Links: Pack: 1.K-Jacques 2. Wayfarers 3. Tees: here, here and here 4. Cuffed Denim Cutoffs 5. Pret a Surf Bikini 6. Jade Tribe Tote Eat/Drink: The Rusty Nail, Carney's, George's Place, y.b. eat place, 410 Bank Street Shop: Bath Time Cape May, West End Garage, Flying Fish Studio Stay: Congress Hall, The Sandpiper Beach Club, The Beach Shack Post-Beach Beauty Rescue: 1. Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray 2. Beekman 1802 After the Sun Bars 3. Santa Maria Novella Aloe Gel
A few essentials for my San Juan getaway -- the perfect wispy sundress, Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray for tousled waves, a basic bikini, wayfarers, and a bold patterned beach tote.
I have discovered so many amazing product lines since I've been over here in the UK, and can't wait to fill you in over the coming weeks. One line that especially caught my eye, were these awesome --and educational-- tea towels from Stuart Gardiner. The seasonal food calendars are especially clever."Drop Scones are a type of small pancake originating from the north. ‘Scone’ is pronounced as per ‘gone’ and not as in ‘cone’. Say it that way and you're quite wrong."See? You learn something new everyday.
Ed Note: When you're done here, be sure to check out the 10 Things that Make me Happy over at Sacramento Street!
We both loved the modern English country kitchen feel, the gorgeous task and pendant lights throughout and the comforting sense of abundance you get from rows and rows of uniformly chic jellies and jams that line the front of the café. The food and the service...not so much love there.
Fortunately, the conversation more than made up for it, and we made a quick stop into Caravan around the corner. At Caravan, you get the feeling that you’re raiding your grandma’s attic for treasures…and your grandma is really, really cool. Vintage glassware, quirky ephemera, Jielde lamps, Deborah Bowness wallpapers and these fantastic silver roses that I’ve never seen anywhere else before.
So those are the highlights! As much fun as I’m having, I do miss DC a ton. What did you guys do this weekend?
Sooo, that fun news I was planning on sharing with you all is that...I’m in London for three weeks! I arrived around 6am Sunday morning, checked into my hotel, slept for a few hours, and then revived myself with a shopping trip. I checked out the London Anthro – which has a three-story living wall, and had a life-changing shopping experience at Liberty. Seriously, it was revelatory.
Anthropologie Regent Street's living wall.
The Scarf Room at LibertyI’ll be doing my very, blogger best to keep you all updated on my little adventure, but I’ll have to ask you to bear with me if posting is (even) slower than usual. I’m here for work, which has a tendency of cutting into my blogging time J, and I’m unable to get Internet access from my hotel room – which means a great deal of my blogging will be done from the hotel business center – glamorous, I know.
Since I trust no one’s taste more than all of yours, please go ahead and tell me what to do in the comments!
Top photo from Twig Hutchinson
Going to try for a weekly download of some of my favorite French memories. In volume 1 -- views from private courtyards, hidden cafes, sitting by a fountain in Arles and finding the perfect floral sundress.
I know I've been pretty terrible about filling you all in on my recent trip to Paris. The whole experience was eye candy overload, and it's definitely taking me sometime to process it. However, I absolutely cannot wait to share my favorite shop with you any longer.
Well, my lovelies, it's finally time for me to head to PARIS. I'm going to do my very best to keep you all updated pending internet connections. I've been before, but I'm especially excited to spend more time exploring the streets, lingering at outdoor cafes, browsing books at Shakespeare & Co. and finally making it to watch a sunset at Sacre Coeur.
One of my big regrets in life is failing to learn French. I don't actually go to France that often, I just think my life would be infinitely better if I could speak the language -- I picture myself cajoling french pastry chefs into giving me extra macarons, impressing smart people by explaining how much more enjoyable The Stranger is in Camus' native language, being able to tell a Parisian cab driver how to get me to the bus that takes you to the crappy airport in less than ten minutes and with fewer than 3 helpers.
It's easy to get disenchanted with the "global" look -- how often have we seen traditional crafts practiced over centuries -- amazing works of art you had to buy a plane ticket to get -- turn into mass-produced trends available at any Crate & Barrel?
(Mexican Bedspreads)
(Indonesian shadow puppet, Turkish tinned copper, Thai cobra stapler, Yao ceremonial scroll)
One of my former colleagues, Lorna, wrote to me a few weeks ago, because she had recently moved in a townhouse and was looking for a fun way to decorate her bedroom (pictured below). You can see the most special feature of this room is the angled ceiling, which is a feature she definitely wants to highlight. The furniture is staying for now, but she mentioned that she plans to paint the room green.
My first thought was that the best way to showcase the angled ceiling would be a gallery wall like the one below. While this can be an expensive look to pull off, it can be done with frames from Ikea, and a little creativity when it comes to "artwork". One of my favorite tricks is to use pages from old art books. Admit it, you're never going to go back and read them again anyway.
Another option I liked was splurging on really cool wallpaper for the wall right behind the bed. While I loathe the one wall/different color look, I think a bold graphic wallpaper is a much better approach. You can also afford to go a little more expensive than you normally would because you don't have to paper the whole room. While perusing Walnut Wallpaper's site, I fell in love with a muted leopard print...annnnd this is where I got a little carried away. Even though Lorna isn't switching up the furniture in her room yet, I decided to take advantage of the blank slate to play around with how I might decorate it.
One of my favorite ways to approach an empty room is to pick a really fabulous person (real or fictional) and decorate the room for them. In this case, I thought of Grace Kelly's character in Mogambo, which also starred Ava Gardner and Clark Gable. Grace's character is a married woman on safari with her kind-of-boring husband. Inevitably, both she and Ava fall in love with Clark Gable's character (the rugged safari guide).
Starting with the leopard print on the high wall, I would paint the rest of the room a "mint julep" green, carpet the floor in seagrass or jute, and layer another rug on top. (I love the preppiness of the pink/green combo, which I think is fitting for a girl from the Philadelphia Mainline)
