{the royal wedding: with this kiss}

. . . must confess, still a little caught up in the romance of it all, the stolen glances and secret smiles, the horse-drawn carriages and chantilly lace, the balcony kisses and moments so breathtakingly lovely, can barely stand it . . .




prince william & catherine, the duke & duchess of cambridge




detail of the exquisite wedding gown, put together by hand by sarah burton of alexander mcqueen, it is a perfect intermingling of tradition and modernity, with a bodice of ivory satin made of hand-cut english lace and french chantilly lace, over ivory and white satin gazar {a sheer, lightweight silk organza with a glaze-like sheen and moderate stiffness}; individual flowers were hand cut from lace and hand-engineered onto the ivory silk tulle to create the design, which features rose, thistle, daffodil, and shamrocks, the national flowers of england, ireland, scotland, and wales; 58 gazar & organza covered buttons ran up the back




the eight-tiered royal wedding cake was decorated with 900 delicate sugar-paste flowers, including 17 different blooms and foliage for their meaning and symbolism, known as the language of flowers


the veil was made of layers of ivory silk tulle and trimmed with hand-embroidered flowers, sewn on by the royal school of needlework at hampton court palace



the bridal bouquet included myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, hyacinth and sweet william blooms; in keeping with royal tradition, stems from a myrtle planted by queen victoria in 1845 were also added; according to tradition, the bouquet of a royal bride will be left on the tomb of the unknown solider in westminster abbey; the late queen mother began the ritual by leaving her wedding bouquet at the grave in 1923 in memory of her brother, fergus, who was killed in the first world war






. . . and of course, with all of this week's talk of tiaras . . . kate's 'something borrowed' was the cartier halo tiara, made in 1936 and purchased by king george VI for his wife queen elizabeth {the queen mother} three weeks before he succeeded his brother as king; the tiara was presented to princess elizabeth, now the queen, by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday; the new princess catherine matched the tiara with earrings by robinson pelham, a gift from her parents inspired by the new middleton coat of arms

{p.s.} for the royal wedding reception, catherine changed into a second alexander mcqueen gown, and her sister pippa changed out of the stunning mcqueen into temperley london


{credits: one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten | eleven}

{holiday travel inspiration: australia}

. . . with the exception of one christmas in florida, have always spent the holidays somewhere where there is the possibility of swirling and softly falling snow -- whether paris or anywhere else in the world, the holidays were always a winter wonderland in late december, and while shall always love a blanket of snow on christmas day, have sometimes wondered what it would be like to celebrate in a place where the sun shone brightly and warmly and it was summertime, and realise that it would be quite the same, if you are with those you love, with the exception, of course, that you could trim the tree with freshly picked gardenias and host a holiday dinner party outdoors . . .

{images: homelife}

{colour inspiration: late-summer pink}

. . . the last day of august and how it has arrived so quickly is a mystery, and while the early morning air has become a little cooler, the sun still shines warmly and whether it's ribbons or tulle, stripes on a chair or a soft cashmere sweater, whether in shades of monticello or azalea, somehow, the last days of summer always feels like pink . . .

{p.s.} today is also p's birthday and we're off to lose ourselves in beautiful things . . . à bientôt & hope your week is off to a perfect start xo

{images: photography by jose villa via follow studio; absolutely beautiful things; t.i.g. scan, martha stewart weddings; peonies: photography by sarah tucker via ada & darcy; t.i.g. scan, photography by tom leighton, styling by ali brown and kate french for homes & gardens july 2010; t.i.g. scan, j.crew august 2009}

{travel: new york city}

"One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years."

~thomas wolfe

. . . a few summer weekends ago, spent a few hot and hazy days in new york city, days filled with early morning swims, bellinis and brunches and sundrenched terraces, afternoon markets and dusky shops with herringbone floors, glasses of perfectly chilled champagne and red velvet cupcakes, sunset in the park and long, lingering moments soaking in the intoxicating energy all around, leaving with memories of dinner on the very last night among topiaries and carrera -- oysters to start, followed by seared sea scallops, rocchetta, medjool dates, lardoons with champagne vinaigrette . . . and it was farewell until next time . . .

{images: all photography by p & this is glamorous © august 2010; p.s. if you follow on twitter, you may have already heard about some of our adventures xo}

{have an enchanting summer weekend + links}

. . . the weekend is off to a perfect start, with friday night's late dinner reservations on a candle-lit terrace -- oysters to start, and wild pacific halibut with sugar snap pea, fava bean, succhini, potato & housemade country ham hash with citrus braised endive & chanterelle mushroom relish & lobster broth -- and for dessert, a bittersweet chocolate tart with peanut butter mousse and summer peaches . . . and still so many wonderfully exciting things to look forward to -- perhaps a last-minute flight to nyc for a rooftop cocktail party, late-august travel plans and don't summer weekends always feel so full of endless possibilities?

hope you're having an impossibly beautiful weekend,
xo

{p.s.} photographs of our countryside picnic next week . . .

{a few lovely links:}
* summer inspiration: screened porches
* recipe: tarte aux figues
* fashion inspiration: giovanna
* how to: stripping furniture
* silver screen: sweet sunday mornings
* recipe: nectarine & fennel salad
* travel: barcelona
* download: summer floral gift tags
* photography: in the kitchen

{as always, a few things you may have missed:}
* hello & glamorous gold velvet
* fashion inspiration: always chloé
* inspiration: greek islands
* monday, monday & a new week
* beautiful details: paint-dipped baskets
* room inspiration: vintage wallpaper

{& new for the weekend:}
* hello & late summer sunshine
* interior designer: miles redd

{nika lauraitis by max abadian for flare may 2010 via oh & the side project}

{afternoon in the park + the winner . . .}

. . . wednesday already and how this week {and the summer!} are slipping by . . . and finally, amazingly excited to announce the winner of last week's glamorous give-away: after two unfortunate draws of entries with missing contact information, third time's a charm, as they say, and warmest congratulations to amy, winner of the beautifully designed and stylishly iconic eames chair!

*** congratulations, amy! ***

thanks to everyone who entered and hope you're having a perfectly wonderful week so far,
xo

{images: a glamorous little side project}