Category: 2015
Hell-oween!
I did my bit for Halloween this year, complete with extra eyeballs and hairy, eyelash lips..
The house is still a building site..which could’ve made the ideal location for a spooky party, except the potential scenarios for genuine disaster and really putting the hell in halloween..so we all dressed up, my niece included and relied on others to provide the fun..
Although we did make some eyeball ice cubes..grapes with blueberries and a bit of raisen.
Or the savoury option..radish and olive.
Is it OK to say the kids looked lovely??!
Friend Jenny’s fab pumpkin..
It’s an evening the kids love..maybe because it rebels against every parental rule in the book..
Mwhaha-haaaaaaa!
Laters, Kate x
Eye Fear No Evil x
Sometimes I play that game in my head where you choose the people, dead or alive (Halloween is round the corner, though pre-buried state is preferred) that you’d love to sit down with large bottles of wine and have dinner with. The jewellery designer Solange Azagury-Partridge is definitely on the list. Self made, self taught, she looks at gems with a totally different eye. Her scary pieces cross the divide between just being brilliant Halloween bling with craft and humour to pieces you could flaunt all year round.
The heart of darkness..
The bleeding heart.
Something to scare the children.
Or just everyone..
(Scare the husband with the price..)
Need to make a point? This is the heart plucker ring..
As worn by Charlize Theron as evil Queen Ravenna in Snow White and the Huntsman.
Yep. She’s that good.
Laters, Kate x
Circle of Life x
Do you believe in serendipity? The digging out of our basement has been put on hold as we’ve taken the expensive decision to expand the works slightly. It was going to be L-shaped with this bit of the ‘L’ being the boiler room, but now the front wall’s been taken down to make way for the steels, it’s easy to see it would be possible to square the room off and gain an extra 2 metres in depth. Except this means more money..and going through Party Wall again as we’ve moved the goal posts. No pain, no gain. But..
Guess what the builders found?
A bag of Smallholder And Home Gardener newspapers, dated from WW2..which although interesting, wouldn’t be gold to the average person on the Clapham omnibus..
Except Mrs Smallholder, who wrote for the paper was a relative! Well, I say relative..Auntie Ethel (Mrs Samllholder) was the wife of Uncle George, who was the brother of one of the two midwives that adopted my Grandmother, Beryl Archer when she was born, and became her father-figure. The story of my Grandmother’s adoption has always been a family mystery. After her death, I found an article she’d written for a magazine about Norfolk, it read: ‘Beryl Maccafrey Archer was the fourth child of a hospital matron and an administrator. As a baby she was ‘adopted’ by two middle-aged nurses during the First World War, though to this day she has no idea why ‘I can only assume it was for safe-keeping during the east coast bombardment,’ she says now. Later she came to know her two older sisters and a brother, who all continued to live at home with their parents in Devon whilst she continued living with her ‘Aunts’ in Great Yarmouth. Effectively Mopsie (her family nickname) was brought up independently by 4 loving, caring adults who never had children of their own and adored her – she always said she had a far better life with them then her siblings ever did at ‘home’. I still have all the evocative, timeless stories Mopsie wrote about her childhood, written with love, clarity and humour about a time now long gone…before my children came along I started putting them together to turn them into a book..maybe it’s a project I’ll have to return to..serendipity…
Laters, Kate x
Cavorting in Kent x
There’s a touch of magic to a windswept English beach caught in the throes of autumn.
The lack of sunshine made no difference to the kids.
Big or small.
These were taken on Camber Sands on Bella’s ninth birthday.
How time flies.
We were lucky to spend the week with another lovely family which meant rounders was a serious option.
Not that the weather was all bad.
Visiting the glorious Walmer Castle..
With it’s doorbell of lust.
And views across the sea.
It has my personal favourite combination of grand but homely.
(I’ve charged my two with the task of becoming the Warden of the Cinq ports so I can live here in my dotage. I think it’s a small thing for a mother to ask for..)
We cycled, ate, drank, swam and geocached our days away. (If you’ve not experienced geocaching it’s an app that using GPS, shows where little pots of treasures are hidden. Addictive.)
There’s the hunt, the journey..
And the success..this was a plastic fish swapped for some acorn shells. Hmmmmmmm.
What none of us had ever seen before was the amount of mushrooms growing on the beach..
All different types, like something out of a Tintin book..
