09 April 2006
Because I had such a wonderful time in Edinburgh, I'm really glad I had nice things to bring away and remind me of my mini-holiday. First up, the excellent gifts from Cally:
I wonder what Cally's favourite colour is. . . I think orange -- wait, no, blue! Love it. She apologized for the non hand-craftedness of the chocolate, but who could ever complain about that?? I love the little book she made, and the paper cone with the chocolate eggs. . . and everything! The little rose petals tucked in are great -- attention to detail, folks.
This white bird cutout came from H&M. I know I shouldn't have been wasting precious Edi-time wandering around chain shops, but I did, and I'm so glad I found this. I think they're meant to be coasters; I bought one for myself and another for Cally (because -- birds!), and I can't wait to find someplace to hang it.
The hand/wrist/arm warmers came from a wonderful indie shop Cally introduced me to (I don't believe it has a website). I just couldn't pass them up -- see them awkwardly in action here. I'm sure all crafters are familiar with the 'oh, I could make that' experience when out shopping -- and how often DO we actually run home and make what we've just left at the store? Not often, in my case. I knew I wouldn't be making these, and I was (and am) hardcore in love with them. The bobbles at the top! Plus, I do like to support other handcrafters -- if I only knew who made them, I'd love to give them some blog publicity.
So, goodies, goodies, everywhere. But what about chocolate? Not just run-of-the-mill chocolate bars, but ridiculous, over-the-top, lush chocolate. Oh, here's a box:
Wonder what's in there? Hm. Only the most beautiful chocolates in the world!
These came from Plaisir du Chocolat, where we had the wonderful hot chocolate. (If you go to their website, you can figure out which flavours I picked out -- a good thing, since I forgot what they were myself [I just picked my favourite designs, really].) It was fun and difficult narrowing down my choices, and the presentation is just excellent.
They also had a case full of cakes and other chocolate delights -- what looked like a Victoria sponge, with chocolate instead of jam (!) and macarons bigger than my palm. I knew I had to bring something back for Rob, he who delights in sickly sweet indulgences, and this is what I chose:
Crazy, no? It took some wrangling to get it out of the box and onto the plate, so it's not as pristine as it looked in the shop. There are three layers of half-centimetre-thick sponge, toped with candied orange bits, and then the whomping layers of thick, smooth, lovvvvvvely ganache. I had a thin slice off the edge with my tea this morning, and I warned Rob about the dangers of eating the rest of the piece in one go. He bravely soldiered through, however, with little to no complaint.
Your post transported me! I lived outside of London for three years and my husband and I took a late summer road trip up the East coast to Whitby and up into the Highlands – then back down through Yorkshire. It was such a visual escape – the land in Scotland is beyond breathtaking – the earth seems to vibrate with hundreds upon hundreds of years of memories. The delicate waterfalls that cut through the densely blanketed green knolls were magical! Thank you for reminding me! {and of course the shopping in Edinburgh was divine!}
I LOVE the coaster from H&M – sometimes you find the most wonderful things in the most unexpected places!
posted by Jen at April 9, 2006 02:53 PM
anna, what lovely goodies you have! sounds like you had a wonderful day with cally.
lisa
posted by lisa at April 9, 2006 11:48 PM
I'm trying to work out whether chocolate that is too beautiful to eat is a good or bad thing.
posted by Paola at 'mirror mirror' at April 10, 2006 12:32 AM
Glad you had a great day with cally. Edinburgh sounds wonderful - and the chocolate! Yum.
posted by Robin at April 10, 2006 09:19 AM
THOSE CHOCOLATES!! I htink i'll change my name to
Tongue in Chocolate!!
posted by tongue in cheek at April 10, 2006 10:51 AM
What a fabulous day! Lucky you!
posted by Gisela at April 11, 2006 09:08 AM
JEEEEEZ! These are the prettiest pictures on a post in the world. Anna. Wow.
posted by Alicia P. at April 11, 2006 08:45 PM