Sunday night insomnia, Mr and Mrs and piscean indecision...

This was what met me early this morning; the view from my kitchen window as I made my cup of earl grey...the most lovely frosty sunrise.


This is the view from upstairs in my house - that's ground water laying in the field - which contributed to the insomnia I had last night while I lay wondering - if my house flooded what would I save? I got as far as (in no particular order) the Mac, my Eric Ward paintings, wedding photos, jewellery, shoes and of course husband, kids and cat...

The other contributing factor to my Sunday night insomnia was the fact that my husband and I bickered most of the weekend like an old married couple, despite our recent enforced absence (absence makes the heart grow stronger surely?). I took this picture of ducks in the rain a week ago, I love the waddle, the 'Mr and Mrs' quality of it...she goes slightly ahead, he follows after with his fancy green head feathers gleaming. Its as if if she is saying 'come on, hurry up, stick to my pace, places to go, people to see...'


Did I mention that my husband and I renewed our wedding vows in Las Vegas a couple of years back? I always wanted to go to a Vegas wedding so we had our own. It was very entertaining, along with our little congregation we danced in the aisle as the Elvis impersonator sang 'Viva Las Vegas'. And this is me (my beloved took the picture) walking back to our stretch limo afterwards. I have this thing for photos of people (or ducks) walking away...


Just while we are on Vegas...I know I have posted alot about that place lately but let's just have a Monday appreciation for Brad and George in Ocean's Eleven. YUM. Raybans never looked so good...

Anyway, I digress...back to the insomnia. It wasn't even useful insomnia, wrestling with important issues, oh no. It was the mind-full-of nothing-important indecisive kind of insomnia. Shall I get up and have some milk? Shall I stay in bed and keep trying to sleep? Will I be over-tired in the morning? Is this because I was already hungover on Sunday from too many margaritas at a dinner party on Saturday? Are the kid's bags packed for school? Mental note: must make dentist appointments. And, and, and...

So after the lovely sunrise and a cup of tea, I logged onto Blogger for my daily fix and saw the inspiring post over at The Refocused Life which reminded me i) its 1st March today, ii) its my birthday month iii) lots of nice things ahead. Oh and iv) I am piscean; two fish swimming in different directions - I am in a constant state of indecision! No wonder I couldn't sleep...

Plumo...pretty close to Anthropologie...

I have had a soft spot for shopping at the online site Plumo for a few years...they usually have a well-selected collection of yummy things, clothes and otherwise. Everything I have ever bought from there has been individual, pretty, quirky...so in short, right up my street. Plus for the Anthropologie lovers (or I notice its referred to as Anthro for short!) its about as close as us UK citizens can get to an equivalent without the extortionate shipping charges.

I know there is an Anthroplogie in London but really, I am a country girl, I rarely get up to the 'big smoke' unless its for work, and for some reason my company doesn't give me time out from meetings to gad around town buying house fancies and pretty dresses. Such a shame. There is a great and very accurate post by India Knight, one of my favourite writers/social commentators (and all round shopper/coveter - see her blog) that describes her experience at the shop launch of the new Anthropologie in London. The PR person asked her if she was OK, such was the effect. It really resonated with me as the first time I went to an American store I had what I can only describe as a shopping epiphany! I was actually breathless, the acutest form of shopping lust. For all of my love of luxury brands and designer beauty, there is something so lovely and pretty and earthy about Anthroplogie. Their eye for detail and the fact that the whole experience is about home and clothes (my two bestest things). So all in all...love Anthro.

So back to Plumo...the catalogue arrived today (I am a slave to my doormat on Saturday mornings) packed full of Spring/Summer loveliness; floaty gorgeousness that might actually have a place in my school run/mummy lifestyle. Plus the photgraphy is to die for...and whilst the whole Moroccan look is not entirely my thing, I can get the whole summer, burnt terracotta vibe...roll on the summer sun.







And for the house bits...I adore these retro Swedish cups, my Danish Mormor had some just like this that I recall from when I would visit as a child...

On the cup theme, what's not to love about this tea-set?


So - Plumo is my latest squeeze...until I can get back to an Anthropologie store...

Things of beauty...

Friday is a happy day...this past week has been interesting! More challenges at work, a few tantrums thrown in from my 4 year old son, and a few tears from my 8 year old daughter (missing Daddy...). All in all I am ready for a nice relaxed weekend of co-parenting with my surely jet-lagged husband!

Daddy's home from Vegas today...my week of single parenting is over...phew!


So I am quite pleased...


I have hyacinth bulbs in the garden that are trying to break through...nearly there...


I love Welsh dressers...this one is great because of the mismatched handles...


I like the tones of white in this picture...

Sweet...this just captures that wonderful innocent toddler phase...my children are out of that now...but its still makes me melt to see it...

I am really trying to read books at the moment - where does the time go?


I stayed up far too late last night watching Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road. It was gripping and tragic, even though I have read the book, the ending still shocked me. She has the strongest of faces; I couldn't take my eyes off her, and the period detail in the film is just incredible...

Fantasy handbag tag heaven...

Time for some handbag love. I was delighted to be challenged to a handbag 'show and tell' by That Girl 39 @ Forty Not Out with a 'fantasy' angle...in a perfect world, what would I have?

Handbags are such a covetable item, an investment buy, the 'it' bag; there is nothing like a great handbag. I am a dedicated devotee of the Mulberry Bayswater - see my blogger profile - I declared my allegiance early on! I have one, I would buy another one in a heartbeat; its my bag of choice. Love, love, love it...

A crimson Mulberry Bayswater up close...

If I could have my way I would get an Ostrich one...

Now what's in my bag?

I'm a traditionalist on the sunglasses front, so its Ray Bans...

