Jewel tones

Today, on a very specific one-stop errand to the King's Road, London, I was distracted by the jewel tones of the autumn ranges and spent a little time browsing - the selection of bright colours was heart warming to a pale skinned shopper like me who tries to stick rigidly to 'cool, dark, bright' colours (the assessment given to me by a 'colour consultant' on a fun hen do I once went on.)

No spending for now, but on my King's Road wish list, from top, 1. NW3 skirt £110, 2. NW3 shoes £149, 3. Designer's Guild Cushion £55, 4. Habitat throw £50, 5. Anthropologie Emerald knob £10, 6. Zara Home tumbler £2.99, 7. Office suede court shoes £60, 8. Anthropologie bracket £20, 9. Reiss top £110.

Organising (part #2)

Tidying again for mum's second visit in two weeks. Some recent Papermash press above - labelled with masking tape and permanent marker. Papermash recently turned one! I'm currently trying to make a pretty birthday picture using supermarket cakes. Any styling tips to make them look homemade would be appreciated...

Betty Books

Tonight, I look forward to sleeping in my own bed after a weekend's camping. This weekend I discovered that wellies are rather comfortable (I bought my first adult pair on Friday), vowed to never eat another sausage sandwich, and visited a stall promoting Betty Books.

Betty & Betts produce notebooks in cooperation with fair trade projects in India and Nepal, using organic fabric and sustainable materials. I can always find a use for another notebook (for dream analysis, blog research, a food diary, to do lists*) so I like the option of supporting projects like this one.

*All actual categories I have allocated separate notebooks to - with varying levels of continuity. I have a lot of notebooks with one page filled in.

Tea of the week: Storm in a Tea Cup

Storm in a Tea Cup, a limited edition automata (£550) by designer John Lumbus.

Happy Bank Holiday Weekend

Feeling pretty reluctant about going camping this weekend (unlikely to turn out like the above, following three days of ongoing rain and it's still raining). Have a great bank holiday weekend, I'm envious of anyone with indoor plans...

Recent links:

• Inspiring stall decorations
• Like the promotional videos for Tfl's Bicycle Hire scheme
• Love Joy's video for her new book
  
• A fun London excursion
  

Events next week:

• Cake in the City (a fundraiser for Pakistan, next Friday in Spitalfields Market)

Photo credit unknown, please let me know if you know the source.

Embossed paper

Of this I'm sure - I can find a use for an embossed alphabet and these tiny paper doves (both £5) from Shelf.

Wednesday Workspace

'My desk' by Chloe part Two on Flickr.

Ribbon wallpaper

Something slightly different for Claire Coles; embroidered ribbon wallpaper (I love her signature floral style too.)

Weekend organising

This weekend my mum came to visit and declared almost everything I own to be fit for a) the bin (her main assessment), b) recycling (Saturday's newspaper was thrown out before I'd even read it) or c) the charity shop.

What's left needs to have a particular home, so I'm on the lookout for some new storage so that I can keep things more organised. I don't particularly like rigid boxes, which is why I'm drawn to the softer baskets above.

1. The White Company (£60), 2. Plumo (£129 for 2), 3. Luma Direct (£27.50), 4. Toast (from £49, via Patchwork Harmony.) Fair trade organisations such as Traidcraft and One Village sell lots of baskets too, at low prices.

Tea of the week: from Flickr

Join the Tea Party by Lissy Elle on Flickr.

As expected...

...the wedding of Artemis & Nao was amazing, full of gorgeous details (a reception in an apple orchard, a £2.99 dress, the twinkling wedding tent) and all planned on a tiny budget. I know that many others apart from me have been eagerly anticipating these photos! If you don't already read this blog (you should) you'll be blown away when you see the photos, here.

In other news, I'm thrilled to be guest posting today at Design is Mine while Summer is on holiday. Summer's blog has always been in my top 5 - I think her taste is closest to my own so I love everything she posts.

Too much gushing...? I'll stop now.

Goldfinches

I couldn't resist this photo of Shan Valla's goldfinches.

Styling tips: hanging dresses

Hanging dresses often make an appearance in bedroom editorials. The frillier, the better - an abundance of tulle, lace and sequins adds femininity to even the plainest rooms. Key to executing this look perfectly is to avoid plastic hangers...

Simon Bevan

1st Option, Lobster and Swan

Twig Hutchinson, Patric Johansson

Pia Ulin

Tea of the week: Warm

Warm by Louisa Hennessy on Flickr (blog, here.)

Times Drawing Competition

The Times is running a competition to draw a recipe. Just draw your favourite recipe, in any form of diagram, and post it or email it to food@thetimes.co.uk - the winner wins a cookery course for two at London's Cookery School (a friend has taken courses here and really enjoyed them) and will have their recipe on The Times website. Full terms and conditions are here (you'll have to go behind the paywall for the full details, but I think it's a fun competition.) The competition closes on August 19th.

Illustration by Weef.

Photographer: Nato Welton

I like the writing in and the styling of these photos by London-based photographer Nato Walton.

British bunting

Just a few British designers selling bunting stationery. From top, bespoke letterpress wedding invitation from Blush Publishing, letterpress card from Sort on Etsy (approx. £2.63), wedding invitation from Anya Jane.

Carrier Company

I have a few weeks off inbetween jobs, and on my (long) to-do list is to tackle my garden. Despite the fact I don't have a cutting garden, I love these classic jute garden accessories from Norfolk-based Carrier Company (spotted on Ill Seen, Ill Said.) If anyone has any suggestions of cutting flowers I could grow in my small garden, or in containers (with very limited skills), I'd love to hear them.

Tea of the week: tea prints

Tea prints (£30 each) from Longshot Press (thanks cousin Christine!)

Tea of the week: Quirky Dovetail's Secret Garden

An antiques shop in Balham has opened its garden (where it usually displays garden furniture) for tea and cake during summer weekends. Quirky Dovetail sells a range of painted furniture and some smaller collectables, which I think aren't too expensive - I've just bought a basket and a chair from there (I'll take some photos soon.) It's my new first choice for a weekend catch-up with friends.