Hydrangeas at Home

Wednesday 27 May 2015


In my endless quest for better living, one of the things I'm constantly, almost stubbornly aiming to improve are my green fingers. Despite my love of flowers and all things green, this skill unfortunately does not come naturally. Over the years I've killed bonsai trees (remember when those were trendy?), numerous orchids, potted herbs (most recently mint and basil) and even cacti, and the now fashionable succulents, which are notoriously easy to care for. I've put it down to the fact that unlike pets they don't wind around my legs and make noises when they're hungry. But I'm persevering, as I think no home is really complete without some plant life. 

So this weekend, I replaced the dead basil and mint with sweet-smelling, lusciously green pots and bought two beautiful pink hydrangea plants from the market (not usually a colour I'd go for, but they were almost grinning at me in the sun), to pot in the balcony boxes that have been sat sad and empty since we moved into the apartment last September. I got out my little trowel, laid magazine paper down on the wooden floors and began throwing soil into the boxes, I even repotted the aloe vera plant, the one plant (besides a coffee plant that the boy has been tending to and somehow kept alive for the past 2 years) that appears to be thriving, and which has begun to sprout uncontrollably, along with two or three little offshoots. And I'm quite pleased with my handy work, I'm even keeping an eye on them, noticing when they wilt a little as a sign that they need water. When speaking to my mum Sunday night, who is naturally green-fingered, boasting how her garden is in full bloom, she suggested I talked to them. I'm not sure I'll be going quite that far - again unlike animals, there's no noise of reciprocation, but I am trying to keep a beady eye on them. Are you good with plants? 

In other news, the brilliant Domino Magazine featured my workspace on their site over the weekend, you can read about my desk essentials here. We tried the delicious (but pricey) Pulperia on Friday night - an Argentinian restaurant that serves some of the best pork I've ever tasted, along with huge cuts of Argentinian beef, good if you're a serious carnivore. I also lunched at Clamato for the second time in a month (a habit that I don't mind making!) with Clerkenwell Boy - if you're heading to London, make sure you're following him for food tips and restaurant openings. 


Porto Encore

Wednesday 20 May 2015


I took only a few photos from my trip to Porto this time - you can see more from one of my previous visits here. It was a swift weekend stay and in between family time (my boy is from Porto) and a wedding, there's wasn't much time to do the sightseeing. So I snapped away at some of the pretty tiles, which you can spot all over the city. 

Updated Porto list: 
Flow - new beautifully designed restaurant on the pricier end of the scale, but with good cocktails, seafood and sushi. 
Patch - a cute vintage/ concept store selling vintage clothing, trinkets and Portuguese pottery, which we may have bought in bulk!  
Quintal Bioshop - bio shop & cafe, with live-in cats
Lojas Liquid - fresh juice cafe 


Ranunculus

Monday 11 May 2015


My lovely friend Carin bought these beauties for me for my birthday last weekend. While I was setting up the flat plan of all my gorgeous gifts, I noticed the way the light was falling against the white board and decided to do a little ranunculus photo study. These flowers are exquisitely beautiful - not only how the petals fan out in small layers from the centre so delicately and precisely, but also the way in which the pink colour concentrates at their edge, like they've been dipped in pink ink. I hope you enjoy the photos! 


Birthday Weekend

Monday 4 May 2015


This past weekend was a little special as it was my birthday and the third that I've celebrated in Paris. Friday was a holiday, so I started the 3 day weekend with a coffee at Fondation, followed by crepes at Le Creperie de Josselin (some of the best crepes in town) and then a trip to the cinema to watch Insurgent - I'm a sucker for dystopian films with a strong female lead. 

On Saturday (the day) we had lunch at Clamato. I have been looking forward to this dining experience since the restaurant opened a couple of years ago and literally couldn't stop smiling as champagne was followed by the tastiest oysters, mussels, squid, ceviche and more wine. 

Later I dragged the boy shopping to buy this number from Whistles and then joined friends for tacos and cocktails at Death by Burrito in the evening. Without gushing too much, I'm lucky to have such lovely friends to celebrate with me - I was overwhelmed with love, cards and gifts - which were not only thoughtful, but fortuitously also very photogenic! 

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