Lust List ~ January, 2014

If I happened to have a spare thousand pounds...

Whistles, Meghan Crepe Dress in pink, £115

Lust List ~ June, 2013

Graced Swing Dress, Anthropologie ~ perfect for balmy summer nights...

Ursula Cable Knit Pouffes, Graham & Greene ~ a perfect safe-saving extra
seating solution, coupled with great design that would grace any room.

Leather and Bamboo Wallet, & Other Stories ~ fab over-sized
wallet/clutch in sumptuous soft grainy leather. Fab colour. 

Exact Skirt, Vila ~ Practical yet pretty; perfect for work.

Two Grey Gesso Candlesticks, Cox & Cox ~ Stylish
and subtle. Wish we had a fireplace for these beauties!

So, what are you lusting after this month..?

pp x

Sunday Smörgåsbord

Having been AWOL these past three weeks - sorry, I've missed you! - I have accumulated rather a lot of tidbits for this week's smörgåsbord... I do hope you have all been enjoying yourselves in the sporadic bursts of sunshine :-)

1 Summer's on its way... Incredibly fragrant flowering shrub just outside our front door. Smells divine! Can anyone enlighten me as to what it is?

2 Most delicious salad from Gwyneth Paltrow's latest culinary offering, It's All Good. It really is. Thanks, Gwynnie!

3 Mint pleated maxi skirt from Mango. Love.

4 Coffee table styling, thanks to these tips from Emily at cupcakesandcashmere.com

5 Quick pick-me-up courtesy of Lola's Cupcakes in Topshop on Oxford Street. Shopping is a calorie burning activity after all...

6 Lunch in the sunshine at the delightful King William IV in Mickleham, with stunning views across the Surrey hills.

7 It can be tough fulfilling all the necessary duties of a bridesmaid. Sometimes, for example, you have to go to Temperley London to ooh and ah over fabulous dresses, followed by shopping and dinner in town with one of your besties.

8 Being outdoorsy camping with my seventeen littl'uns a couple of weekends ago. I don't know who was more exhausted at the end of it all, the children or the teachers!

9 Harrods. Spent far too long cooing over the puppies, as usual.

10 Mele e Pere, Soho. Hearty yet arty classic Italian fare.

11 The fabulous Bar Américain at Zédel in Piccadilly. Great atmosphere, lethal cocktails.

12 Pear Bellini. I think I've sampled pretty much every other sort of fruit as the basis for a bellini, but never pear. Yummy and very refreshing.

13 & 14 School excursion to Butser Ancient Farm. Roundhouses, relics, animals and a Roman villa - all key ingredients for a magical day trip to the past.

15 Having bartered for this beautiful art deco silver plated tray (a bargain at £18!), I was inspired to rearrange our alcohol and glassware. Now we just need to find the time to drink some!

16 I had an epiphany just as I was about to pour my banana bread mix into the loaf tin. What if I stirred in some Nutella? Life changing.

pp x

'Twas brillig

Good evening, one and all! I hope this post finds you well and enjoying the milder weather while it lasts. A colleague at school mentioned the s*** word today - yes, apparently we may be in for yet more of the white stuff again next week. As much as I enjoy a good seasonal dusting of snow (I was even a tad disappointed not to have a sprinkling on our wedding day in December), now is not the time, surely?! I myself am most definitely not keen to have any more until at least November, please.

I'm sorry not to have shared my highlights with you last Sunday, as intended, but having been rather busy, I only managed the one post ~ my last ~ from my bed, and only just in time for lights out. This week has been a busy one too, so whilst I'm desperate to share lots of odds and ends with you all, I thought it best to save them all for a double whammy of content this weekend, so to speak, rather than squeeze them in in a hurry midweek.

One of the more pleasant reasons for having been so busy, is that Sunday last found me up in London, all mimsy with the borogoves at the Sanderson Hotel, enjoying their wonderful Mad Hatter's Tea! It was such a fun and culinarily novel experience, that I felt it merits its own solo post, rather than a mere cameo in a smorgasbord...

Even without the themed afternoon tea, the Sanderson itself epitomises the nonsensical and disproportional world of Carroll's Wonderland. The interiors are both plain and garish, minimalist yet busy, juxtaposing as they do the tastefully elegant and the conspicuously absurd. Bright white walls provide the perfect blank canvas for an array of lurid, giant furniture, and through the soft, clean lines of a hand-carved chair, for example, you might spy an over-sized portrait of a lapdog. Though it is part of a chain, the Morgan Group (its sister hotel on St Martin's Lane is very similar in style), and this approach to interior design is hardly original, the Sanderson still manages to retain a sense of individuality.

The tea itself was very tasty, and included some quirky surprises, which I won't spoil! The tableware was designed specially, and successfully reflects the Alice in Wonderland theme along with something of a vintage circus vibe. I don't want to go into the minutiae, as it is so worth experiencing for yourself. It would make a great gift. For further details of the tea on the Sanderson's website, click here. Just a few photos to give you an idea of the treats in store that will make you chortle in your joy ~ Callooh! Callay!

pp x

PS Best recital of the Jabberwocky I've heard, by the legendary Christopher Lee ~ what a voice...

