english heritage and little greene

We've decided to paint all (all!) of the walls at home, and we are thinking of using colours from the English Heritage and Little Greene paint collection. The colours are the result of combined research to discover the true historical colours used over several key periods in historic decoration from early Georgian right up to the 1970s. Whilst we try out a few samples, our walls are a riotous patchwork of colour. The agony of choice...

figs & burrata

Lunch at The Wapping Project yesterday. What a beautiful plate of food - the rich, warm red of the figs against the milky, pure whiteness of the cheese. Heaven.

conkers on england's lane

talks to boys

I picked up this rather intriguing old book (it was written in 1890), entitled Talks To Boys, when we were in Massachusetts a couple of weeks ago. It is a manual, as described by its author, Eleanor A. Hunter, teaching 'how a boy may train himself day by day into a nobler life'. The 'talks' contained inside are very amusing indeed, and there is seemingly one for every kind of boy possible. There is a talk to poor boys, a talk to rich boys, a talk to shy boys, and even a talk to awkward boys...

mussels

Gorgeous mussels for supper, with Suffolk cider, bacon and cream.

babel

Out today!

somerset

Glastonbury Tor.

Wells Cathedral.

It got to around Thursday last week, and due to feeling very tired of London, tired of grey clouds and tired of wet pavements, we booked a last minute trip down to Somerset. Somerset is one of my favourite counties - in fact I am in love with the whole of the West Country and I will make up any excuse to pay the area a visit! We caught the midday train to Castle Cary on Friday and carried on to Bruton, a delightful little town and home of At The Chapel - a converted chapel (naturally) on the High Street housing a bakery, wine shop, café and restaurant. We've been there before and I adore the place. We decided to stay in a B&B not far from Bruton, owned by the most fabulous couple I have met in a long while (one is a garden designer and the other a painter). Their home is filled with wonderful antiques and the garden is simply a dream. We spent Saturday exploring Glastonbury and Wells in the blazing sunshine, and were back on the train by noon on Sunday. Short but incredibly sweet.

pretavoir

I'd been hunting for a new pair of glasses for quite some time (my eyesight is gradually getting more and more appalling), before coming across these rather handsome Paul Smith Harrold Raintree glasses from Pretavoir a couple of weeks ago. The Glasgow-based store also sells online, and its huge range of products is quite astounding. A real find! The rest of the Paul Smith range can be viewed here.

bobbin

Introducing my really rather ridiculously handsome new bike, the Glorie, from Bobbin Bicycles. I have wanted a Bobbin for years. Their tagline is 'Transform a Journey Into a Magical Adventure', which is obviously just brilliant. I look forward to spending many blissful hours together.

new shoes

Archie Textured-Leather Wingtip Brogues from Grenson, via Mr Porter. I adore the texture of the leather, and the rubber sole. Perfect for Autumn.

usa

Last week Fox and Flyte travelled to America to begin working on a project with the clothing retailer Club Monaco. We spent time in New York City and at the Brimfield Antique Show in Massachussets. It was a real American adventure. Exciting things are most definitely on the horizon... Watch this space!