Barbour

Barbour has been quietly providing us with beautiful clothing since 1894.

Their coats and jackets are worn in London and in the countryside, by royalty and by those attending the Glastonbury festival.

When I lived in London it seemed to me that just about everyone we knew owned a waxed jacket from Barbour and judging by the picture of Kate Middleton wearing one I strongly suspect that they are just as popular today.

(Helen Mirren in The Queen)

I have a green Border Jacket which is over 20 years old and will probably last me at least another 20, but I would love to get another one in either black or navy.

Clothing is available in the US from the Barbour website ....

Downton Abbey

This show is brilliant!

Highclere Castle where this series is filmed is less than 20 miles from my parents house! I know whats on my to do list next time I visit.

Handbags

I have been sorting through and reorganizing my closet this week.

Here are a few pictures of my newly organized handbags.

I got rid of a lot of boxes as well as a few old bags which meant that I had room for my LV Carryall, jewelry box and makeup bag.

Ahh, nothing says January better than a bit of closet cleaning :-)

Cooks Illustrated

I have a lot of cookbooks.

Plus I love to get recipes from the internet.

I mean I really have a lot of cookbooks ... at both houses.

I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more.

Well ... unless Delia Smith or Ina Garten published a new one in which case I would need two copies one for each house.

I have been doing really well about not buying a new one. But just before Christmas we got a delivery from Amazon that contained this...

My husband had ordered it and it has fast become one of my absolute favorites.

The Perfect Coffee Mug

This is the mug that we use for coffee at our lakehouse. It is the Tradition Mug by Alpico (available at Williams Sonoma) and is the perfect casual mug.

Valentines' Day Accessories

These are some red handbags and shoes that I just love...

Holly Clutch - Tiffany

Amanda Clutch - Tory Burch

Edie Purse - J Crew

A Trio of red shoes by Ferragamo - These never go out of style, I have several pairs and I LOVE them!

Anything red is perfect for Valentines' Day but you can also be like Pippa Middleton and wear red accessories year round...

Bottega Veneta Knot Clutch

I love bags (and shoes and clothes and jewelry ... but I really LOVE bags).

I have been wanting to get a nice clutch for a while but nothing was catching my attention.

Until finally there was a bag that started catching my attention over and over again...

I loved the satin version but I purchased the Nero Intreccio in black napa leather because I felt that I could use it for both day and evening events.