Wednesday 30 November 2016

Wild Rosehip Syrup Recipe....


So for regular readers you may have noticed a lack of posts over the last couple of months. I have had a really tough time this year, so I have been taking some much needed time out to focus on my mental and physical health and make some changes to my lifestyle to help rejuvenate and nourish and bring about a healthy mind and body.... its a work in progress :)

One of these big changes has been discovering the joys of making fermented foods (Kefir, Kombucha, Saurkraut etc...) and upon being introduced to Susan Weed by Stina from Mother Mountain Herbals have been inspired to attend a number of herbal workshops and have since been testing out making my own herbal medicines. I started with nettle infusions and then onto an immune boosting elderberry syrup which although really yummy and potent (no colds for me this season) never turns out as tasty as the Pukka one, so after joining an awesome Facebook group got the courage to go wild foraging and make some rose hip syrup......which is not only divine but packed full of nutrients and the all important Vitamin C!!!

Dog Rosehips

I posted the above picture on Instagram and got the thumbs up from my followers for publishing the recipe so here it is with a bit of an explanation first....

Rose Hips
 Rose hips are a great source of Vitamin C, they contain 50% more vitamin C than oranges. They also contain Vitamin A which is also benefical to the immune system, and can help prevent and fight off infections.

I used Dog Rosehips as these were the only ones I could find locally. Rose hips should ideally be red not orange, plump but not too hard or too soft and with no blemishes or wrinkles, as you can see from the photo below a lot of mine were a bit squishy but it turned out fine, I suppose the better quality the better the nutrient content

Raw Honey
 So unlike most recipes I found online I have substituted the suggested sugar for raw honey. Raw Honey is basically honey that has not been heated, pasteurized or processed in any way. It is more expensive than mass produced honey but worth the extra pennies as unlike the processed stuff has all the immune boosting vitamins and minerals still intact... plus it tastes so much better, you will never go back once you try it!


The recipe below is for a small batch as this is all I could get this late in the year, if you are lucky enough to find a good wild crop then just multiply the ingredients to what you have. Next year I will get out there early !!

Ingredients

300g Rosehips
400mls Boiling water
1/4 cup Raw Honey (or until tastes good and is the right consistency for you)

1)  Find your Rosehips!

2) Rinse the rosehips in a sieve and dry

3) Using a blender roughly wizz up the rosehips 

4) Put the rose hips into a large saucepan

5) Pour on 400mls of hot water and bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 mins

6) let the mixture cool slightly then pour into either a jam bag or a doubled up muslin.  Leave hanging (if you can, i just put the muslin over a seive) to drip down into a bowl to drain for 30 mins.

7) With clean hands, squeeze the remaining fluid out of the rosehips and disgard/compost.

8)  Poor the fluid through the muslin again just to get rid of any bits

9) Reheat liquid then take off the heat and add the honey, stirring until melted. If you dont have raw honey you can add shop brought or sugar to taste

10) Put into your sterilised bottles and keep in the fridge.... enjoy!!!

Serving suggestions: Straight off the spoon, on porridge or pancakes, in sparkly wine :)
 
Rosehips and Luigi ( My son wanted him in the photo)
All opinions are my own, external links are just for reference, I am not paid by or affiliated to the companies :)

Saturday 19 November 2016

Look book and Interview: Marith from LucyInDesguise

 

When I saw some of the pictures from this LucyInDesguise look book on Instagram my jaw dropped. Reminiscent of photos of Pamela Courson and Jim Morrison and Anita Pallenberg and Mick Jagger in performance, they are just perfect images of a rock n roll romance. Luckily the lovely Marith was happy to talk to Moon to Moon about the look book, her shop and her inspiration... 

Hello Marith can you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Marith Savander, and my shop is called LucyInDesguiseThese days I live in America but I'm originally from Sweden. I've been selling vintage clothing online for almost 5 years. I've been collecting unique vintage & antique garments for a long time, and I suppose I originally opened an online shop to thin out my wardrobe. The vibe of the store is definitely an extension of my personal style. When I'm not working on the shop I play music, paint, write and travel. You can check out some of the tunes here: www.soundcloud.com/maritluna.



