Category: 2015
Bag Boys…
Hero designs are those that fill multiple purposes and still manage to look the dog’s wobblies each time.
Like the Model M bag, hot on my personal wish list for a top totty present.
Made from fashion-flex – a posh name for a proprietary polymer (your guess is as good as mine) it’s resilient, lightweight and equally at home in the urban jungle or on a sun-drenched beach.
Those living in the States are laughing – it’s a mere frugal designer $120 dollars for you – which somehow translates into £125 for us Brits if you buy from Liberty London.
Might be worth doing the transatlantic shipping cost maths…..or dropping a note to Santa and his sleigh….
Laters, Kate x
A Cultured Christmas..
It’s the first of December (gulp) so our two elves on shelves, Jessie and Heinrik sorry – Pinkadou – he’s just been renamed by Charlie (‘Did you know Pinkadou is an old Italian name, Mummy??’ and there was I thinking it was made up. Silly, silly) have made their first appearance. Spotted them?
There they are sitting quietly on our giant loveheart.
Which, without the children, would make them horribly open to very childish abuse…
Which would be a very, very terrible thing….
Laters, Kate x
Best Christmas Craft EVER!
Bella and I had a festive Saturday afternoon covered in glue ‘n’ glitter, making our own Christmas cloche dioramas…they were so simple…yet so satisfying!
In amongst our renovation/building chaos we gathered all our bits together: A glue gun, uhu glue, foam plates, plastic wine glasses, glitter and all the little Christmas ornaments we could find.
We carefully, using a sharp knife, cut the end of the plastic wine glasses off, and cut out oversized circles from the foam plates.
Then we arranged and glued on our festive scenes.
The upturned glasses were glued down and had glitter added through the still open stems.
Finally they were topped and glued with the hanging part of an unwanted bauble and the bottoms trimmed off.
So effective.
Such fun!
Making them together and seeing them all…just made us smile.. and want to make more and more!
If you can..just do it!
Laters, Kate x
Feel the Force..
Love this. Because of new legislation in the Ukraine all remnants and symbols of the country’s communist past now have to be taken down. But in Odessa (in a town far, far away) they’ve taken things an artistic step further and converted their statue of Vladimir Lenin into none other than Darth Vader.
Artist Alexander Milov has added a helmet, cape, boots and a secret weapon…
Under Darth’s hat is a wi-fi hotspot providing free wifi to all those who stand at his feet.
Oh the symbolism. Ahh the parody. Ker-ching the tourist revenues..
Laters, Kate x
Kick Start x
It’s that time of year again to slap on the glitz and layer on the lippy…except it’s never really like that. It’s more like normal clothes with a touch of fairy dust.
So far better to get the staples right..and MiH are having a sale right now…
Tempted?
Laters, Kate x
Turning to the Dark side..
Now to decide on the colourways for the hall. This isn’t my hall, just a picture for inspiration, but I know I want the woodwork to be dark, virtually black, except how far do you go? The newel post in this picture is epic, but I can’t help feel they missed a trick not painting everything that dramatic thundercloud grey up to and including the dado. Does that mean below the dado has to be dark as well? The radiator cabinet? It’s a dilemma..
Although having it dark certainly makes wallpaper pop.
And wallpaper is a cert. William Morris if I have my way, but not this one, though the black wood looks magnificent against it.
A dark top half which directs the eye beautifully to the bamboo paper at the back. But it’s not what I want.
Dark all the way..tempting, except it’s leading into a dark room..
This is the closest picture to reality…and it’s got to be black all the way, up to and including the dado.
Decision made. Now to choose the wallpaper..
Laters, Kate x
Hats Off!
Hats are having a moment..the humble bobble is back big time..so maybe there’s hope for the rest hitting the mainstream again.
It would be fun. Hats may not speak, but they say volumes about an outfit.
All of these tempting delights are by the talented Karen Henriksen, a milliner working in London who’s perfected the tightrope between modern and timeless.
(All pictures Karen Henriksen and Pinterest)
Oh to have a few precious hours trying them all on and pouting in a fetchingly foxed antique mirror. Such stuff dreams are made of.
Laters, Kate x
The Inbetweeners x
If we Brits are obsessed with the weather it’s with good reason: On Friday it was a barmy sixteen degrees..on Saturday, it snowed (OK it didn’t hang around but it wasn’t a figment of a vivid imagination either..) which possibly explains why we’re all so preoccupied with layers and wearing coats that remind us of beds.
Because the quilt is having a quiet spin in the limelight, perfect as a stand alone or working it’s magic as a sartorial hot water bottle under a top coat, it’s one of those under-the-radar-winter-must-haves.
And Amsterdam based Company Scotch and Soda have some of the best…
Casual or smart.
Often reversible.
They’re adaptable, transitional and just a little bit different.
Another addition it to the winter uniform list of lust.
Laters, Kate x
Skirts and Trims x
The latest obsessions on our renovation are skirting and architrave…and the difference it can make to the personality of a room.
Particularly if it’s picked out in a darker colour.
Oh! The height! The scale!
And ours is going on! Only the top layer mind, as the floor has yet to go down..but it’s a bright, burning light at the end of a long dark tunnel.
Laters, Kate x
They’re Here!
The kitchen lights in all their milk churn glory have arrived! Including their beautiful wording…
On the flip side are painted typical canal art scenes of castles and mountains.
I’m suspecting they’ll be hung in a row like this..so the cook on the far side has the last laugh..
My cup, it floweth over…
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 