It's all about the detail...

Never before have the details in life seemed so noticeable to me. In almost every aspect of my little life, these details appear; that bit extra that makes something special. I have a friend who always says 'it's the detail!' when we shop for clothes. I am always the one looking for the best leather, the quirky detail, the right buttons.

Natalia Vodianova via a taste of blue

In motherhood, I see it's those little details that can make the day go more smoothly. Where I have have their favourite cakes as an after-school snack. At home, the meal that happens effortlessly but is made with the best ingredients and goes all to plan. The patience and coaching as I sit with them to do homework. I am noticing that given the time and pure dedication, it is possible for me to provide all of those little details.

Historically, I have always had a quiet awe for women who manage this. They are a certain type who are able to constantly stay one step ahead. When the children were smaller, these mothers were the ones who would (with a swish of a perfect ponytail) serenely draw out a nutritious snack and drink, where I would have forgotten mine and my toddler would have to chew on their own hands!

But...and I wouldn't be me if there wasn't a but...what is it all about?! Never before have I had the time or the inclination to be so bothered with these little details. Instead a perpetual inner dialogue in my head raged; always justifying why I couldn't make the perfect meal/be the best mother I could be/have lipstick and pretty dress on as my husband returned at the end of a busy work day. I railed against being too organised. But now I begrudgingly admit I judged those women whose day consisted of little else but managing these details. And look at me now; pot calling the kettle black.

There is a hint of Stepford wife-dom in my life at the moment, as I sense that I am subconsciously trying to make up for all my past wrongs. But the point is: they weren't wrongs exactly, they were just less-thans. I did less than I could have done, as I put priority into other areas; like time for myself or for my job.

via nantucket youth

I do enjoy the little details and it's a quiet thrill now to be able to provide them for my family...but I do wonder if it's unsustainable. All of this 'thinking' time is about me trying to establish how to live a life that does not burn the candle at both ends until everything is, frankly, well, extinguished. I read a book that is shiveringly accurate in its depiction of 'perfect' motherhood and its darker side. It's called 'This Perfect World'...and I have to say it was disturbing reading; for the degree to which I identified with these über mothers.

I know to some readers this will seem like an unimaginable depth of navel-gazing. But I find myself really questioning these elements of life at this time.  We only get one chance at this; what is the best way to choose to live your life? Constantly striving for perfection or content with what you have? 

I am thinking the best place to start this fundamental life pondering is with a cuppa tea and a good book; I'll let you know if I find the answer but until then...

Things of beauty...

Friday comes...a much-needed end of the week. My children have now broken up from school (again) and we have two week's of half term. As ever, the reprieve from the school run routine is greatly appreciated, but also there is that mild panic at the prospect of entertaining them. Must children be entertained constantly? I'm sure when I was a child we entertained ourselves more!

I read back on my blog this time last year and recognise a different me. What a difference a year makes; I was Lou but not the Lou I am now. It's subtle, but to me, very clear. Life is a journey and this particular phase is one of self-awareness. I've been too busy to notice very much of anything for years and now; well now I notice everything. I am acutely conscious in a new way. It's really good, enjoyable, informative.

So, the lovely Simone came to tea. And lunch. And we had cupcakes (well, why not?). There was a-l-h-o-t of talk, we covered many topics, time flew by and then away she went back to the big city! What a miracle the Internet is to bring friends to our doorstep. I never ever would have even met Simone unless I had done so through blogging. Who would have thought? A kindred spirit found out there in the wilderness of the web.

Longing for some quieter time this weekend. There is this danger of over-egging the weekend activities, leaving us drained by the time Monday rolls around. I'm still learning to find that balance; to live life at weekends but also to allow us to recoup as a family.

A whimsical grey and pink hue to my beautiful things this week...

via the front row

by Atlanta Bartlett

colours I love via JCrew

ohhh I like...the Mulberry Polly Push Lock

...impossibly pretty...Natalia Vodianova

striking eyes...photograph by eddie judd photography

the best things in life: tea and cake...photograph by Philip Webb

frilly skirts are lovely via bob and blossom

via Vogue Chanel Spring Summer 2012

Daddy is home; The Kennedy's...photograph by Jacques Lowe

via the front row

Wishing all of you lovely readers a happy weekend.

Things of beauty...

Hello! So, I am incredulous that it is my little boy's birthday tomorrow; Boo 2 will be six years old! How did that happen?? So tonight I need to deck the house out with birthday bunting - as I do whenever it's someone's birthday - and wrap quite a few presents (yes, I went a tad overboard at Toys R Us), to get ready for the big day. A family tea party with cake will follow. Of course this time of year always makes me think about when I had him, especially as it's when the rugby season draws to a close and on the day I was in labour, my husband insisted on playing rugby and then called me from the sideline to check my progress (contractions still regular, but not alarming!). Oh how different things are with the second child! We both knew it might take some time, but still! The weather has turned back to its seasonal norm so no sun and overcast. Exactly as it was this time six year's ago.