Why do you favor vintage over new clothing?

For me it always made more sense to wear used clothing instead of buying new. By choosing vintage instead of new mass-produced clothes you are also choosing a more environmental-friendly way of dressing; a recycling form of self expression. LucyInDesguise has always carried carefully hand selected vintage and always will, but the next step is to make my own collection and one-of-a-kind pieces out of recycled and natural materialsI'm excited to share my visions and eventually start branding. I have lots of groovy designs and fun plans for the future.

The name LucyInDesguise actually came to me during an acid trip many moons ago and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds was playing. I had a big rack of my psychedelic mini dresses hanging in the room, and it occurred to me that when I assemble all these vibrant, colorful palettes and textiles into outfits and dress my nude flesh on a daily basis, it's sort of a disguise and also an expression of art. Back then I thought disguise was spelled desguise, and I just like to keep it that way.



 What was the inspiration behind this stunning lookbook?


Love, love, love. Such a strange and wonderful thing.




Tell us about the location for the shoot?

In July, my boyfriend and I traveled to Sweden where we purchased a cheap car and drove it all the way to Spain. Our destination was A Coruña where we visited our dear friend Diego. He introduced us to two new friends and we started talking about shooting an editorial for my shop. Iria is an artist living and working in a beautiful mountain home with her donkey Lucas, which is where we did the shoot. Mel the photographer, is a talented wedding & lifestyle photographer, so this experimental shoot was equally exciting for us. I wanted it to be a collaborational thing featuring my styling, Mel's photography, Iria's art and my love and I wearing the vintage clothes in sweet settings. With a mix of everyone's inputs we ended up with beautiful results! You can see some of Iria's sculptures and paintings in some of the photos and more here: www.castelostudio.com. Check out more of Mel's work here: www.helmandanchor.es.


A massive thank you to Marith for letting me feature the beautiful look book and for tking the time to tell us more ..... make sure you check out her beautiful shop LucyInDesguise




Tuesday 15 November 2016

Pyramids in the forest....

Flower covered teepee

Okay so the theme for this post is really just that these are all awesome pyramid like constructions in a forest setting that I had saved on Pinterest.... I couldn't think of anything clever to write about them as i have non-sleeping toddler brain at the moment :)

Hope you are all having a great week :)

Sunday 13 November 2016

Psychedelic Sunday: Public spaces of the Psychaelic era

Detroit's former Science center staircase, 1979
1960s Shopping Mall Palm Beach Vintage Postcard
Verna Panton's swimming pool
Elevator at Monroe Gutman Library, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Benjamin Thompson Associates, 1974
And something for the kids
I have a new child friendly lava lamp from Mathmos and have been listening to the Mahavishnu orchestra on rotation this past couple of weeks which has prompted me to look at psychedelic interiors and architecture so I thought I would mix things up and add some colour to Moon to Moon and the post Trump gloom taking over the world... enjoy!

Saturday 12 November 2016

House Boat : For Sale !!!!




3 years ago, when illustrator Tabby Booth let me share pictures of her awesome house boat 'The Long haired eel' on the Thames I was so pleased and so very envious of the stunning cozy space she and her partner had created. The little cubby bed on the floor, the yellow walls and that awesome kitchen..... and now this beautiful boat is for sale!

To see the listing (and to buy it for me) please visit the link here on ebay


A bit about the Long Haired Eel.....

The Long-Haired Eel is a beautiful, completely unique 35ft narrowboat. She has been our home for the last four and half years. But now, reluctantly, it is time to sell her as we have just bought a bigger boat.

