January in Pictures

Ringing in the new year with cocktails, sparkles and friends. Saying goodbye to the festive season. New beginnings and plans for a sparkly, rose-tinted year. After after-work hometime a little more glamorous with big band tunes and cocktail jewels. Pink lace and fairyfloss sunsets to brighten the dull days of January. Weekend hibernating in style with Markus Lupfer silk pyjamas, a pile of magazines and Laduree violet tea. The warm glow of Cambridge’s market square at twilight. Editing my wardrobe and re-stocking my underwear drawers with beautifully coquetteish lingerie at Fifi Chachnil, Stella McCartney and Agent Provocateur. Pink roses and dreams of Paris. A house filled with the smell of baking on weekends.

The sugary pastel houses of Notting Hill. Treasure-hunting for teacups, vintage prints and jewels on Portobello Road. Golden light over the Thames on my way to work. Never tiring of the sound of Big Ben chiming overhead when I’m in my London office. Weekend bike rides and pottering in vintage bookstores. Darling pink dresses and leopard print heels. Pink Prada pumps on grey days. Rose macarons and Laduree tea dates.

Leaving behind a snowy England and jetting off to Marrakech for a long weekend of sunshine, mint tea, exploring of souks, Arabian adventures and the colours, sounds and smells of the exotic. Yves Saint Laurent’s ‘love’ gallery in the beautiful Jardin Majorelle. Falling snowflakes and frosted trees outside my window as I work. Treating myself to massages at Neal’s Yard Remedies and weekly bunches of pink roses (small pleasures to cure a stressful month in my day job). Making January wishlists. Pavlova, episodes of Kath and Kim (to make me giggle out loud) and souvenirs from my homeland in celebration of Australia Day.

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful January?

Love, Miss B xx

P.S. Those of you who follow me on Instagram (and regular readers of my ‘month in pictures’) may notice I’ve changed my signature filter. New Year = time for a fresh look! I hope you like it, and as always, I welcome any suggestions you have for things you want to see more (or less) of on the blog or elsewhere this year.

July in Pictures

Filling my home with sweet peas and pastel hydrangeas from the market. Making the most of sunny evenings with nightly picnics on the banks of the River Cam as ducklings and punters drift on by and the bells of Kings College chapel chime in the background. Lazing in the grass with entire hours spent doing nothing more vigorous than reading a book and watching the clouds float by. New twinkly baubles. Stopping to smell the roses, always. Multiple trips to Diptyque to make my house (and myself) smell delicious. Souvenirs from my darling friend Nicolette.

My (already serious) love for London stepping into overdrive with the anticipation for the 2012 Olympics. Having the privilege to see the opening ceremony in person (wow). London looking resplendent in celebratory flags from every nation. New Prada heels (why did I not own lipstick pink shoes before this?). Crossing the Thames to watch the golden sun set over the Houses of Parliament (my glorious London office). Always time for tea at Laduree and dinner at Polpo with dear friends. Jimmy Choos and bike rides. Lunch breaks in beautifully manicured London squares.

Strolling the leafy, mansion-lined streets of Notting Hill (and dreaming of living in a pastel house with climbing roses and a glossy front door). Lazy saturday afternoon trips to Portobello Road with friends who make me smile. Merrily in my element vintage treasure-hunting. Getting my fix of proper Australian brunch at Granger and Co on Westbourne Grove. Exploring East London. Bagels and antiques on Brick Lane. Musings about Paris. Balmy summer evenings at last. Rediscovering old favourite Marc Jacobs treasures.

I hope you all had a wonderful July, and here’s to a marvellous August!

Love, Miss B xx

The Perfect Lazy Saturday: Brunch, Flower Stalls & Bookshops

You know those perfect weekends where everything feels so utterly lovely and wonderful that it feels as though you’re having one giant romance with your city? Well, last weekend was one of those.

The sun was shining with all it’s might, and even the clouds looked positively bouncy in the cornflower blue sky. There was nothing for it but to put on a smile, a spritz of my beloved Annick Goutal Petite Cherie parfum, and Nouvelle Vague on my ipod (perfect for breezy summer days when I want to pretend I’m actually off to Paris) and make for Notting Hill. There, I met one of my favourite blog friends (and fellow Australian export), Notting Hill Girl, for a day so lovely, not even the usual swarm of noisy tourists clogging up Portobello Road could dampen my glee.

We ambled the length of Portobello Road, stopping to rummage for treasures at stalls selling antique maps, vintage jewels (I’m like a magpie when it comes to tables strewn with twinkly brooches), silverware and trad English preppy accessories (croquet sets and leather satchels just made for Cambridge weekends). We bought armfuls of hydrangeas at the flower stand, crusty loaves of sour dough and Australian TimTams at The Grocer, trawled the shelves of the charming Travel Bookshop (like brooches, I’m powerless against the lure of tiny bookstores, especially when they feature in deliciously cheesy Hugh Grant films), and spoke endlessly of shoes, France, and Australia (a few of my favourite things). Afterwards, we ate brunch (my favourite meal) on the movie set-perfect Westbourne Grove, created our fantasy wardrobes at Whistles and Sandro, and stared longingly at yet more gastronomic porn in the windows of Melt and Ottolenghi (both Ledbury Road). And when all our other senses had had their fill, we skipped off to Aesop and then Diptyque, the grown-up equivalent of magical emporiums for our noses.

And for me, these are pretty much all the ingredients for a perfect lazy Saturday.

What I Wore: French Connection breton-striped top, J Brand skinny jeans, Chanel 2.55 bag, Ash boots, Chloe sunglasses, Michael Kors watch, Mimco bangle, pearls (courtesy of Jersey Peal), and a vintage necklace (aka. my default lazy weekend uniform).

I’d love to know how you spend those perfect weekends?

Love, Miss B xx