Things to love, read, wear & inspire - April Edit
Announcing my new Substack mini-series all about our renovation; the butter yellow ballet flats to wear this spring, a must-visit exhibition, the books I'm currently reading and series I've watched!
Hello friends! Happy 1st of May! I hope you had a great month. April for me has been a whirlwind of emotions, travel (Burgundy, Geneva, London and the Dordogne), work and just generally trying to keep all the plates up in the air that I currently have spinning. (If you’re having a tough time too, know that you are not alone!) One of those plates is our Rouen renovation, which has been balancing precariously these past few months and threatening to shatter to the floor, thanks to problems not limited to: a builder that isn't doing his job, a broken marble fireplace (twice), not knowing quite how to install said fireplace, and other hiccups that have made life feel like it's offering up a few too many lemons at the moment. (Have there been various Mercury Retrogrades recently? I’m not usually a devout follower of astrology, but now I’m starting to wonder).
While I try to cajole the builder into completing the project, I've been working on a new mini-series that will take you behind the scenes of the full process (from start to finish ), which I'm calling, the Rouen Renovation Diary! In other words I’m making lemonade out of lemons.
There is so much that I’d love to share with you, but haven’t had a chance to yet. So I’ll be revealing, amongst other things: how much we paid for the apartment, how much our bank loan is (and how we got it) and how much of a deposit we put down, as well as all the fixtures and the sofa we've chosen and why. And I will be launching the series tomorrow (on my birthday!).
As the series will also include confidential financial information, it will only be available to paid subscribers, but I'm hoping you will join the journey! My aim is that it will give you a glimpse into what it’s like (with all the gritty details included) to buy a property in France and how to renovate it. It will also allow me to answer any questions I've had since we purchased last year. Plus if you’re a paid subscriber you will be given instant access to my private CHAT, where you can ask questions and where I will also be sharing more updates and photos.
As a huge thank you for being here and subscribing to my newsletter (and to celebrate my birthday), I'm offering a 20% discount off the yearly Insider membership (valid until Saturday) that once upgraded to paid, you will have for life! My hope is that this membership also becomes a place to share interior and renovation experiences, as well as style, Paris, personal thoughts, everything inspiring us and that we're loving right now! I hope to see you on the inside :)
Talking of everything I've been loving, here's my April edit...
Things to love, read, watch, wear & inspire:
~ Enzo Mari, The Design Museum - I cannot recommend this exhibition enough! If you live in London or are visiting sometime soon (it’s on until the end of September), do add it to your travel list, especially if you love design. Mari was an Italian furniture designer and modernist artist, who pioneered modern design. He touched everything from every day objects, furniture and branding to children’s books and games, and his influence had a huge impact on design and designers working today. I visited the exhibition alone, which meant I could fully immerse myself in his world without distractions. It's soul-soothing to spend time alone amongst art; I've been trying for the past two years (I know, I know) to complete Julia Cameron's, An Artist's Way, but life keeps getting in the way. One of the tasks laid out in the book is to take oneself on an art date, so with a bit of extra time on my hands, I decided to make the most of it and do just that. It really does allow for a quieting of the mind and inspiration to flow a little more freely.
~ Butter yellow ballet flats from ATP Atelier - I’m a longtime fan of ATP Atelier and have been wearing the Swedish brand since around six years ago, when I first purchased a pair of brown leather Rosa sandals (I still have them). They are beautifully made in Italian leather, last a long time and are one of the best fitting shoe brands that I’ve found for narrower feet. I would happily have this style in every color!
~ Hermès limited edition lipstick in Rouge Cinétique - before Covid, I used to wear lipstick all the time, but then stopped for obvious reasons. I’ve been wearing it a little more frequently since Hermes created their beauty collection and sent me a few to try. I love this new limited edition shade, which I received last week.
~ Pachinko series - I adored the book so I was thrilled to finish it and then find out that a series had already been made. The director took some artistic license with the adaptation, adding in a few parts and taking out others, but it’s a beautifully and sensitively-made series that reveals a very difficult time in Korea and Japan’s past.
~ Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell - I’ve had this book on my to-read list for a while now and I’m around 100 pages in. I love books that tell the untold story of someone connected to a famous figure in history. In this case it’s Shakespeare’s son Hamnet, who inspired his famous play, and so far I’m gripped.
~ Le Petit Beefbar Paris - I admittedly had reservations about eating here, as I rarely eat beef, but luckily there are lots of other brilliant options on the menu, such as chicken and fish, which were delicious (all come with tasty marinades), as was the chimichurri beef.
~ Hermès watch - I was invited by the brand to go to Geneva in Switzerland last month to visit the huge Watches and Wonders salon and celebrate the launch of their newest watch collection 'Cut'. It was a beautiful 24 hours of design inspiration, good food and more of a glimpse into the artistic, thoughtful and beautifully-crafted world that Hérmes has built. I loved discovering the mind blowing craftsmanship that goes into their watches. These timepieces are true heirlooms and I hope to own one one day!
~ The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Bettany Hughes - you might remember that Victor and I visited Egypt last February and fell love with the country, history, food and its people. (You can find my guide to Egypt here.) I am endlessly fascinated by history, especially ancient history and love learning as much as I can about old civilisations. This book caught my eye during the Substack event I attended whilst in London in April and I couldn’t not bring it back home with me.
~ Arket striped top - I’m slowly adding more pieces to my spring wardrobe and I’ve had a long sleeved striped top on my wishlist ever since I saw Brittany Bathgate wear it over on Instagram with a flowing white skirt last summer. I missed out on the Matteau style (that she was wearing), but this one is a brilliant compromise, plus it’s very affordable! I envisage wearing it with a white skirt, denim jacket and brown suede sandals.
~ Susanne Kaufmann Refining Scalp and body scrub - as we creep nearer warmer weather (emphasis on creep) and start showing off a little more skin (I for one am not ready!), scrubbing away that dry winter, flakey skin is a must, for me anyway. I recently tried Susanne Kaufmann’s scrub, which left my skin feeling silky soft, with no flakes in sight! It smells good too.
That’s it for now and I hope you have a brilliant May! If you’d like to upgrade for FULL ACCESS to my archive of wardrobe, homeware and travel edits, including my Little Black Book of Paris addresses, a subscription works out at just €5 a month (instead of 6€) if you sign up to the yearly plan (that’s only 1.16€ a week).
Recently in The Insider:
The French designers I google when I’m sourcing vintage homeware items for myself and clients
Parisian chic at home: how to effortlessly Frenchify your interiors
You had me at Hermes timepiece 🤤
Informative and inspired review. Love Bettany Hughes tv séries which follows her book. ❤️