Plein Air Painting: Taking Your Paints OutsideLast week I was gifted with a ‘plein air’ watercolor workshop given by Lynn Onley. Plein air painting is a familiar concept today, but in the late 1800s when the Impressionists ventured out of their studios into nature to investigate and capture the effects of sunlight and different times of days on…
Natural beautyWhat can be inside these enticing tissue-wrapped packages?I bought these splendiferous candle holders in town the other day. It was the colour (or rather lack of it!) that caught my beady eye at first. They are a perfect washed-out sea-grey.I find it's a very fine line between a beautiful weathered …
A present in the garden...Something that has been really lovely about moving into a house whose previous occupants were keen (and excellent) gardeners is that, even now, 6 years on, I notice new plants that they must have planted shortly before they left and are only now reaching maturity. This year I noticed, for the first…
Book review: Comfortable Country by Enrica StabileComfortable Country: Peaceful Homes Inspired by the Country by Enrica Stabile veers much more towards the Traditional Country side, rather than my favoured Modern Country Style. By that, I mean the rooms presented are more busy, patterned and full of knick-knacks and ornaments than those that I natu…
Another home-made snuggly cushion!After being so pleased with how my snuggly cushion turned out, I turned my attention to the arms of the woollen cardigan. They are ribbed and, therefore, very stretchy. I had dismissed them initially until I realised just how sttrrrrreeeeetchy they were!The look and feel of the lovely cream wool kep…
Beverley Hewitt mug....At the Spring Country Living Fair earlier this year, I spotted this gorgeous mug from British ceramic designer, Beverley Hewitt. It's a biiiiig mug, perfect for large cups of sweet, milky tea, or to take lots of cream squirted on top of a steaming hot chocolate. The shape of the mug, whilst being c…
Back issue inspiration...In a friend's car, the other day, I saw the magazine Living etc from June 2009. I had a flick through and one feature caught my eye to such an extent that I bought that issue on ebay the next day (hooray for ebay!).The article was about a Victorian London semi, renovated by the photographer Paul Mas…
Modern Country Style shops: i gigiI've decided to blog from time to time about my favourite shops. I do masses of my shopping online so locality shouldn't be a problem in most cases (although extortionate p and p abroad can be prohibitive. Come and visit!!).Going into i gigi , in Hove, East Sussex, is like stepping into an alternate…
Modern Country Bedroom: lightingIn the early days of choosing everything for our bedroom, I actually went as far as ordering a chandelier but it looked wrong, wrong, wrong. Far too fussy for the atticky loveliness that I wanted. I hastily sent it back! What was I thinking?! My second choice, much more appropriate for the Modern Co…
Modern Country bedroom ... detailsAs I said in my last post, this was the first room we renovated big-style. The whole process was pretty new to me....and I was pregnant with twins at the time. Not the calmest period of my life!After playing around with lots of ideas, I knew I wanted to go for a Modern Country style bedroom (see in…
Weekend In ParisToast Soldiers and 3 Minute Boiled Egg This picture is my inspiration for Sunday brunch, when I like to take my time and read the New York Times, over a leisurely breakfast of three minute boiled eggs and, toast soldiers with homemade blackberry jelly. I am going to cut my toast into str…
