AS THE Christmas season is upon us, we find ourselves revisiting the perennial debate over holiday decor: should one choose multicolored or white lights to adorn the tree and home?
THE NEW OVEN was delivered last week, and it's been sitting in the middle of the kitchen for days, as P thought he might get electrocuted if he installed it himself after watching one too many Youtube videos advising the hiring of a qualified electrician if you don't know what you're doing. I had a feeling it wasn't as complicated as he was making it out to be, but we tried to ask around anyway to see if anyone knew any electricians who could do it on short notice ...
IF YOU’RE lucky enough to have two front doors for your main entrance, make the most of it with two identical wreaths for a dramatic effect…
WE'VE BEEN in hibernation mode for the past few weeks now, many cups of coffee on chilly mornings, cashmere sweaters and puffer vests and tall leather boots making regular rotations on these wet, windy days. All is cosy indoors though, with candles and lamplight and there's something about autumn weather that's perfect for staying in and getting a lot of work done without being lured outside by sunshine and good weather. These days lend themselves to productivity and organisation and watching old films when the work is done ...
TO SAY THAT it has been a strange week is an understatement (more on that later). It has been a week spent nearly entirely indoors and we're going a bit crazy. Christmas is now only five days away and the end of the year, a mere 11. It's strange how a year where not much happened flew by so quickly. It's a pensive, melancholic time, for many reasons, (one being that I hate endings), but especially since it feels like there hasn't been a proper holiday season in a very long time ...
HAPPY DECEMBER! Can you believe that it's already the last month of the year? Feel like 2021 just flew by and don't really know what I did in all this time. Know that had meant to get through more books. I did complete a web design and launch that had been planned long ago, and definitely got a lot of decorating done at the cottage since we've been homebound for the last two years ...
THOSE WHO KNOW me know that I can't watch films that are violent or scary, or gory or too intense or sad. I just get far too upset and emotionally invested, and often replay the entire film in my dreams later that night. I'd thought that I was unusual, but as it turns out, we make up 20% of the population, those of us who are highly sensitive. According to Genevieve von Lob, a clinical psychologist, when highly sensitive people receive information, they process it much more deeply and more elaborately ...
IN THE PAST WEEK, we ate a little too much, drank a little too much, and watched a lot of holiday films. I did something that was very strange to my being, a thing very foreign to me, a thing normal people refer to as relaxing. For the first time in a very long time, I did not work for five days straight. It was wonderful, actually.
Not certain why it took me so long to finally catch up on Pride and Prejudice, the 1995 TV series starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. It was just added to Netflix this past July, so perhaps that is the reason. I've been watching an episode a day during cardio sessions on the exercise bike and had no idea it was so charming and can now see why the world has been swooning over Colin Firth ever since ...
The world belongs to those who shape it. And however uncertain that world may feel at a given moment, the reassuring reality seems to be that each new generation produces more of what these kids—five Kid of the Year finalists selected from a field of more than 5,000 Americans, ages 8 to 16—have already achieved: positive impact, in all sizes.
IT'S OFFICIALLY WINTER and after the solstice, the days are happily beginning to get longer again. Of course, that doesn't mean there won't be dark mornings and chilly nights for the next few months, and after the holidays are over...
ONE OF OUR VERY favourite things to do during the holidays is to spend an evening by the fire with a glass of cava, wrapping presents with Christmas music on and a mess of kraft paper, rolls of satin, velvet and grosgrain ribbon spread all over the living room floor.
WHILE IT MAY BE TRUE that London has certainly has been merrier, what's done is done and all we can do now is make the best of things.
25 of our favourite underrated and overlooked tracks from the Playlists of 2019, including Chromatics, Alex Cameron, Hope Tala, Broken Bells and many more. A big, big thank you to everyone who has supported the Playlist this past with purchases made at The Shop.
IN THESE LAST DAYS before Christmas, the city sidewalks are filled with last-minute shoppers, merry with the flush of cava and happy to be jostled about by the elbows and shopping bags of grandmothers with arms filled with gifts, and couples hoping to surprise one another with their thoughtfulness. Everywhere, there seems to be a feeling of good cheer.
