September 2012 - Page 2 of 2

WTF Friday: Wenlock and Mandeville, A Retraction

September 14, 2012 By Paola 6 Comments

And so the Paralympics have drawn to a close – though you’d never have noticed if you were relying on the shameful lack of coverage by NBC in the US – and Britain can go back to being its normal curmudgeonly self.

But in the meantime I have an apology to make. Do you remember this recent WTF Friday featuring Olympic and Paralympic Mascots Wenlock and Mandeville? And how scathing I was about their godawful ugliness (an opinion shared here by the Guardian)? And how no one in their right minds would possibly buy them?

Designer Grant Hunter has always defended them against the most scathing criticism by saying that children love them.

And guess who has pride of place amongst the very special stuffies who get the honour of sleeping with the Minx?

And who did we spent hours chasing after in London? (Though unfortunately we didn’t make it to Regent’s Park to find Sherlock Wenlock).

The Minx adores him. We have four in total, in various sizes and colours. The kids we were staying with in London adored him too.

Grant Hunter, Wenlock, Mandeville. I apologise.

Monthly Trend Report: Chalkboard Paint

September 13, 2012 By Paola 6 Comments

Hello again! It’s me, Tina Ramchandani, from Life in Sketch. I’m back again with this month’s trend report. It’s a little funny, actually. When I wrote last month’s polka dot trend report, I felt the polka dots becoming more popular, but I didn’t think they would explode so quickly. As soon as the article posted, I felt as though I was seeing dots at every turn! It could just be that I had been noticing them more, but I really feel the trend is in full form now, and here to stay for a while. I’ve even invested in a tone on tone polka dot sweater. I can’t wait for fall to arrive so I can wear it!

via Nicety // Onszelf // DesignSponge // DanataMachi // From Scandinavia with Love // Curbly // Houzz

This month I’d like to talk about chalk paint. Painting walls with a chalk board finish is an easy DIY idea for the home. It’s also great for those who are scared of change, because you can always erase your chalk drawing and start over again. Benjamin Moore makes a chalk paint product, and I know there are others out there as well. The obvious use for chalk paint would be in kids’ rooms, so the kids can have free range to be creative, and draw on the walls without causing much trouble. Another area would be a multi-use room, like a living room or kitchen. Yes, chalk paint is a nice decorative item, but it can also be useful for list making and recipes.

via VTWonen

Have you jumped on the chalk paint bandwagon? What do you think of being able to draw on the walls?

Thanks again Tina. Personally the very thought of chalkboards/blackboards sends me into paroxysms of goosebumps but that’s probably just me.

As ever, we’d love to know what you think of the trend – do you love it? have you used it? or do you just wish it would go away? Please comment and show Tina some love on her blog. I want to persuade her to stick around.

Love This Site: Catalog Living

September 13, 2012 By Paola 2 Comments

You know those days when you seem to spend all your time picking up the cats’ stinky toys from the carpet, the daughter’s myriad accessories from every single freaking flat surface in the entire house and the Husband has left a trail of towels, paperwork and back copies of the Economist in his wake? And you’re wishing that just occasionally your house looked just a teensy bit more like the the homes in the interiors mags?

Fortunately for my peace of mind, and thanks to the extremely amusing Catalog Living, we now know EXACTLY what those people who live in catalogs or even catalogues are REALLY thinking.

Elaine rushed to the dining room in a panic but was relieved to see that she misunderstood what Gary meant by “the number two on the table.”

After years of using a computer, Gary was admittedly out of practice when it came to dramatically ripping paper out of the typewriter and tossing it in the trash.

Gary thought his rough day was going to get the best of him until Elaine set down a tray holding what every man dreams of coming home to: an ice cold gin and tonic and a bound together stack of coverless paperbacks

More discussion of egregious interior styling here and here.

{Via Domestic Sluttery and lovely commenter Bushra }

Fancy Hotel of the Week: Babington House

September 11, 2012 By Paola 1 Comment

Babington House’s cute little chapel

When it comes to fancy hotels, it’s not after all the décor or the food or the mattresses or the service which is the most important thing. It’s the ambience. That indefinable, indescribable ‘je ne sais quoi’. That combination of all the aforementioned and more, which infuses the whole experience, and determines whether you’ll want to return.

