Monday ....

Image from Ideeli

Well, winter is just about upon us, the autumn leaves have all but fallen and have been washed away by all the rain we've had lately. The days are so much shorter, it gets dark so early and the weekend seems to just fly!

Just thought I'd share with you the lovely weekend I had...

Dinner at Nobu Berkeley St, London on Saturday to celebrate Mr N and my anniversary.

The food and service was exceptional and the decor by David Collins was not disappointing either!

Image from Nobu.com

Christmas shopping and relaxing on Sunday....

Harrods lit up (Mr N thinks it looks hideous)

Oxford St London - Flickr

xx

Thank you also to ....

The gorgeous Rachel from Inspiration in Italy ♥, who has passed on this sparkling award to me.

She is living the dream of discovering all the hidden beauty that Italy has to offer.

She and her clever husband share a passion for photography, style and designing clothes ... a very talented duo!

Thank you Rachel!

I guess I have to follow the rules because I'm new to blogging and a little surprised about this, so here goes ....

The Rules:

1. Link the person who gave you the award.
2. Pass the award on to 10 blogs and link those who you gave it to.
3. Let those bloggers know you chose them!
4. Post your award on your sidebar if you so choose.
5. Recopy the rules for someone else.

In no particular order, I am only passing on the award to 6 blogs that are my daily fixes ....

1. The Laurel Hedge - Millie, for her wonderful wit!
2. Dustjacket Attic - Fashonista extraodinare! Many, many awards ... but her first diamond!
3. Brabourne Farm - Leigh's always amazing image collection!
4. The Bottom of the Ironing Basket - Simone's honesty and gorgeous images!
5. Colour Me Happy - Maria, for her wonderful advise ... and passion!
6. Being Ruby - Julie, the ever so talented photographer, writer and very hard worker, (missing your posts)

Discovering & reading peoples blogs and inspirations ... is truly amazing!

xx

Thankfulness ...

I am thankful for all the opportunities that life has given me

and

all the love and support from my beautiful family.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends.

{I miss those big Willie birds from California!}

xx

Beautiful Prints ...

Most of you will already know the talented Anne Harwell from annechovie .... she sells boxed note cards, her famous chair prints, lovely christmas cards and much more.

Well, I received my order from her yesterday and was totally delighted ...

(Villa Borghese Gardens print)

(Tangerine Elkins chair print)

(Anna Spiro chair print)

You can see all her work here.

Now all I have to do is get them framed!

xx

Beegle ...

'SHE HAD THE INDUSTRY OF THE BEE AND THE SOARING POETRY OF THE EAGLE' ... this is how her husband, Tony Duquette, described Elizabeth and gave her the nickname Beegle.

With her "flawless, opalescent skin and moon blond hair", she had the face of a Renaissance painting and the mystery of a cloistered nun.

Beegle dressed as the forest at the Noailles's ball, La Lune sur La Mer, c.1951

She was a talented fine artist and muralist, who met her soon to be famous husband while both studying at The Choinard Art school. Elizabeth was also the favourite artist of MGM director Vincente Minnelli.

Beegle on her wedding day, taken in the Pendletons' garden, Beverly Hills

Beegle in their carriage house in Neuilly France in the upstairs sitting room of the Porcelain Pavilion c. 1951

She is wearing a gown fashioned from an antique court train found in the Paris flea market.

Tony Douquette was flamboyant and extroverted, Elizabeth was the exact opposite.

They were married for over fifty years and lived and worked together until her death in 1994.

Their respective talents were perfectly suited and their artistic collaborations complemented each another.

"Beegle was the love of his life"

She is an inspiration!

Happy Monday.

xx

All Images from: Tony Duquette

Welcome to the neighbourhood ...

Graham and Green have recently opened another store, in Wimbledon.

My pink daughter has already spied this beautiful pink with mother of pearl inlay chest of drawers for her bedroom ...

She also liked the mirror ....

And one of these Moroccan leather pouffes would also look great mum!

They currently have 20% off everything on-line or in-store.

Only until Monday ... so be quick

Happy shopping!

xx

Monochrome ...

Wouldn't it be wonderful to walk to the beach looking as glamorous as the beautiful Linda and Christy in matching monochrome bathers?

