A Night at the Ballet

Some things never stop being magical. Visiting Covent Garden yesterday evening to see Giselle, I melted in wide-eyed wonder.

A friend had cancelled on the day: my babysitter was booked and I was hot to trot. Rather than slope to the cinema or grab some sushi, I decided to see if there were any tickets left for something a little less ordinary.

I wasn't disappointed.

Inspiration Monday: 27.01.2014

"It's crazy" she'd said, "but I'd be perfectly happy if I could sit looking at the same half dozen paintings for the rest of my life. I can't think of a better way to go insane." 

Velasquez, Las Meninas, El Prado Madrid

The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt

(not so high) High Tea

This weekend I saw Wolf of Wall Street on Saturday, then had my neighbours over for tea on Sunday.

It really was a perfect yin and yang: the fast-paced excesses of a Scorcese epic and the gentle pleasures of Earl Grey and local gossip.

Inspiration Monday: 13.01.2014

Let it be. Just let it be.

If you can't let it be; let it go.
If you can't let it go; let it be.

Mark, my yoga teacher.

New Kid on the Block: West Elm

The best thing about meeting my accountant is that he is based near the lovely homeware shops on Tottenham Court Road. A little wander round after our meeting can often take the edge of things. And this year, it was an opportunity to visit West Elm, the New York store that has just come over to London.

Inspiration Monday: 6.01.2014

Good resolutions are simply cheques that men draw on a bank where they have no account.

Oscar Wilde

Aaaah Detox!

It's a relief, isn't it, when New Year arrives - the relatives gone, the presents given, the food eaten, the drink drunk - and the quietness, the drabness, the raininess of January spreads itself out. Thougts of detox bring one fellow blogger to mind. Several friends, when I told them I had started a blog, shuddered and said "oh, please, not like Gwynnie's?" Well, only inasmuch as I am the shorter, plumper, rock-star husband-less twin of Gwynn ;-)