Bags of Time…
Good advice I’m thinking…
Laters, Kate x
Islands in the Sun x
It’s the last day before half term starts..seems to have whizzed past. I can remember standing at the school gates thinking I thought this day would never come..I’ve been standing at the same gates for the last week, praying for half term. The kids are on their knees…so am I…we all need a break, chill-out time and long walks by the sea..
We’re hoping to head back to Kent, the husband’s work permitting, for a bit of nostalgia and basic living. I can feel my heart singing just at the thought..
So I’ve just got to get my act together today…2 coffee dates, 2 playdates, send back a pair of boots that arrived in the wrong colour, wrap Bella’s birthday presents (her eighth birthday on Sunday. Can’t believe it), pack cake ingredients n tins, source creative stuff to take with us (requested by Bella: Another heart singing moment) and a few board games and a football, pack for everyone (still hate)…and then leave the house spotless as we have relatives arriving whilst we’re away..shouldn’t be too hard!
I’ll just keep looking at these dream kitchens and pretend it’s my reality…or that I have staff!
Laters, Kate x
Boyfriends for Girlfriends x
A friend is looking for a pair of boyfriend jeans – I’ve lived in my vintage 501’s virtually all year and for pure value, nostalgia and style wouldn’t wear anything else..but I reckon these by MiH might just be her perfect cup of tea!
(How can a patch be so appealing?)
And the rest of their autumn/winter lookbook isn’t bad either..
Laters, Kate x
Led Smith..
Led Zepplin and fashion are not the most obvious bed fellows..but it’s happened. And when you think about it, there’s something gutsy and glorious that links – even draws – them together in thrilling duality.
Six limited edition scarfs designed by Paul Smith using the original art work to celebrate the launch of newly released re-mastered versions of the albums….the first three out on 23 Oct…Timeless, visual flights of fancy all mixed up with a sense of history, marrying beauty with desire..
How cool do they look? And the scarves don’t look bad either..an essential layer of style that twinkles with bonhomie..
Wear them, wrap them – frame them, they’re that good..I want one!
Laters, Kate x
The Force..
I’m not good with continually painting the town red – the tiredness comes down like a gruelling fog. The only antidote is pretense, swiftly followed by a relatively early night. And whilst no-one would normally guess (unless they wanted to count the luggage round my eyes) there is one presence I can never fool: Technology. Somehow it knows.
Take Sunday: A few late nights in a row and the matchsticks were under considerable strain. But my parents were in need of some muscle in their attempts to manhandle their still building site of a house back into some semblance of order. At the underground I checked out my oyster card – £8.75 left on – just enough to get there and back. Except the barriers didn’t like it, leaving me on one side with Bella and Charlie on the other. Went to the ticket office – no, we can’t do anything, it’s a problem with oyster – talk to them and buy a new ticket. Except the ticket machine didn’t like my debit card. Went to another one – spoke to it very nicely ( it took a while to get the heavy irony out of my voice) – and finally got my travel card. Except that was the last time the card successfully went through a barrier again..every change, entrance or exit I had to find an available person in an underground uniform to help me..
Came back to write a post. Computer froze and I lost internet connection..then the TV wouldn’t turn off…
I’d take it personally, except there’s absolutely nothing I can do. Except possibly throw the TV/Computer (cross out as applicable) out of the window…now THAT would show ’em….
Laters, Kate x
It’s Not You, It’s Me..
I love a brand that scoffs gently..it also helps if they’re independent, based in London, slightly mad and run by 3 ferocious, tongue-in-cheek, epigrammatic gals.
Its not me its you was started by Billi, Jems and Kitty in 2012.
Everything they produce is made and printed by hand in East London.
In a world where it’s too easy to be suffocated by a toxic brew of Vacuous style and pumped up plastic their italian leather crafted with care is a pot of gold at the end of a shimmering rainbow…complete with whimsy and fantastical animals..
Visceral, witty and flawlessly presented, they’re a class act.
(I secretly reckon this one reads ‘Kate loves the fearless’..just for me…)
I snort at them..and raise my glass..that’s a few more presents ticked off the December list..
Laters, Kate x
Objet D’art Lesson..
The effervescent Matisse Exhibition now showing in New York is a joy of art expressed in it’s purest form – as is this photo of Matisse’s studio: A glimpse behind the canvas and a spotlight on those moments of pure creativity where the trains of thought are literally turned into living, breathing, pale-pink, illuminated flesh..
What particularly fascinates me is that light..a visual delight in spontaneity and plaster of paris with a touch of Modigliani thrown in…My mother’s given me an old brass lantern light that’s missing it’s glass to transform for her…I’m now thinking she might get more than she bargained for!
Laters, Kate x
Sneaky Blinders..
The weather here in London is like a PMT suffering raging beast..blue skies one minute..a cascading torrent the next, whipped up by strong winds and mashed up leaves. Coats and shoes are being seriously put to the test and any well worn with holes of love are the equivalent of leaky boats. Some emergency purchasing is required – and I’m thinking black leather skaters..a nod to the summer but with strong foundations for the autumn storms.
The white soles also have a surprising appeal..I remember looking at the AW14 catwalks thinking white soles? hmmmmm..but the appeal has chrystalised…mi piace..
Of course, I’ll buy them……and next week we’ll have snow….
Laters, Kate x
Pockets, Pockets, Pockets x
Time is a muscle that needs to be stretched and I’ve been doing my best to limber it up without running the risk of becoming a frazzled, urban melodrama. It’s a fine line.
– There’s the new fitness regime: I don’t want to hit that New Year winter coat without having done something, and I’d like that something to be a enjoyable, new, permanent addition. Swimming (good for the joints I hear) seems to be it.
– I’ve just done a massive summer/autumn clean of the house from cellar to attic (After the summer hols the house starts working as a dam of clutter and misplaced objet d’art holding back ideas n free flow, but it means wading through the detritus before calm descends. Which I thought it had, except now I can’t find anything. The calendar anyone?
– I have an Art Project with a deadline in November (more later).
– And the house – we hope to start renovations after Christmas, but it all needs planning and research..it’s the sort of thing that is very necessary and rather enjoyable but sucks the hours away. Thankfully I’m beginning to make interesting discoveries, like space-saving pocket doors – not seen much in the UK, but they are the perfect room divider. This initial idea came from Pinterest and is American, all the doors on the UK sites are very modern…I like the idea of vintage doors complete with beading and a bit of stained glass…I think more research is needed..
Now..What’s the time?
Laters, Kate x
Chutney and Oat Cakes..
The joy that is Creative Coffee – wholesome and happy with stunning aromas and rich rewards, like the incredible (honestly, some of the best I’ve tasted.Ever) mango chutney and melt in your mouth oat cakes (why haven’t I made these babies before??).
I took away two things from the session:
1. To invest in a pan like Sophy’s (she’s kindly sent me a link) which not only holds an extraordinary amount but also has delights such as a spout for pouring and an extra large handle. Genius.
2. To buy the book by Annie Rigg we often use at Creative Coffee.
The recipes make your mouth water just reading them and – just as good – always work.
I’m thinking jars of spiced cranberry with edible glitter as the perfect cupboard gift for unexpected gifts this Christmas….
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 