Some hotels go for glamour, others for grandeur, some go for hipness and others prize efficiency. At Babington House they do relaxation and and laid-back comfort on an epic scale. The sort of deep relaxation you’d love to experience at home - if only the house were tidy, the chores were done and the kids were somewhere else. And if home really were a beautiful old stone country house with hundreds of years of history and its own stone chapel set deep in the English countryside.

The grounds and pool are scattered with gloriously huge and comfortable loungers

This summer was our first time back at Babington since the Minx was born and we were not disappointed, if anything it was even more beautiful and cheerfully laid back than ever.

Two storey ‘suite’ with its own terrace and gigantic bath

How do they achieve this? Well stunning décor, which gives the whole place a modern ‘country house’ vibe helps a lot. As does the beautiful planting throughout the grounds. Seriously it’s impossible to take a bad photo in this place.

The rooms are incredible. We were in a two-storey family suite with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a small outside roof terrace, all equipped with every possible creature comfort.

The food is fabulous. Classic and beautifully cooked comfort food at its very finest, served in either a beautiful formal dining room, the ‘deli’ where you could wander in whenever you want for coffee, breakfast or kids’ supper, or outside on the lawn.

Breakfast. I wanted to steal all their ‘props’.

Add to that a ton of squashy loungers, deep leather sofas and soft velvet armchairs; unbelievably friendly staff; enormous and beautiful indoor and outdoor pools; funky chandeliers; quirky artwork; an exceptionally accommodating attitude towards the Minx and a bar which serves the most delicious caipirinhas known to man, and you’re onto a winner in my book.

This time we paid for all hotel accommodation ourselves. It was worth every penny believe me. Do treat yourselves next time you’re out in the Somerset countryside. Babington House, we will be back.

Fancy Hotel of the Week: Babington House

September 11, 2012 By Paola 11 Comments

Babington House’s cute little chapel

The grounds and pool are scattered with gloriously huge and comfortable loungers

This summer was our first time back at Babington since the Minx was born and we were not disappointed, if anything it was even more beautiful and cheerfully laid back than ever.

Two storey ‘suite’ with its own terrace and gigantic bath

The rooms are incredible. We were in a two-storey family suite with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a small outside roof terrace, all equipped with every possible creature comfort.

Breakfast. I wanted to steal all their ‘props’.

This time we paid for all hotel accommodation ourselves. It was worth every penny believe me. Do treat yourselves next time you’re out in the Somerset countryside. Babington House, we will be back.

Les Jardins Macarons by Pierre Herme

September 6, 2012 By Paola 5 Comments

Since we’ve been chatting about both macarons and interesting food styling I thought I’d share the latest creations of master macaronier Pierre Herme’.

Through his online club ‘Les Jardins’ he is making a new limited edition flavour macaron available every month. Tragically they will only ship to the UK and Europe (which is officially NOT FAIR).

Us poor unfortunates in the US and elsewhere in the world will have to make do with gazing longingly at the breathtaking food photography of French photographer Bernhard Winkelmann or attempt to make our own using Pierre Herme’s book ‘Macarons’ which I have, but which has officially scared the sh*t out of me, starting as it does with a chapter entitled ‘Thirty Two Steps to Successful Macaron Shells’.

I’m also wondering if some of these flavour combinations aren’t in reality ‘a step too far.’ Does someone want to buy some and report back? I think I like the sound of Lime, Raspberry and Piment d’Espelette best. What do you chaps think? The full list of monthly flavours released so far is here.

Green Tea, Chanterelle and Lemon

Lemon and Caramelised Fennel

Lime, Raspberry, Piment d’Espelette

Chocolate & Lime

Violet & Aniseed

All pictures by the amazing Bernhard Winkelmann.

The End of Summer

September 6, 2012 By Paola 2 Comments

It’s a sparkly, warm day today in Seattle but the leaves are turning just round the edges, the evenings are growing cooler, the Minx and I spent yesterday picking blackberries and there’s definitely an undertone of autumn in the air.

We’re back after an incredible weekend at the Labor Day Family Weekend at Canoe Island French Camp in the San Juans and the Minx went back to school this morning. My little tiny, itty bitty scrap of a baby has just started third grade.

It’s been a wonderful summer, but I can’t wait to start a new year for me too. I have BIG PLANS and maybe this year I’ll even get to execute them.

In the meantime here are some photos of our weekend on Canoe Island. Man, that place is good for the soul.