I'm a little teapot.

I heart vintage crockery. I have done from the tender age of seven, when I literally begged my parents for a china tea set for my eighth birthday. Much to my delight, they obliged with a breathtakingly beautiful, handmade miniature porcelain tea set. It was white, with delicate hand-painted flowers in deep shades of purple scrolling across it. From that time forward, my teddies had actual tea parties with real tea and coffee and homemade fairy cakes. My mum even lent me a special gold tray to lay it all out on, on display, as it were in the playroom. I dusted it weekly with great pride and pleasure, until one sad day when I became a habitual tea drinker and the teddies were no longer invited down from my bedroom to play.

As an adult, I still collect vintage crockery, teacups in particular ~ I feel the desire to state at this point that I've been doing so since long before it became trendy! ~ and I love teapots too. Mum and Dad bought me a lovely teapot for my birthday this year, new, hand-painted, with a nod to the Cath Kidston school of design, and since I already have a few teapots, Mum suggested I use this one as a vase, which I thought was a great idea. Here are the results...

A few of my favourite cups and saucers :-)

Any tips for original ways to display vintage chinaware or flowers..? Do share!

 pp x

Beautylicious.

And so another week of the summer holidays has disappeared before my very eyes. For the most part, I've been tied up with wedmin and domesticity, but I've also been idly glued to the TV watching the Olympics since Friday evening, and we've managed to squeeze in the odd excursion here and there with friends and family. All in all, I'm in holiday heaven, especially since the Sun's been out, albeit sporadically. More on fun in the Sun at a later date, on to tonight's post...

One day last week, I was in the bathroom, post shower, painting my nails - pink skin, fluffy towel, warm perfumed steam hanging in the air, cool tiles beneath my feet - and it occurred to me for the first time how vitally important that space is to me. I love nothing more than wallowing in the tub, scrubbing up for a night out or just slathering on lotions and potions in the vain hope that they might actually do what it says on the tin. Ultimately, it is a place of solace, contemplation and catharsis. Very fortunately, His Lordship and I have separate bathrooms, which allows us both the time and space to perform our ablutions in peace and quiet and at our leisure. This evening, I thought I would express my love of la salle de bains by sharing some of my tips for bathroom bliss.

Seven heavenly virtues for a sanitary sanctuary

In order for your bathroom to be truly relaxing, I can thoroughly recommend the following:

1. Cleanliness is next to godliness.
It is impossible to relax if you are surrounded by clutter and or grime, or if your throne room smells akin to The Bog of Eternal Stench.. Have a regular clean and tidy up, throwing out any products you find unused/unloved/congealed beyond sanitary usage, and don't forget: no one likes to dry their hands on a wet towel.

2. In the mood (for scrub).
Lighting is key in any space, indoor or out, and can be used to great effect to create a calming atmosphere. Your bathroom should not be some bizarre exception to this rule. You need good light for applying make-up/de-fuzzing etc, yes, but that does not mean blinding halogens are welcome 24/7. We all know electricity and water don't mix well, which is where candles come in. Soaking in the bath is lovely in itself, but candlelight will take your relaxation to a whole new level... (Ice-cream and/or wine are welcome additions to this scenario if you're going for all-out indulgence)

3. Bathroom baubles.
I often find bathrooms can be a bit, well, clinical. Now, whilst clinical is ideal when it comes to sanitation, not so with regards interior design. Popping a few trinkets/objets d'art here and there will warm up a bland space instantly, and it's a simple way of adding personality and colour if your bathroom is scarily white. NB All white can look fantastic and is über chic if your bathroom is well styled.

4. Banish bathtime boredom.
Reading material/music/Matey colour changing bubble bath/rubber ducky, whatever floats your little plastic boat. Might I recommend these fab foam alphabet tubs from Sainsbury's - so much juvenile fun to be had leaving amusing messages on the tiles!

5. As soft as an Andrex puppy.
In this day and age there is no excuse for a) toilet paper that chafes, or b) towels as stiff as cardboard and abrasive like a cheese grater. Buy better loo roll! And some fabric softener.

6. Put it away!
Bathrooms require storage. With ever more cunning designs for space-saving vessels on the market, even the smallest bathroom has the odd nook or cranny to stow away your 'feminine hygiene' products at the very least. Let's face it, no matter how fancy the packaging they might come in, we all know they're tampons.

7. Ladies.
Don't let a man in. Without express permission. And supervision. With disinfectant and rubber gloves on standby.

So, are you feeling virtuous, or are you a sinner in the bathroom department..? I'd love to hear your thoughts - please comment below! Tomorrow, I'll be posting a few of my favourite beauty products, from everyday essentials to make-up must haves, so do stop by again soon. Just to finish off, a few snaps of my own beloved bathroom:

 

 

Bonne nuit,

pp x