Hello friends! I haven't written for a while and took a blogging hiatus of sorts. Aarya started school, we went on holidays, life got in the way... but here i am back now... It's nice almost starting fresh again. I thought you might like to know what i've been up to whilst I've been away... here's a review of what i've been watching, reading, eating and coveting...
Shopping At: Roman and Williams Guild, NY
I visited New York last October - it was my first time in the city for Halloween and the homes and streets were resplendent with spooky decor... but my highlight was the loveliest retail experience - the newly opened RW Guild in Soho which had been on my list for a year. Roman and Williams are the interior designers behind hotels like the Ace Hotels in NY and New Orleans, the Standard Hotel and responsible for the entire glam industrial movement we have seen the influence of in interiors for the last decade. RW Guild in SoHo, NY represents a new crossover in retail, housing an interiors store, a florist, a bar and a restaurant and library all with the designers' signature soulful, well crafted aesthetic.
The firm are the go to designers for Hollywood tastemakers creating spaces oozing with charm and character for the likes of Blake Lively and Gwenyth Paltrow ... which is why the anticipation for its first brick-and-mortar store - the only physical place you can buy Roman and Williams’s furniture—has had the creative world buzzing. Oh and they also designed the sets for the best film ever made Practical Magic. Enough said - visit if you can!
Listening To: Witchwave Pod
Everyone knows how in anything to do with witches are these days (please reference Netflix's The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the plethora of cool Insta Witches cropping up on our feeds and the new Charmed Re-Boot to mention a few). My newest podcast obsession is Witchwave, 'the podcast for bewitching conversation about magic, creativity, & culture' hosted by Pam Grossman writer and teacher of magical practice and history. On each episode, host Pam Grossman speaks with a leading visionary about art and 'Craft'.
Dreaming About: Soho House Mumbai
The newest Soho House opened up in my favourite city of Bombay (Mumbai)... Located in the affluent neighbourhood of Juhu it features 38 guest bedrooms, a cinema, two restaurants, and rooftop pool. The members-only club contains fixtures and soft furnishings that were either sourced locally or boast traditional Indian patterns - a perfect symphony of textures, block print patterns, elegant furniture, views of the beach and palms of course - instant Indian Summers vibes.
Hosting: A Drawing Night
Hmmm what else... Inspired by a book I've had for a while 'Ladies Drawing Night' in January I hosted a cosy night in with copious amounts of snacks, wine and best of all productive creativity with a group of friends, some who knew each other and some who didn't. I provided the art materials - cartridge papers of different sizes and watercolours, everyone contributed snacks, we all brought a subject / inspiration to draw with - some copied imagery from their phones and some from books and we listened to music and melted into our work. It was one of the best most rewarding night in I've had in a long time, try it?
Visited: Hotel Grandes Boulevards in Paris
During Easter half term Aarya and I sped over to Paris on the Eurostar for a few days of relaxation and culture and set up base at a chic newish opening Grandes Hotel Boulevard. Part of the Experimental Group of hotels there are a few similar dotted around the city. This one's 'Modern Marie Antoinette' interiors were executed by French designer Dorothee Meilechzon. Our favourite spot was the covered courtyard area where we had light-filled breakfasts before our days out exploring and cocktails (mock-tails for Aarya made by the excellent mixologists) and early dinner in the bar before heading up to our princess and the pea style bed.
READING: THE PENGUIN BOOK OF OUTER SPACE EXPLORATION: NASA AND THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF SPACEFLIGHT
Besides it being the 60th anniversary of the space landing this year, i've always been a little bit of a space and facts geek... and when life is busy I love dipping in and out of a good non-fiction book. Recently I've been carrying around The Penguin Book of Outer Space Exploration which is the fascinating story of how NASA sent humans to explore outer space, told through a treasure trove of historical documents with wonderful and thought provoking insights into exploration like 'Did you know that prior to Yuri Gagarin's flight, there were fears that a human simply could not survive being launched into space?' and ' Did you know that the first guys to walk on the Moon filled out customs forms? After all they had been out of the country for a few days.'
VISIT: JENNY HOLZER AT TATE MODERN
In January I went to see American artist and wordsmith Jenny Holzer's installation at the Tate Modern. Her work is dark, humorous, raw and emotive all at once taking many forms of thought provoking phrases emblazoned on stone benches, projections, signs, posters, paintings, plaques and textiles. See Jenny Holzer in the Artists Rooms at The Tate Modern on till 7th July - free entry!
EATING: BUN HOUSE TEAROOM SOHO
Like a mirage from 1960's Hong Kong on the corner of Greek and Compton Street The Bun House Tearoom in Soho is a transportive cafe with green wicker seating that opens onto the street and vintage counters behind which steam rises gently from baskets abundant with the fluffiest buns in town. At and affordable £2.50 each, Bun House offers five savoury options – pork, chicken, fish, lamb and veggie and two sweet options the custard bun being the most delicious and messiest!
WATCHING: BA TEST KITCHEN YOU TUBE
There are lots of You Tube Food channels but one that I’ve been a fascinated by recently is the BA Test Kitchen… Conde Nast food magazine Bon Appetit in the US has a test kitchen where all its editors test the recipes that go into the magazine. What I love is that all the editors are characters and influencers in their own right and started off as journalists and chefs… everyone is serious and knowledgable about cooking but now they have a very millennial fun approach to it. My go-to segment from the channel are when the editors create gourmet versions of American junk food like Oreos, Skittles and Twinkies. I suggest you start with Gourmet lucky charms...