Amberley Ramblings, A Bit Of Fluff, French Dressing & Lip Service!

 

Amberley Ramblings, A Bit Of Fluff,
French Dressing & Lip Service!
The Elizabethan Grandeur Of Parham House, Photographed On My Walk

Good Morning!

And another chilly one, however we are almost through January and must keep our eyes on the horizon! Apparently, this Monday was 'Blue Monday', another of those slightly ridiculous marketing tags, this one instigated by a holiday company in order to encourage us to book a trip - actually quite clever when you think about it! 

It doesn't make one feel exactly happy and perky though. Darkness and damp can make us feel a little down on any day of the week, but then New Order didn't pen a song called 'Blue Wednesday', so I suppose that doesn't really work for marketing purposes!

Anyway, I am not feeling vaguely 'blue' and hope that neither are you!

Had a lovely w/e  - on Saturday, we visited Arundel Farmer's Market and I was delighted with my haul - Pinot Noir from Georgia (I love Georgian reds),  a box of mixed mushrooms (king oysters, shiitake, beech, hen-of-the-woods etc) which are lovely fried in butter with scrambled eggs for breakfast, home made Indian lemon chutney (haven't sampled this yet) and finally, the most heavenly mature cheddar from the Arundel Cheese Co. I did go slightly off-piste on the cheese stall and purchased a block of 'Smugglers Revenge', which is cheddar laced with 'scorpion chillies' that pack the appropriate sting! I am trying to work out how to use it, but may well have bitten off more than I can chew! 'Dante's Inferno' would
be a much better description!

On Sunday we went for a walk down a long country lane leading from Amberley to Rackham, which was glorious - I wore a padded coat and was hot in the sunshine! The daffodils have risen along the verges, and although the buds are still tight, they are there, with the promise of Spring just around the corner! A murmur of starlings, rabbits and deer were all out and about enjoying the weather and we were feeling extremely virtuous with our Sunday morning exercise....until we stopped in at The Sportsman pub for an orange juice and ended up staying for lunch! We ate outdoors - what a treat in January! - and ambled home to find that outside the cottage our neighbours had left an electric lawnmower with a 'Please Take Me' sign, which was a stroke of luck as we don't own one, so this is now nestled in the garden shed - I love free things! 

Then our upholsterers arrived to take away the new 'Arts & Crafts' dining chairs for a makeover. They haven't been touched for over 100 years and need re-stuffing and some general tlc - here is the before picture and a little swatch of the 'pumpkin' fabric that we have decided upon. They should be finished in two weeks and back just in time for the wedding!

My final acquisition was a 'Velvet Calathea' from 'Squires' in Storrington, which has lovely, glossy, green leaves that are soft and red and furry underneath. Each night at dusk, it 'prays,' and lifts all of its leaves towards heaven, turning from green to red. Gorgeous, and I have been taking it to the shower with me every 3 days - this is not weird, it likes the steam!

Shop Now - Mohair & Merino Wool Scarf - Tribal - £40.00

At the store, the quest for sumptuous, stylish indulgence continues and, I am delighted to say, we have received a spectacular order of mohair from our friends in Spain. They really are magicians with weaving and the colours look so fluid and beautiful. We have throws and scarves in several designs.

Shop Now - Mohair & Merino Wool Scarf - Check - £37.00
The scarves are absolutely gorgeous and really do lift an ensemble. They will add a splash of glamour to a winter coat and pay their way in the Spring as they are very light and can be worn with a jacket or sweater. I shall let the colours speak for themselves!
Shop Now - Blanket/Throw - Mohair & Wool - Candy Striped - £175.00
Shop Now - Blanket/Throw - Mohair & Merino Wool - Check - £135.00
Shop Now - Blanket/Throw - Mohair & Wool - Sky Blue Green - £135.00

The throws are both practical and jaw-dropping - I have several and, to be honest, I really think that they are worth the investment given the way things are going with energy bills. I suspect that throws and blankets will be a huge trend this year as they really keep one warm when sedentary, either reading, working from home or watching a movie. One of these and some cashmere socks and I don't have to turn the heating on during the day - even when it's frosty outside. The GD and I do like to share one too - nice on a Sunday afternoon with a good book, a cup of tea and a slice of cake!

