I'm Loving It - 1965 Edition Of Brides Magazine

At a loose end yesterday, I decided to tackle the magazine mountain that had been lurking under our coffee table for er, quite some time (I feel compelled to confess that the pile included the Rooney wedding edition of Hello magazine, and it wasn't even at the bottom of the pile).

Among this magazine mountain I discovered The Best Magazine In The World Ever - also known as a genuine 1965 edition of Brides magazine - also known as the best present I've ever been given (by Andre, natch), bar none:

Andre presented me with this vintage treasure when I was busy planning our wedding (yes, I'm using the singular. I planned our wedding. Andre turned up. Bless him). Now, naturally I do not intend to start waxing lyrical about weddings on this blog (well, until July, when our two-year wedding anniversary comes up, and therefore I'm reserving the right in advance to inundate you with photos of handmade invitations, handmade bunting, handmade floral arrangements, handmade seating plan, and so on - c'mon, we put a marquee over our entire garden, respect must be paid).

However, what's fascinating about 1965 Brides is the focus on setting up home. I'd say half the magazine is dedicated to planning the wedding, and the other half to living happily ever after. The last time I picked up a modern wedding magazine I don't seem to recall any articles on the latter - plenty of information on dressing like a princess, and choosing a super-expensive honeymoon - but the happily ever after part? Not so much. Change in priorities, anyone? OK, OK, most people already live together these days, but it would be nice to see a little bit more of a focus on the 99.99% part of your married life, rather than the 0.01% that constitutes The Big Day, right?

Here's the contents page - with around 100 pages of articles about setting up your first home:

The articles themselves are priceless - here's one on choosing the style for your first home:

And here's another on 'the man in your kitchen', which opens thus...

"He's yours - you married him - and you think you know everything about him. Until this dashing stranger steps into your kitchen and proceeds to make himself happily at home, cooking up a storm or, anyway, his own special dish." AWESOME:

My favourite parts of the magazine are actually the adverts - check out this beauty for Bassett furniture:

Precious. But my all time favourite is this splendid advert for sterling sliver:

"Don't let Daddy give you away until he gives you your sterling". LOVING IT.

Black, White and Pink Swedish-Style English Country Home

Today I'd like to share a peep into the English Georgian country home of Swedish designer Lena Proudlock. All photos are taken from the Telegraph magazine.

Here's the living room - loving the simple white painted floors, the feminine, romantic mirror and chandelier, and the huge statement pile of wood in the floor-to-ceiling alcove: 

Here's the living room from another angle - I like the floor-standing silver lamp:

The black aga and feature wall look stunning in the kitchen against all the white:

Here's the dining room - I'm not sure I'd put a tartan rug on the floor, and I'd probably hang a different picture cos those ladies look a bit scary! But I love huge, eye-catching pictures (check out this 5ft abstract painting that inspired the colour scheme for our entire casa), so the general concept works for me:

Now let's peep into the bedroom - loving all that white. I'm guessing Lena probably doesn't have Jack Russells:

Finally, here are a couple more photos of the bedroom:

I love creating pops of colour with flowers. On Saturday I bought a bouquet of crimson roses from Living Flowers, and they are currently looking rather gorgeous arranged in a crackle jug on top of the mirrored chest of drawers in our bedroom (which is decorated in cappuccino, chocolate, cream and ivory).

Tomorrow I'll be sharing a gift round-up for the dog-lover in your life - see you again soon!

Yes, I Think I Could Live Here If I Really Had To

The other week I posted some pictures of our Dream Home in France. Here’s another French house from 25 Beautiful Homes magazine that I could probably stand to live in, if so compelled to do:

How lovely are the blue shutters? So classic. Let’s move onto the interior:

 As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve got a bit of a thing for chandeliers, and this one’s a beauty.

I love this wardrobe – and oh, to lie in bed in the morning with that sunlit view streaming in through the door:

Crisp white linen:   

    

Yes, I could live in this house :-)

Could you?