{monday, monday + thank you}

. . . another whirlwind weekend has fluttered by breathtakingly, and positively filled with friends and laughter and very late nights, and despite the recent {& completely unintentional} week off, a million thank you's for coming back to visit, and most of all, for the amazingly spectacular warm welcome home! there's so much to tell you and it's so lovely to see you again . . .

hope you've had a beautiful, beautiful weekend & that your week is off to a perfect start,
xo

{a few lovely links:}
* spectacular: parisian fireworks
* at home: wood & white
* art: fumio watanabe
* spent dreaming: lazy sunny afternoons
* thoughts: on summer days & winter months
* travel: bright lights, big city
* at home: caramel
* collection: castles
* from the archives: at home with alexander wang
* just in time for spring: fantastical florals
* colour inspiration: black & cream

{as always, a few things you may have missed:}
* spring collection: sessùn
* storage inspiration: on display
* moments of repose: lost in daydreams
* home again & hello

{images: matt clayton photography via patterson maker; tumblr}

{pure romance: a tiny victorian cottage}

. . . nearly impossible not to be utterly captivated by this perfectly tiny and devastatingly romantic victorian cottage in the catskills, all draped in netting and dusky white and overflowing with ruffly bed linens and silver tea services, antique mirrors and chandeliers, and limoges china patterned in tiny rosebuds -- an enchanting summery retreat for long and luxurious afternoons spent dreaming, dreaming to the soft sounds of a sunlit stream . . .

{p.s.} special thanks to lovely reader betsy for sending along the link xo








{images: trevor tondro for the new york times}

{scrapbook: a weekend in the country}

{a few photographs of our weekends away}

. . . while evenings in the city may be spent in heels and cocktail dresses, weekends away in the country are laid-back in a quilted Barbour and a pair of wellies, and after the apple orchards and pumpkin patches, the golden fields of wheat and rustling yellow leaves, a perfect afternoon for an autumn picnic for two . . .





{p.s.} and to p, thank you for making every moment feel like a dream, and for taking the most beautiful photographs

{all images by p + this is glamorous}

{english country charm + a little reminder}

. . . a built-in dog bed and a place for wellies

. . . a fun and modern equestrian-inspired room divider

{p.s.} a little reminder to those of you who have not yet entered the interior design services give-away -- please e-mail all submissions to {lavenderplum@gmail.com} by Tuesday, April 28, 2009

* click here for more information

* images: 1 - country homes & interiors; 2 - concrete & honey}

{the kindness of strangers}

Tuesday morning, while caught in the pouring rain waiting for the traffic signal to change, a stranger happened along and silently, gallantly sheltered me under his umbrella . . .

{life is filled with beautiful moments}


{wrap up of the week's preppy posts + a few extra links:}
> horse show ribbons
> winning horse stories series at nibs: {1, 2, & 3}
> country tweed wedding dress
> the crested blazer
> all's fair in love in wellies

{p.s.}
> pay someone a compliment today

{images: 1 - flickr ; 2 - In The Mood For . . .; 3 - Elegant Bride via nibs}

{all's fair in love & wellies}

Kate Moss paired hers with hot pants at Glastonbury, while Marina Hanbury wore hers with an extravagant evening gown for Vogue Living . . .

Originally designed for Scotland's unpredictable weather and rugged terrain, wellies have since become firmly established as a fashion staple and style classic.

As fashion and décor are often intertwined, wellies have been making their way into interiors, as much for their stylish, nearly aristocratic appeal, as well as the romantic, outdoorsy adventures they represent.

{as an aside:}
d i a n a : m u s e brings up a great point about the origin of the name, "wellies"

{an excerpt from wikipedia:}
The Wellington boot, also known as a wellie, a topboot, a gumboot, or a rubber boot, is a type of boot based upon Hessian boots. It was worn and popularised by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington and fashionable among the British aristocracy in the early 19th century.

{images: 1 - photography by by Mark Roper via tinyk; 2 - Rachel Riley's home featured Country Living UK via {frolic!}; 3 - via {frolic!}}

{the english countryside}

A little slow with the updates, this week, I know--(sometimes there are not enough hours in a day). When I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, I think about donning my wellies à la Kate Moss at Glastonbury, or Marina Hanbury (although I probably wouldn't wear them with a see-through evening gown) and head to the English countryside, the perfect place for repose . . . green rolling hills, moors, dales, old stone cottages, skittish rabbits, rambling rose bushes, fiesty roosters, random sheep wandering about the narrow, winding roads and rustic footpaths.

If you ever feel the need to (really) escape the city, find your way to the English countryside, and you'll return with a new perspective. The little village where we stayed has remained unchanged for years, farmers still building and maintaining stone pasture walls by hand, years of history in each perfectly placed rounded rock, on top of moss-covered remants and beneath newly built wooden step ladders. Here, time nearly stands still and the pace of life is relaxed, the pride of the town lying in their recent win in a countrywide botanical competition. Here you'll get to know the utterly charming locals and taste local cuisne, such as Lemon Baked Sole au Gratin, and here you'll lose yourself in the greenest hills and country air . . .

{Marina Hanbury collecting eggs}

{one of my favourite photographs, farmer and cow ambling down a cottage road}

{late summer lamb}

{old stone cottage with enormous pink hydrangeas}

{English roses}