Dior London, Nomadic Gardens of Shoreditch, Serpentine Pavilion 2016, etc

A store opening isn't a store opening anymore unless you have satellite events all across England.

Pubs were rented for the night for parties and even Scott's restaurant was doing its PR for the newly opened Dior maison by having Dior mannequin topiaries.


Even the planter boxes got into the spirit.


I must be getting to be an old lady because I think it is marketing gone mad.

Know they self said Socrates and one thing I realize I love more and more is things that have their customized place.

That is probably why out of all the items in the newly opened Dior maison I liked this cutlery holder.

It is a limited edition - of course it is - 
Christofle for Dior cutlery egg.

I don't know about hard surfaces and too much earth elements inside - it is refined glamping whatever way you want to call it.

The baby Dior bags are cute but useless like so much else when you go shopping.

But then art is - in a sociopath's eyes - useless too.

But I love this Russian painting and this picture does it no justice what so ever.

People can be photoshopped but not oil paints.

I was completely freaked out and mesmerized by this plant which I found out later was called liverwort.  
I might have been too enthusiastic in my watering of plants.  
But those tentacles have kept growing but it is just so alien but it is a type of moss. Oddly I did not notice this plant in the famous moss gardens of Japan.

London Love, Barcelona, and Jon Snow

I have been in a long relationship with London and lived here on and off since 1995.

And like one does in a long relationship, it has been tenuous and we have had our ups and downs.

But I am falling in love with this place all over again which is a change as I have turned very local and can be a right whinger ( just to my family and close friends).

The Thames isn't just for show you know.
It works and maintains its place otherwise it might be filled up with dirt and over priced luxury flats might be built on it.

I was wondering what the first Queen Elizabeth would have thought of this new view of the Tower of London?

But of course I have just shown you the grander bits of London.

Check out this house built between the space between two homes?

That is the reality that tourists don't see.
But it breeds a tough lot.
I would be lying if the average Londoner would listen to the problems of a California native who might complain about valet parking and finding a pool cleaner.
I reckon this is how people north of Moscow must look at Londoners.

I have said it before and I will say it again but the park is at its peak in the spring.

I have always loved this chocolate box cottage which is for staff who work at the royal parks of London.

RIP Prince.

It seems I wasn't the only one who thinks of him when I see purple.
I over heard some others mentioning Prince at this patch in the park.

There is a horsetrail around the park but rarely do you see a group of ladies chatting away while riding.

Such a nice alternative to the morning coffee.

Meanwhile, I joined the gym.
It's been nearly 5 years since I left.

So much has changed.
You have to enter your pin number and only one door opens at a time.
So robotic.

I love Game of Thrones likes every other person and I have populist tastes in men.
Who doesn't fancy Jon Snow?

I chose this play solely on the fact I adore Marlowe did 
no one say who booked tickets to watch this.

As I was taking a picture of the set before the play started, I heard a lot of whispering and  cameras out which I thought was odd because normally people aren't interested in the sets like I am.

The play was horrid.
Not even Jon Snow prancing around in underwear saved it.
PS my friend was really analyzing his hair style being very Jon Snow - what does this mean??

I love how these two nudge each other to stay on my lap - their presence is completely therapeutic and restorative. 
They are actually babysitting me.

I put this picture on instagram and our WellFedFred added a very interesting tidbit about this brooch.

Karl wasn't challenging the hoi polloi but it is his interpretation of the brooch which stems from a type of love token on this link here which she kindly provided.

I went and replanted so many plants.

I need bins but thought the brass tub looked better as a planter.

I bet the inventor of Scotchguard was inspired by plants after the rain.

Holiday Season 2015, Cards of Humanity and Netflix's Making of a Murderer

Happy new year all!

Did you have a nice rest?

Eat?

I didn't do anything other than what is expected of the season.

My brother has become a well versed cook which is a long way from a few years ago when he asked how to make a cup of tea.
The pink ramekin is lined with cocoa powder and the blue ramekin is lined with sugar and he says that it rises more evenly.

He has come a long way although he wasn't impressed with me when I said his souffle tasted more like chocolate fondant.

But all of us laughed over playing Cards of Humanity.

It is an amusing game which isn't as cutthroat as Monopoly.

I gave myself a present and got one of MaiTia's shawl pouches to put in your bag so it doesn't pull when mixed with other items.

I also got a book I had my eye on which I am still pouring over.



Meg from Pigtown Design is a star because I put my name down for a giveaway the Washington post editor was doing for this House and Garden issue from the 90's and Meg sent it over to me and that has been such good entertainment value.  
Thanks Meg!




It was so nice not to have traffic in town and driving around with Millie was such a joy. It makes you want to actually go about London and get out there rather than having that dread of facing traffic. 
  

The Christmas decorations were on the sombre note this year.
The best uplifting one was done by Cartier and they do this on most of their flagships - an oldie but a goodie.

I must be getting older because I am loving these Bvlgari wraparound watches.
These are limited editions in all sorts of colors.

