Ein wenig Geschmack

After four days in Berlin I am overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and tastes of this amazing city. It is quite surreal being here because it feels so much like home and everything is so familiar. There is inspiration on every corner for Mr S but for now this is just a little taste ("ein wenig Geschmack") of the beautiful Berlin life!

Berlin is calling

Hooray! Tomorrow afternoon, I'm off to Berlin, Basel and London for two weeks! In London we'll be meeting our new niece or nephew (who still hasn't arrived!), in Basel we'll be celebrating my sister's 30th birthday, and in Berlin...we'll be eating! My husband and I lived in Berlin in 2007 and miss it hugely, so are planning five days jam-packed with schnitzel and beer as we revisit every restaurant, cafe, bar and bierhaus that we remember so dearly. And we'll definitely be squeezing in some shopping, too! Meldestelle, Zwo Vier and H&M are calling my name, and I'm certain we'll come back loaded up with Bifis, Africola, Ritter Sport and some brilliant German toiletries! Of course I'll be keeping an eye out for any exciting new products for Mr Sparrow as well, and will be posting from over there so stay tuned! In the mean time, I thought I would share a couple of my favourite photos from the old days in Berlin.

yum-mi-licious!

I've just received some samples from Mi Spa and am very excited about them! Based in California, Mi Spa produce a line of rice-based skincare inspired by the Asian tradition of cleansing with rice (known as 'mi' in Chinese). They blend the finest essential oils, exotic butters, aromatic fragrances & natural herbs with rice bran oil & other rice extracts to create soaps, shampoos & conditioners, moisturisers, body scrubs, perfumes and candles. I've tried the body butter, lotion and some perfumes and can't wait to get home and try the rest! The scents are absolutely delicious (and I'm very picky about these things!) - my favourites so far are Lemon Sugar (described as "a fusion of sweet sugar and lemony citrus"), Mango Ice Tea ("like fresh mango with refreshing ice tea") and Coconut Lemongrass ("tantalizing lemongrass enhanced with the tropical pleasures of coconut"). If all goes well (and so far it is!) Mr Sparrow will be stocking a selection of these delicious perfumes, candles and body products soon, so stay tuned.

Progressive times

On Saturday night we had a "progressive dinner" with some friends. This is such a great idea - one couple does entree at their house, then another does mains at their place, and another does dessert at theirs. It makes for a really interesting, fun night and means you all share the food preparation and the washing up! For entree we had antipasto and a delicious tomato and mint soup, followed by chicken with forty cloves of garlic for mains, then mini lemon cakes and chocolate brownies for dessert. All in all, it was a very tasty night! Unfortunately I forgot to photograph Jon & Ingrid's amazing entree but here are some pics of the mains and dessert. Thanks for all the yummy food, everyone!

Baby Christou

from Makeitawesome

from Giggleberry

from Pretty Little

from Pulp. Designs

from Pom Love

My sister-in-law is due to have a baby any day now so I have been taking the opportunity to browse some of the adorable baby presents on etsy. These are just a few of the beautiful things I came across in my wanderings...with the exception of the one we chose, of course - I don't want to give anything away! It's only two weeks now until I'll meet the little one. I can't wait!

Yes, please

This is the scene just outside my shop at the moment. It's voting day for daylight savings and Mr Sparrow is right next to a polling place so the place is buzzing! It's a beautiful day, too, so everyone seems to have a spring in their step. I was a good girl and placed my vote first thing this morning so now it's fingers crossed!

Born in the month of May

May equals birthday madness for me. Within a week I'm hit with three BIG birthdays - my best friend, my husband and my sister! So I have been busily trawling sites (mainly Etsy!) for presents in recent weeks. In my wanderings I came across this amazing artwork by Jennifer Khoshbin from San Antonio. Jennifer has two Etsy shops, Jen Khoshbin and Ruby's Lounge and produces some of the most beautiful, inspiring works I've seen. It was one of her papered resin moose heads featured in an Etsy Finds last week that first caught my eye, but her prints of cut-out storybook scenes are just amazing as well. My husband and I have a bit of a manivelle collection, too, and I can't help thinking what an incredible addition one of Jennifer's music box books would make! Thanks so much to Jennifer for allowing me to share these images of her amazing work.

Windows on William

Last night we decided to check out some of the window displays as part of the Windows on William exhibition in Northbridge, which uses shopfronts to house audio and visual treats from some of Perth's finest creatives. It made me think I should be making better use of my window! We also had a quick meal at Sparrow (where else?) and some delicious crepes at Icey Ice that took us straight back to Japan!

Tiny moments

I'm really excited about the Hold collection from Prismera, which I am expecting at Mr Sparrow in the next week or so. The collection features "Tiny Moment" pendants and earrings made from splashes of molten metal - each splash is unique and a representation of every moment that you'd like to hold. New York-based designer Laura Su says of the collection, "For this group of work, I focused on a side of love that is often brushed aside in the conceptual aspect of designing jewelry. The Hold Collection is a reminder to cherish the hard times along with the joyous and passionate moments. The culmination of those experiences is what makes our relationships richer and more meaningful." The Hold collection also includes delicate, twig-like "Cherish" bangles, and all pieces are made from either sterling silver or bronze. Thanks to Laura for allowing me to share these beautiful images.

A little bird...

A big thank you to Jo for writing about Mr Sparrow on her fantastic blog, A Little Bird Told Me Where. Jo's blog brings together all the little shops she loves in Perth, online, and around the globe and is a fantastically easy way to find fabulous and unique gifts and homewares. What a great idea!

Sunny May

I can't get over how warm and sunny it is here in the middle of May! I don't know what's happened to Autumn this year but it looks like we're going to bypass it altogether. The nights and the mornings are cool at the moment, though, which I love, and our Virginia Creeper and Chinese Tallow trees are starting to turn. One of the things I miss most about Berlin (where we lived for a while) is the seasons - here there's not much definition between them but there each season is distinct and so much a part of the culture. So here is a taste of the changing seasons in Berlin to remind us of what we're missing!

Tea Time

I wanted to share some photos of the afternoon tea we put on for my mum yesterday for Mother's Day. It was delicious but no less than Mum deserved! We used our beautiful Poole Pottery dinner set (you can see it in the second photo). I have quite a lot of similar Poole cups & saucers, and even a full dinner set at the shop at the moment and can definitely recommend them :)

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I'm very excited to be sharing with you all the little things that get me excited each day. Today these little impatiens in a teacup are making me happy. I actually sold this to a lovely lady last week but she hasn't picked it up yet so I get to enjoy it for a few more days.