I rarely wear an animal print, but this coat caught my eye, and even my kids gave it a ten out ten. I went back to the Gap a few days later and gave it a solid seven. It’s the coziness that I liked. But then I imagined the coat come February and all I could picture was something Magda might use as a bathmat. So I moved on. But leopard lovers, it really is a fun coat.
I really like the look of concrete surfaces in a home, even though my designer friends tell me it’s highly impractical. This home in Kuala Lumpur –– a very different climate –– is so striking. It belongs to architects Wen Hsia Ang and BC Ang, and it was this beautiful sink that first caught my eye. I love the shower, also. It may be a look that I’d tire of, especially is the greys of winter. But these guys –– concrete is central to most of the couple’s projects –– elevate boring old concrete to another level.
This little bed and breakfast in the Hudson Valley looks delightful. Ralph Waldo Emerson, David Thoreau, Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway have all been guests at the Troutbeck. The 250-year-old house just recently went through a re-design, and the look is cozy, chic and littered with nods to its literary past. Have a look at the rooms, so warm and inviting. A thanksgiving sojourn, perhaps?
While this isn’t a home I could live in, I can’t deny the appeal of a spartan, quiet aesthetic. We’re in Seinäjoki, Finland and the house is set among acres of Pine trees. I like the white clapboard walls, a modern riff on the rustic, and the large windows filled entirely with trees. The furnishings, sleek and understated, fit effortlessly into the space. Have a walk around; you minimalists may never leave.
When you are staying somewhere this beautiful, you don’t need much out of a hotel room. This is fairly typical of Greek island hotels –– whitewashed walls, simple white linen, and a view of the sea. When we were in Syros in June, we happened upon a simple bed and breakfast right on Achladi Beach. There is a taverna ten steps away, and the bay is quiet and beautiful. I can’t think what else one might need.
I’ve had strep throat for a million days, so not much in me today, but can we all agree that this is a heavenly setting for lunch à quatre? Goodness knows what’s on the menu. Maybe cheese, bread, Ottolenghi salads and lamb kebabs. And wine, lots of wine.
Do I talk about flowers too often? I just couldn’t not share this gorgeous image. I’ve never even seen some of the blooms in these bunches. And I love how she’s taking them home wrapped in newspaper. Well, I clicked through and landed at The Original Los Angeles Flower Market. What a thrill of a place. My idea of the perfect way to spend a morning in la la land.
One of my very favourite fashion shoots is Richard Avedon’s 1967 Vogue editorial starring Jeanloup Sieff and Jean Shrimpton in Greece. The light is magic, and the energy between them palpable. This image here of the two of them in Santorini is perfection. I know this light so well. The colours, the textures, the warm wind swirling around them, it’s all so familiar.
Despite its proximity to London, I’ve been to Paris only a handful of times. But my memories of each visit are very vivid. There was the cruise on the Bateaux Mouches with my mother, when I wore hibiscus pink leather shoes and ate frog legs for the first time. There was the most perfect tarte tatin shared with Jason at a bistro in the latin quarter. We had an argument in the street on the way home, which felt very nouvelle vague. Jason bought me Stephane Kelian shoes and an Eres bra on that trip. Our second visit, eight years later, was equally exciting. This time, I was four months pregnant with our first baby and buying D cup braziers at Le Bon Marché. Somewhere in between the Bateaux Mouches and Le Bon Marché, were two school trips with my very best friends. There was a rather major spat in the Lalique room at the Musee D’Orsay, but other than that we all got on swimmingly. If I recall, we spent most of our free time, sitting in tabacs painting our nails (Chanel had just launched Rouge Noir) eating Camembert and smoking Gauloise. I’d like to take my girls there one day. Maybe we’ll get on the Bateaux Mouches and look at Renoirs, or maybe we’ll sit in cafes and eat cheese all day.
There’s something about this house, in all its majesty, that looks like it could topple off its perch at any moment. To be sure, Cliff House has had a dramatic life, including numerous fires and explosions. These days, a very different structure sits on site, hosting weddings and Sunday buffets. But the drama and romance remains in the view, which is simply breathtaking.
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