Shop Now - Parisian Scarves - From £57.00

For those that prefer their scarves in either cotton or with a smooth, wool/linen handle, then our favourite Parisienne has come up trumps once again with a collection that is dripping with French-chic. The prints are exclusive, and I have repeated a couple of my favourites and spiced up the selection with some outstanding new designs. Hélène really is incredibly talented and I suspect that she will be snapped of by LVMH or some other gargantuan fashion house in the not-too-distant future! Until then, we get to enjoy her gifts and I have already got my name down for the mustard/orange scarf - so sophisticated and a visual tonic in the cold, dark days of winter. 

Shop Now - Luxury French Linen Tea Towel - £15.00

I realise that it sounds slightly odd to count Tea-Towels as an indulgent treat, but ours truly are and a fresh batch arrived from France on Monday. As with most things, you get what you pay for with tea-towels and this mix of linen and cotton is the perfect balance of absorption and polish. They are really beautiful too - something that one is proud to have hanging on the back of the door. Even tea towels should give pleasure! I would recommend a selection of colours - it is easier to remember when to wash them! Speaking of which, I have been asked about when to wash tea towels a number of times and the answer is, it depends what they are being used for. If it is to pat a joint of beef dry for example, then they should be changed every day, but if they are just drying clean drinking glasses then a few days is perfectly safe. I love buying these as I play a little game with myself to guess which colour will sell the best - I always lose because it is impossible to second guess our customers. If orange was the best seller in December and I double the quantity of orange, then orange will take a back-seat and there will be a run on pink! It is what I love about retail, it is not an exact science and one must simply purchase the things that one loves; emotion, in retail, is so much more relevant than spreadsheets!

Shop Now - Monk-made - Sanctuary Lip Balm - £3.50
Shop Now -Monk-made - Sanctuary Skin Cream - £7.50

I must say a big thank you to Father John and his monastic brothers for the wonderful new 'Frankincense and Cinnamon Lip Balm' that has been keeping my lips kissable (well they feel like they are!) during this week of icy temperatures. I absolutely love it, as lip balm has to feel, smell and taste good, otherwise one simply forgets to apply! This is made with beeswax from the monastery's hives, and is 100% natural. I adore the whole range, as have sensitive skin and find that nothing irritates, although I have had to switch my skin cream to 'Coconut' as the GD found 'Vanilla' too distracting (it smells like cake!). Monk-made, utterly divine, efficacious and the profits go to good works - if that's not the right way to begin the year, I don't know what is!

Finally, I did want to share with you one of those eccentricities that come with living in a rural community. Our cottage is terraced, with just one neighbour either side, but two of us have what is called a 'historic right of way', which roughly translated means that we can wheel our dustbins or lawnmowers etc though our neighbour's back garden and onto the street. This simply wouldn't happen in London; it would be deemed way too intrusive, plus Londoners tend to keep their bins at the front of the house. However in picturesque Amberley, the sight of a wheelie bin on the street at any other time than bin collection morning is frowned upon - and quite right too, they are ugly things!

We do have to keep our wits about us and make sure that we are dressed appropriately and not doing anything embarrassing on Tuesday evenings when our neighbours trundle past the French windows! Actually I find the whole thing completely charming - although how our neighbours will feel when they are enjoying a quiet G&T on a summer's evening and we let ourselves in, remains to be seen! Perhaps they will ask us to join them - like everything in life, it's all about timing!

Now I have a date with a cake - the GD baked last night in the newly acquired 'Bundt Tin' and I can resist the charms of 'almond and lemon drizzle' no-longer.
Cake for breakfast, how decadent! 

Have a lovely w/e,

Michael x

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