Photographed by Patrick Demarchelier, 1990

(UK Vogue Inspirations Nov 09)

Have a wonderful weekend!

xx

To Bikram or not to Bikram ....

That has been the question on my mind lately.

So this really isn't a story about Fashion, design, art or travel ... it is the story of the day that finally arrived when I went back to yoga!

I started yoga back in 2001, when I was living in California (as you do) and instantly found a connection and love for the practice.

I tried various forms of yoga mainly Hatha but also, Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga and Bikram or Hot yoga (a sequence of 26 asanas or poses) in a room heated to 40C (105F)

Hatha yoga attempts to balance mind and body via physical postures or "asanas", purification practices, controlled breathing, and the calming of the mind through relaxation and meditation.

I enjoyed them all ... but as life has it ... we moved back to Australia ... more years ticked by ... we moved to the UK ... the cold set in ... the comfort food became the norm ... then I knew it was time to get back to what I loved!

Well, this morning arrived and a friend and I caught the train to Parsons Green, a few stops away from where we live and as we reached the studio, we let out a big SIGH! looked at each other and bravely walked in.

As I walked into the studio I was feeling quite nervous and wondered how I would keep up with the 26 asanas, especially since I hadn't practiced for over 5 years!

The heat in the room instantly started to relax my muscles and the yogi made us feel at ease.

I was surprised at how quickly I took to the several poses and by the time I knew it ... the 90 minutes were up.

I must admit I started to feel a little light headed by the end and the start of a headache was nudging its way in, but overall I felt fantastic.

Well dear readers, it's the afternoon and as I sit here and type, I can feel the muscles in my upper body starting to tense and I can bet you tomorrow morning when I try to get out of bed, I'll be feeling like a bus has just hit me!

But how does that saying go .....

No pain, no gain!

Well, I'm determined to go back again tomorrow!!

Wish me luck.

xx

Monday dreaming ....

I had a lovely time sampling cheese and other delicacies at Borough Market this weekend and would have loved to have brought all that fabulous produce home to my dream kitchen (above).

xx

Image 1: Source folder (sorry, cant remember where I found this image, if anyone knows please do tell!)

Image 2-4: Mine

Yummy ....

Hope to be doing lots of cheese sampling this weekend.

Cheers and indulge this weekend!

xx

Spirit of Christmas ...

I know ... there are only how many days, did you say ... left till xmas ...

BUT,

If you are in London and you want to do a bit of christmas shopping, then The Spirit of Christmas Fair is the place to be.

Held at the beautiful Olympia exhibition hall in Kensington

You will discover beautiful and unusual gift ideas from high-end exhibitors who have been vetted in by House & Garden magazine. From christmas ornaments, handbags, shoes, fur, scottish cashmere to bean bags, wine and Jelly Belly's (UK's favourite jelly beans).

Some favourites were ...

Ben's Sister

specialising in bespoke, handmade, leather handbags and accessories. Design a piece to complement an outfit or to reflect a personal style... a truly personal gift or luxurious treat.

the Lojo Ball ...

An ingenius ball that is partially inflatable, the seat part contains beans and when unzipped it becomes a footrest, stool or chair.

Being partly inflatable, it can be carried, stored and used anywhere.

These super cool balls come in a wide variety of colours and textures and would be fantastic to use in a teenagers room!

The fair is on until 8 Nov 2009.

Happy Christmas shopping!

xx

Folksy creations...

Bokja ...

is an old Turkish description for an embellished velvet wrapping of treasured items

'Flower Power' sofa

Beirut-based Bokja is run by designers Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri, who use antique pieces revamped with 1960s and 70s textiles!

They have a cult following

including Christian Louboutin ...

... and Matthew Williamson

Who both bought pieces for their stores.

The Quirico Company are the distributors of Bokja in the UK.

So not only are these pieces beautiful, they are 'green', environmentally friendly ...

xx

Red Monday

Red hair, red accessories ...

Alexander McQueen

Lily Cole

(loving her in The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus)

I'm just loving red at the moment. I think it always happens around autumn. It just adds that little pop of colour!

xx

Image 1: Motonari Ono

Image 3,5,7,8: Dustjacket Attic

Image 2,6: Alexander McQueen

Image 4: The Sartorialist