IN THE SECOND week of May, just after the Bank Holiday, we decided to spend some time back in London. We normally visit several times a year, but since 2020 was the year of the Great Lockdown, the last time we had been was the May previously to meet up with a friend from Spain—it was hot then and perfect for traipsing about. P had heard that there would be a heat wave this time around
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YESTERDAY WE went on a long bicycle ride in the countryside, up and down hilly roads past wild roses and babbling brooks all the way to the castle ruins. It's only our third or so time out on our new folding bikes, and I've discovered that I have an unrealistic, romanticised version of what it might be like to go riding in the countryside: I would wear pretty things and not get hot or tired and arrive at our destination looking perfect.
The Château de Versailles, the royal residence where Marie Antoinette lived, was once a modest hunting lodge built by Louis XIII in 1623. His son, Louis XIV, extended and transformed it when he installed the Court and government there in 1682, creating a magnificent palace that is now renowned throughout the world. Over the course of more than 100 years, a succession of kings—including Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI—continued to embellish the palace up until the French Revolution. Now considered one of the finest achievements of French 17th century art, the Palace of Versailles remains a cultural symbol of royal splendour that has been listed as a World Heritage Site for 30 years.
I HAVE BEEN coming across so many wonderful interiors on Instagram lately: first there was the French country house yesterday morning, and now today, this wonderfully chic Brooklyn apartment belonging to Mallory and David (and their three cats) @reserve_home.
WE SPENT THE past few days back in London, visiting old haunts and discovering new places, eating so much good food and walking and bicycling to new neighbourhoods all covered in wisteria and cherry blossoms; entering gilded and ornate wrought iron gates to parks filled with swans and happy ducks, sipping drinks on terraces and having dim sum for Saturday brunch ...
THIS WEEKEND I decided to try Gigi Hadid's recipe for Spicy Vodka Pasta that everyone has been raving about. It's an occasion when I actually cook, for I don't do it often and it normally never turns out (which is why I don't do it often). P is the one who makes all the gourmet meals now that we live in the countryside and don't have access to takeaway food delivery services ...
WHEN I FIRST began putting together this instalment of Life Lately, had actually disabled the entire TIG Instgram account (as in, removed it from the internet) and deleted the app from my phone—hence the title. Also took time off from Twitter at same time and reclaimed all of the EXTRA hours left from those two alone to catch up on reading (currently reading this book). Recently, in our triweekly articles series, we had included two very interesting articles on this very topic: The Case for Deleting Everything and America Offline, both of which had confirmed my restless feelings and urge to be extremely and wildly social media-free.
AFTER WHAT meteorologists have been calling the wettest May in 160 years, the rain finally stopped, perfectly in time for the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. We spent as much time outside as we possible could, both of us getting blinded by the sun, which we hadn't seen in months, both of getting a little sunburned, so unaccustomed was our skin, despite being coated in SPF30 ...
FELL DOWN a beautiful internet rabbit whole on my way to this place, the French country home of Cordelia de Castellane, the artistic director of Dior Maison and Baby Dior. Located an hour north of Paris, the five-acre estate dates back to the 15th century. de Castellane and her husband used to rent a small cottage on these grounds from the family friends who owned the property, long before it became their very own.
RANDOMLY CAME across a Pinterest board last week entitled "Beautiful Women". The man whose board it was had been diligently collecting busty blondes and me. It was a mildly amusing, slightly strange discovery to say the least. It's the early May bank holiday weekend here, and while we're being more lounge-y than normal for a Monday, we're back at work for at least part of the day ...
WE'VE JUST RETURNED from some time back in Edinburgh, where we revisited old haunts, found new ones and had a prosecco picnic in the park. We ate great food and had to deal with the change our old hometown has undergone in the six years that we've been away. It was bittersweet to see some of our old favourites closed down and some under new management and changed drastically ...
P'S BIKE IS in a storage unit in Spain, and has been for the past two and half years, so during the lockdown that was 202o, I sold my Buckingham Black Pashley Princess Sovereign to a woman in London. We had been hoping to buy two folding bikes in their place, but did not anticipate all the folding bicycles in England to be completely sold out for an entire year...
THIS WEEKEND we watched the 2005 film The Squid and the Whale. Directed by Noah Baumbach and produced by Wes Anderson, it follows two brothers dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s. We both really liked it and ended discussing it for a quite awhile afterwards. We watched another Noah Baumbach film awhile ago, A Marriage Story, and I am beginning to realise that I really like his wistful, slow, snippet-in-the-life storytelling style.
TODAY RESTAURANTS and pubs will be opening for indoor seating for the first time since the last lockdown. Until now, it has been only outdoor seating, and the weather has definitely not been cooperating. Our favourite sandwich shop in town, where we would order for pickup, has become a casualty of the pandemic and in its place, a new chocolate shop will open...
THE FIRST CHRISTIAN DIOR perfume ad that ever caught our attention was the 2008 Sofia Coppola-directed Miss Dior Cherie television commercial starring model Maryna Linchuk frolicking around Paris, bounding through boulevards, trying on sunglasses, and riding her bike to the strains of Brigitte Bardot’s “Moi, Je Joue”. Coppola has worked for a range of brands including Gap, Marc Jacobs and H&M, brands who were all looking to inject some of Coppola’s visually stunning, sensual style to their products. The director applied many of her signature filmmaking techniques to these commercials, including plenty of pastel colours, hip soundtracks and languid camera movements.