Pomegranates, Roses and Saffron: A Simple Holiday Menu
It’s not often that I have genius ideas, but last weekend was one of those rare occasions. I was trying to come up with an easy, somewhat unusual and festive cocktail that would go with the Persia/Middle East-inspired food I was preparing. And then I thought..
Woman of the Month: Diana Athill
I know Diana Athill – or I know OF Diana Athill, to be more precise – because I’m a regular reader of The Guardian. In 2009, they published an essay by Athill, who was already over 90 at the time, about why she decided to move into an old people’s home. I re..
8 Gifts I Wouldn’t Mind Receiving
To say that I like giving gifts is like saying Darth Vader isn’t averse to the idea world domination. I make long lists, analyse people’s preferences, cross-check with previous lists to avoid repetition and spend hours researching online. It seems only prude..
Scents of the Day: The End
Last year, I did a project called Scent of the Day. For a month, every day, I talked about a scent on Facebook. I have been asked by friends to make these musings available on the blog, as it’s impossible to find anything on Facebook. So I’ve shared my mini-..
Early Winter
I have mentioned before that I tend to get strange bits of songs stuck in my head. Last time I talked about Pete Doherty, this time it’s Gwen Stefani – both have been hanging around in my brain for years now. Early Winter is not Stefani’s most famous song an..
Korean Favourites: Salt, Sugar and Seaweed
When I was in South-Korea a few years ago, it wasn’t a culinary love at first taste. I did adore the hotel breakfast – the selection was insane, from an amazing barley-watermelon salad to the quickly assembled bespoke soups -, but otherwise I was working and..
The Future of Tolerance
It was 1998 and I was on my way to Lübeck, upon the invitation of Germany’s young social democrats – to witness the general elections and eventually, Gerhard Schröder’s defeat of Helmut Kohl. As both I and the Estonian social democrats were poor, I arrived w..
The Winter Iris: Iris Cendre by Naomi Goodsir
Conventional perfume wisdom has it that winter is the time for rich orientals and cuddly gourmands. I’m nor arguing, it does make sense: the typical representatives of these genres might be too much in the heat, but feel lovely and comforting when it’s cold…
The Quiet End of All Things
The end of the year is a time of stress and loudness and running around, sweaty and annoyed. Miraculously, I feel calmer and calmer as December approaches, quiet and serene. I’ve given up on achieving some things that no longer seem necessary. I’ve become al..
7 New Cleansers
Sometimes, the workings of my brain really do make me worry. I am highly analytical by nature: I can dissect the imbalances in my wardrobe down to the tiniest details and have got my skincare routines down to a science. And yet, I recently discovered that wh..