Category: 2015
Decisions, decisions…
Bitch beach shoes……when holiday sings it’s siren song, space is limited and choices are painful…
Hunter slides? because the writing across the front has me in it’s grasp, as does the sheer brilliant simplicity..and the joys of easy access are always appreciated: Sea and sand don’t always make happy bed fellows..
Or Ancient Greek jellies? Witty, fun…but a buckle?? (But what a buckle it is…)
Laters, Kate x
7 Questions..
Favourite Colour: Blue..denim, navy, the sea, the sky..it rocks.
Best trait: I value the simple things in life..but truthfully, what I hold truly dear doesn’t a lot, but is ultimately priceless.
Worst trait: I like to think I’m tidy, but I fear I’m not – things just get discarded like the feathers from a plucked chicken so there’s a perpetual circle of chaos around me. I’m also surprisingly crap with technology – I’m not an obsessive checker and regularly lose my phone. I see the internet as something wonderful but inherently dangerous and I suspect losing my phone is a Freudian way of trying to keep a distance from it’s pull.
Oldest item in wardrobe: Hard to say – there’s a fair amount of vintage with unknown heritage, but I do have a cream cape that used to belong to my Grandmother. It’s a treasure.
Newest item: Vintage silk dress bought on Ebay and dyed black, otherwise it’s my Miss Hellfire stripey shoes..certainly different and surprisingly comfortable..
Favourite piece of music: Schubert Lieder sung by Ian Bostridge which shouldn’t work because he’s a light, English tenor, but does..maybe because it’s such intelligent singing.
The last time I laughed: Charlie was asking me about the world’s tallest animal. I said ‘Giraffe’..he looked at me in surprise, and said ‘But what about the Decondra lizard Mummy? It’s at least 2 metres taller, lives in South African and has the ability to make anything you need – if you’re in the Arctic and you need a coat, the Decondra will just make one for you..it can also make plastic..and toys..basically it’s the best pet ever to have..just a big shame it’s so tall’..deep sigh…..
Laters, Kate x
A Modern Old Soul..
Atlantique Ascoli started with a quest to find the perfect blouse and using an innate confidence in simplicity and with a lightness of touch came up with a genius collection of seven pure white shirts..one for each day of the week. Each had a different hint of vintage and all had the suggestion of a well-run laundry and the smell of hot iron against soft, worn cotton. Now she’s expanding her palette..
The lines still remain classic, pragmatic and lovely..
Non-fussy yet feminine.
Discreetly charming with crisp lines and delicate gathers but there’s more choice in colour and style.
(All pictures from Net-a-porter.com)
It’s the stuff dream wardrobes are made of..the sort of clothes I wish I could cut out and keep. Instead, I can just gulp at the prices, admire the aesthetic and take the inspiration to look at my own wardrobe with new eyes – to see if I actually have 7 days worth of outfits..and for the UK that means 7 for sun..and 7 for rain…and maybe find out where the holes are…
Laters, Kate x
Trial 1..
The inspiration..
The recipe.
The attempt.
That never progressed beyond this.
The aftermath.
The rain.
(Trial 2…soon….I will not be beaten. My garden might…)
Laters, Kate x
A sense of summer ..
Summer…lazy days, turquoise skies, a sense of freedom so good it can’t be legal…and all this captured in a ring…
It’s the work of Ileana Makri, a native Greek who brings the lilt of a folk song and the suggestion of a mythical tale to her work..but who’s also not afraid to explore the modern symbols of life.
There’s a wit and clarity to her work. You want to wear it for a smokey night on the tiles..or with bare feet and sunkissed hair..
I’ll take the sunkissed hair option every time..
Laters, Kate x
Corking!
Do you remember this post? An up-cycle of a well-loved pair of shoes with a row of brass thumb tacks..well, they’ve proved their worth and survived for another year (just – too comfortable to consign till the very, very end) and remarkably most of the pins stayed in..there are a few gaps..
Which have now been filled by these babies..push pins with personality!
I can see hours of fun ahead…
Laters, Kate x
In England’s green and pleasant land..
We spent the Bank Holiday weekend with family in the light, clean air of the country, marvelling at the fresh greens and bright colours of early summer, whiling away happy hours reading papers that got read, drinking wine and watching dogs happily snoring in the sun.
Their’s is a garden that represents all that is good about England; It’s a place were time stands still yet life buzzes around.
It’s a joy just to walk around and breathe in.
And the children love the freedom of space..
(Taken just for Lauren..)
They have the most amazing tree..
Like something straight out of Doctor Seuss and The Lorax..
I loved it..made me giggle and sigh.
There was much playing of football with cousins and dogs till the sun went down. Gentle, simple..heavenly.
Laters, Kate x
Nailed it!
We were at my sister’s being fed like royalty last week and these were being passed around: pics of the crafts that you’re inspired to do via sites like Pinterest..that don’t always turn out as intended. I can relate – it happened to me yesterday..four excited children and all the ingredients (even the glycerin) to make giant bubbles – you know, the bigger than a person ones? – we measured, we mixed, we made…it squelched. Not so much as a single sphere…
It’s a turkey ok?
(Pictures from all sorts including Google and Pinterest)
Next time it rains, mine will be the garden that foams..
Laters, Kate x
Timeless x
The AW15 lookbook for MiH fell into my inbox yesterday. WHAT??
…Does that mean summer’s been and gone??
And nobody told me?
If so I’m perilously close to tears..
There’s enough time slipping away without anyone else turning the speed-up dial.
Honestly, halt with the Christmas lists already.
I just want to enjoy my pina colada on the beach.
Laters, Kate x
Bags of room..
Another summer 2015 obsession..finding a large, bright yellow shopping tote in soft, malleable leather..the type of bag you fill with all the detritus the sweet summer heralds..sun tan lotion, cotton scarves, umbrellas, sunnies, flip-flops..a picnic to feed the 5,000…a vat of gin..
This one by is top of the picks so far..by Modalu, hand cut and stitched in Somerset by highly skilled artisans it justifies it’s over three hundred pound price tag..but….it’s hard leather..and I can’t justify the expense as I want to change it..but that deep blue interior..mwhahaa!
The inspiration is Anya Hindmarch’s new 2015 sticker bag which is pure giggle and wink.
In homage, I’ve been collecting various patches (do you call them patches??) to make my own.
I just need the bag in a sensible price bracket – why’s it so hard to find a very simple leather bag like this..but in yellow?..you wait..next year the shops will be full of the buggers..until then, the hunt continues..
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 