{quotable thursdays/Paris!}

{Paris!}

well, audrey says it best:
'Paris is always a good idea.'
-Audrey Hepburn

{BONJOUR!}

and yes, ladies & gentlemen...off to Paris demain! This is not a work trip, but completely one based on shopping & good food!
so many fantastic things to look forward to...
We are taking the Eurostar... even though I travel to work on the train regularly, there's something extremely glamorous about travelling internationally by train...

{travelling to Paris!}

{glamorous travel...}

{travelling in style}

Now if only I could wear this dress that SJP wore in SATC in Paris:

{gorgeous!}

{or this stunning outfit!}

Paris inspiration..

{ciseaux}

{le métro}

{I love Paris in the springtime!}

{fancy dress}

{guide!}

{can't wait to peruse the booksellers on the banks of the Seine}

{postcards}

{yum!}

{meet me in paris! buy the print on etsy}

Alors, ça suffit--on y va!

{à bientôt!}

bisous,
L

{Hampton Court}

{Hampton Court from the grounds}

A few weeks ago I went to Hampton Court Palace, renovated for Henry VIII. If you've read The Other Boylen Girl or watched the film, visions of court intrigue, political ambitions and love affairs will spring to mind. As a court art historian, I'm intrigued by all of those things, in addition to thinking about how people at court moved around the spaces, engaged with one another and with the splendid objects which surrounded them... and when visiting a Renaissance palace, the court life that I have read described on the pages in the secondary literature, or in primary sources, suddenly becomes no longer words but spaces, people, and things.

I had been to Hampton Court when I was in my late teens, but have always wanted to go back to see, in particular, Andrea Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar, which have nothing to do with Henry VIII, but were painted for the Gonzaga of Mantua (a court I'm very familiar with as an Italian Renaissance specialist).

The palace and the Triumphs did not disappoint, as the pictures reveal: 

{spring flowers are out!}

{me in front of Mantegna's Triumphs}

{the great hall}

{the chapel}

{warm kitchen fire}

{we took a break & had a yummy pub lunch}

{me, in the grounds}

{gorgeous gardens}

I'm off to Paris next weekend--more on that soon!

xo, L

{Masterpiece}

I realise I missed another quotable thursdays--I was in Bedfordshire attending a two day training programme.
It was busy but it was also nice to have this view from my room:

I now need to play catch up! two weeks ago I held a Masterpiece party, which was hilarious. Did you ever play Masterpiece the board game as a kid?

It was recently featured in an interview with sjp as one of her favourite board games.
I found one on ebay. Before the party, I sent each guest their 'identity' that they would take up at the party, and they were encouraged to dress up:

I decided to make fresh pizza with fresh ingredients:

& then all was ready! Guests had a hilarious time bidding for masterpieces and some came in great costume!

{various guests bid on artworks}

{on the right you can see the various pizzas I made}

 guests dress the part...

{anyone want a Constable? starting at £150, 000}

xo,
L

{quotable thursdays}

{enjoy the little things}

How in the world is it Thursday again???
Life seems to be flying by at a great rate...but having this little cat of mine, makes me stop every hour at least and play with her, or pet her, or listen to her purr, or let her settle on my lap, or throw a ball...and it's then that I realise this life can pass me by, if I don't savour those little moments.

It is the little things in this life that become the big things. I often am reminded of significant events by a smell, or a sound...If you're too busy to take these things in, then you're letting life pass you by.

{time to stop & smell the roses!}

I had a fantastic springy weekend--warm weather, sunny sunny skies, a party chez moi & a trip to Hampton Court. Pics & details to follow!

xo

L

{quotable thursdays}

{bubble blowers}

Dear readers, I'm ashamed, but I forgot last week's quote:( Things have been a bit hectic and last Thursday I spent the whole day in meetings...
Today, the sun is shining, I'm on study leave, and am getting lots of writing/researching done;)
This weekend, I'm hosting a Masterpiece board game party...I'll be sure to post pics from the party, but with that in mind, today's quote is about returning to an earlier state--the time when we used to play games all the time. Playing games requires imagination; they require us to do away with reality for a bit & escape into another world.

We used to play board games all the time as kids, as well as make up plays, put on performances etc... I think that's what's lacking from most adults' lives--the ability to fill one's day with imagination & creativity. if you do it too much, you appear crazy!
For Ruskin:
'It is the child's spirit, which we are most happy when we most recover; remaining wiser than children in our gratitude that we can still be pleased with a fair colour or a dancing light.'
---John Ruskin

{believe in magic!}

so with that, do something crazy this weekend--it's supposed to get up to 16C here, and the sun will be shining, so go & find that child in you!

{go crazy}

{i love holly golightly b/c she is just that bit of crazy}

{go find a niece or nephew (or your own kid) to be goofy with!}

now go, find that Madhatter inside of you!

{madhatter}

xo, 

L

{inspiration from a restaurant}

Yesterday, my cousin and I were out for coffee & cake in Chelsea. We ended up walking along King's Road and stopped into a few shops. We came across the Comptoir Libanais, which is actually a chain, but I loved the look of the pastel floral chairs outside: 

Taking the cue from the chairs, here are some images inspired by them:

{the queen of all florals, cath kidston}

{pastels}

{more pinks & greens}

{perfect palette}

{loving these colours!}

{florals on the walls!}

{some florals}

The interior of the restaurant looked really cool, with embroidered handbags from Marrakech:

{pic from eat out magazine}

I've never been in the restaurant, but would like to now...

the interiors are apparently inspired by the souk...which reminds me a bit of this blog post I did on hideous kinky years ago (& I'm aware that some of the photos are no longer visible on the post:( )

Anyway, yesterday was fab, because it really felt like spring--the blossoms are out, and so are the dafs and crocuses... I love England in the spring!

xo

L