{PARIS!}

hello blog readers!
Finally getting caught up! It's been a busy few weeks with work and social engagements. two weekends ago I went to Paris with my good friend, Melissa. We spent most of the time just wandering, shopping & eating! The pics say it all!

Amazing first lunch at Le Barav, an excellent little wine bar on rue de la corderie in the Marais: 

{lovely shops in the Marais}

{everywhere you look in Paris there's just gorgeous details, even if it's just a menu, or a door knocker!}

{les archives, Hotel de Soubise}

{an amazing pop up carpet shop in a cloister!}

A highlight this trip was the Marché aux Puces...absolutely fantastic! It's very overwhelming though! the flea market is essentially numerous markets in one. For a good guide (you need one as it goes on for miles so we decided which markets we wanted to go to first) consult the website which lists them all. Get off at the metro Garibaldi.

{note the LV luggage}

more parisien sights...

We treated ourselves to the lovely Angelina, where Coco Chanel herself used to frequent--the best place in Paris to get a hot chocolate (& anything sweet really!):

{a pot of pure hot chocolate accompanied by little 'pot de chantilly'}

{liquid chocolate!}

We stayed at the Hotel Bradford, a fantastic 4* near the Champs Elysées. We got a very good deal on the room which included a fantastic breakfast (normally 18 Euros):

{fantastic cage lift}

{gorgeous breakfast room!}

We also enjoyed some really fun girly times, and also managed to see a good friend of mine who was also visiting Paris at the same time: 

{ P A R I S }

à bientôt!

xo

L

{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