I used to think they were slightly "old lady" but now that I am getting there myself as if on cue I want one hehe.

Didn't ask the price but I bet that workmanship doesn't come cheap.

Went for a quick drink at St Martin's Lane hotel.
It was so avant-garde in the 90's...
Its claim to fame was that Samantha's gorgeous boyfriend in SATC with the blonde tresses was discovered here while working as the doorman.

I wish I could make these dahi puris which are puffed biscuits that you pour the liquid in and eating it is so much fun.  But lately I am not in the cooking mood and one of my new year resolutions is that I need to cook more the way I used to.

I realized that home made beats most things on the supermarket shelves because I have now had the pleasure to try 
Chronica Domus' famous marmalade.

Just the way I like it - slightly tart and sweet all at once.
I even got to meet her too!
We chatted so much with such ease and was such a pleasure to meet someone through the blog I would have otherwise not probably met.

I have done a lot of lazing around but was super busy watching the latest buzz called Making a Murderer on Netflix.

I will not be the only one annoying you and nagging you to watch this 10 part documentary.
It is a must watch and even if you aren't into documentaries I warn you now that you will be left out of so many conversations.
It's not just me but every publication out there is obsessed about it.

Then I followed up with the Jinx which was a HBO special and equally blew my mind.

Click link to watch on youtube

These had such an impact on me I am even toying with the notion of going back to law.
But I probably won't and will just bore everyone senseless talking about it.

Hope you have a fantastic 2016! x

Insta Post November 2015 - Al Thani Jewels, Christmas tree by Damien Hirst, and Budapest

Sorry but I am already over all the holiday parties and cheer.

I am exhausted and it's not even December.
I had my first batch of parties this weekend and 
I am really feeling it today.

Sorry to be bah hambug but you are talking to someone who was skeptical even sitting on Santa's knee when I was 5. 

But I don't normally do fancy dress nor Christmas jumpers so I took tinsel to wrap around a simple black top instead.

London is festive at the moment though and has all the lights up.

I went to a lunch yesterday at a Turkish restaurant where they had so many pendant lights up I was wondering if it passed the health and safety requirement.

There was an odd dish which was cut up kebab with rice in the middle so they could charge quadruple what they would charge for a kebab.

Sotheby's had the preview for the books in the private library of Pierre Berge.

It isn't particularly photogenic but the items up close were interesting to peer over.

He had a first edition signed copy of Madame Bovary.

They had this shelf for books just outside the room which was nice but then I don't think regular books would look so nice and would detract from the item.

I relived one of those unfortunate auction regrets when I was outbid for cane chairs very similar to the one below especially when these were going for 10 times what I missed out on.
Mind you this is Sotheby's and getting a "sleeper" doesn't happen as often as it does for the smaller auction houses.

Budapest had some spectacular interiors and I enjoyed breakfast at the New York Cafe.

So grand!

People also tend to forget the Romans loved Budapest and this is one of the intact mosaic floors that survived 2000 years.

Budapest was also one of the biggest Jewish cities before World War 1.

It has the second largest synagogue in the world after Temple Emanu-el in Manhattan.

The inside of the synagogue had so many different types of architecture and a very unique building indeed. 

Buildings in Budapest are rather under publicized and the scale is very much in fitting with the former Austro-Hungarian empire.

I now have my favorite baths in Budapest - it isn't this one but the ones pictures in my previous post on my trip.
This one was nice and I wish I had my camera to take a picture of their amazing tiling and spaces.

This is one I took from the internet.

Via

There were many synagogues in the city and this one was bombed during the war but it still was so beautiful and my favorite.

It's still undergoing restoration.

The food in Budapest is wholesome and nourishing with its huge portions.
This was one of the lightest meals I had during my stay.
The spaghetti had one inch of sour cream and grated cheese.
They also have such great wines that were such phenomenal value.
This meal with a pinot noir of outstanding quality cost me £5 which included a generous tip.

The highlight of my trip was meeting the Hattats of the blog of the very same name.
Jane and Lance invited me to their home in Budapest which as you can see from the picture had the most enviable perfect proportions. 

While their blog is charming, it doesn't do them justice in the slightest. Don't worry I did my usual nagging for them to post a blog again!

I flew back over London looking so photogenic and bright.

The V&A just opened an exhibition of the jewel collection of the Al Thani royal family.

These jewels are so fabulous and I don't think any picture could do justice to any of the pieces.

They also had two pieces from Her Majesty's Royal collection that we weren't allowed to take pictures of.

If you are in town, I insist you go and see these pieces.

This is the Christmas tree done by Damien Hirst just in front of Connaught Hotel.

From the general view it just looks like another tree with ornaments until you look up close and the ornaments are actually pills, and tablets and syringes.

Apparently there have been complaints about the nature of the ornaments but it's Damien Hirst with his quirky sense of humour.

I wish everyone all the strength and energy needed for this month! x