Laduree London

How often do I dream of Laduree Macarons? More often than I'd like to admit. When J & I went to visit London in August, I got my yearly increment and also one of those lovely boxes I so covet. We also walked away with more tea than we'd like to admit (Laduree blend and Marie Antoinette) so we'll be sipping our way through til our next visit. The place is so expensive, really...but aren't we worth it? I think so.

Burlington Arcade, you saucy place you. No undue whistling or fast walking in this place!

Here we go....one of the great pleasures to be had. I'm still holding out for a full brunch in Paris one day, but we'll get there.

Le sigh. I think I like vanilla the best, oddly enough! The others were Salted Caramel, Cassis, and something else. Quite frankly I was just having too much fun to notice. They all taste good anyway.

Next time, my little lovelies, I shall be eating one of you. Prepare yourselves.

I hope you all have your taste of sweetness...

xox

A.

Stately Homes and Thatched Cottages

Greetings to all from England!

We've been taking in the local sights here and I just can't seem to get enough of taking pictures of cute cottages, and lovely houses, as well as some well-tended pubs. Sometimes just a little detail goes a long way, and around these parts, the thing that makes a huge difference is flowers everywhere.

The Green Dragon!!!!!!! Found this place in a town called Malborough, and made such a big deal over it that John drove back out of our way just so I could walk around and get a picture. I really just wanted to start singing Ho, ho, ho! To the bottle I go...

Pub + Thatched Roof for the win.

Come on, have you ever seen anything this cute?

Indeed, indeed, a lovely home in Salisbury, right near the cathedral.

As you may have guessed, I heartily approve of the lavender lining the path to the door.
Again, in Salisbury

The Lazy Cow!

Thatched cottage getting some work done in Avesbury. Right by the River Avon.

Trying to unravel the mystery of the hedge maze in the gardens at Chatsworth. We didn't succeed.

Chatsworth viewed from the back...... It is quite literally ENORMOUS.

Lavender in the gardens of Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire.

The ruins of Bolsover Castle... Found it quite by accident, you know!

More adventures to come. Luckily, it hasn't rained too much!

xox

A.

Defining Styles

A decorating book I read once said that before you got started on anything, you had to define the style you were going for, and name it. It seems that I have trouble trying to come up with such a name. I know it's not "simple" or "modern" or anything that tawdry, but the closest I could get to something was "French Country Bazaar". Yeah, I know - sounds weird. Basically what that means is that I like fancy furniture and white walls, and then throwing a heck of a lot bits and bobs about. I'll try and show you what I mean.

This chair is rather insane, but if you put it in a white room, I think it would look quite nice.
Lilly Pulitzer, combiner of pink and kelly green par excellence.


I actually thought I hated white walls, I really did. But then I joined Tumblr, and it turned out that everything I "liked" ended up being rooms with white walls - go figure. I like the mix of colours in this room.

You really can't go wrong with a lovely bed like this. Maybe a bit too much white for me, but go on, isn't it gorgeous?

Here's that Bazaar thing I was going on about. In my mind, it means hypercolour with moroccan touches. Is that odd? Probably, but hey...that's me.

Fancy bed.....check, I'd put a different bead spread, but generally...I like it.

This room is interesting, a little bit on the crazy side for me, but kind of reminds me of Alice in Wonderland, or something like that... I like the general idea of the mix though.

This is is more classic, which I really love. Green, and hydrangeas, you can't go wrong.

I think all these pictures are yet another example of my different personalities. I was always the person who when answering quizzes in Y&M or Seventeen (sniff!) would end up having split answers "You're a girly girl" AND "You're a hippie!". Split personality syndrome... permeates everything when it comes down to it.

So defining styles - good luck narrowing down a word, because I'm down to "French Country Bazaar Shabby Chic Romantic Eclectic Wonderland Indoor Garden Classic Mix"

Kind of rolls off the tongue, don't you think?

xox

A.

Anglophilia

Well, it's coming. Yep, the Royal Wedding. I'm not really a Royal watcher or anything like that, but I've always had a soft spot for crazy celebrations and basically anything British for as long as I can remember (except Marmite - not a fan...). Apparently the last time a big wedding like this happened was 1981, and I quite frankly can't remember it as I wasn't quite born yet. This year, I'm going all out with my students, so I searched out some inspiration... As far as I can gather, the British enjoy their street parties. I could come up with some super amazing fact about the number of official street parties that will be taking place on April 29th of this year, but that would just be silly... However, there are several things that need to be present. 1.) Lots of little flaggy things 2.) Long tables 3.) British People 4.) Cucumber Sandwiches I love a good tea cup.

Ooh, look - aforementioned ubiquitous cucumber concoctions.

Not sure I can get my classroom to look anything like this, but hey - it's worth a try...

Alright, this is the aim. Less actual bone china (to avoid unfortunate dropping that will inevitably happen), but street party bunting visible in background, and super fancy cakes at the ready.

Aw pretty.

Confetti - I'm tempted. I'm pretty sure the caretaker would attack me.

Now this is quite lovely, this is by far the best commemorative china I've seen...but here's my question. Do you really want this in your house afterwards? I mean come on, it's a little odd. Am I just too Canadian to understand? Probably.

I think we'll have to make some crowns....what do you think?

Pip pip, cheerio!

xox

Ave

ps: I was joking about the cucumber sandwiches....kind of.

pps: Also about the pip pip cheerio....kind of.

Sitting in an English Garden Waiting for the Sun

Sometimes you go places where the people who live there swear up and down that it's not lovely, and there's nothing to see. Then you discover they're wrong, and find beauty all around you. If you're lucky, you can show those very same people that they are surrounded by lovely things and they'll be astounded. Sitting in an English Garden, waiting for the sun. But if the sun don't come, you get a tan from standing in the English Rain.

These aren't row houses you know.

The moors! I first heard about them when I read the Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Now I've stood on them. Cool.

A church peeking out from behind the undergrowth.

Rochdale Town Hall - I think it's bigger than Old City hall in Toronto, don't you?

Spring is springing there about 3 months before ours even deigns to get out of bed...

Poor angels. But lovely anyway.

He is not well pleased, his exchequer must be empty (St. Chad's, Rochdale)

I can never pass up a picture with a wonky tree. Makes me think of Ents.

So after a brief taste of spring, I'm back amongst the snowbanks, dreaming of crocuses (croci?) and moss, and daffodils.

xox

A.

Toile de Jouy - Toile de Joie

Toile has been a bit of an obsession of mine (and my mom's) for a long time now. It's gotten to the point that we're making curtains out of it (green of course), so that we can stare at it all day if the mood strikes us.

I don't really know exactly what it is about the crazy pattern that I adore, but it evokes France and the smell of lavender and warmth, while all at the same time being bold and in-your-face. It's an odd combination of dainty versus look-at-me...

Well it's a contradiction, and I know a lot about those.


Sweet sachets in purple. I'm betting there's lavender in them.

I think blue Toile is quite literally the epitome of amazingness.

Who can resist a room like this?

Red toile has its charm especially when paired with roses.

I love toile quilts, I want one in....green...or blue. I'm not picky.

This toile is so different, looks like something one of my students coloured in. When they're taking the time to colour inside the lines ;)

Toile pillows, can't beat them.

I like the idea of having just one wall done in Toile. Can't overpower you that way.

Have you ever seen a more perfect bed? This is it. The pinnacle of beds. Yellow and blue toile, with a valance and Forsythia flowers beside? It doesn't get better.


Sweet dreams, and sweet daydreams to you all.

xox

Ave.