An all important Mont Blanc Meisterstuck fountain pen...for jotting things down...

And a lovely leather bound notepad from Smythson in case I have any important handbag-related thoughts...

Fantasy or no fantasy the best hairbrush ever is the classic Mason Pearson...

Same applies to Vaseline; even if I were a millionaire and lived a fantasy life...there would always be one of these in my handbag! I am obsessed/addicted to lip balm. At the time airport security banned fluids and gels from hand luggage I had to fly without lip balm and officially it was the longest day of my life!



But a girl can't have lip balm alone so a Chanel lipstick would be lurking...


For the school run, I'd have some treats for the Boos (its fantasy so let's forget the sugar-high they would inevitably get from these...)




Of course I'd have an endless supply of the celebrity favourite Fiji water with me...apparently there's just something in it!

Finally some Aspinal Nappa leather driving gloves, wouldn't want my hands to slip on the steering wheel of my luxe vehicle ;-)

A good wedding...

I love a good wedding. There was a time a few years back when we had weddings most weekends in summer and then scattered through winter aswell. It got to the point where they all blurred into each other, big dress yes, cake yes, best man speech yes, dinner, dancing, throw the bouquet and away. Now I find...everyone is married! No more weddings to attend and it makes me abit sad. Now, having been married for 10 years, the meaning of the wedding vows have a resonance they never had before. Now, being a mother, my appreciation of the pride a parent must feel watching their child get married is much, much greater. And from a style perspective, the decisions my friends and I made in our 20's about what made a stylish wedding dress...well on the whole we got it right, but we all, without fail were lured by the 'meringue' effect! No minimalism for us, oh no, we went full-on, all-out big dresses.

So, a few weeks ago we went to the wedding of some good friends who are now in their 30's. It was an utterly stylish affair, wonderful venue, low key and elegant. As we sat waiting for the bride to appear, I looked around and saw a myriad of stunning wedding outfits, hats, fascinators, yummy high shoes...everyone had pulled out the stops! Then the bride; she strode in, on her mother's arm (as very sadly her father died a few year's back) wearing a short wedding dress and a pair of the most divine palest pink blush Louboutin satin heels. Seriously I clocked the shoes by the time she had taken four steps down the aisle! And the dress! It was just so unusual, classic but quirky and short! As in above the knee, it looked so modern! It really did take my breath away and to me it showed: she was older (but in a good way), wiser, she knew what suited her, she knew how to make a statement without it being too much. She had not been seduced by the need to wear a meringue wedding dress. It was utterly appropriate to the occasion. She looked amazing. I wish I could show a photo but we forgot our camera!! Arrghhhh.

But instead some lovely wedding reveries...

This is Goodwood House which is where we were lucky enough to get married...

Wedding rings...


A short dress...who would dare?


Wedding dress designer shops...a peek inside...


I just adore the simplicity of this by a designer called Samuelle...beautiful.

Time for a trench...

I felt it coming on a few days ago...I started thinking I needed to source a new coat. Now coats, along with boots, are the winter season 'lust' item for me. I hate to say though, I already have a few. Its hardly a pressing matter in my daily dressing: 'no coat." No, instead its: 'which coat?' Notwithstanding my current collection, a few days ago my thoughts turned to a new coat. A spring coat. More like a goodbye winter, hello slightly warmer weather coat...infact a trench coat.

First instinct was Burberry, the mother hen of the trench coat; the staple classic gracing many a back. What perfect iconic dimensions...but a price tag to match. Have you seen The Art of Trench site? Its the most effective exercise in 'I want one'...

Here is a high-street equivalent from Jigsaw...

So the dilemma is: go with the classic at considerable cost? Or go with the version more available to me for much, much less...

Hmmmm...tricky...

Blues...

One downside of reading all of the lovely housey decorating blogs out there...it makes me wanna shop. I therefore had to stop by Laura Ashley today and pick up a teacup cushion of course...just couldn't do without one ;-)

It looks nice with my antique blue apothecary bottles...


Talking of blues... the trials of healthy eating...forgive my carbon footprint for this punnet of blueberries all the way from Chile (eeek). The antioxidants are needed...trust me...


Finally, don't you just love these dahlias? Pretty, pretty...

Say hello to Paris...

Children back at school today - some silence for the first time in two weeks! I am guiltily pleased (delighted?) as I can now put my house back together, re-group, gather my thoughts. I went for a run today (even in the rain...)...hmm what happened to that residual fitness? I limped around my normal circuit. But still it felt good to be able to do it.

Meanwhile my husband is at a corporate event in Las Vegas - now to say I am envious, well that would be a slight understatement! I do have a soft spot for that place, as my previous post alludes to. I know - Vegas is hardly a corporate mecca but apparently its something to do with the capacity it has for large groups of people (uh huh, yea really). So I get a text on Saturday night saying that he is standing next to Paris Hilton in a nightclub...umm corporate entertainment? It seems Paris was in town celebrating her birthday...

It wasn't this Paris...


It was this Paris...

So that's nice; I am doing laundry, he is celebrity spotting!

Sunday morning, things of beauty...

Its a rainy Sunday...what to do? We had planned to take a long walk at West Dean but now, maybe not...

It'll be a stay inside day I suspect...

Might actually have been better to stay in bed...

My sister in law N gave me this lovely french fancy last night...its porcelain scented with rose oil. Just love grosgrain ribbons...

Still thinking of summer (isn't everyone?), and this pretty Portuguese door and steps makes me yearn for white-washed summer towns...

What a perfect lion's face door knocker...also Portuguese...

More ribbons...

Really I should do some baking with the kids...


But instead I am thinking of shoes (these are Kate Bosworth's...)