Sicilia: A love letter to the food of Sicily · Ben Tish

Last June, Sicilia: A love letter to the food of Sicily by Ben Tish was published by Bloomsbury Publishing. The book is full of recipes and photographs linked to the cuisine and culture of Sicily. Its cover speaks for itself, reflecting the light and colours of summer in all its glory. It is worth mentioning that two years ago, Tish published the book Moorish: Vibrant recipes from the Mediterranean, about the cultural influence of North Africa and the Arab world on Mediterranean cuisine.

Sicilia: A love letter to the food of Sicily
By Ben Tish
Hardcover, illustrated, 304 pages
ISBN: 9781472982759
Bloomsbury Publishing

New coffee table books

The west coast of Scotland doesn't look autumnal, yet, but I'm already in the mood for autumn. I have started to light candles in the morning and occasionally I let fire burn in the fireplace, just for a short moment. Soon I will give the summer shirts a rest and start wearing sweaters and shawls in darker shades. What I find exciting about the autumn is that it always sees the publication of new coffee table books. I would like to share with you a list of the ones I have in sight this year.

· Nomad Deluxe: Wandering with a Purpose by Herbert Ypma. Actually, this one was published earlier this year but it only recently caught my attention. Ypma's photographs available for preview on the Assouline website look stunning.
· Neisha Crosland: Life of a Pattern by Neisha Crosland. A book by a textile designer full of patterns ... no words needed!
· Map Stories: The Art of Discovery by Francisca Mattéoli. I believe this one is a gem for lovers of vintage maps, published in French last year and now soon available in English. If you are unfamiliar with Mattéoli's work you may want to take a look at her blog, which she writes in both French and English.
· Cecil Beaton at Home: An Interior Life by Andrew Ginger. I cannot wait to browse through this one. I think it will find its way to my coffee table one day.
· François Catroux by David Netto. I believe this is a book many have been waiting for. Remember the Paris home of Lauren Santo Domingo that I posted on the blog designed by Catroux? One of my favourite house tours is his Paris apartment.
· Urban Jungle: Living and Styling with Plants by Igor Josifovic + Judith de Graaff. Igor is a dear blog friend and I'm so excited to see his book published. Head over to his Happy Interior Blog to take a look at what was going on behind the scenes during the work on the book.
· Wanderlust: Interiors That Bring the World Home by Michelle Nussbaumer. My textile heart is already beating faster. See more below.
· Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi + Sami Tamimi. This is a new edition of the one published in 2008. Not a coffee table book per se, but their cookbook Jerusalem is one of those that regularly ends up on mine because it's more than just a cookbook.

It is not my intention to let any one book on the list shine brighter than others but when I saw the textiles and colour palette in the Swiss bedroom of designer Michelle Nussbaumer I simply had to share it on the blog. (I think this photo appears in the book, which features, among others, her homes in Swiss and Texas.) Not everyone has the knack for arranging mismatched textiles stylishly, however, Nussbaumer seems to do so effortlessly. The images I have seen of her design have a few things in common; they are rich of antiques, patterned textiles and global finds. She runs a very popular design shop in Dallas, Ceylon et Cie.

Bedroom textiles in designer Michelle Nussbaumer's Swiss chalet

1: image by me | 2: bedroom photo · Melanie Acevedo via WSJ

№ 2 reading list: bookshelf styling

I have a bookshelf crush. Not my first. The July issue of Elle Decoration UK has a feature that has had me swooning just a little with my coffee, a home in LA that has so many right touches ('House on the Hills', photographed by Stephanie Bjelkstam). The open shelves in the living room display an uncluttered mix of books and decorative objects; books arranged both vertically and horizontally, adding visual interest. The shelves seem to breathe and echo the rug on the floor. Beautifully done. These days I'm reading a few books and soon I will be reviewing one of them on the blog: Decorative Textiles from Arab and Islamic Cultures: Selections from the Al Lulwa Collection. That Egyptian cotton appliqué to the left is a little preview.

My summer reading list is ready (I should probably call it my early summer reading list) and consists of plays and autobiographical writing. Recently I returned playwright Arthur Miller's memoir Timebends (wonderfully written, highly recommend it) to the library and picked up two of his plays. On the same day I was browsing online for works by Virginia Woolf and was lucky to find two used copies (vol. 3 of her diary has arrived and looks like new - love it). Here is my list:

1  All My Sons  by Arthur Miller
2  Death of a Salesman  by Arthur Miller
3  Off the Road: Twenty Years with Cassady, Kerouac and Ginsberg  by

Carolyn Cassady

4  The Diary of Virginia Woolf - Volume 3: 1925-1930  edited by Anne

Olivier Bell

5  The Letters of Virginia Woolf - Volume II: 1912-1922  edited by Nigel

Nicolson and Joanne Trautmann)

6  Testament of Youth: An Autobiographical Study of the Years 1900-1925 

by Vera Brittain

Some people would perhaps call this a bit heavy reading in summertime but I'm just not one of those readers who pick up a stack of quick-reads at the local bookshop. My children were making fun of me recently, saying that I read weird books. I'm trying to remember the exact phrase one of them used, 'English upper-class snob literature' or something like that. It cracked me up.

On a more personal note: It's the National Day of Iceland and my husband and I celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. It's also Friday pizza day but he's abroad for work. The children and I are going for French cheese, baguette and grapes ... and chocolate. Have a wonderful weekend!

images by me | credit - top photo: Elle Decoration UK, July 2016, p. 116 · Stephanie Bjelkstam

Interior design: Purple shades and original tiles

You know those pages in magazines that you keep coming back to? For me this is one of them. The bedroom belongs to designer Stefano Guidotti's home by Lake Como in Italy that was featured in the April issue of Elle Decoration UK ('Como in Colour', photographed by Mads Mogensen). In his own words he is obsessed with colour and thought of the original patterned floor tiles as huge rugs when decorating his home. The shades of his walls are beautiful and he has a wonderful selection of decorative objects. If you can get a hold of the issue then check out the leather sofa in the living room and the colour of his dining area. Such an inspiring house tour!

image by me | credit: Elle Decoration UK, April 2016, p. 167 · Mads Mogensen

Interior design: built-in nooks

This summer my admiration for built-in nooks has reached a whole new level. I think it started with an Ibizan house tour in Elle Decoration UK  that I shared in a blog post in June. From then on these types of nooks were demanding my attention everywhere; also the textiles, the covers and cushions chosen to make them comfortable. I have a French issue of Elle Decoration from last summer that is filled with built-in nooks. It has been on my table this summer and I just had to take a few photos for the blog. You see, I look at my blog as a diary. I don't write one, by that I mean the dear diary type, but I note down things in my journals all the time. The visual part is very important to me as well and I like being able to store these images on the blog for others to enjoy but also for myself to look them up later.

Let us start with a few nooks that appeared in a feature on Scorcialupi, a holiday rental in the Italian region of Puglia. I find the outdoor living area above absolutely stunning. The two indoor ones below are also neat.

1-3: Scorcialupi, Elle Decoration (French), July/August 2014, pp. 108-117/Christian Schaulin

As much as I like the nook below, with its harmonious colour palette, I'm not sure I would want one in my outdoor dining area, especially if I were entertaining. If one person has to stand up then others have to move or make space. However, this kind of rustic style is right up my alley and I like how the industrial Tolix chairs create contrast (this photo only shows one clearly). The nook belongs to a beautiful and stylish home on the Greek island of Mykonos.

4: Mykonos house tour, Elle Decoration (French), July/August 2014, pp. 130-141/Giorgio Baroni