Smooooth Operator

We went over to the European side today (we are living on the Asian side of Istanbul at the moment) to Taksim and I checked out some of my favourite shops on Istikal Caddesi (Independence Avenue). Shopping! Yay!

Istikal Avenue is dripping with history and has some gorgeous architecture. During the time of the Ottoman Empire it was the place for Ottoman intellectuals to hang out and was called Grande Rue de Pera. Today it's a place for protests, shopping and eating! This is the heart of Istanbul and is definitely part of the Istanbul I love!

I also managed to get a half decent coffee (well it wasn't instant) and a Kiwi smoothie which looked delicious but was super sweet. It wasn't actually what I think of when I think of smoothies - I think real fruit, this was soft serve ice cream with artificial flavouring. So I'm thinking...juice bars...that's an idea that could work...maybe.

Baby, It's Cold Outside...

I thought Spring had arrived, but that was just a cruel trick the weather played on me. The wind here is icy! :( This cold weather does have one redeeming feature though...it is perfect weather for drinking salep, a deliciously sweet hot drink that tastes a little bit like rice pudding.

It is made from salep flour which gives it a rich, velvety texture. I like it best sprinkled with cinnamon which gives it a gorgeous wintery flavour.

I was surprised to find out that, traditionally, salep flour is made by grinding dried orchid tubers (although there are plenty of artificial versions available). Unfortunately, the use of these orchid tubers to make salep and also the Turkish icecream (maras dondurma) has led to dramtically decreased numbers of wild orchids in Turkey. So I am sticking to the artifcial powder which you should be able to buy from Turkish grocery stores. I used Binnur's recipe from turkishcookbook.com and it was delicious!

Treasure found!

You know those days...when you wake up early, the sun is shining and you are ready to get things happening. Today was like that.

I started to unpick some of the stitches (oops!) from the toy bag that I have been making for my little baby boy. I love these fabrics! I will show you more once the bag is finished. I have been sewing interfacing between the two pieces of fabric for this bag to make it a little sturdier -is that what you do?

We even got into some spring cleaning today. At the moment we are living at my mother in law's house (gasp! I know! But she has been great and it is very handy until we get ourselves set up here in Istanbul). Anyway we were cleaning out this little shed type thing when I heard the question "shall we throw this old sewing machine in the rubbish?" My ears pricked up! I quickly ran over to have a look...

and it was gorgeous! And definitely in need of some tender loving care. A project! I love it! And it would be perfect for my dream studio... hmm any ideas about how to get rid of the rust?

My mother in law remembers buying this around the time that my husband was born. Sewing clothes for him when he was little. So I asked her ever so sweetly, well as sweetly as I could in broken Turkish, "instead of throwing it in the rubbish, would it be ok if I had it?" "Yes?" Yay!

Let's get started!

Spring is here…time for spring cleaning, getting organised and change (crazy style) …like moving to Turkey with my husband and 4 month old baby! It also means I am going to start sharing a few things with you ... like things that I make (crafty stuff mostly), yummy food, great books and a bit of my life here in Turkey. I have enjoyed reading my favourite blogs for a while now and they have been such an inspiration. I hope you enjoy mine!