitten with this mesmerizing print by Egill Bjarki, called Flora 03 — love how the colours just glow with intensity. Available here from Mammoth and Company.

Moments of Beauty

A beautiful image from Shanghai-based fashion designer and stylist Jin Chong Yu. Gorgeous and slightly surreal.

(via pinterest)

Elegant Modern

Admiring the beautiful apartment of Paris-based artist/designer Herve Van der Straeten, whose jewelry, furniture and lighting designs can be viewed at his own gallery in Paris. Van der Straeten is also known for his glass and porecelain projects for French luxury houses as well as his work with the cosmetics and fragrance industry, garnering him numerous awards. It's easy to see how he brings his brilliant eye to his own space, with its subtle balances of form, texture and colour. More here.

(via somewhere i would like to live)

Simple Pleasures

A trip to the farmer's market — besides the excellent local produce, the jewel-like colours of the fresh vegetables and fruit are a feast for the eyes, too.

(photo by peter bagi)

Atelier: Tim Walker

Absolutely love the dream combination of legendary photographer Tim Walker and the beautiful and fearless Tilda Swinton in this surreal spread for W magazine, shot at the Las Pozas estate in Mexico. More from the shoot here.

credits: Hair by Julien d'Ys. Makeup by Stephan Marais. Art direction and concept by Jerry Stafford. Set design by Rhea Thierstein. Photography assistant: Emma Dalzell. Fashion assistants: Clémence Lobert, Mollie Maguire.

Monday

A glam space to start your week on a fun and inspiring note. Have a good one.

(photo via elle decor españa)

All Aboard

A century-old tram depot near Hamburg is now home to Helen and Dirk, who were quick to grab the opportunity to purchase one of the 39 units available when the site was still undeveloped — they were able to see the potential behind its raw, industrial state. Now they enjoy a home with natural light, vaulted ceilings, and of course, loads of space. Plus, the neighborhood is filled with great cafes and shops within walking distance, making it pretty much perfect. More about it here on Vart Nya Hem.

(photography by christian schaulin)