Claridges

In just a few short weeks my husband and I will be staying at Claridge's Hotel in London.

We have not stayed there before but it is in the heart of the West End, so will be in easy walking distance of Bond Street, Covent Garden, Hyde Park and all of our usual haunts.

I'll post pictures of our actual room when we get back, but here are some images from the web to give you an idea of the decor - it's very British!

We have booked a table at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant for our first night. We'll be a little jet lagged so eating at the hotel is very convenient.

Oh No!

We spent the weekend at the lake. It was a great weekend, we had an old college friend stay with us...

but...

I was not happy about the number of birds of prey circling overhead hoping to have Milly for lunch.

Marks and Spencers - M&S

I am going to be in London in a couple of weeks, and so have been looking at the websites of some of my favorite stores to plan my shopping. I always stop by M&S for nightwear and lingerie. I am planning on buying this nightwear ensemble....

Short Sleeve Spot PJ's

As for the lingerie... I think I'll keep that a secret but you can check out their selection here!

St John Caviar Collection

Are you familiar with the Caviar Collection by St John?

The collection is all black, and all the pieces are timeless, classic styles.

Blazor and pants...

Sheath...

Scarf Collar Jacket

Skirt Suit....

All pieces are available at Neiman Marcus.

The Caviar Collection from St John is investment dressing at its best.

Kayaks

We just ordered four Manatee kayaks from LLBean for the lake house. I can't wait to use them, it's going to be so much fun.

We all selected a different color - mine is Robin's Egg Blue.

Gucci - New Jackie Bag

I am in love with the New Jackie Bag by Gucci.

Don't you just love the tassels!

I wonder if Milly will fit in it, although she'll probably enjoy chewing the tassels!

Meet Milly

I think the picture says it all!

My secret to a clean house

As you know I have two large homes. I'm sure that you assume that I have a full time housekeeper, and spend my days getting manicures.

That could not be further from the truth! I do everything myself, although I do have help in the garden, I'm not totally daft!

I don't particularly enjoy housework, but it does make me happy to live in a clean and tidy environment so over the years I have tried different ways to motivate myself.

The tried and tested method that works for me is....

I use a timer!

I spend 10 minutes a day per room. The timer works for me because it keeps me motivated, otherwise I'll get side tracked and before I know it 2 hours have disappeared. Using this tactic 5 days a week is enough to keep both homes clean and tidy.

I also spend 10 minutes a day on paperwork which keeps the beast under control. It is shocking how much paperwork a family of four generates. Invites, permission slips, bills, magazines and receipts mount up quickly, so 10 minutes a day is essential.

Butter Dish

Our friends are starting to book their visits to Alabama for the summer and I have been busy buying the final few things to make mealtimes easier.

I liked this duck pewter butter dish from Horchow.

But instead I purchased individual butter dishes from Target.

Are they cute enough to make doing the washing up worthwhile?

Ceiling Fan

This is my favorite outdoor ceiling fan.

Isn't it just darling?

It is available from Horchow.

I have them in both homes and it works really well in both a formal and casual setting.

It does come with a remote but I had my electrician just wire it up to a switch, who can be bothered to keep track of a remote!

Crowned a Socialite

Wow! I've been crowned a socialite. This morning I was so honored to be tagged by the lovely Bethany of Maryland Pink and Green. My very first award! 

The Official Preppy Mafia are taking over the world one monogram at a time. 
The rules- 
Click on the above button and paste onto your blog/website 
Answer the below questions 
Pass onto 10 bloggers that you Love, go to their blog and let them know they've been tagged 
1. Who is your style icon? Jackie Kennedy

2. What is your favorite socialite lit book? Pride and Prejudice

3. Favorite party theme? Lots of candlelight, silver, crystal and china.

4. Go to Halloween costume? I don't dress up for halloween, unless I'm attending a party - I don't think its as popular in England. 

5. Extravagance you cannot live without? New clothes 

6. Living person you admire? Jimmy Carter. My husband is on the board at the Carter Center and we really admire President Carter's humanitarian efforts. 

7. Greatest Fear? Something happening to my children 

8. Trait you deplore in yourself? Being a perfectionist, although I am a little easier now that I have children, I have learned to appreciate the charm of something made with love.

9. Which talent would you most like to have? Being fluent in several languages

10. Greatest Achievement? The thing that I am proudest of is having a happy family and a good marriage. 

I tag:

Belgium Pearls

A Place to Dwell

The Existential Expatriate

Monograms and Manicures

Glitterista

Shopaholic in Alabama

Buford Betty

A Place to Dwell

The Decorated House

Fabulously French

Preppy Puppy

We got our puppy this week. She is a cavapoo - King Charles Cavalier/Poodle. She weighs less than 4 pounds and the whole family is in love.

Lewis and Sheron

For those of you living near Atlanta, the Lewis and Sheron store on Huff Road is an amazing resource for fabric and trims. The store is sixty thousand square feet so if you can imagine it, they probably have it.

For those of you who don't live near Atlanta, here is their website.

I wish that I had taken some photos so that I can show you, but they have two floors of fabrics, plus a huge array of furniture ready to be upholstered, plus a room full of trim, plus a rug gallery. It is scary how many ideas you'll get just walking around.

I purchased this fabric for our suite at the lake...

I bought the duvet and shams from Williams Sonoma Home, and have been searching for the fabric for 6 months so that I can add curtains and a sofa to the room. I'm a happy girl right now!!!

Sleepypod Mobile Pet Carrier

As you know we just purchased a puppy so be prepared for a deluge of pet related posts - feel free to ignore them!

