late february

What's been going on since I was in New York? Well, a few weekends ago, I made a very good cake. Blood oranges are in season, so I bought a bunch from our local greengrocer and made this zingy blood orange and olive oil cake (find Tom Hunt's recipe here). No sugar is involved, just lots and lots of dried apricots, which give the cake a sublime toffee flavour. It's basically marmalade in cake form, which can only be a good thing.

We bought a set of vintage Marcel Breuer Cesca chairs to go with our beloved marble dining table. They were a total eBay bargain. I love the combination of honey coloured cane and sparkling chrome.

We went to a fun party at The Serpentine. Cocktails and art and stuff.

Duncan fell off his bicycle and broke his arm! It was pretty nightmarish for him for a couple of days, but he's now well and truly on the mend.

I made a trip to Tate Britain. This painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds is one of my favourite pieces in the whole place.

I got a new (old) watch! It's having a much nicer (orange) strap fitted this week. I've never worn a watch until now. Look at those painted numbers! So incredibly cool.

We've been buying lots of old terracotta pots which we're filling with plants and then sort of forgetting about, which is what I think most people do.

I've been drawing a lot...

I've just finished Crazy Pavements by Beverley Nichols. I can't remember who it was that recommended this book to me, but I'm very glad they did. Curiously, there isn't too much information about it online. After a bit of research however I managed to find a battered old copy bound in grey linen on eBay. Set in 1920s London, the novels tells the story of Brian Elme, a young and handsome gossip columnist who spends his time making up society gossip, until he becomes the star of society himself. Beverley Nichols was one of the original Bright Young People, and in this novel he satirises the set to which he belonged. I recommend. It's deliciously funny.

And I've been listening to Beirut almost 24/7. I never really used to pay much attention to Beirut and then a month ago I decided to give all of their albums a good, proper listen. I instantly fell in love. Beirut's songs make me want to pack it all in, run away to a Romanian forest and join a group of Gypsies. Or something.