My thoughts this week have been quite exclusively on what I eat and drink. I have been on a detox all week and to say it's been an obsession would be an understatement. I live for food and spend most of my time wondering what I will eat next so it's been very hard to get excited about juices, soups and steamed vegetables. An interesting sojourn into dieting though, and one I hope not to persist with; I did it for health and for a kick start (see, I am already talking in the past tense...I am near the end!). But it does make me see what discipline is required to keep to a diet.

There have been beach days and country walk days this week, as predicted. We are nearing the middle point of Easter holidays - 2 week's down, 2 to go!

Things of beauty here with a delicate, lace-thin disposition....

Sigrid Agren at Elie Saab, Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

I love this image...I studied Jane Eyre for my dissertation at University...oh Mr Rochester!

via day dream lily, photograph by Candice Lesage

I like this scarf...

scarf by artlab via etsy

How beautiful is this? A tree-lined boulevard in Prague - photograph by my friend Natasha - If you want to read a love story to brighten your day read her blog ...

Spring time in Prague..

Ooops, look, he just creeps in the mix sometimes...soooo lovely.

gorgeous George...

Photograph by Polly Wreford

photograph by Mikkel Vang

Keira Knightley

from Cabbages and Roses

from jcrew

jil sander uniqlo

 Natalia Vodianova by Jean Baptiste Mondino via Beauty Fetishist

via swoon photograph by Juliet Elizabeth Photography via The Wedding Row

This symmetrical window and chair arrangement speaks to me...

styled by Tricia Foley

Absolutely stunning picture here from Vogue China...

photograph by Paolo Roversi 

Here's to a healthy weekend that features Birthday cake!!

Things of beauty...

Here we are again! Some weeks, Friday arrives and I feel like I blinked and the week flew by; today is one such Friday.

I have been thinking about childhood and how each stage of your children's lives seems to be the defining stage. But then it passes and you realise that it was just one phase in the whole journey of parenthood. I have attended lots of school events this week and have observed the Boos standing amongst their peers. The realisation hits every time how much they have grown. Especially my daughter, whose contemporaries have been by her side at her school since she was 4. To see them all grow up - how worldly and mature they seem now. And just to cement that view, Boo then returns home and asks me 'what is antidisestablishmentarianism Mummy?'. Pipped to the post by 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' for being the longest word in the dictionary, apparently. You have to think on your feet as a parent! They break up from school today for nearly a month....eeek.

A weekend ahead of more activities - I am longing for some quiet time. It's Mothers Day on Sunday so maybe then? I have tactically scheduled a duvet day on Monday...can't wait.

...the stunning Natalia Vodianova photograph by Annie Leibovitz...

via Toast home

Vilhelm Hammershøi, Portrait of a Young Girl, 1885

photograph by Polly Wreford

I just love this buttonhole...the second I have posted lately...buttonholes should be worn more often I think.

Photograph by Braedon Photography

Photograph by Mario Sierra

via skona hem

Almost certainly, we will have some beach time this Easter holidays...



There is something about this row of scarves that I  just love...

via tiny white daisies

The bun: my new happy hair do - although mine will never be quite as resplendent as SJP's...

Photograph by Sara Kauss via Hey Gorgeous

Daddy has been working alot lately...

Photograph by Mario Sierra via Sarah Klassen Haute Design

Photograph by Lars Ranek

Photograph Mikkel Vang

Have a wonderful, restful weekend...!

Tell all...

Hello, it's time to share again...I like to have these little audits every now and then! Are you with me? If you had to choose an answer of the two options below, could you? I know from responses before that sometimes people really struggle with this! Life is full of choices... xxx

Emily Blunt via Sunday in bed

Emily Blunt or Emily Bronte?

Baby boy or baby girl?

Gift from a friend: bunch of flowers or homemade cupcakes?

Getting dressed: lots of layers or clean minimal lines?

Skittish magazine devourer or absorb-every-line book reader?

If you could: spend money on art or invest in stocks and shares?

Raybans or Oakleys?

Little white lies or forever truthful?

Natalia Vodianova via pretty stuff

Best asset: face, body or mind?

Love a good argument or neutral and non-confrontational?

Sunday lie-in or early morning walk?

Bloody Mary or Strawberry Daquiri?

Sunrise or sunset?   

Secret-keeper or ready to spill the beans?

Ocean-front house or mountain chalet?

Doer or thinker?

via this flickr