Shame our only knowledge of mushrooms was those with plastic cling wrap..but then we are urbanites, very happy to enjoy the delights of the countryside and re-charge the batteries with good friends, before heading back to the big smoke, building works..and the run down to Christmas. Help.
Laters, Kate x
Uber Uterque x
If I have a complaint against the modern life it’s the way technology has made the world spin faster, shrink smaller and generalise everything. Which is why one should dismiss Uterque with a simple flick of a hand: It’s part of the Spanish-rule-the-world Inditex which has chains such as Zara and Pull and Bear in it’s growing claws. Except I like it.
There’s sleek separates, a touch of artisanal cool and even the trend pieces of the season look fresh and modern.
Of course it helps if Caroline de Maigret is your muse.
It’s a salient lesson in not throwing the babes out with the bathwater.
Laters, Kate x
Light up my Life x
Ah! The potent joys of a holiday to Kent, where each time we visit I think I’ve cracked the lack of internet, only to fail miserably again and again..until the only option is to (with natural great regret) down tools entirely and embrace the holiday spirit and a world without computers. Needless to say, it was a walk along the path to bliss! But more on Kent another day..both pre and post trip I’ve been obsessed with the light for our new dining room. Much to my own surprise, having looked at various 1950’s and 70’s lights with their cool drama, I went for this classic flemish brass number. It was the cost shape that made it stand out..over a metre tall and two tiered, like a Christmas tree (imagine decorating with ivy, fir and baubles. Sigh) but it was in a pretty sorry state and covered in a dark varnish much loved in the 1940’s that now just detracted, like a bad fitting nun’s habit from it’s simple lines and austerity appeal.
But how to clean it? Pinterest proved to be a wealth of info and basically there were two options – making a paste with vinegar and baking powder or soaking it in nail varnish remover. Not being sure how much nail varnish remover would be required to fill the bath and dubious about the effect of remover on electric wiring, I opted for the first choice.
The vinegar and baking soda bubbled up beautifully when mixed together and had the additional benefit of the evocative scent of a down town chippie.
It was slathered on and left to simmer gently.
The result? A huge, stinking, smelly mess…and no noticeable change.
Undeterred, Plan B went into action: Cotton wool pads soaked in nail varnish remover and wrapped around the light like a mummy.
It definitely made a difference, but didn’t shift the deeper stains which even elbow grease couldn’t budge.
Returned to instructions…and to give them their due, they did say to use very fine steel wool with the nail varnish remover.
And when I finally got hold of some (slack..always make sure you have required tools before you start) it was like magic..the black literally evaporated away. From this..
To this.
Like Cinders from the ashes, she’s turned into a real beaut! Now I just need to source some of those vintage, edison-like-filament bulbs that have been popping up everywhere..pray they do them in this size…but knowing my luck…they’ll cost more than the light!
Laters, Kate x
Gestuz x
With that something just a little bit special, Gestuz are like an upper class, rich woman’s Zara whilst still remaining within the realms of affordability.
Masters of the clean, cool, contemporary, classic with their pared down, intelligent designs.
Effortlessly creating the wardrobe staples of the future.
I want.
Laters, Kate x
Leaf it..
It’s half term next week..so time to look into crafts for the kids..
I think this might be a little ambitious..
(All pictures from Pinterest)
But painting a snail? Perfect!
Laters, Kate x
All Wrapped Up x
The mornings are cold now inLondon with a real nip in the air, but come mid-morning and the sun (long may it last) is shining and the temperature picks up. It’s the perfect weather for scarves, which is lucky because this year there seems to be a bumper crop of styles and styling options…there’s the classic navy, a timeless wardrobe staple. Safety has it’s chic place..
Or add a bit of drama with this belted fur option from Marni.
The Burberry blanket is still having it’s moment.
Or your could opt for the scarf that thinks it’s a cape.
A blast from the past, eponymous with the eighties, this scarf is back…with added fringe benefits.
Or maybe it’s the longer wrap that has you tied up.
Is it a jumper or is it a poncho? Or is it something to fling on as you run out the door.
(All pics from Net-a-porter.com)
Or pay homage to the Hunger Games with this interesting knitted number from Stella Mcartney.
The choice is yours.
Laters, Kate x
Stills x
Sometimes it’s the smaller, not-shouty labels that really capture the mood of a season.
Like Dutch label Stills with it’s dedication to craftsmanship, colour and the luxury of contrasts.
There’s volume and artful layers all contained within modern, minimalist lines.
Definitely one to look out for.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 