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Reasons I love this Anntian Scarf from Creatures of Comfort:
1. It's HUGE.
2. Lovely wintery hues - a bit of monochrome, dashed with rose pink for essential cheeriness.
3. The pattern is a bit Aztec, a bit geometric, very striking and immeasurably wearable.
4. It could jazz up a black blazer of sweater and skinny pants .
5. Yet is big enough to wrap around a black dress as a substitute coat (on the night's you can afford a cab!).
Cool pic too!
I'm such a cliche. I love shoes. I sometimes feel annoyed that all girls essentially love shoes and fall hopelessly for a high heel, completely prepared to blow our entire wage packet on something we can barely walk in. I wish I was being a little left-field with my footwear obsession, but I'm blatantly not, as my shoe closets attests. (On a separate note, I think our addiction to shoes comes from the fact that our feet don't really change sizes - unlike our bottoms or hips - so shopping for the perfect pump never carries the same chance of a potential body-hatred thunder cloud that a clothes shopping trip could prompt...) Anyway, the second reason I'm pathetically obvious is that I cherish cupcakes. I'm not a savoury freak (although I'd never say no to a hunk of bread and cheese), but I crave a sugary sweet treat like it's owed to me. And a cupcake? Well it's the pinnacle of charming cakey-ness isn't it? Yesterday afternoon I practically threw a childish strop and insisted to my chap that I was near collapse unless coffee and a cupcake passed my lips. I needed the sugar (but I'm not proud)! Had there been a Violet nearby, I'd definitely have snapped up one of their darling miniature sugar hits (calories before cravings). They're based in east London and have delicious sounding flavours like violet, salted caramel and fragolina grape. There's a new cookbook too... Irresistible.
So, I have old family friends coming for lunch on Sunday and along with roast lamb, I'm planning a classic pud - with a twist. I quite like attempting to tweak recipes (once I've mastered the traditional version), so this time I'm going to gussy up a bread and butter pudding with cherries and almonds (this cherry bakewell pairing can't-fail, right?). In lieu of raisins (which you sometimes soak in brandy or even Baileys), I'm going to buy dried cherries and leave them to puff up in a slosh of Amaretto. I'll use brioche instead of the usual bread to give my pudding an even more buttery, pillowy texture and I may even sprinkle the top with some flaked almonds right at the end too. I'm planning to follow this Jamie Oliver recipe and customise it with my own flourishes. I'll keep you posted, and, if it's a success, share the recipe!
This afternoon I'm jumping on a plane to Berlin - and tomorrow I'll be home again. I'm off to the set of the new Three Musketeers movie to interview the cast. This is in equal parts fabulous and kind of a schlep. The chance to hang out with a few A-list actors (like Orlando Bloom) and to get a glimpse of a big budget movie being filmed, never ever loses it's appeal, even after 12 years in the business. I still have those "I am SO lucky!" moments when I find myself fraternising with the famous, or getting an inside peek into the glitzy entertainment world or being spoilt rotten because for that millisecond (thanks to my job), I am a V.I.P. But (and I don't mean to be all cry me a river about it), along with the 'jetting to Germany', there is time to kill in different airports (and two flights in less than 24 hours), not a second to spare to actually explore the city, having to be charming, chatty and jazz-handy the entire time, and most importantly, not having anyone to share the experience with. The twangs of the world's smallest violin. I know!
I have just snapped up one of these gorgeous London prints from Bold & Noble. They're a new design for the company and completely charming. Totally up my street (actually my street isn't on here, but my neighbourhood gets a shout out, last name on the bottom right-hand corner - which makes me love it even more!)
Tipsy shopping is dangerous. Last night my gorgeous work pal Corrie and I went to a press event at Selfridges. We vowed not to drink. It was a Monday after all. We also vowed not to scoff too many canapes. Two and a half glasses of champagne and approx 14 canapes each later and we staggered out of the fancy launch and into the hallowed halls of Selfridges. An hour later we were a few hundred pounds lighter and carrying giant yellow shopping bags, riding on the high of a spontaneous splurge. We both snapped up a winter coat from chi chi French brand Maje. It's a new favourite (along with Sandro), one of those places where you want everything and can almost justify purchasing bits so long as you promise to love them forever. I could have bought everything there. In the end I went classic and splashed out on a beautiful navy pea coat with chunky gold buttons (above). I have a beloved knee-length black Marc Jacobs coast which I've lived in for about six years and will continue to do so, but this is my short snappy alternative. I completely love it. My chap isn't so sure. I'm hoping it will grow on him...
COAT UPDATE: After saying my new purchase was "just another navy coat", my chap seems to have relented and has since watched me sashay down the street in it and texted to say it looked fab and was a keeper. Corrie's husband said her chic minimalist black number with leather trim made her look like Trigger from Only Fools & Horses. Suffice it to say she's still undecided. But, seriously, what does he know?!!
Sometimes I miss living in New York. Usually it's my incredible friends that I crave and the colour and clatter of the streets: the trio who seemed to get on my subway carriage at least once at week and sing 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight', the coconut and lemon layer cake at Dean & Deluca, the grandeur of those few blocks of Fifth Avenue between Central Park South and 57th Street, the cobbled backstreets and lust-worthy brownstones of the West Village, the buzz of feeling like you were in centre of everything - and anything was possible. Today I am just sad that this amazing coffee table from Oly, which I spied on Design Sponge, isn't available to buy in the UK.
How cool is this wallpaper from designer Tracy Kendall? Apparently she creates bespoke designs as well as working with fonts, 3D and household objects (from a pile of old worn paperbacks to a fancy set of cutlery). I'd like to use the giant cutlery in my kitchen or dining room and the tower of books in my library (obv I don't have a library, but this is a minor glitch in my master decor plan!!)