She is the perfect size for one person or a couple and would make an ideal first boat. Her main benefit is that she has all the necessities for living aboard already, and therefore all the new owners would need to do is make her their own! We have cleared everything out and given it a white undercoat,

The outside of the boat has recently been repainted, and there are windows all the way around. Entry is through a side door, and opposite there is another set of side doors which can also be opened. 
As you go in, and down a set of steps, you enter the kitchen area. There is an LPG oven with two hobs; sink with hot and cold running water; kitchen surface area, and plenty of storage. 

Behind you is the electrical setup which consists of two high quality leisure batteries, hooked up to a 240v 300w inverter. There is lighting throughout the boat. The batteries are charged via 3 x 100w solar panels. The glass on one of the panels is broken but still works fine. There is also a battery charger which means the batteries can be charged by generator if need be. However, we have found that the solar panels will pretty much provide us with all the electricity we need.

To the left of the kitchen is the bathroom where there is a small bath with shower; sink with hot and cold water, and portaloo. Included with the boat is a marine pump out toilet, which could be hooked up by the new owners easily. There is also a special water filtration system which can filter river water into drinking water. We have never got around to hooking this up, but again this is included if you want it!

There are two water tanks on board which can be filled via skin fittings on the side of the boat.
Opposite the kitchen there is more storage and a fold out desk. Moving through into the living area, there is a good sized open space with a wood/coal burner which heats the space really well. There are shelves running along both sides of the walls and a newly varnished wooden floor. All of the walls are fully insulated.

The absolute best part about this boat is the amazing v-shaped bed in the front. It's two metres across and really comfortable. There is also a hatch above it, which means that you can lie in bed in Summer and look at the stars. 

When we bought the boat, we were told that she was handmade in Chelsea in roughly 1989 and that the hull had been overplated with 3mm steel in 2011. Since then, she was blacked by us in 2014.
The engine is a 40hp Johnson Outboard with electric start, which you can drive from a bench on the back with a steering wheel. As we have always had the boat on a mooring, we haven't moved her a lot. However, we were assured by a mechanic recently that it's a very good engine and in very good condition.

She is fully licensed on EA waterways till the end of 2016, but will need a new Boat Safety Certificate before being re-licensed in 2017. She would also need a new Boat Safety Certificate if you wanted to take her onto Canal and River Trust waterways before 2017. 
She is currently moored by Canbury Gardens in Kingston upon Thames, but unfortunately we cannot offer this mooring with the sale as we need the space for our new boat. She could easily be moved to a new mooring, or alternatively you could use her to continuously cruise. Around Kingston is a very good area for this, as there are plenty of amazing places you can stay, as long as you move a couple of times a week.

Friday 11 November 2016

Catie Atkinson's Luna calendar 2017.....



Spiritysol 2017 Lunar Calendar

How stunning is this  hand drawn 2017 Luna calendar by Catie Atkinson?

The poster measures 16" x 20" and has all full moons and new moons marked and is decorated with a moon moth , flowers and crystals. I dont know about you but I have the perfect spot for this beauty ..... a perfect Christmas gift.... dont forget to get in quick for international shipping!!

To snag yours visit Caties shop

To see more of Caties beautiful artwork visit her shop or Instagram Spirtysol


Tuesday 8 November 2016

Tiny House: A Converted Bus.....




Small.... but so perfectly formed!!

This stunning 1981 Ford Econoline bus has been converted into a traveling home and it currently resides in San Francisco, California.... although it is up for sale.... yes please!!!


What i really love about this bus conversion is the wooden interior, it feel like a little log cabin on wheels....

Sunday 6 November 2016

Awesome Tree Houses....

Tree House
Swinging rattan Tree house
I can't remember if it was the Ewok village, the Lost boys home in Hook or Robin Hood's Nottingham forest that first made me dream about living in a tree house village, but it was definitely in the early 90's that the idea first entered my head..... and it is one I can't shake!!!

Lying back at night and looking at the stars, waking to the bird song..... dreamy!

Add caption
Tree house in China
Gasp.... dreamy tree house
Beautiful tree house and suspension bridge