The perfect Petersham lunch

I couldn’t visit Petersham Nurseries without getting my camera out and here the results of a recent long, lazy lunch in the sun there. It’s truly a little slice of heaven there – if you don’t get in for lunch (its popular – and pricey), go for tea and cake in the cafe, stroll around the old-fashioned greenhouses and lust after the gorgeous home and garden products in the shop. It’s my idea of the perfect weekend afternoon.

Old-fashioned stationery shop, Berlin

I was in Berlin for a work trip last week and came across R.S.V.P, a charming stationery shop in Mitte – the sort of place that you simply can’t leave without making an unnecessary pencil / notebook / paper purchase.

There were plenty of goods here that could make beautiful name cards or favour tags; scotch tape in tutti-frutti colours, beautiful letterpress-style note cards for thank-you’s, and the perennially useful old-fashioned luggage tags in a range of sizes. And thankfully, you can shop on-line too: http://rsvp-berlin.de/onlineshop

Inspiration from Maison Martin Margiela

I went to the preview of Somerset House's exhibition celebrating 20 years of Belgian designer Maison Martin Margiela and came out completely inspired by his amazing approach to design and fashion. Simple yet inventive ideas like white-washing furniture and stacked-up cardboard boxes to create impact could be translated for weddings, events or home décor… and I loved the display of old invitations to MMM fashion shows from years gone by:

A Flowe(Red) Delivery

Today my desk was turned into a temporary florist’s, when a delivery arrived of sample posies from FLOWE(RED) (buy a bouquet and all profits go to fighting HIV in Africa). My colleague Catrin flexed her new I-Phone Hipstamatic app that makes everything look like a 70s Polaroid to get these lovely pics:

Latest vintage finds

This tablecloth, found by my friend Emma, is so pretty that it almost gets its own blog post… sharing only with some candy-striped deck chairs I found at The Dog and Wardrobe on Broadway Market.

Readers' Weddings: Laura and Dave

Castle Lachlan in Argyle, Scotland was the backdrop for Laura and Dave’s cosy, homespun wedding, where the theme was a laid-back atmosphere and “lots of colour”. 

Vintage details: Print designer Laura trawled charity shops and Ebay for the striking 60s/70s vintage tablecloths. Yvonne Mullock made an exact replica of a 1940s dress that Laura found in Glasgow (albeit 3 inches longer); and the bridesmaids sourced their own colourful vintage dresses.

Homemade things: As for the fabulous woollen confectionary, Laura explains: “There was a knitting team for the cakes... my friends Anna, Jeni, Bec, Lorraine, Leigh, Glo and myself knitted all the wee ones and my Mum, Grandma and Grandad were the team behind the wedding cake.”

The bride and groom made the place names together, using a picture of them dressed up as Candice-Marie and Keith from 70s Mike Leigh film Nuts in May.

All photography by CandySnaps 

Vintage shopping in Lewes

I took a trip to visit my friend in the picturesque town of Lewes, near Brighton over the weekend (an effective distraction from thinking about The Stag)… Sarah lives in the most gorgeous cottage down a cobbled street (life envy!), and she took us on a tour of her local antiques and vintage shops (with stops at pretty cafes along the way). Needless to say I was in vintage heaven – there seems to be shop after shop crammed with bric a brac, old fabrics, crockery, vintage clothes and antiques.

First stop was The Patchwork Dog & Basket to look for fabrics and ribbons:

Over the road, the permanent indoor “Flea Market” had an overwhelming array of goods – I liked these bottles that could make pretty individual flower vases:

And then on to Lewes Antiques Centre on Cliffe High Street, where we scoured floor after floor of antiques, including 50s kitchenalia, and lots of lovely lace and lingerie. I also liked these wicker lamp shades that could be used as decorations in a marquee.

Lunch at Bill’s in the sun felt like we were on holiday. I loved the pink lemonade bottles which I nabbed for future use as vases for table decorations!