Much as I love my puppy, I don't want her climbing all over me as I drive. Plus for her own safety I wanted to be able to strap her carrier in, so I purchased a sleepypod. These photos are from the website, but you get the idea!

When we're done traveling I can take the top off and use it as a pet bed, but as much time as I spend driving, I think I'll just keep it in the car!

Dog Sledding in Utah

One of the fun activities that we did during our Utah trip was dog-sledding....

What a beautiful place. Can you imagine living there and seeing views like this every day. The guy who owns the dog team used to be an executive who would regularly fly over Park City. He decided he would rather see it from the ground and made a dramatic career change. He seemed very happy!

Sophie's favorite part was having the puppy at the back sit in her lap during the uphill bits! He was four months old and just adorable.

The perfect Club Chair

I have a pair of Manhattan Leather chairs from Pottery Barn. I've had them for about 10 years and they only get better with age!

Lunch at Lilly Promotion

Lilly Pulitzer will be running a special on Saturday called Lunch at Lilly.

If you spend $1000 you will receive the following:

Limited Edition Tote Bag
Pair of SALE Sunglasses of Choice
Fragrance Gift Set of Choice – either the Mother’s Day gift set or the Holiday gift set.
$100 gift card
Murfee Scarf of Choice – From RESORT 2009 ONLY.
2 chances to win LUNCH AT LILLY!!!!

Now is the time to get the items that you've been stalking!

Stein Ericksen Lodge

We just got back from skiing in Deer Valley. I have to say the Stein Ericksen Lodge was fantastic. They really know how to take care of you and it was such a beautiful place to visit.

One of the blogs that I read is Headbands and Handbags and she actually is lucky enough to live in Park City. I took some of her advice and tried the carrot cake at the Stein. She's right, it is fantastic as is just about everything else we had. My children loved the burgers, and my husband and I loved the chili.

Deer Valley has been rated the number one ski resort for the past 3 years, and it deserves that title.

We also tried dog sledding, snowmobiling and snowshoeing which was my favorite activity.

I got lots of lovely compliments on my Lilly outfits! I may have converted a few people!

Tiffany Rainbow Drops

I love these earrings from Tiffany. They are called Rainbow Drops.

I love the color, they would go so well with all of my Lilly.

Sadly I have a pair of Rainbow Drops already in a beautiful pale blue topaz, so these aren't for me, but still wanted to share with my blog friends in case you might be interested....

Tory Burch

Don't you just love these tunics at Tory Burch?

Tory Tunic

Jana Caftan

Some fabulous finds from Tory Burch.

Meet our new baby

We haven't brought her home yet, but here are some pictures of our new little girl. She is a Cavapoo, her mother is a King Charles Cavalier, and her father is a poodle.

Utah

We're going to be in beautiful Park City, Utah until Wednesday skiing, snow-mobiling, dog-sledding, snow-shoeing and maybe even building a snowman or two!

This is why I wasn't too disappointed about New York, I only had to wait a week until the next trip!

When life gives you lemons...

Last night my son came home from school and announced that he needed two pies for pi day tomorrow. I dropped my daughter off at dance, went to the grocery store, came home and started making two lemon meringue pies. As I was standing there stirring, it occurred to me that pi is 3.14 and as it was only 3/04 it seemed a little early to celebrate.

You know what happened next don't you, that's right I checked his paper and found out that pi day is next Friday.

We now have four jars of lemon curd sitting in the fridge!!!!

Lemon Curd Recipe

LL Bean Boat and Tote

Why not start the summer with a new, monogrammed Boat and Tote

Ballard Designs

On a typical afternoon my mailbox is stuffed with catalogs. Most of them go straight into the bin, but one of my favorites is Ballard Designs.

Here are some things that I love for my country house...

The Acanthus Message Board

Lamp

Rope Doorstop

Beadboard drying rack

Ballard Designs - request a catalog here.

      

A little bit about myself

Hello friends of the blog world!

I love reading your blogs, and thank you so much for reading mine.

I thought it would be nice to get to know each other a little. So... here is a little bit about me and I look forward to reading a little bit about you on your own blogs, or if you don't have a blog then please leave a comment, I would love to get to know you.

1. I was born in Kent, England. I moved to Colchester at 18 to attend university, and then moved to London when I graduated. I lived there until I was 26 when I moved to the US.

2. I met my husband at university. He came to England for one year to complete a Masters degree and stayed for 6 years!

3. I have always loved style. I love to dress well, and love to decorate.

4. I was a goal orientated career girl until I had children, and now I am a very happy housewife.

5. I love to craft, especially scrap booking.

6. I try to work as hard at being a housewife as my husband does at his job.

7. Although I have become very Americanized I still shop like a European.

8. We spend 4 nights a week at our home in Georgia and then weekend at our lake house in Alabama.

9. I have been married for over 20 years and still love my husband.

10. We're about to add to our family, we're getting a puppy. My children are so excited.

Fab Find - Pimpernel Placemats

Pimpernal was established in England over seventy years ago but are available in America. Their placemats have a cork backing to protect your table and are easy to wipe clean with a damp cloth.

I have several sets of Pimpernel mats including some fabulous William Morris ones.

Choose carefully, because these placemats last a very long time!

Pimpernal - it's my fab find of the day!

Sony Clock Radio

We discovered this clock radio because it was in a hotel that we stayed at. I don't like to have a lot of electronics in the bedrooms, so liked it because it is a clock, a radio, a cd player as well as an ipod/iphone dock.