Welsh Wool

A very big house in the country

Let's all drool one last time.  The much written about about Dinder House is now for sale through Knight Frank.  Few superlatives do this magnificent house justice. Designed by the talented Ilse Crawford, this house seamlessly blends the old with the new.  It is POA, so it is safe to say it runs into the millions.   I wonder if the fittings are for sale too ?

Cabinet by Studio Job

Rush Hour

My youngest is still at an age where she, or rather me, requires her to use a buggy.  She is capable of walking, but she is at the stage where every leaf, flower and front garden holds endless fascination and we never get anywhere fast.  We use the bus every day to take the older children to school and the journey itself is a short, mostly pleasurable one.  What turns it into an unbearable one is a certain type of pram user.  All Londoners know that the space provided for prams is small, only two can fit side by side.  My pet peeve are those people who insist on using giant sized prams, with pumped up wheels, clearly intended for off roading. You know the ones ?  Bugaboos, iCandy and Phil & Teds to name but a few.

Bugaboo

iCandy Jogger

These are beautiful prams but not for London buses.  Now, I am not having  pop at anyone using these as a one off, but if you get the bus regularly you know that it takes Houdini like abilities to cram two of these beasts into the allocated space.  All the other passengers have to wait whilst you pull off contortionist moves and others with prams have to wait for the next bus as you can't fit yours in next to it .  You don't even have the option of folding it down as unlike other smaller models these are too large and heavy to fold down on a bus. Why not make life easy and invest in a pram or buggy designed for city living ? One that is light, slim but most of all small.
I too was seduced by having a beautiful pram that is the equivalent of a Rolls Royce (and almost costs as much), but after a few months I realised that they aren't terribly practical in a busy city.

McLaren XT from birth

McLaren

All of my children have spent their baby and toddler years in various McLaren models.  They may not be the latest or most fashionable brand on the market, but in my opinion they are among the best.  They are robust and I have never had to repair a wheel.  I have folded down one whilst holding a baby in one arm but most  impressive of all, I have seen three of these fit onto a bus.  What better recommendation is there than that ?

A Thing of Beauty

I recently wrote about Heath Ceramics and their wonderful new collection of ceramics.  They also produce furniture and I am quite taken with this piece.  The fabric has a Scandinavian feel to it, it looks like it could be a Josef Frank design.  I can just picture it in a little girl's room or a teenager's bedroom.  Lovely.

Heath Ceramics

How lovely are the latest offerings from Heath Ceramics ?  Simple, organic shapes make for homely products, enlivened by a soothing colour palette.

Salt & Pepper Shakers

Seasonal Container

Bud vases

Lace

Lace.  No, not the 80's mini series, which was fab, but the traditional, wholesome kind that you wear. This summer I have developed a major crush on lace.  Specifically this dress by Pia Tjelta by Timo

Or these by Isabel Marant

 Or this beauty by Masscob

Lace has been around forever and it is certainly not pushing back the frontiers of fashion, but it is so wearable.  It works equally well for day or night and can be dressed down with denim for day or dressed up with tailored trousers and accessories for evening.  I am particularly lusting after the dress by Timo, but at over £600 it will have to remain a dream.

Tweens

My eleven year old is your typical, city dwelling child.  He's grumpy, quick to take offence, obsessed with Minecraft, social media,  phones and messy.  Imagine my surprise when on sunday morning he walked into my bedroom at 8am and offered to take the baby so I could have a lie in.  Nope it wasn't April 1st, nor was it Mothers Day.  The only factor that was different, was that my husband was away on a trip.  I felt hope that the not so far away teenage years wouldn't just be filled with angst and worry and that maybe, just maybe, my grumpy pre teen may yet turn out to be a caring and considerate young man.